what forums are out there that people actually go to, besides Lemmy?

[dengalicious@lemmygrad.ml]

https://forum.language-learners.org/

Language Learner’s Forum is still quite active and pretty large community.

https://latindiscussion.org/
Latin Discussion is still pretty active

If you like Sid Meier’s Civilization then CivFantatics is really quite active very much.

There are the Woodwind.org forums of course but they aren’t as active as the others.
I think that Saxophone.org is somewhat active but less so than it used to be.

[rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

SomethingAwful is still very active!

4chan is as well, but it’s been shit since 2009 (inb4 /b/ was never good)

[niquarl@lemmy.ml]

Openstreetmap also has some forums. The main one being community.openstreetmap.org

[rcbrk@lemmy.ml]

• 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
• This incredible forum has been running since before the internet, originally a BBS: https://www.finishing.com/
• https://www.automaticwasher.org/ washing machines and dishwashers
• https://elektrotanya.com/ electronics repair

[Guest]

Remember when /b/ was good??

[rai@lemmy.dbzer0.com]

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

[Guest]

Yeahhh... somewhat cringe in hindsight, but a core part of old internet.

[ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml]

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.

[dannyboy@sh.itjust.works]

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.

[murd0x@lemmy.ml]

Isn't Reddit or Lemmy pretty much just a structured forum?

[Guest]

(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?"

[digdilem@lemmy.ml]

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.

[digdilem@lemmy.ml]

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.

[nbcooks@lemmy.world]

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/

Excellent forums. I have been a member for five years and it has been fantastic.

[Guest]

Easy there. "Remember when /b/ was good?" is a meme from /b/ itself. The answer even in 2010 was "/b/ was never good".

[nemoder@lemmy.ml]

https://tildes.net/ is still quite active and while the interface is similar to old reddit the focus is more on discussions than sharing links.

[Guest]

matrix isn't a forum. it's a chat.

[Guest]

Over the years, forums did not really get smaller, so much as the rest of the internet just got bigger.

[koncertejo@lemmy.ml]

Gallifrey Base, sometimes

[wuphysics87@lemmy.ml]

https://bbs.archlinux.org/ btw