# Recommend free websites folks should know about **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 18, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542 "2021-06-18T13:36:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/1 "2021-06-18T13:36:44Z")
The Straight Dope has long been a great website. I believe it was even commended as such in the early days of webbing. But memories are short and getting shorter, and tempus fugitaboutit. These days anything can get lost in the shuffle. **Am looking for good website recommendations. The website must be free to access a lot of desirable content. It may involve your work, a hobby or other interest. It should be an active website you personally use, and while it may be very popular, should not have billions of users.** 1. Best medical research website. Type keywords, get journal articles and often access. > **[PubMed](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)** > > PubMed® comprises more than 35 million citations for biomedical literature from MEDLINE, life science journals, and online books. Citations may include links to full text content from PubMed Central and publisher web sites. 1. Great used book consolidated site, especially good for cheap penultimate addition textbooks about anything. (The purpose of this thread is not to solicit ads. I use this site every week. Shut this thread down if it becomes a shilling zone.) [www.alibris.com](http://www.alibris.com) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/2 "2021-06-18T13:45:30Z")
A lot of Dopers have Steam accounts. If you don’t like a game’s default library art, this website is a collection of alternate and customized art, in the proper dimensions, for a pretty large number of games that you can download and use instead. > **[Home](https://www.steamgriddb.com/)** > > Download and share custom video game assets and personalize your gaming library. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/3 "2021-06-18T17:26:27Z")
Matrix airfare search (now owned by Google). The most sophisticated airfare search engine. Using “advanced controls” flights can be filtered by an enormous number of factors. [http://matrix.itasoftware.com/](http://matrix.itasoftware.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/4 "2021-06-18T17:39:32Z")
I have started a Selling account there. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/5 "2021-06-18T18:41:46Z")
Spiceworks is my one-stop-shop for all IT related questions. You can easily find great technical solutions simply by adding the keyword +Spiceworks to Google searches and then checking the top few Spiceworks results. It has a very active community of IT professionals who help each other. Their version of karma is called ‘Spice’ and it is awarded for providing technical solutions and helpful answers. You’re not allowed to post questions or contribute unless you actually work in IT but that’s part of why the content is so good. Many of the people who contribute are top-tier professionals who you’d pay big bucks for if you hired them as a consultant. Much knowledge can be gained from just lurking and searching for answers. Many non-professionals do that to find answers to their tech problems. [Forum for IT Pros (spiceworks.com)](https://community.spiceworks.com/windows) ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2021, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/6 "2021-06-18T19:12:18Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Best medical research website. Type keywords, get journal articles and often access. My go-to med website > **[Science-Based Medicine](https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/)** > > Welcome to Science-Based Medicine - Exploring issues and controversies in the relationship between science and medicine ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2021, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/7 "2021-06-19T21:36:57Z")
KM Weiland’s writing website, Helping Writers Become Authors. A ton of great content full of writing tools and insight into the core concepts of building fiction. Her books are great too. > **[Helping Writers Become Authors](https://www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com)** > > Write your best story. Change your life. Astound the world. I reccomend her series on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Really interesting stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/8 "2021-06-20T00:21:03Z")
Damn. None of mine are SFW. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/9 "2021-06-20T00:28:09Z")
For a valuable and entertaining look into the dark side of scientific research, Retraction Watch is unexcelled. Plagiarism, image hanky-panky, harassment of underlings, scams and descent into utter looniness - they’ve got it all. > **[Paper by former NIH researcher alleging ‘Ponzi schemes’ by government, pharma...](https://retractionwatch.com/2021/06/16/paper-by-former-nih-researcher-alleging-ponzi-schemes-by-government-pharma-retracted/)** > > Mahin Khatami Mahin Khatami, a former researcher with the U.S. National Institutes of Health who has argued in print that cancer results from ‘dark energy’ and that the government and the pharmaceu… ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/10 "2021-06-20T01:26:41Z")
Since no one mentioned it yet, I must link [archive.org](http://archive.org) (of course) I recently downloaded the [BBC Radio edition of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy](https://archive.org/details/the-lord-of-the-rings-bbc-radio-drama) for an 11 hour drive (to visit my folks now that everyone is vaccinated). Just . . . yeah. Lots of gems. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/11 "2021-06-20T01:44:37Z")
