MFP divorce

LighterTomorrow_LT

I hear the slamming of doors, revving of engines, and clicking of suitcase latches as everyone packs to leave in response to the imminent death of the News Feed
. My question is: Where is everyone going?

Machka9

???

Most of us are staying. We don't use the newsfeed.

Lietchi

Machka9 wrote: »

???

Most of us are staying. We don't use the newsfeed.

Perhaps stick to talking about yourself, rather than speaking for the supposed 'most of us'

As for myself, no plans at the moment.
I might end up sticking with MFP for the food logging and boards (although the boards are becoming quite empty as well) and going elsewhere for the social/newsfeed aspect.
I'm waiting to see how it pans out and it will probably depend on what my MFP friends decide to do.
There's still a month left, although I've heard echos of some people already not having access to their newsfeed.

Machka9

Lietchi wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

???

Most of us are staying. We don't use the newsfeed.

According to a moderator (?) Betty, "the Newsfeed was one of our oldest features that had many flaws and was no longer sustainable to support. While it was not used by many ..." (quoted from a post elsewhere).
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10916053/how-about-we-dont-delete-newsfeeds/p1

I'm just going by that.

csplatt

I hated the news feed. I’m here for the forums and the calorie tracking. I don’t really do “friends”

BCLadybug888

The Newsfeed is a great option for reaching out or following friends that may or may not post on the threads you do in Community, or belong to the same groups.

You also don't need to go into Community to use.

I shall definitely miss it!!
Retirement of this feature began May 20th and completes end of June.
Be sure to say goodbye to your 'friends' before they disappear...

nossmf

Most of my newsfeed "friends" are people I met here in the forums, which is the only place I post progress, success, etc. This change will be completely transparent to me.

LighterTomorrow_LT

The Friends and News Feeds features allowed for convenient networking, allowing those with similar needs, interests, and lifestyles to easily find each other.
The news feed is valuable for
-people who need tailored WL strategies due to health concerns, religious or other lifestyle proscriptions, food availability or membership in some minority groups.
-shy people who do not want the entire world to read their business.
-embarrassed people who deal with the shame of being extra-sized.
-introverted people who struggle to be heard in a larger group.
-famous people who do not want to be outed or recognized while they work on themselves.
-selective people who like to choose who to befriend.

Groups are NOT an equivalent substitute. You can join a group, but it will likely include some people you find annoying or insulting and would otherwise drop from your Friends list. Furthermore, group owners set the tone of the discussions and this can drive group members away (been there). You could start your own group, but it would be limited by your ability to recruit members and might not be sustainable if you are too selective. The Friends network made it easy to find like-minded friends or people in similar life situations.

So without realizing it, MFP provided a place for some people to participate in discussions, people that would otherwise feel excluded. And now they want to get rid of that place. Like me, these people are looking for a new calorie counting/WL app.

I'm not sure what problems MFP is having with the News Feed feature. If it's a programming issue, I know excellent programmers who could fix the problem.

Machka9

LighterTomorrow_LT wrote: »

The Friends and News Feeds features allowed for convenient networking, allowing those with similar needs, interests, and lifestyles to easily find each other.
The news feed is valuable for
-people who need tailored WL strategies due to health concerns, religious or other lifestyle proscriptions, food availability or membership in some minority groups.
-shy people who do not want the entire world to read their business.
-embarrassed people who deal with the shame of being extra-sized.
-introverted people who struggle to be heard in a larger group.
-famous people who do not want to be outed or recognized while they work on themselves.
-selective people who like to choose who to befriend.

Groups are NOT an equivalent substitute. You can join a group, but it will likely include some people you find annoying or insulting and would otherwise drop from your Friends list. Furthermore, group owners set the tone of the discussions and this can drive group members away (been there). You could start your own group, but it would be limited by your ability to recruit members and might not be sustainable if you are too selective. The Friends network made it easy to find like-minded friends or people in similar life situations.

So without realizing it, MFP provided a place for some people to participate in discussions, people that would otherwise feel excluded. And now they want to get rid of that place. Like me, these people are looking for a new calorie counting/WL app.

I'm not sure what problems MFP is having with the News Feed feature. If it's a programming issue, I know excellent programmers who could fix the problem.

Apparently it is very old and not supported anymore.

In the IT world, I have worked in and near, such products are decommissioned.

From what I have read, that is exactly what is happening.

MargaretYakoda

Machka9 wrote: »

LighterTomorrow_LT wrote: »

The Friends and News Feeds features allowed for convenient networking, allowing those with similar needs, interests, and lifestyles to easily find each other.
The news feed is valuable for
-people who need tailored WL strategies due to health concerns, religious or other lifestyle proscriptions, food availability or membership in some minority groups.
-shy people who do not want the entire world to read their business.
-embarrassed people who deal with the shame of being extra-sized.
-introverted people who struggle to be heard in a larger group.
-famous people who do not want to be outed or recognized while they work on themselves.
-selective people who like to choose who to befriend.

