Do you still use the Forums as much as Facebook or Instagram for your PT discussions?

[MCB Matt]

We are looking for some input from the group here. I follow quite a few groups on Facebook. Many are commenting that they don't use the forums that much anymore and prefer the ease of using FB or IG.

I know some of you are hardcore PT.com guys but in general, do you see yourself shifting more and more to Social Media? Also, do you think it depends on your age? Are you not that into Social Media and feel more at home here on the forum?

Thanks for your input,
MCB

[SSLOW6.0]

I'm 30 and relatively new around here. I frequent a few other forums (G-body forums and the Monte SS forums) for technical information and build threads, I prefer forums, for chewing the fat and having internet arguments, Facebook and social media is better. The nice thing about forums is the search feature, on FB groups, it seems like the same questions keep getting asked because information is hard to find, and it gets lost to the annals of time.

[raustinss]

38....i prefer forums ...1 because searching is easy 2 because I don't have Facebook ( drama filled sh×+)...i use Instagram or email direct for more private conversations

[Paraman1]

I use the forums for research and BS'ing , I do not have FB and I probably never will , I do have Instagram and enjoy viewing the pictures as well as the fact that it seems to be less drama filled than FB.

Did I mention that I hate FB? Because I genuinely do.

[jumbosrule]

Forums for details and solutions. Facebook for advice and ideas.

Facebook does not have the older demographic well represented as compared to the younger crowd so I can see how very few of us are comfortable there. I use Facebook, but rarely engage or contribute. It really seems that's the place to go when you want to be spoon fed. The forums make us do a little legwork and have better searchable information.

[chuckd71]

Facebook is largely useless, as it's either stupid people asking stupid questions or normal people asking things that have been covered hundreds of times before. It's pretty much a waste of time. Forums actually require effort (relatively speaking) to take part in, but with facebook all you have to do is click join making the barrier for entry much lower there. Much more likely to run into clowns on FB.

[slimjim]

28, I even run some FB/Instagram car pages, admin for Pro touring garage, Jast Performance etc, But I'd never go looking for car discussion there, its merely advertising and media, the forums will stay alive with sensible discussion and fb should deter the time wasters from the forums

[GoodysGotaCuda]

30 here, I'm a creature of habit and grew up on forums. Facebook forums just seem to be the same questions over and over, advice is usually pretty sorry unless you can find a good group that is honed in on a topic. The megasquirt group seems to be pretty good and responsive.

[BonzoHansen]

Facebook is easy and the best for the lazy gimme gimme crowd, which too many people are more. I prefer a forum, but forum traffic seems slower than the old days

[SSLOW6.0]

30 here, I'm a creature of habit and grew up on forums. Facebook forums just seem to be the same questions over and over, advice is usually pretty sorry unless you can find a good group that is honed in on a topic. The megasquirt group seems to be pretty good and responsive.

What's the name of the megasquirt group? I'm running Microsquirt on my LS swap.

[USAZR1]

I'm 63. I've been a member of this site for 15yrs and Team Chevelle for 19yrs. Only been a FB member for a year or so and belong to many groups but what the group here has said about FB is all true.
I enjoy coming to this forum and others every day,if possible. Facebook? If it went away tomorrow, I personally wouldn't miss it very much. (too many idiots spewing drama and hate)
Don't think I want anything to do with Instagram.

[CSG]

44 & no facebook for me. Nothing against it just never tried it.

[GoodysGotaCuda]

What's the name of the megasquirt group? I'm running Microsquirt on my LS swap.



https://www.facebook.com/groups/megasquirtOC/

Megasquirt/MS Extra Engine Management Owner's Club

[Kenova]

I'm 63 and only use forums. The grammar is better and the thoughts are more complete.
I have less than no interest in any social media. As mentioned, forums generally require more thought in the discussion and the ones I belong to will not tolerate the gross incivility that seems all too common on social media.

Ken

[SSLOW6.0]

https://www.facebook.com/groups/megasquirtOC/

Megasquirt/MS Extra Engine Management Owner's Club

Awesome! thanks!

[mytmouz]

50 Here. I only use forums. Never had any other type of access as I don't do Facebook or any of the others.

[Wraith]

I find Facebook and Instagram nice for immediate looks at stuff but the forum is where I study and spend most my time.

