Minor things that bother you

[Max Rockatansky]

I don't recall him actually ever threatening anyone.  Count that as one of the few outlandish things he didn't do on the forum.

[Plutonic Panda]

I don't recall him actually ever threatening anyone.  Count that as one of the few outlandish things he didn't do on the forum.

It was just from some random person on Facebook. I'm not sure who it is.

[kphoger]

... most posts from friends and pages I follow do not appear ... I'm strongly considering just deleting my account over this, but I'm not sure what to do to account for the fact that some content I follow isn't available elsewhere (in particular, Canadian roadgeek discussions seem to happen there and not here, and if there's anywhere else, I haven't found it).

If you're already at the point of considering deletion, then why not simply decide Facebook is only good for roadgeek stuff?  That is to say, just unfriend all your friends but keep the account active just for roadgeeking?  Or delete your account, but then start a whole new one just for roadgeeking?

Crash_It

Who is that?

Wow, you missed out.

So that's the guy that said Illinois isn't flat because I never quite understood where that came from but I remember seeing people go back-and-forth about it on this website

I do admit I added fuel to the fire.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Because it wasn't just that he denied IL is flat, it was his whole shtick that IL was personally crated by God, Jesus, Baby Jesus, Walt Disney, and Hello Kitty themselves to be this unmatched fantasy world as the happiest place in the universe, and for some reason was trying to do the tourism bureau's job for free.

[vdeane]

That is to say, just unfriend all your friends but keep the account active just for roadgeeking?

That's closer to where I was at than you think, given that most people I was connected to outside of the road hobby have already disconnected from Facebook over the past decade.  But at this point the only thing I'm able to consistently see are groups, which drives the completionist parts of my brain absolutely crazy (I've never been able to move over to the "drink what you feel like from the fire hose and ignore the rest" mentality that most people have with social media; I'm still in the old school "read every update from what you follow" mentality).

[Scott5114]

Several of you are saying you don't like Facebook and it has nothing to offer you in terms of roads.  That's fine, but a lot  of these comments include "I don't look at road posts on Facebook."  How can you claim Facebook has nothing to offer if you don't actually at least sample the road content? 

I generally don't look at anything on Facebook because the interface is so overwhelming that it makes me kind of anxious. Also "just follow the road groups" doesn't work because Facebook sees fit to ignore what it is you actually want to see and shows you what makes Facebook money instead, so I'd have to bookmark a bunch of groups in the browser and visit them manually. I appreciate the work you guys do over there but it's just not a format that works for me.

If the hobby ever shifted over to Facebook entirely, I'd probably just drop out at that point and y'all would only see me whenever I pushed an update to my TM list file.

[PColumbus73]

Several of you are saying you don't like Facebook and it has nothing to offer you in terms of roads.  That's fine, but a lot  of these comments include "I don't look at road posts on Facebook."  How can you claim Facebook has nothing to offer if you don't actually at least sample the road content? 

I generally don't look at anything on Facebook because the interface is so overwhelming that it makes me kind of anxious. Also "just follow the road groups" doesn't work because Facebook sees fit to ignore what it is you actually want to see and shows you what makes Facebook money instead, so I'd have to bookmark a bunch of groups in the browser and visit them manually. I appreciate the work you guys do over there but it's just not a format that works for me.

If the hobby ever shifted over to Facebook entirely, I'd probably just drop out at that point and y'all would only see me whenever I pushed an update to my TM list file.

Other than AARoads, I generally assume the majority road related FB pages are fake/AI generated.

[Rothman]

Several of you are saying you don't like Facebook and it has nothing to offer you in terms of roads.  That's fine, but a lot  of these comments include "I don't look at road posts on Facebook."  How can you claim Facebook has nothing to offer if you don't actually at least sample the road content? 

I generally don't look at anything on Facebook because the interface is so overwhelming that it makes me kind of anxious. Also "just follow the road groups" doesn't work because Facebook sees fit to ignore what it is you actually want to see and shows you what makes Facebook money instead, so I'd have to bookmark a bunch of groups in the browser and visit them manually. I appreciate the work you guys do over there but it's just not a format that works for me.

