Published on July 21st, 2020 | by Sunit Nandi

Some Of The Best Community Forums For Sharing Your Love Of Tech

If you’re extremely passionate about the world of technology, you’re certainly not alone. We live in a time of incredible progress in many areas accessible to hobbyists. Consumer electronics is the best example. Those with deep pockets spend heavily on the latest high-end TVs and PCs, while those with more limited budgets find bargains and enjoy DIY projects.

But what if you want to connect with other tech enthusiasts? Maybe there are discoveries or innovations that you want to share with people, or new developments you’d like to discuss. You might just want to find people who’ll appreciate your latest project. Well, among the many advantages conferred by the internet is the ability to easily access online communities.

In this post, we’re going to look at some of the best community forums out there for people enthusiastic about technology — five in particular, to be exact. Let’s get started, shall we?

Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

Everipedia

You’re no-doubt familiar with Wikipedia, Everipedia’s more familiar predecessor (the latter started out as a fork of the former), so you might be wondering what makes this wiki platform different — and why I’m framing it as a community forum. Well, the answer to the first question is simple: in addition to being based on blockchain technology, Everipedia is vastly more permissive when it comes to content. If you think something is interesting, you can write about it and know that it’s highly unlikely to be taken down for failing to meet some arbitrary standard.

As for viewing it as a forum, it is a forum in addition to being a wiki platform. Every page has an Article Discussion section, so if you want to find people interested in covering a specific topic in minute detail, look no further than the Everipedia page for that topic. And if you can’t find such a page, you should create it yourself and see who shows up to discuss it with you.

Reddit is an obvious inclusion, and would be no less obvious if this were a post about the best community forums for discussing sports, or accounting, or fitness. It’s a vast collection of subreddits on myriad topics — and as with Everipedia, if there’s a conspicuous gap where you think a discussion belongs, you can easily create one and shape it as you prefer.

To get started, head to Reddit and use the internal search function to find the subreddits that match your interests. If you’re fascinated by technology in general, head to r/technology. If your interest specifically concerns computer technology, then visit r/hardware. And if you’re absolutely set upon discussing something more niche that isn’t there and you don’t feel you know enough to create a subreddit, look through general posts until you find someone who keeps talking about it — then reach out to them to start a conversation.

Linus Tech Tips

Linus Tech Tips (otherwise known as LTT) started life as a YouTube channel, and that’s still the front of it — but there’s also a big community behind it in the LTT forum. In addition to talking about whatever tech-related matters catch your attention, you can contribute to video projects and make suggestions for future videos.

It’s a thriving area that consistently sees high traffic as a result of the channel’s popularity and regular video output. Factor in the many crossovers with other other YouTube tech channels and content creators, and you have a community that can put you right in the core of the massive YouTube tech-enthusiast world.

AnandTech

AnandTech (founded by Anand Shimpi) is one of the most venerable tech-centric news sites out there, having been active in some form since 1997: not old by general business standards, but ancient in the online world. Over the years it has built up a strong reputation for in-depth analysis, broad coverage of the PC tech world in particular, and informative posts about the latest and greatest hardware.

Alongside that, the AnandTech forum has grown significantly. In addition to featuring sections covering all aspects of the consumer electronics industry, it maintains a useful “Ask a Technical Professional” section for people who want to get really granular about the tech issues that most interest them. If that sounds interesting to you, you should certainly check it out.

XDA Developers

The XDA Developers forum admittedly serves a niche, concentrating near-exclusively on the world of smartphones and other mobile devices, but that niche is extremely popular these days so there’s every chance that it factors into your love of tech. If that’s the case, then you’ll find a huge amount to grab your attention on this forum.

Almost every model of smartphone has its own section, with areas for people to share their tips and themes, discuss technical problems, comment on software updates, and even get active in amateur device development (creating custom ROMs or porting new versions of Android to older devices that are no longer officially supported, for instance). If you spend a lot of your time using an Android smartphone, the XDA Developers forum will be a treasure trove for you.

Can you discuss technology topics through social media? Absolutely. Are there Facebook groups out there for specific brands or niches? There certainly are. That said, social media inevitably attracts spam and fills up with low-quality content, so I don’t recommend going with that approach unless you’re eager to become an influencer. By sticking to forums that are full of people who share your passion for technology, you can ensure that your interactions are broadly informative, engaging, and rewarding.

Tags: best, community forums, love of tech, some

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.