State of the Forum vs Telegram

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I think a big part of the Telegram problem is that the userbase is largely European, so us Americans wake up to a half day of messages. On the forums you just click on the threads that interest you and catch up. But unlike a pure instant messaging platform e.g. IRC the history is there and it tells you how far back you read, so you feel like you are missing out. Treating it like a chatroom with history is much more appropriate. Telegram doesn't have much of a foothold in the US in general so if we have it it's probably only for FG (I am just assuming it is more popular in EU as I had never heard of it).
 
I think Forum use is on the uptake since covid-19 so that's a positive side effect...
 
On a more serious and less shitposty note, @Adunaphel, @thomas and myself have access to the server hosting/billing, so there is significant redundancy in administrative and ability to keep Alex's legacy online. The forums aren't owned by a monolithic company that can shutter at a moments notice, fuck off with all your private information through a shitty TOS, dictate new controls or decide to wipe out your online presence with the click of a button. We don't load Google Analytics or privacy invasion trackers, there are no advertisements, and we don't take sponsorship.

As for the cliques; yeah, that been long standing. Want to make the forums more active? Start posting, make new threads, reconcile with others- make a group effort to recover and push more conversations out of restricted platforms like WhatsApp/Discord/Telegram. Want new features, subforums, tools? Ask!

This forum has been an active treasure trove of information, in depth conversations and friendships for 17 years-- let's pitch in to keep it going.


(Yeah, I know. Shining star of an example, fucking off for a few years.. )
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It's just so unfortunate that we had so many factors working against us in a relatively short amount of time.

a) the demise of the main site/FG's own torrents and b) the demise of CHM Top Gear... and VBH Fifth Gear :wicked:

This was what brought most of us here, and kept us coming back. That source of new users and community-building cement is no longer there.

c) the unfortunate vB upgrade, and consequent software switch

Many people simply stopped visiting and never came back after it was all done and dusted.

d) competing platforms/usage of forums dropping in general
 
e) Profit!
 
I think a big part of the Telegram problem is that the userbase is largely European

So its communist. The Cold War has begun...

Anyhow, the problem is we can't really pivot to another car show as much of that has gone to YouTube and uses Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter for feedback. The biggest advantage this site has over those is a great and mostly positive community. Perhaps we should focus on that and not car shows as much.
 
It's been years since I watched any of the car shows available on a regular basis. I'm more invested in the friends I've made here than that.
 
I've never been able to get my arms around telegram so I've just ignored it since coming home from Ringmeet. I did truly enjoy meeting so many of you in person finally but that stream of consciousness is just impossible to follow casually.

I know I have backed off on contributing quite a bit over the last 5 years or so but since I do care about this community I want to make an effort to participate in the revival of the forums!
 
I've never been able to get my arms around telegram so I've just ignored it since coming home from Ringmeet. I did truly enjoy meeting so many of you in person finally but that stream of consciousness is just impossible to follow casually.

I know I have backed off on contributing quite a bit over the last 5 years or so but since I do care about this community I want to make an effort to participate in the revival of the forums!
Well, if you ever feel like giving it a go, we have channels that are more focused, like AnimalGear and FoodGear. Those get much less hectic and are easier to follow.
 
As far as the political forums go, there is an option to turn it off in your account settings, Thomas added that last year.
I hardly visit it, TBH. If it makes you mad, I vote doing the same.

I think I need to back off political whatsits on Telegram, too, FWIW. It's the same thing every day when I wake up: something about where I live is stupid, wash, rinse, repeat. Then again, I've even started to skip a lot of the comedy shows here because I just want a damn escape at this point. I didn't like it when my dad grouched at the TV and if I start doing that, dammit, it's time to log. off.

The thread about my bigger-than-life-itself balls is way better. I like having both around even if the forums are slower-paced nowadays. Like others have said, Telegram's a chat room where you pop on to BS with people, not so much a longer, focused discussion where you stay on topic.

FoodGear for life, tho.
 
^ I have never been on Telegram... I'm not saying it was because of the size of ninjacoco's balls but they have obscured my vision before.
 
I've never been able to get my arms around telegram so I've just ignored it since coming home from Ringmeet. I did truly enjoy meeting so many of you in person finally but that stream of consciousness is just impossible to follow casually.

I know I have backed off on contributing quite a bit over the last 5 years or so but since I do care about this community I want to make an effort to participate in the revival of the forums!
There's also MusicGear which is fun.
 
I think a big part of the Telegram problem is that the userbase is largely European, so us Americans wake up to a half day of messages.

