Rad Facebook page being used to sell stuff, thoughts please

[griff]

I see comments about Rad bring a bit quiet & a fair bit of activity on the Rad FB group lately

Lots of 'make me an offer' type sales and also non-site supporters (or maybe even non-members) on there. Just wondered how you all feel about this and whether we should try and do something about it? Please click on the voting button above and feel free to add your thoughts

[AKGOFF]

That could well be one of the reasons this site is quiet. Should you not have one or the other? I think you should get rid of he Rad Faceache thing but I am sure i am in the minority who cant stand Faceache and doesnt use it. Is it different to this site?

Adam

[sawzall]

Personally I don't use fb and can't see why rad needs a page
now the site is up and running again,now I know why the site
Is dying on it's ass! !!

[griff]

I'd say it's a big reason Ad

The FB page is busy because there are a lot of people on it all the time anyway and it's very easy to post pics instantly from your phone etc. being a social networking site it also does the social networking side of things really well (no shit) so is good for banter too.

What's not good on there however vs this place is the way everything is jumbled up, so if you want to find out something specific you could be digging around for a long time. Rad has a great bunch of people contributing to a great online source of valuable info

Trying to impose rules in there (eg site supporters only) would be like herding cats, hence me asking the question above. I'd hate to see FB be the reason we can't afford to have MK next year...

[griff]

Or here's a thought... What about just allowing links to sale threads in here?
Would need some support though (see herding cats reference above)

[WINI]

Almost posted on this topic myself a few times.  Personally I can't stand the 'What's this worth?' Rad facebook page.

I see it's use, especially when the site is down, but its just mind numbing at times.  The off-shoot group pages are better, at least it seems like there is more than a glorified car boot going on in them.  Forum any day of the week for me 

That's my two-penneth anyway

[steve69]

Personally I don't use fb and can't see why rad needs a page
now the site is up and running again,now I know why the site
Is dying on it's ass! !!

X2

This does explain a lot of the down-fall of Rad.
If it's easier to use the Faceache page and you don't need a site supporter tag or membership it's a 'no brainer'

The only thing is, you'll never stop the networking on Faceache or anywhere else.

[In2bmx]

I'm on Facebook quite a lot , but rarely post the Rad FB page because i prefer It here .
This is where it all started and feels more like home , the Facebook page was a temporary measure when the site was down IMO .

The problem is, it's not fair to just turn it off    but the rules should be changed to no selling through FB as it's pretty much unsupervised .

The only option i can see is make it private ( like some sites are on Facebook ) . With invite only members through Rad with a site supporters tag ,as it is actually Rad's page .
Then it can be used along side rad for ease of use and people that can't use photobucket .

It's not just Rad Facebook through , I must be a member of about 10 different BMX FB pages and to be honest it's started doing my head in trying to keep up . I've blocked most of them recently .. 

[CustardLips]

Don't like facebook in the slightest but got to admit I've been spending a lot more time on it lately due to the fact Rad is becoming a ghost town. Fb isn't a patch on Rad and it would be a shame if this site died a death because of all this "social networking" mumbo jumbo. As said there are a few other bmx groups of interest but nothing compared to Rad. The way things are shaping up they'll only be a hand full of site supporters next time around which I'm presuming will put next years MK in serious doubt and nobody wants that. 

Kill it before it kills Rad. 

[Jon The Bassist]

I'm not sure where you'd stand with trying to restrict the use of Facebook, which isn't run or owned by RAD
I think the best you could do is dissasociate officeial RAD from FB RAD, make it clear that it's not subject to the same level of control and scrutiny as RAD is in terms of membership etc.

[griff]

Not suggesting we bin the FB group completely, but maybe we can use it to guide people back to the main site?

In the spirit of democracy let's see what people think

The off-shoot group pages are better, at least it seems like there is more than a glorified car boot going on in them. 

Agree totally, maybe the admins on the group pages could post links back to the related areas in here?

The only option i can see is make it private ( like some sites are on Facebook ) . With invite only members through Rad with a site supporters tag ,as it is actually Rad's page .
Then it can be used along side rad for ease of use and people that can't use photobucket .

It's not just Rad Facebook through , I must be a member of about 10 different BMX FB pages and to be honest it's started doing my head in trying to keep up . I've blocked most of them recently .. 

Carl there are about 700 members of the group, so making it 'site supporters only' will be tricky
We could make it private from now on (non members can view but not post), or even secret (only members can see) but we could also leave it as is and ban sale threads.

Agree on the many other BMX groups though, most of them are shite

[oldschoolace]

Glad its not just me then that thinks Rad is on its arse. Personally i think facebook is the internet for scally types and rad should not have a page on there if this is the consequence.
Is it worth trying to establish more links with the museum? Even if its just a case of mentioning rad on there when you post it may help. 

[That Swan Guy]

My point of view:

I've mentioned before about the inherent laziness possessed by all of us due to our genetic make up. Facebook is what is deemed as a PUSH site. The information, whether you want it or not (Candy fooking crush), is pushed into your feed and therefore your life. Rad is a PULL site where you HAVE to go looking for what you desire.

