finding a forum

August 7, 2009 10:46 AM

How to find the best internet forum for a particular subject?

Is there a quality site that ranks forums on all topics?

For example, right now I am looking for info & opinions on netbooks (and if anyone knows of one that comes with a built in analog modem let me know). A search reveals dozens of sites with forums that have to be checked out. Most have low activity. It seems every topic has a site where the knowlegeable people hang out (like usenet in the old days) , how do you find these sites easily?

posted by canoehead to computers & internet (8 comments total)

Honestly, when I'm about to buy a piece of technology, I often just look up the item I'm considering on Amazon.com. There are usually lots of very detailed reviews, and often recommendations for better products. Obviously Amazon reviews don't take the messageboard format of what you're thinking of, but they get the job done.
posted by oinopaponton at 10:50 AM on August 7

There is a site that lists & monitors the biggest forums online and it's called big-boards.com. That may help you find active message boards on particular topics.

What I really like is the new(er) options on Google. Do a search for something and click "Show Options" on the results page. You can filter results by time and by type of posting (forum/blog). I have done searches for [topic] + [town I live in] and filtered by the last 30 days of forum postings and this method has given me some really great local information.

If there is a particular model you are looking for, do a search for the model number and filter forum posts by time and I'd bet you would find helpful information.
posted by tommccabe at 11:15 AM on August 7 [2 favorites]

I don't know of a website that ranks forums. Google and other search engines may automatically rank the forums by popularity. Netbooks is a pretty new topic, though, so I wouldn't expect many substantive forums just for netbooks. I'd go looking for a laptop forum. I think it just takes Google-fu to find these forums.

Or, like me, you can use your weekly AskMe question and find out from the hivemind the best places to find info on whatever it is that you're looking for.

As for netbooks with analog modems - don't think there are any. I'm not sure netbooks even have ethernet ports. I may be wrong, but I think the whole point of them is to be wireless. The best you can do may be to get an analog modem that connects via USB.
posted by jabberjaw at 11:23 AM on August 7

http://www.hardwarecentral.com/hardwarecentral/
http://www.tomshardware.com
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/
http://www.cnet.com/
http://www.zdnet.com/
posted by Xoebe at 11:31 AM on August 7

If usually start with http://www.delicious.com/popular/topicname

So, if I was looking for camcorders, my link would be http://www.delicious.com/popular/camcorder

If I was looking for stuff about beer, my link would be http://www.delicious.com/popular/beer
posted by jasondigitized at 2:09 PM on August 7

Something like big-boards.com is what I'm looking for. Except when I try find my favorite forums there on hiking, satelite TV & auto buying , it doesnt list them (to say nothing of netbooks). So it mustn't be very comprehensive.
posted by canoehead at 2:59 PM on August 7

In addition to the USB modem dongle you can also get a Bluetooth modem. I agree that the chances you are going to find a netbook with a built-in modem are vanishingly small. Newegg's netbook section has about 84 products listed and I've clicked through about half of them, and none list a modem port nor PCMCIA expansion slot, so I think USB/Bluetooth is the only option.
posted by Rhomboid at 3:08 PM on August 7

I just google the word and the word forum. "Netbook forum." I find the top two links are usually the most active. With electronics its sometimes best to try that with the model or manufacturer like so.
posted by damn dirty ape at 6:51 PM on August 7