Just like IRC that preceded Telegram, you're not supposed to read through that half day's worth of discussion because most of it is bullshit that doesn't concern you anyway. :p Just tap the arrow and scroll down to the bottom. If someone wants to talk to you in the group chat (it works just like here, @thevictor390 ) you'll be alerted.

It's also pretty typical for someone to scroll up to even a couple weeks back, use the Reply function and continue a discussion. Other readers can tap the reply and instantly be scrolled back up to the original message from mid-March. If they care, that is. It's different than the forums, but it works.

As for time zones, us Europeans talk to people in Australia as well as North and South America every day. Someone else is probably ready to go to bed while I'm posting a picture of my Corona Compliant™ styrofoam takeout lunch from the break room at work, and that doesn't matter in the slightest. Just like it hasn't ever mattered on IRC. And I'm not just talking FG IRC, but IRC as a whole. It's been around for a long time and it used to be huge among geeks worldwide before apps like Telegram, Whatsapp and Slack took over.

Not everyone will understand Telegram just like I know not everyone understands why anyone would want to get into IRC. Some of my friends think it's a "pointless DOS prompt". :p Not everyone understands web forums either.

Edit: by the way, if you rolled your eyes at the fact that I'm posting my lunch, there's a group for that. :p
 
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Just like IRC that preceded Telegram, you're not supposed to read through that half day's worth of discussion because most of it is bullshit that doesn't concern you anyway. :p Just tap the arrow and scroll down to the bottom. If someone wants to talk to you in the group chat (it works just like here, @thevictor390 ) you'll be alerted.

It's also pretty typical for someone to scroll up to even a couple weeks back, use the Reply function and continue a discussion. Other readers can tap the reply and instantly be scrolled back up to the original message from mid-March. If they care, that is. It's different than the forums, but it works.

As for time zones, us Europeans talk to people in Australia as well as North and South America every day. Someone else is probably ready to go to bed while I'm posting a picture of my Corona Compliant™ styrofoam takeout lunch from the break room at work, and that doesn't matter in the slightest. Just like it hasn't ever mattered on IRC. And I'm not just talking FG IRC, but IRC as a whole. It's been around for a long time and it used to be huge among geeks worldwide before apps like Telegram, Whatsapp and Slack took over.

Not everyone will understand Telegram just like I know not everyone understands why anyone would want to get into IRC. Some of my friends think it's a "pointless DOS prompt". :p Not everyone understands web forums either.

Edit: by the way, if you rolled your eyes at the fact that I'm posting my lunch, there's a group for that. :p
:stupid:
 
Just like IRC that preceded Telegram, you're not supposed to read through that half day's worth of discussion because most of it is bullshit that doesn't concern you anyway.

Whaaat, you're not?! Damn and blast! I've been Telegramming wrong all these years...all those times when I went through a backlog of thousands of posts when I just "forgot" to check the group for several days :ph34r:
 
^ I have never been on Telegram... I'm not saying it was because of the size of ninjacoco's balls but they have obscured my vision before.
the balls are very huge, but Telegram is a welcoming place for all
 
For me, it's multiple factors driving me to Telegram:

a) Top Gear as we know it is dead so the whole Topgear forum section is dead

b) My life moved on. I used to lurk hours and hours in front of my PC, playing online, surfing the net etc. etc.. Now, I basically just browse on my phone, I don't even have a real PC any more, just a tiny laptop for Por......Amazon. I spend most time outside, with my GF, friends or at work, it is just much more convenient for me to glance at Telegram (which I use with other people outside FG as well) and read up in the two FG groups I am in, compared to actually open a browser, go to Finalgear, log in, see if any threads in a bazillion of subforums are interesting. I did cut down on the number of Telegram groups I follow as well, since it was too much FG spam and some people were.......annoying.

c) The forum culture was very toxic, I will not name people here, but there were certain users actively driving people out of the forums.

d) The forums feel to me like a thing Viper did, I am torn between keeping them alive in his memory or letting them rest with him. Everytime I log in I see the banner of Alex and it makes me sad.

e) The people I interact most on Finalgear are people I met in real life during meets, and all these people are on telegram. Now this might feel like a closed group, but it is in fact very open - for me, it is about making friendships or lifelong enemies (HI ICE) and creating memories. This doesn't work for me in a forum or telegram, it works by meeting people IRL. My point is, Telegram was used to organise Ringmeets, Roadtrips and Finnmeet, therefore all the people I interact IRL are on telegram, which removes the point of forums for me if you get me.
 
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