Oh that's a good call! I'll take a look. Thanks.

I hadn't considered checking out the communities for some of the widely used homelab applications like Proxmox. That's a great idea, thanks.

I kind of miss the message board era of the internet. Those niche communities could be really useful.

I'm still using public trackers. Maybe after I get my network setup I'll invest some time into finding a good private tracker or two to join.

YouTube has been useful. Mostly as a way to filter out unreliable info. I've had best luck with creators who have actually written out a guide and are then making a video companion for it. Anyone who goes through the trouble to do both tends to be serious about what they are talking about.

But it's not a great way to ask questions and get answers. Hmmm, I say that, but to be honest I haven't checked the comments on those videos. Maybe it is a good way to have a dialogue and I just haven't seen it

I agree with you there. It seems like communities need a certain mass to feel right and above or below that it's time to split or consolidate.

I can imagine the mods making a rule like #3 to help avoid taking traffic from the hardware-specific communities.