[tptacek]

All of local politics in the muni I live in takes place in a forum like this, on Facebook, with a single moderator (the Dan Gackle of Chicagoland) who I do not think really grasps what a big project they've signed up for and gotten off the ground. I can't tell you how often I've wanted to just post the Guidelines link from HN to them and say "just use these".

The electeds in our muni post on it; I've gotten two different local laws done by posting there (and I'm working on a bigger third); I met someone whose campaign I funded and helped run who is now a local elected. It is crazy to think you can HN-effortpost your way to changing the laws of the place you live in but I'm telling you right now that you can.

To an extent, I feel like the experience of posting here is an almost-unfair advantage to posting in forums like that. Really, though, I'm more frustrated that new, important forums, like mine and like FPF, seem unable to learn the lessons of successful existing forums like MF, WP, and HN.

[mcdow]

Hi! Fairly new HN reader here. I’ve been wondering where to find similar online communities. Specifically, less tech-focused websites that promote healthy discourse. What are MF and WP?

[lambertsimnel]

I suspect WP is Wikipedia.

Presumably MF is MetaFilter: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/MetaFilter

[anonCoffee]

Huh, I haven't seen that place recommended by Google in ages. Thanks for reminding me it exists!