I see a lot of people saying online that “forums are dying off because of discord and reddit”
yet other people reply: “Well, I’m still using my forum/IRC.”
So I have to ask, what forums that are decently big still exist? Only one I can think of is Nomutantsallowed for fallout related content.
Special interest forums still hold.
For me, the Royal Enfield motorbike forums are exceptionally good, and that’s largely down to the admin. There’s also a Series 2 Land Rover forum that has a unique collection of people with a phenomenal combined knowledge about that car.
I’ve hosted a few in my time - since the early 90s and Fidonet when BBSs were the thing. But things change. Facebook killed of a whole bunch way before Reddit and Lemmy just because that’s where people were already, and it was easier for them to feel involved. Facebook is impossible to search, though, so the post history of a forum that was so useful has gone entirely.
It’s sad, but things change. What’s constant is people’s desire to socialise and discuss topics they are interested in. I’m kind of curious what that will be next.
https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/
Excellent forums. I have been a member for five years and it has been fantastic.
Isn’t Reddit or Lemmy pretty much just a structured forum?
(early) reddit was the answer to the question “what if anyone could have their own phpbb instance without having to host it?” Then along came Lemmy asking “what if anyone could have their own reddit instance and have to host it?”
Car forums are still somewhat active. There’s usually one per car make or chassis. For example I use zilvia.net for S chassis stuff and miata.net for Miata stuff which are both active.
All the forums I used to go to on any regular basis are dying out or dead - NotebookReview, DSLReports, etc.
I still stop by Linus Tech Tips forum and GBATemp and Overclock.net and ServeTheHome on rare occasions.
- https://budgetlightforum.com/ flashlights et cetera
- so many automotive forums
- https://eevblog.com/forum electronics engineering
- https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/ audio, lots of diy
- https://www.finishing.com/ - metal anodising/plating/finishing. This incredible forum has been running since before the internet, originally a BBS.
- https://www.automaticwasher.org/ washing machines and dishwashers
- https://elektrotanya.com/ electronics repair
SomethingAwful is still very active!
4chan is as well, but it’s been shit since 2009 (inb4 /b/ was never good)
Remember when /b/ was good??
No, because it never was.
Kids confused it with good because it was the equivalent of running around an abandoned building throwing dog shit and broken glass at each other while spraying paint on the walls, because no adults told them not to. But when you tire of that, it’s just an empty husk full of dog shit and glass.
My first serious romantic partner in the mid-2000s told me “the more I browse /b/, the more I understand you” and in retrospect I don’t know how I feel about that
Yeahhh… somewhat cringe in hindsight, but a core part of old internet.
The only two that I ever still make use of are XDA for custom firmwares and other Android related shit. And Pokecommunity for the ROM hacking / decompilation stuff.
Shared by @[email protected] on the other thread
https://aftermath.site/best-active-forums-internet-today?ueid=6310597850b065b278e2b143b21b73b5
I love how Whirlpool has stuck to it’s guns with regards to staying text only.
It survived a world of phpbb, avatars, and animated GIFS and is now surviving a world of social media and “engagement”. It’s like Usenet with moderation and no binaries.
Helps that it’s fast as blazes too.
People still post to lobsters
Would be nice if they actually let people join!
Not many though. On the FrontPage, the only post that has Kore than a few comments has 70, which is not many, by today’s standards.
The Android rom ones like xda forums are active.
This is definitely not what you’re looking for but college sports forums are active if you want to read the dumbest shit ever.
I’m from Louisiana so I’ll pick on my own team and link to to Tiger Droppings:
https://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/lsu-sports/
The recipe posts are actually good. It’s basically a forum for insane people who get mad about LSU gymnastics recruiting but then post an alligator sauce picante recipe that’s better than anything you’ve ever put in your mouth.
Here’s the food/drink topic section:
https://www.tigerdroppings.com/rant/food-and-drink/
It’s insane (compliment) and also insane (derogatory).
A jambalaya v.7.3 ratio spreadsheet exists:
Incredible
To me, some NSFW forums, like F95 and LoversLabs
Larger open-source projects tend to have forums. Here’s a few off the top of my head:
Openstreetmap also has some forums. The main one being community.openstreetmap.org
