My own feeling is that many Hidive subscribers don’t know about this site. If they have a problem, they go to social media, and don’t always get satisfaction unless Slowhand sees something and can point them in the right direction. If they want to talk about something, they go to social media, where turnover is quite fast and their comment can get lost.
Yes, there is a chat feature on Hidive, but it is per episode and goes away when the episode ends. So, that is useless. I never understood why it was there in the first place. People rarely even use that feature.
If our forums were attached to Hidive, people can come here with Hidive problems. We can try to help them or we can tell them to submit a help ticket. I think it is the human element that is important. There is too much AI help these days that isn’t really any help at all. We have a really good group of members here and someone is always willing to help, especially with new members.
In addition, if Hidive people come here, they have threads to chat and discuss anime series and movies, etc. - and not just Hidive shows, but many others. Since Funi is gone and Crunchyroll shut down their forums, people again turn to social media and it can be frustrating trying to talk about something when then next person wants to talk about something else. This site is more stable and their comments do not disappear, so they can come back often and pick up where they left off in a discussion or check to see if someone responded to a comment. Again, it is human interaction that is so important in these days of overdone tech / AI.
If our forums were attached to Hidive, the higher ups would have a better grasp on what people are saying about Hidive anime - what they like or don’t like and what they like or don’t like about non-Hidive shows. I think it would help marketing and the powers that be in licensing new anime and getting good sales numbers with more opinions from the people that actually watch the anime.
I would even like to see Hidive expand into more live action Asian drama and non-anime shows, like Pantheon - still not sure why it was dropped. I was enjoying it, but that is beside the point. Hidive could be a good testing ground for other types of shows and movies and the forums would contribute to excellent feedback for such experiments. A poll online or a survey at a convention can only provide limited feedback.
In addition, Slowhand does an amazing job with the VOD Reports. She is an incredible help to everyone. Series5Ranger puts together a complete license master list that we all refer to and depend on. We have information threads in addition to the anime threads, like the “What did you watch today” threads. I look at them often to see what people are watching and if I might be interested in something.
We also have fun threads, like the bishie game one. This is something that has been going on for years at this site. When a gamemaster leaves, another member will renew the game because it is so popular. Right now, we have a new gamemaster in OneWayDevil and we are all looking forward to fun rounds. We hope this version of the game will entertain us for even more years to come.
Finally, I just want to say that attaching these forums to Hidive would be beneficial to everyone, because there would be something for everyone. I know financial issues can be a deciding factor, and I, for one, would not mind seeing some kind of advertising. We have had ads on the forums in the past. I am not sure how it worked out because when the forums updated, the ads disappeared. I would not mind if they showed up again, if it meant keeping the forums around for many years to come.
Life can throw a lot at a person, and it is nice to have a home here and friends to talk to. I find it is the best place to relax. I think our community is one of the best family units that ever came together! Yes, I said “family” because in the end, that is exactly what we are.
Thank you for reading. Perhaps I said too much. Perhaps I have not said enough. I don’t really talk much, but when I get my head and heart set on something, watch out. 
