What Was Your First Online Forum?

[Marie Mallory]

Mine was Court TV Forum about 20 years ago. First time online and first time I used a computer or typed. I was always pages behind hunting and pecking keys. But I hunt and peck faster now.

It;s gone now

As of June 2025 my court tv channel is gone. The Xfinity guide displays it as court tv but when you go to it, it’s broadcasting some old TV shows from the ION channel. One of the best channels to watch live court coverage now gone. May be time to pull the plug.

 

[Marie Mallory]

I meant Court TV Discussion forum.

 

[Yvonne Smith]

I was looking for things to do online to make some money and found a website called Postloop, where they had around a hundred different forums that were just starting and needed people posting on the forums. For each post, you could make a few cents, so not much, but it helped put gas in the car so we could go and get groceries.
You cold join any forum you wanted to, but it needed to be something you knew about or had an interest in, so you could make meaningful posts. I really enjoyed doing that and wrote in a lot of different forums.
Eventually, forums went out of style as more people were chatting on facebook groups or other messaging websites, and Postloop closed down. A lot of the new people who joined were from countries that didn’t speak English, so they used translators and the posts didn’t really make much sense or add to discussions, so it didn’t help the forum owner get any new people on their forum at that point.

 

[Marie Mallory]

I was looking for things to do online to make some money and found a website called Postloop, where they had around a hundred different forums that were just starting and needed people posting on the forums. For each post, you could make a few cents, so not much, but it helped put gas in the car so we could go and get groceries.
You cold join any forum you wanted to, but it needed to be something you knew about or had an interest in, so you could make meaningful posts. I really enjoyed doing that and wrote in a lot of different forums.
Eventually, forums went out of style as more people were chatting on facebook groups or other messaging websites, and Postloop closed down. A lot of the new people who joined were from countries that didn’t speak English, so they used translators and the posts didn’t really make much sense or add to discussions, so it didn’t help the forum owner get any new people on their forum at that point.

Yvonne your more techically advanced than I am, so I'm sure you do well on any site.
When I first came online around 2000 it was a whole new world to me. First thing I did on Court Tv was have a disagreement with that famous gorilla Koko woman trainer.
Must of been something I said to offend her which was not my intention.
I admired her amazing work with that ape,
I think she enjoyed arguing with a human for a change.

 

[Don Alaska]

I think I have said that I think Countryside was my first forum, at least that is the first I remember. I was on Organic Gardening, from which I learned a lot but it was too busy to keep up with, then I found Backwoods Home, which some of you might be familiar with.

 

[Marie Mallory]

I think I have said that I think Countryside was my first forum, at least that is the first I remember. I was on Organic Gardening, from which I learned a lot but it was too busy to keep up with, then I found Backwoods Home, which some of you might be familiar with.

I too was on Organic Gardening forum years ago and also leaned a lot from it.

 

[Nancy Hart]

It was called Homesteading Today. I believe it is still around but now on Facebook with a different name. It had a sub-forum dedicated to raising goats. Joined when we first got goats. I knew nothing about them at the time.

 

[Smithy]

I was into computer forums/gaming forums back in 2009 when I first started browsing forums.
Overclockers UK was the first forum I joined, it actually has 31 million posts now, let's hope DiscussionHQ gets more active in a few years.

 

[Bobby Cole]

My first kinda like forum was a Christian based meet and greet thing which is where I met my wife about 25 years ago.
My first actual forum was Christ Forum.
My first and second forums where I was paid for content (via Postloop) was “Militarian Forum and High IQ Forum” both of which are extinct now.

 

[Axel Slingerland]

Eventually, forums went out of style as more people were chatting on facebook groups or other messaging websites...

No, they didn't. There are still many forums like this one. And there are many people like myself who wouldn't go to Fakebook if their life depended on it. It's become Anti-Social Media.

 

[Faye]

My first online forum was a medical forum.

I see some here mentioning Countryside and Homesteading. I subscribed to Homesteading and Countryside magazine back in the 1970s and early 80s when Jerry Bellinger was publishing it. I wrote a few short articles for it and was interviewed by one of his main contributors and country authors, that did an article on my mountain living. I miss the days when that monthly magazine was my only connection with others living similarly, hundreds or thousands of miles away.

While the instant forum experience is amazing, there was something about having to wait, sometimes months, before a response was received to a question or comment.

 

[Joe Riley]

I drifted into City Data.com, while researching an old photo. I didn't know about forums and didn't hang around after I finished my research. There were a lot of sharks in the water.

 

[Krystal]

Boomerwomen was my first forum. It was lots of fun! But it was sold and sadly it was not the same anymore; and most moved on. I was on several Food forums after that, which I still visit from time to time.

 

[Marie Mallory]

@Nancy Hart , I was on a homesteading forum too, Country Living, homesteading. after a couple years or more they banned me. Some went to another forum and invited me to join them, but it was different kind about survival.

 

[Marie Mallory]

My first forums were Organic Gardening and Court TV, Prepared Society.

 

[Faye]

@Nancy Hart , I was on a homesteading forum too, Country Living, homesteading. after a couple years or more they banned me. Some went to another forum and invited me to join them, but it was different kind about survival.

Are you talking about Country Living and Homesteading forum? I was on there for a couple of years, but the crazy preppers with totally insane ideas, took the fun out of it. They were more interested in internet knowledge over those with life long experience. It had so very little to do with country living and little or nothing to do with homesteading, which is really a thing of the past anymore. That forum and its other associated forums, exist as a business to make money, using their donation system with constant guilting content contributing members to become financially supporting members.


I never understood why long time members that contribute interesting content frequently, were considered a lesser member than one uninteresting newer member that contributed little content, but contributed financially. I guess the old saying that money talks and BS walks, is true. Like the old TV cowboy saying, "Talk is cheap, whiskey cost money."

 

[Joe Riley]

 

[Marie Mallory]

@Faye It became too much of a clique and political gang instead of a learning forum for me, of course thats just my own opinion. Most of the long term members are still there last I looked anyway.
It was a club,and I wasn't in it, lol.

 

[Marie Mallory]

Correct. Although I don't think she was red headed, lol.

 

[Joe Riley]

I recall another Senior Forum in the bunch. 1does "Seniors Playground" ring any bells?