Independent specialized forums

[mahboubine]

Hello everyone , recently I discovered iNaturalist, an app to make record observations of plants & animals in nature and try and identify them, even though I've been using it for 2 weeks only I am REALLY enjoying it. it never serves any ads and its community is really nice and supportive/welcoming.

iNaturalist has a sister forum at forum.inaturalist.org and its one of the highlights of this community, a lot of the app's top experts hang out there but there are also lots of normies (like me) so questions on the forum aren't immediately disregarded as too simplistic. I asked a question and got 40+ constructive replies within 2 days, way more than I would have got on certain subreddits. and the best part is that it is independently hosted! (just like MelonLand Forum)

so I began a hunt for other independent forums that focus on specific niches like iNaturalist, where knowledgeable people hang out. at the moment I am in my nature arc so I got really into these subjects and I am looking for forums for them:
- Stargazing, the solar system.
- Natural navigation: using natural signals (wind, trees, water, stars, etc.) to guess cardinal directions and more
- Geology
- the study of fossils.

But if you know another independent forum that fits this vibe please share it even if its outside these interests. I want everyone to benefit from this and maybe I'll discover another interesting hobby through your suggestion.

[coolio]

The Long Hair Community is a treasure trove of haircare knowledge.
It's like 20+ years old at least.

https://forums.longhaircommunity.com/forum.php

They're super friendly and it's fairly active for a forum alive and kicking in the 2020s.

[xavierhm]

Dharma Wheel is a long-running Buddhist forum that I've frequented on/off for a few years now. Great community.

[ヤーナム]

Hope it's okay to plug a little project I've been working on! This is a directory of a bunch of independent internet forums:

https://indieforums.linklists.net/

You can filter it by category to browse around or you can click "Random" in the nav bar to be taken to a random one if you just wanna wander. :)

[Daniele63]

Forum directories:
https://www.forumdirectory.com/
https://www.findaforum.net/

Specialized forums:
https://www.pigeons.biz/
https://stargazerslounge.com/
https://www.reef2reef.com/
https://www.horrorforum.com/
https://www.nightcoreuniverse.net/

Other niche forums I recommend:
https://myanimelist.net/forum/
https://www.vogons.org/index.php
https://vocaverse.network/
https://forums.linuxmint.com/
https://www.linux.org/forums/
https://deskgen.net/
https://rejectconvenience.com/forum/
https://forum.blu-ray.com/
https://www.ostan-collections.net/forum/index.php
https://www.stylestar.win/app.php/portal
https://discourse.32bit.cafe/
https://hardforum.com/