Used to be phpBB because I spent a lot of time on niche topic ones as a kid, now I think if I were to start one up I think I’d just make a Lemmy community.

I joined a IRC server at the beginning of this year, about 150 users there in total. A few months ago we set up a forum for the server, so I’m gonna say that one, since its the only one that I use, other than lemmy, lol. Its not very active, since there is only some dozens of people using it and not many of them are active, but its our little corner of the internet.

If anyone wants to come check it out, irc.inthemansion.com 6697 is the IRC server, or https://inthemansion.com/ has a webchat, also has the link to the forum there.

Ya know, as someone mentioned, some parts of Usenet are still pretty good despite all the attacks. Same with some parts of reddit despite Spez (I don’t post on reddit any more but I still lurk sometimes). Other than that I’m sometimes on a few niche forums mostly related to nerdery. For technical reasons (i.e. because of some not-great software decisions) I don’t like Lemmy all that much, but the community is ok and the implementers’ hearts were in the right place.

redandwhitekop.com aka RAWK

It’s a Liverpool FC fan forum that has lots of local matchgoing fans posting and organizing on it.

It even used to have the club secretary as a regular poster.

Historically, Liverpool is a blue collar port with organized labor, and that mentality carried over into the local LFC fan culture.

I think that’s not as true anymore, as local fans have been priced out of weekly tickets by the club’s huge international audience, and the local season-ticket holding audience has aged and grown wealthier.

But RAWK talks about a lot more than just football/soccer: Lots of Liverpool are culture and news, UK happenings, etc.

Does Ars Technica count? I’m not a member. It’s intimidating because the site caters to science nerds. I’m smart among my people, but I feel like (intelligence wise) I’m just a big fish in a small pond, and that forum is like the ocean — same reason I stay off of “Ask Science” type comms on Lemmy. Some of those places (thinking specifically of their counterparts on Reddit) are pretty brutal if you don’t have a Ph.D.

Anyway, I’d like to know. I kinda miss forums.