Why do we have two FB pages ?

Yes I am happy with the the forum, just not the whinging. Someone posts a ride out and certain people complain it starts in the wrong place, wrong time and heads in the wrong direction. One mod goes abroad and someone moans because they didn't log in every day. There are even comments that the forum is political, yet the only 'political' comments are by those that make that accusation.

Why don't we have a whinge free month and enjoy the forum?

 

Actually the layout of the site and adding etc. is very easy if you are using the right software, which only needs to be simple for this kind of site to build the site, if you are not or it is hard coded and then maybe you have to do more work.
I have designed forums, built, hosted them, as well as moderated, that was years ago, so I would assume it is easier to do it now.

Anyhow I will not whinge no more, we always have FB to fall back on, do not see that going away in a hurry, as much as I would like it to.

 

jeepers..and I only started this thread to close a duplicated site down...what have I done

In fairness to everyone, typing messages leads to a lot of misunderstanding with respect to tone and being misconstrued. Peoples knowledge, ability on hosting sites, tinkering, different software vary and there is also a cost, whether it be personal time and or hosting, software etc....

I think there is a merit in more subsections, however a face to face chat at blue boys would probably have a better outcome as we seem to be all nice peeps

Sporty's little thread on cafe's and meets is a great source of information - but Kev did the work, so an EU section with maybe subsections for countries etc maybe good.

However someone needs to do the work to compile the info, without a section being an endless discussion on how good a road is or which hotel has a nice bathroom etc...we have trip advisor for that..oh but thats another kind of forum...

Anyway, maybe this thread should now be closed as the aim of the thread has been achieved

 

I have been away for 9 days .....2 of those travelling ....so Its ONE DAY I didnt log in for , if we are counting .. Thats why we have a Moderater page too so that we can share and discuss who is about and who is doing what .
Has to agree with our Front page here - it was set up hastily and does need a revamp to encourage people to come in the forum - Shame we cant get the chat room up too, which use to be such a social place during the *off season*.
Re the faceBook page , as has been said its more so for contact on the rare times that this is down and hopefully (because its easier to access than a forum) that once people have *joined* the FB page, they would then move onto here . But we cant make people, and some prefer a facebook group to a forum . so bit of a catch 22 there ... I pay too

 

a post on the FB page today ...****

• It would have been posted in Main Forum a while longer - as are the other Ride-Outs this weekened x
  14 minutes ago · Like
• ​
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  Martin James I know Jill, but I waste (spend) enough time on here without chasing round looking at other sites. -- If I don't see stuff on Fookbase, I call it 'filtered out'!! -- Call me lazy. Call me what you like, but don't call me late for lunch...
  11 minutes ago · Like****

 

I resemble that remark 'madprop' it wasn't snide it was outright blatant, I believe subtle would go over your head.
F/book, getting back on topic surely is to spread the word that we are here as a Forum for the Bikers of the SE.
The only other way to find out we are here is by word of mouth, how many peeps do you know sign-up or take a view when you have told them, hardly any.
The CBR 1100 xx (Blackbird for those unlucky enough to not own one) f/book page, has gone viral since it appeared, a lot of owners did not realise it was an international forum.
Must be good to increase members just to keep the Forum fresh.

 

I'l second Leila's post, I think things here are getting a tad too personal so I think its time to close this thread.
I will just add a few of my own thoughts regarding this facebook issue... first and foremost the forum came first. A bunch of likeminded bikers were not happy with a previous forum and resolved to create something that was better. At that time facebook groups weren't an issue , we created a page as a backup in case server downtime, technical issues etc. Also facebook was never envisioned for such things but has steadily grown over the years to be a multi faceted tool. I think the issue we face is , and without trying to offend anyone, some people are stuck in their ways and want to do things one way or another whether that is use the forum exclusively or just facebook,
i'm not going to say one is right over the other Each has their own benefits and issues...

As much as I hate to admit it facebook has become quite a useful tool. It is very handy for reaching the masses as patyogi has pointed out. Its also quite seamless in operation, works well on nearly all platforms whether pc,mac, mobile devices etc, and the added bonus of "most" people use it nowadays. It's pretty easy to just fire up you phone and bam the pages appear and you can post a message or photo with ease... and the reason for this .... a Mahussive budget and a brilliant team of programmers. Im not going to bore you with technical details etc, but suffice to say facebook as a company makes feck loads of cash from spam I mean advertising on its software and various tie in's etc...