If the hobby ever shifted over to Facebook entirely, I'd probably just drop out at that point and y'all would only see me whenever I pushed an update to my TM list file.

TM doesn't notify users of other's updates, though. ;D

[Max Rockatansky]

Several of you are saying you don't like Facebook and it has nothing to offer you in terms of roads.  That's fine, but a lot  of these comments include "I don't look at road posts on Facebook."  How can you claim Facebook has nothing to offer if you don't actually at least sample the road content? 

I generally don't look at anything on Facebook because the interface is so overwhelming that it makes me kind of anxious. Also "just follow the road groups" doesn't work because Facebook sees fit to ignore what it is you actually want to see and shows you what makes Facebook money instead, so I'd have to bookmark a bunch of groups in the browser and visit them manually. I appreciate the work you guys do over there but it's just not a format that works for me.

If the hobby ever shifted over to Facebook entirely, I'd probably just drop out at that point and y'all would only see me whenever I pushed an update to my TM list file.

Other than AARoads, I generally assume the majority road related FB pages are fake/AI generated.

You have us (Gribblenation), CAhighways, USends, Pennsylvania Highways, NYCroads.com, Roadwaywiz, the Ridge Route Preservation Organization and more.  These are all brand name hobby highway pages that are present on Facebook. 

Many of the page names I listed were once heavily active here.  They still are active, just not on the forum.  I get it some of you folks don't like Facebook.  But many of you don't seem to have a good account of what/who is active there.

[Rothman]

Several of you are saying you don't like Facebook and it has nothing to offer you in terms of roads.  That's fine, but a lot  of these comments include "I don't look at road posts on Facebook."  How can you claim Facebook has nothing to offer if you don't actually at least sample the road content? 

I generally don't look at anything on Facebook because the interface is so overwhelming that it makes me kind of anxious. Also "just follow the road groups" doesn't work because Facebook sees fit to ignore what it is you actually want to see and shows you what makes Facebook money instead, so I'd have to bookmark a bunch of groups in the browser and visit them manually. I appreciate the work you guys do over there but it's just not a format that works for me.

If the hobby ever shifted over to Facebook entirely, I'd probably just drop out at that point and y'all would only see me whenever I pushed an update to my TM list file.

Other than AARoads, I generally assume the majority road related FB pages are fake/AI generated.

You have us (Gribblenation), CAhighways, USends, Pennsylvania Highways, NYCroads.com, Roadwaywiz, the Ridge Route Preservation Organization and more.  These are all brand name hobby highway pages that are present on Facebook. 

Many of the page names I listed were once heavily active here.  They still are active, just not on the forum.  I get it some of you folks don't like Facebook.  But many of you don't seem to have a good account of what/who is active there.

This forum used to be a great place to get a combined look at all of that stuff.  There's still a decent amount of transportation-related news on here or historical information, but it does feel like it's declining.

Feels like a big step backwards to join multiple, disparate Facebook groups.

[Scott5114]

Several of you are saying you don't like Facebook and it has nothing to offer you in terms of roads.  That's fine, but a lot  of these comments include "I don't look at road posts on Facebook."  How can you claim Facebook has nothing to offer if you don't actually at least sample the road content? 

I generally don't look at anything on Facebook because the interface is so overwhelming that it makes me kind of anxious. Also "just follow the road groups" doesn't work because Facebook sees fit to ignore what it is you actually want to see and shows you what makes Facebook money instead, so I'd have to bookmark a bunch of groups in the browser and visit them manually. I appreciate the work you guys do over there but it's just not a format that works for me.

If the hobby ever shifted over to Facebook entirely, I'd probably just drop out at that point and y'all would only see me whenever I pushed an update to my TM list file.

TM doesn't notify users of other's updates, though. ;D

https://github.com/TravelMapping/UserData/pulls

[D-Dey65]

There used to be a sign maker on Marion County Road 484 just around the edge of the City of Belleview, Florida. They made a lot of road signs so a couple of times while driving in that area I thought they were affiliated with Marion County, when in reality, it turned out to be a private business. I just tried to find the place on Google Maps and it was gone. I couldn't even find it on older images of Google Street View, which is a drag, because I was really hoping to contact them about something.

