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To be crystal clear, this doesn't include new or changes to existing rules or workings. I'm sharing thoughts, providing guidance and making requests. By making a request, I mean that you can take the requested parts as optional, as a suggestion. Any approach that yields comparable or improved outcomes is highly appreciated. I will gladly welcome it. Specifically, do you have proposals for having Facebook experts answering and moderating on Web Applications SE?

I have made several posts about the decline of the activity on , more specifically, the decline of the activity of experts answering questions in Web Applications SE. is still among the Top Web Applications SE tags. It still gets new questions, is very rarely answered and is very infrequently moderated.

I'm wondering if Facebook experts lost interest in Facebook web apps.

A few moments before creating this post, I made a search that led me to a website with statistics saying that less than 3% of Facebook users only use laptops or desktop computers. Hence, the number of Facebook users using the respective web app is less than 3%.

The number of users using phones, laptops and desktops is not dramatically small but is still small, less than 30 percent.

Most leisure activities are very likely to be done using a mobile device, while the tasks related to managing a group, page, work, and sales are more likely to be done on a laptop or desktop, I think.

The premise of Stack Exchange 2.0 sites is that a Q&A site requires high-quality questions. We must have high-quality questions about using Facebook web apps.

Based on my experience, a large set of old and new questions have been posted by users who have not paid attention to the site scope and the ask-question guidance.

If Facebook users have moved from desktop to mobile, there is a high probability that users are using the app for Android, iPad or iPhone instead of the app for Web or the app light for Web. In the past, when most Facebook users used a web browser, we could tolerate missing details as they could be assumed or considered irrelevant as most users had the same context, but due to the shift from desktop to mobile, this premise is no longer valid. On the other hand, the site rules have been stated for a long time, the site tour was launched in 2013, and the questions should include all the relevant details.

Considering this, questions not clearly stating be about using the web app, I think that it's fair to assume that the question might be about using a mobile app; hence, they might be off-topic unless they are asking about an overall concept that doesn't depend on the type of device / app being used.

Request to people asking new questions about Facebook

  1. Web Applications SE is not a help desk. It requires certain competencies to be used. Please take a moment to understand this site's scope and workings by following the directions on the Tour. A link is on the Help menu ( click the ?, question mark, button) located on the toolbar at the top of this page.
    Scope
    • The question should focus on using a web app as someone with general knowledge expect answers from others having general knowledge, too.
    • If the question requires specialized knowledge, there might be chances that it might be better suited for other sites.
  2. Follow the guidance of the How to Ask a Good Question / Ask Question form thoroughly. Take the guidance seriously; do not cheat / do not make minimal efforts to bypass the quality standards automatic controls (on Meta Stack Exchange, the related questions use tag quality-filter).
  3. Ensure you provide enough details about the context. It should be clear that the question is on topic for Web Applications SE, and that is not something that someone with general knowledge about the Facebook web app can solve easily by looking around it. I'm sorry, there is no detailed handbook / playbook to explain how it should be judged that something can be solved easily. This is why the model and workings were novel and have a never-ending story. The web app might be for laptop/desktop or mobile / light.
  4. Ensure the use of the appropriate tags. Typically, a question about Facebook should include .
  5. I'm sorry if you are a "newbie" / "beginner" on Facebook. As it was said previously, Web Applications SE is not a help desk. Unfortunately, it hasn't had users answering questions from and helping newbies / beginners "in mass" for a long time. Still, it might happen. Once you have enough reputation, you have earned +20 on any Stack Exchange site. You might try to find someone willing to help in a chatroom, but there is no warrant that someone will be hanging around to help newbies. See What are the benefits of chatrooms for asking questions?.
  6. I'm unsure about sending users to Android Enthusiast or Ask Different. I just took a look at the facebook tag on both sites. There have been no questions or answers posted in the last 30 days on either of these sites.

