So there's this idea that gets floated around that "there's only four sites left and all they do is talk about each other" in regards to how Internet became synonymous with Social Media. And while its getting trickier to find shit nowadays, with the constant depreciation of search engines and whatnot, we all know a little something here and there that's not tied to Everything Sites. Places that do few things, maybe only one thing instead of trying to do it all (and failing).
This is both for sharing a little bit, but also my hopes of spreading out and reading more independent stuff, like in the earlier online days, because I realized I don't keep up with small sites anymore as much as I wish.
So what interesting stuff do you browse? Blogs, news sites, forums, webcomics? Even if its your own site, don't be afraid of plugging it! Comment or re-share, whichever you prefer!
For my (shamefully few) recommendations:
Gaming News
https://www.siliconera.com/ - Although not a small gaming site, I appreciate the focus Siliconera has on japanese releases, as well as usually not being completely filled with news only related to the latest AAA game in the block (though it still gets a little cluttered with some favorite gems)
Media Functionalities
https://gg.deals/ - An aggregator of sales and giveaways for PC games, keeping tabs on multiple storefronts and their discounts.
https://psprices.com/ - A similarly built website for but focused on Playstation games. Display sales, new releases, PS+/Extra/Deluxe availabilities, as well as physical store prices (depends on your region). Has recently branched out to Switch and XBOX games as well but I don't have those consoles to attest how well done it was.
https://snap.fan/ - For Marvel Snap only, a catalog of cards, decks, recent news, datamining, keeping tabs on possible meta changes, tracking your progress among other functionalities.
https://www.backloggd.com/ - Catalog, review, analyze and share your latest (or earliest) gaming ventures. Like Letterboxd for videogames, is what I'd say if I ever used Letterboxd.
https://www.justwatch.com/ - Look for specific shows and which streaming they are available in your region. Starting to become sadly less useful in the past years with the overall depreciation of streaming services.
https://dirtytorrents.com/ The show you looked for isn't available in your country? Well, there's a very easy solution for that! And also for any other kind of media you're looking for. Dirtytorrents is an aggregator of multiple torrent sites - usually 1337x.to and limetorrents being the most popular - for your piracy needs. Don't forget to check beforehand for a guide on privacy, depending on your country's disposition to spy on people. I never needed to do that myself but I know some places get fairly invasive about what people do with their connection.
Dirty Torrents has, unfortunately, died. I've look at https://btdig.com/index.htm BTDig for an aggregator replacement, but have also just been using https://www.torrentdownloads.pro/ and https://www.limetorrents.lol/home as individual torrenting websites.
https://tvtropes.org/ - I still get bored and browse this once in a while! Especially like to do it after finishing a game, series or comic, almost like doing a little farewell (though I also randomly check stuff every now and then)
https://witchdice.com/simple - A dice rolling site for D&D 5E, Lancer or just a simple template. Has a built-in catalog of skills and moves for the two games, as well as Discord implementation for sharing the rolls in a specific channel.
Image Hosting
https://imgchest.com/ - My Imgur replacement ever since it started making some weird changes. Currently fairly small, but useful, which is basically what I need from any tool. Can be easily adapted to Sharex.
https://imgpile.com/ - Another simple image host. Didn't use it much before changing to chest, but its still fine.
Webcomics
https://www.gunnerkrigg.com/ - An urban fantasy long running comic about teens attending a quirky school that borders a magical Forest, and the contrast between their lives focused on the Ether and science applications versus the openly fantastical wilds that surround them. One of the old guard webcomics, it has gone to places multiple times and is still going.
https://www.oglaf.com/ - Very NSFW more often than not! A lewd, comedic fantasy webcomic, mixing dirty and clever jokes and the occasional story arc.
I know for me Cohost has become the main site I end up on. Unfortunately I don't really have any good website recommendations, but since Twitter has been going under I've added a bunch of Webcomic creators to an RSS Feed Reader that I self host FreshRSS. So I figured I'd share those in case anyone is looking for more webcomics. A quick note, not all of the artists below prioritize the websites I was able to find an RSS feed for. So I'm not sure how often their feeds actually get updated. I honestly wish more artists hosted their content on their own website or somewhere with an easily accessible RSS Feed, but I talk about that more here if interested. Another note: A lot of these comics are on webtoons, and I can't easily grab a full comic to link as a preview. So, when they're just an image from a post, I'm sorry. Anyways, Webcomics:
ADHD Dinos- "A webcomic about ADHD and the difficulties I've encountered through it. No permission required for reposts". A recent post This is the RSS Feed URL I use
Bird Chonk - "Three chonky NZ birds just trying their very best.". A recent post. This is the RSS Feed URL I use
Cassandra Comic - "My life with curly hair and high expectations.". A recent post. This is the RSS Feed URL I use
Cat and Girl - This one is a bit hard to describe, but generally a cat and girl talking about some issue. They're actually here on Cohost. Their website . A recent post. The RSS feed I use for them
Crow Time - One of my favorites!. "Short silly comics about a shameless murder of crows and the other creatures lucky enough to roam the nearby lands." An image showing their style. The RSS Feed I use for them
Eldritch Darling - Another one I really enjoy. "What if we kissed and we were both girls? And one of us was an oblivious human and the other was a dark eldritch abomination creature from beyond the stars??". An image from a recent post. The RSS Feed URL I use
False Knees - I really like their art style. The comics themselves are a bit hit or miss for me. "What are those birds so sad about?". An image from a post. The RSS feed URL I use
Foxes in Love - A comic about day to day life really? I enjoy it.
An image from a recent post. The RSS Feed URL I use
Nothing Doing - "a comic about hating your job and loving your friends by @horseonvhs. updates whenever". They're also here on Cohost. A recent image from a comic. The RSS Feed I use
Racoon Comic - This one is a bit hard to describe, but I really love. An image from a recent post. The RSS Feed Url I use
Red Green Blue - This one is also one of my top favorites. Kind of all over the place, but really funny to me. "A soulful outpouring of whatever the heck wanders through my mindscape". A recent image from a post. The RSS Feed URL I use
Sarah's Scribbles - Another one that is typically about general life, but I really enjoy. An image from a recent comic. The RSS Feed URL I use
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal - This comic is hit or miss for me. Sometimes I find it really good. Others sort of meh. An image from a recent post. The RSS Feed URL I use
Swords - This is one of the top ones for me. I absolutely love this series. An image from a recent comic. The RSS Feed URL I use
The Pigeon Gazette - "Nerds, birds, words! Slice of life + comedy comics by Jane." An image from a recent comic. The RSS feed URL I use
The Weekly Roll - Another great one I really enjoy! "A bi-weekly four-panel comic strip that follows the exploits of a party of adventurers as they walk the fine line between being the good guys and homeless psychopaths for hire.". An image from a recent post . The RSS Feed URL I use.
What's up Beanie - Another slice of life that I really enjoy. "Slice of life stories of childhood, teenage angst and socially awkward adulthood!
My name is Beanie and this is a comic about my life.". An image from a recent post. The RSS Feed URL I use
XKCD - A classic that I feel needs no introduction. " A webcomic of romance and math humor.". An image from a recent post. The RSS Feed URL I use
That's all the ones I have at the moment! I realized after typing it out, that that's a lot... but I'm always looking for more if people have suggestions! The hardest thing I've found is just getting RSS Feeds for the comics. I'd also love some recommendations on RSS feeds to follow for tech news.
