Internet 'third places'

[GlitchWolf47]

Ok so this is kinda dumb, but Im just curious

So like, i know the indieweb could kinda be considered an "internet third place" but im wondering if anyone has come across places that are like, idk, a third place WITHIN the indieweb

Kinda what i mean is, not a forum since most forums Ive come across have some specific topic, but more of a chill place with no stated purpose to it, just chilling. Sorta like onio.club; like a little chat hangout spot? its not exactly a "social media" site per say, but its got a community.

And Im also wondering if this is something people are interested in? like if anyone is? idk, I just have this... YEARNING for a place like this and idk if I've found it yet. onio.club is cool but the fact of it being a live chatbox sorta makes it less chill for me (thats just me being weird tho XD) idk live chatboxes kinda just make me nervous; feels like stepping into a conversation im not a part of

anyways, getting off topic, im just kinda wondering if anyone also has an interest in this or knows of existing places like this. I cant tell if this is just a me thing or if anyone else feels this way too so please tell meeeeee (and if you know cool sites kinda like this LINK THEM)

[Null]

I don't know any myself, but I'd be interested in anything anyone has about this. An internet third space is definitely something I'd like to check out, so I'll probably check this topic once in a while. By the way, what exactly do you have in mind?

[lakes]

I think my answer depends on if you'd include chatting and hanging out as just chilling.
I feel like you could probably find some channels/rooms/etc on decentralized messengers, including some older ones, that are "just a place for hanging out."
I know IRC has ##chat on librera.chat.

[ocean]

I can relate to this post.
I too, am craving some kind of place to spend time online where I can be more social and creative, but also be more of a passive viewer too.
I spend a scary amount of time doomscrolling twitter and it absolutely must stop.
The indie web is incredible and I really enjoy The Fediverse/Mastodon, but it has its quiet hours.

I joined the Melonland forum because of this, I'm interested in seeing what other people suggest.

[fsr]

I just think forums were better before they required encyclopedias full of javascript. I particularly hate Discourse and everything about it.

But the old forums are gone. you don't see people on them anymore. I was surprised to see this one is active. I know theres'a guild dedicated to reviving this sort of thing. Other than that, IDK any web third spaces. But simple PHP forums were so good.

[noahie]

There's a few of these kinds of places outside of this forum. There's 32 bit cafe and Nightfall City. I think that'll help scratch your itch a bit. But also, the whole point of the indie/small web is to slow down. One day at a time.

[candycanearter07]

Just a heads up, but the 32b cafe uses a discourse forum for theirs. I don't mind it as much, but like stated above it does have some JS backing.

By contrast, theres this one forum https://bluedwarf.top that is specifically designed to be as simple as possible and work on old computers. It's a cozy forum I think, peopple haven't yelled at me yet

[IndigoGolem]

I think some games can be this. MUDs %, something like Seltani %, or more modern graphical MMOs. And there are plenty of cozy Minecraft servers. Tho anything hard for your computer to run is harder to just hang out in.

[arcus]

Aside from the web, Gemini has two active boards: BBS and Station. You'll need a Gemini client such as Lagrange to post to them.

I just think forums were better before they required encyclopedias full of javascript. I particularly hate Discourse and everything about it.

Just a heads up, but the 32b cafe uses a discourse forum for theirs. I don't mind it as much, but like stated above it does have some JS backing.

Lurking works without JavaScript. It uses CSS to hide everything and lie that it requires JavaScript. Try it out in Dillo, Netsurf, or a terminal browser.

But the old forums are gone. you don't see people on them anymore. I was surprised to see this one is active. I know theres'a guild dedicated to reviving this sort of thing. Other than that, IDK any web third spaces. But simple PHP forums were so good.

They still exist, but the majority of the active ones stick to a specific theme.

A short list of forums that work fine without JavaScript that are fairly active:

• Jul: The same community as The Cutting Room floor, uses AcmlmBoard.
• Whirlpool: An Australian tech forum.
• Lesbiaboard: Not exclusively for lesbians, uses a custom fork of AcmlmBoard.
• IRIXNetwork: A forum dedicated to IRIX.
• Critter Time: A furry forum.
• Merveilles Forum: A forum for Merveilles, an artistic permacomputing community. Not that active, but I wanted to list it.

There's a thread dedicated to other forums that might help.

[arz]

don't know if this counts, but i consider mmos to be just precisely that.

habbo hotel, club penguin, toontown rewritten, there.com, city of heroes, animal jam, etc.

some of these are considered games and i won't try to argue that it is not, i do want to point out that these virtual worlds really are places in the sense of the word to be with people - not like a forum where you can only communicate asynchronously, and not like a chatroom that only support conversations.

am i entertaining the idea of the metaverse? i hope not. the difference for me is that most of these are operated by a moderate and independent group of people that has a dedicated amount of people backing them, opposite to meta and its imitators - funny how meta can be considered a dead mmo now lol.

ps: i would love if someone were to suggest me with some more mmos, preferably modern ones!

