Ask HN: What are some niche communities you enjoy? - lainon
======
TeMPOraL
SCP Foundation. Never really participated, but I love to read them.

[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/](http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/)

It's basically a group of people writing formal reports on various paranormal
things that the fictional SCP Foundation Secures, Contains and Protects (us
from). Kind of like reading the paperwork and after-mission reports of SHIELD.

From Wikipedia:

The SCP Foundation is a fictional organization that is the subject of a web-
based collaborative writing project of the same name. The stories generated by
the project describe the exploits of the Foundation, supposedly responsible
for containing individuals, entities, locations, and objects that violate
natural law (referred to as SCPs). The main written works on the SCP
Foundation website are articles written in the style of structured internal
documentation about the contained SCPs. The website also contains thousands of
"Foundation Tales", short stories set within the universe of the SCP
Foundation.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCP_Foundation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCP_Foundation)

~~~
derefr
> Kind of like reading the paperwork and after-mission reports of SHIELD.

A comparison to SHIELD would be misleading, I think, in that it would suggest
an aesthetic/ideology of "heroism" behind the work that's not there. SCP
paints a picture of a cynical and dystopian organization, with little concern
for loss-of-life of its test subjects.

I would compare SCP more to the Half-Life universe's Black Mesa and Aperture
Science research facilities. Or to the Cube movies. Or, I suppose, to The
Syndicate from the X-Files (though in that case the comparison would be to the
parts of the military doing security and ops _under_ them.)

~~~
a1369209993
That's a little unfair, insomuch as one of the main premises of the SCPverse
is that the monsters and phenomena they're fighting really are bad enough to
justify that level of cynicism and paranoia.

I'd say it's closer to (the paperwork and after-action reports from) The
Laundry Files by Charles Stross.

~~~
derefr
Paranoia, sure. But the SCP organization uses D-rank personnel for things that
regular research labs would use rats for.

------
jmcgough
Amazed it hasn't come up yet considering the overlap with engineering
communities.

Video game speedrunning - playing a video game over and over, trying to beat
it in the fastest time possible. It scratches an engineering itch to know
miniscule little details and optimizations about a game that you love, and be
collaborating/competing with others, working to push down times. It has a
chill social aspect to it, where you stream on twitch and your friends watch
your attempts, talk about the techniques, and hang out with you while you
practice. A lot of incredibly bright, talented and kind geeks. Some of the
real scientists behind the scenes are brilliant engineers who poke at ram
values and theorycraft routes based on manipulated RNG seeds.

I got into the scene from participating in a speedgaming tournament
([http://speedgaming.org/events/](http://speedgaming.org/events/)), which
forced me to learn a game and made me several great friends.

Since then I've gotten deep into a zelda randomizer
([http://alttpr.com/](http://alttpr.com/)) that has a vibrant and passionate
community. A really smart engineer realized that you could randomize the items
in the game by breaking it down into a dependency graph, so that the game is
different every time. You race on the same seed as someone else, and you win
by efficiently routing your item checks, better faster at the game, and/or
making good gambles. It's one part speedrunning, one part poker.

~~~
mcast
I didn't realize I cared about speed-running until I saw this YouTube video
from Summoning Salt about N64's Mario Kart level:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y99Wj-
NStok](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y99Wj-NStok)

~~~
0x4f3759df
His level 4-2 vid is pretty crazy, 20 minute video about 9 seconds of gameplay
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1AHCaokqhg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1AHCaokqhg)

------
hpincket
I get a kick out of pinpointing the exact location of photos or paintings. A
couple of communities exists for this:

* Geoguessr (I don't participate in this one much, street view is pretty limiting)

* The Dish's "View from My Window" archive. A now defunct blog series where readers would submit photos from their window. Very difficult. Users often pinpoint the exact window from which the photo was taken. [http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/vfyw-contest/](http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/vfyw-contest/)

* SkyScraperCity's Guess the City contest. A daily contest to guess the city. Also this is a precious internet 2.0 forum. [https://www.skyscrapercity.com/](https://www.skyscrapercity.com/)

* North Korea enthusiasts pinpointing the exact location of Kim Jung Un in official DPRK photos.

* r/whereisthis helps Reddit users locate photos, also allows content just for fun.

* r/PictureGame a more open contest, not necessarily a geolocation task.

~~~
djflutt3rshy
What kind of tools do you generally use? I’m assuming a search engine to
identify particular landmarks/stores/etc, and personal knowledge, but what
else?

~~~
gregschlom
I heard of people looking at the position of stars (on night photos) and the
sun to guess the latitude.

There was a story during the 2016 US election campaign where someone had a
webcam pointed at a flag for some of the parties, and some folks managed to
find the location by observing the stars and drove there and changed the flag,
or something like that.

Edit: link to the story: [https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d7eddj/4chan-
does-first-g...](https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/d7eddj/4chan-does-first-
good-thing-pulls-off-the-heist-of-the-century1)

~~~
noir_lord
My favourite if a little harsh description of 4chan is weaponised autism.

Literally in one case [https://www.quora.com/How-did-4chan-get-the-
coordinates-of-a...](https://www.quora.com/How-did-4chan-get-the-coordinates-
of-an-ISIS-training-camp-and-send-them-to-Russian-officials)

------
mulander
[https://reddit.com/r/openbsd_gaming](https://reddit.com/r/openbsd_gaming)

We just (10 minutes ago) finished playing a round of Quake 2. Some games are
streamed
([https://www.twitch.tv/thfrw/videos/all](https://www.twitch.tv/thfrw/videos/all)
|
[https://www.twitch.tv/communities/openbsd_gaming](https://www.twitch.tv/communities/openbsd_gaming)
|
[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF2MeFBWJoFZtz0ADX3Us0Q/vid...](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCF2MeFBWJoFZtz0ADX3Us0Q/videos)),
we even have some more modern FNA games and a list of games available on GoG
for the platform
([https://www.gog.com/mix/openbsd_engine_available](https://www.gog.com/mix/openbsd_engine_available)).
We generally hang out on irc #openbsd-gaming @ freenode.

~~~
kipari
Thank you for posting this! The tenacity of the OpenBSD community keeps on
impressing me.

------
autarch
I've been playing Go (the board game) for a while now and I really enjoy it. I
just got back from the US Go Congress. I wrote a blog post about it
([https://blog.urth.org/2018/07/29/my-u-s-go-congress-
trip/](https://blog.urth.org/2018/07/29/my-u-s-go-congress-trip/)).

For more info on Go, check out:

* Learn the rules - [http://www.usgo.org/learn-play](http://www.usgo.org/learn-play)

* Online Go Server - [https://online-go.com/](https://online-go.com/) \- my personal favorite place to play online (other servers are not Linux-friendly or their software is awful)

* /r/baduk (Go = Japanese, Baduk = Korean, Weiqi = Chinese) - [https://www.reddit.com/r/baduk](https://www.reddit.com/r/baduk)

There's been a lot of progress getting computers to play Go over the last few
years, and it's only about 2 years since we've had a computer capable of
beating professionals (Alpha Go). Nowadays you can run a better-than-all-pros
program on your desktop if you have a decent GPU. Check out
[https://github.com/featurecat/lizzie](https://github.com/featurecat/lizzie)
for a frontend to Leela Zero, the underlying Go playing program.