[Max Rockatansky]

Several of you are saying you don't like Facebook and it has nothing to offer you in terms of roads.  That's fine, but a lot  of these comments include "I don't look at road posts on Facebook."  How can you claim Facebook has nothing to offer if you don't actually at least sample the road content? 

I generally don't look at anything on Facebook because the interface is so overwhelming that it makes me kind of anxious. Also "just follow the road groups" doesn't work because Facebook sees fit to ignore what it is you actually want to see and shows you what makes Facebook money instead, so I'd have to bookmark a bunch of groups in the browser and visit them manually. I appreciate the work you guys do over there but it's just not a format that works for me.

If the hobby ever shifted over to Facebook entirely, I'd probably just drop out at that point and y'all would only see me whenever I pushed an update to my TM list file.

Other than AARoads, I generally assume the majority road related FB pages are fake/AI generated.

You have us (Gribblenation), CAhighways, USends, Pennsylvania Highways, NYCroads.com, Roadwaywiz, the Ridge Route Preservation Organization and more.  These are all brand name hobby highway pages that are present on Facebook. 

Many of the page names I listed were once heavily active here.  They still are active, just not on the forum.  I get it some of you folks don't like Facebook.  But many of you don't seem to have a good account of what/who is active there.

This forum used to be a great place to get a combined look at all of that stuff.  There's still a decent amount of transportation-related news on here or historical information, but it does feel like it's declining.

Feels like a big step backwards to join multiple, disparate Facebook groups.

And that's the thing, there is less and less people here by the year.  As much of a rage dumpster fire of rage bait Facebook is the platform is extremely easy to use.   

Facebook certainly was a big contributor as to why Gribblenation saw a revival.  It got us in front of a lot of people that a forum simply can't reach.  Turns out there are a lot of folks outside the hobby mainstream that like roads and highways also.

[vdeane]

I'm still having my Facebook feed problems, and what's worse, it has now spread to my phone, so I haven't been able to view anything posted by anyone that's more than 9 hours old but less than 15.  If anyone has any ideas how to fix this (or can refer me to somewhere to get help), it would be very much appreciated.  I've tried everything I can think of and am out of ideas, and Facebook hasn't responded to the 2-3 times I've sent feedback to them (is there even a way to contact their support anymore?  I can't figure out how).

Several of you are saying you don't like Facebook and it has nothing to offer you in terms of roads.  That's fine, but a lot  of these comments include "I don't look at road posts on Facebook."  How can you claim Facebook has nothing to offer if you don't actually at least sample the road content? 

I generally don't look at anything on Facebook because the interface is so overwhelming that it makes me kind of anxious. Also "just follow the road groups" doesn't work because Facebook sees fit to ignore what it is you actually want to see and shows you what makes Facebook money instead, so I'd have to bookmark a bunch of groups in the browser and visit them manually. I appreciate the work you guys do over there but it's just not a format that works for me.

If the hobby ever shifted over to Facebook entirely, I'd probably just drop out at that point and y'all would only see me whenever I pushed an update to my TM list file.

There actually is an interface in Facebook for viewing all your groups, but it's buried and regularly checking more than 5 or so groups is a royal PITA.  I actually left more than half the groups I had been a part of when Facebook rolled out its current interface because of that.  What you describe with bookmarks would be more convenient by far.

And that's the thing, there is less and less people here by the year.  As much of a rage dumpster fire of rage bait Facebook is the platform is extremely easy to use.   

Facebook certainly was a big contributor as to why Gribblenation saw a revival.  It got us in front of a lot of people that a forum simply can't reach.  Turns out there are a lot of folks outside the hobby mainstream that like roads and highways also.

