Are FB Groups Taking Traffic Away From WWW Forums?

[VectorGamer]

Just talking about classic gaming www forums.

 

I'm a member of probably a dozen forums but only check about half of those on a regular basis.

 

There have been more postings on the BBS's Dove-Net General forum in the last two weeks compared to 2 gaming forums I belong to combined. That's how low traffic some of these forums are getting. And these 2 forums (which I won't name) have been around for years.

 

Kudos to AtariAge forums for being one of, if not the, most active gaming forum I belong to.

 

Time's yours...

[Rhomaios]

It's such a good idea to allow companies to sell your information in order to use their crappy service. Why, I think all forums should shut down and everyone migrate to our Facebook overlords.

 

On second thought, even then I wouldn't get a Facebook account.

[Rick Dangerous]

Not in my case. I deleted my Facebook (permanently) two years ago and haven't missed it at all. Can't stand that company or the narcissism on that site.

[Greg2600]

100% they are. Nearly every person I know locally, who posts about gaming on FB, never visits any forums.

[+wongojack]

They are going to eat up traffic that would normally go to forums. However, I prefer the forums because of the organization. On FB or any other similar site (so.cl, Yammer), a post just goes into the black hole of all other posts. There is no way to search or to reference older material.

 

For news & short term conversations FB will work, but I just prefer the extras that the forum offers.

[BassGuitari]

The only classic gaming forum I've ever been a member of is AtariAge. Unless you count Tecmobowl.org, which is dedicated specifically to the Tecmo Super Bowl series, and which I use as a resource for my TSB hacking pursuits...and I think I've only ever posted there two or three times.

AtariAge is still my one-stop source for classic gaming hubbub. There are some FB groups I'm a member of, but I don't really post in them. I can see why people prefer FB groups, though. Where AA is my "umbrella" for all things classic gaming (or at least most things), for others Facebook is their umbrella for, well, all things, of which classic gaming is just a subset. Logging onto Facebook and going to different groups is no different than going to AA (or DP or wherever) and checking out the different forums...just with more ads, other general FB nonsense, and less substantial content. Facebook groups are to AtariAge forums what Twitter is to Facebook.

Edited February 10, 2015 by BassGuitari

[VectorGamer]

Logging onto Facebook and going to different groups is no different than going to AA (or DP or wherever) and checking out the different forums...

 

 

 

I think it depends on how you do it. There's no way that I'm going to be using the AA forums on my smart phone. Facebook groups, on the other hand, are simple to use on a smart phone.

[BydoEmpire]

I'm sure they are... but not for me. I use FB forums for a few things, but hobby discussions are not one of them. Forums are a better format, imho. Then again, I still play Atari and Intellvision games and the most modern console I have plugged in is a PS2.

[Albert]

I'm sure a case can be made that FB groups are drawing people away from forums. However, if you are a hardcore aficionado of one or more subjects, the FB groups as they currently stand are a mere shadow of what forums offer. Conversations are quickly lost in time when they scroll down the page, and there is no organization at all of topics. It's all just very random. I do think they are a good thing, in that they expose people to discussions on subjects they may not previously have participated in, and I'm sure some people have found the AtariAge Forums (and AtariAge in general) as a result of various Facebook groups.

 

If Facebook offers a forum-like service down the road, that could definitely take a big bite out of forums. However, that would be a pretty big undertaking (full-featured forum software is very complex), and doesn't really fit well with the way Facebook is organized at present.

 

..Al

[fiddlepaddle]

When I (rarely) peruse any FB stuff, it always feels so immature, trivial, and uninspired; generally a level below what I imagine hanging out at a busy bus stop on Friday afternoon would be like (maybe one with a Game Stop across the street).

[Rhomaios]

I'm sure a case can be made that FB groups are drawing people away from forums. However, if you are a hardcore aficionado of one or more subjects, the FB groups as they currently stand are a mere shadow of what forums offer. Conversations are quickly lost in time when they scroll down the page, and there is no organization at all of topics. It's all just very random. I do think they are a good thing, in that they expose people to discussions on subjects they may not previously have participated in, and I'm sure some people have found the AtariAge Forums (and AtariAge in general) as a result of various Facebook groups.

