LET’s 15 Years Old—Is It Getting Too Old?

Noct

@brueggus said:

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

Let’s Make LET Awesome Again

Your entire post is cringe-inducing, and that part underscores such.

It's not his fault. Blame ChatGPT.

That was indeed my suspicion also.

Although, having said that, ChatGPT actually had me in knots of laughter around this time yesterday with some genuinely funny re-hashes and takes on some inputs I gave it. I don't blame ChatGPT, I blame the user input.

letstayfree

@bkj said:

@letstayfree said:
I checked whois, and wow, LowEndTalk (LET) is 15 years old! Since 2010, this forum’s been around, but it’s starting to feel a bit... creaky. Here’s my take on what’s going on with LET these days:

Overly Picky About “Spam”

LET’s super strict about “low-quality” posts. The thing is, it’s been around so long that the old-timers—those “veterans”—know the ropes. They can toss out one-word replies or “lol” and get away with it. But if a newbie like me posts something simple, bam, it’s flagged as spam. I got a warning on my second day just for replying to some Provider threads! It feels like LET’s stuck in the 60s or 70s forum days—kinda harsh for new folks.

Not Enough Fresh Topics

Scroll through the first few pages, and it’s mostly Provider ads or the same old veterans chatting. Newbie posts? Barely any. The hot threads are dominated by a few familiar faces, cracking jokes and using lingo that’s like a secret code. It’s hard for newbies to jump in—it’s like they’re in their own world. There’s this guy, yoursuny, who pops up everywhere. He stirs up chatter and keeps things lively, not just spamming random jokes, which is cool.

Mixed Vibes in the Community

The veterans are friendly but can get intense. One guy with an Indian customer service avatar asked me about a heavy historical event out of nowhere. I was like, uh, how about we talk about other tough topics instead? Those kinds of debates aren’t exactly fun for a chill forum.

LET Feels Like a Retirement Home

Right now, LET’s like an old grandpa who loves reminiscing with his buddies. It’s happy to see new kids around but gets annoyed if they’re too “rowdy.” Outside of Provider ads and giveaway threads, it’s mostly veterans joking around (I don’t get it, but it seems impressive). If a quiet, “retirement home” LET is what y’all love, then props—you’ve nailed it!

Let’s Make LET Awesome Again

I’d love to see LET get its spark back! Keep the veteran charm, but make the rules clearer, welcome newbies, and mix in some fresh topics. LET should be a place for everyone, not just the OGs. Here’s to a livelier future!

I don't think so. Everything is being enshittifed in the modern world, AI this, eGirl that, it's getting so unreal. When I see these posts, the arguments, everything feels much more authentic to me. Almost like that 2010 era internet. Idk if it's just me but I love a old forum that just has a legacy continuing for what it is and that's not trying to stand out, not trying to hop on a hype train to match with the current trends which is shit, and so on.

If you want a newer platform with all due respect just depart from here. Don't enshittify this or ask people here to move however 🙏find new members in your new forum with new ideas and live happily there.

I totally understand you. Like I mentioned, it’s just like how old grandpas tend to be nostalgic — it’s not about being right or wrong, or good or bad. It’s simply that everyone starts from a different place, so naturally, their perspectives differ. From your point of view, you don’t want things to change, and if someone doesn’t like it, they should just leave — is that right?

Noct

@bkj said:

@letstayfree said:
I checked whois, and wow, LowEndTalk (LET) is 15 years old! Since 2010, this forum’s been around, but it’s starting to feel a bit... creaky. Here’s my take on what’s going on with LET these days:

Overly Picky About “Spam”

LET’s super strict about “low-quality” posts. The thing is, it’s been around so long that the old-timers—those “veterans”—know the ropes. They can toss out one-word replies or “lol” and get away with it. But if a newbie like me posts something simple, bam, it’s flagged as spam. I got a warning on my second day just for replying to some Provider threads! It feels like LET’s stuck in the 60s or 70s forum days—kinda harsh for new folks.

