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I read similar thoughts a lot when it comes down to Facebook, but if you join the right groups this isn't true. It's a matter of finding the right place with the right people. And yes, Facebook is a very annoying and weird platform at first, but once you get the hang of it and where to look it's an excellent place with fantastic gamers. And no, I don't use it for family and friends, only for my hobby. It's a great medium for that.
Very true; it is interesting to see how often TMP threads are the top hits when doing a google search looking for rule reviews, military uniform details, model reviews or scale questions, pretty much any wargame queries. The back history on the site is an amazing resource.As for facebook, umm no. A media platform which has given people the opportunity to enter discussions but not the mental capacity to realise that they shouldn't.
A lot of the Google+ groups have moved over to a platform called MeWe. It’s another social media site, but the groups are separate from the general activity feed. The Miniature Gaming group there can be found at https://mewe.com/group/5bbcdfe7a40f3002b3f85b6b
Hmmm, clunky, isn't a word I would attach to modern forums.The thing is, almost anything will 'seem' clunky compared to social media in general as most are designed for quick throw away posts. And that's the real issue for me.It's great to be able to share a photo in a like minded group on facebook and see all of those 'likes' clock up. Makes you feel good, proud even. But when you realise that those people are all likely to be just clicking through like it was a check list and maybe only spending fleeting seconds and clicking without any real consideration you realise that it is only really skin deep. It's a glossy veneer.The real issue is without people creating album's and befriending them, things like project logs can't exist. There is just no capability for it. And for me that's a real shame.I love being able to subscribe to plogs on here and watch as battlefields take shape or folks random collection of sci fi factions go from bare plastic/resin/metal to coloured in intergalactic foes.I'm in the same groups as friends and will miss posts they see when I am at work.
Like I say, they serve a purpose, but I really don't think they are great for hobbies like these for things like keeping track of projects. I like blogs, but I'm lazy, I don't want to click through several different sites when a forum does it all . . .
I use a RSS aggregator (Inoreader) for blogs. It automatically monitors the blogs I tell it to follow and shows me any new posts. Much easier than visiting several hundred blogs one at a time.
I think LAF has the win in terms of size and scope, but:http://wd3.org.uk/viewforum.php?f=3https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/theoutpost/http://www.looseasswargamers.org.ukFor rules based fora, these seem to be doing ok:https://toofatlardies.co.uk/forum/https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/forums/list.page
Added to this the inescapable fact social media can be a bit tetchy. I gave up on the 15mm Sci fi facebook page just because there were huge periods where it was just people showing off what Hotwheels toy they'd bought in some American store for $1. Similarly that page and some Fan based Games Workshop pages were adrift with drama at various points in their history and I just had enough. I might be biased though, as although I have a FB account I rarely use it and it's the only platform I use as I think Social Media is responsible for a number of the worlds ills.