[Turbo6inKY]

I'm 30 and relatively new around here. I frequent a few other forums (G-body forums and the Monte SS forums) for technical information and build threads, I prefer forums, for chewing the fat and having internet arguments, Facebook and social media is better. The nice thing about forums is the search feature, on FB groups, it seems like the same questions keep getting asked because information is hard to find, and it gets lost to the annals of time.

This is it right here.

New style social media is crap for actual in-depth discussions. It's designed to exploit short attention spans and encourage constantly clicking in order to shovel as many ads in your face as possible. Search is nigh on impossible.

Old style social media, and that's what Forums are, a growth of the old school BBS systems, are far more effective at actually sharing information. They're also slightly more involved to access and use, which goes a long way towards filtering out most of the morons.

[andrewb70]

This is it right here.

New style social media is crap for actual in-depth discussions. It's designed to exploit short attention spans and encourage constantly clicking in order to shovel as many ads in your face as possible. Search is nigh on impossible.

Old style social media, and that's what Forums are, a growth of the old school BBS systems, are far more effective at actually sharing information. They're also slightly more involved to access and use, which goes a long way towards filtering out most of the morons.

Andrew...

Man, I haven't seen BBS systems mentioned in a long time! But you are certainly correct that forums are indeed the progression from the old BBS systems.

A while back we had a thread about how it seems traffic was down...but in case people haven't noticed, it's been pretty busy around here. The forums slow down in the summer and pick up as cooler weather sets in...

Andrew

[T/A Addict]

Don't do facebook or any other social media... Forums only for me

[Bugzilla]

30 here. I find FB worthless and havent been on for quite a while. I have an Instagram account and rarely ever post on it. I prefer forums. Easier to find things IMO. I like the fact that people actually comment and question on here instead of just "following" or "like" your post. On FB and IG, its a competition to see who has the most likes and followers. On here, its just post up your stuff and let everyone enjoy it.

[Nicks67GTO]

35 here. I much prefer the forums. The in depth discussion is far better. The problem is that it seems to have slowed down as Facebook has been an easy platform for builds and the "individual side" of the hobby if that makes any sense. In fact one of the only reason I keep Facebook is because so much car stuff has moved there. That said the amount if crap information and complete idiocy is 10X on Facebook groups for whatever reason.

[raustinss]

well I guess this solves it lol FACEBOOK SUCKS lol ...forums rule

[77thor]

I have deleted my Facebook account and I never was on Instagram.
So, this is it...

[nokones]

66 years old and like what everyone else said, I prefer forums. Never will I in this life use Facebook or other social media.

[nvawgn]

52, and no twitter of face book for me

[Turbo6inKY]

Andrew...

Man, I haven't seen BBS systems mentioned in a long time! But you are certainly correct that forums are indeed the progression from the old BBS systems.

A while back we had a thread about how it seems traffic was down...but in case people haven't noticed, it's been pretty busy around here. The forums slow down in the summer and pick up as cooler weather sets in...

Andrew

Well of course it picks up in the winter. We all transition from playing with our toys outside to being stuck inside wishing we were playing with our toys. Or we're in the middle of off-season builds.

As for traffic being down overall, I'm not surprised. Forums compete with Facebook for eyeball time. Turbobuick.com was discussing this. I think the consensus was the site would start offering a premium membership so people could pay to keep it going, since the ad revenue isn't pulling the weight it used to.

Which I'm in favor of. if something is free, you're not the customer. You're the product. By bringing the membership in to the financial support of a site, the site administration then owes the users community their attention and consideration.

Facebook is controlled by Facebook. They are not interested in serving the users. They serve their advertisers. They are interested in exploiting us. The format encourages conflict and oversharing, and research is starting to come in that's pretty conclusively connecting media like Facebook and Instagram and phones with addiction.

Forums are quite different. Unless you manually turn on notifications for everything, this place leaves you alone until you sit down to read it. Then you can take everything in, respond where necessary, and then turn it off and go do something else. It's closer to reading an interactive magazine or newspaper than the constant "Oooo shiney!" of new social media's constant alerts and interruptions.

I think the ideal, healthy way to do social media is forums and blogs, with an rss reader to let you keep track of it all. In that model, everybody owns their own content (unlike 'new' social media, which owns everything you post or upload), but everybody can still find it and get timely updates when new stuff is posted. It works awesome.

