Why? Because people have only so much time to spend online. Facebook makes it easy and also lets them connect with friends and family- everyone they know is already using it. It's not really a replacement for a forum about a specific topic or even general discussion, but it does swallow up the casual conversation. People will also trust advice/answers they get from friends and family over strangers online in many cases.
The forum experience needs to be something Facebook can't provide- a niche topic, needs to have experts in whatever the topic is, needs to be welcoming, but also have the realistic expectation it's not going to be the primary online meeting place for most of your users- even the dedicated ones.
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