Request to people asking to reopen a closed question about Facebook:

  1. Do not assume that the question was closed due to "lack of research" when it was closed by a moderator's binding vote.
    • The pro-forma comment using the term quality standards does not prove that the question was closed due to a "lack of research".
  2. Use the standard reopen workings until further notice.
    • Before requesting the reopen, evaluate if it is needed to improve the question. Evaluate it as an expert Facebook user of the web application considering the current context; specifically, consider that most users nowadays use Facebook on their phones. If needed, update the name of the commands and concepts according to how they appear / are used nowadays. Ensure it's clear which of the two Facebook web apps is used and when it is relevant on which device: laptop, desktop or mobile.
    • Recommended: When possible, update or add a relevant screenshot.
    • If you will make a meta post, follow the Tim Post's advice on his answer to Are requests to reopen a question appropriate for meta?.
    • Remember to focus on behaviors, not on users.

About making posts focused on a user

If you plan to make a post focused on a user, even if the user is a moderator, use the flag for moderator attention or Contact form instead. I'm committed to letting my fellow mods manage the flags for moderation attention that dispute a decision I made and complain about me. However, I still might edit meta posts that break the rules, even if they are a rant disputing or complaining about my decisions because they violate the rules, not because they are about me.

About Enforcing the Code of Conduct

Any user, including moderators who have acted over a post or comment, can also flag them for moderation attention if they find a violation of the Code of Conduct. In cases with a victim, the victim by themself and third parties can flag a violation of the code of conduct for moderator attention.

Please help to keep the debates and disputes handled using a civil tone; even if they include a rant, they could be done without violating the Code of Conduct.

If you are unsure that your rant will violate the Code of Conduct, don't post it. If you already posted it, you might edit it to remove the parts that violate the Code of Conduct. Focus on your most recent posts first. The intention is to prevent new incidents.

The tag on Meta Stack Exchange about rants is rant.

Please help avoid creating debates about the Code of Conduct and the Moderator Agreement here, as the company, not the community, defines them. Discussions about them should be done on Meta Stack Exchange. The tag are code-of-conduct and moderator-agreement.

Devices used to access Facebook in the U.S. 2022 Published by Stacy Jo Dixon , Sep 12, 2023

In February 2022, almost the totality of Facebook users in the United States accessed the platform via their mobile phones. Roughly 97 percent accessed the social network services exclusively via mobile phone, while only 28.7 percent accessed via both phones and computers. Users reported accessing via laptop or desktop computers only were approximately 2.6 percent.

About the above statistics

I'm open to considering better sources. However, that will not change the underlying problem: recent Facebook questions are not getting answers, and there is low participation in moderation (comment, edit, upvote/downvote, flag, review queues). The real solution is to "recruit" Facebook experts to answer and moderate Facebook questions. In our context, an expert gets recognition from their pairs for their contributions, mainly by posting answers.

The recognition starts by upvoting the user's answers. This recognition is shown in the user profile. There is a panel showing the user impact. Each tag has metrics for the number of answers and the tag score. Additionally, there are bronze, silver and gold tag badges when reaching the respective thresholds. Users with a gold tag badge also earn a moderation privilege that makes their vote-to-close-as-duplicate for questions with the respective tag.

Related

Pro forma comment (related Meta Stack Exchange tag pro-forma-comment)

I'm sorry, we are not a help desk. I’m voting to close this question because it's not a good fit for Web Applications. Rel. [According to the statistics, Facebook users have moved from desktop to mobile](https://webapps.meta.stackexchange.com/q/5169/).

More statistics

From Leading countries based on Facebook audience size as of January 2023, Published by Stacy Jo Dixon, Aug 29, 2023

Facebook usage by device

As of July 2021, it was found that 98.5 percent of active users accessed their Facebook account from mobile devices. In fact, almost 81.8 percent of Facebook audiences worldwide access the platform only via mobile phone. Facebook is not only available through mobile browser as the company has published several mobile apps for users to access their products and services. As of the third quarter 2021, the four core Meta products were leading the ranking of most downloaded mobile apps worldwide, with WhatsApp amassing approximately six billion downloads.