~~~
binaryorganic
Online-go.com is, for anyone that played go online before its inception, a
breath of fresh air. There’s really no way to overstate how it’s changed the
experience of online play.

~~~
wingerlang
Could you explain? What was bad before, and what has been solved by this
website.

------
rmusial
SDF Public Access UNIX System - sdf.org

It's a free shell service, with paid addons. It has been around since 1987 and
retains a lot of the charm of the BBS world. It does this while offering very
modern things like Mastodon federated social media, SQL storage, VOIP, and has
amateur radio, minecraft, and a ton of other stuff. There really is something
for everyone.

I appreciate all of the stuff listed above, but what I personally LOVE most
about SDF is that it runs on NetBSD and offers a ton of packages from all the
different open source and free software communities. BSD packages, GNU
packages, home grown packages.

It's just a very friendly and fun place. I am 'rmusial' on there too. Feel
free to say hello!

~~~
sjmulder
I've signed up for an account and played around a bit and while I love so much
about the whole idea of it I don't really know what to do.

~~~
rmusial
In my opinion that's part of the fun. SDF is almost like a unix system meets a
MUD/MMORPG. You can read through some of the FAQs on sdf.org, but there is so
much to just stumble on and discover.

Some fun first things are setup VOIP, check out anonradio, and type 'games' at
your shell. Have some fun!

------
spudlyo
SONGFIGHT![0]

This is a shameless plug for the venerable bi-weekly songwriting and recording
competition known as SongFight!

The idea is, every couple of weeks over at the SongFight website they announce
a new song title, from then you have roughly 10 days to write and record an
original song with that title. After the deadline expires, the new songs are
posted to the site and voting begins. Anyone on the Internet with a unique IP
address can vote, and there are usually anywhere between 75 to 250 votes cast
for a given fight. Also at that time the votes for the previous competition
are posted and the winner(s) are announced. Winners enjoy the smug
satisfaction of a job well done.

Everyone who participates enjoys the benefits of having a firm deadline, and a
good reason to write and record a song, as well as a motivation for doing a
good job.

Members of the SongFight community often review the songs submitted for the
fight over on the forums[1], so it can also be a place to get detailed
feedback and constructive criticism about your songwriting.

[0]: [https://songfight.org](https://songfight.org)

[1]:
[https://songfight.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=3](https://songfight.net/forums/viewforum.php?f=3)

~~~
wallacoloo
5-6 years ago I was a part of a 30-ish person Skype group that organized a
weekly "30 Minute Music Challenge". Every Sunday, a loose theme would be
announced ("loss", "slow music", etc), and then you had 30 minutes to write,
perform, and mix/render a song and drop it into the Skype chat. After 30
minutes, we'd all join a voice call where each song would be played in
succession and anyone could give short impromptu feedback (usually just in the
form of encouragement/amazement at whoever managed to pull off something
decent in such a short timeframe).

It was pretty great because it was small enough to where we could have special
themes like "imitate the style of another artist in the group" and we actually
knew each other well enough to where you could do that, and then when
listening, you could tell pretty easily "ah, this person is imitating
Wallacoloo's style". And even though what you make over the course of 30
minutes is undeniably crap, sometimes the core of it would make for material
that you could expand into an actual song over the next week.

The bronies also had a similar take on this type of thing titled Toast Beard.
Whenever a new episode of My Little Pony aired, you'd have a week to create an
"episode response" \- e.g. remixing any musical acts from that show, vocal
splicing the characters, or original works that were related in some other
way.

Both of these are, to my knowledge, defunct (although, it's possible they just
evolved into different things; I didn't keep up). But they were really fun
because they were small groups both with a lot of personality, not serious in
the least, and they encouraged a good deal of experimentation. It certainly
was something you did for the experience and where the outcome really didn't
matter a whole lot.

------
enthdegree
Lately i have become obsessed with the internet of artisan horticulture. Just
fruiting plants so far:

> exotic banana cultivar discussion

>> bananas.org

> exotic fig cultivar discussion

>> ourfigs.org

>> General tropical fruit discussion

> tropicalfruitforum.com

> weird explorer, a (semi)-edible fruit reviewer

>> [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChsbD6Clp-
ZPqKwXJR3V7DQ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChsbD6Clp-ZPqKwXJR3V7DQ)

> the amazon of rare and unusual plants

>> logees.com

(although for more obscure plants you often have to find a more local seller
on a forum)

So far I have bought a bunchosia armeniaca (a fruit that supposedly tastes
like peanut butter) and a petite strain of figs which I am currently trying to
fruit.

This does not even touch obvious subcultures like bonsai trees.

~~~
tricky
Wow! If you know how someone in the Midwest USA could get a Gros Michel or two
to eat, contact me.

~~~
Baeocystin
You can get some from [https://miamifruit.org/products/gros-michel-banana-box-
pre-o...](https://miamifruit.org/products/gros-michel-banana-box-pre-order) .
They are very expensive, but if you're in to trying different varieties, maybe
worth splitting it with some friends. FWIW, I think you would have a more
satisfying taste experience with one of the dozens of varieties you'll find in
a Thai/SE Asia-focused grocery store.

------
lkurusa
[http://osdev.org/](http://osdev.org/)

Hobbyist Operating Systems Development!

We also have forums: [http://f.osdev.org/](http://f.osdev.org/) and IRC:
Freenode/#osdev !

~~~
osrec
I have always wanted to be part of something like this, but didn't know it
existed! Thanks for sharing, you might see me there :)

~~~
lkurusa
Glad to hear! Feel free to ping me on IRC (nick: lkurusa) anytime you feel
stuck or just want to chat. We are happy to help you get going!

~~~
osrec
Such a welcoming sentiment - makes me really want to be part of #osdev!

------
marcelr
Southern Ontario (real / traditional) screamo.

Screamo is a very small community but extremely passionate and active.

For example a great show with well known out of town bands in Toronto is about
50-100 people.

But we have people driving from New Jersey to waterloo (not knowing anyone) to
see a show with respire, ostraca and Terry green.

I've been involved in music for quite some time but never seen a fanbase this
dedicated..

Currently there is a fest in Toronto (new friends fest) where you see people
from all over NA with ages ranging 20-40s putting everything into making
emotional hardcore.

Watching a band play in a small packed record shop where the band has <1 meter
space from the crowd, complemented with a slippery floor from the sweat /
condensation, talking about growing up and losing their loved ones to mental
illnesses while playing their hearts out was incredibly powerful to watch and
I imagine therapeutic to the band.

I've been trying to start to document the scene via live recordings - here's a
shared folder

[https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KJj448eWVQgXSqw94Gfs...](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1KJj448eWVQgXSqw94GfsReUCnOH3GNtl?usp=sharing)

Favourites so far are Dianacrawls, Hundreds of AU, Terry Green

But there are many amazing acts

~~~
fucking_tragedy
I used to follow this community about ten years ago. I decided to try to see
what remained and all I could find was the SoulSeek community, which is still
around.

I'm near NYC, so getting to see Cap'n Jazz last year and the various outfits
the City of Caterpillar/pg.99 guys play in has been fun, but I'm out of the
loop nowadays. Check out Pianos Become the Teeth if you haven't, they're from
the East coast and have followed the typical progression from hardcore to
indie emo that seems common in this space.

There's a long-held opinion/joke that there's an emo revival about every
decade, so I'm holding out.

Thanks for this.

------
drakonka
I like /r/mechanicalkeyboards and /r/fountainpens; I'll have a few weeks where
I'm really active (at least consuming) there and then I'll kind of leave them
for a while. Recently I've been getting involved in indoor vermicomposting and
browsing some forums on that. I also tend to keep an eye on communities
related to snails, since I'm working on an amateur snail simulation in my
spare time (and just like snails).

~~~
Scene_Cast2
You might like /r/mechanicalheadpens

~~~
wrp
I've long noticed the connection between liking fountain pens and mechanical
keyboards, but never noticed the tie to head phones. (I'm sitting here wearing
some.)

