Quote:
Originally Posted by dzhitshard
FB is the devil. Period.
But it's pretty much killed all but the best of forums in their specific field. Please don't consider this a personal attack. I was here before I found the gasgas enduro riders group, and I'm still here after it's been and gone. I actually prefer forums because I'm old and crotchety that way.
Using the FB "simple search field" while in a group I can type in the exact same info in one line and yield the same specific type results, including photo thumbnails, dates, poster, replies etc that you're achieving on the advanced search here after opening 2 different windows and selecting a handful of options. . . how many times to get the right hit.
On this site the 2 different examples I just tested I'm still getting several off topic hits on just the first page or results. That's after taking the time to go through the advanced search options once. I would have to go through them multiple times to narrow down more.
That's just my opinion, but I would venture a guess that a huge portion of online users share it or there wouldn't be so many google hits for articles on how FB is killing online forums.
And as for the mention above about using Google to search for a specific thread on GG rider.org
Well, I think that kind of proves a point on the search features for XYZ forum if you go that route instead of opening different windows and checking half a dozen fields in an advanced search feature.
Either way, I'm here for the learning. Should we change the subject to the current rumors of the brand being sold off again? 
JK I don't want to think about that now because I'm married to this thing for the next couple seasons at least. Ride Red  |
I think we'll agree to disagree here and I do understand you want a gasgas facebook group - but please don't denigrate this forum in your argument pushing for one..... There is a place for both... And nothing stopping you from starting your own facebook group.
Each "medium" has it's purpose and "sweet spot". This is a technical discussion forum that is well organized into sub-forums that make it easier for a user to find (and search for) data in a way that scales well. We are coming up on 200,000 posts here....
A discussion forum doesn't make for a good place to store reference data. Like manuals, links to reference material, etc. The workaround for this is "stickies" at the top of the forum - which I believe need to be used sparingly. if too many stickies exist - then it is hard to discern where the stickies end and the current thread(s) start.
Facebook, to me, makes it easy to share data for immediate consumption. it's easy to upload videos and photos, etc. Easy to drag and drop items and you are done... On the downside, I can't imagine wading through 200,000 technical posts in a facebook group...
This forum has been here since 2006, before that I managed the smackover gasgas forum - back to 2001 or so. When that dealership closed their doors - we wanted a place that was not associated with a dealer so that it belonged to everyone in the entire community - so this forum was started and quickly grew. This forum is community owned and not for profit. It exists to benefit the entire community - riders, dealers, importers, etc. My time, and that of the moderators, is donated. We take donations to cover our costs.
I don't see facebook killing off this site and I can look a statistical plot of forum activity that bears this out. I see no appreciable change in activity in the last couple of years. And I do have several folks a day signing up as new users here - which really hasn't changed recently either....
I do think updating the forum software here will be necessary in the near future, and it is overdue. It would help with usability and, in turn, increase activity - particularly on mobile devices. That software will be xenforo - which is what thumpertalk uses. It is more "mobile friendly" and has a gallery for uploading vids and photos. The main thing slowing this down is the time I have available - I am dealing with a family illness and have very little spare time to give.
Jeff