4 ms·

Ask HN: Why don’t “Western” scientists form scientific communities on Facebook?

4 points by abrax3141 7y ago

aszantu 7y ago
There are a few scientiats and doctors in the carnivore groups on facebook
JohnFen 7y ago
Pure speculation here -- I've worked with scientists for a long time, but it's been a while and I no longer know how those circles work. My guess -- Facebook doesn't bring any value to them. Scientists have had strong and deep international communities and very effective methods of communication within them for generations. Facebook would have to provide some sort of serious advantage over what already exists to lure scientists over to it. I don't see that FB offers any sort of advantage at all to that circle, let alone a serious one.
- abrax3141 7y ago
  I agree with the first part of this, but not the second. We (I'm a scientist more than a hacker, although both) do not have "very effective methods of communication". We have extremely inefficient methods of communication. (The traditional explanation for this is quality control, but it's been shown that this is mostly an illusion, and anyway there are more efficient means of QC than peer review.)
  - billconan 7y ago
    how about https://www.researchgate.net/ https://www.researchgate.net/?
    - abrax3141 7y ago
      Interestingly, everyone I know treats this as just a way to get free papers. There's something about its design that says "free papers", as opposed to "form community". Like, maybe it's logo: "Discover scientific knowledge, and make your research visible."
    - buboard 7y ago
      spammier than linkedin
- buboard 7y ago
  Lots of scientists are on twitter. Great platform to announce papers, occasionally debate a question, announce jobs, offer introductions etc. Feels a lot like a perpetual conference
gomangogo 7y ago
Because scientists are aware about privacy abuses of Facebook more than any other community
- abrax3141 7y ago
  Yeah. No. They are aware as well, more than anyone else, that the privacy abuses aren’t the sort that they care about in terms of their science. And most of the major news about these came out only relatively recently. FB was a Science desert well b4 that.

4 points by abrax3141 7y ago

There are a few scientiats and doctors in the carnivore groups on facebook

Pure speculation here -- I've worked with scientists for a long time, but it's been a while and I no longer know how those circles work. My guess -- Facebook doesn't bring any value to them. Scientists have had strong and deep international communities and very effective methods of communication within them for generations. Facebook would have to provide some sort of serious advantage over what already exists to lure scientists over to it. I don't see that FB offers any sort of advantage at all to that circle, let alone a serious one.

abrax3141 7y ago
I agree with the first part of this, but not the second. We (I'm a scientist more than a hacker, although both) do not have "very effective methods of communication". We have extremely inefficient methods of communication. (The traditional explanation for this is quality control, but it's been shown that this is mostly an illusion, and anyway there are more efficient means of QC than peer review.)
- billconan 7y ago
  how about https://www.researchgate.net/ https://www.researchgate.net/?
  - abrax3141 7y ago
    Interestingly, everyone I know treats this as just a way to get free papers. There's something about its design that says "free papers", as opposed to "form community". Like, maybe it's logo: "Discover scientific knowledge, and make your research visible."
  - buboard 7y ago
    spammier than linkedin
buboard 7y ago
Lots of scientists are on twitter. Great platform to announce papers, occasionally debate a question, announce jobs, offer introductions etc. Feels a lot like a perpetual conference

gomangogo 7y ago

Because scientists are aware about privacy abuses of Facebook more than any other community

abrax3141 7y ago
Yeah. No. They are aware as well, more than anyone else, that the privacy abuses aren’t the sort that they care about in terms of their science. And most of the major news about these came out only relatively recently. FB was a Science desert well b4 that.