MDA FORUM CLOSED!!!!

[ONTARIO]

https://www.marksdailyapple.com/a-new-chapter-for-the-mda-forum-community-with-a-giveaway/

Looks like this forum was just in time.

[Rocky07]

Interesting. I am an active member of numerous forums and none have experienced insurmountable technical issues. Sorry, but I think Mark’s claim to have committed a major effort to resolve issues is pure BS. He made a decision to drop the forum a long time ago.

[ONTARIO]

Interesting. I am an active member of numerous forums and none have experienced insurmountable technical issues. Sorry, but I think Mark’s claim to have committed a major effort to resolve issues is pure BS. He made a decision to drop the forum a long time ago.

I tend to agree with you. Like I've said before - nearly ALL forums are run off of the same number of forum software platforms. Mark's forum was what was called a VBulletin forum. It's not incredibly complex - especially if you are an actual company that can afford to hire a tech person. I mean, heck, I've created and owned two of those forums in the past and I would not claim to be incredibly tech-savvy. They're a pretty simple follow A, then B, then C, format to doing things. A monkey could get a forum like this one, here, going in an hour.

So, I agree - I don't buy his story either. But I can not wrap my head around the WHY of it all? WHY would he just let a very successful and busy forum that basically sold advertising for his books and primal companies through numerous forum member testimonials to the program working? It was like virtually free advertising.

I would love to know the whole story.

The question begs to be answered: are you going to join the FB group? I might - just to see what it's all about but, IMO, it will not work like a forum. I have no real interest in posting there.

[ONTARIO]

Also, should we post about our new forum over on the comments section of that blog post? Would that be in bad taste?

[sharperhawk]

VBulletin isn't free. Tech support isn't free. Whether income generated is greater than the costs varies from case to case. Maybe at the forum's high point, it was a net positive, but that may have changed. Regulars were leaving faster than they were being replaced for years before the tech problems. Maybe Mark's company needs to cut costs. Maybe he expanded operations and then business dropped off.

[sharperhawk]

Also, should we post about our new forum over on the comments section of that blog post? Would that be in bad taste?

You could try. A mod may not approve it, but I doubt anything worse would happen.

[Meant2Move]

Also, should we post about our new forum over on the comments section of that blog post? Would that be in bad taste?

I'd say yes. If not approved, no harm done, and for those who were just left without anything, they might find their way here.

[ONTARIO]

VBulletin isn't free. Tech support isn't free. Whether income generated is greater than the costs varies from case to case. Maybe at the forum's high point, it was a net positive, but that may have changed. Regulars were leaving faster than they were being replaced for years before the tech problems. Maybe Mark's company needs to cut costs. Maybe he expanded operations and then business dropped off.

Maybe. But if that were the case I wish he would have just been upfront that there was zero chance the forum would be fixed.

Don't get me wrong - I have a lot of respect for Mark and I know the knowledge and information he has freely shared has changed my life and the lives of countless others. I only wish he had been more forthright about the forum.

[Nightly Orange]

I joined the Facebook group, but I'm not expecting much. FB lacks the functionality of a full forum, and all discussions there are lackluster as a result. It's not much different from posting comments on the blog.

[RedComet]

Kind of stunned to see the MDA forum go. I mean, it was dead in the water after the spam-pocalypse, but still...

Feeling very thankful that this forum is here. And what timing!

Edit: Joined the FB group, but an FB group is definitely no replacement for a proper forum.

[ONTARIO]

Feeling very thankful that this forum is here. And what timing!

I know, eh?! I'm so glad we all agreed to develop a new forum when we did or we wouldn't have had the chance to discuss it and share it.

BTW, I did go over and reply on a blog comment from "Beth" who asked about a sub-forum for women, etc. I told her we are over here. Hopefully others see it and mossey on over.

[Narrowminded]

Ontario you timing could not be better. I won't be joining the FB group. I gave that a go with the keto resest group. Nothing like a forum and my FB feed got totally clogged up. I never had enough time to scroll through to get to other things I needed to see.

While the MDA forum is broken for sure, my opinion would have been for it to be fixed, not moved to FB.

So thankful you started this, and I guess that also answers the question about my journal over there. It will be history.

Grok on

[Greensprout]

Very disappointed, though not overly surprised at the news. While I have made a FB account 2 years ago to access some specific private groups, I’m not at all keen on that platform to replace the MDA forums. Ambivalent about joining, would likely never post if so, only read, and the journal function is gone.

Ontario, to echo Narrowminded, clearly your timing was impeccable.

[RedComet]

I've been a member of the FB group for a couple of hours and I've gotten like a dozen or more notifications about people making introductory posts. Not that there's anything wrong with introductory posts, but I don't need random discussions clogging up my notifications!

[Nightly Orange]

I unfollowed the group and turned off notifications. It's something I'll check sporadically when I happen to remember, i.e. probably whenever I take a look at the MDA blog.

The weakness of not having dedicated subfora on the FB platform for specific topics like fitness, nutrition, and introductions is already making itself apparent. The group wall is a mess of random comments.

[ONTARIO]

I unfollowed the group and turned off notifications. It's something I'll check sporadically when I happen to remember, i.e. probably whenever I take a look at the MDA blog.

The weakness of not having dedicated subfora on the FB platform for specific topics like fitness, nutrition, and introductions is already making itself apparent. The group wall is a mess of random comments.