 

If Facebook offers a forum-like service down the road, that could definitely take a big bite out of forums. However, that would be a pretty big undertaking (full-featured forum software is very complex), and doesn't really fit well with the way Facebook is organized at present.

 

..Al

 

This, and there is no incentive for Facebook to do so. They thrive on Youtube commentization and fast content, which is optimal for the type of advertisements they offer. I cant' see a BB system being useful to them.

[Seob]

Not for me. Can't see why facebook would be great to use instead of a forum. Even AA is easy to read on a smartphone.

[BassGuitari]

 

I think it depends on how you do it. There's no way that I'm going to be using the AA forums on my smart phone. Facebook groups, on the other hand, are simple to use on a smart phone.

Well, yeah. I meant it's the same concept. A hub with nodes.

[bkrownd]

Heh, back in the late 1990's I was similarly lamenting how web forums were taking all the users/discussion away from my beloved USENET groups... (However, the SPAM problem got so bad on USENET by 2000 it was dying anyway.)

Edited February 11, 2015 by bkrownd

[Video]

I'm sure it gets some of the traffic from forums. But the organization of forums is what draws me to them. You post something, and cane come back later and have a real conversation with one, or many people. You can crossreference, and unlike facebook, you can have actually knowledgeable people talk to you about things.

 

Facebook is for the increasing dyslexic epidemic that is going on. I'm sure it even works (for a very tiny few people who use it, the rest are just "metooing")

 

Now...if Facebook ever gets a forum, or lets each person have their own (hey, I'd like that) so you could have legitimate adult conversations, then yeah, UBB's might be in trouble. I still see relevance to dedicated boards, like AA though, and doubt they would go anywhere even if facebook had forums.

[BydoEmpire]

 

 

so you could have legitimate adult conversations

Seems unlikely. Atari Age is literally the only site/forum i've ever seen that doesn't devolved into bickering on a daily basis. If it weren't for AA, I'm not sure it would be possible. Facebook, Twitter, and even forums in general are just not good at facilitating conversation.

[+madman]

There are FB groups for classic gaming? See you suckers later!!

[Rhomaios]

Best to worst:

 

AtariAge

Good forums (you know what these are)

Bad forums (you know these, too)

Usenet

Reddit

Yahoo groups

Facebook groups

[jetset]

Facebook is evil. It's already destroyed the world. In fact none of us are here, we're just inside a real-life Matrix and imagining everything via computer link. The people who stick their noses in the air in silent protest will be dealt with.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Facebook provides a valuable service to forums across the Internet. It sucks up all the low-lifes, trolls, and bottom feeders that used to plague web forums. Most people only join a forum to learn or contribute to the community.

 

Regardless, I'm glad to say I'm not a part of that cesspool known as Facebook.

[Cynicaster]

I've tried doing hobby-things Facebook, and as mentioned, it's a big step backward if you're used to the organization and logical structure of forums. The whole "timeline" interface makes me cross-eyed when trying to keep track of what I've read; can't stand it.

 

 

I think it depends on how you do it. There's no way that I'm going to be using the AA forums on my smart phone. Facebook groups, on the other hand, are simple to use on a smart phone.

Forums are a breeze on mobile devices if you use Tapatalk. Unfortunately, AtariAge stopped working with tapatalk (on my devices, anyway).

[Albert]

Forums are a breeze on mobile devices if you use Tapatalk. Unfortunately, AtariAge stopped working with tapatalk (on my devices, anyway).

 

Yeah, the Tapatalk plugin for the forum was breaking things, so I had to disable it. They have released a newer version of the plugin, so I will check and see if that rectifies the issues so I can re-enable Tapatalk.

 

..Al

[Wickeycolumbus]

For me, everything on Facebook is temporary and not real. Comparing it to a Forum is like comparing Twitter to a proper journal or blog. The quality of Facebook groups for real, relevant information is minimal.

[ls650]

Facebook is fine for sharing photos or 'Howdys' with family and friends, but not for organized group discussions.

[omegadot]

Any experience I've had with gaming groups on Facebook has been awful.