Sadly, Facebook/Instagram/SnapChat/Twitter have preempted that technology and only nerds like me use it anymore.

[USAZR1]

Well said,Andrew. You pretty much hit the nail on the head.

[TheJDMan]

I'm 64 and the only thing I currently use facebook for is to host pictures that a certain photo service decided to screw up. I find that, in general, people in the forums are far more intelligent and better informed than the FB crowd and have much better manors as well. I have never opened an instagram account.

[TheJDMan]

Andrew...

Man, I haven't seen BBS systems mentioned in a long time! But you are certainly correct that forums are indeed the progression from the old BBS systems.

A while back we had a thread about how it seems traffic was down...but in case people haven't noticed, it's been pretty busy around here. The forums slow down in the summer and pick up as cooler weather sets in...

Andrew


In addition to spending more time on the forums, I have another solution for the cold weather. I just switch over to RC RWD drifting.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbgPzWSkR08&t=877s

[raustinss]

Ok see I will never understand drifting or the scoring of it ...sorry to get off topic, rc drift cars do look cool thou

[PT Sportwagon]

For just about anything car related I use the forums. It's hard to ask a technical question on facebook then see the answers at a later date. when you may want to review it.

Tim

[gator68428]

Forums are great for detailed info--mainly as a reference source.

Facebook is more for connecting people and current events and generating hype.

[phaf]

No, no, no to facebook and instgram. Just my opinion though.

[Twentyover]

62. I visited Facebook in... 2013? 2014? Have the Betty White approach to Facebook- what an incredible waste of time. No instagram.

I remember the good old days of e-mail lists.... still a member of a couple...

[redmist]

40 here, I have been on forums regularly since about 2003.

to me, there is a business aspect to social media that just can't be overlooked. I started in the firearms industry, and facebook was a big deal through 2008 and beyond. Automotive I feel is no different, except it's way less regulated by Facebook and Instagram. With that being said, I feel that what is seen on Insta and facebook is now almost 100% marketing driven. EVERYONE has something you can purchase these days. You also have large pages that build a following and then sell that account off for $$$. It feels less lasting, and it's non-searchable in most cases.

The forums however I feel are where the more hardcore?? Eh.. Technical? Dedicated? builders and hobbyists are. It's much more of a learning environment, and I love that. I can sit for hours and browse the build update sections and get ideas, or solutions to problems that are floating in my head. I love it!

To me, the Forums will always be an archived home for those who truly like to share the hobbies.

[6'9"Witha69]

I just got back to able to read the forum, I missed it so. I prefer the forum.

[jp455]

Definitively forums! Better for much more in depth discussions, can go back and look at stuff etc etc

[b25]

I'm partial to Forums for technical discussions, research and learning. Social Media is easy to consume but the content is not structured in a way that enables me to easily dig into topics of interest. 37 years old and visit a minimum of 5 forums daily.

[TonyHuntimer]

For tech, I still prefer using forums over Facebook. But I use the heck out of Instagram (and Facebook) for looking at cool photos.

[ULTM8Z]

Personally I think social media is a scourge... I have no accounts on any of them and never will.

[Z06killinSBF]

I have both FB/IG and use them fairly often. My FB is normally filled with the same questions being asked weekly or some BS pissing contest. It is like a car wreck that's annoying to watch. I prefer forums but there is more activity on FB/IG. I've left more "groups" on FB than I can count because its just a regurgitation of BS or something that doesn't interest me. I wish there was a more PT dedicated page, I do follow PT garage but its more of a show off of what people have built, are building or something to sell, which is cool but I prefer the technical side from the forums.

[MichaelUser]

I am 53 and been doing this way too long. I have been and still am using all of the different channels to source information. Whether it is detailed or imagery. I use some just to follow my kids and see what antics they are up to. I can notice the drop in usage on certain forums when the not so hardcore left forum to some other media channels. Even when there is a seasonality on most forums they have hard-core group of users being active. I have to admit that I do all the current FB, IG and Snap Chat.

Forums: are like the Factory Service Manual or encyclopedia of the social media world with a user addition. Great for in-depth, detailed user informed an experienced point of view. Best viewed on a large screening device. Some are better than others (like this one) some are terrible and really hard to use. Marketing is smallish and most businesses don't market using those channels unless it is very specific to the forum users needs. They can tend to be a little stand-off-ish in terms of selling to forum user when it comes to companies that are marketing to newer audiences.

