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Yes

16 (24.2%)

No

20 (30.3%)

I am not sure/ don't know

15 (22.7%)

Have not given it any thought

15 (22.7%)

Total Members Voted: 60

[sleebus.jones]

I think FB is an absolutely garbage replacement for a web forum.  Completely useless for holding reference content.  I was on a few FB pellet groups, but quickly got fed up with the terrible signal/noise ratio.  It's where information goes to die.

[MP09]

Iv'e gotten so much info. I enjoy reading and learning from all the input. I'm so much more comfortable with my pit. I'm sure there are plenty of us that feel the same way. Thank you all for a great service and may it charge forward!

[slaga]

Yesterday, I wrote a post about how manufacturers don't seem inclined to send pits for testing -- and that I can understand why.  When PH was founded in 2007, very few people knew what a pellet pit was.  It took 3 years for that forum to grow to what our site was in 3 months.  The first pit testing on PH was 2010 and generated a lot of interest because folks wanted to see what these new pits were about.  Each new manufacturer to enter the market was glad for a PH test because of the exposure and also a place to refer people to look at stuff before purchase.

But we are more than 8 years on from that first review done by Bent.  The pellet pit market has exploded, thousand own grills, thousand have lots of experiences and knowledge to share. And that got me to thinking, just like the testing of pellet pits, have the heyday of the pellet forum come and is now declining?

This is not about people praising this site or fearing that we are going to shut it down based on this poll.  I am just genuinely curious about all of your thoughts.  I vote yes -- forums such as this are in decline.  And not because of the membership, but more because expertise is growing and so a place like this is not as needed. There will always be questions and folks new to the pellet pit and folks who like to share experiences, etc, but I wonder if the "wave" and crested and it is just gentle rolling surf from here on in?

PH thrived because it found a niche and filled it. Manufacturers are not going to send their grills to a couple independents for a review any more. You can go to google reviews, etc. and get all of the independent reviews you would care to ever want for just about any manufacturer. That did not exist a decade ago. That part of PH has come and gone. The Era of the Pellet Forums is not in the past, but certain aspects that made PH great are no longer needed. Any new pellet grill forum will need to find a niche and fill it, like Larry did, if it ever wants to thrive like PH did.

[Kristin Meredith]

We are not looking to be what PH was. If anything, we are wanting to become more exclusive, not more expansive.  I am just curious to know whether people even think forums like this have any real benefit anymore since pellet pits have become so much more mainstream.

[yorkdude]

I honestly think they do, I still learn a lot and I am sure others do as well.
There is also something to be said about the camaraderie among members as well, its a site where you can get great ideas from knowledgeable & friendly people.
I know I am guilty of not always posting photos but I do wish there were more of them associated with some of the cooks and or ideas etc.
With the weather cooling off ours tend to get more use, we are not big BBQ fans anymore, hopefully others do as well with Turkey cooks, roast cooks etc.
Hope this site continues for a long time, we both enjoy visiting daily.

[tommo666]

I think it's the evolution of information, when i first had a computer my messaging was on fidonet, my messages were compiled and i'd upload them to a hub and that guy would compile all the other peoples message and upload them further. Next day later i'd download my messages and maybe get some answers. This was over modem, really slow but it worked. Then came CompuServe but i joined AOL which was a complete dial in service. it had groups, messaging, chat and other stuff but was expensive. move on a few years, faster connections, better software and forums. Today it's social media, information on tap, available on your pc, smart device, phone at the touch of the screen. You want info on a new pit, a search will find something. I don't think forums will disappear, i think they'll contract and lot of the more esoteric or frivolous ones will go but the 'grass roots' types will survive and remain relevant. I'm getting to be a dinosaur, i prefer a powerful pc on my desk with a large monitor, i have a smart phone but probably use about 20% of it capability. I know teens that don't own a pc or tablet, just a phone and they do everything on that. plus i'm sure they don't know a phone is held to the ear not in front of the face and spoken into on speaker :-)

Information delivery is constantly evolving.

[Bentley]

And I think what I have learned from the last about 2 years of Pelletheads and the last year here...That is what I am looking for!  Pelletheads lost that for me even before Larry died!  95% of the folks I wanted from Pelletheads came along, so that made me happy!

There is also something to be said about the camaraderie among members as well, its a site where you can get great ideas from knowledgeable & friendly people.

[silverbullet]

There is also something to be said about the camaraderie among members as well, its a site where you can get great ideas from knowledgeable & friendly people.

I believe that's one edge that forums may have over FB pages, They tend to get to clogged with members quickly & lose the personal touch of a forum.

When I started cooking with pellets there were only a few makers of pits. Today one can hardly keep up with what's out there.

As far as manufactures getting involved with us for testing. The market is flooded & I believe they their using other tools such as their own internet pages, You Tube, etc. Plus most folks today if they want to research something. Its all there @ your fingertips.