I've had .com's in the past, but unfortunately nerdface.com was already taken when I decided to start up my latest project.
I settled for a .co.uk as I'm based in the UK, but progress has felt extra slow compared with past projects. My gut feeling is just that the forum scene has changed considerably since my last project and it's harder to get people to sign up and participate, but do you think that a .com makes any difference traffic wise?
Nerdface
I haven't failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.
I've had both .com and .net domains, I don't think it makes any difference to be honest. I've had successful communities on both .com's, .net's and even subdomains (like I have now) so i don't see any difference, as long as the URL is somewhat easy to remember, what the actual URL is, shouldn't make much of a difference, i don't think SEO affects what a URL is whether it be .net or .com.
Revillution - https://www.revillution.net
Mixer - https://mixer.com/smokeydevil
I think most users are more familiar to visiting .com's, however, in the end as long as your domain is simple, short, and easy to remember it shouldn't make all too much of a difference.
.com is easier to remember and is more universally accepted than .co.uk which is limited to the UK only or so one would assume. But I totally agree in regards to the forum scene changing, it isn't what it used to be like back in the days. We have the likes of social media that overtake any forum nowadays. Just keep working hard and create something specific, do not tailor a forum for everyone because it will just not work. If that makes sense.
Gaming Forum - https://www.joyfreak.com/
I know .com is a lot more appealing to both users and SEO methods. But sometimes a weird domain ending might draw in more people.
Latest Tech, video game and anime news: https://gaminglatest.com/
Using domains doesn't make any difference to speed though in the past on google the only difference would be if you are based in the united kingdom and have a .co.uk domain and the servers are based in the united kingdom then seo results would be higher in google, i think though now google is more based on content than domain extensions now so it would not make any difference as its only a name to ip / server.
.com always hold weight for people as the longest running extension along with .net .org .info and .net
I don't think users care one way or the other. I don't even think they care about free domains! However, though, a .com is good for memory. For instance, if you advertise a site called "Bob's Car Repair", people in the US will naturally assume it's BobsCarRepair.com. I mean, if it's not a .com, then you have to emphasize the domain extension in advertising. For instance, BobsCarRepair.biz would have to use the whole name as part of an ad.
I think it can make a difference sometimes but not always. A lot of times there are a good bit of successful sites that have other domain extensions. It's not always about the .com
https://www.mindpiff.com - Mind Piff Discussion Community
Generally speaking, I think a lot of people use forums less because of social networking websites and instant messenger programs, so I wouldn't be surprised if your forum is struggling a bit unlike your previous projects.
As for the topic, to me it does. It's the most popular domain extension and I'd always get it over something else IF it is available. If I really like a name and it's not trademarked or something, I'd get another extension but I'd likely just search for a different name or ask friends to make suggestions so I'd get the .com.