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My mum wants to find a forum to post on?

FlayFlay Registered User regular
edited May 2011 in Help / Advice Forum
Well this is a strange request: my mum wants me to recommend her an internet forum she can post on. She's not very tech savvy, but I think she's intrigued by a lot of the things that I get up to online and wants to learn about them. It'd be easier if she could define one particular interest that she's most passionate about, then I could do some research and find something associated with that, but unforunately not.

I do know some of her interests though: travel and foreign countries, books, current affairs, art, textiles and sewing, health, teaching English (she's studying teaching English as a second language at the moment). She also says that she doesn't want somewhere that's 'populated with old farts', or at least not exclusively, but it still needs to be somewhere that would be accepting of a middle-aged to late-middle-aged woman. And of course it needs to have a decent community so to not scare her off or let her get bored.

I have no clue what to suggest. Anyone got any ideas?

Flay on

Posts

  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited May 2011
    OAT is a travel company geared towards more middle-aged people. Their forum.

    SewingForum seems nice, though not very active.

    MichaelLC on
  • LiiyaLiiya Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    What about?

    http://www.mumsnet.com

    It seems very new-user friendly, they have a discussion area.

    UK-based though.

    Liiya on
  • FlayFlay Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    @Michael: OAT Travel seems like a contender, although it's a shame they don't have much of a general discussion area, but I don't think she's quite passionate enough about sewing for me to sell her a forum based soley around it.

    @Liiya: I'm pretty sure she's sick of being a parent by now, but I'll give it a shot. :P

    Thanks guys, keep em coming.

    Flay on
  • DelzhandDelzhand Hard to miss. Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    She could always post here. H/A and D&D are fairly low on geek content, and I'm sure after a while she'll become curious about the other subforums.
    one of us... one of us...

    Delzhand on
  • samurai6966samurai6966 Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Pretty soon she'll be on CF and playing DnD and you will be "WHAT HAVE I DONE!?!"

    samurai6966 on
  • ihmmyihmmy Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    I used to post at hipforums.com maaany years ago, and it was pretty decent at the time... still looks to be up and decently active. They have a wide variety of subforums touching on most of the subjects you listed. Warning though, many of the posters identify as hippies

    ihmmy on
  • UsagiUsagi Nah Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Ravelry, while more of a knitting/weaving/dyeing centered website, does have individual groups that cater to a lot of interests. There's not a general message board, each group has their own - for example, she could go join Sew Obsessed and post there. There's also a lot of general chatter groups, groups based on area, groups teaching different crafts, groups swapping supplies, etc, and the ages range from teenager to 70+.

    Usagi on
  • Robos A Go GoRobos A Go Go Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    What about her sense of humor/politics. A big part of many forums is discussion of current events, and it'll be good to send her to a place where such discussions won't frustrate her.

    Robos A Go Go on
  • VisionOfClarityVisionOfClarity Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Usagi wrote: »
    Ravelry, while more of a knitting/weaving/dyeing centered website, does have individual groups that cater to a lot of interests. There's not a general message board, each group has their own - for example, she could go join Sew Obsessed and post there. There's also a lot of general chatter groups, groups based on area, groups teaching different crafts, groups swapping supplies, etc, and the ages range from teenager to 70+.

    Usagi has great ideas as usual!

    VisionOfClarity on
  • rizriz Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Usagi wrote: »
    Ravelry, while more of a knitting/weaving/dyeing centered website, does have individual groups that cater to a lot of interests. There's not a general message board, each group has their own - for example, she could go join Sew Obsessed and post there. There's also a lot of general chatter groups, groups based on area, groups teaching different crafts, groups swapping supplies, etc, and the ages range from teenager to 70+.

    Hah, I was going to recommend this too when I got to the end of the thread. It's a big popular community and I've known several women to get very involved there and make solid friendships, etc.

    riz on
  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    edited May 2011
    Before you pushing PA as a friendly, open community for her (which it would most likely be), make sure you can handle the potential consequences of having your mother post on the same forum as you. It will quite possibly be a lot more fun for us than it is for you.

    ceres on
    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • see317see317 Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    ceres wrote: »
    Before you pushing PA as a friendly, open community for her (which it would most likely be), make sure you can handle the potential consequences of having your mother post on the same forum as you. It will quite possibly be a lot more fun for us than it is for you.

    Just ask Lewie P how well that turned out for him...

    see317 on
  • BursarBursar Hee Noooo! PDX areaRegistered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Maybe you can take a look at the Straight Dope board. It's based on the newspaper columns (and shortlived TLC show) and has places where most any topic will fit in somewhere. Harsh language stays in the BBQ Pit, and sewing can go in the MPSIMS area.

    I wonder why I stopped going there...?

    Bursar on
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  • FlayFlay Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    @Delzhand: I... Don't think I'm going to be doing that. Although I wouldn't complain if she suddenly developed an interestin DnD. :P

    @ihmmy: I suggested it to her, but although she comes from a hippy generation she doesn't really want to identify herself so much as one any more.

