The future of forums (vs social media)
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Floyd R Turbo
Well-known member
I don't know about y'all but I absolutely abhor some things about facebook and I don't see those ever changing, and I know other abhor them too. Can't search beyond marginally, if you get an alert or email about a post in a thread with multiple sub-comments and you click that link, half the time it doesn't bring to you that exact post, you have to dig through and expand 20 different "see more replies" to see your comments, everyone repeats answers, repeats questions, over and over and over...some question can be totally resolved and days later people are still replying as if no one answered...it's flippin ridiculous.
No recovery of deleted posts
No way to tell who deleted a post
No way to control who can and cannot delete/edit/revise a post
No revision history
No way to really effectively search one person's posts for other posts on the same topic -> no way to tell if the person giving you advice is any good at anything they claim to be good at
Not to mention, what I've noticed is that people tend to be bigger jackwagons on FB under their real name than they are on a forum under a username/handle! At least that's the way it is in my little niche of FB groups.
FB is good for the end user because it's just a plain simple interface and while it has it's nuances, most people are fine with it. It has limitations on mobile devices as well. Like you can't edit certain groups like "close friends" on a phone, even in browser - you have to be on a PC. Oh and zero support from FB, they never reply
FB is a nightmare for an admin, if you have drama in a group and you aren't there to quell it, watch out. Not saying that it can't happen on forums but there is super less control on FB
Users need to understand the difference and why a forum is worth the learning curve for a niche market
Forums need to understand the super ease of use of facebook and integrate some types of ease of use methodology without modeling like a copy of FB. Just the user factor, not the structure. Because FB's structure sucks royal donkey %$#@!%#
No recovery of deleted posts
No way to tell who deleted a post
No way to control who can and cannot delete/edit/revise a post
No revision history
No way to really effectively search one person's posts for other posts on the same topic -> no way to tell if the person giving you advice is any good at anything they claim to be good at
Not to mention, what I've noticed is that people tend to be bigger jackwagons on FB under their real name than they are on a forum under a username/handle! At least that's the way it is in my little niche of FB groups.
FB is good for the end user because it's just a plain simple interface and while it has it's nuances, most people are fine with it. It has limitations on mobile devices as well. Like you can't edit certain groups like "close friends" on a phone, even in browser - you have to be on a PC. Oh and zero support from FB, they never reply
FB is a nightmare for an admin, if you have drama in a group and you aren't there to quell it, watch out. Not saying that it can't happen on forums but there is super less control on FB
Users need to understand the difference and why a forum is worth the learning curve for a niche market
Forums need to understand the super ease of use of facebook and integrate some types of ease of use methodology without modeling like a copy of FB. Just the user factor, not the structure. Because FB's structure sucks royal donkey %$#@!%#
click here
Active member
Facebook = Skynet (Terminator franchise)
Valid points, but if Facebook and Twitter and Instagram fill people's time with their little attention buzz, people are then trained for short, disposable messaging.
A good talk on a forum takes time and can be stressful. Blurting out how you "love you some Trump and the leftards is melting bad" seems to give some people the same fix they used to get writing out a few paragraphs per post in a thread that goes on for days or weeks on a forum.
Tom McIntyre
Active member
Our business is an educational not for profit that focuses on horology (the art and science of timekeeping and timekeepers). Our main site is built using Joomla and we have the iMIS CRMI that we use to manage membership and event planning. We are currently migrating our vBulletin site to XenForo.
Our forum site has two member classes for our association members who pay dues and have extended privileges and for anyone else who is either a serious scholar/collector or just has some family watches they want to know about. The forum is basically our on-line classroom and meeting place with free flowing discussions.
Because we felt the need to have more formal articles with chapters, pagination, multiple media formats, etc. we installed ValutWiki about 9 years ago and use it for more formal articles. We also have the vB Blog and CMS. The site in one form or another has been operating for over 15 years.
It seems to me that our YouTube channel and Facebook page are just there as advertising channels although some of our association members spend all of their time there. We have a core of people who really want to help the public understand our study area and those people spend a lot of time on our forums.
We also have over 100 local chapters where members can meet physically to swap stuff and hear talks on the subject matter or attend courses on repair and restoration of timepieces.
