I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am.

Well, if leaking of data was the primary concern, then absolutely nobody would be on the thing. I believe that the whole world has simply learned to live with data leaks, which are about the only commonality across the entire WWW.

I don't know what tuppence is but I can't think of anything worse than having my progressive metal reviews leaked onto the dark web. How could I ever recover from the reputation damage 

Facebook and Instagram are where people get updates about the things they follow. It was much easier or desirable for me to click on a review coming across my news feed. Plus, it even got people to comment on a reviews and have a conversation! What a novelty! 

Tuppence is an old British coin, two pence, shortened to tuppence. Damo San is referring to a rather old phrase in English, “just my tuppence worth”, or providing people with your opinion which is deemed to be only worth tuppence, i.e. not of any great value.

Agreed. I quite liked the PA Facebook page. It definitely had me visit the site a couple of times when I perhaps wouldn't have otherwise. And the odd conversation when it happened was nice, too.

I know FB is anathema to a lot of people who frequent these forums, but there are also a lot of people out there who use it. I would definitely join a PA group on FB if one ever existed, as that would be even more useful and engaging than a FB page. Unlikely to happen, I guess, but who knows.....?

Yea, but for the rest of humanity, forums are anathema period. I get we suffer through it here because beggars can't be choosers. But why did the existing facebook functionality have to suffer? 

I used to be a member of many forums, and a moderator of a couple, They are definitely a relic from the past, so it’s kind of appropriate the PA forums linger on. The PA forums is not only the only one I am still a member of, but it’s the only forum I know that still exists. Every other forum I have ever been part of no longer exists. I have no doubt there are other forums still out there, of course, but they are probably as antiquated as this one. That’s not a criticism, by the way. Merely a statement of fact.

I am interested, Nick, as to why forums should be seen as a relic of the past. I am not on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other of these social media sites. I find them all rather pointless, excepting when I do research for work or PABT. I far prefer forums to share opinions, and I lurk on PE, occasionally posting there, a couple of Star Trek forums, and other cultural sites.

As I said, it was not a criticism. They have merely been superseded. Whether or not that is a good thing or not is entirely subjective. FB is the only social media I am on, but it is definitely far from pointless. I’m not sure anyone actually likes the platform, but it’s almost a necessary evil.

Your preference to use forums is just that. It had no relevance to whether or not they are a relic of the past. I prefer forums too, and have been sad to see all the forums I have been part of disappear into the ether. I personally think they have a great many advantages over any of their replacements.

But that said, if I had to choose over getting back all the forums I’ve been part of that have been lost to time, or getting rid of FB, i wouldn’t hesitate. FB provides far more, and as much as I dislike a lot about the platform itself, what it can provide for me is unrivalled.

Having both this forum and the FB page for PA was a little like having the best of both worlds. Ultimately what I would love to see is the continuation of this forum, and to see a FB group started for PA. The PA page on FB was kind of a wasted opportunity, as it limits interaction. A FB group would allow a more similar experience as can be had here, and allow those who do enjoy the social aspect of FB (so not you, if it’s not your preference) to link back and forth between here and there. It would also likely draw more traffic to this site, which can surely only be a good thing.

Steve.....what is Facebook??

I think there still is a place for fora, but they don't appeal to the FB/Instagram generation as they require a bit more effort and diplomacy.  I'm not entirely convinced about one technology superseding another either.  It was thought in the early 20th century that radio would supersede newspapers, and a couple of decades later that TV would supersede radio, and yet to this day all three media still co-exist, though they have all had to adapt and exploit newer technology (e.g. the internet) in order to continue.

I think a FB group is certainly a possibility as long as it is well vetted to keep it a space for anyone with a genuine interest in prog.

Just my twopennorth.

 Sadderthaneverpageforthemasses!

An extremely knowing, and altogether spot on, post 

Not the ONLY one !

Of course Mrs. JD has one, but not me.

Manuel wrote: I might be one of the few people here that doesn't have a FB page. It took too much time away from other things, and I decided to cancel my page.

