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

[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.

[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.