Free web site to replace Facebook required.

[freeflow]

I want to close down a Facebook page on which I publish rides for a local cycling group. I'd also like to do away with the parallel email by which I also send out gpx.


What would be the most suitable free web service that would allow me to have a website to which I can publish the pdf and gpx  I'm currently using.

[telstarbox]

Do you just need to make the PDF/GPX available for download or is there some descriptive text/photos as well? If it's the former you can set up a Google Drive or Dropbox folder and then circulate a link to this folder (or a separate such folder for each event if necessary).

[rusky]

+1 for Google drive. If you need pics etc. then a private Google plus community. You can insert links into them.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[fuaran]

Wordpress.com. It would let you create a simple web site or blog, and upload files etc.
If you use it as a blog, people can follow it so they get an email whenever you publish a new post.

[pcolbeck]

I want to close down a Facebook page on which I publish rides for a local cycling group. I'd also like to do away with the parallel email by which I also send out gpx.


What would be the most suitable free web service that would allow me to have a website to which I can publish the pdf and gpx  I'm currently using.

Interesting question. Why do you want to stop using Facebook ?
If its because they don't do what you need then fine but if its because of the recent scandal then think carefully.
Any other free service is leaving you open to the same sort of thing. If you are not paying for it you are the product not the customer.

[robgul]

I want to close down a Facebook page on which I publish rides for a local cycling group. I'd also like to do away with the parallel email by which I also send out gpx.


What would be the most suitable free web service that would allow me to have a website to which I can publish the pdf and gpx  I'm currently using.

Interesting question. Why do you want to stop using Facebook ?
If its because they don't do what you need then fine but if its because of the recent scandal then think carefully.
Any other free service is leaving you open to the same sort of thing. If you are not paying for it you are the product not the customer.

Free = you get what you pay for.

Work out a detailed spec of what you want to do (and might want to do) and then come back and ask the question.  A relatively modest cost per year could be the best answer.

Rob

[Kim]

I want to close down a Facebook page on which I publish rides for a local cycling group. I'd also like to do away with the parallel email by which I also send out gpx.


What would be the most suitable free web service that would allow me to have a website to which I can publish the pdf and gpx  I'm currently using.

Interesting question. Why do you want to stop using Facebook ?
If its because they don't do what you need then fine but if its because of the recent scandal then think carefully.
Any other free service is leaving you open to the same sort of thing. If you are not paying for it you are the product not the customer.

Maybe it's because the cycling group members don't want to be forced to use Facebook?

[Paul H]

I want to close down a Facebook page on which I publish rides for a local cycling group. I'd also like to do away with the parallel email by which I also send out gpx.


What would be the most suitable free web service that would allow me to have a website to which I can publish the pdf and gpx  I'm currently using.

Interesting question. Why do you want to stop using Facebook ?
If its because they don't do what you need then fine but if its because of the recent scandal then think carefully.
Any other free service is leaving you open to the same sort of thing. If you are not paying for it you are the product not the customer.

Maybe it's because the cycling group members don't want to be forced to use Facebook?

If that's the case, and depending on what level they don't want to use it, it's possible to set up a Page rather than a Group which is visible to all. 
Here's an example
https://www.facebook.com/AlfretonCTC/

[fuaran]

If that's the case, and depending on what level they don't want to use it, it's possible to set up a Page rather than a Group which is visible to all. 
Here's an example
https://www.facebook.com/AlfretonCTC/

The page is mostly visible, but Facebook still pops up large messages encouraging you to sign-up / login.

[Polar Bear]

It's a simple request yet for some reason folk seem determined to persuade the OP to remain on face book.  Why?

[Kim]

Maybe it's because the cycling group members don't want to be forced to use Facebook?

If that's the case, and depending on what level they don't want to use it, it's possible to set up a Page rather than a Group which is visible to all. 
Here's an example
https://www.facebook.com/AlfretonCTC/

I used to recommend that approach, but publicly accessible pages are now rendered almost unusable by the persistent (and un-dismissable) "See more of $foo on Facebook" popups.  (By all means have a token page on facebook that points elsewhere to make you more findable by Facebook users.)