MML: better known for us oldies as the Multiple mailing List. Yes still use one and its great and people are genuinely good. Akin to a rotatory or elks club meeting.

IG Instagram: should have been called InstaGratification but that sounded to risky. Great for images and little bs (at least know), some of it works perfect for a small review of a new product like a tool or something or watch a short 59 second video of the product being marketed. Not much in the way of down your throat marketing. More set up to focus on the specific target group. A great place to get started for a small business. It allows you to have a narrow targeted following. Again like most social groups (even before all of this) it has its gossip. Also it has a link-able app that can take you to a web page for getting some more information, but that never really worked that well. I think it was poorly executed. IG is really a tool to sell more ads and best works on a smart phone. It has its place for people like me that have A.D.D. I like it for details about concerts and stuff like that which are time sensitive.

FB: I see it as a great place to keep in contact with friends and family that are far way that you would never really call. Lacks any real detail and any good searchable content. The groups are a weak attempt to keep people on the site. The problem is they are poorly designed and repeat the same thing which forum people like us would shy away from. Similar to how forums were at first. It could have crushed the forums but wow has the advertisers turned it into garbage and nobody has the where-with-all to fix that. The FB selling groups do get a lot of traffic and work well but are not very regional. This can be good for some products. I have joined a few of those just for the curiosity. A friend swears by it to sell his stuff, but I still prefer Craigslist.

Snap chat is just that. Boom and go. A little more private and my kids use it to stay under the radar. They tell me FB is for oldies.

Hopefully that cover it...

MPQ

[Craig@Bowler]

I've really enjoyed following this thread and seeing the viewpoints and opinions of you all. This forum excluded, I think the biggest downfall of a lot of the forums out there is that they've turned the focus so heavily onto the monetizing aspect that it's hard to follow a lot of the threads on there. I'll do a search for a topic through Google and it will typically pull up several different forums, but once you click through you get bombarded with ads that you have to close down in order to actually follow the content. I HATE that. I know it takes money to keep these sites going, but at some point I feel the site owners lost sight of why they started it in the first place, or maybe that was their goal all along. Either way, I enjoy how clean and clutter free protouring.com is compared to a lot of other forums out there. Yes there are ads, but they're not shoved down your throat and I respect that and can appreciate it as a user and supporter.

Like many of you I do enjoy the other "social" outlets and I agree that each carries it's own benefits and downfalls, but I don't think you'll ever be able to replace a good solid forum with any of those unless someone comes up with a new way of presenting the information.

I also feel that forums like this one will continue to be a great resource since it takes a lot more effort to post and reply than say Facebook or Instagram. In my opinion its what helps keep the weeds out. The people who want to trash talk and degrade stuff don't like to work that hard to get their opinion out. Forums like this also have a sense of accountability as well. Usually you have a "family" of users who are here for each other and support the other enthusiasts that are trying to do it the right way. We may not always agree on everything, but we can agree that there ins't any room for haters.

[iScream]

I'm 46. A friend and I ran a very small BBS, on a pieced together 286, in the early/mid 90's. I remember how cool we thought it was to hear that modem chatter when some stranger would connect. Transitioned to Usenet and had my first internet argument around 1997. There were no HTML based forums at that time as most web pages at the time were pretty crude. How many of you know what Dejanews was?

I watched the changeover from Usenet to forums like this. Overall it was a good change, even though it became harder to find what forums were out there and I could no longer just subscribe to a new topic within the same news reader app.

I still prefer this format to Facebook. I joined several LS engine related FB groups recently and ended up unfollowing all of them. I'm still a member of them all but they no longer appear on my main feed. And I don't find myself clicking on them to read what's going on either. I just think the format sucks for most things. Most discussion only lasts a day or two and dies out and it's really hard to search. Half the posts seem to be like "I want to swap a LS engine into my 1973 Pinto but I don't own a single wrench. Can you tell me everything I need to do so I won't have to type 3 words into Google?" Or "I want to build a 1200 HP turbo motor for my 1973 Pinto but I don't own a wrench..."

Forums like this definitely seem to be fading out but I really don't know why. It's not like there's something better now.

