We should be making more internet forums.
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@stefan Is Discourse still around and usuable? I used it quite a while back when one of the League fansites used it.
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@stefan @briankrebs
We have been running the #defcon https://forum.defcon.org server for over 20 years, it’s reachable over #Tor, even has an app.But participation is really low, and all the energy is on the faster moving socials. Without dedicated people fostering community and conversations it won’t feel as attractive.
I’d love,
️ and 
to grow the forums, create sub forums for different communities and projects that want their own space, and let people people self manage them.That will take effort from everyone involved. If people are interested we can help and refresh the forums.
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@thedarktangent Nice!
But yeah, a community takes a lot of work. Definitely worth the investment!
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Stefan Bohacekreplied to Radgryd last edited by [email protected]
@Radgryd I'm only giving it a try now, as an admin, and I'm actively in only one other group, as a user, so definitely still have a lot to learn.
It seems very nice so far!
(They seem to be adding some (optional) AI features now, so that part...not a fan.)
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TIL about @nodebb !
I already knew about Flarum, which looks very much like “a faster Discourse”
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@[email protected] all three of us are actively pursuing ActivityPub integration, although @[email protected] is the furthest along currently, with working two way federation and content discovery via a dedicated page. Emoji support, full profiles, etc.
Although I am biased when I say these things
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N [email protected] shared this topic
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@[email protected] @[email protected] @[email protected] I'm actually betting that fediverse integration will be a key factor in the resurgence of forums.
It is a proven model for high quality discussion, and being able to natively "plug in" to a wider audience pool is huge.
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@thibaultamartin @julian at NodeBB has been doing an amazing job of integrating it into the fediverse. One of the areas I am most excited to see momentum towards. And the whole initiative that they are in to push group and thread based activitypub standardization is really stellar (https://community.nodebb.org/category/31/threadiverse-working-group)
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@stefan I have a small group of folks , averaging a dozen people, I’ve been trying to get off FB for a decade. They are familiar with FB Groups and feel comfortable with that, but the latest insanity is (finally) making them consider alternatives. Where did you get a free Discourse plan? Is it a public host? I’m betting if I can set one up I can move them all there in short order. Thanks!
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@fran_kostella They offer a free plan for open-source projects and creators.
Free Hosting for Open Source
Offical Discourse hosting plans for communities of every size.
Discourse - Civilized Discussion (free.discourse.group)
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Hey there, Stefan @stefan
I'm with you on the Fediverse, and have been on Discourse for a while... BUT, like @fran_kostella I have the challenge of guiding non-technical users in #FamilyHistory and #genealogy
I moved to Substack about 13 months ago and have been blown away.
Not only is it all free, their ownership model is compelling, and it has a powerful recommendation engine. I've just walked from all Meta and X properties.
More here: https://Projectkin.org/social
Free the FB Groupers!
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@projectkinorg @fran_kostella Nice, glad this is working for you!
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@stefan We got our own for the PrivacyGuides community :).
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@blacklight447 Nice!