Instead I recommend setting up a Website.  Here's an example: http://www.alfretonctc.co.uk/

That seems to be what the OP is looking for help to achieve.

I can't make recommendations of free services, but I'd suggest that if at all possible register your own domain, and then use that to redirect to your hosting of choice.  That way you aren't tied to any one provider, free or otherwise.  (The same applies to email.)

[Paul H]

It's a simple request yet for some reason folk seem determined to persuade the OP to remain on face book.  Why?

Because it's a forum and because they may not be aware of all the options and people like to be helpful.  There's no persuasion involved

[Jaded]

It's a simple request yet for some reason folk seem determined to persuade the OP to remain on face book.  Why?

Because it's a forum and because they may not be aware of all the options and people like to be helpful.  There's no persuasion involved

As has been mentioned there is persuasion involved. It is annoying and persistent.

Plus Facebook is not a forum, it is a business that requires people as its fuel.

And apart from all that, the layout of Facebook pages and how they present stuff is foul.

[telstarbox]

At the risk of sounding like a complete Google Stan, I'd also recommend Google Sites for hosting a few simple static pages and you can incorporate an events calendar too.

[Greenbank]

It's a simple request yet for some reason folk seem determined to persuade the OP to remain on face book.  Why?

Because it's a forum and because they may not be aware of all the options and people like to be helpful.  There's no persuasion involved

As has been mentioned there is persuasion involved. It is annoying and persistent.

Plus Facebook is not a forum, it is a business that requires people as its fuel.

And apart from all that, the layout of Facebook pages and how they present stuff is foul.

I think Paul's "it" was referring to YACF and the discussion about it here, not Facebook itself.

[Jaded]

Ah,

that makes sense, sorry!

(Facebook is still foul, though...!)

[Kim]

Facebook's as foul as it can get away with while still maintaining user 'engagement'.  The nature of the beast is that usability will always come second to the real business of advertising and collecting data with which to target advertising.  Hence UI features that nobody wants, like non-chronological 'timelines' and autoplaying video.  The only way this stuff will improve is if people start leaving Facebook.

This goes for all social media, really, but Facebook are currently much better at it than everyone else.  Groups and the planning tools they provide are particularly effective, because you've suddenly recruited a dozen people to Facebook^[1] who simply wanted to know when the next bike ride is.  They can afford to make the UI decent there, because helping to recruit new users achieves more towards their ultimate goals than showing the group organiser some adverts right now.


_{[1] Even if they never log in, Facebook have logged their brower's signature, know they're interested in the foobar cycling group and can track them across the internet via everything else that Facebook has sunk their teeth into.}

[Polar Bear]

It's a simple request yet for some reason folk seem determined to persuade the OP to remain on face book.  Why?

Because it's a forum and because they may not be aware of all the options and people like to be helpful.  There's no persuasion involved

But you are only being helpful from your own perspective.  The OP is asking for an alternative to facebook, not facebook. 

IMO there is persuasion involved in the way that even after it was suggested that perhaps the members don't want to use facebook, you persisted with the facebook option.

[Jaded]

Facebook's as foul as it can get away with while still maintaining user 'engagement'.  The nature of the beast is that usability will always come second to the real business of advertising and collecting data with which to target advertising.  Hence UI features that nobody wants, like non-chronological 'timelines' and autoplaying video.  The only way this stuff will improve is if people start leaving Facebook.

This goes for all social media, really, but Facebook are currently much better at it than everyone else.  Groups and the planning tools they provide are particularly effective, because you've suddenly recruited a dozen people to Facebook^[1] who simply wanted to know when the next bike ride is.  They can afford to make the UI decent there, because helping to recruit new users achieves more towards their ultimate advertising goals than showing the group organiser some adverts right now.


_{[1] Even if they never log in, Facebook have logged their brower's signature, know they're interested in the foobar cycling group and can track them across the internet via everything else that Facebook has sunk their teeth into.}

Yes, even if you are not a member of Facebook, it has a shadow profile for you based on what other Facebook users have about you.

[Kim]

It's a simple request yet for some reason folk seem determined to persuade the OP to remain on face book.  Why?