-Chris

[iScream]

I've really enjoyed following this thread and seeing the viewpoints and opinions of you all. This forum excluded, I think the biggest downfall of a lot of the forums out there is that they've turned the focus so heavily onto the monetizing aspect that it's hard to follow a lot of the threads on there. I'll do a search for a topic through Google and it will typically pull up several different forums, but once you click through you get bombarded with ads that you have to close down in order to actually follow the content. I HATE that. I know it takes money to keep these sites going, but at some point I feel the site owners lost sight of why they started it in the first place, or maybe that was their goal all along.


I think a couple companies started purchasing a bunch of the popular forums from the original site owners in recent years. And they are the ones that started really overloading the advertising while also driving away many of the regular contributors.

It sounds like you aren't using an ad blocker though. You should be as it makes a huge difference when Google leads you to some new forum that you just want to browse a bit.

[dhutton]

I've really enjoyed following this thread and seeing the viewpoints and opinions of you all. This forum excluded, I think the biggest downfall of a lot of the forums out there is that they've turned the focus so heavily onto the monetizing aspect that it's hard to follow a lot of the threads on there. I'll do a search for a topic through Google and it will typically pull up several different forums, but once you click through you get bombarded with ads that you have to close down in order to actually follow the content. I HATE that. I know it takes money to keep these sites going, but at some point I feel the site owners lost sight of why they started it in the first place, or maybe that was their goal all along. Either way, I enjoy how clean and clutter free protouring.com is compared to a lot of other forums out there. Yes there are ads, but they're not shoved down your throat and I respect that and can appreciate it as a user and supporter.

Like many of you I do enjoy the other "social" outlets and I agree that each carries it's own benefits and downfalls, but I don't think you'll ever be able to replace a good solid forum with any of those unless someone comes up with a new way of presenting the information.

I also feel that forums like this one will continue to be a great resource since it takes a lot more effort to post and reply than say Facebook or Instagram. In my opinion its what helps keep the weeds out. The people who want to trash talk and degrade stuff don't like to work that hard to get their opinion out. Forums like this also have a sense of accountability as well. Usually you have a "family" of users who are here for each other and support the other enthusiasts that are trying to do it the right way. We may not always agree on everything, but we can agree that there ins't any room for haters.

I use Adblock Plus to block ads. Works great.

Don

[pittpens24]

I am a member here and over at Team Camaro. Usually on one or both of the forums once a day. I also have instagram which I use mainly for promoting pictures of the kitchens and custom cabinetry I build. I used to have Facebook and quickly got tired of all the drama. I have not been on FB for about 7 years now so I can't comment on stuff upto date, but what I do remember was annoying trying to find any useful info on there. Instagram is nice to kick back and flip through pics and once in a while message someone - very laid back. All that said, the forums are a place of information that is un-matchable in my opinion. The help I have received here and over at Team Camaro is astounding. The answers aren't always what you want to hear, but they are cut and dry the truth bad or good. I'll take the forums anyday of the week. Keep up the great work guys! Ohh and the only way I see annoying ads and crap is if I do not log in so I can see how that could shy someone away from joining a forum. Once registered and logged in, I get no spam at all.

[Zspoiler]

I prefer forums and I just dont care for facebook,

[USAZR1]

I much prefer forums over facebook but anyone that doesn't think the latter is tons more active is only fooling themselves. This place is a shell of itself, compared to what it was, 10-15yrs ago.

[67cougnut]

I bounce between Instagram and the forums. Spend more time on Instagram than the forums.

[USAZR1]

I bounce between Instagram and the forums. Spend more time on Instagram than the forums.

I would like to learn more about Instagram. What's different about it, compared to the others?

[vintageracer]

OLD People (Most of us) = Facebook and Forums

YOUNG People (A few of Us) = Instagram and Snapchat.

Which one are YOU?

[vintageracer]

This place is a shell of itself, compared to what it was, 10-15yrs ago.

So is the "Pro-Touring" hobby as whole!

Welcome to the "World of Change" as time goes by!

In today's world with ever faster changing technologies 10-15 years is now an ETERNITY!

[USAZR1]

OLD People (Most of us) = Facebook and Forums
YOUNG People (A few of Us) = Instagram and Snapchat.
Which one are YOU?


I'm 64. Instagram have an age limit?

[USAZR1]

So is the "Pro-Touring" hobby as whole!
Welcome to the "World of Change" as time goes by!
In today's world with ever faster changing technologies 10-15 years is now an ETERNITY!