    @Usagi: That looks pretty good! I can't actually get in to the forums without registering though; I'll probably do that so she can have a look around. She's a bit reluctant to join a knitting community though, and she can't actually knit any more because of arthritis anyhow.

    @Robos: I'm not actually sure about her sense of humor, but she's generally pretty progressive.

    @Bursar: She actually seemed kind of interested in that one when I said it was a more general message board, based around political debates.


    She seemed to react well when a forum had a dedicated book/literature subforum too, so I'm going to go ahead and add that to her list of interests.

    Thanks everyone! Keep up the suggestions.

    Flay on
  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    edited May 2011
    My mom posts on forums for stuff like food network shows and shit. You can basically find a forum for any TV show on cable these days. That might be a good place to start.

    Jasconius on
  • LewieP's MummyLewieP's Mummy Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Pretty soon she'll be on CF and playing DnD and you will be "WHAT HAVE I DONE!?!"

    Or Phalla!
    see317 wrote: »
    Just ask Lewie P how well that turned out for him...

    Or, you could ask me! - Its brilliant here, I've made some amazing friends, been to PAX twice, planning the third trip once LewieP's Daddy has got another job, have found an extra husband in LewieP's Stepdad, just in case the first one doesn't work out ...

    I'm biased though, I've only been treated with kindness, love and support here, the only time someone was slightly mean, they were jumped on severely by other forumers before I even had the chance to reply.

    The only possible downside I could see for your mum is becoming more geeky, playing games - Portal 2 is sooo stressing me, I can only play it for a while, so its taking ages - taking you to PAX (oh, wait, that's an advantage!).

    Mums.net is boring.

    LewieP's Mummy on
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  • waywardwayward Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Another vote for the Straight Dope here. I'm just as much of a lurker over there as I am here but I first registered back in 2000 and the range and quality of discussion keeps on drawing me back. They can be kind of snarky and they've had their share of Internet Drama over the years but they still have a pretty solid community and there's people from all sorts of backgrounds.

    It sounds like the Cafe Society sub-forum would be a good place for her to start - "Our salon for art, drama, literature, movies, music, comics, cuisine -- all the artistic disciplines -- if it's about creativity, entertainment, or leisure, it goes here.". Then once she's comfortable maybe she could check out the other sections; there are areas for debates, factual questions and general chit-chat amongst others.

    wayward on
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  • Mike DangerMike Danger "Diane..." a place both wonderful and strangeRegistered User regular
    edited May 2011
    The first forum I can remember posting on was a (now-defunct) board centered around a particular author, and it had a pretty varied user base. Maybe a book thing?

    Mike Danger on
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  • Alfred J. KwakAlfred J. Kwak is it because you were insulted when I insulted your hair?Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    well, Something Awful is a pretty diverse forum I guess :P

    Alfred J. Kwak on
  • oncelingonceling Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    well, Something Awful is a pretty diverse forum I guess :P

    Joking aside, a lot of the subforums are pretty habitable (although definitely not in the Health arena). But for the situation in the OP I'd have to agree that it might not be the right choice.

    I don't really understand how your mom would learn about "what YOU get up to on the internet" by going to a sewing forum? (for eg). If she's interested in things like viral video, citizen news journalism, new/cool technology research and etc, posting on some forum you found is probably not going to satiate that desire and she'll probably give it up. I'd be more likely to suggest getting her a Google Reader account and subscribing her to some RSS feeds, like popular YouTube subscriptions for her interests, good blogs on internet stuff and that kind of thing. Let her decide where and how to jump into the conversation. After all, a bit of internet lurking is never a bad thing before jumping in.

    onceling on
  • Skoal CatSkoal Cat Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    How is Off Topic these days? I remember they were a pretty big, fairly well mixed and well behaved bunch of lads.

    Skoal Cat on
  • ElinElin Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Have you thought about getting her onto Reddit? r/books is a pretty nice community to start with.

    Elin on
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  • DhalphirDhalphir don't you open that trapdoor you're a fool if you dareRegistered User regular
    edited May 2011
    I've never really thought about the fact that "joining the Internet" could be a pretty daunting task to start from scratch.

    Dhalphir on
  • Alfred J. KwakAlfred J. Kwak is it because you were insulted when I insulted your hair?Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    SA is actually rather decent for the most part (one of the better communities imo), it's just that some parts of the forums make SE++ look like a joke

    Alfred J. Kwak on
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Dhalphir wrote: »
    I've never really thought about the fact that "joining the Internet" could be a pretty daunting task to start from scratch.

    Well, you've got to install the 4 AOL floppies, select a local telephone number for your modem, make sure no one else is using the phone.

    It can be a little overwhelming at first.

