[Spangle]

Forum Admins concentrate far too much on pleasing Google, and trying to get their forums SEO perfect.

All that time would be better spent adding content, and by that I don't mean posts, but static content by the use of articles and blog entries, building a reference and content that can be relied on will in the long run do more good for a forum than just trying to get to the top of the rankings for one keyword or phrase.

Facebook does have a lot to do with it, people feel more comfortable talking with "friends" than with complete strangers, imagine you go out to a bar, who do you head for, a group you know, or a group you don't, easy really.