&gt; It seems like a vast time sink with almost no value that isn&#x27;t better derived elsewhere.<p>This is not true for all people. Many people use Facebook as a tool for groups, events, etc. Have you been using Google or Yahoo Groups lastly? Facebook has less friction once you are there. This is not a Facebook defence just a reminder to &quot;us&quot; here in HN who use the Internet in another way and with a lot of expertise. Other people don&#x27;t care if they are in FB, LinkedIn, Reddit, etc they just want a place to share their thoughts insighful or trivial.<p>Just an anecdote: once I signed up in Facebook zillion of Internet years ago I subscribed to the OpenBSD and C++ groups there. Obviously nobody posted until a few years ago when I started to receive updates. Obviously you will never search for an OpenBSD or C++ solution there but was an interesting social media change. Nowadays I find local groups like Data Science group in Argentina representing well the local scene.