Ditto

FB is supposed to be instant new things which it is ... but not always. A lot of FB groups can push the same old. There is no reference such as the PA archives.  If you display an interest in something you get further posts on a subject. It's an alternative and one can communicate instantly. This I suspect is the main appeal.

Good for comedy videos.

It's also a time sink so choose your moments wisely...

Just my tuppence and to each their own of course. 

I reluctantly curate a FB account as I find it useful for keeping in touch with close family and real life friends, but I don't really use it for much else.

When it comes to social media I much prefer Twitter which can be good company for someone living on their own like myself.

So very much this. I do have a FB account, but these days it's a source of sadness and frustration rather than anything else. For me, the last straw came couple of weeks ago, on what would have been Slartibartfast's birthday. Seeing people wishing him a great day - completely unaware of his death - felt so tawdry and heartbreaking. With very few exceptions, no one cares about anyone else but themselves there.

The birthday thing!  What happens is FB notifies you that it's the birthday of somebody in your friends' list.  And then you feel it would be impolite not to wish EVEN if the person is just an acquaintance and not REALLY a friend.  Which happens a lot on FB because people, myself included, just add each other like crazy and then forget who all are in the friends' list. 

It happened that I was not in touch with a woman who was in the same batch as me for a management training program years back...but she was in my list.  I saw her birthday notification.  But I didn't immediately wish her and instead clicked on her wall.  I usually do that because people often put a wrong date as their birthday on FB for privacy's sake (unless they are close friends/relatives where I know for sure).  So I did that and then learnt to my great shock that she had died.  But I saw/see people wishing her on that day like clockwork, never wondering why they don't get a response.  

As morbid as this is, a documentary about something similar was made back in 2011 and about something that happened in 2003 (that is, before social media).  A British woman named Joyce Vincent died in 2003 and her body was only discovered nearly 3 years later.  She was youngish when she died and supposed to have been a vivacious personality so her death and the fact that she had been living all alone (as a result of which her body lay unattended for so long) came as a shock to the people who knew her. Guess it happens sadly that some people drift away from society, perhaps due to something that makes them sad or depressed or perhaps because they are in circumstances where they would like to avoid the judgmental eye of society. 

Wise words, mate. 

The problem with Twitter is it's too crude and virtually anyone can butt in with any kind of 'opinion' where opinion could be simply a euphemism for vile personal insults. 

FB too isn't that much of a bubble.  You can discover through FB that your work acquaintances, family friends who are pleasant company in person can have seriously bizarre political views and are, uh, more than a bit vocal in expressing them. Actually, the younger generation seems to realize the problems with FB for some of them have made groups where people express political and other opinions from all over the spectrum.  The idea IS to build tolerance to dissent and disagreement. 

It's time for me to get the dictionary out to find out what "acculturation" means. 

PA is an extremely well moderated forum. We do get flare ups and rows here, but they are, in truth, an e caption and not the rule.

We don’t often get the type of moronic comments you see on social media at large.

Yeah, that remark might be ok in a facetious vein but there's simply no comparison between whatever arguments you see here and Twitter.  Twitter is just impossibly ugly.

She has a FB page, and she is old too.....  

I hate the idea of being connected 24/7 and the internet of things.

You're describing Instagram and Twitter with the need to constantly document things. Facebook is for spreading misinformation through disreputable news sources and creating comfy cultural echo chambers so you never have to question whether you're wrong or not now.

Now that's not to say that I've had to deal with trolls and such in the past. You just unfriend them. Sure, that sets my Facebook account up to be an echo chamber of sorts. But that's OK. My life doesn't depend on Facebook and there are better sites out there for doing research. Like others have said, it's another way of keeping in touch with family.

One other benefit to Facebook: genealogy of living people. When public records on Ancestry.com only get you so far with tracing a tree into the present, sometimes finding living people on Facebook opens up more current family relationships and details that otherwise are unavailable. 

So rather than treat it as "that lousy social media," think out of the box and treat is as a resource for your hobbies, for your interests, and, in my case, for data to help me fill in family trees. To each his/her own.

Facebook: Definition - a place where ignorant, self-opinionated people meet to make enemies of each other.