Maybe the personality trait influencing this is a higher sensitivity to
tactile experience. I wonder what other tastes this group might share. Of
course, nice notebooks/pads go with the pens. I have an inclination toward
boardgames with hefty dice, and I'm very choosy regarding my coffee mugs.

~~~
cgag
I'm into all those things including heavy dice and being choosy about my
coffee mug. Also magic the gathering card sleeves and the choice of land art.

And now that I think about it, everything physical I own really.

------
linsomniac
Various youtube metalworking channels including AvE and This Old Tony:

[https://www.youtube.com/user/arduinoversusevil](https://www.youtube.com/user/arduinoversusevil)
[https://www.youtube.com/user/featony](https://www.youtube.com/user/featony)

Smart, unusual, and entertaining.

~~~
JshWright
Surely that list includes Clickspring as well.

------
some_random
Maybe a bit unusual for this community, but

Historical Firearms and the Development thereof: /r/ForgottenWeapons

as well as /r/guns in general.

Also,
[https://www.reddit.com/r/aimdownsights/top/?sort=top&t=all](https://www.reddit.com/r/aimdownsights/top/?sort=top&t=all)
is worth checking out.

~~~
cheeze
Same here. Can't stand /r/firearms though. I wish there were better gun
communities out there.

And I wish guns weren't so expensive. I'm at the point where I have insurance
on my gun collection alone.

~~~
noonespecial
I'm the same. I'm a leftie who enjoys guns (the machines themselves and the
physical discipline to use them safely and effectively), but I despise what
you might call "gun culture" especially here in the USA.

I wish I could find a good group of like minded who could just focus on the
sport without descending into endless political posturing.

~~~
cheeze
/r/guns is great for that reason exactly. You get some annoying folks in the
comments, but never anything about politics and the whole "libtard bashing"
thing isn't done there.

Im with ya. Live in one of the most liberal cities in the states, definitely
lean liberal, but love guns too.

------
zantana
I have enjoyed watching the electronic badge scene at Defcon unfold this year.
I don't know how long its been a scene, but some of the badges are pretty
impressive mesh networks, blockchains, and breathalyzers. It really brings to
mind something like the demo or 'zine scenes of old. It's spreading to the
other conventions and meetups it will be interesting to see how far it will
go.

If you search #badgelife on twitter you can see some of the action unfold.
[https://twitter.com/hashtag/badgelife](https://twitter.com/hashtag/badgelife)

@hacker_hermit has compiled a list
[https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NgPj-
GdSLcI1Rb2Q2sJ5...](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NgPj-
GdSLcI1Rb2Q2sJ5BP0MO2vm2MXv_sLVqHSL8wM/edit#gid=0)

Kerry Scharfglass has a video which explains some of the history and process:
[https://youtu.be/PUvh5-_HJJg](https://youtu.be/PUvh5-_HJJg)

Pretty cool stuff, maybe one of these days I'll find a Conch of Sobriety.

~~~
beautifulfreak
Are they sold anywhere? I can see them becoming very collectible, and fast.

~~~
detaro
Typically only at events, sometimes left-overs are sold or auctioned off or
given away otherwise.

------
henriquemaia
I like to stay updated of what the Kindle hacking community is up to.

[https://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=150](https://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=150)

My PW3 Kindle got way better with the many hacks I've learned there.

~~~
curiousgal
What can you do with a jailbroken Kindle?

~~~
henriquemaia
With a jailbroken Kindle you can, for instance, install koreader[1], a
feature-rich alternative ebook reader application that enhances the somewhat
limited capabilities of Kindle’s native reader.

For instance, with koreader you can open djvus, epubs, fb2 (if you’re onto
those formats), but what makes koreader especially appealing to me is that it
is a far better pdf reader than Kindle’s native.

Or you can look for a pool of available hacks[2] that make Kindle’s overall
usage far more suited to your own particular needs. One example is the
screensavers hack that allows you to choose either to use your own images
(somewhat interesting if you’re onto customizing them to your tastes); or you
can, as I prefer, to use that last displayed screen as the screensaver, as
this allows you to keep a book’s opened page in display while you are taking
notes or doing some other book research related task.

Some of these _new_ features are now so essential to my Kindle’s experience
that I can’t imagine myself using an original one without jailbreaking it.
Also, I have my Kindle since 2015 and I’m in no hurry to get a newer or _more
capable_ model. As it is, it is very tailored to my academic needs.

[1]
[https://github.com/koreader/koreader](https://github.com/koreader/koreader)

[2]
[https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180113](https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=180113)

~~~
PascLeRasc
Is this old XKCD [1] still true? Or have all the cell signals serving it shut
down?

[1] [https://xkcd.com/548/](https://xkcd.com/548/)

~~~
SyneRyder
I just got out my Kindle Keyboard (Kindle 3) and tried it out... the 3G still
works! It's a bit slow, but you can launch the browser from the Experimental
window, choose the Wikipedia bookmark, and it still loads. I was able to
search for the entry for the above referenced book and read it.

(That said, it's probably the first time I've used my Kindle Keyboard in
months. I mostly use my phone or Samsung tablet for reading Kindle now.)

------
kacy
I'm a homebrew (beer) nerd. The global community is very warm and welcoming
for people at all levels. Everyone is interested in building each other up,
and it promotes experimentation and precision. As far as niche communities go,
there's a very strong but surprisingly small underground of sour beer
enthusiasts. [http://www.milkthefunk.com/](http://www.milkthefunk.com/) is an
online forum and massive wiki dedicated to discovering and sharing new methods
into souring beer. Some of the most well known sour beer brewers contribute
and use it as a resource.

~~~
reificator
I made it to "sour beer enthusiasts" before I realized you weren't talking
about writing homebrew software for game consoles/handhelds.

~~~
kacy
haha! I went back and edited it to avoid confusion. :)

------
Joeboy
[https://oulipo.social/](https://oulipo.social/)

It's a mastadon instance where you're not allowed to use the letter 'e'. Tbh
I've not been there much lately, but it's fun and has fun people on it.
Although not too many people are active there, because it's quite hard work.

A possible winner of the nicheness competition?

~~~
jmts
Amazing. A friend of mine gave me the book "A Void" [1] by Georges Perec a few
years ago that follows the same constraint. A little research and it turns out
to be because he was a member of that community [2].

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Void](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Void)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo)

------
barrkel
Motorcycles.

It's a passion that cuts right across society and political outlook. There are
people of almost every persuasion into bikes. You end up communicating with
people who do very different jobs to you, vote very differently, in fact view
the whole world very differently. Gets you out of your bubble.

~~~
cgoecknerwald
Are there any online communities you can recommend?

~~~
2dollars27cents
Adventure Rider (advrider.com) is a fun one if you're interested in that niche
of the already niche motorcycle hobby.

------
CM30
Okay, there are a few here, so I apologise for how long the list might be.
Either way:

1\. Wario Forums

[https://warioforums.com/](https://warioforums.com/)

A site I run about the Wario Land and WarioWare franchises, which covers
everything from the games content to their universe to the tech involved in
the games and their design.

The level of dedication to the series honestly surprises even me sometimes,
especially given that we've done stuff like reconstructed the soundtracks in
original quality by seeking out the samples used from commercial sample packs
and merging them with the MIDIs from the games, found tons of unused content
in the games by datamining the files and what not and are basically working on
a complex level editor for Wario Land 4 right now, basically disassembling the
whole game in the process.

2\. Various fan game development/ROM hacking communities (Mario Fan Games
Galaxy, SMW Central, ROM Hacking.net el all)

Because to me, the world of fan game, ROM hack and game mod development feels
a lot like the web development scene in the 80s and early 90s, where everyone
was building interesting things for the fun of it rather than because there
was a commercial incentive.

The fact you legally can't make money in these fields may have actually helped
keep them interesting, and to some degree makes them a bit like the open
source community for game development.

