Ask HN: Non-Reddit websites to discuss hobby related interests? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Non-Reddit websites to discuss hobby related interests?

35 pointscgb22318 comments

I'm trying to remove Reddit from my daily usage, as I find it really homogenous in its opinions and also a giant time suck both before and after I find the information I want.

I typically use it to just subscribe to subreddits that discuss hobbies or other specific interests that I'm into and ask questions about setting up a new distro/fermenting a new food/etc etc

What other sites are out there that have the expertise of these subreddits, without all the attention getting other aspects, or homogenous political snide remarks or comments that come with it?

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For discussions and community, Stack Exchange seems to be rather good for everything except code. That includes food, movies, games, and religion. Religion is especially nice because the Q&A format forces people to cite scripture rather than say something someone made up.

I'm looking for something mobile development related if any. Reddit is really good, but yeah, the snide remarks really puts me off. Subreddits feel a tad defensive, which makes it hard to evaluate new technology.

I feel like it's either gonna be reddit, or there's a dedicated forum for each hobby you have. Most likely more then one. Finding these can be as easy as searching Hobby + forum. Alternatively you'll see people on Reddit mentioning it.

That said I've noticed that Discord has increasingly been where active communities are.

People seem to like Discord but to me it's the worst possible experience for informed hobbying. Usually I want to either know an answer to a specific question or be inspired by someone else's work. The chat format is a mishmash of unanswered questions and irrelevant info.

I'm searching "android developer forum". The forums that pop up seem lackluster. About 1 post per day, and most are beginner questions.

By contrast r/androiddev has about 20 posts per day, and there's always a lot of new things to discover.

XDA seems like an obvious choice to me for android dev, but maybe you know of it and don't like it.

I wasn't familiar with it, but I'll check it out now, thanks!

Not equivalent exactly, but the fediverse or IRC have been fun places for me to chat about some hobbies. gemini is another option. I think people write gemlogs on there and then others write some in response. I only use gemini a little bit, and just as a reader.

Something like IRC for chatting combined with a wiki to manage info related to the hobby could work well.

You could also treat Reddit like reading a book or Wikipedia and choose not to contribute. Go there to learn something, bring the info back to your own space you're building that has people you'd rather be around.

> Go there to learn something

I think that's the problem OP is trying to solve. Reddit has devolved into an "our way or the highway" mentality in many subreddits.

On example I remember reading about a while back concerns the use of PVC piping in hydroponics. Basically, because someone said brittle PVC pipes don't contain pthalates, so you don't have to worry about any of that stuff leaching into your plants as they grow. Proof? "No, just believe us."

That's not the kind of knowledge I want.

You are likely going to find more hobby-specific sites. If you list some hobbies, people may have more concrete recommendations.

The Well?

https://www.well.com/

I followed the link, but I am not sure I got what that is. Do you mind to elaborate on that?

It's sufficiently significant (historically) that there's a good Wikipedia article on it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_WELL

Depends on the hobby. Individually hosted forums will most likely be your best bet here, though due to Facebook and Reddit they’ve been on the downslope.

Kind of good, kind of a shame. Reddit and Facebook bring more people in, ease discovery, and have consistent UIs. Forums are this neat other world though, where there used to be this feel of wonder. There was charm in them.

I'm very open to the idea I'm looking with rose colored glasses though.

Check out the forums at Something Awful.

I think if the discussion isn't on Reddit then it will be on Facebook these days

I recently joined Facebook for the first time after learning the most active forum for a hobby I have been into for a long time – and went deeper into recently – is on there.

I had hoped to never join Facebook, but it is pretty much a must to get the sort of information I need for my hobby (restoring a Boston Whaler boat). I am only using it on the web and I have only joined that group, no friends, etc.

There are two long-standing web forums on the topic, and they have vast amounts of information, but in terms of engagement and up-to-date advice, they pale in comparison to the Facebook group.

Funny thing is, searching for information within the Facebook group is terrible. It is hard to narrow down specific searches. And none of the posts or info shows up in web searches, which explains why I didn't know about it.

The Facebook format is nice for posting a new question/topic and getting engagement on it, but it is not as good as the traditional forums at building up knowledge for later discovery, in my limited experience.

I think a lot of the problems forums were facing was getting spammed and the people running them gave up

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