No doubt the biggest value in this forum now is the 20+ years of archived information from so many good custom rod builders. Nobody else has that and certainly not Facebook.

Facebook would be the absolute last place I would ever go for rod building information but there are two reasons for that , the first is because I view Facebook as a cancer and secondly I have never considered Facebook to be a go to place for rod building info .

Imo when people want to look up info on rod building they use a search engine and type in rod building forums or rod building information . Facebook has never appeared in these searches for me , I just tried it again and I don't see Facebook listed anywhere , plenty of different forums pop up however .

I'm not for it and I'm not necessarily against it , it's Aleks decision to do as he chooses but I have little doubt that the overwhelming majority of rod builders don't find forums like this through Facebook they find it through direct internet searches .

chris c nash Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Facebook would be the absolute last place I would
> ever go for rod building information but there are
> two reasons for that , the first is because I view
> Facebook as a cancer and secondly I have never
> considered Facebook to be a go to place for rod
> building info .
>
> Imo when people want to look up info on rod
> building they use a search engine and type in rod
> building forums or rod building information .
> Facebook has never appeared in these searches for
> me , I just tried it again and I don't see
> Facebook listed anywhere , plenty of different
> forums pop up however .
>
> I'm not for it and I'm not necessarily against it
> , it's Aleks decision to do as he chooses but I
> have little doubt that the overwhelming majority
> of rod builders don't find forums like this
> through Facebook they find it through direct
> internet searches .


Chris,

You are correct about the direct internet search. What made RBO so lucrative was that it was #1 in searches for "custom rod building" for over 20 years and that ranking was earned, not bought.

As far as the "cross-platform" thing, it's something to be tried. It can always be modified, dropped, added to, etc.

.............



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/23/2024 10:55AM by Tom Kirkman.

I want to apologize for this previous post: "I am not a member of Facebook, nor a fan of it. Here's my 3 cents worth; (1) been there, (2) done that and (3) never want to do it again. I guess we'll have to wait and see how it goes."

My apology is to ANYONE on Facebook or this forum, whom I may have offended with that post. I am truly sorry. I'm sure there are excellent rod builders, novice rod builders and those in between, who have benefited greatly from the Facebook platform.

I have benefited from this RodBuilding forum and thoroughly enjoy the posts and will continue to enjoy them. So, bring em on!!!

On RBO all the users and comments/posts/pictures will live in infamy.
Not so much on Facebook.

The only problem I see this:

Facebook user Robert Rodsmith posts his new thread weave on Facebook.
That post gets shared on RBO.

Wow! Hod did you do that? Well Robert is not a member of RBO and cant comment.
People who hate Facebook are not going join the group to ask any questions.
...but alas...a long discussion entails about Roberts weave.

Then...Robert decides to quit Facebook and delete all his content.
Now on RBO we have a dead link to a non displaying image.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/24/2024 11:03AM by Chris Catignani.

I feel like no matter how well you moderate, the spam bots get in and destroy FB groups.

Terry -

If anything / your post shows that you are passionate about the forum / I am too. There is a great team of moderators here, including the founder that are making sure we maintain all of the positives while helping the community - there’s a lot to hammer out, and we are taking it step by step to make sure the core values are not compromised.

Aleks

Terry Bain Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I want to apologize for this previous post: "I am
> not a member of Facebook, nor a fan of it. Here's
> my 3 cents worth; (1) been there, (2) done that
> and (3) never want to do it again. I guess we'll
> have to wait and see how it goes."
>
> My apology is to ANYONE on Facebook or this forum,
> whom I may have offended with that post. I am
> truly sorry. I'm sure there are excellent rod
> builders, novice rod builders and those in
> between, who have benefited greatly from the
> Facebook platform.
>
> I have benefited from this RodBuilding forum and
> thoroughly enjoy the posts and will continue to
> enjoy them. So, bring em on!!!

Chris,

That’s the beauty of the posts staying on the forum - we had to create technology to allow them to be hosted here - forever. There are no links back to FB, it’s posted here, and hosted here.

Aleks


Chris Catignani Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On RBO all the users and comments/posts/pictures
> will live in infamy.
> Not so much on Facebook.
>
> The only problem I see this:
>
> Facebook user Robert Rodsmith posts his new thread
> weave on Facebook.
> That post gets shared on RBO.
>
> Wow! Hod did you do that? Well Robert is not a
> member of RBO and cant comment.
> People who hate Facebook are not going join the
> group to ask any questions.
> ...but alas...a long discussion entails about
> Roberts weave.
>
> Then...Robert decides to quit Facebook and delete
> all his content.
> Now on RBO we have a dead link to a non displaying
> image.

