Facebook vs the world

"The people have spoken, the bastards."
- Dick Tuck (as told to me by Rhymer)

A new online forum for Forest Hill / Honor Oak has been launched. This one's called se23.life and serves as an alternative to SE23.com 

The founders believe the clean look and superior functionality of their forum will attract a new community and it has got off to a decent start in terms of the number of posts generated (albeit, a high proportion come from the mods themselves).

New entrants in the hyperlocal space are always welcome, but when so much debate has gravitated to local Facebook groups, it's tough to build a foothold. Paul Milnes, the moderator of the Telegraph Hill Forum, recently announced a plan to close it, writing:

"I've been looking at activity on the forums, and it's becoming increasingly rare. Telegraph Hill now has its own Facebook page and noticeboard, and the Centre, the church, the cafe and the Festival all have their own web sites. In the light of this, I think it's a good idea to discontinue the forums and make the Telegraph Hill web site a simple portal to all the other sites, including the FB page."

Established communities that have built critical mass, like the East Dulwich Forum, should continue to prosper, but can a new entrant survive when Facebook is wiping out huge chunks of the open web?