BookTalk.org

One reason I like Booktalk is the discussion board format. You can see every post in a thread, in order and in full, and there is an index showing all recent threads. And everything can easily be found using google search if you want to look at older conversations.

However, I have heard that there is a trend away from discussion boards.

The rise of Facebook is cited as one factor, but I find that surprising. Facebook gives a very confused platform for any extended serious conversation. Posts are hidden, blocked, and put in non-chronological order. Facebook pages have no simple index to find older stuff.

What do you think?

Facebook is for very superficial discussions in my opinion. I agree with you on all accounts. Forums are for more serious in-depth conversations where sources are cited, images are attached and posts are kept in a logical and chronological order.

Here is something crazy I've observed. In all the years of having a BookTalk.org Facebook page I don't recall even one successful time where a Facebook participant has been dragged back to the real forums here. People on Facebook are just not there for the same reasons as people that frequent real forums. I've given up even trying to get people to join our forums via Facebook.

It would be a loss if the forum format went away. I don't have anything against social media, even though I don't use them, but booktalk is a better fit for me.

I don't think of booktalk.org as social media, but maybe in a way, it is.

I'm not sure how social media is defined these days but I don't personally consider forums to be a part of the social media world.

Booktalk fits in the broad social media definition at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media since it is user generated content, as opposed to the passive receipt of broadcast media. I have recently joined a few Facebook pages discussing religion and philosophy. They are hopelessly frustrating since it seems almost impossible to find anything a day after it gets posted.

You hit the nail on the head. Good conversations get buried and pushed right off the page into oblivion so quickly.

The move away from discussion boards to Facebook and other social media has been happening for a long time. I've seen several local bulletin boards dry up and blow away. In these cases most of the posters had met each other either as neighbors at social meetings for readers of the BB. They became Facebook friends and that was it for the BB. Since I didn't follow that trend for the most part, I lost track of almost all those people.

Yes the discussions are quite different, but not sure you should say which is better. One is more for keeping up with friends, the other is a bit more like a debate society.

Thank goodness for sites like BookTalk!

I hope online public discussion boards are not becoming a thing of the past. I have a group at church that I would like to bring to this online discussion board format because it's difficult to get a group together in-person every week, and not everyone has Facebook or wants Facebook, especially seniors. I've tried having a book study discussion over email, but there's always someone who hijacks email addresses and sends forwards to everyone. I'm really hoping to be able to lead a discussion group on booktalk!

You're welcome to use BookTalk.org for your church discussions. I can even create a special forum just for you guys. I think I got an email from you about this or maybe it was from someone else. I will reply soon. Things have been hectic recently. But I will help you with this.

One of the problems I found with in-person book groups is that they inevitably attract one or more people that make the others uncomfortable. Book groups usually meet at someones private home. So now you have someone coming into your home that you really don't want in your home. Things get awkward. I find online forums much easier for this reason.