People hosted their own forums as there was no viable alternative, and you didn’t care about legal liabilities, data governance, right to be forgotten, DDoS protection etc.
Most people (not all) will choose the easy option of an existing service. Of which the value for that service is to lock you in and spend all your time there.
Saying that I’m still active on multiple forums, but they’ve been around for years, and it’s definitely an older nerdier demographic.
Well articulated thoughts. Such a huge difference between a nice office in a good location with a team you like working with, vs shitty hotdesking vs WFH.
WFH is great for flexibility, but I don’t need that everyday. I enjoy the commute to work. 90mins of free exercise cycling in, and a nice way to reflect on your day.
Could happily go back to a local team with a nice office. But could never do hotdesking.
I’m incapable of picking a cheap hobby. But this might be the healthiest. Gets you out and about, and birders are so nice and friendly. Even started planning holidays around it.
The latest gen mirrorless cameras are great for birding. Light enough to be handholdable, and subject detection is great.
https://www.comma.ai/openpilot looks cool af