Without a doubt, I think established Forums should be meeting virtually via video to keep things going during this time. Forums that were great prior, will be just fine virtually. However, Forums that were struggling with XYZ prior, will struggle virtually, and they will probably blame the virtual environment for the issue vs themselves because the virtual environment makes an easy scapegoat.
But for new Forums, my answer comes with an asterisk given the current situation with COVID-19 because I see the question more as “Should we have them meet virtually to get going, or wait at least 4-6 weeks to meet in person for the first time?” With that question, I do think that facilitated Forums are able to create enough value virtually that it is worth it to do vs waiting. The expectations of focus are different however as I’ve seen people walk behind them during a meeting, and I’m sure they have other screens open that they check from time to time. It’s not 100% perfect, but from my experience in running them, it’s good enough considering the situation.