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My Favorite Forum

— 2 min read

Obviously I use Google Reader, I keep up on lots of RSS feeds. I read blogs, news websites, Twitter, all the usual suspects. But by a wide margin, I find the majority of my useful information from a more unexpected source: the Something Awful forums. I was a fan of the website back when it first started and after "lurking" in the forums for a long time I finally bit the bullet and paid the $10 fee to get an official membership. Since then I've checked it almost daily, staying up to date on a number of different subjects. That is the wonderful utility of the forums, they have so many members that there is a thread for just about any topic you could imagine.

For web design, I keep the Wordpress thread bookmarked at all times. If I ever have a question about themes that Google can't answer, this is where I go for answers. In fact the whole coding forum has a wealth of useful information.

Since I just bought a new GTI, I keep up on both the VW/Audi Question&Answer Thread and the 2.0 FSI Tuning Thread (that's the engine). If you have an even remotely sporting car, chances are there's a thread for your make/model. Sometimes there might even be an official rep from a dealer or manufacturer that chimes in with very useful information.

I'm playing Fantasy Football this year (go USC Boosters!), so I'm now following the Week 1 Sit/Start thread (I'll have to bookmark week 2, etc.) and Fantasy Football 2010. Even if I have a very specific question about which player I should pick or start/site, its likely that someone else will have the exact same problem and has already asked the question and had it answered. Like I said, there are just so many members of the forum, there is a wealth of useful information available.

Be sure to look for free magazine subscriptions, find some hilarious comedy podcasts to listen to, catch up on what you've missed since you stopped collecting Legos, and see some beautiful automobile photography.

Trust me, if you can think of a topic, you'll probably find it buried somewhere within the Something Awful forums, where a group of nerds are discussing it fervently. I'm sure you'll lurk for awhile before realizing that $10 is nothing and it will be worth it to get rid of the annoying ads, bad language filter, and have the ability to actually contribute something yourself.