3\. TCRF

[https://tcrf.net/](https://tcrf.net/)

What can I say? It's fascinating to see all the early unused ideas for games,
as well as old data found on the discs/cartridges/whatever.

4\. The Lost Media Wiki

[https://lostmediawiki.com/Home](https://lostmediawiki.com/Home)

For much the same reason as above, except instead of focusing on unused
content, it focuses on unreleased or hard to find works instead. It can be
interesting reading about media that say, aired once about 20 years ago and
hasn't been seen since, or what not.

5\. Hacker Forums

[https://hackerforums.co/](https://hackerforums.co/)

What? It's basically Hacker News in traditional forum form, and was launched
here a few months ago.

But yeah, those are just a few of the ones I enjoy.

------
rainbowmverse
Furries

The best part is you not only get to hang out with lots of fluffy animal
people (who often share your variety of not quite cis and straight), you get
to bring all your hobbies along. Lots of furry musicians, programmers,
writers, etc.

~~~
amelius
How do you deal with the unfavorable thermal properties of those suits?

~~~
rainbowmverse
Fursuiters are a tiny part of the community. Most people can't afford the
$1-17k they cost even if they want one.

I don't know what they use to keep cool.

------
awirth
The best niche communities on the internet would get worse if attention was
drawn to them. They're good because they're hard to find and membership is
self selecting and/or invite-only. This is true, as far as I can tell, for
communities on nearly any topic/subject matter.

~~~
foobarchu
I disagree. The best niche communities are good because they are niche, not
because they're hard to find. It's the focus and passion of the members that
makes them what they are, and the ultra-niche nature of those communities is
what ensures that people who aren't actually interested will stay away.

If it's impossible to find outside of word of mouth with acquantainces, then
the purpose of the internet has been defeated. Why have the ability to connect
all of these people with a common interest if you're going to refuse to let
serendipity happen?

~~~
awirth
I said "hard to find" not "impossible to find". Start with being in the
subreddit or relevant other high-traffic high-SEO community for the subject,
and see what other places the good members are discussing (often a discord,
IRC channel, Slack, forum or similar). Recurse a few times, and each time you
do you'll get a higher signal-to-noise ratio, higher expertise, lower
abuse/garbage behavior, etc

If you just link random people directly, you'll inevitably get some folks that
can't _read the atmosphere_ and just generally walk all over the flowerbeds
without realizing what they're doing. AKA they need to "lurk moar"

~~~
lostdog
Following the SEO gradient downwards is a great way to find the best parts of
the internet.

------
bemmu
Ludum Dare. Four times a year a few thousand people create an entire game in 2
or 3 days, and then spend around a week playing and judging all the games made
by others.

~~~
fenwick67
Ludum Dare is fun but it feels too vast sometimes - very rarely do I interact
with a person more than once.

------
OscarCunningham
Searching for interesting patterns in Conway's Game of Life, and other
cellular automata.

[http://conwaylife.com/forums/](http://conwaylife.com/forums/)

------
intellectronica
[http://lesswrong.com/](http://lesswrong.com/) although I wonder if it's still
considered niche.

------
westoque
Coffee. [https://www.home-barista.com](https://www.home-barista.com)

Love how interactive the community is. Everybody is pretty much obsessed with
coffee and you learn so much. From water, to coffee beans, to machines.

~~~
Animats
On that, read "Extracts from the Club Diary", by Charles Stross.[1]

[1]
[http://www.antipope.org/charlie/fiction/coffee.html](http://www.antipope.org/charlie/fiction/coffee.html)

------
lsiebert
Does [http://www.metafilter.com](http://www.metafilter.com) count as a niche
community? If so, that. Great discussions enabled by a small fee to join and
active paid moderators.

Also [http://www.owbn.net](http://www.owbn.net) international live action
roleplaying (LARP) network of games, mostly in the US and Brazil. I have
friends from all over I've made through it, and as an introvert who sometimes
struggled socially when I was younger, it's done wonders for my ability to
socialize and understand others.

    
    
      Also my writing, persuasive ability, and organizational ability are much much better thanks to having taking part in it's management in the past.

------
undoware
The trans community. A lot of us are nerdy as hell and we're consummate
biohackers who can tell you shit about your endocrine system that will
astonish.

~~~
kungtotte
What's that one biohack that's universally applicable that everyone should do,
and what are the enhancements you'll see from it?

~~~
undoware
There isn't one, at least not straightforwardly.

There's a meta-hack, of sorts, however, that _is_ :

"You don't have to be this way, and you don't have to do what others expect of
you. You can change, and you don't have to ask permission. They will make you
pay for it -- your friends, spouses, colleagues, institutions -- but the cost
of the alternative can be higher still. Be free."

~~~
undoware
Everything else is just causistry and tactics, and must be tailored bespoke.

------
munificent
The set of people building their own roguelike games must surely be one of the
smaller subsets of humanity, but if you're in it, the r/roguelikedev subreddit
is great.

------
epx
I am a train geek. Waiting for the kid to become a teenager and start ignoring
his father so I can be a volunteer at ABPF (Brazilian Railroad Preservation
Society). Meanwhile, I go to places where there used to be railways or
stations, take photos, write about these things and the history. Since it's
been a long-neglected subject, people crave for any bits of information.

~~~
kalyan02
If you post them somewhere, I'd love to read.

~~~
epx
Sure!

[https://epxx.co/artigos/](https://epxx.co/artigos/) "Railroads" section. Most
material is in pt_BR but I have translated some of them to en.

------
pmoriarty
Muff Wiggler - a forum for modular synth enthusiasts

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

~~~
vincentriemer
One of my favorite (and most expensive) hobbies!

~~~
bitL
Neverending GAS...

------
rootsudo
Cell phone "phreaking" and ESN/MEID/IMEI crew, they're fun but it's now gotten
to the point where it's for profit vs how Qualcomm doesn't care.

Half the people are privacy adverse, the other half just profitters.

Still, interesting to modify and manipulate hardware and software on cell
phones, although the scene is very different (and more complicated) then 05
(where you could replace the $SYS.ESN file in Hex and checksum to get a new
valid ESN)

~~~
confounded
Any links?

~~~
bookofjoe
Does the name Mark Bernay ring a bell? He was one of the giants of the "blue
box" era. From Slate: "According the New York Times obituary of Apple founder
Steve Jobs, after reading [Ron] Rosenbaum's [Esquire] article, Jobs and his
partner in founding Apple, Steve Wozniak, 'collaborated on building and
selling blue boxes, devices that were widely used for making free — and
illegal — phone calls. They raised a total of $6,000 from the effort.'"
Rosenbaum article:
[http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/the_spectator/2011/...](http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/the_spectator/2011/10/the_article_that_inspired_steve_jobs_secrets_of_the_little_blue_.html)
IRL Mark Bernay
([http://www.wideweb.com/phonetrips/;](http://www.wideweb.com/phonetrips/;)
[https://twitter.com/phonetrips?lang=en](https://twitter.com/phonetrips?lang=en))
is Richard Kashdan:
[https://www.facebook.com/PhoneTrips](https://www.facebook.com/PhoneTrips)
Very cool guy, alive and well in San Francisco

------
durdn
Top Chess Engine Championship:
[http://tcec.chessdom.com/season13/live.php](http://tcec.chessdom.com/season13/live.php)
and the amazing community project of LCZero to replicate Alpha Zero results in
Chess:
[https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/lczero](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/lczero)

~~~
djflutt3rshy
Is there a sense that LCZero will eventually catch up to the top traditional
contenders like Stockfish, it is there a possibility of a bottleneck with the
machine learning?

