# Alternative to ENWorld for 5E Discussions



## LordEntrails (Aug 26, 2017)

What alternatives for open discussions on D&D 5E are there? Please post your suggestions and comments on those places.

Those I'm aware of (but have not yet formed an opinion on);

https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?63-D-amp-D-5e-Next
https://rpg.stackexchange.com/?tags=dnd-5e
https://plus.google.com/communities/101509275664581560702

Thanks in advance.


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## discosoc (Aug 26, 2017)

Giantitp is probably the best place for getting questions answered.  I think Reddit is probably best for general conversations about DnD.  Topics get derailed just as much as here, but the way conversations are threaded means it's much easier to skip over large chunks of stuff you don't care about.  I think that's really the biggest problem with ENWorld's old school forum format.

Stack Exchange is often just as good as Giantitp.  I've never been a big fan of Google Communities, so can't comment on that particular one.

There's honestly not a lot else, unless you're looking for stuff that's more specialized (like the Candlekeep forums).


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## Zardnaar (Aug 26, 2017)

rpgnet and giant in the playground are quite active.

 I don't bother with Reddit for anything.


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## BookBarbarian (Aug 26, 2017)

I like reddit for asking a question and getting some responses, but I find it hard to have a discussion on there. Looking at that google community makes my head hurt. I like Google+, but again it's great for sharing things, but not for discussion. I like gitp I've noticed things are a little more player focused there as opposed to DM focused. stackechange is more about getting factual answers over opinions or discussions. I haven't found it all that useful. Rpgnet is pretty good.


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## TwoSix (Aug 26, 2017)

GiantITP is probably the best overall.  Reddit is pretty good, although I prefer /r/UnearthedArcana for homebrew, the discussions on /r/DnDNext are fairly....facile.  

RPGnet tends to have good discussion, but if you're looking for another place because of today's events, you won't be any happier over there.  RPGnet's moderation team is both very progressive and very intense.


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## ArwensDaughter (Aug 26, 2017)

DnDbeyond has forums. Some are specific to DDB, others are about D&D in general


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## LordEntrails (Aug 26, 2017)

TwoSix said:


> RPGnet tends to have good discussion, but if you're looking for another place because of today's events, you won't be any happier over there.  RPGnet's moderation team is both very progressive and very intense.



Yes, being ... exclusive in the name of inclusivity is the height of hypocrisy. And to do it with a hammer is .. unfortunate.

Normally things are handled much more maturely. I guess I've been growing tired of some of the endless debates and this has made me realize I might be better off elsewhere.


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## Miladoon (Aug 26, 2017)

Myth weavers has a strong dnd presence. They also run a discord server.


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## DEFCON 1 (Aug 26, 2017)

LordEntrails said:


> Yes, being ... exclusive in the name of inclusivity is the height of hypocrisy. And to do it with a hammer is .. unfortunate.
> 
> Normally things are handled much more maturely. I guess I've been growing tired of some of the endless debates and this has made me realize I might be better off elsewhere.




The other option is to just ignore the conversation for while it lasts... knowing full well that another thing will take its place in the argumentative consciousness of the readers here.  Because no matter where someone goes, there will be always discussions about stuff that a person will find irritating or bothersome.  It's inescapable.  So if a site is otherwise a good place to discuss that which you care to discuss... you might as well stick around.  Because more often than not... the grass is *not* greener and all that.

Heck, every time a "Here's how Stealth is supposed to work!" thread shows up and expands out to 50 pages I keep thinking to myself "Is ENWorld really the best place to be, because these people are ridiculous!"  Then I look around and discover that nope... the ridiculous people who keep thinking there's a One True Way stealth is supposed to work in 5E can be found everywhere.  And I stay here at ENWorld because it's really the best board to discuss D&D overall.  And I just don't click on the thread and will wait for it to drop to the second page.


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## Morrus (Aug 26, 2017)

LordEntrails said:


> Yes, being ... exclusive in the name of inclusivity is the height of hypocrisy. And to do it with a hammer is .. unfortunate.
> 
> Normally things are handled much more maturely. I guess I've been growing tired of some of the endless debates and this has made me realize I might be better off elsewhere.




As this is clearly a thread about moderation policies here, I'll move it to Meta for you.


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## CapnZapp (Aug 26, 2017)

TwoSix said:


> if you're looking for another place because of today's events



Could we have a link to a summary of "today's events"?



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## LordEntrails (Aug 26, 2017)

Miladoon said:


> Myth weavers has a strong dnd presence. They also run a discord server.



Thank you, looks promising.