Yeah, that’s generally how I feel about it. A mate of mine asked me not long ago, millions of people can’t be wrong, to which I responded, yes they can, and very often are.

Facebook?  Bah!!  Pox upon them!!  

It is said that Twitter is where you make friends with people you know that you'll never meet.

And Facebook is where you're found by people you hoped you'd never see again.

I do use FB for all the same advantages you mention.  Rather, but for these advantages, I would long ago have deleted my account.  I hold my nose and ignore the toxicity but it's not pleasant.  See, what do you do when the 'trolls' posting malicious propaganda are your friends or relatives?  Sounds like you haven't been in that situation very often, but I have.  In certain countries, it's a lonely furrow to remain a liberal (especially, er, a centrist, supposedly the root of all evil) even though people in these countries, like mine, continue to assail the imaginary strawman of an evil liberal nexus having a stranglehold over institutions. You discover sides of people you otherwise like that you wish you hadn't.  And a simple unfollow cannot make you 'unsee' that. 

I have never been a FB user and I have recently closed my Linkedin account, too.

PA is enough for me.

No, I guess that I haven't been in that situation much. Most of the folks I've unfriended were not actually real friends or relatives, though I have unfriended a couple actual friends, a couple co-workers, and one distant relative. I'm sorry you've had these experiences. If I were in your situation I think I'd hold my nose and try to ignore it too. It all comes down to how valuable your positive experiences are as opposed to the negative ones. Once it gets past a tipping point is when you start questioning whether it's worth the stress spending time on Facebook (or any other social media platform).

Yup, I certainly don't think this is something FB or Twitter can 'fix'.  If this is what social media brings out of us, we need to fix ourselves.  Maybe that's a slight upside of cancel culture.  I mean, just BECAUSE you are using a computer or a phone to communicate doesn't mean  you should unleash racist BS.  So there being a price for that isn't a bad thing (though the mob outing people who didn't actually say anything bigoted is bad with a capital B). But what I am driving at is some sort of social code falling in place as to what you can say in social media (the same as polite society) is a better solution than people getting suspended from FB for alleged insults or abuses.  

Hi,

With one large bit of difference ... in many cases you are not allowed to reply to the post ... and that keeps a lot of "comments" out of it.

In PA, the idea of "freedom" and "openness" is actually all right, with the exception that PA has not had the folks interested in maintaining a good relationship with many artists, and even go so far as interviewing them ... one look at one person, who was interviewed and his work is criticized widely, shows you why I would imagine that a lot of artists are not interested in PA ... too many "social media" fans, that have no respect for the music itself, or for the artist, for that matter.

Sometimes, in these situations, the comments need to be moderated to help the music and the artist ... and this is something that PA is not capable of doing to help keep/maintain "progressive music" or "prog rock" in good hands and with critical comments ... the majority of comments about the music have no informational value, except that person X would rather have this or that, and certainly not what he/she is discussing.

Having opinions is fine, but not respecting the art itself, is another story ... but in this social media world, the art is not valuable and does not mean enough to anyone, as its content gets diluted and distorted to the point of worthless. Same thing, for someone making the call to do a concept piece and then break apart the pieces so they fit a "song" format and in the process really hurt the whole thing ... in my eyes ... 

But a group like PA, maintaining a person to get interviews and various discussions, is a problem, when the interest is always leaning towards "favoritism", than it is towards an objective study of the artist and his/her work. AND, PA does not have the Admin number of folks to help maintain the bad comments and responses out of the threads, something that a lot of people do not find fun, and interesting. AND, as an artist, would turn me off ... I'm OK with critical/intelligent comments, but I draw the line between that and the stupid comment response that has nothing to do with the whole thing except showing some personality traits that are not very respectful, or cool.

IF, we are going to be in FAVOR of the artists, we have to unload a lot of "personal favoritism" so that the ugly comments don't hurt the whole thing ... and in this area, I'm not sure that PA has that conceptual interest in their whole thing ... it's just another database out there that can not appreciate the artistry as much as it should to help the music we love.

The problem? I doubt that we love the whole thing as much as we think, when all we reply to are the same posts about 3 or 4 bands ...