Really? I would have never guessed. :lmao:

[Wraith]

I have no time for FB/IG/SC, it's forums or personal interaction with real people, and I'm only 45.

[Steve Chryssos]

I like it all. Social media, message boards, websites, magazines, events, TV... You name it. I can't get enough.

- - - Updated - - -

Hey... Why don't we all just start posting selfies on Pro-Touring.com?

https://static1.pt-content.com/images/pt/2018/08/19-1.jpg

[Vaylan]

56 forum only
Looked at fb. Did not like it.

[USAZR1]

Since most forums are so inactive these days, I spend more time than I should, on facebook.
I need to check out Instagram.

[Steve Chryssos]

Hey Clint.... Show us a selfie! :geek:

[USAZR1]

I'm not a narcissist, Steve. Sorry.

[Larry Callahan]

156030

[USAZR1]

Glad to see you're still kicking, Larry.

[BonzoHansen]

Lol at Steve and Larry

[Gmc427]

50 ,prefer forum over fb,easy to post on fb, photobucket did a lot of damage to forums

[Martin71RS]

Trying out the app now...seems to work nicely on my phone

[eville]

I miss the forums from 10 years ago.

[andrewb70]

I miss the forums from 10 years ago.

I just miss 10 years ago. Where the hell did the time fly?!

Andrew

[eville]

I just miss 10 years ago. Where the hell did the time fly?!

Andrew



Lol. No ****. I parked the car one day. Forgot to look on the internet and 10 years later here I am.I

[andrewb70]

I have reluctantly waded into the world of Instagram. So far it has been an interesting experience. The main difference that I see between social media (SM) 1.0 and 2.0 is that SM 1.0 was mo focused on the community, while SM 2.0 is all about the individual. I don't have a fundamental problem with that, but with SM 1.0 (forums) it was a lot easier to have visibility among a large community of like minded individuals. The experiment continues.

Andrew

[Jaymzz]

I like the forums much better. People are held accountable on most forums for what they say. FB I have seen way to much bad info passed on from people that "read it on the internet somewhere" and trying to give someone advice based on that.

[68Formula]

I was big into FB for a while, but got tired of it.

First off, too much bickering on social media in general. Secondly, there's no subsections, so the posts that come to the top really depend on who's looking and responding. You have to pop in often just so for the 90% of crap that shows up, you don't miss that 10% of information you can use. Which means thirdly, it's hard to search for information.

I don't use Facebook or Instagram anymore, and it's very freeing. I don't want to spend my life feeling like I have to constantly pop into a social media account on my phone just so in case something interesting pops up, I can see it before it disappears. It's just information overload. I'm glad the forums are still alive and well.

Highly recommend others to try going cold turkey from social media for a month. It's like lifting a huge weight off your shoulders, and you will find you actually have more time to interact face to face with people and do real things besides sitting in front of a PC, or constantly staring at your phone.

[HotWheelz]

I use fb to keep in touch with family and friends. Maybe to try to sell some parts and model trains.

I frequent this forum 5x as much as going to fb.

I'm building a car, or should I say, Mike is building a car for me that I am paying for because of this forum! NICE!

[68Cuda440]

50 here.

Started w/ usenet BBS in 1993 on a VAX/VMS server and set up web pages for Mosaic using a text editor...

FB is for keeping up with friends, looking at pictures, the technical content is pretty low

Never used Instagram

I like the ability of the forums to delve into topics and get to all the details. Part numbers, installation issues, real feedback, not just advertisements. Forums like this pretty much killed the magazines for me. By the time a car is in a magazine I have seen every detail of the build on one of the forums and know a lot more than the article could ever show me. I also like that I can subscribe to a thread on someone's build and check in once a week or once a month and see how its going. With FB the threads are over in a day or two, too much work to keep up. I have a life, I don't need to be on the board daily.

[drummerdad]

47, and no facebook or instagram here either. Never wanted or needed it. I like forums. My wife complains all the time about facebook, but she still uses it. It used to have a function, when they allowed gun sales, now they are shutting that down. I dont have the patience for the blatant bias of facebook and I dont like rich people using their platform to tell me what I should and shouldnt support. Here its just about cars and trucks. Ill stick to forums.

[Barrrf]

The forum format imo is the best way to organize discussions. FB sucks for that. IG is just for pics.

