web Forums vs. Facebook

[RainbowMau 291]

Someday a friend told me that people is using less forums an more Facebook, looks like it's better for expressing yourself but not for interacting, why?

 

- If you have no friends you can't interact

- If you have no friends they won't read what you post

- No matter how many people you have as friends, they can still ignore your posts

- You can be friends with someone for years and still don't know you

- Your friends will only reply when you type something offensive.

- If you think different from your friends, they won't read your posts.

 

Also, not everything is about being social since in Facebook:

 

- You can't avoid what you don't want to read

- No matter how good person you are, if you post your opinion in a page topic and it's opposite to the rest you're treated as shit.

- You read what you never wanted to read from your friends.

- You see photos you never wanted to see from your friends.

- You read what you never wanted to know about your friends.

- Your friends can have strong opinions and you can't contradict them because IT'S THEIR FUCKING POSTS and they don't want to reat that in them.

- Everyone has strong opinions and it's OK, I have strong opinions and everyone treats me as shit.

 

I've been more socially successful in forums while in Facebook I've simply failed, but that's just me. What's your opinion?

Edited August 16, 2014 by RainbowMau

[Moved to Elsewhere 11,331]

The only reason I have a Facebook is to talk to family that lives far away. The forums are better. Also, too much lame trends.

[Inactive01 5,298]

I concur with Chikorita. I have Facebook because it allows me to keep track of all the friends I met in my undergraduate and high school years. As for the forums, I found it to be a way to meet all sorts of people all around the world. I admit, I often wonder about the legitimacy of online friendships like those on the forums because its greatest disadvantage is that we don't feel as close to those who live so far away from us. At the same time, these sorts of relationships can still be found online, and I have felt close with quite a few people on the forums.

[ghostfacekiller39 23,860]

Why do I prefer the forums over facebook?

More Rarity. No other reason.

 

Seriously - I like being able to fanboy over Rarity without that many people trying too hard to be edgy. Some people do, of course, but meh. Not as bad as facebook

Plus, the Rarity Fan Club is here

[Stiles Stilinski 48]

Screw Facebook. All you see on there is either really depressing stuff, game invites, or stuff people post that nobody cares about. Example: "OMG I JUST BROKE A GLASS OMG LOL". Forums are soooo much better because you actually talk to people. "But don't people talk to each other on Facebook too?" you say to your screen. No, People do not talk on Facebook. All anyone does on Facebook is fight. The only good thing about Facebook is that you can talk to family members and friends you never see. That, and Farmville.

[Christmasy Britty 2,553]

i'm officially with the herd I have dropped fb, for now anyway to make friends with the brony community, i'm sick of the drama and bs that comes with fb I want to make real friends with people that are not fake and this forum allows me the opportunity to become part of the community so I enjoy the forums a lot more

Screw Facebook. All you see on there is either really depressing stuff, game invites, or stuff people post that nobody cares about. Example: "OMG I JUST BROKE A GLASS OMG LOL". Forums are soooo much better because you actually talk to people. "But don't people talk to each other on Facebook too?" you say to your screen. No, People do not talk on Facebook. All anyone does on Facebook is fight. The only good thing about Facebook is that you can talk to family members and friends you never see. That, and Farmville.

that's pretty much why I left fb I got sick of the drama with people that called themselves my 'friends'

[Rainblow H. Ash 5,090]

I prefer forums over Facebook, mostly because I was a member on a couple forums before Facebook became popular.

 

I use Facebook to keep in touch with old friends, family, and that's about it. I don't really post anything. I don't even have my picture as my Facebook profile. I also don't trust Facebook because of their history of colluding with the Government and giving away private information. After all, after you post something to Facebook, it apparently belongs to them, so I'm not down with that.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

Well, there be more girls on facebook, so as a heterosexual male, I do spend more time talking with various womyn on the facebooks.

 

I mean, this place is really specific to pony interests, so if you are looking for other pony fans then obivously a fan forum is going to be better. But facebook is general enough to give a general interaction to pretty much every fan group in existance, just not at a deep level. So it really depends on what you are looking for, interaction with fans and discussing very specific topics or interaction with a general populace.

[Christmasy Britty 2,553]

Well, there be more girls on facebook, so as a heterosexual male, I do spend more time talking with various womyn on the facebooks.

 

I mean, this place is really specific to pony interests, so if you are looking for other pony fans then obivously a fan forum is going to be better. But facebook is general enough to give a general interaction to pretty much every fan group in existance, just not at a deep level. So it really depends on what you are looking for, interaction with fans and discussing very specific topics or interaction with a general populace.

well as in the fact that I am a girl you are sadly mistaken my friend there beith a woman on the forums :3

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

well as in the fact that I am a girl you are sadly mistaken my friend there beith a woman on the forums :3

Ya, but there are more women on facebook. You cannot tell me that there are more women on fan forums like this then general social media like facebook.