DEFCON 1 said:


> The other option is to just ignore the conversation for while it lasts... ...  And I just don't click on the thread and will wait for it to drop to the second page.



Thanks, but there are too many threads I've been doing that with lately. I appreciate the insight/advice, but really not what I'm hoping for here.



Morrus said:


> As this is clearly a thread about moderation policies here, I'll move it to Meta for you.



That was not my understanding of the original post, but that's your call. I'm sure it will die in obscurity now.



CapnZapp said:


> Could we have a link to a summary of "today's events"?



Someone would have to make such a thread, and that is not the intent of this one.

Back to the topic of the OP.
Are there really only a handful of places to discuss 5E?


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## cmad1977 (Aug 26, 2017)

I usually discuss things with friends. 


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## cmad1977 (Aug 26, 2017)

Or if you really want to find  places to discuss 5e I'd try Google. 


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## LordEntrails (Aug 26, 2017)

(Note, I was very reluctant to start this thread because I feared that I might come across as passive aggressive, subversive, or other such attempts. That is not and has not been the intent of this thread or any posts or comments I have made. Please take this in mind when processing what I write.)


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## Nagol (Aug 26, 2017)

LordEntrails said:


> <snip>
> Back to the topic of the OP.
> Are there really only a handful of places to discuss 5E?




It's a niche inside a small hobby and long-form discussions via forums are "out" currently as a trend.  It should be expected there is limited support.  When developers dump control of a communication medium you can tell  it is not considered strategic or vital.  (And I'm not talking just about WotC: other industries are also abandoning dedicated forums).


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## Morrus (Aug 26, 2017)

Yup, your options are basically a tiny handful of forums left, or jump on board the social media juggerrnaught.


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## LordEntrails (Aug 26, 2017)

Nagol said:


> It's a niche inside a small hobby and long-form discussions via forums are "out" currently as a trend.  It should be expected there is limited support.  When developers dump control of a communication medium you can tell  it is not considered strategic or vital.  (And I'm not talking just about WotC: other industries are also abandoning dedicated forums).



I'm open to other mediums, but am not aware of any others that provide discussions. Can you enlighten me? Thanks.


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## Nagol (Aug 26, 2017)

LordEntrails said:


> I'm open to other mediums, but am not aware of any others that provide discussions. Can you enlighten me? Thanks.



As I posted, long form discussions aren't the current trend.  Facebook has several fan pages for light discussion/banter.  Twitter is a platform for pointed questions.  Reddit is sort-of-kind-of a forum variant in a way that supports slightly longer discussions on a topic.  StackExchange and Quora are decent places to post questions and answers.

None are particularly useful to sift through looking for decent content or support discussion threads particularly well.

Most forums shrivel up and die unless they can manage to achieve critical mass sufficiently quickly to keep interest of the early adopters or have enough churn in the fan base to keep new blood flowing in.  

Active forums also take a fair amount  of a user's time so typically a single user will only be on one or two.  That means new forums face a serious barrier to entry: how to attract enough users to present a vibrant active environment that is attractive enough that others will want to participate.


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## LordEntrails (Aug 26, 2017)

Morrus said:


> Yup, your options are basically a tiny handful of forums left, or jump on board the social media juggerrnaught.






Nagol said:


> As I posted, long form discussions aren't the current trend.  ...
> None are particularly useful to sift through looking for decent content or support discussion threads particularly well....




Thanks. I'm quickly coming to see things the same way.


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## Mishihari Lord (Aug 27, 2017)

TwoSix said:


> RPGnet tends to have good discussion, but if you're looking for another place because of today's events, you won't be any happier over there.  RPGnet's moderation team is both very progressive and very intense.




Agree here.  I used to be very active at rpg.net, but the politics there are a bit to the left of Stalin with even less tolerance for dissent.  I got fed up and left years ago,


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## discosoc (Aug 30, 2017)

Mishihari Lord said:


> Agree here.  I used to be very active at rpg.net, but the politics there are a bit to the left of Stalin with even less tolerance for dissent.  I got fed up and left years ago,




I don't remember anything about politics being left of Stalin or anything, but I do remember the mods basically going on power trips all the time.  This was probably 5 or 6 years ago, so maybe it's changed -- or the mods grew up.  The worst part was I always felt like I was interrupting some kind of personal blood feud between a couple of people who would hijack threads just to argue with each other.


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## barrowwight (Sep 3, 2017)

More options are always nice. I sometimes run out of posts here that I find interesting and am always looking for additional reading material. If your having trouble finding a site you like you could always start your own subreddit, forum or dare I say... myspace page!!


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