WTF happened to Facebook?

[Herdfan]

I haven't been on FB for a few years now, but my initial use was almost exclusively within very controlled groups, almost like having a bunch of forums in one place.

Also the problem. Too many groups were using FB instead of a forum. In a forum, like RZRForums.net, there are specific areas to chat about say tires. And for the most part, tires stayed in that forum. But on FB, someone wants to know about tires, so they ask a new question about them clogging up the feed instead of being able to go straight to the tire area to find their answer.

 

[DT]

Also the problem. Too many groups were using FB instead of a forum. In a forum, like RZRForums.net, there are specific areas to chat about say tires. And for the most part, tires stayed in that forum. But on FB, someone wants to know about tires, so they ask a new question about them clogging up the feed instead of being able to go straight to the tire area to find their answer.

Yeah, the larger groups become a mess, just too many topics, no way to filter, organize. My local car events group worked well, since it was pretty much just that, a post per event with Q&A as comments to the original event post.

 

[Eric]

Also the problem. Too many groups were using FB instead of a forum. In a forum, like RZRForums.net, there are specific areas to chat about say tires. And for the most part, tires stayed in that forum. But on FB, someone wants to know about tires, so they ask a new question about them clogging up the feed instead of being able to go straight to the tire area to find their answer.

With all of their technology they never nailed down the concept of basic chronological threaded conversation, you can reply but sorting and choosing how you view is not an option and without that it's just a feed of nonsensical conversation.

 

[DT]

[....] it's just a feed of nonsensical conversation.

Just like reading my posts here ...

 

[DT]

But yeah, I think the chaos is partially by design, when things are disorganized, slipping in their own content, ads, etc., seems less obtrusive.

 

[Eric]

Just like reading my posts here ...

Jinx - I owe you a coke!

 

[Joe]

I like my family and friends more when I don't see every fucking thing they're doing and thinking all day. I have slowly gotten rid of social media. I started with Facebook. I recently deleted Instagram and Twitter.

 

[User.45]

With all of their technology they never nailed down the concept of basic chronological threaded conversation, you can reply but sorting and choosing how you view is not an option and without that it's just a feed of nonsensical conversation.

They've had that. About 13 years ago and I really enjoyed it. Then they changed sort from chronological to "relevant". And then 10 years ago they removed the chronological option, except for in groups. And then they've (AFAIK) removed that from groups too.

It's kinda like Netflix's original rating system. It was so good, it was almost scary. There's something about people spending more time interacting with intentionally frustrating interfaces.

 

[Alli]

So….people use Facebook for something other than shopping? Mine is just a continuous scroll of adverts.

 

[Eric]

They've had that. About 13 years ago and I really enjoyed it. Then they changed sort from chronological to "relevant". And then 10 years ago they removed the chronological option, except for in groups. And then they've (AFAIK) removed that from groups too.

It's kinda like Netflix's original rating system. It was so good, it was almost scary. There's something about people spending more time interacting with intentionally frustrating interfaces.

Exactly, I remember when they introduced "Search" like it was some big revelation, something forums had already been using for 10 years. The platform was designed for posts and likes only, there's a big difference between conversation and comments and they've never grasped that. It will do my heart good to see them fall while forums remain consistent.

 

[Joe]

Facebook was fun when it was only for college students. Then they let all the boomers on lol

 

[User.45]

Exactly, I remember when they introduced "Search" like it was some big revelation, something forums had already been using for 10 years. The platform was designed for posts and likes only, there's a big difference between conversation and comments and they've never grasped that. It will do my heart good to see them fall while forums remain consistent.

And that takes us to reddit too. But one thing i've noticed with the advent of Twitter: forums became vacant. I was pretty active on gearslutz.com (now gearspace) and I could expect answers to a question within hours. Then something happened around 2011 and that turned into a be-happy-if-you-get-a-response-in-a-week situation. I've been blaming Twitter, but to date, the only type of platform I've been able to keep a coherent open conversation is forums like this. Reddit is actually the worse, because everybody's there for the community but the way the threads are set up it's actually impossible to have a meaningful 2-way conversation in public space.

 

[lizkat]

I still use Twitter and tend to find it convenient and informative, but only because I obsessively prune my follows to maintain a timeline of posts from media outlets I follow, give or take a small and varied group of other follows, so what I see is basically uncluttered by whatever Twitter thinks is the latest clever way to get more tweets jammed in between ads.

For instance, I might follow some individuals for awhile and generally appreciate reading their posts, but I have zero interest in posts from people whom they in turn follow, and have stuck likes on. WTF? Twitter makes some highly implausible assumptions there if you ask me. In real life that would be like having the editor of my local newspaper send a bunch of total strangers to a party in my house that I was giving for just some of my friends, including that editor. I dunno about you, but that's not how my friends roll, which is why they're still my friends. Twitter should have an option to just turn those "timeline expansions" off.

I can't stop Twitter doing what they do in trying to extend my timeline artificially, but I'm ruthless about blocking authors of posts that end up in my timeline that I didn't ask for AND that I dislike. I don't run an echo chamber timeline but I pick and choose the boors who end up in it temporarily for my own reasons...