[Sbeck09]

28 here.

Forums are still very valuable to my friends and I in my age group. We all use FB, IG, and multiple forums. IG and FB are cool to just share crap for likes or see whatever they think you want. Forums have genuine technical info from reputable sources plus we all clearly share our experiences with related products. And like others have said, searching older info is significantly easier on a forum.

Each one has it's place and I'm learning to balance them better. Forums are still my favorite though.

[frink84]

34 here. grew up on the tail end of the message boards, loved forums. I do have instagram and facebook. but for actual builds, forums win. too valuable for technical reference and parts and whatnot. agree that its killing magazines, but such is life.

[southernfriedcj]

I use forums only.

I'm 56. I literally don't personally know even one heterosexual grown man that uses Facebook or Instagram. My BIL does, but he is a homosexual.

I could see using Facebook or Instagram for business purposes, but everyone I know that uses Facebook or Instagram is somebody's wife or kids.

To me Facebook or Instagram is basically a Mazda Miata.

[David Sloan]

61 here
I went to Fake Book for a little bit didn't like the unorganized cluster #### ! I signed off a few months ago and have not been back! i"m back to the forums , pro- touring and team chevelle , a couple of Truck forums is all i have time for now!

[Interceptor5588]

Are there any other active forums on pro-touring or restomods? I find FB is great for buying and selling small stuff, not so much for finding any useful info, and far too many opinions rather than facts. IG is good for inspiration, to see some of the great builds that are out there.

[Larry Callahan]

Are there any other active forums on pro-touring or restomods? I find FB is great for buying and selling small stuff, not so much for finding any useful info, and far too many opinions rather than facts. IG is good for inspiration, to see some of the great builds that are out there.

https://lateral-g.net/ is another great option.

[Nicks67GTO]

Is there any way to integrate FB and IG with the forum? The forum structure is so much better but FB and IG have clearly stolen a ton of traffic from here and other forums. Maybe making a hybrid system would help bring it back? Just a thought.

[68Formula]

The forum structure is so much better but FB and IG have clearly stolen a ton of traffic from here and other forums.

I don't believe that's necessarily true. Yes, you don't see as many questions posted, but that doesn't mean people aren't coming to the site. The one advantage is the ability to search for previously-asked questions prior to posing your own. As the site has been around for years, "what size tire can I fit on my Camaro" has been answered about a 1000 times

I come here far more often than my postings would suggest. Typically I find my answer in a search, or simply don't have an information to add to a thread.

[Larry Callahan]

Is there any way to integrate FB and IG with the forum? The forum structure is so much better but FB and IG have clearly stolen a ton of traffic from here and other forums. Maybe making a hybrid system would help bring it back? Just a thought.

We are (slowly) working on a new forum that will allow you to link yourself and any posts you want to FB and IG. It's optional and when and what you want.

[Project Bike Truck]

We are (slowly) working on a new forum that will allow you to link yourself and any posts you want to FB and IG. It's optional and when and what you want.

I would love that!

[badazz81z28]

This forum seems pretty dead over the last few years.

[anguilla1980]

I only use forums. Groups on FB are "OK" but suck because they are difficult to search and posts get easily lost. The best thing about forums is there are 20 years worth of threads to search.

[T. Turtle]

For lasting information and reasoned discussions you can't beat the forum but FB has it's uses too if you have a sudden problem or need info quickly. I use both. Instagram is for millenials and less, to me it's really only for showing off your pictures.

[yellow1098Greg]

I must not know how to use FB or gram at all because when I look at groups it's just random info...not at all organized or what you want to read about....I probably just don't know how to use it. Forums are far superior for organized detailed info at least for me...Iv learned a lot here

[Raszaron]

Get soooo much more information from a forum! Facebook is nice for quick replies, Instagram is nice for showing off what you just did, but a forum is a wealth of knowledge on the given topic(s).

[chekropy]

Forums are definitely much more useful. Social networks are just for fun.

[SPLATT71MC]

Good forums have a wealth of information that is fairly easy to search. Facebook on the other hand information is much harder to find and even harder to find good content. Unfortunately Facebook has killed forum traffic as well as Photobucket's changes has killed off tons of good pictures in all forums.

[Vimes]

Forums only. I don't have a Faecesbook or Instagram-positive account and never will.