
Ask HN: What online communities offer a high level of discussion? - yaseer
One of the things I enjoy most about Hacker News, is the level of discussion.<p>I would define ‘level’ in this case to mean:<p>1) Generally, discussions are analytical, emphasising reasoning and evidence<p>2) Submissions and discussions deal with topics that are intellectually stimulating<p>3) Many commenters show a high level of expertise around a topic - these comments often float to the top<p>4) For the most part, people are civil. Those who are uncivil are usually downvoted<p>Admittedly, this is much easier to foster with a community discussing technology, science and math (with a sprinkling of news&#x2F;current affairs)<p>I often use HN as my ‘filter’ to decide what is interesting, and to observe and engage in discussions that offer multiple perspectives on a topic. It’s a much better filter than a social media news feed.<p>I’d like to find other intellectually stimulating communities -  perhaps with a broader range of topics under discussion than the technology&#x2F;science bent of HN, but  having a similar ‘level’ of discussion.
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damnfine
Honestly, almost any hobby with depth has one, but I know of no good
generalist sites.

Here is a good example;

Bobtheoilguy - Forum dedicated to automotive lubricants. Some very in depth
analysis and company insiders on occasion. Many users regularly send in oil
for testing and post results. Great for info on the changing formulations of
oil standards, and common additive packages. Very useful for me, owning old
and new cars and bikes.

~~~
yaseer
_I know of no good generalist sites_

Agree with this, unfortunately

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flashdance
[http://reddit.com/r/askhistorians](http://reddit.com/r/askhistorians) is a
favourite of mine!

~~~
jcranberry
When I first found this thread it spurred me to create a Reddit account to try
and aggregate subreddits like it and only see those. Sadly I found this is the
only subreddit with a) low volatility, high-quality content, b) not infested
by memes, and c) decent volume of high quality content.

I subscribed to a bunch of other more domain specific subreddits, but as far
as I can tell /r/askhistorians is an anomaly. Which, of course, manages to
keep me coming back to Reddit, whose culture I hate.

~~~
flashdance
Askscience isn't that bad, either!

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imartin2k
A few days ago I saw a link to
[https://stackexchange.com/](https://stackexchange.com/) on the HN frontpage.
Didn't know this site before (although it in fact seems to be the parent of
stackoverflow or at least somehow related) but it looked as if it might fit
your description.

~~~
marojejian
Stackexchange (including stackoverflow) have the highest quality discussions
I've found anywhere. (Try physics, for example!) This is in part maintained by
the high quality of their community platform. I just wish all news +
commentary had to run through such a system. If I were a Benevolent Dictator,
they'd control the Media.

------
to_bpr
I'd be wary about recommending Reddit communities in any form given how
utterly compromised the site is in terms of corporate and political interests
groups + financing.

~~~
observation
I was looking through /r/all yesterday, it's impressive how partisan it has
become.

In my view the single biggest job in Silicon Valley that nobody is taking
seriously is the role of moderation. It's nearly impossible to do properly and
yet there doesn't appear to be another choice.

~~~
joekrill
Absolutely agree. I used to like to check /r/all for a more rounded view --
but I don't get that anymore. And apparently they're planning to move toward
more location-specific view -- which will only make the problem worse.

It's not an easy problem to solve, I guess. I think Google is trying to make
some inroads with Google News? But even then once you start personalizing the
content, you're only going to see sources you like.

~~~
davidivadavid
I'm not sure how that's a problem. Presumably I like the sources I deem to be
of a certain quality. I don't want to see the stuff I don't like because it's
probably not at the standard of quality I expect.

The reason nobody's solved the "moderation" problem is because it's the wrong
abstraction or the wrong problem to solve. The problem to solve is how to make
filtering and discovery better.

------
Mz
Contrary to what some folks are saying here, I am having a surprisingly
positive experience on Reddit. My initial experience was negative. I left for
three or four years and went back a few months ago.

So, I think, to some extent you need to find subreddits that interest you and
figure out how to effectively interact with them. Reddit is really a
conglomeration of subforums, each owned and run by different people. It isn't
the monolith some people paint it as. If you try to interact with like it is a
monolith, that probably won't work well.

You can also brew your own on Reddit. If you want high level discussion on
certain topics and can't find it, you can create your own subreddit as you see
fit. Unlike starting a separate forum, the fact that it is on Reddit will
allow you to attract some traffic organically. There are already members there
who can post, comment and vote.

------
neutered_knot
Metafilter.com is a hidden internet gem.