I find all FB groups to be the antithesis of a forum. And my OCD organizational affliction is greatly aggravated by the format.

[Rig D]

I tend to agree with Sharperhawk on the rational MDA used to shut it down.

I'm retired, but worked in software for my whole career, doing some development but mostly implementation and support activities, I know quite well what user support should look like and in the time since I joined it in 2012, MDA Forum never had anything resembling user support.

Sisson's blog post read like a giant punt to me, and a bunch of it just doesn't have the ring of truth to it. I think he's done some great stuff and I still like the stuff on his main site, but I'm not sure how much trust I'd put in him to have my back in a street fight.

What I wonder now is if the creation of this forum and the rapid growth in users provided a tipping point for him to finalize the decision to give up a slowly dying effort.

[Starkanda]

Thanks Ontario! Just in time! Yeah, I'm not interested in the FB group either, I really can't imagine it going well or having the right vibe/format. Boards are way better!. Yuck. I'm on FB, but I'm already hating it. Hope this one does well!

[ONTARIO]

**sigh** MDA forum still can't get its crap together. Now when you visit a pop up comes up and has a message about the forum being archived and how no one can post or reply, etc.

Well, well, I thought I would try to reply anyway. I wanted a primalforums.com post to head the Nutrition section. And, yep, you can still post.

I have officially become a spammer on the spam-filled MDA.

[Nightly Orange]

**sigh** MDA forum still can't get its crap together. Now when you visit a pop up comes up and has a message about the forum being archived and how no one can post or reply, etc.

Well, well, I thought I would try to reply anyway. I wanted a primalforums.com post to head the Nutrition section. And, yep, you can still post.

I have officially become a spammer on the spam-filled MDA.

LOL.

So, I agree - I don't buy his story either. But I can not wrap my head around the WHY of it all? WHY would he just let a very successful and busy forum that basically sold advertising for his books and primal companies through numerous forum member testimonials to the program working? It was like virtually free advertising.

I would love to know the whole story.

Thinking back, I wonder if Mark decided to drop the forum because it was diverging too far from the Primal Blueprint. I remember being surprised, back when I first joined in 2014, at the number of rather senior members who espoused beliefs counter to Mark's. Alternate dietary gurus were popular, ranging from the Jaminets to Ray Peat, with a bunch of people advocating for much higher carb intakes than Mark ever did. And the journals, which might have begun as success stories and "advertising" for Primal, as you put it, were no longer predominantly about those things by the time I arrived. They were mainly an online social gathering place, and had almost nothing to do with Mark or his products.

He probably could have guided the forum in directions more favorable to his own business interests, even just by being an active participant and letting people know that he was around and available, but he seems to be juggling a lot of ventures and the cost/benefit analysis likely didn't seem worth it to him, in the end.

[Rig D]

Success, Ontario. Your messages show on the forum opening page.
And the the pop up features a link to FB that, well it just doesn't work. Imagine my surprise!
MDA pop up not working:

Forum home:


Drat, the image insert isn't working right. You can see them here:
Popup: https://i.servimg.com/u/f62/19/81/90/87/mda_fa10.jpg
Forum home:  https://i.servimg.com/u/f62/19/81/90/87/mda_fo10.jpg

[ONTARIO]

Success, Ontario. Your messages show on the forum opening page.
And the the pop up features a link to FB that, well it just doesn't work. Imagine my surprise!
MDA pop up not working:

Forum home:


Drat, the image insert isn't working right. You can see them here:
Popup: https://i.servimg.com/u/f62/19/81/90/87/mda_fa10.jpg
Forum home:  https://i.servimg.com/u/f62/19/81/90/87/mda_fo10.jpg

Not surprised. BTW, you can still post threads over there today.

[Lovebird]

One can still post... even some spammers have found their way back. which means the link to here is no longer the last to show.

And so far no spam posts were deleted either... which is no surprise to most of us.

Perhaps MS is happy Ontario has created a new forum and took the burden off him and his team...


Just a thought: shouldn't we add some posts with basic info on PB? I've always liked Rig D's way of explaining things to newbies. Clear and precise instructions.

[Rig D]

I'll put something together as new thread here on my approach and some links into MDA. Give me a little time on it.

[OnTheBayou]

Went over there to see what the hap, and this pop up message appeared:



Thanks for stopping by the Mark’s Daily Apple Forum. Over the years, thousands of MDA forum readers have contributed their questions, support and insight with fellow community members. You’ll find good perspective and helpful ideas here for healthy, Primal living.

As of 12/01/17, the forum has been archived. This means anyone—members and non-members—can search its contents; however, sign-up and posting functions are permanently disabled.

In its place, the Mark’s Daily Apple team has created a private Facebook group for the Mark’s Daily Apple community where you can join for free to ask questions and exchange ideas with fellow MDA readers. Moderators and regular contributors will include the Mark’s Daily Apple editor, our Community Manager, and Primal Health Coaches. I sincerely hope you’ll join us there.

To continue to the forum, just close this window. Because the forum is archived, you won’t be able to reply or post, but you can explore its full contents for discussion on health issues that interest you.

To check out the Mark’s Daily Apple private Facebook group, click here to be redirected.

Grok on,
Mark Sisson

I hate FB for many reasons. I do have an account since some blogs want third party confirmation. All it says is that I don't do FB, here's my email address.

Well, it was a good run while it lasted, RIP MDA Forums.

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