There are over 13,000 dues paying members of the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors but only 80% of them even have email addresses. About 2,000 of them participate on at least a monthly basis in our forums.
I am looking forward to our XenForo site to develop a richer media environment with videos and audio media. We currently have a home grown single sign on so that our member users may browse all our services without additional logins required.
I am pretty happy with the mix of things we have and we are hoping to expand the content sharing between the various facilities and elevate our visibility to attract more participants and members.
By the way, I have no problem with surfers. They need to register to post and/or see the full content of our site and they get a double dose of advertising which generates most of our AdSense revenue.
Our association home page is http://nawcc.org.
Our forum site has two member classes for our association members who pay dues and have extended privileges and for anyone else who is either a serious scholar/collector or just has some family watches they want to know about. The forum is basically our on-line classroom and meeting place with free flowing discussions.
Because we felt the need to have more formal articles with chapters, pagination, multiple media formats, etc. we installed ValutWiki about 9 years ago and use it for more formal articles. We also have the vB Blog and CMS. The site in one form or another has been operating for over 15 years.
It seems to me that our YouTube channel and Facebook page are just there as advertising channels although some of our association members spend all of their time there. We have a core of people who really want to help the public understand our study area and those people spend a lot of time on our forums.
We also have over 100 local chapters where members can meet physically to swap stuff and hear talks on the subject matter or attend courses on repair and restoration of timepieces.
There are over 13,000 dues paying members of the National Association of Watch & Clock Collectors but only 80% of them even have email addresses. About 2,000 of them participate on at least a monthly basis in our forums.
I am looking forward to our XenForo site to develop a richer media environment with videos and audio media. We currently have a home grown single sign on so that our member users may browse all our services without additional logins required.
I am pretty happy with the mix of things we have and we are hoping to expand the content sharing between the various facilities and elevate our visibility to attract more participants and members.
By the way, I have no problem with surfers. They need to register to post and/or see the full content of our site and they get a double dose of advertising which generates most of our AdSense revenue.
Our association home page is http://nawcc.org.
Peeking around the corner
Member
I realize this is an old topic, if eight months are indeed considered "old" along the information super highway, and further it's really rather an 'off-topic' (considering the op seems intent on creating the next facebook via an, as yet, unrecognized software -- just install, and *VOILA!* instant Zuker-Competition (Yay!), with which to dominate and surpass the accidental success of an internet virus.
.did I just call facebook a virus?.
Here's the thing. There's an unacknowledged understanding that what's posted on facebook becomes:
Property of facebook.
My observation is along the lines of 'I retain intellectual ownership of my material'. And that's pruddy much why I insist on maintaining my own domain(s) and creating content I'm proud to attach my name to. Which I, arguably, cannot do with ANY social media as effectively as I may with my own domains, and my own skills.
* Twitter
* facebook
* Gab
...et al. Participation amounts to guest bloggers/photographers. Yes? And I believe that's perfect. Really. It's purrrfect.
Tim Brenners-Lee, when asked -- years and years ago -- as to how the Internet could become useful in the years to come (and he was asked by school children, but I may be incorrect in my recollection as to who asked him - it's in his online bio, and I can't really be arsed to check who asked him. CITE: Kids Questions) replied that for the internet to be effective, it would have to be accessible, and usable, to as wide an audience as possible.
Well, ok. AOL helped bring about growth. Yes? MySpace? Sure. Usenet, Facebook, Twitter ...? Yes! Forums? Of course so.
My main input into this discussion is maintaining, and allowing visitors and participants, the experience of owning original intellectual property. Something forums address very well indeed. Including the software to bring it to a wider audience. Most software advertises, i.e. WordPress, Xenoforo, SMF ...you-name-it. Their name is all over their product, just like NIKE and FORD, and all the others.
The internet is an information highway.
My domain is, in the final analysis, just another roadside attraction.
...just like Twitter ...just like facebook ...just like Instagram, SnapChat, Reddit are: Domains.
The way to create the NEXT BIG! ...anything (in this case On The Internet, respecting the original post) is not in the method of delivery, unless the method of delivery is what the NEXT BIG THING! is being created (See Über, a.k.a. "Goober" by cabbies the world over).
