Other forums for other platforms

[sburrow]

Hey everyone!

I've been gone for a while, and will continue to be that way unfortunately. Today I'm asking what other forums you guys know of that are somewhat like 6502.org, yet for different platforms other than the 6502 family. Some things I'm looking for are:

1) A decent user base. You gotta have some amount of people that are consistent. Something about this size is ideal I'd say.

2) Good moderation. Too many folks out there want to just troll or spam. Garth & Co. does a great job of moderating here.

3) Focus on more than just 6502. I'd love to post all my current projects for y'all to see, but you guys wouldn't want that here (regardless of interest or not).

I know that there is "anycpu.org", but it lacks the user base. Places like "reddit" lack the moderation aspect (and consistent users). And this place is only focused on 6502 stuff.

Know of any other good forums out there? I know I have been told in the past that this place is special that it has a good user base and good moderation, but surely some of y'all know of other places out there!

Any info or ideas would be well accepted. Thanks everyone.

Chad

[sburrow]

Whelp, after some days, 280 views, and no replies on this topic...

Either we all don't get out much, or 6502.org is such a unique experience that anything else just does not compare!

Over the weekend, I set up a Reddit account and found some things like "retrocomputing", etc. Some channels(?) are more active than others, some are pretty old, some have only a handful of folks, some don't do comments well, some don't let you post videos, some only let you post videos, some don't let you post unless you yourself start posting first, etc. I went searching the internet and found EEVblog and some others, but I didn't get the same vibe as I get here, of course.

In the end, I quickly gave up. I mean, it's nice to have other folks to talk to about your particular projects, get opinions, seek help, rubber duck, and just hang out and chat (be it 6502 or otherwise). But I suppose it's also not required, however sad that seems.

One thing I have been finding out about myself is that I always have delusions of grandeur about my projects, that *everyone* will want in on this action, because it's *so cool*!!! In reality, I should be thinking that I'm doing this for myself, my children, and my students. I'm learning new skills and hopefully one day I can put them to better use than simple hobby work.

Anyways, thank you all for making this place a haven amongst the darkness of the internet. If I ever do start up a 6502 related project again, I'll be much more active again. Until that time, I'll be checking in occasionally.

Chad

[commodorejohn]

This place is fairly unique, being A. much more focused on a CPU architecture specifically (and homebrew around it) than one particular hardware platform, and B. populated with a comparatively high ratio of hardware engineers to software developers. The RC2014 and N8VEM/RBC communities are probably the closest point of comparison for Z80, but the one is very decentralized and the other is more narrowly focused on a couple specific platforms (and also lost in a morass of Google Groups arcana.)

[okwatts]

I have been on https://www.retrobrewcomputers.org/forum/index.php to keep up where plasmo posts his designs. I have seen a number of other systems that are listed, some of whom are from people that frequent this forum. Not sure how robust the discussion is but I have things interesting to browse through.

[BigDumbDinosaur]

sburrow wrote:

Whelp, after some days, 280 views, and no replies on this topic...Over the weekend, I set up a Reddit account and found some things like "retrocomputing", etc...

Trouble with Reddit and the like is it’s an easy target for spammers and off-topic nonsense, and virtually anything and everything comes up, with the overwhelming bulk of it unrelated to the relatively arcane hobby of designing and building 6502-powered contraptions.

The reason I have been visiting 6502.org for all these years (I was a lurker for about five years before I joined) is its narrow focus on the 6502 family, without devolving into a Commodore-only or Apple-only or Atari-only sort of environment.  Also, as noted, there is a good mix of hardware and software expertise here, with more than a few members skilled in both arts.  Good luck trying to find another homebrew computer forum like that.

[BillG]

AtariAge forums hosts a lively section for TI-99/4A computers.

https://forums.atariage.com/

Vintage Computer Federation forums hosts areas for Acorn/BBC Micro, Grid systems and Sinclair and Amstrad micros.

https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php

You just have to find a way to get others of like mind to hang out there.

[8BIT]

I would not recommend AVRFreaks for AVR-based support. They have a lot of members and I don't recall a lot of SPAM, but the moderators have been rude and condescending to me and others. They must be experts in coding and anything less than perfect gets torn apart. Never mind answering the question presented, just tear apart the sample code presented or the hardware design.

This forum on the other hand does a good job of supporting newer members with encouragement and constructive feedback.

Your mileage may vary - the statements above are my own personal opinions so take them as you will.

Daryl

[AndrewP]

I haven't got any suggestions I'm afraid. The 6502 forum does seem to be pretty unique.

I'm gonna echo Daryl's sentiments on the AVRFreaks forum. I've never posted but sometimes a search takes me there and I haven't enjoyed reading responses. Or found them useful.

Cheer,
Andrew

ps: I quite like the EEVBlog forum, not a microprocessor forum but generally the chats seem friendly and the responses helpful.

[BigDumbDinosaur]

BillG wrote:

AtariAge forums hosts a lively section for TI-99/4A computers.

https://forums.atariage.com/

Vintage Computer Federation forums hosts areas for Acorn/BBC Micro, Grid systems and Sinclair and Amstrad micros.

https://forum.vcfed.org/index.php

You just have to find a way to get others of like mind to hang out there.

True, all that, but none focuses specifically on the 6502 the way 6502.org does.

[sburrow]

okwatts wrote:

I have been on https://www.retrobrewcomputers.org/forum/index.php to keep up where plasmo posts his designs. I have seen a number of other systems that are listed, some of whom are from people that frequent this forum. Not sure how robust the discussion is but I have things interesting to browse through.