[Simon 4,556]

I'm a bit biased here but from a strictly practical standpoint, forums are far more useful than Facebook.  Want to be able to post status updates?  We have them here.  Want to post longer things about what's going on in your life?  We have blog posts... you're going to be stuck with just writing a giant stretched out message for the most part on Facebook.  Want to interact with other people?  Here we have organized topic based discussions, but on Facebook you have to just post a message on whatever you want to talk about and hope it doesn't get lost in the millions of miles of other posts on your friend's accounts.  Want to keep track of your friends?  We have a friend list.  Private messenger?  Yep.  Want to talk with a group of friends at once in private?  Facebook you have to build a page and leave it up as a monument... here you can just start a group PM.

 

The big thing a site like Facebook really offers you is the amount of users.  If you're just looking for bronies, MLPF is fantastic of course, but a site like Facebook has such a broad user base that you can connect with everybody.  It's the same reason Twitter is popular... the functionality of Twitter is pretty limited and terrible, it's just the size of the user base and its simplicity that people benefit from.

 

So yeah, forums will always be more functional and have more things you can do than most other social networking sites, but at the end of the day people want the brand name.

[Ashen Pathfinder 16,154]

Honestly, I can't stand Facebook these days. While it is nice to connect with some people, most of the people I know on their I really don't connect with that much. Not to mention seeing certain posts can get annoying; especially if some have some political opinions that make me want to go bald.

 

But...yeah. I prefer the forums as I feel I can connect with people here on a friendly level here more than elsewhere.

[Christmasy Britty 2,553]

Ya, but there are more women on facebook. You cannot tell me that there are more women on fan forums like this then general social media like facebook.

that is true sadly but that is because women tend to not like other sources of communication other than the twitter or the fb also many women desire to put selfies of themselves on the internet and then you have me just some gal trying to make friends and not really giving a crap who anyone is as long as their a good person

[Admiral Regulus 2,769]

I have no interest in Facebook whatsoever. It seems pointless to me.

[TheAnonOne 48]

Only have Facebook to talk with certain people or stay up to date in various college groups, other than that I don't need it. Forums though are much better for me, talking with like minded people over various different topics on various forums is much better.

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

that is true sadly but that is because women tend to not like other sources of communication other than the twitter or the fb also many women desire to put selfies of themselves on the internet and then you have me just some gal trying to make friends and not really giving a crap who anyone is as long as their a good person

It all really depends on what you are looking for. Facebook's atmosphere would be more akin to a bar. (and not a themed one). You have a larger userbase and thus a more diverse one. If you want to just sit around and midlly interact with large amounts of people facebook is to go to as it is going to have more people and is better set up for casual bar like interaction. Fan forums are better for more in depth discussion as they cater to specific interests and wants. So you get features that cater to that want like being able to discuss things in a thread and forming group messages (something that you can do on facebook now, they have a feature to begin a group chat). So it really depends on what the user is after, if they want just a casual general everything and anything social interaction medium, than social media sites like facebook are always going to beat out fan forums. But if you are looking for an environment were everyone shares atleast one common interest, and there is a large amount of discussion about said interest then fan forums are going to be better.

[Christmasy Britty 2,553]

It all really depends on what you are looking for. Facebook's atmosphere would be more akin to a bar. (and not a themed one). You have a larger userbase and thus a more diverse one. If you want to just sit around and midlly interact with large amounts of people facebook is to go to as it is going to have more people and is better set up for casual bar like interaction. Fan forums are better for more in depth discussion as they cater to specific interests and wants. So you get features that cater to that want like being able to discuss things in a thread and forming group messages (something that you can do on facebook now, they have a feature to begin a group chat). So it really depends on what the user is after, if they want just a casual general everything and anything social interaction medium, than social media sites like facebook are always going to beat out fan forums. But if you are looking for an environment were everyone shares atleast one common interest, and there is a large amount of discussion about said interest then fan forums are going to be better.

so that's why i'm not a big fan of fb afterall i'm not much of a bar person or a clubber

[M'aiq the Liar 5,804]

so that's why i'm not a big fan of fb afterall i'm not much of a bar person or a clubber

I just used that as an anaology. The casual interaction were it focuses much more on the social aspect of its users is more like a bar or a party. As opposed to a fan forum which is a specific area for discussion and meeting of other fans of said media.

[RainbowMau 291]

I concur with Chikorita. I have Facebook because it allows me to keep track of all the friends I met in my undergraduate and high school years. As for the forums, I found it to be a way to meet all sorts of people all around the world. I admit, I often wonder about the legitimacy of online friendships like those on the forums because its greatest disadvantage is that we don't feel as close to those who live so far away from us. At the same time, these sorts of relationships can still be found online, and I have felt close with quite a few people on the forums.

 

That's funny since I don't want my relatives ad ex-classmates to know I have Facebook, in fact I only have it to talk to con friends, but they ignore me there

 

As for international friends I can totally identify with that, at forums (and DevianrArt too) I can have friends from around the world, but in Facebook if I have German friends they day I'm a friend of nazis, if I have Spanish friends they say I'm a friend of looters, if I have American friends they say I'm a friend of genocides, if I have muslim friends they say I'm a friend of terrorists...And there it continues!