~~~
asparagui
I would argue that the Alpha Zero algorithm does well at learning chess via
self play to get to a master level, but the high level chess engines are
super-optimized for their specific domain problem and so will remain out of
reach.

~~~
thom
Leela and AlphaZero are already comfortable beyond master level and into the
3200s in ELO terms, at least. As for the best engines today (who I've no doubt
we'll see win out at TCEC - Wasp has already been holding its own in division
4) I think they're super optimized on one axis - search, but not optimized
very much (in the grand scheme of things) on the other - evaluation.

AlphaZero and LCZero show have orders of magnitude better evaluation is
available and can go toe to toe with existing engines despite radically fewer
nodes searched. I wouldn't be surprised however, after this current generation
of NNs get good, if the traiditional Alpha-Beta engines can't encode _some_ of
the more subtle positional knowledge they've picked up, in a way that works
quickly with their current architectures.

~~~
thom
And I expect the flip side is also true - radically better hardware and
algorithms for both training and executing neural networks. Even after that, I
think there’s a huge gap in the market for a system that not only sees tactics
deeply and had an almost flawless positional sense, but can explain and train
humans in what it sees.

------
rayalez
[https://www.reddit.com/r/rational](https://www.reddit.com/r/rational) \- a
community about "rationalist" fiction, inspired by HPMOR. A lot of amazing
authors and awesome stories, also cool discussion on related topics.

[https://www.reddit.com/r/low_poly](https://www.reddit.com/r/low_poly) \- a
subreddit for 3d low-poly art. Really simple and beautiful artworks. You can
easily get into voxel art with MagicaVoxel, or you can try Silo to model low-
poly stuff.

~~~
bmer
/r/low_poly is beautiful! Thank you for that. Why is Silo
([http://nevercenter.com/silo/](http://nevercenter.com/silo/) \--- is that the
right URL?) particularly well suited for low-poly art?

------
gavanwoolery
Back in the day, I loved flipcode
([https://www.flipcode.com/](https://www.flipcode.com/)), for pure,
development-oriented content. r/gamedev was pretty good in the early days, but
quickly turned into something I no longer read (reasoning here:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/3zd4nq/my_opinion_...](https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/3zd4nq/my_opinion_on_what_is_wrong_with_rgamedev_and_how/))

------
albertgoeswoof
Mastodon is basically like Twitter was 8 years ago. Except it’s also a really
cool tech platform as well.

~~~
rainbowmverse
Mastodon is what Twitter could have been without having to serve the interests
of people shoveling millions into it. The interests of people shoveling ones
and tens of dollars into Mastodon are well-aligned with the users because
they're the same people.

------
aaronbrethorst
Large format photography:
[http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/](http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/)

~~~
4x5_Rules
+1 Try also: [http://midwestlargeformat.com](http://midwestlargeformat.com)

------
djflutt3rshy
Geocaching! Along with the already mentioned Ingress, it’s helped me find so
many obscure yet beautiful and interesting locations. The local community is
great too, and there is a certain thrill of mischief snooping around for a
tiny magnet inside a city trying not to be spotted.

------
joshu
I race Spec Miata in SCCA San Francisco region.

The Spec Miata class has ~35 cars in a given race here in the Bay Area. It's
probably the biggest amateur class out there. The community is very vibrant
and racing is a blast.

~~~
Fuzzwah
My hobby is sim racing, because I don't have the time or money to devote to
real world racing at the moment. The sim I've put the most time into is
iRacing and I'm just wondering if you've ever given it a shot and if so how'd
you'd rate the iRacing simulation of the MX5?

~~~
joshu
I don’t find racing sims very good. Most of the data you have to use is
physical - how to balance the car, how the rear end is moving, how the front
tires have lost grip and you need to unwind a bit to make the turn...

------
TaylorAlexander
Reboot.love

I operate a community for robotics hobbyists interested in doing work for
social change. Want to work on cool robots while contributing to open source
hardware and software for robots that can help people? If so come check out
[http://reboot.love](http://reboot.love)

------
roryisok
Nanowrimo, I love trying to write 50k words in 30 days every November. I
usually fail but there's great camaraderie and a year long build up

~~~
wallacoloo
I've found my way into a vaguely similar group lately. Fairly even split of
writers, artists, readers, and people passionate about typesetting. Some
people use it for help in editing, or proof reading, etc. But the most
interesting thing the group does is to take stories in an existing digital
format (could be something somebody there wrote, or more frequently something
that was written elsewhere but shared in this group), make cover and/or
chapter art for the book, typeset it, and then crowd-fund a small printrun.

Sometimes whoever deals with the actual logistics of the printing and shipping
will throw in something extra. In one case, the story was centered around a
musician, and the guy who shipped the books also included an audio CD with his
interpretation of the songs the character would have performed. In another
case, there have been riddles and puzzles included on the first or last pages.

------
marksbrown
I live on and repair /removate a canal boat in the UK. It's like a hidden
village threaded through London. Extraordinary experience.

~~~
nihil75
Looks like such a great experience! How are you getting on power-wise? solar
panels? Internet connection? Mobile data?

~~~
aheckler
Not the OP, but you can watch videos of how one guy has his boat configured
here:

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

See the "Fit-Out" section. He goes into a lot of detail.

------
zengid
Xenharminic has a lot of nice info about alternative musical tuning systems.
(Note: they are in the process of migrating away from wikispaces. I'm not sure
what the current state of the processes is.)

[http://xenharmonic.wikispaces.com/](http://xenharmonic.wikispaces.com/)

------
facing_worlds
Lucid dreaming -
[https://www.reddit.com/r/LucidDreaming/](https://www.reddit.com/r/LucidDreaming/)

~~~
senatorobama
No way of verifying user's experiences :/

Could be just a bunch of roleplayers.

~~~
wholinator2
I don't necessarily go there to read other people's stories. My interest was
in learning how to do it myself and once I successfully experienced it a few
times my perspective on the possibility of other peoples stories was changed

------
maury91
Not sure if is a niche, I enjoy reading about well-reasoned fights between
characters: [http://vsbattles.wikia.com/](http://vsbattles.wikia.com/)

------
dchuk
It’s quieted down a lot in the last few weeks, but I set up
[https://hackerforums.co](https://hackerforums.co) to compliment this site for
longer running/traditional bulletin board style forum conversations.

~~~
pandasun
Your forum is very fast, did you do anything specific to make it that way? :)

~~~
dchuk
That’s just the magic of using old php forum software. This is just phpBB
running behind nginx on a cheap digitalocean droplet. It’s just not using a
bunch of heavy JavaScript or anything like most modern software, so even
though it’s not a SPA it is still very speedy.

------
mirimir
Extreme privacy :)

For me, fortunately, it's just a game. But I like to think that maybe I'm
helping people where it's all too real.

Bottom line, though, it's just fun :)

And by the way, Mirimir is just a persona. In meatspace, I'm a very private
person, but not in any remarkable way.

~~~
bigiain
Same - except I refer to it as "recreational paranoia"...

------
coherentpony
Not sure if it's considered 'niche', but I enjoy /r/mechanicalkeyboards

------
Findeton
[https://hackaday.com/](https://hackaday.com/)

------
andrepd
MUDs. Roguelikes. Dwarf Fortress. Retro games in general.

------
ydnaclementine
/fit/ and /g/ on 4chan

~~~
confounded
I’ve always been horrified by the white supremacism, homophobia, sexism, etc.
ad nauseam on 4chan. To the extent that I don’t want to poke around it too
much.

