I believe there are more robust forum platforms that would allow this group to upgrade their community experience. With the popularity of Facebook and Yelp, and other similar platforms, people enjoy "checking in", "friending" various people, being able to easily share pictures, and share general comments.. As with anything, however, change is sometimes challenging. And finding a platform that everyone is happy with might also pose a challenge.
This forum works very well once you learn how to maneuver around it.
One option might be to create a Facebook Group in addition to this forum, but then we would have to switch back and forth still.