Not Enough Fresh Topics

Scroll through the first few pages, and it’s mostly Provider ads or the same old veterans chatting. Newbie posts? Barely any. The hot threads are dominated by a few familiar faces, cracking jokes and using lingo that’s like a secret code. It’s hard for newbies to jump in—it’s like they’re in their own world. There’s this guy, yoursuny, who pops up everywhere. He stirs up chatter and keeps things lively, not just spamming random jokes, which is cool.

Mixed Vibes in the Community

The veterans are friendly but can get intense. One guy with an Indian customer service avatar asked me about a heavy historical event out of nowhere. I was like, uh, how about we talk about other tough topics instead? Those kinds of debates aren’t exactly fun for a chill forum.

LET Feels Like a Retirement Home

Right now, LET’s like an old grandpa who loves reminiscing with his buddies. It’s happy to see new kids around but gets annoyed if they’re too “rowdy.” Outside of Provider ads and giveaway threads, it’s mostly veterans joking around (I don’t get it, but it seems impressive). If a quiet, “retirement home” LET is what y’all love, then props—you’ve nailed it!

Let’s Make LET Awesome Again

I’d love to see LET get its spark back! Keep the veteran charm, but make the rules clearer, welcome newbies, and mix in some fresh topics. LET should be a place for everyone, not just the OGs. Here’s to a livelier future!

I don't think so. Everything is being enshittifed in the modern world, AI this, eGirl that, it's getting so unreal. When I see these posts, the arguments, everything feels much more authentic to me. Almost like that 2010 era internet. Idk if it's just me but I love a old forum that just has a legacy continuing for what it is and that's not trying to stand out, not trying to hop on a hype train to match with the current trends which is shit, and so on.

If you want a newer platform with all due respect just depart from here. Don't enshittify this or ask people here to move however 🙏find new members in your new forum with new ideas and live happily there.

I 100 percent agree.

Noct

@letstayfree said:

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

Let’s Make LET Awesome Again

Your entire post is cringe-inducing, and that part underscores such.

How about you go start your own forum, kid?

I didn’t see your veteran badge, but just from your tone, I can already sense that superiority complex of a so-called seasoned user. Where does it come from? Many real veterans have also tried forums like Nodeseek. Is LET positioned as a community or a forum? I’m not sure. If it’s a forum, then I’ve seen many active ones—but LET clearly isn’t one of them.90% or more are produced by providers?
If LET is a place to just get deals news that what i already seen.

Why are you here? Are you so lonely? Nobody asked you to be here. You chose to come. If this is not exactly what your looking for, build your own. Maybe find somewhere else. I don't know. I don't care. I'm just holding a mirror up to you.

unsafetypin

@Noct said: Why are you here?

https://gist.githubusercontent.com/MattIPv4/045239bc27b16b2bcf7a3a9a4648c08a/raw/2411e31293a35f3e565f61e7490a806d4720ea7e/bee%20movie%20script

MaxTakeba

@jbiloh said:
Always happy to hear suggestions.

https://www.discourse.org/

unsafetypin

@MaxTakeba said:

@jbiloh said:
Always happy to hear suggestions.

https://www.discourse.org/

really curious...why this?

MaxTakeba

@unsafetypin said:

@MaxTakeba said:

@jbiloh said:
Always happy to hear suggestions.

https://www.discourse.org/

really curious...why this?

Vanilla leaves a lot to be desired... and I say this who has administered a Vanilla forum in the past and phpBB (hi Facepunch)...

Discourse is a lot more modern... less jank, oh and searching wouldn't take FOREVER...

Also as general feedback... please... use the space that's not being used... for something.

unsafetypin

@MaxTakeba said:

@unsafetypin said:

@MaxTakeba said:

@jbiloh said:
Always happy to hear suggestions.

https://www.discourse.org/

really curious...why this?

Vanilla leaves a lot to be desired... and I say this who has administered a Vanilla forum in the past and phpBB (hi Facepunch)...

Discourse is a lot more modern... less jank, oh and searching wouldn't take FOREVER...

Also as general feedback... please... use the space that's not being used... for something.

huh I guess I like this vanilla feels organized and to the point for me. the others feel clunky and all over

_MS_

15th Anniversary Megathread?

