That seems to be the issue everywhere Gordon now. People want a instant response and to an extent Facebook offers that in an easier to use format than a forum. WhatsApp is the next move on from Facebook as a more instant communication tool.
I think the forum, while outdated, still has its benefits. It’s useful for technical resources where it’s easier to find answers, the sort that get lost within the noise in Facebook, even though that has search facilities. It’s time to accept that maybe the forum is dead for normal banter as people have moved on.
There is a phantom Facebook group which is more useful for chat than the page, which is more of an information portal. However as can be seen there are then splinter groups for the regions. I don’t see what you can do to stop this as anyone can set up a group. It’s a shame that it’s not all on the main phantom group as that gets isolated and without chat makes the class look like there’s no communication going on. Can the regional groups be brought back into the main group to consolidate, it would certainly make the class look busier than it currently does