In fact, you guys who avoid joining Facebook groups are missing out on all of the great interaction among like-minded people.
I agree that it’s really not a big deal to sign up for these groups, but as someone who’s a member of most of them, I’m a bit unsure about the quality of the interactions they offer. Pretty much all of them are the same sort of blend of 1) people posting pics of their new items, 2) people asking where to find things they want, and 3) people peddling their old stuff. Along with 4) official group posts about exclusive offerings for sale.
Maybe some people are having some sort of in-depth discussions or there’s something unique that would make membership more meaningful than the above, but I haven’t seen it personally.
Nothing against those who like being members of these various groups, but my general impression has been: “what’s the point of this?” That being said, collaborations are not unique to this hobby and the benefits of collaborations for both sides (as far as exposure and increasing popularity/$) are pretty straightforward, so it’s hard to put much blame on the makers who do them.