We should be making more internet forums. Like with Discourse. Or more old school ones.

We need to invest in our communities and build new ones. That's how we get through the difficult times. Together.

#indieweb #community #internet #TheWeb #forum #discourse

@stefan Make em on @nodebb! The federation is really top notch!

@liaizon @nodebb Ah, I already chose to go with Discourse for https://botmakers.org, I was able to secure a free plan for us.

But I'll definitely remember this for the future, thank you!

@stefan @nodebb luckily you can still get federation with @angusmcleod's ap plugin!

@stefan Is Discourse still around and usuable? I used it quite a while back when one of the League fansites used it.

@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.

@thedarktangent Nice!

But yeah, a community takes a lot of work. Definitely worth the investment!

@briankrebs

@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.)

TIL about @nodebb !

I already knew about Flarum, which looks very much like “a faster Discourse”

@liaizon @stefan

@thibaultamartin@mamot.fr all three of us are actively pursuing ActivityPub integration, although @nodebb@fosstodon.org 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

@thedarktangent@defcon.social @liaizon@social.wake.st @stefan@stefanbohacek.online 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.