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Websites people say have changed their lives

kottke.org

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Re: Websites people say have changed their lives

#2
I remember Dreamless, Praystation, k10k et al with some fondness as part of a special era on the web when people were just making things for the sheer joy of experimenting with this new platform and seeing what was possible. Some of it was pretentious nonsense, some of it was quite fun, most of it would be dismissed as frivolous today. The web as an app platform really profoundly changed things but in many ways we stand on the shoulders of these early efforts.

Re: Websites people say have changed their lives

#4
I am surprised no one mentioned Reddit. Reddit really helped me gain perspective.

For one thing, it made me realize how similar people all over the world are. No matter how specific a post is, chances are really high that someone else will chime in and echo the feeling/experience that has been expressed. In short, the positive message is: You're not alone!

For another thing, it is (despite the horrible search function) relatively easy to discover communities that discuss the same topics from different angles. For instance, when it comes to international news that affect country A and B you can read the comments in r/a and /b and thus gain a deeper understanding of the issue.

Re: Websites people say have changed their lives

#7
post #4

I am surprised no one mentioned Reddit. Reddit really helped me gain perspective. For one thing, it made me realize how similar people all over the world are. No matter how specific a post is, chances are really high that someone else will chime in and echo the feeling/experience that has been expressed. In short, the positive message is: You're not alone! For another thing, it is (despite the horrible search functio…

> For one thing, it made me realize how similar people all over the world are.

For me, it made me realize how similar redditors all over the world are.. =)

Re: Websites people say have changed their lives

#10
Advice from Reddit's r/DIY and r/homeimprovement communities helped me take on repairs and improvements that I wouldn't have done otherwise. I learn a lot from the step-by-step photos, explanations of work, and feedback in the comments. Those forums are like the Stack Overflow of home improvement and are really great -- life changing!
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