If you’re doing historical research, try [Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers](https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/) from the Library of Congress. It has newspapers as late as 1963. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/12 "2021-06-20T01:51:04Z")
If you are a foodie, Hungry Onion may interest you: > **[Hungry Onion](https://www.hungryonion.org/)** > > Hungry Onion - Thoughtful discussions among avid food lovers on eateries, cooking, and culinary culture ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/13 "2021-06-20T02:51:58Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > If you’re doing historical research, try [Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers](https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/) from the Library of Congress. It has newspapers as late as 1963. I see that your link has [loc.gov](http://loc.gov), do you ever use the [read.gov](http://read.gov) website? It is the Library Of Congress’ website dedicated to getting people to read more. The amount of online material they have access to is amazing, film/video, nonfiction, fiction, artwork, all of it. I go there occasionally for the science fiction short stories. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/14 "2021-06-20T03:02:21Z")
[Weather.gov](http://Weather.gov) – the National Weather Service’s web site, with weather conditions and forecasts for pretty much every location in the U.S. Just type in a city name or zip code, and you get details for the desired location: for instance, here’s the detailed forecast for [my home town of Green Bay, WI](https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=44.513000000000034&lon=-88.01000999999997#.YM6vDUxOlPY). It’s ad-free (unlike the Weather Channel’s site), and features straightforward information and forecasts, hour-by-hour condition charts, and detailed “forecast discussions,” which are really analyses, written by the meteorologists at the various NWS regional offices, about conditions in the area, and what is driving the current forecast – those analyses can become a bit technical, but for weather nerds like me, they’re awesome. Similarly, the National Hurricane Center’s web site ([nhc.noaa.gov](http://nhc.noaa.gov)) provides the same sort of detailed information and analysis for tropical storms and hurricanes, and is an excellent source for tracking the development and progression of those storms. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/15 "2021-06-20T03:14:49Z")
This may be too niche, but [CanLII.org](http://CanLII.org). About 25 years ago, as the Net was just taking off, the Canadian law societies (ie the lawyer regulatory bodies) got concerned that the big law publishing houses would monopolise the internet presence for Canadian legal sources, so that you would have to pay a subscription to access statutes and judicial decisions on-line. The law societies were very concerned about that, because accès to the law is important for the citizens and ultimately the rule of law. So the law societies set up CanLII as a free access site, starting with cases and continually expanding. Citizens and lawyers don’t need to pay a subscription to access the law. And the law societies fund free access as part of their commitment to public service, from the annual practice fees paid by every lawyer in Canada. They’ve recently expanded their coverage to include free access to law journals, responding to the increasing proprietary stranglehold that the law publishers have. (This problem is not unique to law journals; it’s a major concern for university libraries generally). The free law movement isn’t unique to Canada, of course. There’s LII in the US, BaILII in Britain and Ireland, and others in other countries, but it’s an important step to maintain access to the law. ---
**Author:** ![Tierce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ea5d25/32.png) [@Tierce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tierce)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/16 "2021-06-20T06:45:24Z")
Photography tips and reviews: [https://kenrockwell.com/](https://kenrockwell.com/) PS: Don’t forget to [FART](https://kenrockwell.com/tech/fart.htm). ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2021, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/17 "2021-06-20T11:14:57Z")
I suspect everyone knows about google books, but for public domain items I much prefer HathiTrust Digital Library [https://hathitrust.org](https://hathitrust.org) ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/18 "2021-06-22T13:55:02Z")
Those are my go-to weather sites. Straightforward information, without the major news media hype. Weather Underground is good too (it has 10-day forecasts, which the NOAA does not), and is also free. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2021, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/19 "2021-06-22T20:53:38Z")
George Blood 78 RPM archive: [https://archive.org/details/georgeblood](https://archive.org/details/georgeblood) I’m sure there’s a thread about the archive around here somewhere but I can’t get it to turn up in a search. Discogs is great for finding virtually all versions of any given song. > **[Discogs - Music Database and Marketplace](https://www.discogs.com/)** > > Discover music on Discogs, the largest online music database. Buy and sell music with collectors in the Marketplace. I noticed some stuff in the George Blood archive isn’t in Discogs. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Me](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d2c977/32.png) [@Mr.Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Me)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2021, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-free-websites-folks-should-know-about/944542/20 "2021-06-23T01:53:11Z")
This site has downloadable manuals for (it seems) just about everything : [https://www.manualslib.com/](https://www.manualslib.com/)