Blembim

@MS said:
15th Anniversary Megathread?

1.5$/y vee pee ess coming on ur waye

lirrr

1$/year deal pls pls pls

admax

0.23$/y deal, pls any match

letstayfree

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

Let’s Make LET Awesome Again

Your entire post is cringe-inducing, and that part underscores such.

How about you go start your own forum, kid?

I didn’t see your veteran badge, but just from your tone, I can already sense that superiority complex of a so-called seasoned user. Where does it come from? Many real veterans have also tried forums like Nodeseek. Is LET positioned as a community or a forum? I’m not sure. If it’s a forum, then I’ve seen many active ones—but LET clearly isn’t one of them.90% or more are produced by providers?
If LET is a place to just get deals news that what i already seen.

Why are you here? Are you so lonely? Nobody asked you to be here. You chose to come. If this is not exactly what your looking for, build your own. Maybe find somewhere else. I don't know. I don't care. I'm just holding a mirror up to you.

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

Let’s Make LET Awesome Again

Your entire post is cringe-inducing, and that part underscores such.

How about you go start your own forum, kid?

I didn’t see your veteran badge, but just from your tone, I can already sense that superiority complex of a so-called seasoned user. Where does it come from? Many real veterans have also tried forums like Nodeseek. Is LET positioned as a community or a forum? I’m not sure. If it’s a forum, then I’ve seen many active ones—but LET clearly isn’t one of them.90% or more are produced by providers?
If LET is a place to just get deals news that what i already seen.

Why are you here? Are you so lonely? Nobody asked you to be here. You chose to come. If this is not exactly what your looking for, build your own. Maybe find somewhere else. I don't know. I don't care. I'm just holding a mirror up to you.

I’m just sharing what I think about LET and giving some suggestions — isn’t that the kind of stuff this community’s supposed to encourage? What are you doing? So anyone who doesn’t agree with you should just leave?

letstayfree

@MS said:
15th Anniversary Megathread?

Good idea i think!

FAT32

I am still waiting for the contract so I could potentially move us to somewhere - or not

emgh

LET is not getting too old but @raindog308 is

fluffernutter

@MaxTakeba said:

@unsafetypin said:

@MaxTakeba said:

@jbiloh said:
Always happy to hear suggestions.

https://www.discourse.org/

really curious...why this?

Vanilla leaves a lot to be desired... and I say this who has administered a Vanilla forum in the past and phpBB (hi Facepunch)...

Discourse is a lot more modern... less jank, oh and searching wouldn't take FOREVER...

Also as general feedback... please... use the space that's not being used... for something.

the monkey's paw curls, next update all the free space on screen will be filled with more ads

Noct

@letstayfree said:

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

Let’s Make LET Awesome Again

Your entire post is cringe-inducing, and that part underscores such.

How about you go start your own forum, kid?

I didn’t see your veteran badge, but just from your tone, I can already sense that superiority complex of a so-called seasoned user. Where does it come from? Many real veterans have also tried forums like Nodeseek. Is LET positioned as a community or a forum? I’m not sure. If it’s a forum, then I’ve seen many active ones—but LET clearly isn’t one of them.90% or more are produced by providers?
If LET is a place to just get deals news that what i already seen.

Why are you here? Are you so lonely? Nobody asked you to be here. You chose to come. If this is not exactly what your looking for, build your own. Maybe find somewhere else. I don't know. I don't care. I'm just holding a mirror up to you.

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

Let’s Make LET Awesome Again

Your entire post is cringe-inducing, and that part underscores such.

How about you go start your own forum, kid?

I didn’t see your veteran badge, but just from your tone, I can already sense that superiority complex of a so-called seasoned user. Where does it come from? Many real veterans have also tried forums like Nodeseek. Is LET positioned as a community or a forum? I’m not sure. If it’s a forum, then I’ve seen many active ones—but LET clearly isn’t one of them.90% or more are produced by providers?
If LET is a place to just get deals news that what i already seen.

