Posted: Tue Mar 28, 17 8:03 am Post subject: My Free Forum ?
My Free Forum is closing down in June. The company have given my forum OTG, fantastic service for over ten years but this leaves us needing to find another home, which will hopefully be as good as the one that we have now.
We have over a thousand members but a very much smaller loyal band of regular posters and just as importantly over ten years of memories and information.
Can any of you boffins possibly give me a heads up as to where we might start looking for a new berth? I can just about change a plug on one of my good days.
jema Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 28237 Location: escaped from Swindon
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 17 8:14 am Post subject:
There is still some hope that matters can get sorted. I am in touch with a couple of parties on this.
It is a shame, but its turned into an unsustainable charity needing 24/7 responsibility
As you've said, its changing times. IMO fb groups don't hold a candle to forums. We've got ten years of information and many personal memories of members who were our friends but who have passed away.
jema Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 28237 Location: escaped from Swindon
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 17 8:28 am Post subject:
forums are IMHO a lot better than FB for a lot of things. But FB has dumbed things down and largely killed forums.
OTG has most definitely quietened down a lot, just like DS has but we still get blasts from the past who drop in from time to time and with a forum they can always catch up. Breeze in and breeze out. I don't want to lose it.
My new chicken fb group is already getting lots of interesting stuff on it but it all disappears off the bottom of the page into oblivion never to be seen again.
jema Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 28237 Location: escaped from Swindon
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 17 11:21 am Post subject:
With FB stuff disappears and you see what they want to show you to maximize their revenue. You have no ownership/control or any of the benefits that forums offer.
But there it is, ten years ago people were starting forums and keen on using them, now they are not, I think there may currently be a bit of a bounce back going on, but even if that is so, its not much more than "dead cat bounce".
fb is the devil's confessional box and has plenty of other shortcomings as well especially in it's commercialisation and politicisation of data without the control of it's users..
a good forum is not only social but can grow into a superb data base of knowledge ,for instance, knowledge ranging from the best way to mend a stuck hot water bottle bung to an overview of current glaciology to dealing with dementia to bletting fibres from plants to the habits of chooks and vermin to the ultimate roast potato recipe
if there is a new option im interested to start one for the new orchard(and the old ones)
thinking on , what would be a fair price to host a forum?
jema Downsizer Moderator
Joined: 28 Oct 2004 Posts: 28237 Location: escaped from Swindon
Posted: Tue Mar 28, 17 2:09 pm Post subject:
Good question, people want free, good service and minimal adverts
Heck if 100 of my forums was happy to pay �1 a day then there would be a business model of sorts.
Nick
Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 34535 Location: Hereford
fb is the devil's confessional box and has plenty of other shortcomings as well especially in it's commercialisation and politicisation of data without the control of it's users..
a good forum is not only social but can grow into a superb data base of knowledge ,for instance, knowledge ranging from the best way to mend a stuck hot water bottle bung to an overview of current glaciology to dealing with dementia to bletting fibres from plants to the habits of chooks and vermin to the ultimate roast potato recipe
if there is a new option im interested to start one for the new orchard(and the old ones)
You're confusing users with products. Users are the people that pay. If you have a Facebook account, you are the product. You're the thing that's sold.
Facebook and fora are different things with different functions. Comparing the two is oranges v apples.
Good question, people want free, good service and minimal adverts
Heck if 100 of my forums was happy to pay �1 a day then there would be a business model of sorts.
Good question, people want free, good service and minimal adverts
Heck if 100 of my forums was happy to pay �1 a day then there would be a business model of sorts.
Up until recently, we've paid forty quid a year to stay advert free, so fifty quid would be nowhere near busting the bank. I'd jump at the chance to stay as we are and faced with the end of life as we know it, I reckon that a lot of other forum owners would to.
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