What are those communities like? What’s the benefit compared to
Reddit/wherever else?

~~~
awirth
The amount of garbage is pretty highly dependent on the board - the entire
site isn't /pol/. If you're willing to be your own content filter and can
handle a lower signal to noise ratio than a curated community there are a lot
of good posts. It's DEFINITELY not for everyone though.

For example, 4chan has some of the most up-to-date English language
discussions around for a lot of Japanese fandoms. If you want to discuss new
releases of obscure japanese noise bands, you probably want to be /mu/. If
you're not on /mu/ and are on some other platform, you're probably just going
to get a regurgitated version of the discussion from /mu/ anyway, with an
increased propogation delay and someone _else_ doing the cherrypicking. (Note:
I'm just using "Japanese noise bands" as an example, I don't know if that
particular discussion on /mu/ is good, or if the relevant low-latency
discussion is on Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, etc these days)

------
huhtenberg
[https://reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing](https://reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing)

It's damn impressive how quickly some of the most obscure requests are
answered due to the sheer number of eyes looking at them.

------
mbym
Podcasters! I'm cheating a bit with this answer, because this is really the
industry I've worked in for the past 3+ years. But it still strikes me what
camaraderie there is between audio producers, and even great goodwill/respect
between tech platforms that are ostensibly competitors. I think both phenomena
are a function of the fact that the industry is more concerned with growth,
improving podcasting tech, and attracting new listeners/advertisers (rather
than just competing for existing ears/dollars). Result: podcasters genuinely
try to help each other, and enjoy meeting like-minded souls at meet-ups. Also,
see online communities like "Podcast Movement Community - For Podcasters"
Facebook group (14,000+ members) and many more online groups with thousands of
members. There's a StackOverflow-level generosity of knowledge/advice sharing.
Example: I shared this "Grateful for friendships" post after an _industry
conference_ [https://www.instagram.com/p/BlxX3pjgr06/?taken-
by=awesoundap...](https://www.instagram.com/p/BlxX3pjgr06/?taken-
by=awesoundapp)

------
qrbLPHiKpiux
Paper notebooks and wood cased pencils. Writing with natural things knowing
they’re not 1’s and 0’s and they will likely be around for a long time is
fascinating.

------
dvirsky
Weather forums run by serious weather geeks, some of which are actual
professionals. Especially towards and during extreme weather events these are
a lot of fun.

~~~
crehn
Also interested, any pointers?

~~~
redisman
This one is pretty good for Pacific Northwest
[http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/](http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/)

Another interesting specialist weather site to look at (not a community per
se): [https://www.windy.com/](https://www.windy.com/)

------
elijahparker
Birding

While recently I've been less involved due to work/family commitments, it's
fun to always be on the lookout. I've also enjoyed tallying birds by sound
while running outdoors.

[http://ebird.org](http://ebird.org) Also, [http://xeno-
canto.org](http://xeno-canto.org) (the "mysteries" section can be fun)

------
EnderMB
Two very niche ones I follow on Reddit.

/r/CasualUK: Light-hearted UK chat, free from politics. Very wholesome if
you're from the UK, and a great distraction from what a shit-show the country
can be at times.

/r/bjj: The Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu subreddit. If you've ever been interested in
taking up a martial art I recommend checking it out, and seeing if there are
any gyms in your area.

~~~
RugnirViking
Thank you for introducing me to CasualUK. This looks incredible.

------
arcticfox
[https://aoezone.net](https://aoezone.net) , home to pro / semi-pro Age of
Empires 2

~~~
samstave
to me, Pro == making-a-living-at

How does one be Pro at AoE?

~~~
desdiv
Some are casters, like T90[0]. They stream a couple of hours of AoE2
commentary every day on Twitch. They collect income from Twitch subscriptions
and donations and also Youtube ad revenue. It's very hard work for not a lot
of money.

A very small handful of top players plays it full time. Viper[1] is the "top
guy" currently and he streams on Twitch. So his income is Twitch + Youtube +
tournament winnings.

[0] [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUT79WUUpZlZ-
XMF7l4CFg](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUT79WUUpZlZ-XMF7l4CFg)

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/user/TheViperAOC](https://www.youtube.com/user/TheViperAOC)

------
pm24601
fetlife -- Like a kinky facebook, where everyone can ask really embarrassing
questions and discover:

1) misconceptions

2) that there are others like them.

3) others have the same problem as well.

I have found good work-related question discussions like: "How can I say
something nice to a woman without crossing any personal boundary lines." (A
question that is hard to get a good answer from HR training); "How can I break
up with someone I work with"

There is also the "Kinky And Geeky" group:
([https://fetlife.com/groups/81](https://fetlife.com/groups/81)) and the
"Kinky & Geeky Convention Circuit"
([https://fetlife.com/groups/121830](https://fetlife.com/groups/121830)) which
are good for meeting up with others randomly.

------
tanderson92
bogleheads.org -- DIY personal finance and investing discussion site.

Discussions can take you fairly far into the weeds but you learn a heck of a
lot.

------
gameswithgo
reddit.com/r/proceduralgeneration

~~~
eps
Thanks for this.

------
praptak
The local community of Ingress players in my city. It also acts amazingly well
as a human-powered search/recommendation engine and mutual help community.

~~~
djflutt3rshy
I love Ingress for the discovery factor (there’s many works of public art that
simply aren’t indexed anywhere else), unfortunately our local community is a
bit toxic so I play solo and use it as an enhanced map more than anything
these days. Maybe when 2.0 comes out...

~~~
praptak
Just out of curiosity, what do you think 2.0 could fix in terms of community
toxicity?

------
stevekrouse
I recently wrote a ranty blog post about how much I love the online “future of
programming” community
[http://futureofcoding.org/essays/sissies](http://futureofcoding.org/essays/sissies)

------
ydrol
A game I used to play as a teenager: Quakeworld Teamfortress. There are a few
discord channels for the various countries where people still play (US:
[https://discord.gg/FStt9pw](https://discord.gg/FStt9pw), Brazil:
[https://discord.gg/Ew3NY2Z](https://discord.gg/Ew3NY2Z), Australia:
[https://discord.gg/amed6v](https://discord.gg/amed6v)) with organised games
happening on particular days each week. What's great is that development/new
maps are still being made.

~~~
minikomi
Wow, I used to play this all the time in Australia too.. maybe I'll try and
join some games.

------
eof
I enjoy lurking some niche subs

/r/waifuism is probably my favorite

------
SuddsMcDuff
I love painting miniatures. It's a kind of meditation for me.. the attentional
to detail. It's a little bit like pruning a bonsai tree.

The community at
[http://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting](http://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting)
is wonderful and always willing to provide constructive feedback if you ask
genuinely. Also [http://www.coolminiornot.com](http://www.coolminiornot.com)
to see some of the amazing work other people are doing (or just to feel bad
about your own).

------
decasteve
Various Land Rover forums [0], [1], [2] for keeping my 17 year old Discovery 2
running. I don't think I could have owned a vehicle like this (and done work
on it myself) without the knowledge shared through these communities.

[0] [https://www.landyzone.co.uk/forum/](https://www.landyzone.co.uk/forum/)

[1] [https://landroverforums.com/forum/](https://landroverforums.com/forum/)

[2] [https://discoweb.org/](https://discoweb.org/)

~~~
ehnto
Practically a spring chicken! Online car forums are so often amazing. I
probably knew enough to pull down an Nissan PS13 engine before I had even
bought the car, simply through absorbing hard earned knowledge in discussion
boards. Something about car nuts makes them compulsively share their
experience in the area.

------
farbrortumm
[https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ultralight/)

Ultralight backpacking. Gets you outdoors, can get quite nerdy though!

~~~
Kagerjay
Reminds me of r/edc, and r/buildapc

~~~
tyrust
I feel like r/edc and r/buildapc run against r/ultralight philosophically. The
first two are about having a bunch of stuff you don't need: for r/edc, stuff
like multiple weapons and tools that rarely ever see use; for r/buildapc,
excessive hardware ("futureproofing") and furniture for playing games. On the
other hand, r/ultralight is about reducing your kit to the actual essentials
that will be carried over nontrivial distances and used daily.

