GasGas FB group
- Thread starter Jetster220
- Start date
Jakobi
Super Moderator
Me too! !!!
dzhitshard
New member
Apologies mate but I think you're confusing "search" with browsing. What you're describing is browsing IMO. The searches don't vary unless you change groups or change your entered search criteria.
Personally, I do prefer to spend my leisurely time checking forums and reading through various subjects. Unfortunately the hard truth is that FB is so much more advanced in search function within the groups no web based forum can ever keep up because most of the board owners can't lay out the cash to actually purchase the most useful software that they'd really like, or even update their current User interfaces. It's not a unique feature to GasGas or a dig on this place. It's just economics.
Also, I'd like to clarify my day drinking comments prior were attempted humor. I had no intentions of sounding snarky.
I don't understand your statements that the search capabilities here is somehow inferior to that on facebook. Can you please elaborate?
The advanced search on this forum allows you to search based on dates, sub-forum, user, tags, number of replies, and whether to search titles or within posts for the search string.
All I see in the facebook groups I am in is a simple "search box". What am I missing here?
jeff
sneaky98gt
New member
I agree 100%.
Here, I can search the for-sale forums for "Rekluse" to see what the recent going prices have been for the Rekluse I was looking to sell a few months back.
Or, I can search "jetting" posts by user "Jakobi" if I want to see any of the zillion combinations he's tried over the years.
Or for a more general search, I can search "45mm site:www.gasgasrider.org" on Google for any posts that might be relevant to the Marzocchi fork seals on my bike.
It's not as much a problem on this site, but on sites with lots of different content (say, Thumpertalk), I can search the GasGas subforums for relevant information.
Facebook can't, nor ever will without significant changes, be able to rival that.
The other problem with Facebook compared to online forums, which I think is actually a bigger problem than search abilities, is that the overwhelming majority of Facebook users are on their phone, instead of a computer. Which means they can't usually form thoughts longer than a sentence at a time.
Jakobi
Super Moderator
All good mate! I've not really had any issues finding content on forums, this one or others.. using methods described above.
I have however lost content in the sea of facebook. I know there is a search, and there is probably a way to improve my searches, however I find it much more tiresome.. especially if looking for say a specific picture from several years ago. Here I can find a 'thread' with said images included... vs an image with a thread of comments.
They both have advantages and disadvantages. Facebook is quick and easy, and you reach a large audience in a short amount of time. Forums are on the decline, however still contain a large wealth of information; with many topics being done to death. In both cases you still need to be able to filter the bs from the value.
dzhitshard
New member
FB is the devil. Period.
But it's pretty much killed all but the best of forums in their specific field. Please don't consider this a personal attack. I was here before I found the gasgas enduro riders group, and I'm still here after it's been and gone. I actually prefer forums because I'm old and crotchety that way.
Using the FB "simple search field" while in a group I can type in the exact same info in one line and yield the same specific type results, including photo thumbnails, dates, poster, replies etc that you're achieving on the advanced search here after opening 2 different windows and selecting a handful of options. . . how many times to get the right hit.
On this site the 2 different examples I just tested I'm still getting several off topic hits on just the first page or results. That's after taking the time to go through the advanced search options once. I would have to go through them multiple times to narrow down more.
That's just my opinion, but I would venture a guess that a huge portion of online users share it or there wouldn't be so many google hits for articles on how FB is killing online forums.
And as for the mention above about using Google to search for a specific thread on GG rider.org
Well, I think that kind of proves a point on the search features for XYZ forum if you go that route instead of opening different windows and checking half a dozen fields in an advanced search feature.
Either way, I'm here for the learning. Should we change the subject to the current rumors of the brand being sold off again?
JK I don't want to think about that now because I'm married to this thing for the next couple seasons at least. Ride Red
FB is the devil. Period.
But it's pretty much killed all but the best of forums in their specific field. Please don't consider this a personal attack. I was here before I found the gasgas enduro riders group, and I'm still here after it's been and gone. I actually prefer forums because I'm old and crotchety that way.
Using the FB "simple search field" while in a group I can type in the exact same info in one line and yield the same specific type results, including photo thumbnails, dates, poster, replies etc that you're achieving on the advanced search here after opening 2 different windows and selecting a handful of options. . . how many times to get the right hit.
