I think it wise to establish one rule first. Please do not discuss . . . The-Forum-That-Must-Not-Be-Named. Okay?
So, now, what are the forums you read mostly?
While I have no desire to “retire early” (that ship has sailed, I’m 66 and still working), I read Early Retirement & Financial Independence Community a great deal. A lot of topics there are applicable no matter when one plans to retire, and there are lots of members who know what they are talking about. They’ve been there and done that.
I also peruse our local NextDoor (ND) a bit to keep up with what’s going on in the hood. For some reason, without asking me, ND saw fit to making me a moderator. So, I get to vote to delete/keep posts that go into the weeds, and there is a lot of them! It’s the wild, wild west in there at times!
I go on VitalMX quite a bit: A Venerable cesspool of the kinds of people (ie. jamokes) you find yourself relating to and joking with when you get addicted to dirtbikes.
Another one I frequent is Bobistheoilguy, mainly because of my previous job in the lubricant industry, but it’s an alright community, so I’ve kept logging on. I post a lot less there than I used to though because I feel their moderation is too heavy handed. They have some pretty hardline content guidelines about what they won’t have discussions on, but they delete posts and threads because of some pretty harmless content a lot of times. So much of the time, it seems like they really do some mental gymnastics to categorize posts as out-of-bounds.
I used to do a few other motorcycle forums ADVRider and ThumperTalk, but ThumperTalk is just awful. One of the most toxic communities I’ve ever experienced.
ADVRider is alright, but it is huge and I just got overwhelmed by it all, so I kinda just fell out of it. Trying to keep up with threads there was practically a full time job
I was a dirtbiker from age 13-16. A lime green Honda SL 125. Bought new with my earnings, and a bank loan, at age 13. (Dad cosigned.) I put on a rear knobby tire, and a flexible (plastic) front fender after my future sister-in-law rode it up into an apple tree! But, it was fun. Riding the power lines and NG transmission lines for miles and miles. Two friends had dirtbikes too. We had a blast! Then, I turned 16, inherited the family beater (car) from the older brother, got a job, got a girlfriend (my wife), and sold my dirtbike. I don’t even think I have the t-shirt anymore.
I lurk a bit on the Model Engine Makers forum. I browse Reddit from time to time, but it can be less than productive to post there, it’s really just a place for people to try and outdo each other with snarky replies and comments. A few others get much less of my time, as my interests wax and wane. One, for instance, is for CPAP users…but now that I’ve resolved some troubles with mine, I don’t visit as much as as say, a month ago.
Lots… Fieldlines (Renewable energy projects. I’m a moderator, almost an admin, there). Skysearchers (Love astronomy all my life, people share awesome pictures there). Canadian Hobby Metal Workers (shop tips, bargains, and sharing project pictures, too). Hobby Machinist - similar to the CAD variety.
I’ve signed up and participated on many others, but they’ve fallen by the wayside, mostly…
But, it was fun. Riding the power lines and NG transmission lines for miles and miles. Two friends had dirtbikes too. We had a blast! Then, I turned 16, inherited the family beater (car) from the older brother, got a job, got a girlfriend (my wife), and sold my dirtbike. I don’t even think I have the t-shirt anymore. 