I would normally agree - but as the members of both the forum and the FB group can attest - that is not an issue in the CRB group.

Aleks

Derick Jahnke Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I feel like no matter how well you moderate, the
> spam bots get in and destroy FB groups.

Thanks for clearing that up....

Two questions.
1. When is this site going away.
2. Will there be a "SPONSORS" list on Facebook? This site is great and has my information available to rod builders 24/7.

Larry Tobin
LRT Group, Inc.
www.LRTGroup.com
Larry@LRTGroup.com
954-257-6224

Creating the conduit between the FB group and this site has many more advantages than disadvantages. There is a very large community of rod builders on Social Media platforms - and the reach is bigger than many here will or want to acknowledge. The number of rod builders on TikTok would surprise many of you. It’s not just kids doing silly dances but lots of very informational content - delivered in a way many want to consume it today - short, bite sized video.

I’d argue the number of new discussions about rod building topics on Facebook (Custom Rod Builders and other major groups) is probably almost a magnitude of the number of new discussions happening here.

The beauty of what Aleks is trying to do is to get the best of both the “forums” style and Facebooks style. FB does not do good with searches and finding old info. Honestly, the forum here can be a bit challenging since it’s single threaded without any categories but the search engine is better than many and the indexing by Google gives it another leg up making it work. The value of this forum as has been said is the treasure trove of history and knowledge shared that can be accessed. But, many of those newer rod builders on FB and elsewhere don’t even know this site exist.

Those saying content is here forever but not on FB if someone deletes their account are misinformed. Info posted in groups exist past a specific user deleting their account. Obviously if the group owner deletes the group then yes it goes away. But, when someone stops paying the bills for the hosting of this forum, guess what - poof (ok, maybe someone has an archive backup but it’s no longer readily accessible to all)

To the one saying you no longer want to be a member of this forum - I guess because of this change - well, to quote an often used saying on Facebook “this is not an airport, there is no need to announce your departure”. The level of resistance to change by many of the vocal individuals here just baffles me. Bottom line - technology changes, the world changes - the way we interact changes. Adapt or Die.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/27/2024 10:48PM by Michael Ward.

Michael Ward Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> Those saying content is here forever but not on FB
> if someone deletes their account are misinformed.
> Info posted in groups exist past a specific user
> deleting their account.

Hey Michael...If you delete your account on FB...you would need to also delete all the group post via the activity log.

But...what Alex later clarified was that the posts he's making here on RBO are not links back to FB...but a copy.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/28/2024 06:25AM by Chris Catignani.

One thing is for sure --- this place is not what it was just two and half years ago before it was sold. There were at least twice as many sponsors and five times as many daily posts. Social media like FB never made a dent in this place. It was some changes in operation that did it, IMO. So it can either go back to the way it was, continue to go downhill or take on a different sort of life. I think there is a opportunity for a "new" RBO type place but the one guy that could do all over again probably won't. So it is what it is.

I think some on here are basing their opinion on past experience they we had with Face Book. I don't happen to like FB for my own reason, but would not let the FB connection with this site stop me from seeking or sharing info on this site.

My memories of this forum are clearly not the memories some others have. At least 5 times as many daily posts? Nah ...... And if there were more daily posts, a little thing called covid is more than likely responsible for that

I personally don't feel the site has gone down hill at all. It's still hands down the absolute best web site dedicated to rod building. No place else is even close.

Just for the sake of correct information - At the time I sold this forum it averaged over 85 new posts per day and there were. It was not on any sort of downswing or upswing at the time it was sold. These stats remained roughly constant for over 20 years. I believe that the information available and given here remains at a higher level than anywhere else of which I'm aware, and that still holds true today, particularly in the area of good technical information.

Alex was upfront at the time why he wanted the forum and what he planned to do with it. For him it's still a work in progress.


..................



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/2024 03:21PM by Tom Kirkman.

The only constant in the universe is CHANGE and as Michael W succinctly stated..... "Adapt or Die".

Have fun

This forum was NOT dying. It was Thriving. It was the CHAGE that has put it on a downhill path.

Mike,

You are correct - this forum was thriving at the time I sold it, which is why so many people around the industry were trying to buy it. But maybe instead of saying it is on a downhill path it might be better to say it is now on a different path. The basic premise of being able to ask rod building questions and have them answered by other rod builders has not changed. Remember, you're not forced to read any posts you have no interest in.

..............