On this site the 2 different examples I just tested I'm still getting several off topic hits on just the first page or results. That's after taking the time to go through the advanced search options once. I would have to go through them multiple times to narrow down more.
That's just my opinion, but I would venture a guess that a huge portion of online users share it or there wouldn't be so many google hits for articles on how FB is killing online forums.
And as for the mention above about using Google to search for a specific thread on GG rider.org
Well, I think that kind of proves a point on the search features for XYZ forum if you go that route instead of opening different windows and checking half a dozen fields in an advanced search feature.
Either way, I'm here for the learning. Should we change the subject to the current rumors of the brand being sold off again?
JK I don't want to think about that now because I'm married to this thing for the next couple seasons at least. Ride Red
I think we'll agree to disagree here and I do understand you want a gasgas facebook group - but please don't denigrate this forum in your argument pushing for one..... There is a place for both... And nothing stopping you from starting your own facebook group.
Each "medium" has it's purpose and "sweet spot". This is a technical discussion forum that is well organized into sub-forums that make it easier for a user to find (and search for) data in a way that scales well. We are coming up on 200,000 posts here....
A discussion forum doesn't make for a good place to store reference data. Like manuals, links to reference material, etc. The workaround for this is "stickies" at the top of the forum - which I believe need to be used sparingly. if too many stickies exist - then it is hard to discern where the stickies end and the current thread(s) start.
Facebook, to me, makes it easy to share data for immediate consumption. it's easy to upload videos and photos, etc. Easy to drag and drop items and you are done... On the downside, I can't imagine wading through 200,000 technical posts in a facebook group...
This forum has been here since 2006, before that I managed the smackover gasgas forum - back to 2001 or so. When that dealership closed their doors - we wanted a place that was not associated with a dealer so that it belonged to everyone in the entire community - so this forum was started and quickly grew. This forum is community owned and not for profit. It exists to benefit the entire community - riders, dealers, importers, etc. My time, and that of the moderators, is donated. We take donations to cover our costs.
I don't see facebook killing off this site and I can look a statistical plot of forum activity that bears this out. I see no appreciable change in activity in the last couple of years. And I do have several folks a day signing up as new users here - which really hasn't changed recently either....
I do think updating the forum software here will be necessary in the near future, and it is overdue. It would help with usability and, in turn, increase activity - particularly on mobile devices. That software will be xenforo - which is what thumpertalk uses. It is more "mobile friendly" and has a gallery for uploading vids and photos. The main thing slowing this down is the time I have available - I am dealing with a family illness and have very little spare time to give.
Jeff
Xenforo has been on version 2.0 of the software for more than a year, so I'd say it's safe to change over. The latest 2.1 has been out for about 3 months.
The standard package has enough features that extra addons (3rd party enhancements) might not be needed.
This would still be a big job for Jeff. The styling can be tedious work to get right. At least XF allows for a test forum so experimenting is possible without disrupting the working forum. My advise is to treat it like a hobby and only do it if there is free time available. Family is more important.
After I went through the process of learning how to do forum work, I was amazed at how much is involved. Keeping up with all the ongoing updates is tedious. I just checked the XF support forum and noticed I haven't posted since May of 2016. The forum I manage is on version 1.36 and still running well. Whoever takes over from me can worry about upgrades.
The standard package has enough features that extra addons (3rd party enhancements) might not be needed.
This would still be a big job for Jeff. The styling can be tedious work to get right. At least XF allows for a test forum so experimenting is possible without disrupting the working forum. My advise is to treat it like a hobby and only do it if there is free time available. Family is more important.
After I went through the process of learning how to do forum work, I was amazed at how much is involved. Keeping up with all the ongoing updates is tedious. I just checked the XF support forum and noticed I haven't posted since May of 2016. The forum I manage is on version 1.36 and still running well. Whoever takes over from me can worry about upgrades.
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shawbagga
New member
Haha now we have this new page. Aussie GG Riders page, The GasGas page, GasGas Owners page x2, GasGas Club, GasGas Riders page....
CDN Rick
Silver Level Site Supporter
I'm sure no-one will get confused.
All because we "couldn't find" a moderator for the other page.
It ain't too late to bring it back whoever holds the controls!
