# Alternatives to the SDMB? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 29, 2007, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-the-sdmb/428171 "2007-11-29T13:32:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-the-sdmb/428171/1 "2007-11-29T13:32:40Z")
So, what alternative message boards are there that are set up for political debates and general questions, with a decent sized membership? Kinda sorta, there’s [philosophyforums.com](http://philosophyforums.com) and [somethingawful.com](http://somethingawful.com), but they aren’t entirely what I’m looking for. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-the-sdmb/428171/2 "2007-11-29T14:07:20Z")
One problem with finding an alternative is that most of the forums I’ve come across that have a more intelligent vibe are either political/religious/philosophical debate sites that are just giant versions of GD (Internet Infidels is a good example), or else they specialize in a very specialized subject matter that won’t be of interest to all Dopers (literature, physics, astronony, etc.) I’d hang out at Fathom more, but the color scheme … c’mon, Opal! Unaboard is a well-run alternative with an intelligent SDMB-ish atmosphere, but traffic is moderate. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-the-sdmb/428171/3 "2007-11-29T15:01:58Z")
Related [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=445869) in MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-the-sdmb/428171/4 "2007-11-29T15:16:34Z")
Fathom? A google turned up no likely forums. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-the-sdmb/428171/5 "2007-11-29T15:18:39Z")
[QUOTE=Paul in Saudi] Fathom? A google turned up no likely forums. [/QUOTE] [http://fff.fathom.org/forums/](http://fff.fathom.org/forums/) ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-the-sdmb/428171/6 "2007-11-29T17:15:48Z")
And what do I see when I open up the Fathom boards? The newest member is SDMB’s very own **Brewha**. ---
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-the-sdmb/428171/7 "2007-11-29T17:25:56Z")
Powerline’s forum is mostly thoughtful conservatives. Very polite, no flaming, different points of view tolerated. They have several different forums (or is that fora?) One of them is General Discussion. [http://www.plnewsforum.com/index.php?/forums/](http://www.plnewsforum.com/index.php?/forums/) ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2007, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alternatives-to-the-sdmb/428171/8 "2007-11-29T17:30:52Z")
Just subscribing to this thread. I’m going to check out Unaboard.