~~~
Mz
If you don't mind toxic misandry* and classism, among other things.

If you are comfortably well off and agree that hetero men are all inherently
rapey bastards who should feel guilty for existing, hey, go for it.

* [http://micheleincalifornia.blogspot.com/2014/11/having-sad.h...](http://micheleincalifornia.blogspot.com/2014/11/having-sad.html)

~~~
anon354987
If you're so anti-Mefi, why do you continue to take advantage of the site's
resources, including posting questions to AskMe? Why not just disable your
account?

~~~
Mz
_anon354987 10 minutes ago [-]

If you're so anti-Mefi, why do you continue to take advantage of the site's
resources, including posting questions to AskMe? Why not just disable your
account?_

Funny how mefites who want to attack me some more never want to do it in their
own name. Whether harrassing me on my blogs or here, it is always anonymous.

I rarely post anything there anymore. I did post something yesterday. I am
kind of regretting it.

I dislike letting assholes win by default. I like to imagine that taking the
high road will work. I am also medically handicapped, so sometimes I just do
stupid things because I am feverish or whatever.

But, I participate less and less. My profile there bears that out.

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jcrabtr
For personal finance and investing, the Bogleheads forum
([https://www.bogleheads.org](https://www.bogleheads.org)) ticks all the
boxes. It definitely has many helpful, knowledgeable participants. Since it's
a traditional forum, they maintain civility through moderation, but it isn't
needed often.

~~~
ethbro
Related, Fatwallet Finance also has a pretty decent discussion that spans
churning rewards, real estate, and general investment discussion.

[https://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance](https://www.fatwallet.com/forums/finance)

------
gtaylor
/r/changemyview is well moderated and has interesting topics from time to time

~~~
rogual
/r/neutralpolitics might be of interest too.

~~~
yaseer
Thanks, I had a feeling some sub-reddits would be a good source. The breadth
of the spectrum in sub-reddit discussion quality is quite impressive.

------
devilcius
I still find interesting discussions in
[https://slashdot.org/](https://slashdot.org/)

~~~
revicon
Man, haven't been on /. for a long long time. Thanks for reminding me to go
log back in again.

-Member of the five digit UID club

------
mcgrath_sh
This may not be exactly what you are looking for, but one thing that increased
my enjoyment of reddit and twitter was making heavy use of lists and
multireddits and unsubscribing from things I didn't want to see without
looking for.

For example, I was subbed to a half-dozen Diablo related subreddits that were
more popular than some of the smaller subreddits I was interested in. This
meant that my homepage was cluttered with posts from those subreddits.
Therefore, I made a Diablo multireddit and ubsubbed from the Diablo related
subreddits making my homeoage a bit cleaner and it has the added benefit of
concentrating the Diablo information when I am looking for it.

I also do this in an inverse manner. For example, I'm still subscribed to the
team subreddits of sports teams I follow, but since they tend to be small, I
have them lumped into a "My Teams" multireddit where I can easily check what
is going on for the half-dozen teams I _really_ care about.

The use of multireddits has greatly improved my reddit experience.

------
adwn
I can recommend Slate Star Codex [1]. There is no voting system, but the level
of discussion is above 99% of what you find on the Internet, plus the
commenters come from a _very_ wide range of the political spectrum.

Discussions are mostly about the articles that Scott Alexander posts, but
there are open threads twice a week (just click on "OPEN THREAD" in the top
menu bar to go to the most recent one).

[1] slatestarcodex.com

~~~
stillsut
There's a weak post at the top, I'd start with a few of the 'Top Posts':
[https://slatestarcodex.com/about/](https://slatestarcodex.com/about/)

~~~
yaseer
Thanks, the content seems interesting (although the layout of the site I find
a tad confusing).

------
SolaceQuantum
Depending on your interests any decent hobby/professional forum should have a
high level of discussion similar to how HN is mostly oriented towards tech. Do
you have non-tech interests and if so, what are they?

~~~
yaseer
Several sports, philosophy and literature.

The general trend from responses is that there are many specialist communities
that foster decent discussion. However, 'generalist' forums of a high quality
are hard to find.