Edited August 16, 2014 by RainbowMau

[BayoUni2847 528]

This is a hard decision. I use Facebook to talk to my friends and family, I also show teasers of what I'm working on and other things that I make in SFM since a lot of my friends and family enjoy seeing what I make.

On the other hand, the brony pages are kind of boring.

 

On the forum, I can post my opinion on certain topics with other bronies and be able to express my love for MLP.

 

It's hard to say.

[lincolnshirepony 527]

I guess I'll be that awkward person that loves Facebook. =P 

 

One of my favorite things about Facebook is that I can get versatile content tailored to my various interests in one place. And Facebook is pretty good at putting the things I'm most interested in at the top of my newsfeed. It always has the latest episode of Emma Approved or latest page of Soul Symphony at the top. I also have liked a bunch of pages that I'm interested in. It's a great way to be informed or reminded of content that's being posted to other areas of the internet. 

 

As far as self-expression goes, you can definitely get a better sense of my interests from looking at my Facebook page, as opposed to looking at my interests on pretty much any forum. I will say that I generally have a better time discussing things on forums as opposed to Facebook. The anonymity makes it easier for sure. The biggest advantage is that forums are dedicated to discussion of a certain subject. The specialization produces better discussions, because that's where the people who want to have those discussion will be attracted. Granted, good discussions can take place on Facebook too, but it can be difficult to find the right space on there. 

 

With both forums and Facebook, the people and content are ultimately what make the experience. I think that a person's enjoyment of either platform depends on what they find in both. 

 

But honestly, my favorite social networking site is Tumblr.

[RainbowMau 291]

Not to mention seeing certain posts can get annoying; especially if some have some political opinions that make me want to go bald.

 

 

Ugh! Don't remind me!

This year we had presidential elections here, I had to deal with friends giving strong statements about the opposite candidates, I saw a lot of political fighting coming to my wall for months and I couldn't stand it, I wanted elections to end, but there was a second round and there were two more months of fighting and flaming, I don't know how am I still on FB after that.

Edited August 16, 2014 by RainbowMau

[Princess Periwinkle 3,774]

Someday a friend told me that people is using less forums an more Facebook, looks like it's better for expressing yourself but not for interacting, why?

 

1. If you have no friends you can't interact

2. If you have no friends they won't read what you post

3. No matter how many people you have as friends, they can still ignore your posts

4. You can be friends with someone for years and still don't know you

5. Your friends will only reply when you type something offensive.

6. If you think different from your friends, they won't read your posts.

 

Went ahead and numbered these points.

 

1. I have a hard time believing that many people have no friends.

2. See number 1.

3. The same goes for the forums.

4. The same goes for the forums.

5. You must have the wrong friends if that's the only thing they reply to.

6. Again, these people don't seem like "friends" to me.

 

 

 

Also, not everything is about being social since in Facebook:

 

1. You can't avoid what you don't want to read

2. No matter how good person you are, if you post your opinion in a page topic and it's opposite to the rest you're treated as shit.

3. You read what you never wanted to read from your friends.

4. You see photos you never wanted to see from your friends.

5. You read what you never wanted to know about your friends.

6. Your friends can have strong opinions and you can contradict them because IT'S THEIR FUCKING POSTS and they don't want to reat that in them.

7. Everyone has strong opinions and it's OK, I have strong opinions and everyone treats me as shit.

 

1. Yes you can: 

2. You'll find that this is a problem with the people, not the website. Simply stay away from people you don't like, the same as on the forums.

3. Owned a facebook page for a few years now and I don't see where you're coming from here.

4. See number 3.

5. See number 4.

6. I believe you meant to type "can't" instead of "can"? Again, you have the wrong people as friends.

7. If people are okay with other peoples' opinions but not yours, you might want to evaluate the way you're presenting yourself and your opinion because from what I read it looks like you have a real problem with the people you know, rather than the website you use to communicate with them.

 

In short, Facebook is good at what it does, and so is the forums.

[Teller 360]

For me, Facebook is just to let my IRL friends and family know that I'm alive.

 

While forums are for forcing my opinions down everyone's throats having civil discussion with strangers on the internet.

[Visual Spectrum 1,932]

Why do I prefer the forums over facebook?

 

More Rarity. No other reason.

 

Seriously - I like being able to fanboy over Rarity without that many people trying too hard to be edgy. Some people do, of course, but meh. Not as bad as facebook

 

Plus, the Rarity Fan Club is here

The Rarity groups and pages on Facebook are often vacant, and The only one that wasn't vacant would not be approved by Rarity. She has poor spelling and grammar, and she is very OOC. 

 

I had a Rarity group called "The Fabulous Society of Rarifans" But no one does anything there. 

 

There are a lot of Rarity fans on the forums, but not so much on Facebook. 

 

So I agree with you. The forums are better because there is more Rarity. 

Edited August 16, 2014 by VisualSpectrum