indie web carnival: a forum in 2025? no way!?
indie web carnival hosted by Alex Hsu
for me, my "NO WAY!?" moment was when i discovered the frutiger aero archive forums back in october 2025. having been fed up with big social media for... years, now... i watched a video by Polygon Donut about frutiger aero, where they provided a link to the popular frutiger aero archive website. then i saw they had a forum board... with quite an active, regular community!
that was the moment i learned about the indie web. for so long, i had feared that the internet that i loved growing up, full of fun personalities and communities and games, was gone forever and replaced by... well, you know. a commercialized wasteland where people are constantly trying to sell you something, and if you're not interested, you might as well leave. but finding a modern forum, which i though to be a relic of the old web, that had an active, regular community, brought me into the world of the indie web, and i've never looked back.
without discovering the FAA forum, i may not have found about Neocities, MelonLand, Status Cafe, Onio Club or, of course, ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ Bear. ;) i wouldn't have known that classic community art collectives like AO3 and newgrounds are still alive and kicking. i wouldn't have met so many incredible artists, hobbyists, and writers, some of whom have become friends. the fact that this wider community is creating this, all of this, just for fun, was the moment i said...
"NO WAY!?"
thank you, indie web. and thank you, Daniele63, for creating the FAA. i'm happy to be here :D