Forums!

Chris Person, for Aftermath:

Over the years, forums did not really get smaller, so much as the rest of the internet just got bigger. Reddit, Discord and Facebook groups have filled a lot of that space, but there is just certain information that requires the dedication of adults who have specifically signed up to be in one kind of community.

He’s assembled a huge list of active forums on all kinds of enthusiast topics, from audio gear and gaming to gardening and—yep—taking drugs. If you remember the old internet all of this will resonate with you, in large part because many of these forums look roughly the same as they did 25 years ago.

I once came across a forum that was a treasure trove for downloading bootleg concerts from the 70s and 80s. I’ll post a link if I can remember it.

Update: From an astute comment, forums are “publicly accessible and search indexed resources,” while sites like Discord are “private, hard to find and search hidey holes.” (And Reddit wants search engines to pay for access now, thanks to AI.)