From Facebook Demographic Statistics: How Many People Use Facebook in 2023? Last updated Mar. 27, 2023
Brian Dean
Written by Brian Dean

Facebook’s Desktop Vs. Mobile Usage Statistics

Facebook has 98.5% of its users accessing the website with a mobile device, and 81.5% of those users only use a phone to access the social network.

Users with both desktop and mobile are 16.7%, while desktop-only users are a mere 1.5%.

Device Share of users (%)
Via a mobile device 98.5
Only via mobile phone 81.8
Via phones and computers 16.7
Only via laptop or desktop 1.5
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  • 3
    Mobile device doesn't necessarily mean "App". There's still "mobile web app"
    – TheMaster
    Nov 1 at 3:36
  • @TheMaster, I understand that. I want to look at more detailed stats, I might refine the post when I be able to get them. I also will re-read and fix / refine the writing. Regarding asking questions here, we have a tag for mobile that could be used together with the tag corresponding to the web browser used. I will add this a bit later / tomorrow.
    – Rubén Mod
    Nov 1 at 3:43
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    @TheMaster Done!
    – Rubén Mod
    Nov 1 at 3:58
  • 3
    Most people I know use Facebook web, actually... Especially the older generation that's just not that adept at using smartphones yet.
    – Cerbrus
    Nov 8 at 8:01

2 Answers 2

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I support the idea of giving better guidance to users who ask questions on this site, including those who ask about Facebook. The main problem, as I see it, is the lack of active users who can answer Facebook-related questions. I fail to see how this connects to your assertion and post title that “Facebook users have moved from desktop to mobile”.

A few moments ago, I made a search that led me to a website with statistics saying that less than 3% of Facebook users only use laptops or desktop computers. Hence, the number of Facebook users using the respective web app is less than 3%.

The number of users using phones, laptops and desktops is not dramatically small but is still small, less than 30 percent.

Devices used to access Facebook in the U.S. 2022 Published by Stacy Jo Dixon , Sep 12, 2023

In February 2022, almost the totality of Facebook users in the United States accessed the platform via their mobile phones. Roughly 97 percent accessed the social network services exclusively via mobile phone, while only 28.7 percent accessed via both phones and computers. Users reported accessing via laptop or desktop computers only were approximately 2.6 percent.

28.7% is not a small or insignificant amount. Based on this source and the assumption that the US has roughly 175 million Facebook users, this implies that there are roughly 50 million Facebook users who access Facebook using a desktop or laptop computer in the US alone, not to mention other countries. That’s a large and significant number. The US is not even the top country in terms of Facebook users, and there are several other countries with a comparable number of users. The statistics you cite are not very representative of the global Facebook user base since they only cover the US market.

Considering this, questions not clearly stating be about using the web app, I think that it's fair to assume that the question might be about using a mobile app; hence, they might be off-topic unless they are asking about an overall concept that doesn't depend on the type of device / app being used.

I respectfully disagree with your suggestion. I think we should give the OP the benefit of the doubt and assume that they are asking about a web app, unless they explicitly state otherwise or ask about something that is exclusive only to the mobile app.

If the OP didn't specify that they're using a mobile app and their question is relevant to a web app, then it should be considered on-topic. Note that Facebook (the web app) can also be accessed through a browser on a mobile device, making it on-topic. It is not necessary to install the Facebook mobile app to access Facebook on mobile. It would be unfair and unnecessary to make it mandatory for the OP to specify that they're not using the mobile app, or else risk having their question closed.

On the other hand, if a question clearly refers to something that is only applicable to the mobile app, and is irrelevant to the web app, then it should be closed as off-topic. But if the OP doesn't specify web app or mobile, and what they mention applies to the web app, then we should not close as off-topic.

I have expressed this opinion before ([1] [2] [3]), and I will reiterate it here because I think it is important. This site already suffers from low activity and user engagement, and imposing stricter question requirements would be counterproductive. More restrictions would only reduce the number of questions and answers that are welcome on this site, which would discourage both new and existing users from participating or contributing. This could lead to a downward spiral of declining activity and quality.