Why are you here? Are you so lonely? Nobody asked you to be here. You chose to come. If this is not exactly what your looking for, build your own. Maybe find somewhere else. I don't know. I don't care. I'm just holding a mirror up to you.

I’m just sharing what I think about LET and giving some suggestions — isn’t that the kind of stuff this community’s supposed to encourage? What are you doing? So anyone who doesn’t agree with you should just leave?

You demonstrably don't think.

In an era where old-school-ish forums are almost all dead due to social media, only a young dummy-dum-dum would join a proven successful and surviving special-topic forum that -- they know -- is 15 years old and think that after being on it for three months, that their naive ChatGPT-composed "suggestions", which are actually whining, matter.

Maybe you can ask ChatGPT to break this conversation down for you? Don't answer that. I'm not your minder.

MaxTakeba

@fluffernutter said:

@MaxTakeba said:

@unsafetypin said:

@MaxTakeba said:

@jbiloh said:
Always happy to hear suggestions.

https://www.discourse.org/

really curious...why this?

Vanilla leaves a lot to be desired... and I say this who has administered a Vanilla forum in the past and phpBB (hi Facepunch)...

Discourse is a lot more modern... less jank, oh and searching wouldn't take FOREVER...

Also as general feedback... please... use the space that's not being used... for something.

the monkey's paw curls, next update all the free space on screen will be filled with more ads

The agonyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

PineappleM

Didn’t read any of that ChatGPT slop on the OP but read the rest of the thread. Any TL;DR?

The forum software is old but still works fine for what it is supposed to. At least I’m glad this forum still exists, because everything else is now a discord server (yuck).

wadhah

When you edit a post, your thanks on that post disappear and I feel temporarily sad

DP

@wadhah said:
When you edit a post, your thanks on that post disappear and I feel temporarily sad

It shouldn't.

Just refresh maybe.

wadhah

@DP said:

@wadhah said:
When you edit a post, your thanks on that post disappear and I feel temporarily sad

It shouldn't.

Just refresh maybe.

Yeah I mean visually disappear, they reappear after a refresh, but the dopamine withdrawal is already done

atkl

Nobody asked my opinion, so here it is.

Disclaimer:
- Trying to keep it short - like most people, I don't have much time and I'm not interested in arguing.
- I'm a total Linux newbie, still barely able to set-up Ubuntu OS, failing miserably doing anything else
- 2 month ago got courage to peek through Linux keyhole, various online guides only drove me into more frustrations, then I started reading LET postings
- Registered on LET 1 week ago

Not Enough Fresh Topics
Let’s Make LET Awesome Again

Sounds great! Can you share some examples of "Fresh Topics" and "Awesome" to help understand what you have in mind? Instead of this ageism?

• "LET’s 15 Years Old—Is It Getting Too Old?""
• "LET Feels Like a Retirement Home"
• Etc...
  
  

If LET is a place to just get deals news that what i already seen
Scroll through the first few pages, and it’s mostly Provider ads or the same old veterans chatting (...)

I know, right?!!! Classic old timers cliché: expecting you to read what you're signing for up.

Which takes you to this page:

What did you expect on LET? Discussions about flying unicorns and gummy bears?

(...) hot threads are dominated by a few familiar faces, cracking jokes and using lingo that’s like a secret code. It’s hard for newbies to jump in—it’s like they’re in their own world
(...) it’s mostly veterans joking around (I don’t get it, but it seems impressive)

Never tried learning a new language ? Never made new friends with their own jokes?
IT world is constantly changing: new technology, new hardware, new lingo to learn... why being on a hardware forum?


This post is too long already... probably only "old veterans" still reading this while others have moved long ago to latest TikTok/Insta/etc. trendy video.


I don't think I have built anything that lasted 15 years so far. This forum must be getting dozen if not hundreds of new members every week and dozen of new postings every week, that's remarkable! Hope I can do as well when i grow up...