Anyway I only use Twitter on my laptop. I maintain a Twitter "list" with the main handles of the media outlets to which I subscribe or otherwise like to check on, and usually go right to that list after logging in. Takes me just a few minutes to launch a link to my subs' websites by scrolling down through assorted posts from that list, and I'm done with Twitter for the day except for the fun parts (Bodega Cats, sí !!) and the occasional foray into some hashtag I find of interest during a given timeframe.

As for other social media setups, no thanks. FB came and went inside of 2 weeks for me, 11 years ago. I read the first privacy policy update in its entirety, had what I realize is nowadays a pretty typical "You gotta be kidding me?!" ephiphany... and I deleted my account on the spot. Nothing I've learned since then about FB makes me regret my choice.

 

[chengengaun]

I deleted my Facebook account on Christmas Day last year, so it's been nearly a year. I don't find many meaningful interactions there, and the volume of ads were overwhelming. When Facebook said it's standing up for small businesses, I just lost it and deleted my account. I am still figuring out how to move my extended family off WhatsApp, though.

 

[Herdfan]

I am still figuring out how to move my extended family off WhatsApp, though.

Look into Signal Had a group I was part of move there when FB changed the privacy policy on What'sApp. So far it has worked well.

 

[Citysnaps]

I'm still using FB as I find it a good way to keep in touch with my friends, most of them fellow photographers who lived in San Francisco. Sadly, about 10-15 years ago, SF went on a major gentrification binge, resulting in skyrocketing rents and other adverse consequences, causing most of my photographer friends moving to other cities/states/countries.

For me, FB plusses outweigh FB minuses.

 

[Runs For Fun]

Also the problem. Too many groups were using FB instead of a forum. In a forum, like RZRForums.net, there are specific areas to chat about say tires. And for the most part, tires stayed in that forum. But on FB, someone wants to know about tires, so they ask a new question about them clogging up the feed instead of being able to go straight to the tire area to find their answer.

Yeah, the larger groups become a mess, just too many topics, no way to filter, organize. My local car events group worked well, since it was pretty much just that, a post per event with Q&A as comments to the original event post.

With all of their technology they never nailed down the concept of basic chronological threaded conversation, you can reply but sorting and choosing how you view is not an option and without that it's just a feed of nonsensical conversation.

I use Facebook mostly these days just for certain groups. I really wish people would go back to forums for this kind of thing because Facebook is awful at this. The posts are ephemeral. There's no concept of any kind of order. You end up missing a lot of stuff because of that. It's just all around terrible for any kind of community. I don't know why people continue to try and saw down a tree with a screwdriver.

 

[bunnspecial]

I mostly keep up with family/friends and participate in some special interest groups of the same general things for which I belong to forums.

I find that by and large, the groups where I interact don't facilitate the level of engagement as I get on a more traditional forum. As an example:

I do belong to Low End Mac(LEM), and it's mostly just a cesspool of people who look up to certain idiots who are doing stuff as the "latest and greatest thing" building on work that a bunch of us read and showed on Macrumors back with the PPC forum wasn't a cesspool.

Just yesterday, I was TRYING to be helpful when someone had just bought about 20 2,1-4,1 white MacBooks and was asking what the best operating system was for them. The usual bobbleheads said "Oh, derrr, they run El Capitan so you should do that." I said "The GPUs in these are terrible and don't have acceleration in anything past 10.7. 10.8 is moderately useable but with GUI glitches. I consider 10.6 probably the best overall on computers of this age."BTW, I was basing that on using these things when they were still reasonably current. I had a veritable swarm of bees saying "You're stupid and don't know anything about this so keep your opinion to yourself. Mine runs El Capitan fine except for(mile long list of glitches or things that don't work) and they have GPU accel since the graphics wouldn't work if they didn't." I bowed out...

Another-someone listed a pocket watch for sale that they were claiming as a "rare factory error" at a nutty price and it looked to me like it was built from someone's parts bin. I said that, and the guy selling it lit into me enough that, fortunately, the admins saw it and banned the guy...but still.

A few weeks ago I caught something fishy in another watch group. Someone posted a super rare but relatively niche watch and most people didn't have a clue it was anything special. Since I know there are a few people who collect that particular one, I screen cap it and send it to a couple. One calls me a few minutes later and says "Where did you see that watch, and was it for sale?" I said no, that the guy was just asking for information about it and that he was looking at it as part of a collection. This guy, who I know well, says "That one is sitting in my safe now. I bought it last year." I go back and mention that the watch can't possibly be for sale as that specific SN is held in a private collection of someone I had spoken too within the last hour, and the guy who it belonged to got equally irate and I can't figure out why...although the post disappeared a few minutes later.

Just a night and day difference from how I'm use to interacting in other venues...

 

[Herdfan]

Yeah, the larger groups become a mess, just too many topics, no way to filter, organize. My local car events group worked well, since it was pretty much just that, a post per event with Q&A as comments to the original event post.

Well this was well timed.

Facebook vs forums

www.rzrforums.net

 

[Huntn]

If you talk to just immediate family and friends is is probably decent, but I stopped accessing FB a couple years ago. It was too much contact. Now my spouse, has spent a lot of time in FB wars with STUPID, but finally got fatigued with the routine and quit too.