What other forums do you participate in?

[Crankin]

None. I already spend too much time on TE and Facebook. I'm frustrated that no one seems to be posting.

[rocknrollgirl]

I used to do three. TE, a mountain biking site for our state and trifuel. Trifuel was rendered silent by FB. The mt bike site is up and running full throttle.

I think TE has quieted down a lot the past two years, my guess is FB and twitter. My husband and I do not do any other social media. We both teach high school and are am SO turned off by it. I am sure it is great for some folks, but I see nothing but problems from the students and LOTS of the adults. We keep in touch with our friends and loved ones the old fashioned way....email and the phone. And I am no good at small talk either!

[Pax]

I truly can't understand why so many forums are going silent, they are a far better way to communicate conversationally than things like FB. Maybe people prefer tiny snippets of info over conversation?

[OakLeaf]

Well, it's pretty obvious I like the forum format, but I also FB quite a bit, and I think FB is really what you make of it. Maybe ongoing conversations aren't as frequent as they are in a format like this one, and they definitely take more effort to maintain, but they do happen among my FB friends.

I think the appeal of FB is that it offers so many different things. For me, it's my main news feed; an opportunity to keep up and sometimes even interact with musicians and writers I enjoy; notifications of local events; a critical link to my own past by putting me back in touch with college and high school friends with whom I was never close enough to keep more than a superficial relationship; a setting in which I've turned acquaintances into friends, and friends of friends into people I like and would really like to meet f2f someday.


... It's Twitter I really don't get. Well, I do get it, but I don't have any interest in putting in the effort. DH is really into it. It's like a city vs country thing, almost. Stay off Twitter for four hours and you're so behind you'll never catch up again. FB can be done more casually.

[Helene2013]

I'm here and the other 2 are a dog (and other pets are discussed) board and a french (Quebec) cycling one. But this one here is the one I prefer. I don't see any bashing and too-much-testosterone reactions here to try to impress others. And not even PMS crisis I can see. hihi If I have a question, I come here for it. I won't be judged or passed for a less then nothing because of a fear, etc... I mostly use the French bike one for info needed specifically for my area (paths, stores, etc.)

I'm not into FB and the likes. No interest. I did create a "fake" FB for contests, etc but not really using it. I have a very very basic LinkedIn created because sometimes at work I have to "search" for a retiree or someone who moved and did not forward a new address.

[smittykitty]

Just TE. No judgement, just support and much needed info. While I myself post rarely, I check in daily. I have really noticed a downturn in posting the last several months. I find this quite worrisome.

I finally joined FB a couple years ago, as I was missing out on family/friend info. I do find it helpful for that, but generally find it annoying and spend less and less time with it.

[Pax]

Helene - I have a fake-ish FB account too, a few friends from an old defunct forum... but I mostly use it as a news-feed.

[PamNY]

I truly can't understand why so many forums are going silent, they are a far better way to communicate conversationally than things like FB. Maybe people prefer tiny snippets of info over conversation?

I agree. The only reason I signed up for Facebook is to keep up with my online friends who have drifted away from the bulldog group. But it's just not the same.

[rebeccaC]

I truly can't understand why so many forums are going silent, they are a far better way to communicate conversationally than things like FB. Maybe people prefer tiny snippets of info over conversation?

with some forums a slowdown in participation can be seasonal with more people going online during their inclement weather months.

i don't do fb because i don't like 'tiny snippets' that sometimes can also seem a little too vain. There are also too many privacy issues with fb for me. They even capture what you type even if you don't post it. I prefer a private real conversation with a good friend about what's going on in our lives.