Thank you everyone! In just 3-4 weeks I started reading LET daily, my Favorites bar has exploded! I have discovered torrents of information. So many totally unknown technical terms, software, suppliers, set-up, etc. I have so much to investigate to be able to even understand what they are about and test them! Without other users real life experience, this would take me years to discover and learn by myself (why are days only 24h?). And when, out of the blue, I contacted directly few members (veterans and non veterans), they kindly spent time to help me!

It feels like LET’s stuck in the 60s or 70s forum days

PS: online forums in 60s or 70s... seriously?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Internet


PS2: post is AI polishing/generation free, i apologize for typing, grammar, etc. errors

_MS_

@wadhah said:
When you edit a post, your thanks on that post disappear and I feel temporarily sad

It's still there, don't worry!

dosai

10 years since I joined uwu.

ehab

mongoooo db

oloke

@letstayfree said:
LET’s super strict about “low-quality” posts. The thing is, it’s been around so long that the old-timers—those “veterans”—know the ropes. They can toss out one-word replies or “lol” and get away with it. But if a newbie like me posts something simple, bam, it’s flagged as spam. I got a warning on my second day just for replying to some Provider threads! It feels like LET’s stuck in the 60s or 70s forum days—kinda harsh for new folks.

I haven't noticed LET being very strict on low quality stuff.

I'm also somewhat new here, I made an acc in January and haven't had any comment or post removed.

The hot threads are dominated by a few familiar faces, cracking jokes and using lingo that’s like a secret code. It’s hard for newbies to jump in—it’s like they’re in their own world. There’s this guy, yoursuny, who pops up everywhere. He stirs up chatter and keeps things lively, not just spamming random jokes, which is cool.

I should probably make like a LET lore wiki on guards.re so that noobies would get familiar with $22k btc situation or something.

jbiloh

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

Let’s Make LET Awesome Again

Your entire post is cringe-inducing, and that part underscores such.

How about you go start your own forum, kid?

I didn’t see your veteran badge, but just from your tone, I can already sense that superiority complex of a so-called seasoned user. Where does it come from? Many real veterans have also tried forums like Nodeseek. Is LET positioned as a community or a forum? I’m not sure. If it’s a forum, then I’ve seen many active ones—but LET clearly isn’t one of them.90% or more are produced by providers?
If LET is a place to just get deals news that what i already seen.

Why are you here? Are you so lonely? Nobody asked you to be here. You chose to come. If this is not exactly what your looking for, build your own. Maybe find somewhere else. I don't know. I don't care. I'm just holding a mirror up to you.

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

@Noct said:

@letstayfree said:

Let’s Make LET Awesome Again

Your entire post is cringe-inducing, and that part underscores such.

How about you go start your own forum, kid?

I didn’t see your veteran badge, but just from your tone, I can already sense that superiority complex of a so-called seasoned user. Where does it come from? Many real veterans have also tried forums like Nodeseek. Is LET positioned as a community or a forum? I’m not sure. If it’s a forum, then I’ve seen many active ones—but LET clearly isn’t one of them.90% or more are produced by providers?
If LET is a place to just get deals news that what i already seen.

Why are you here? Are you so lonely? Nobody asked you to be here. You chose to come. If this is not exactly what your looking for, build your own. Maybe find somewhere else. I don't know. I don't care. I'm just holding a mirror up to you.

I’m just sharing what I think about LET and giving some suggestions — isn’t that the kind of stuff this community’s supposed to encourage? What are you doing? So anyone who doesn’t agree with you should just leave?

You demonstrably don't think.

In an era where old-school-ish forums are almost all dead due to social media, only a young dummy-dum-dum would join a proven successful and surviving special-topic forum that -- they know -- is 15 years old and think that after being on it for three months, that their naive ChatGPT-composed "suggestions", which are actually whining, matter.

Maybe you can ask ChatGPT to break this conversation down for you? Don't answer that. I'm not your minder.

It is so obvious these days when content is GPT written. Cringe.

That said, I am always open to hearing suggestions. We take a less is more approach whenever possible because we don't want to change too much too quickly and rock the boat, because obviously lowendtalk is working. Daily signup counts have never been higher and traffic is also very strong. I am super thankful for all of that.