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  • There are no more / new restrictions. It's to provide guidance to post better questions according to the rules that have existed for a long time. On the other hand, the questions were being deleted as abandoned.
    – Rubén Mod
    Nov 1 at 6:15
  • I just noticed that your top tag is facebook. Please help us answer recent questions. Is there something that you could share about the questions posted this and last year? Do they look interesting? Are they original, or might they have already answered and could be closed as duplicates?
    – Rubén Mod
    Nov 1 at 6:37
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    @Rubén I will be going through facebook questions and will try to answer what I can.
    – galacticninja
    Nov 1 at 6:57
  • I appreciate the feedback as it allows me to clarify and improve the post, but I feel that you are more worried about finding any minimal error to use any of them as a weapon. It looks like you are saying that you want to limit my participation. I am not sure if you have a specific moderator role model or underlying beliefs to support your rebuttals.
    – Rubén Mod
    Nov 1 at 16:23
  • In the meantime, you reply to the previous comment, in case you have noted, I edited the question. I added a clarification note at the top mentioning that the post no add more, new restrictions. It doesn't make them more strict. I'm not questioning or rebutting that, just I'm saying that if that was derived from the post, then there is a misunderstanding or there is a warrant that I'm not seeing. Apparently, you and I share the same concern about opinion about that the site having low participation.
    – Rubén Mod
    Nov 1 at 18:06
  • This post is specific about Facebook I would appreciate it if you include in your post suggestions to increase participation 1) by getting answers to Facebook questions 2) by increasing participation in moderating questions about Facebook. 3) Your commitment to look at Facebook questions is great. I appreciate that. It would be great if you could mention that in your answer, in order to give it more visibility, as well as your tag answer count and score of Facebook tags, as that will support your expertise on them.
    – Rubén Mod
    Nov 1 at 18:10
  • The details requirements come from the site tour, more specifically, from the section Get answers to practical, detailed questions the body says "Focus on questions about an actual problem you have faced. Include details about what you have tried and exactly what you are trying to do.". In consideration that many of the people that comes to Web Applications are "newbies", I have created a meta post for each part of the Tour. They have the tag tour. Suggestions to improve them are welcome.
    – Rubén Mod
    Nov 1 at 18:23
  • The "start post" is Please explain the Web Applications Tour in simple words
    – Rubén Mod
    Nov 1 at 18:25
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    @Rubén I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, I’m not "limiting your participation", I’m just expressing a different opinion from yours (on the points I quoted). I also don't consider myself a Facebook expert, but just a regular user. I think we should avoid closing questions for unnecessary reasons, such as assuming that they are about the mobile app, which would render them off-topic.
    – galacticninja
    Nov 2 at 6:32
  • Thanks for your reply. I have read your more recent edit (rev 3), and I think that your answer includes support and rebuttal statements that I believe I now understand better. One of the points where we agree is on the low participation, and another is that now more users are using mobile devices. If I understand correctly, you disagree on closing questions. I will not elaborate on this now due to the limited space in comments and the fact that the platform doesn't help to have too much back and forth. I might make a new post later.
    – Rubén Mod
    Nov 3 at 4:52
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statistics saying that less than 3% of Facebook users only use laptops or desktop computers. Hence, the number of Facebook users using the respective web app is less than 3%.

The entire premise of this question is based on a false assumption.

Users accessing Facebook on a mobile device, also includes users accessing the web version from tablets or smartphones.

None of the statistics you mentioned explicitly state anything about users that only use the app instead of the website.

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  • Thanks for the feedaback. I have already got a similar feedback a tried to clarify, I will review the writing a bit later. I think that the correct claim might be : As nowadays most Facebook users use their phones, if they ask for something that require specific instructions we need they make it clear that they are using a web browser and not the App Store / Play Store app
    – Rubén Mod
    Nov 8 at 15:22
  • Overall questions, if they were on-topic, might not make mention of what platform is being used. I'm still not clear on what might be on-topic, that has enough details that no need to mention the platform used.
    – Rubén Mod
    Nov 8 at 15:28

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