Bandrada

Just an observation. FB is def dying a slow painful death. Discussion Forums are getting severely handicapped by chat bots, malware, and censorship. All the other platforms are tightening the grip on their content, up to and including canceling/banning members for engaging in discussion outside of "acceptable" subject matter. Heck, the content itself has been reduced the same old tired discussions because people have forgotten how to communicate. The Mods are pretty much fed up with all the BS too, and really don't care enough to do the job correctly (not their fault, necessarily).

So, am I missing anything?

Hondo Gravel

Never heard of Facebook.

Bandrada

That's because it died before you were born. lol

Hondo Gravel

I remember AOL instant messenger I think it was around 1999 when the world was suppose to end. But it didn’t and that was very disappointing.

Bandrada

I always knew the world would never end. In 1999 I was chasing around Century City trying to get in Pamela Anderson's bikini! This is a true story.

prj71

Actually you got it wrong. Forums like this are dying a slow painful death in favor of "groups" on Facebook.

I have a few other forums I participate in for other hobbies and they have gone completely dead due to groups on Facebook.

In all honesty...this forum and MTBR are actually the only two forums I participate in that actually have a decent amount of activity. I think that is because the bike forums are made up of older members that have established careers and money to afford bikes. Most of us older folks (myself included) prefer the message board forum format over Facebook groups. A lot of these groups on facebook that I participate in for other activities (ice fishing, fly fishing) are made up of mostly folks in their 20's and early 30's

Bandrada

So, FB is dying because it's just turning into groups of "like minded" people. Virtual echo chambers. Same with every other platform. Twit and Insta are just censoring themselves into partisan echo chambers themselves.

So, I stand by my assessment.

StupidlyBrave 

It did.

"I think AOL still has all the stigma that it always had, as far as image goes," Jamie Zawinski, a Netscape founder who now oversees part of the company's browser development, wrote in an e-mail message to a reporter Monday afternoon. Alluding to his own e-mail address, he wrote, "My friends keep saying 'jwz@aol.com' and then laughing uncontrollably."

FBOATSB 

Darth Lefty 

If you think "social media is dead" then you are just not keeping up. But also, crucially, that's okay.

According to the old timers on Usenet, the world ended in September 1993. Or rather September '93 never ended.

indyfabz

skijor

Blanket statements
#Itsnotallbad

I have learned a great deal from fellow gardeners and coffee (roasting, brewing, equipment maint, modding, & repair) fanatics in various fb groups. Gardeners tend to be fairly laid back people to begin with. Coffee nuts can go off the deep end almost as bad as the hyperpartisan types. Those two interests are all that I use fb for. There has been some shift for coffee related stuff to Discord, which is a different beast.
I haven't seen the ill-mannered types on fb. Apparently I'm well-behaved. The groups that are well-modded don't tolerate folks who can't check their P and/or R at the door. Folks that post that nonsense in a gardening or coffee group are quickly reported. And I appreciate that.

What sources are cuing you that fb/IG/twit are on the outs?

Bandrada

Ima start a new thread..." things a chat bot would say". lol!

Well done.

prj71

I would try to explain this to you again but it seems you are obtuse.

sloppy12

Groups are really only good for selling stuff and maybe if its a small local group. they definitely dont work well for sharing info or learning.

Bandrada

I beg your pardon, I'm way acute(r) than that! hahaha!

skijor

You couldn't be more wrong. I would have had a considerably harder time getting the info I needed to improve on my two big hobbies (non-bike) without fb groups. Tremendously diverse input from people around the world discussing aspects of the same coffee equipment, for example. Language barriers are essentially a non-issue. It's given me greater insight in how folks in this country or that would approach the same topic/concern/problem. They have different obstacles than I.

It's topic-dependent. I could see where some topics don't work for venues like fb groups.

Bandrada

My uncle is involved in a flute group, but his access to the outside world is pretty limited. I guess FB is good for a few hobbyists.

sloppy12

So i am wrong but also it could be topic dependent... got it.

indyfabz

I’m a member of a very large bike touring Facebook group. I agree with the above.

Hondo Gravel

Social media has spread the superior wisdom of Bubba and Bubbette

Actually today at the good ole Walmart. Bubba was throwing a tantrum when this commercial was on TV

Bandrada

Hilarious. The platform via the groups is not really set up to have discussions. The layout alone makes it impossible. As does the Twit and the Instas.

Bandrada

As with anything one can get drawn into their own biases. lol you were watching him watch you watch the television watch him watch you. hahaha! It's like when you point look into a mirror from another mirror. doh!

Seattle Forrest

In the beginning people used the internet for pictures of cats. That's a big cat! But the internet grew up. Now it's used to syphon your data and sell you crap, but if you're clever and know your priorities you can find what you want. And if you can't, you can make it, maybe it's also what somebody else wants.

Kat12

Not a fan of FB for discussions. Too linear to make anything easy to find/use, the endless loading and scrolling becomes a pain very quickly, etc. It's fine for a topic you only want/need to see for a couple days, but not anything you'd want to keep up like on a discussion board.

...which is, of course, pictures of cats...