Groups are NOT an equivalent substitute. You can join a group, but it will likely include some people you find annoying or insulting and would otherwise drop from your Friends list. Furthermore, group owners set the tone of the discussions and this can drive group members away (been there). You could start your own group, but it would be limited by your ability to recruit members and might not be sustainable if you are too selective. The Friends network made it easy to find like-minded friends or people in similar life situations.

So without realizing it, MFP provided a place for some people to participate in discussions, people that would otherwise feel excluded. And now they want to get rid of that place. Like me, these people are looking for a new calorie counting/WL app.

I'm not sure what problems MFP is having with the News Feed feature. If it's a programming issue, I know excellent programmers who could fix the problem.

Apparently it is very old and not supported anymore.

In the IT world, I have worked in and near, such products are decommissioned.

From what I have read, that is exactly what is happening.

If true, that’s sad to hear. Because it means there’s no fixing it, ever.

I hope those in charge of MFP will find some way to replace it.

Machka9

MargaretYakoda wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

LighterTomorrow_LT wrote: »

The Friends and News Feeds features allowed for convenient networking, allowing those with similar needs, interests, and lifestyles to easily find each other.
The news feed is valuable for
-people who need tailored WL strategies due to health concerns, religious or other lifestyle proscriptions, food availability or membership in some minority groups.
-shy people who do not want the entire world to read their business.
-embarrassed people who deal with the shame of being extra-sized.
-introverted people who struggle to be heard in a larger group.
-famous people who do not want to be outed or recognized while they work on themselves.
-selective people who like to choose who to befriend.

Groups are NOT an equivalent substitute. You can join a group, but it will likely include some people you find annoying or insulting and would otherwise drop from your Friends list. Furthermore, group owners set the tone of the discussions and this can drive group members away (been there). You could start your own group, but it would be limited by your ability to recruit members and might not be sustainable if you are too selective. The Friends network made it easy to find like-minded friends or people in similar life situations.

So without realizing it, MFP provided a place for some people to participate in discussions, people that would otherwise feel excluded. And now they want to get rid of that place. Like me, these people are looking for a new calorie counting/WL app.

I'm not sure what problems MFP is having with the News Feed feature. If it's a programming issue, I know excellent programmers who could fix the problem.

Apparently it is very old and not supported anymore.

In the IT world, I have worked in and near, such products are decommissioned.

From what I have read, that is exactly what is happening.

If true, that’s sad to hear. Because it means there’s no fixing it, ever.

I hope those in charge of MFP will find some way to replace it.

That's what Betty (MFP Staff) says in the second post here:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10916053/how-about-we-dont-delete-newsfeeds/p1

And according to Betty in the middle of this page, "Yes the feed will likely start going away for folks."
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10916053/how-about-we-dont-delete-newsfeeds/p7

They are not fixing it, ever, they are in the process of getting rid of it now.

SafariGalNYC

LighterTomorrow_LT wrote: »

I hear the slamming of doors, revving of engines, and clicking of suitcase latches as everyone packs to leave in response to the imminent death of the News Feed
. My question is: Where is everyone going?

@LighterTomorrow_LT - many have posted that they are migrating to Lose it App .. it has a social personal newsfeed.
Somehow they have the technology in 2024 to make it happen. 🤷🏼‍♀️

AnnPT77

I'm not going anywhere. I rarely use the newsfeed: To me, it seems cluttered, disorganized, full of uninformative auto-post messages. Most interactions are just "likes". Some people I know just mass-paste the same response on everyone's auto-post status updates.

I used it at first, but found it dispiriting how many people showed up all enthusiastic, but dropped off quite quickly. I got FRs from skeezy guys who appeared to want sex chat, or people selling things. The posts aren't editable, photos are unreliable and situational, etc.

I do think MFP is making a bad mistake getting rid of it without a good replacement, because I realize and appreciate that some people make extensive use of the newsfeed, find it really helpful, and will be lost without it. I think it's an especially bad decision coming after other changes in the last couple of years that also ticked people off. Dissatisfiers have more impact than good experiences.

Just because I don't like the newsfeed, doesn't make everyone else wrong. I'm baffled when people assume everyone is and thinks just like them. To me, diverse styles and interests is part of what makes other people interesting.

I do understand where MFP is coming from, in a way. As a former long-term IT gal, I understand how much time and effort goes into maintaining dinosaur-age code, with each change tending to introduce new complications (bugs). I don't have access to the stats on which they based their decision, but I do know that a subset of my MFP friends (whom I sadly usually ignore) really enjoy that interaction.

Some people will bail. Others won't. MFP may get some bad press that limits arrival of new users. New users that do show up after it's gone won't know any different, and will either thrive or leave based on the remaining feature set.

We'll see how it all shakes out. I hope MFP isn't committing suicide.