Online science forums

[Genady]

From repeated hints in posts, I understand that many members of SFN also participate in other online science forums. What's the point of it? Do mostly the same people discuss mostly the same questions on different websites? What would be a reason for me to do so?

[dimreepr]

35 minutes ago, Genady said:

From repeated hints in posts, I understand that many members of SFN also participate in other online science forums. What's the point of it? Do mostly the same people discuss mostly the same questions on different websites? What would be a reason for me to do so?

I suppose, in the end, it depends on how bored you are...

[Phi for All]

They each have a different character, imo. Some (one, at least) are huge and one can feel a bit lost. Some are very rigid about what can be posted, others not nearly rigid enough. Too many are just guesswork factories eschewing mainstream approaches. For me, it comes down to civility and respect for the process of science discussion, so we can all learn things we didn't know before and help pass that along to others. 

[Genady]

1 hour ago, Phi for All said:

Some are very rigid about what can be posted

Would you point to these?

[iNow]

Not everyone likes the same style of music. Even the same one person likes different music at different times or on different days. Some like eclectic samples and different perspectives. 

Discussion forums aren’t much different. Different user populations. Different topics. Different styles. 

It’s fun to visit farmers markets and try multiple different vendors. Going solely to the same one over and over is a recipe for boredom. 

[Phi for All]

1 minute ago, Genady said:

Would you point to these?

The big one is PhysicsForums. Lots of good moderation, lots of advisors, anything non-mainstream gets shut down pretty quickly. They have the largest member base by a lot, from what I've heard. 

[Genady]

5 minutes ago, Phi for All said:

The big one is PhysicsForums. Lots of good moderation, lots of advisors, anything non-mainstream gets shut down pretty quickly. They have the largest member base by a lot, from what I've heard. 

Thank you. I will check it.

[Genady]

For the last two days I've been "studying" recent and ongoing discussions in half a dozen different science forums. They differ to some degree and the choice depends on personal preferences. I'll stick with this one.

[TheVat]

Glad to hear that!  I visited The Naked Scientists forum (UK based) for a little while a couple years ago.  It was well-run, but I preferred SFN for its wide range of discussions and transparent structure.

As for the evil twin website (scienceforums.com), best to avoid.  I'm sure some here have visited there by accident when they were on a different computer and had to type in the URL.  It is a shithole.

[Phi for All]

1 hour ago, TheVat said:

As for the evil twin website (scienceforums.com), best to avoid.  I'm sure some here have visited there by accident when they were on a different computer and had to type in the URL.  It is a shithole.

Yeah, that site is unfortunate. NOT to be confused with thescienceforum.org, another good site, which many of our members also frequent.

[Moontanman]

On 7/19/2023 at 10:38 AM, TheVat said:

Glad to hear that!  I visited The Naked Scientists forum (UK based) for a little while a couple years ago.  It was well-run, but I preferred SFN for its wide range of discussions and transparent structure.

As for the evil twin website (scienceforums.com), best to avoid.  I'm sure some here have visited there by accident when they were on a different computer and had to type in the URL.  It is a shithole.

 

On 7/19/2023 at 12:31 PM, Phi for All said:

Yeah, that site is unfortunate. NOT to be confused with thescienceforum.org, another good site, which many of our members also frequent.

Yeah, I am trying to bring SF.com back up to some sort of reasonable standard but it's difficult to do alone.