~~~
Kagerjay
r/edc is more like r/guns but I see your point most of the stuff people
"carry" about them is absolutely absurd. I just carry my carkeys, a decadent
titanium wallet, and my phone.

I mentioned r/buildapc because the way the table layout specs on r/ultralight
feels similar. People have a goal and layout everything they use inside of
that backpack or pc-case. There's not much else the same besides that.

~~~
cheeze
/r/edc is a thinly veiled /r/iamverybadass

"22/SDE, my EDC" \- proceeds to have a Leatherman, 2 knives, a phone, wallet,
gun, and 2 mags...

~~~
andrepd
Rule of thumb: skip any edc that has a gun or more than 1 knife.

------
larrydag
Makerspaces are fun place to find all sorts of niches in the DIY community.

------
stefantheard
/r/bjj is my favorite, it has the perfect balance of extremely useful
discussion and knowledge sharing along with some percentage of shitposting to
keep it interesting.

~~~
bongo662
Surprisingly a noticeable chunk of the people in my bjj classes were software
engineers. A lot higher percentage than in my boxing or muay thai classes.

~~~
stefantheard
I've noticed that too, especially in the gi compared to boxing. Lots more
doctors / lawyers / engineers training in the gi. I think it's because we're
all weak and need the grips to slow people down, haha. Well let me speak for
myself, I'm weak and need the grips to slow people down.

~~~
bongo662
Hah, could be a strength thing but most of the guys/gals Ive spoken with about
it seem to join choose bjj over another martial art for the brain safety. Way
less chance of a concussion in grappling than boxing, kickboxing or muay thai!

I prefer the Gi too, work on your monkey grip in no-gi if thats giving you
problems though!

------
stpe
RC racing.

Early this year I joined the local RC racing club and bought I used 1/10th
scale 2WD buggy kit. I found it amazingly entertaining, almost zen-like, to do
racing. It is like a video game, but in real life. And to learn skills, see
how you improve, learn more about the setup and technical parts. All in a
great, helpful community with a mix of people from all backgrounds. You've got
that awesomely fast 12 year old kicking the ass of a 35 year old CEO at the
track...

------
js2
Ultra running, and well, just running in general.

Two nights ago I got to stand on the 5th lane of a track and watch 13 guys run
a sub-4 mile. First place ran a 3:57 and missed the NC record by .03 seconds.
5 women ran under 4:30, with first place running a 3 second PR.

Earlier, I had run the anchor leg for my local running club in the 4x400.

There are few sports so accessible. The ultra community in particular is very
welcoming and volunteer driven.

~~~
krtkush
Would recommend r/running for anyone interested in running. It is a wholesome
and very supportive community.

------
__s
Elements is an old card game,
[http://elementscommunity.org](http://elementscommunity.org) is a community I
enjoyed for years, enough to create an open source offshoot of the game
[https://etg.dek.im](https://etg.dek.im) since its developer went AWOL

------
anon1253
CloudyNights/Astrobin for astrophotography

------
richardw
Hearth.com

Crazy fireplace people. They love getting a fire running just so (upside-down
of course). Chop down their own wood, split the logs, build their own wood
shed.

Look: [https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/show-us-yours-wood-
shed....](https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/show-us-yours-wood-shed.88203/)

Hidden shelter under wood shed: [https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/show-us-
yours-wood-shed....](https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/show-us-yours-wood-
shed.88203/page-2#post-1144643)

I live in suburbia, but now I know how to test wood for moisture, how long to
season it, how to stack a fire properly, how to keep it running at the optimal
temperature range. not very important where I live but I enjoy fiddling with
my wood fire in winter.

------
neom
Charged Tech is good: [https://community.char.gd/](https://community.char.gd/)
\- forum/newsletter/chat.

Psychedelic Experience Discord-
[https://discord.gg/8vS9gCt](https://discord.gg/8vS9gCt)

~~~
vitaminCPP
This guys has an interesting business model.

Just curious: With all the free online content, how do you justify paying for
this service ?

I wonder how do you get your initial userbase with this kind of model...

~~~
jdietrich
€80/yr is about the same price as a magazine subscription. It's a fair price
for good content. Free content is an inherent compromise - the creators are
always splitting their attention between creating content and raising revenue.

Patreon has had a hugely positive impact on a lot of content creators. They're
not worrying about the latest algorithm changes on YouTube or AdSense, they're
not chasing down sponsorship or shady native advertising, they're just doing
what they do best.

------
williamqliu
If you want to be outdoors more, there's the following communities (with
forums, maps, and apps):

Mountain Project (a Climbing Resource)
[https://www.mountainproject.com/](https://www.mountainproject.com/)

Hiking Project
[https://www.hikingproject.com/](https://www.hikingproject.com/)

Trail Run Project
[https://www.trailrunproject.com/](https://www.trailrunproject.com/)

Powder Project (Backcountry Ski Maps)
[https://www.powderproject.com/](https://www.powderproject.com/)

MTB Project (Mountain Biking)
[https://www.mtbproject.com/](https://www.mtbproject.com/)

~~~
thesmok
I would add Bikepacking.com

------
matty22
I do volunteer trail maintenance on the Pacific Crest Trail with the PCTA.
It's a great way to get outside and do some physical labor for those of us who
sit in a cube 40+ hours per week. You also get to see and camp in some of the
most beautiful parts of the country and work with a whole host of other
volunteers who have been extremely pleasant to the last in my experience.

Bonus: For those who want to be very involved, you can get First Aid/CPR,
chainsaw or crosscut sawyer, crew leader training/certification for 'free'. So
long as you pay it back by utilizing those skills on work parties. Some groups
also run a trail steward program where you can 'adopt' a section of the trail
to maintain over time.

------
networkimprov
"Fusion" partner dancing, e.g.
[https://www.missionfusion.com/](https://www.missionfusion.com/)

Re the vid on that page, we very rarely have a live musician playing in the
midst of the dancers! Music is generally by DJs.

------
kache_
rizon ircs for programming. People make fun of this place a lot

~~~
juancampa
Why do people make fun of it? Never heard of it

~~~
andrepd
Mostly the insufferable Silicon Valley entrepreneur stereotype.

------
Regardsyjc
Cross-stitch, crochet, sewing, crafting. I'm in a Facebook group where women
share photos or designs of reusable pads they made. It's a great place where
women can ask for help, talk about endometriosis or pregnancy, share sewing
advice, as well as talk about different types of fabrics.

My friend's in a Fb group for mushroom enthusiasts. They share photos of
mushrooms they find in their yard and hikes.

I joined a sous vide fb group- all food photos.

As an Amazon seller, I'm in an Amazon PPC fb group. Troubleshooting Amazon ad
campaigns is fun for me. It's amazing to see all the different things people
are into.

------
dartac

      telnet telehack.com

------
tricky
Some of the DIY car communities/forums are a lot of fun. I spend too much time
keeping an old Porsche on the road and the information and comradery available
in the community is fantastic

~~~
korbonits
what model/year? Are you a PCA member?

------
GoRudy
Https://advrider.com adventure motorcycle riding community

------
type0
[https://www.discogs.com/](https://www.discogs.com/)

[https://pixls.us/](https://pixls.us/)

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

[https://forum.f-droid.org/](https://forum.f-droid.org/)

[https://indiewebify.me/](https://indiewebify.me/)

------
mattyb678
Trail and ultra running

------
ehsanu1
RLBot: [http://www.rlbot.org/](http://www.rlbot.org/)

Just got into making bots for a game called Rocket League. The game is physics
based (it's cars with rockets playing soccer, if you don't know RL) and it's
very early days for botting. The community is pretty great, mostly hang out in
the discord. There was just a tournament between all the bots this weekend as
well.