So, according to Tim Brenners-Lee (if he still matters), if you want to become more valuable on the internet, become something available to as wide a populace as possible.
It's not: "Hey! Look at ME!", in other words. It's: 'Hey! Look! It's YOUR INTERESTS!'
Smile.
You're on Candid Forum...
.with apologies to Alan Funt and Durwood Kirby.
tl;dr
Well, luck plays a factor too. In addition to the software...
.did I just call facebook a virus?.
Here's the thing. There's an unacknowledged understanding that what's posted on facebook becomes:
Property of facebook.
My observation is along the lines of 'I retain intellectual ownership of my material'. And that's pruddy much why I insist on maintaining my own domain(s) and creating content I'm proud to attach my name to. Which I, arguably, cannot do with ANY social media as effectively as I may with my own domains, and my own skills.
* Gab
...et al. Participation amounts to guest bloggers/photographers. Yes? And I believe that's perfect. Really. It's purrrfect.
Tim Brenners-Lee, when asked -- years and years ago -- as to how the Internet could become useful in the years to come (and he was asked by school children, but I may be incorrect in my recollection as to who asked him - it's in his online bio, and I can't really be arsed to check who asked him. CITE: Kids Questions) replied that for the internet to be effective, it would have to be accessible, and usable, to as wide an audience as possible.
Well, ok. AOL helped bring about growth. Yes? MySpace? Sure. Usenet, Facebook, Twitter ...? Yes! Forums? Of course so.
My main input into this discussion is maintaining, and allowing visitors and participants, the experience of owning original intellectual property. Something forums address very well indeed. Including the software to bring it to a wider audience. Most software advertises, i.e. WordPress, Xenoforo, SMF ...you-name-it. Their name is all over their product, just like NIKE and FORD, and all the others.
The internet is an information highway.
My domain is, in the final analysis, just another roadside attraction.
...just like Twitter ...just like facebook ...just like Instagram, SnapChat, Reddit are: Domains.
The way to create the NEXT BIG! ...anything (in this case On The Internet, respecting the original post) is not in the method of delivery, unless the method of delivery is what the NEXT BIG THING! is being created (See Über, a.k.a. "Goober" by cabbies the world over).
So, according to Tim Brenners-Lee (if he still matters), if you want to become more valuable on the internet, become something available to as wide a populace as possible.
It's not: "Hey! Look at ME!", in other words. It's: 'Hey! Look! It's YOUR INTERESTS!'
Smile.
You're on Candid Forum...
.with apologies to Alan Funt and Durwood Kirby.
tl;dr
Well, luck plays a factor too. In addition to the software...
Last edited:
jauburn
Well-known member
Do they? The TOS of many, if not most, forums give the forum owners rights, in part or in whole, to any user-generated content. Many, if not most, forum owners also prevent users from deleting or even modifying their own words once they are "saved."
Mr Lucky
Well-known member
They can, whether they all do or not is irrelevant to whether the forum platform makes this possible.
Digital Doctor
Well-known member
Really ? Surprising.
It seems like the younger generation don't care about Privacy that is for sure.
Cool site.
I tried to see your wiki ... but I guess I have to be a member.
https://mb.nawcc.org/wiki/
Your Ski Advisor
Active member
We are up against a FB group that steals some of our content and doesn't always give us credit which is kind annoying. Where we dind an issue with the groups on FB is that the content really is not searchable outside of FB. We have a lot of information and images that are archived on our sire, and while some are on FB...there is not connection to the outside world, I find that to be a disappointment.
Peeking around the corner
Member
I do. Yes indeedy, I do.
Your Ski Advisor
Active member
Interesting that this sort of topic came up on Linkedin
How social media is killing Wikipedia
How social media is killing Wikipedia
Social media remains the biggest threat to forums. Unless forum software evolves to be fuller featured and easier to use, especially on mobile devices, it's hard to see how forums can remain relevant. Ten years ago forums were as mainstream as you could get and people accepted that they were as good as it gets when it came to online communities. Things are different now. Online communities take many forums and in many venues. People are connected in a variety of ways now, mostly through social media. Forums need to compete like they never had to before. They need to offer a better experience than social media in order to tempt people away from Facebook. I sincerely hope Xenforo is at the forefront of this push to keep forums cutting edge and relevant.
