21 replies to this topic

[drtrmiller]

There are a few antkeeping groups on Facebook, many of which have been around for quite a while.  Many people seem to prefer the Facebook groups over a dedicated community forum, despite several limitations.

 

What do you like about these Facebook groups?  Are there any advantages over a dedicated community forum such as Formiculture?

 

What Facebook integrations would you like to see incorporated into this forum?  Facebook login?  Facebook chat, perhaps?

 

Let us know in the comments below!

Edited by drtrmiller, May 5 2015 - 2:04 PM.

[dean_k]

Facebook isn't an ideal way to keep ant journals. Therefore, I do not use it. However, I cannot deny that facebook is more accessible. And there are people who don't know how to use a forum software but know how to use facebook.

[Wamdar]

I like this forum because it doesnt have all the ad's and sensory overload that facebook does. I'd maybe like to see an easier way to post pictures after creating a topic, sorta like posting a picture in the comments section in facebook. 

[drtrmiller]

I'd maybe like to see an easier way to post pictures after creating a topic, sorta like posting a picture in the comments section in facebook. 

 

Good idea.

 

I actually just noticed that Facebook login is broken for Formiculture.  Maybe that was the result of the recent upgrade.

 

Did anyone ever use Facebook login to login to Formiculture?  Maybe it should be more prominently placed?

[dean_k]

 

Did anyone ever use Facebook login to login to Formiculture?  Maybe it should be more prominently placed?

 

 

I think majority of people are (perhaps overly) familiar with facebook. Me being 34, my internet days started with forums. Therefore, I am more comfortable with forums and have managed few big ones previously (as a mod).

 

It would be wiser to implement facebook login regardless inputs. For the time being, you can't overlook facebook.

 

Edit: Forgot to actually answer the question. I don't think it needs to be moved. It's already in a good position. I'd perhaps maybe want a bigger icon. The current one is tiny.

Edited by dean_k, May 5 2015 - 3:10 PM.

[dspdrew]

I think the Facebook login actually creates an account with your Facebook account. At least that's what it did when I tried it once.

 

 

Facebook isn't an ideal way to keep ant journals. Therefore, I do not use it. However, I cannot deny that facebook is more accessible. And there are people who don't know how to use a forum software but know how to use facebook.

 

Yeah, Facebook groups have no organization at all, and are not anything close to an alternative to a forum. It's really more like a permanent chat room.

[drtrmiller]

I think the Facebook login actually creates an account with your Facebook account. At least that's what it did when I tried it once.

 

It doesn't do much when it's doing this:

 

{
"error": {
"message": "Invalid redirect_uri: Given URL is not allowed by the Application configuration",
"type": "OAuthException",
"code": 191
}
}

[dermy]

Facebook sucks compared to communities like this. It's a shame some are dying It's a great place to get help and I assume from Drews stand-point easier to run!

 

All I get is BS emails saying what people are talking about, Why would I care if someone had a baby?

[Foogoo]

Yeah, Facebook groups have no organization at all, and are not anything close to an alternative to a forum. It's really more like a permanent chat room.

That's what I like about FB, easy way to reach out to people all over the world, cool to see pictures if I don't have time to sift through threads and just to get a quick update of what people are working on and how their colonies are doing. Obvious downside is you don't have the organization when you need it, like for journals or in-depth discussions.

[Trailandstreet]

A facebook group is only for a brief comment or statement, posting pictures in an easy way and nothing else. It's simply fun, or even only shor questions.

To discuss a problem or write a complete journal, you cannot get on without a forum like this. Well, and you can also be lucky to have specialists and even graduated doctors or professors, who can bring you closer to the science behind.

[Crystals]

I find it very difficult to sift through facebook information if I am looking for something in particular.  I find it a way to keep tabs on what my family has been up to recently (who are all widely spread).

 

For information, journal threads, ID threads, etc I prefer forums.

 

But I could be biased since I grew up with forums and never really did like facebook that much.

[antsinmypants]

I don't do FB for 2 reasons:

 

1) It potentially exposes my personal information to ID thieves

2) It may fulfill prophecy

[dspdrew]

It's best not to put sensitive personal information on any website, especially Facebook.

[Mathiacus]

I have been using the fb groups lately as all of my photos are taken with my phone and i find it impossible to post to this forum since the tapatalk app was nuked.

Anyone who is familiar with me would know that i like to keep my posts mostly short and picture heavy. "Oh, look at this shiny thing"

[BugFinder]

What do you like about these Facebook groups?  Are there any advantages over a dedicated community forum such as Formiculture?

 

 

 

There are advantages and disadvantages to facebook.  I really like the ants california group.  The rest I could do without really.  The advantage of facebook is that I get notifications of new posts on facebook, and can follow along with a thread, or add a quick comment while I'm out and about.  Standing in line somewhere, sitting at a red light, I'm usually browsing facebook when I'm not doing anything else.

 

The real disadvantage to facebook is you can't have rich, deep conversations in those comment threads like you can here.  And you can never find them again after they've disappeared from your newsfeed.

 

Overall I hate facebook.  I only use it because it's easy, and because everyone else is using it.  Using FM radio doesn't do you much good if everyone else insists on using AM.

 

 

 

>>>What Facebook integrations would you like to see incorporated into this forum?  Facebook login?  Facebook chat, perhaps?

 

 

->The only thing I'd like to see, although it's probably not possible, is a notification on facebook when there is an updated thread or a personal message to read on formiculture.com.  Other than that, there's nothing I would wish for, or even use if it were available.

Edited by BugFinder, May 19 2015 - 6:34 PM.

[BugFinder]

 

Yeah, Facebook groups have no organization at all, and are not anything close to an alternative to a forum. It's really more like a permanent chat room.

 

that's a great way to describe it.  Just like a chat room, only not necessarily a live chat room.

[BugFinder]

I don't do FB for 2 reasons:

 

2) It may fulfill prophecy

 

I hope you're joking...  And on the off chance you aren't, I really hope you're not going to try to start proselytizing in this forum.  Science and critical thinking should be the order of the day on formiculture.com.  Lets save religion for another website.

[dspdrew]

->The only thing I'd like to see, although it's probably not possible, is a notification on facebook when there is an updated thread or a personal message to read on formiculture.com.  Other than that, there's nothing I would wish for, or even use if it were available.

 

That was actually something one of the old mods (wook) and I were looking into shortly after starting the forum. The problem was that there was no way to do it because of the way Facebook handles their logins. Twitter on the other hand did have a way, and there happened to be a way to get Twitter to automatically post to Facebook. So, if we set it up to post to Twitter, we could then have it also post to Facebook. It's been so long though, I can't even find the websites this information was on.

[drtrmiller]

 

->The only thing I'd like to see, although it's probably not possible, is a notification on facebook when there is an updated thread or a personal message to read on formiculture.com.  Other than that, there's nothing I would wish for, or even use if it were available.

 

That was actually something one of the old mods (wook) and I were looking into shortly after starting the forum. The problem was that there was no way to do it because of the way Facebook handles their logins. Twitter on the other hand did have a way, and there happened to be a way to get Twitter to automatically post to Facebook. So, if we set it up to post to Twitter, we could then have it also post to Facebook. It's been so long though, I can't even find the websites this information was on.

 

 

Doesn't Facebook have a really great API?  I could hire an Indian and we can get this knocked out in a weekend ;~)

[BugFinder]

Lol.