Just keep in mind that people younger than 40 have largely abandoned the platform, so road content on Facebook isn't reaching them.  I can count on one hand the number of people my age or younger that are on Facebook who aren't roadgeeks that I've met either here or at meets and still have fingers left over.  And given what I mentioned above regarding groups plus the lack of discoverability for stuff that you don't already know is around (or allow to be pushed on you by the algorithm, which I've disabled through a combination of using the "feeds" view almost exclusively and using FBPurity to filter my feed), I doubt I'm seeing a fraction of what I'm interested in.  Quite frankly, the Facebook roads scheme feels like it's in decline too, though it doesn't help that there's no way to identify new posts and comments in a group as readily as we can on the forum.  Facebook is not a good replacement for this forum, it just so happens that roadgeeks don't appear to exist anywhere else other than here and Facebook.

[wxfree]

I'm still having my Facebook feed problems, and what's worse, it has now spread to my phone, so I haven't been able to view anything posted by anyone that's more than 9 hours old but less than 15.  If anyone has any ideas how to fix this (or can refer me to somewhere to get help), it would be very much appreciated.  I've tried everything I can think of and am out of ideas, and Facebook hasn't responded to the 2-3 times I've sent feedback to them (is there even a way to contact their support anymore?  I can't figure out how).

Several of you are saying you don't like Facebook and it has nothing to offer you in terms of roads.  That's fine, but a lot  of these comments include "I don't look at road posts on Facebook."  How can you claim Facebook has nothing to offer if you don't actually at least sample the road content? 

I generally don't look at anything on Facebook because the interface is so overwhelming that it makes me kind of anxious. Also "just follow the road groups" doesn't work because Facebook sees fit to ignore what it is you actually want to see and shows you what makes Facebook money instead, so I'd have to bookmark a bunch of groups in the browser and visit them manually. I appreciate the work you guys do over there but it's just not a format that works for me.

If the hobby ever shifted over to Facebook entirely, I'd probably just drop out at that point and y'all would only see me whenever I pushed an update to my TM list file.

There actually is an interface in Facebook for viewing all your groups, but it's buried and regularly checking more than 5 or so groups is a royal PITA.  I actually left more than half the groups I had been a part of when Facebook rolled out its current interface because of that.  What you describe with bookmarks would be more convenient by far.

And that's the thing, there is less and less people here by the year.  As much of a rage dumpster fire of rage bait Facebook is the platform is extremely easy to use.   

Facebook certainly was a big contributor as to why Gribblenation saw a revival.  It got us in front of a lot of people that a forum simply can't reach.  Turns out there are a lot of folks outside the hobby mainstream that like roads and highways also.

Just keep in mind that people younger than 40 have largely abandoned the platform, so road content on Facebook isn't reaching them.  I can count on one hand the number of people my age or younger that are on Facebook who aren't roadgeeks that I've met either here or at meets and still have fingers left over.  And given what I mentioned above regarding groups plus the lack of discoverability for stuff that you don't already know is around (or allow to be pushed on you by the algorithm, which I've disabled through a combination of using the "feeds" view almost exclusively and using FBPurity to filter my feed), I doubt I'm seeing a fraction of what I'm interested in.  Quite frankly, the Facebook roads scheme feels like it's in decline too, though it doesn't help that there's no way to identify new posts and comments in a group as readily as we can on the forum.  Facebook is not a good replacement for this forum, it just so happens that roadgeeks don't appear to exist anywhere else other than here and Facebook.

When I sign in on the computer, I use the link for the chronological feed, https://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=h_chr and it works.  When I sign in on a mobile browser, it redirects me to the default feed in which I have only 4 friends and I see the same few updates from them for a week, and the rest is garbage I didn't sign up for and don't want.  I have to go to the chronological view manually, or turn on what the browser calls desktop mode.