    MichaelLC on
  • DhalphirDhalphir don't you open that trapdoor you're a fool if you dareRegistered User regular
    edited May 2011
    MichaelLC wrote: »
    Dhalphir wrote: »
    I've never really thought about the fact that "joining the Internet" could be a pretty daunting task to start from scratch.

    Well, you've got to install the 4 AOL floppies, select a local telephone number for your modem, make sure no one else is using the phone.

    It can be a little overwhelming at first.

    you knew what i meant

    Dhalphir on
  • FlayFlay Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    Or, you could ask me! - Its brilliant here, I've made some amazing friends, been to PAX twice, planning the third trip once LewieP's Daddy has got another job, have found an extra husband in LewieP's Stepdad, just in case the first one doesn't work out ...

    I'm biased though, I've only been treated with kindness, love and support here, the only time someone was slightly mean, they were jumped on severely by other forumers before I even had the chance to reply.

    The only possible downside I could see for your mum is becoming more geeky, playing games - Portal 2 is sooo stressing me, I can only play it for a while, so its taking ages - taking you to PAX (oh, wait, that's an advantage!).

    Mums.net is boring.

    But then where would I go when I need to rant? :P

    The idea did actually come up, but I don't think she wants to intrude on to my turf. She's also quite un-geeky (which is a shame) so I'd have some difficulty selling forums based around a gaming webcomic. Still, I think it was the times I referred to the forums in casual conversation that got her interested in the topic in the first place, so maybe she would be interested. I certainly wouldn't stop her if she did want to join, but I can't say it wouldn't be a little awkward.

    I'll talk to her about it, see what she thinks. It's really helpful to hear your perspective though, thanks!
    well, Something Awful is a pretty diverse forum I guess :P

    I had considered something awful... I be wary of turning her off the whole idea if she strays in to the wrong subforum (at least while she's getting acclimatised), but I'll bring it up.
    onceling wrote: »
    I don't really understand how your mom would learn about "what YOU get up to on the internet" by going to a sewing forum? (for eg). If she's interested in things like viral video, citizen news journalism, new/cool technology research and etc, posting on some forum you found is probably not going to satiate that desire and she'll probably give it up. I'd be more likely to suggest getting her a Google Reader account and subscribing her to some RSS feeds, like popular YouTube subscriptions for her interests, good blogs on internet stuff and that kind of thing. Let her decide where and how to jump into the conversation. After all, a bit of internet lurking is never a bad thing before jumping in.

    You make some good points, but it's not so much my interests that she wants to get in to, more the chance to join a new community and talk to people (I think). My thinking was that a forum would expose her to a lot of content like this, condensed through other people's posts, but maybe there are some other avenues she'd like to explore. Again, I'll bring this up with her.
    Elin wrote: »
    Have you thought about getting her onto Reddit? r/books is a pretty nice community to start with.

    I've never been to reddit, and I hadn't even thought of it. I'll check it out!
    Dhalphir wrote: »
    I've never really thought about the fact that "joining the Internet" could be a pretty daunting task to start from scratch.

    Neither had I. I've been using the internet so long it's as natural as breathing, it's difficult to comprehend when someone doesn't know what right-clicking does.

    Flay on
  • ceresceres When the last moon is cast over the last star of morning And the future has past without even a last desperate warningRegistered User, Moderator mod
    edited May 2011
    MichaelLC wrote: »
    Dhalphir wrote: »
    I've never really thought about the fact that "joining the Internet" could be a pretty daunting task to start from scratch.

    Well, you've got to install the 4 AOL floppies, select a local telephone number for your modem, make sure no one else is using the phone.

    It can be a little overwhelming at first.

    I laughed because I was around for this and it brought back memories of yelling at people to stop picking up the damn phone, or having trouble connecting and so attempting one of the other two numbers I had for the service.

    Also pre-aol BBS's and LORD marathons.

    Those were the days.

    ceres on
    And it seems like all is dying, and would leave the world to mourn
  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    edited May 2011
    ceres wrote: »
    MichaelLC wrote: »
    Dhalphir wrote: »
    I've never really thought about the fact that "joining the Internet" could be a pretty daunting task to start from scratch.

    Well, you've got to install the 4 AOL floppies, select a local telephone number for your modem, make sure no one else is using the phone.

    It can be a little overwhelming at first.

    I laughed because I was around for this and it brought back memories of yelling at people to stop picking up the damn phone, or having trouble connecting and so attempting one of the other two numbers I had for the service.

    Also pre-aol BBS's and LORD marathons.

    Those were the days.

    Oh, I almost forgot COMM ports. Always fun having when the modem keeps your printer from working.

    As for the OP - another suggestion is the PriceScope Forums. I used them extensively for engagement ring shopping, but they've got some general interest boards as well. Seems pretty decent folk - they actually have a Good News sticky.

    MichaelLC on
  • Skoal CatSkoal Cat Registered User regular
    edited May 2011
    FatWallet or SlickDeal forums?

    Skoal Cat on
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