Do you think social networks kill discussion boards?

[phesina]

I sure hope not!

[wombat2u2004]

On facebook one can certainly have more privacy, and people have all of their friends there, and can easily send undesirables off into pixel-land. I guess that "Delete a Contact" button is a bit of a magic wand.
On forums such as PT, one does not have that choice. And on PT (the same as all other open forums) you always get the troublemakers who just want to spew their garbage and cause arguments. Yes, we have three or four of them here who must thrive on that. I know of, and am in contact with, so many good members who have left PT because of them.
I'm not pointing any fingers here, we all have our up days and down days, but I can safely say there are some here who take much delight in being very rude.....and I believe that is 99% of why we here on PT, and others on other forums lose members. Where do these people go ??? Facebook !!! Where they are safe from such behaviour.
My two bobs worth.

[chocolatepuppy]

If I had to give up FB or Pet Talk, FB would be gone.

[pomtzu]

I think FB has had a big impact on discussion boards such as this. I was noticing a downturn here quite some time before the weather got nicer and the days got longer, and people got outside more to shake that cabin fever. A lot of the older and frequent posters seem to have melted away, and I know that at least some have turned more to FB.
As for me - FB showed me nothing. I gave it a shot for about 6 months then closed my account. It seems there is always some security problem popping up here or there - stolen identity, spammed, virus implanted. Not my idea of fun trying to keep up with that every day..........

[Pembroke_Corgi]

I think it probably does have an effect on message boards. However, I, for one, don't really see the appeal of FB though. I have an account, but mainly just to keep in touch with friends that live far away. I'm not sure why anyone would spend any significant amount of time on it. Maybe it is more fun if you use it more? I just don't think it's all that special and I prefer PT for sure!

[Edwina's Secretary]

I have to agree with Wombat. As one of the longer members on here - since early 2001- I have seen some of the fun we had lessen because of newer members who join for reasons I cannot understand. Not even sure some of them have pets!

I don't come as often as I once did - and know others who feel the same - because of the antagonistic nature of these folks.

It is still a special place - and Facebook just isn't the same as PetTalk was.

[caseysmom]

I have to agree with Wombat. As one of the longer members on here - since early 2001- I have seen some of the fun we had lessen because of newer members who join for reasons I cannot understand. Not even sure some of them have pets!

I don't come as often as I once did - and know others who feel the same - because of the antagonistic nature of these folks.

It is still a special place - and Facebook just isn't the same as PetTalk was.

It is really strange some that come and never discuss their pets but love to argue politics, it isn't a political board...very strange indeed! By the way we need pics of the E's.

[Kirsten]

On facebook one can certainly have more privacy, and people have all of their friends there, and can easily send undesirables off into pixel-land. I guess that "Delete a Contact" button is a bit of a magic wand.
On forums such as PT, one does not have that choice. And on PT (the same as all other open forums) you always get the troublemakers who just want to spew their garbage and cause arguments. Yes, we have three or four of them here who must thrive on that. I know of, and am in contact with, so many good members who have left PT because of them.
I'm not pointing any fingers here, we all have our up days and down days, but I can safely say there are some here who take much delight in being very rude.....and I believe that is 99% of why we here on PT, and others on other forums lose members. Where do these people go ??? Facebook !!! Where they are safe from such behaviour.
My two bobs worth.

Interesting. I never saw it that way. But I have to admit that you CAN have more privacy on FB (given that you know how to customize your settings when posting) than in any public forum. In fact, there was something I would have loved to talk about on PT a while ago, but decided not to because I cannot control who else would be able to read it.

[Asiel]

Facebook isn't a place I would ever join. I've watched so many of my friends get into trouble with privacy issues, stolen identity and other stuff like viruses etc. And from what I'm told some of the stuff people put on there is pretty disgusting, some choose to bare their souls on there and so forth. From what I gather FB is mostly frequented by teens who can be pretty awful on there. If I had kids they would never be allowed to join FB either.

[Medusa]

Facebook isn't a place I would ever join. I've watched so many of my friends get into trouble with privacy issues, stolen identity and other stuff like viruses etc. And from what I'm told some of the stuff people put on there is pretty disgusting, some choose to bare their souls on there and so forth. From what I gather FB is mostly frequented by teens who can be pretty awful on there. If I had kids they would never be allowed to join FB either.

If you're not "friends" w/someone, you can't read their posts unless they choose to allow it to be read by everyone and if you don't know who they are, you wouldn't go to their pages. You also can block people from reading what you have to post as well. FB is very selective. As for discussions, I've had some really good ones on a variety of subjects. The best part is that I've reconnected w/relatives and friends that I hadn't seen or heard from for years. It isn't too likely that we'll get together soon, so FB has been a blessing in that sense. I've had an issue here and there w/FB but I've had them w/PT, too; technical issues, I mean. I think FB is great! I've learned a lot of information there, kept up w/events and issues that I wouldn't have on PT or probably elsewhere. I like PT, for sure, for my pets, which is why I joined in the first place.

[Asiel]

If you're not "friends" w/someone, you can't read their posts unless they choose to allow it to be read by everyone and if you don't know who they are, you wouldn't go to their pages. You also can block people from reading what you have to post as well. FB is very selective. As for discussions, I've had some really good ones on a variety of subjects. The best part is that I've reconnected w/relatives and friends that I hadn't seen or heard from for years. It isn't too likely that we'll get together soon, so FB has been a blessing in that sense. I've had an issue here and there w/FB but I've had them w/PT, too; technical issues, I mean. I think FB is great! I've learned a lot of information there, kept up w/events and issues that I wouldn't have on PT or probably elsewhere. I like PT, for sure, for my pets, which is why I joined in the first place.

True...that was explained to me when some of my friends wanted me to join but quite a few have had their accounts stolen and misused, some are mislead by others , etc. I have never been on FB nor do I intend to ever join, but not that long ago I received an e-mail from FB telling me I had 8 friends wanting me to join and be their friends.I was given the name of a friend and I knew she wasn't on FB. So where did they get my e-mail from? Then I found out another friend of mine in Britain and one other from a close by city got the same message telling them that I wanted them on FB to become friends. Lucky they mailed be , I told them I received the same message and I wasn't on FB and never would be. Somehow someone put my name in there I guess. I knew if you ignored all messages from FB for a month they stopped bothering you so that's what I did and everything stopped. Just not for me, heard too many horror stories about FB.

[ChrisH]

Nothing on the net is fully secure for sure but on FB it does help if everyone just spent a little time checking, and maybe adjusting, their settings.

10 Essential Facebook Tips and Tricks for All Users

Facebook Privacy: 10 Must-Know Security Settings

[wombat2u2004]

Interesting. I never saw it that way. But I have to admit that you CAN have more privacy on FB (given that you know how to customize your settings when posting) than in any public forum. In fact, there was something I would have loved to talk about on PT a while ago, but decided not to because I cannot control who else would be able to read it.

Exactly. You have to be very careful what you post on this forum. The Bigot Clique is always watching, and ready to pull ya to bits.....I guess they must need the attention (probably don't get it at home.)
The day I joined PT, I mentioned that I was a war veteran, a welfare officer and carer of war widows.....I was hammered by a member here for that !!!
Go figure.
But yeah.....FB is good, because really......life is much better without people like that around.

[smokey the elder]

FB and PT are very different, and serve different purposes, IMO. So far I have found the discussions on FB animated but polite, but that might speak more to the demographic my FB friends make up.