[GlitchWolf47]

Huh ive actually never considered that

idk, I didnt really grow up in the peak time of things like club penguin so idrk what they were like (or what they are like today) but Id be interested in checking them out. They definetly are pretty place-y. But idk, my only concern is them being bad. Like idk ive heard videos about games like this that are still alive today becoming either ghost towns or predator clubhouses bascially so I worry a bit but idk, if you have some you think are fun and safe id be open to checking them out :3

[GlitchWolf47]

I spend a scary amount of time doomscrolling twitter and it absolutely must stop.
The indie web is incredible and I really enjoy The Fediverse/Mastodon, but it has its quiet hours.
I joined the Melonland forum because of this, I'm interested in seeing what other people suggest.

Ya see my thing is that Im looking for something like, idk, VERY general. I guess its that I really like melonland and stuff but it feels a bit high pressure to me cuz it has so many catagories. Like idk, it just feels very big and advanced which kinda stresses me out. Like, I want a place where I can go socialize with other Netizens and have it not feel like im giving a speech.

[lakes]

Ya see my thing is that Im looking for something like, idk, VERY general. I guess its that I really like melonland and stuff but it feels a bit high pressure to me cuz it has so many catagories. Like idk, it just feels very big and advanced which kinda stresses me out. Like, I want a place where I can go socialize with other Netizens and have it not feel like im giving a speech.

You might wanna look into Owncast. It's a livestream self-hosting program. It has a chat, but since the main focus is livestreaming, you don't have to talk if you don't want to & can just vibe and watch some stuff.

[IndigoGolem]

ps: i would love if someone were to suggest me with some more mmos, preferably modern ones!

Wikipedia has some lists %, but i don't play any myself so i have none to recommend.

am i entertaining the idea of the metaverse? i hope not. the difference for me is that most of these are operated by a moderate and independent group of people that has a dedicated amount of people backing them, opposite to meta and its imitators - funny how meta can be considered a dead mmo now lol.

I think it is different. Or at least it feels different, being part of a small community rather than Facebook: Now in 3-D. I've never been into big name social media (Facesbook, Tweeter, etc.) so i'm still not sure what the point is and i was going to say more but actually i feel unqualified to talk about them.

I also think an advantage MMOs have over something like Zuckerberg's Facebookverse is that they are games. Not because games are fun (tho that surely helps), but because games are something to do even if you don't know anyone yet. A Third Place works well if you have some pretense or excuse for being there.

One social media-like thing i use is Stoat, a Discord clone. It follows the same basic structure with servers that are made of channels. Most of the servers in its Discover page (public servers) are just hangout servers with no intended purpose beyond being a place to exist.

People say to join a club to meet people, i think because at a club or class or convention everyone already has something in common. If you take a pottery class you can assume everyone there is willing to talk about pottery, and that makes starting a conversation easier. Nobody advises sitting in a coffe shop with a hat that says "Talk to me" for meeting people (but maybe it would work, i don't know, i've not tried it). That's a big part of why i've always preferred forums for particular games or hobbies to more general chatrooms. They're just easier to get into because you already have something to talk about. But then, some of the aforementioned hangout Stoat servers have thousands of active people, so it must work for some folks even if it's not my style.

I don't know any myself, but I'd be interested in anything anyone has about this. An internet third space is definitely something I'd like to check out, so I'll probably check this topic once in a while.

Part of what i'm saying here is a Third Place emerges from an existing space where people already have a reason to be. You can set out to make a Third Place and have that be its primary function, and some internet spaces do succeed at that. But that's not how it always goes, and that's not the only way to have a Third Place.

[GlitchWolf47]

People say to join a club to meet people, i think because at a club or class or convention everyone already has something in common. If you take a pottery class you can assume everyone there is willing to talk about pottery, and that makes starting a conversation easier. Nobody advises sitting in a coffe shop with a hat that says "Talk to me" for meeting people (but maybe it would work, i don't know, i've not tried it). That's a big part of why i've always preferred forums for particular games or hobbies to more general chatrooms. They're just easier to get into because you already have something to talk about. But then, some of the aforementioned hangout Stoat servers have thousands of active people, so it must work for some folks even if it's not my style.

I definetly agree with you but I think thats part of my problem. I have so many interests and I dont think a forum even remotely exists for most of them (im into a lot of old shit like Animorphs and The X files that is basically dead nowadays). Like idk, its kinda like what you said. if you join a pottery class, you can assume people are going to want to talk about pottery, but what if you wanna start talking about Murder Drones? like its awkward cuz its offtopic. That's kinda my thing. like its kinda like, most forums have a "General" posting place, but it feels like it's there out of obligation cuz the thing people are actually there to talk about is the thing the forum is centered around. like this also is kinda true if you look at the list in the Forum Revival Movement site. there isnt just a general forum; they all have categories.

But I do agree on the forum thing, I prefer forums over most modern social media style apps/sites (even over Spacehey or similar things)., it feels slow paced and chill and not like if you dont respond to a post the second it posted you've missed your opportunity for all eternity. I also think forums are definetly most popular on the indieweb (i mean, I suppose non indieweb forums could exist but I dont know of any) and I generally feel more comfortable in indieweb spaces vs social media cuz I feel like everyone on the indieweb shares simialr values and interests to me. it feels more low pressure than posting art on tumblr for example