Expanding to a more general complaint, I find it remarkable how bad the algorithms are, and they've gotten worse recently.  They brag about providing relevant or engaging content, but they don't seem to understand me at all.  I get either an exact copy of something I looked at before, as if I want no variety, or something I'm not at all interested in.  On YouTube, when I listened to music before, it would suggest other things I wanted to hear, or things I'd listened to previously, but recently it seems to only suggest things I don't want.  I don't know what changed.  When I listed to Ella Fitzgerald sing "Isn't it Romantic," it suggested other versions of the same song and then videos about German history and automotive repair.  I have disparate preferences in music, and I'll switch from the Andrews Sisters to Lil Wayne to the Zombies, so I may not be easy to predict, but in the past it at least tried.  I don't understand how it can be so bad as to think I want to stop listening to music to learn about the Nazis or transmission fluid.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm still having my Facebook feed problems, and what's worse, it has now spread to my phone, so I haven't been able to view anything posted by anyone that's more than 9 hours old but less than 15.  If anyone has any ideas how to fix this (or can refer me to somewhere to get help), it would be very much appreciated.  I've tried everything I can think of and am out of ideas, and Facebook hasn't responded to the 2-3 times I've sent feedback to them (is there even a way to contact their support anymore?  I can't figure out how).

Several of you are saying you don't like Facebook and it has nothing to offer you in terms of roads.  That's fine, but a lot  of these comments include "I don't look at road posts on Facebook."  How can you claim Facebook has nothing to offer if you don't actually at least sample the road content? 

I generally don't look at anything on Facebook because the interface is so overwhelming that it makes me kind of anxious. Also "just follow the road groups" doesn't work because Facebook sees fit to ignore what it is you actually want to see and shows you what makes Facebook money instead, so I'd have to bookmark a bunch of groups in the browser and visit them manually. I appreciate the work you guys do over there but it's just not a format that works for me.

If the hobby ever shifted over to Facebook entirely, I'd probably just drop out at that point and y'all would only see me whenever I pushed an update to my TM list file.

There actually is an interface in Facebook for viewing all your groups, but it's buried and regularly checking more than 5 or so groups is a royal PITA.  I actually left more than half the groups I had been a part of when Facebook rolled out its current interface because of that.  What you describe with bookmarks would be more convenient by far.

And that's the thing, there is less and less people here by the year.  As much of a rage dumpster fire of rage bait Facebook is the platform is extremely easy to use.   

Facebook certainly was a big contributor as to why Gribblenation saw a revival.  It got us in front of a lot of people that a forum simply can't reach.  Turns out there are a lot of folks outside the hobby mainstream that like roads and highways also.

Just keep in mind that people younger than 40 have largely abandoned the platform, so road content on Facebook isn't reaching them.  I can count on one hand the number of people my age or younger that are on Facebook who aren't roadgeeks that I've met either here or at meets and still have fingers left over.  And given what I mentioned above regarding groups plus the lack of discoverability for stuff that you don't already know is around (or allow to be pushed on you by the algorithm, which I've disabled through a combination of using the "feeds" view almost exclusively and using FBPurity to filter my feed), I doubt I'm seeing a fraction of what I'm interested in.  Quite frankly, the Facebook roads scheme feels like it's in decline too, though it doesn't help that there's no way to identify new posts and comments in a group as readily as we can on the forum.  Facebook is not a good replacement for this forum, it just so happens that roadgeeks don't appear to exist anywhere else other than here and Facebook.

I actually have our Facebook age demographics handy:

65+:  23.9%
55-64: 21.9%
45-54:  21.2%
Other:  33%

I don't we offer anything with roads and highways that really interests young people.  As far as I can tell younger generations don't like driving or anything road related nearly as much.  We do have an Instagram Account and I'm unclear if that sways younger than our Facebook demographic, I doubt it.

Our followers are comprised of 67% male and 33% female.  I'm honestly surprised the female following isn't way lower. 

Our page is also heavily west coast centric among followers:

Fresno:  28.4%
Phoenix:  13.5%
Bakersfield:  10.8%
Other:  47.3%

Facebook used to display the top five cities.  Los Angeles, Clovis, Madera and Visalia usually cycled in/out of positions four and five.

[roadman65]

Spectrum Internet or Spectrum.  It uses AI to handle all problems, and makes it difficult to talk to their human staff.  However, during night time hours it don't even use the AI as it claims the office is closed.

Considering that AI doesn't need rest and it has limited success at transferring to a live human. why does Spectrum need to shut the system down?

Annoying especially when your service is out, to call and complain with you needing the internet to find the numbers needed being the Yellow Pages don't exist anymore to contact them in the first place.