------
samuell
The Flow-based programming google group:

[https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/flow-based-
programmi...](https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/flow-based-programming)

It has been a bit less active over the last couple of months, and sadly been
plagued by a bit of spam, but historically there have been enormously
interesting discussions there, by very insightful IT-veterans.

------
hutattedonmyarm
[https://pnut.io/](https://pnut.io/)

It’s a kind of unofficial App.net successor, created by one of ADNs former
users

------
sasaf5
The BMX community. A lot chiller and less competitive than other cycling
communities. You are always "hanging out" while riding BMX.

------
madnerd
Samplerbox (python raspberry pi synth using wav files)
[http://www.samplerbox.org/](http://www.samplerbox.org/)

A little known fact is that it is cross-platform, I manage to build a
executable version with pyinstaller for windows. Some day I'll take some time
to release it with a minimalist gui (just to select the soundcard).

------
cm2012
/r/parahumans

/r/starcraft

~~~
shiny
I prefer /r/broodwar

------
joshlemer
I love
[http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/index.php](http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/index.php)
forums for great information on new local urban planning developments and/or
general chit chat and local politics. I find it much better than Reddit, for
instance.

------
gmays
The WordPress community.

------
craigt00
Parkrunning - www.parkrun.com

Community organised free 5km runs every Saturday morning. A great way to get
some exercise for all abilities. Even if you walk the route - and plenty do -
you'll get support from other participants and the marshalls all the way
around. You can make it as competitive as you want.

------
no_gravity
The #startups irc channel on Freenode.

~~~
senatorobama
Any job postings?

------
annapowellsmith
The Professional Pilots Rumour Network:

[https://www.pprune.org/](https://www.pprune.org/)

Which is pretty much what the name suggests. Airline pilots, both passenger
and commercial flights, swapping news and rumours.

------
jimmahoney
Argentine tango : check out the "my double life" TED talk at
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhdI3FNItHk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhdI3FNItHk)
.

------
dominotw
/r/ElectricUnicycle/

local facebooks groups are more active than than reddit though.

------
ValentineC
Private trackers like What.CD and its successors.

r/DataHoarder, for how to store everything.

------
yann-gael
Amiga community!

------
hackersac
I'm a frequent at Slickdeals.net.

It's not a niche, as it is hugely popular, but it is the best place to find
deals on stuffs (electronics, clothes, flights, food, beverages, etc.).

------
cbHXBY1D
Amateur radio! There's a growing interest in it from the Maker movement and
people interested in SDR. It's a really great community as long as you avoid
the bands where boomers complain about the VA, liberals, and young people.

If you're looking to test the waters - RTLSDR is cheap and a good place to
start.

~~~
jdietrich
The teams behind WSJT and FreeDV are doing some very exciting stuff with
digital modes. There are a proliferation of affordable, capable SDRs including
the RTL-SDR, the SDRPlay RSP and the HackRF One. We might be in a solar
minima, but it's a great time to be getting into amateur radio.

[http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/](http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/)

[https://freedv.org/](https://freedv.org/)

------
motiw
Stair Climbing [https://www.meetup.com/Stairclimbers-
LA/](https://www.meetup.com/Stairclimbers-LA/)

------
priyadarshy
the youtube rollerblading community is pretty interesting. it feels like
everyone knows one another even though they're spread across the globe.

------
socceroos
8bc.org used to be amazing. I loved that place.

------
dimitry12
@lainon now I am curious why you would ask such a question :D

What are you going to do with the answers?

~~~
dimitry12
I am impressed the number of answers though!

------
piinbinary
r/programminglanguages along with the associated IRC channel, #proglangdesign.
I'm working on building a compiler, so I'm interested in learning more about
newly built languages and related topics (e.g. type theory).

------
qznc
Lobste.rs

Hacker News with less Silicon Valley culture.

~~~
nickpsecurity
Hacker News and Lobste.rs are my favorite, tech forums. Quite complementary.

For those unfamiliar with Lobste.rs, it's a smaller, slower-moving, mostly-
tech-focused forum. It has many low-level hackers and CompSci people, too. So,
we have more in-depth submissions on those topics. They also might survive on
the front page longer just due to less competition for it like HN has.
Occasionally, we also have highly-educational comments from those people that
I don't see elsewhere. I always compare comment sections of anything on both
HN and Lobsters to spot that. There's also some folks that just don't like
really-big, fast-moving sites. They submit exclusively to smaller communities
like Lobste.rs.

So, those are the main benefits of the site for anyone interested.

~~~
jonnismash
Would love an invite to lobste.rs my man.

~~~
nickpsecurity
I don't do invites right now. The best place to get one is just ask nicely in
chat:

[https://lobste.rs/chat](https://lobste.rs/chat)

If you get on, send me a message through the Lobsters site saying so. I'll
reply with something to help you get started.

------
remarkEon
kOS. The in-game programming language for KSP, accessible via a mod. The
subreddit is pretty interesting, and folks are always doing cool stuff on
YouTube. Also a great way to learn the physics involved.

------
wyclif
Offset electric guitars. Mechanical keyboards. Ultralight hiking.

------
yasinaydin
HackerNews itself. Everything else falls under subgroup of it.

------
myle
r/bikewrench

------
waznx
Halal market

------
ada1981
Ultimate Frisbee.

Psychedelics.

Relationship as a Path.

Majagual.org

~~~
smcameron
cyclekarts: [http://cyclekartclub.com](http://cyclekartclub.com)

~~~
ada1981
?

------
jbhatab
This one :)

------
webyacusa
Pornhub.

------
mlthoughts2018
Oulipo

------
spinningthelock
r/flying

------
sarcasm_heals
One of the longer running open knowledge communities still in existence today
is the cannabis community. People are growing their medicine at home. How
great is that?

There's a rather vibrant community of DIY cannabis growers on Reddit.
Subforums include /r/microgrowery, /r/macrogrowery, /r/autoflowers, and a very
niche /r/spacebuckets.

DIY growers cross-bred small lots over years and years, ultimately creating
most of the 1000+ strains enjoyed today. A while back, a small group of pot
entrepreneurs registered the genetics of these strains in the public domain so
that corporations couldn't patent them:
[https://opencannabisproject.org/](https://opencannabisproject.org/)

------
marknadal
Our community originally started around my Open Source decentralized database.

But later, we realized that the community of people in it was a lot more
valuable than the system itself.

Why? They're some of the __nicest __hard-working problem-solving people I 've
met.

I bet you'd fit right in at
[https://gitter.im/amark/gun](https://gitter.im/amark/gun) !

------
simple_man
The skyscraper aficionados at skyscrapercity.com

------
JustMatthew
Although we refer to ourselves more as an army than a community, I can't stop
raving about what's going on over at Cent. I literally can't stop - I am on my
81st blog post about the site (proof:
[http://kayageetheworld.blogspot.com/search/label/CENT](http://kayageetheworld.blogspot.com/search/label/CENT)).

The sense of community is surprisingly strong at Cent, which is kind of
amazing for a site where the stated purpose is to provide a way for anyone to
earn income from anywhere by paying users for providing responses that are no
different than FB posts or Tweets. The difference between Cent and FB and
Twitter though is that users on Cent are responding to posts that have a
monetary bounty attached to them, so users are incentivized to make quality
responses in order to get a piece of the bounty. Users also get paid for
making the equivalent of a FB like or Twitter heart (but don't quit your day
job to like responses since we're you'll earn a few cents per bounty).

I'd say more, but heading over to
[https://beta.cent.co/](https://beta.cent.co/) and trying it out for yourself
is more effective than any explanation.

