Will Facebook Kill Forums?

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A

Alisha Walter

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Yes you are right TechGuy1, Facebook and Forum both are very different things. For eg - we use facebook for fun purpose but we can't use forum for Fun purpose. There also other more difference in both of them.
 
CandyDeFrance

CandyDeFrance

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I don't worry at all about that.

Facebook will never kill forums, the same way as Windows never killed Mac OS and Linux. They're alternatives, they're different and people like them. People choose the most useful option for themselves. There can't be only one option. At worst, there is one dominant option, that's all.

I have a Facebook page and I could have a Facebook group too, but one simple reason to have a forum as an admin (I don't know if someone else already mentioned it, I didn't read the whole thread) is that I own my data. I own, I backup, I move, I delete, I'm the dictator :sneaky:
More seriously, I'm free to do whatever I want with my data. And same thing for the users as they can delete their personal data and won't see their data sold everywhere. Something Facebook (or even free hosting such as Forumotion) will never allow. I'm not ready to accept Facebook owning everything and literally selling my privacy, which is also why I don't have a personal Facebook profile, and there is a number of people who will never join that network for a good reason.

A third and last reason why Facebook won't kill forums : sooner or later, it will die. I can't believe Facebook will live forever. 10 years ago, people thought MSN Messenger would live forever too :D
 
12BETAly

12BETAly

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There's a huge different between facebook and forum, I myself don't believe that facebook will kill forum. Not all the topics were covered by facebook, I still get good ideas from forums. A lot of people still count on forum discussion, facebook is really different.
 
xtech

xtech

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I think both have their strengths. Forums still have their place, and the way they organize information is better for persistent conversations.
 
Bikenut

Bikenut

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A FB group is taking a big bite out of one of my motorcycle forums. People like the ease of posting their pics over their phone to the FB group instead of having to log into my forum. Nevermind the fact that the pics they upload get lost in that one eternal thread in the FB group. It's pure laziness that makes FB a competitor against forums, because everyone is already logged into their FB accounts on their phones.

This is why I still use Tapatalk on the forum.
 
Anubis

Anubis

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Bikenut said:
It's pure laziness that makes FB a competitor against forums, because everyone is already logged into their FB accounts on their phones.
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Yup. This sort of laziness is induced by people's need for instant gratification and feedback, which FB provides plenty. This is also the reason why nowadays the forum platform is trying to "catch up" with social media to the point that some new developments want to merge both worlds, becoming hybrids.
 
E

echoes1977

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Bikenut said:
A FB group is taking a big bite out of one of my motorcycle forums. People like the ease of posting their pics over their phone to the FB group instead of having to log into my forum. Nevermind the fact that the pics they upload get lost in that one eternal thread in the FB group. It's pure laziness that makes FB a competitor against forums, because everyone is already logged into their FB accounts on their phones.

This is why I still use Tapatalk on the forum.
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In the past there was no Facebook or it was very very incipient and people spent most of their time in forums. Now most people spend their time on FB which means forums are much less active than before, specially if the main discussion topic is not VERY specific or technical oriented. To give an example, music forums (e.g. about specific bands) are way less active than before because people prefer to discuss and share content on FB.

In order to improve user experience, I am currently considering moving my 12 years old forum (SMF based) to Discourse which is WAY more modern and user friendly than any of the traditional forums (mybb, phpbb, smf, vb, xenforo, etc.), works extremely well with mobile devices, offer a good support and is free.

I am aware installation and setup is not as easy as traditional forums, but if the user experience is going to be greatly enhanced, and they won't need to install applications such as Tapatalk to have an user friendly version of my forum on mobile devices, than I am all for it.
 
M

Mark.B

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echoes1977 said:
In the past there was no Facebook or it was very very incipient and people spent most of their time in forums. Now most people spend their time on FB which means forums are much less active than before, specially if the main discussion topic is not VERY specific or technical oriented. To give an example, music forums (e.g. about specific bands) are way less active than before because people prefer to discuss and share content on FB.

In order to improve user experience, I am currently considering moving my 12 years old forum (SMF based) to Discourse which is WAY more modern and user friendly than any of the traditional forums (mybb, phpbb, smf, vb, xenforo, etc.), works extremely well with mobile devices, offer a good support and is free.

I am aware installation and setup is not as easy as traditional forums, but if the user experience is going to be greatly enhanced, and they won't need to install applications such as Tapatalk to have an user friendly version of my forum on mobile devices, than I am all for it.
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What you've got to watch is this:
Users are not going to Facebook because they like the look and feel, or the way stuff is laid out. Users go there because that's where all their friends and family are.

A big mistake many forum owners make, is they think by making their forums function like, and in some cases look like, Facebook, it'll get the users back. The trouble is, it won't.

In fact, when you have a forum that still has some active members, changing platform can drive those users away (they won't like the change) yet will do nothing to attract new users. Leaving you even worse off than before.

I would be amazed if users of an SMF forum would take kindly to it being replaced by Discourse, I really would. Is it more modern and user friendly to YOU, or to your users? Because if it's just you, you might be in for a shock when your users see it.
 
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echoes1977

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Mark.B said:
I would be amazed if users of an SMF forum would take kindly to it being replaced by Discourse, I really would. Is it more modern and user friendly to YOU, or to your users? Because if it's just you, you might be in for a shock when your users see it.
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A sample of users will try Discourse before any change takes place. I need to gather their feedback before doing any decision.
 
M

Mark.B

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echoes1977 said:
A sample of users will try Discourse before any change takes place. I need to gather their feedback before doing any decision.
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Very sensible.

I mean, they might like it. That does happen. Or sometimes a view is taken that it doesn't matter if they don't, which is also fair enough.

Just a trap I've seen many fall into that's all. :)
 
BrandonSheley

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Mark.B said:
What you've got to watch is this:
Users are not going to Facebook because they like the look and feel, or the way stuff is laid out. Users go there because that's where all their friends and family are.

A big mistake many forum owners make, is they think by making their forums function like, and in some cases look like, Facebook, it'll ge the users back. The trouble is, it won't.

In fact, when you have a forum that still has some active members, changing platform can drive those users away (they won't like the change) yet will do nothing to attract new users. Leaving you even worse off than before.

I would be amazed if users of an SMF forum would take kindly to it being replaced by Discourse, I really would. Is it more modern and user friendly to YOU, or to your users? Because if it's just you, you might be in for a shock when your users see it.
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I can't remember the last time I agreed with you Mark but you are correct here.

If the OP wanted to change forum platforms they could always make a demo site up and have the active users try it out to see if they'd like it before converting the whole site over.

People will always need real content, social media sites are only a medium to share your content, not a replacement. :)


If people can understand they are not the same type of site, they'll be able to move on and focus on the real issues your forum may be dying.
A better question would have been posted 10 years "are blogs killing forums" or vice versa..

anyways back to killing time on reddit before heading on the road, have a good one all :D
 
M

Mark.B

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Goodness gracious, Brandon hasn't hasn't agreed with one of my posts since 1972.

I think I shall go and have a cup of tea to celebrate.
 
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