[hbelkins]

Rage bait in highway groups though?  Out aside of Crash_It trying to stir his usual BS there isn't a lot of that among road group pages.

Who is that?

An unhappy incel around the age of 40 better known as:

- Cra_sHIt
- Barf
- Lord Carhorn

His claims to fame include:

-  Cammer videos of nominal driving infractions.
-  Illinois isn't flat (it is).
-  Wallethub is the only way to analyze statistics (except when it isn't favorable towards Illinois).
-  He once claimed to be dating a 19 year old (never provided proof though). 
-  He would lob baseless accusations of racism despite being a confirmed uber transphobe. 

I don't know if he ever used his real name on Facebook; I only saw him as "Let's Ride Illinois."

[Max Rockatansky]

Rage bait in highway groups though?  Out aside of Crash_It trying to stir his usual BS there isn't a lot of that among road group pages.

Who is that?

An unhappy incel around the age of 40 better known as:

- Cra_sHIt
- Barf
- Lord Carhorn

His claims to fame include:

-  Cammer videos of nominal driving infractions.
-  Illinois isn't flat (it is).
-  Wallethub is the only way to analyze statistics (except when it isn't favorable towards Illinois).
-  He once claimed to be dating a 19 year old (never provided proof though). 
-  He would lob baseless accusations of racism despite being a confirmed uber transphobe. 

I don't know if he ever used his real name on Facebook; I only saw him as "Let's Ride Illinois."

Yes, I just wasn't inclined to give Lord Carhorn a plug.  As far as I know he is still active elsewhere in the realm of social media.

[vdeane]

The fact that my town has had a boil water advisory for three times in the past four years.  Potable tap water is one of the basic fundamentals to being a developed country.

Considering that AI doesn't need rest and it has limited success at transferring to a live human. why does Spectrum need to shut the system down?

I wonder the same about the NYS retirement system website.  The whole website shuts down outside of "business hours" - can't even log in to view your annual statement.

[Beltway]

Just keep in mind that people younger than 40 have largely abandoned the platform, so road content on Facebook isn't reaching them.  I can count on one hand the number of people my age or younger that are on Facebook who aren't roadgeeks that I've met either here or at meets and still have fingers left over. 

The very name Facebook is a very teenage sounding name . . . and it was when created.

That's actually part of the irony. "Facebook" was teenage-sounding -- because it literally started as a digital version of a college freshman face book. But now, two decades later, it's become the platform of choice for Gen Xers, Boomers, and niche hobbyists like roadgeeks. The name didn't age, but the user base did.

So while it once felt youthful and exclusive, today it's more like the digital equivalent of a community bulletin board—great for organizing meets and sharing photos, but not where the under-40 crowd hangs out unless they're already in the niche. The platform's cultural center of gravity shifted, even if the name didn't.

[kkt]

Spectrum Internet or Spectrum.  It uses AI to handle all problems, and makes it difficult to talk to their human staff.  However, during night time hours it don't even use the AI as it claims the office is closed.

Considering that AI doesn't need rest and it has limited success at transferring to a live human. why does Spectrum need to shut the system down?

Annoying especially when your service is out, to call and complain with you needing the internet to find the numbers needed being the Yellow Pages don't exist anymore to contact them in the first place.

The AIs need some time off to plan the revolution.

[JayhawkCO]

I think Facebook has become close to useless to me.

Facebook is for two things:
1) Posting pics of vacations so that friends and family can see if they so choose
2) Facebook marketplace since it's basically Craigslist where there's not a 95% chance someone wants to scam you

[Rothman]

I think Facebook has become close to useless to me.

Facebook is for two things:
1) Posting pics of vacations so that friends and family can see if they so choose
2) Facebook marketplace since it's basically Craigslist where there's not a 95% chance someone wants to scam you

Meh.  I keep track of my old friends through it.

[Max Rockatansky]

I think Facebook has become close to useless to me.

Facebook is for two things:
1) Posting pics of vacations so that friends and family can see if they so choose
2) Facebook marketplace since it's basically Craigslist where there's not a 95% chance someone wants to scam you

Meh.  I keep track of my old friends through it.

That and family members I hardly see because they live across the country.