~~~
mcgrath_sh
Generally speaking, I have yet to find a solid sports forum. The best I have
found so far is /r/AFL. Occasionally, team subreddits are okay, but they can
range from dead to meme-tastic.

The _best_ solution I have found for sports is twitter. I found other
(reasonable) fans and can interact with and follow whomever I choose. The
downside to twitter is it takes time to figure out who to follow. Also, the
more people you follow, the more noise that creeps in. This is why I make
heavy use of muting by keyword. It is my feed. I don't have to listen to you
talk about things I am not interested in.

------
blisterpeanuts
Motley Fool ([http://boards.fool.com/](http://boards.fool.com/)) used to have
fairly intelligent forums. I haven't really hung out there since the Dot Com
days; just checked and there are some interesting postings.

I fear that the big socials like FB have crowded out the traditional forums.
People just don't have the time for all of this, so they default to the low
hanging fruit.

There are a few interesting suggestions in this HN topic; will check them out
as time allows.

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nvr219
Specific somethingawful forums are still pretty good surprisingly

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snikeris
I also frequent:

[https://gyroscopicinvesting.com/forum/index.php](https://gyroscopicinvesting.com/forum/index.php)

It's a forum mostly about Harry Browne's Permanent Portfolio concept, but
there is also good discourse on current events in the "Other Discussions"
forum.

------
0x4f3759df
Well curated twitter (believe it or not). I follow Bitcoin experts on twitter
and find it intellectually stimulating.

~~~
BOOSTERHIDROGEN
Mind to share the list?

~~~
0x4f3759df
just follow whalepanda

------
bpierre
If you like video games,
[https://reddit.com/r/truegaming](https://reddit.com/r/truegaming) is a good
one.

From the sidebar description: /r/truegaming is a subreddit dedicated to
meaningful, insightful, and high-quality discussion on all topics gaming.

------
secfirstmd
For digital security stuff I like

[https://tinfoil.press](https://tinfoil.press)

------
DanBC
Kialo looks really interesting.

[https://www.kialo.com](https://www.kialo.com)

~~~
yaseer
I'm glad they're pursuing this. I wish more startups would tackle the problem.

------
relyio
I'm looking for high-quality message boards on libertarianism and political
science in general. I know some in my mother tongue (french) but haven't had
much luck on the english-speaking web.

------
mcgregorin2
[https://www.jqbx.fm](https://www.jqbx.fm) if you want to talk & learn about
music.

------
qhfgva
[http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/](http://lambda-the-ultimate.org/)

------
observation
Other civil/intellectual communities I've found interesting or useful include:

slatestarcodex.com

kk.org/cooltools/

reddit.com/r/audiodrama

It seems easier to find good narrowly defined communities than ones with broad
reach. This is probably because of politics - it acts as a synaptic damper no
matter how high your IQ is.

------
PeterisP
The slatestarcodex.com community might be interesting for you.

------
pyroinferno
I got this one:

4chan.org/g/

~~~
amhenk
I feel like most of 4chan's special interest boards are good if you can sift
through them. I wouldn't say it's in-depth all the time but if you lurk enough
and come across a good thread it can actually be pretty informative. Even
asking questions in a thread is relatively guaranteed to get a response,
albeit may not be the response you want, but they're generally helpful if
you're on topic.

Also, lainchan.org is pretty top tier if you want a more tech oriented chan.

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aerovistae
/r/the_donald

Haha sorry just kidding, I'll leave.

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bmcusick
I have one site that checks all these boxes and I love it.

And I'd never post the link to a HN thread. A good culture and community is a
fragile thing.

~~~
distantsounds
thanks for your worthwhile contribution to this thread!

~~~
bmcusick
I knew it would be unpopular. But communities aren't like cool articles. You
cannot just share them with anyone without affecting their quality and nature.
There's a reason that fraternities and such work on an invitation-only system.

~~~
Max_Mustermann
It's easy to see why you wouldn't post the link to it. It's hard to see why
you would post a comment on it regardless.

~~~
bmcusick
Maybe I could have said it less bluntly, but I replied because I favor honest
discussion over silence. If I'm going to not do someone a favor, I think it's
better to say why than to ghost them.