Because it's a forum and because they may not be aware of all the options and people like to be helpful.  There's no persuasion involved

But you are only being helpful from your own perspective.  The OP is asking for an alternative to facebook, not facebook. 

IMO there is persuasion involved in the way that even after it was suggested that perhaps the members don't want to use facebook, you persisted with the facebook option.

It's a fact of life that everyone wants everyone else to use their favourite communications tool.  I grudgingly put up with this web forum rubbish because of the YACF community, and would much rather everyone went back to uk.rec.cycling.moderated or some form of mailing list where I can read posts quickly and in proper threaded order without all this bandwidth-intensive mousing around.  But I know exactly how far that line of persuasion is going to get me.

Anyway, that Facebook pages are by default inaccessible without a login but can be made public is something that many Facebook users are unaware of, so it's relevant enough to the OP to be worth pointing out.

The subsequent discussion about how wonderful or evil Facebook may be is irrelevant to the OP.  In a proper threaded medium that wouldn't be a problem (just ignore the sub-thread), but on here we stuck with it unless a mod intervenes.


So, Free web hosting...?  Is Wordpress any good?  Has anyone (other than the likes of Karlie Kloss and Cord Hosenbeck^[1]) made their own website with Wix?  What's the Goeshitties for the late 2010s?



_{[1] My primary exposure to celebrity culture these days is via the incessant Wix adverts on Youtube.}

[Greenbank]

It's a fact of life that everyone wants everyone else to use their favourite communications tool.  I grudgingly put up with this web forum rubbish because of the YACF community, and would much rather everyone went back to uk.rec.cycling.moderated or some form of mailing list where I can read posts quickly and in proper threaded order without all this bandwidth-intensive mousing around.  But I know exactly how far that line of persuasion is going to get me.

I've often toyed with the idea of knocking up a SMF<->NNTP (bi-dir) gateway.

But being able to use tin with kill files, thread ignore, etc via a terminal would be much nicer.

Not entirely sure how to decode the threading coming from SMF though.

[Paul H]

It's a simple request yet for some reason folk seem determined to persuade the OP to remain on face book.  Why?

Because it's a forum and because they may not be aware of all the options and people like to be helpful.  There's no persuasion involved

But you are only being helpful from your own perspective.  The OP is asking for an alternative to facebook, not facebook. 

IMO there is persuasion involved in the way that even after it was suggested that perhaps the members don't want to use facebook, you persisted with the facebook option.

My own perspective?  Yes, it's the only one I have.  What perspective are you being critical from?
It's possible that others reading this thread have similar questions and it may not be known to all that a Facebook presence can be had that can be viewed without registering.  If it's of no interest - just move along, there is no need for any truncheon waving.
The simple question was for a free option, as pcolbeck points out that isn't so simple, if not in cash they'll want some other currency.  I note you're critical of one element of the question not being taken into account, but not of the suggestions that involve a cost.  That'll be your perspective.

[Polar Bear]

I think that we'll just have to agree to differ and hope that somebody can point the OP into a free service that meets their requirements. 

I'll holster my truncheon if you do likewise.

[MikeFromLFE]

I inherited a Weebly site for our group of volunteers. I got lumbered with it because I look after the group TeamUp calendar, which is on the front page of the Weebly page. The previous admin had loaded a few documents onto the site.
I've done precious little with the site - but it - in combination with TeamUp (as we've done) might be what you are looking for.
There's a bit of Weebly spam, but it's not excessive, and they don't seem to have sold the contact details on.
See.    http://leicestervlk.weebly.com/   

Sent from my Moto E (4) Plus using Tapatalk

[joy of essex]

At a similar point in our club's communication strategy.  We were late to the party with fora so when FB happened then that became our default platform. This was driven, I suspect, by the influx of new younger members who one could describe as digital natives.

FB  was great  at  first and certainly helped/helps with  enaging members. It works well for simple posts with pictures, links and sharing. Messaging and emails are poor  and not every one wants to use it.

We are now using Hootsuite to ensure we get the same message across all platforms and are moving back to an email ( mail chimp) and blog/ website... We also need to  be analogue

It's hard work....