Whilst Rad is packed to the gunnels with fantastic information, history and reference it CAN be very difficult to use.

ie: Not all of the newbies cannot be that stupid that they cannot find the 'How to post pictures....' thread! They are constantly asking how to do it, when in reality the thread is immediately next to where they have posted their own initial thread. Or are people just not prepared to look for information and demand that others feed them what they request?

Another example: And I cringe as I write this..... Stidds' spoke length calculator..... need I say more. Obviously a lot of great work has gone into this and people just cannot be arsed to go look for it. ps low flange, 4 cross, 7x, 194mm 

Please don't get me wrong, this is NOT a whinge, I am completely happy navigating my way around the site as I know where things are but there are constant threads about where is shit, especially the two stated above.

Now for Facebook:

I actually run a page myself. It is set such that any new member is either invited (Sorry Carl I did invite you but you've shit canned it  ) or requests to join. I have 4 admin, 2 of whom are on here. Only these 4 can accept requests. The downside is policing this as random people ask to join, if admitted to the site they can then spam it. We haven't been spammed for almost a year now, not since I told Andy68 to stop just approving every pretty girl that requests!

Whilst FB is easier to use, it does get full of shit, especially 100+ comment threads about petty arguments that should be kept to the playground.

My opinion:

Keep the FB page, increase the security setting (sorry but it will increase workload for admin, but then make more admin) set some rules and PIN them to the top of the page. If broken, kick them off. Sales should be a link only to Rad - great idea. Build phots, piss taking etc carry on

As for Rad, I know a lot of work was done to get it back up and running and apart from the odd wobble, it's worked great. BUT it isn't easy to use for reasons I have already alluded to.

I hope these points come across as constructive and not as a whinge. 

Peace, out

[That Swan Guy]

Aaaaargh! Some fooker has added me to the Raleigh Burner page

[griff]

Aaaaargh! Some fooker has added me to the Raleigh Burner page

Haha, it's anarchy 

[Retrodan72]

I must apologise for my part in this, I sold some tyres to Jono on there last week, at the time I didn't realise it was an issue, but now that the impact it's having on the forum has been pointed out, I feel a tit now.

I say stop the sales on the FB page, and keep it Rad.

[In2bmx]

I actually run a page myself. It is set such that any new member is either invited (Sorry Carl I did invite you but you've shit canned it  )
invite me again ..

Keep the FB page, increase the security setting (sorry but it will increase workload for admin, but then make more admin) set some rules and PIN them to the top of the page. If broken, kick them off. Sales should be a link only to Rad - great idea. Build phots, piss taking etc carry on

I'd be brutal and just bin the FB site  and let someone else open yet another BMX FB page . Not associated to Rad .. 

Or what Nick says 

[That Swan Guy]

I actually run a page myself. It is set such that any new member is either invited (Sorry Carl I did invite you but you've shit canned it  )
invite me again ..

Keep the FB page, increase the security setting (sorry but it will increase workload for admin, but then make more admin) set some rules and PIN them to the top of the page. If broken, kick them off. Sales should be a link only to Rad - great idea. Build phots, piss taking etc carry on

I'd be brutal and just bin the FB site  and let someone else open yet another BMX FB page . Not associated to Rad .. 

Or what Nick says 

I can't invite you again as you left, you have to request it! 

[Retrodan72]

I actually run a page myself. It is set such that any new member is either invited (Sorry Carl I did invite you but you've shit canned it  )
invite me again ..

Keep the FB page, increase the security setting (sorry but it will increase workload for admin, but then make more admin) set some rules and PIN them to the top of the page. If broken, kick them off. Sales should be a link only to Rad - great idea. Build phots, piss taking etc carry on

I'd be brutal and just bin the FB site  and let someone else open yet another BMX FB page . Not associated to Rad .. 

Or what Nick says 

Fookin' lazy moderating that Carlos. 

[Betty]

Just suspend the page so no one can post on it, re activate it if this site goes down again, jobs a good un 

I was gonna bin the page because i'm sick of seeing all the for sale posts, but i couldn't work out how to 

[griff]

It could be a positive...

It's a good way to potentially bring in new members, as long as people keep linking back to Rad then it should drive traffic
For people selling on here, it's a good way to advertise your sale thread in a secondary location

Just to point something out to those who say the Rad site is on it's arse, it's still getting plenty of visitors and the requests for new members to be added continue to come through all the time. In fact I see about the same number or more vs those wishing to be added to the FB group

[In2bmx]

Talking about FB .

I just went on your FB Nick to try and find your FB site , to see what I'm not missing .

And thanks for the like of my company site and I'm sure Matt swivel will thank you to ..

But 
 
What is that I see 




Zaza's  tack room 

[AKGOFF]

Very suspect.

 

[Taipan]

Social Networking sites such as FB    etc  is adding to the downfall of this country Never has some much pointless sh@te been posted by so many! 

[griff]

Be interested to hear views of people who think it should be left alone....