Forum software on the other hand is fairly basic in comparison, can vary on how well it works on different browsers or devices and the apps designed to make using forum's easier on a mobile device can be hit or miss sometimes. The market isn't that great for programmers to write the software for it, so you will find its not that feature rich, and also those running forums are generally doing so usually from a love of the subject in hand or as a side to a website. some sites are lucky and have very knowledgeable admin's who are programmers and can initiate clever features , most just have a good understanding of web hosting and software and rely on prebuilt software. This all costs money and with the advent of "free" facebook many forums are seeing falls in numbers generally, aswell as paying subscribers.

As with brett, I have been programming since computers started becoming commonplace in homes and I have designed ,built, maintained, hosted, admin'd , moderated and despaired of quite a few forums and chatroom apps. As for being easier to administrate these days , possibly.. the software has become somewhat more user friendly for your average joe , usually to the detriment of the software's capabilities in my personal experience. I think brett has brought up some good points in this post , he's correct that if all people want is somewhere to chitchat then eventually forums will most likely go the same way as IRC or chat messenger programs have ( bit of a geek reference there) . What will most definitely not help is people getting personal on these pages.

I understand everyone has their own idea of what they want a forum to do/be and you cant please everyone. As Leila said the one thing we all have in common is the love of riding bikes, so lets not fall out over a bunch of digital bits displayed on a screen . What I would personally ask is if you have any issues, or ideas please do post them up in the Site feedback area or drop a PM to myself or one of the other Mod's if ive bored you with this post .

In the meantime I will endeavour to tweak the fb page to make it alittle more easy to find and try and provide a crossover between sites for those that feel alittle daunted using the forum, but please be aware this is a time consuming process as it all has to be done manually, so I would always suggest checking the forum first for info and rideouts etc.

Thanks for your time guys, lets keep it friendly and my apologies for the half page rant
Dean

 

Oh and I just like to say for a computer N00b , Roadwart does a bang up job on the admin front

 

Why close the thread ????

It's good to have a discussion

Surely the moderators need to moderate the poster that can't be civil

 

I completely agree its good to have a discussion late but sometimes things get said in the heat of typing and then it all just escalates. plus the original point of the thread was to reason why we have 2 fb pages and as that question has been answered and the other page is in the process of shutting down the point of this thread is now redundant. By all means start a new thread to discuss what you please

 

Maybe that is my problem, frustration, but it is actually on other people's behalf, as you state Dean you left one forum to set up another, for reasons I have only heard about, it has however made me rather protective of this site for the reasons it was set up, god only knows why, but of late that forum seems to be doing quite well, with quite a few new members, (No I am not a member of it) where as I see this forum actually declining.
It has nothing to do with FB, and just for the record I do not have a problem with FB, and SEB Group, I personally have a hatred for FB for many other reasons, but like some others have been using it pretty well ever since it appeared, I of course see the need for FB and the connection to the SEB Forums.

So as I am sure you have noted I feel the need to make some changes to try to make the site more usable, for others new, and old to feel the need to use more than FB, A good active well filled information based forum is for more useful than a FB group page in my view, but clearly I am accused of Whinging, unjustly in my view. but it is not for me but for what I feel is the greater good, I am sorry , and certainly will not bother in the future.

 

Pm'd matey

 

I feel personally the f/book page is doing it's job, maybe points of view need to be suspended for awhile to see how good a job. Anyway a few bits of banter show Forum members have a bit of spunk. There are a few Biker ones that are downright obscene, being strident about your point of view can be okay, as pointed out it gets reaction. And discussion, also shows members personalities.

 

We'll theres banter and then theres just rudeness fella, lets just try and keep it polite ....
And im glad you think the facebook page is working for you, i'd be interested in other peoples opinions also. In a perfect world, we'd have some nice custom software that cross links the forum and facbook page so both ran as one but that's not going to happen. Like brett Im not a fan of the "book", but it has its uses so out best bet is to utilise it's potential. However as has been mentioned the forum and fb page are useless without member input , and going ahead its that , that will make the difference from this being just another bike forum/group heading out to pasture or thriving