That's a good suggestion! Yes I saw some of Bill's (plasmo) more recent posts there as well. I went to register but it's not working or something so I emailed the admin about it. Thank you!

BigDumbDinosaur wrote:

True, all that, but none focuses specifically on the 6502 the way 6502.org does.

BDD I hope it didn't sound like I wanted a different forum than 6502.org for 6502 related things! For however cheesy it might sound, you know I really like the heck out of you. And I look up to you! So if I ever had a 6502 related project at all, you know I'd come here first. For the many great folks here, and definitely for you too

Chad

[greghol]

You can go to retro-comp on Google groups. https://groups.google.com/g/retro-comp It has a RC2014 / RCBUS slant but everything is open for discussion on retro and more. 6502/Z80/68K/68xx any CPU really etc. It has been around for about 5 years or so. Bill (plasmo), Allan Cox (Etched Pixels), Wayne Warthen (RomWBW fame) and many there are there too. In a day it is about 1 to a dozen messages.

It had its issues with spam by new users that would join and then spam (over the the last year or so) and I couldn't keep up so Google closed it down but it is now opened after I change the new user on moderation policy. That is working good so far for the last few weeks. It would be nice not to have to do this but it is what it is.

Intro page on retro-comp down below. I would like to really update this a bit which was by Richard Lewis the group creator. Have not seen him post in about 4 years.

This group is a "virtual pub" (no team colours) open to anyone for the discussion of topics focused on but not exclusive to vintage or retro computing.
Use it to discuss ideas, share information, show off achievements, learn, teach, hang-out.

All levels of expertise are welcome, from "What's a Z80?" to "I design chips for Intel..."

Examples of possible topics (by no means exclusive)

retro/modern kits and peripherals: SC1xx, RC2014, LINC80, YAZ180 etc
Early home computers: Apple II, Commodore 64, TRS-80, ZX-80/81 etc
Specific chips: MPUs, MCUs (8051, TMS1000) , CPLD, FPGA
Bus standards: serial, parallel, SPI, i2C, ethernet etc
Operating Systems: CP/M, FUZIX, Z-System
Programming languages: Assembler, C, PASCAL, FORTH, BASIC etc
ROM Monitors: Grant's Monitor, ROMWBW, SCM, z80ctrl, busRaider
Emulation: Alan's simulator, SIMH, Grant's Multcomp
New board designs
EDA tools- KiCad, EasyEDA, Eagle, Quartus, Vivado
PCB design
and more


Greg

[sburrow]

greghol wrote:

You can go to retro-comp on Google groups. https://groups.google.com/g/retro-comp It has a RC2014 / RCBUS slant but everything is open for discussion on retro and more. 6502/Z80/68K/68xx any CPU really etc. It has been around for about 5 years or so. Bill (plasmo), Allan Cox (Etched Pixels), Wayne Warthen (RomWBW fame) and many there are there too. In a day it is about 1 to a dozen messages.

Greg

Thank you Greg! I just joined and sent my first post. I suppose it will show up in the group eventually? Thank you for the suggestion and thank you for having me!

Chad

[barnacle]

BigDumbDinosaur wrote:

The reason I have been visiting 6502.org for all these years (I was a lurker for about five years before I joined) is its narrow focus on the 6502 family, without devolving into a Commodore-only or Apple-only or Atari-only sort of environment.  Also, as noted, there is a good mix of hardware and software expertise here, with more than a few members skilled in both arts.  Good luck trying to find another homebrew computer forum like that.

This. Never having had any of the 'traditional' 6502 systems back in the day, but rather the much more hardware oriented Microtan65, I don't have any great interest in those systems nor in code or tools specifically intended for them.

I'm one of the hardware + software types - it got me my most recent job - though in terms of software I definitely prefer clarity over compactness, even as I marvel at e.g. the disassembler in 512 bytes. So I'd rather design a system from scratch, hardware and software... horses for courses.

I hung out on AVR freaks for a number of years - I drifted away after the forum moved to Microchip's - but I never particularly noted Daryl's issues. I did hear a lot about it, but perhaps the threads I followed didn't attract that response? My use of the forum was perhaps a bit strange as after a brief usage - nixie clocks, high-altitude ballooning, and video generating - I didn't actually use an AVR for anything. (One thing that annoyed me was one member whose standard response to almost any question was 'you should be using a PIC'...)

Neil

[BigEd]

Yes... I'm thinking that there's a distinction between a CPU (or MPU) and a platform. For the most part, we here are keen on the 6502, and our discussions centre around the 6502, whether it's a hardware or a software project (or indeed an HDL project.) There are more than a few 6502 platforms, and most of us will have more familiarity with one of them and less with others, but for the most part we're platform-neutral here, or at least platform-tolerant. (By which I mean this: different platforms have different sound and video systems, different memory maps, different monitors and operating systems. We're not too focussed here on one very specific way of doing all those things, but on the general challenge of getting a system to work or getting the best out of a system, whether that's a historical, commercial, or a homebrew system.)

There are also, of course, questions of scale and of culture. For me, AtariAge (for example) is too big and too busy for me to get a grip. Stardot (for example) is pretty big and pretty busy, but maintains a very supportive and positive culture. Other forums will place themselves on different points of those measures.

As ever, when exploring the world and finding places which feel good to stay in, one's own values and preferences will come into play.

[Broti]

For NES and SNES related stuff I'd recommend: https://forums.nesdev.org/