HannahP
Well-known member
I've never understood why some (most) people separate forums from "social media." Forums are the original social media. It's like when people online say, "in real life." This is real life. Assuming we're all alive, which I do, for the sake of argument.
To say forums "used to be" social media is like saying a 1933 Ford used to be a car. Some might argue that the Ford is more of a car than one of these modern gluten-free liquid nitrogen fueled hippie hybrids. And they'd be right.
The day Facebook finally and permanently loses any semblance of relevance (and that day is inevitable) there will still be forums.
And even though doing so will irreversibly expose me as a crusty old-timey nerd with deep and unbreakable usenet roots that are growing through the pipes and fouling up the plumbing, I have to spelling flame you: It's Tim Berners-Lee. Show some respect, jackal!
To say forums "used to be" social media is like saying a 1933 Ford used to be a car. Some might argue that the Ford is more of a car than one of these modern gluten-free liquid nitrogen fueled hippie hybrids. And they'd be right.
The day Facebook finally and permanently loses any semblance of relevance (and that day is inevitable) there will still be forums.
The "information superhighway" was actually TV set-top boxes connected to your local cable company, which everyone believed were poised to take over the world and eventually do everything the web does now. At least they believed that until the web (not the Internet) relegated those boxes to the forlorn dustbin of home electronics history.
And even though doing so will irreversibly expose me as a crusty old-timey nerd with deep and unbreakable usenet roots that are growing through the pipes and fouling up the plumbing, I have to spelling flame you: It's Tim Berners-Lee. Show some respect, jackal!
100.
Sirmadsen
Active member
IPS and Vanilla forums are good examples of a very thought out forum part. Vanilla of course being free but IPS has a very well built forum with the new release where you can show posts only in a streamlined fashion.
I know XF is far from IPS and I actually moved away from IPS. But, IPS is way superior if you want more social features and fast posting and I do think XF can borrow some ideas from there.
I know XF is far from IPS and I actually moved away from IPS. But, IPS is way superior if you want more social features and fast posting and I do think XF can borrow some ideas from there.
Robert F Schmitz
Well-known member
I ran across this layout after joining the SolidWorks community that I find appealing and it is powered by Jive. It takes all latest threads created and adds them to this layout. To me, this is what might come across as more familiar to folks unfamiliar with the traditional forum layout. Thoughts? Even as a portal system, this would be appealing I think.
Neutral Singh
Well-known member
UI.X 2 Pro : An upcoming theme for xf2 pretty much does the same layout ... https://xenforo.com/community/threads/quick-look-at-ui-x-2.126555/
HannahP
Well-known member
Hi. Apparently, I have nothing better to do on Christmas Eve than to resurrect long-dormant threads. So here's something to throw a fly in the FACEBOOK HAS KILLED ALL FORUMS!!! ointment.
Holly Lisle
Member
I think your premise is mistaken.
People who flit from thing to thing, who share pictures with relatives or complete strangers, and who live on their phones love social media.
For those of us who work inside a forum and use it for teaching, social media is a distraction, a waste of time that keeps people from doing actual work.
Mendalla
Well-known member
I am actually on a site now that kind of splits the difference. It's fan site for a favorite singer (Floor Jansen of Nightwish for those who must know) that her team just spun up in January. It has spaces instead of forums, but they kind of serve the same function. The structure is a bit different from a forum thread in Xenforo or VB. A "Post" refers to the original post, replies are called "Comments" and then you can reply to someone else's comment (so three levels, Post, Comment, Reply). That make it a bit more social media like in look and feel, but definitely feels like a forum site at times, too. The platform is called Circle but I haven't really looked into it much. I'm trying to keep this as a site to enjoy rather than bringing my geek interests to bear on it.
I do like it, though it's missing a couple bits I would like to have (Google login, Paypal for premium memberships).
I do like it, though it's missing a couple bits I would like to have (Google login, Paypal for premium memberships).Similar threads
