Ask HN: Where are the best online gathering places for humans?

X gets my vote, but I have had outsized positive experiences from it (including getting married and a few job offers). It isn't a platform for the faint of heart. You have to commit to posting things other people actually regularly find interesting on there to get the most out of it, which is simply not a bar most people pass. Even then can take a few months before you start to find your footing.

I went on X today for the first time in a long time. I mentioned something in a thread about an experience a fried had that was relevant to the parent post. Someone (who claimed to be the CTO of some company in his bio), called me a liar, then proceeded to call me and the friend I mentioned a bunch of derogatory names, after I attempted to expand on and clarify things based on his earlier accusations.

Does Reddit still ban people for having discussions in good faith, if they think you’re on the wrong side of the group-think? That was my fate there.

Between the culture and the bots, both of those sites are pretty bad. AI has just made it worse.

I can't think of a worse website to talk to people on than Twitter these days

What are some good IRCs? Can you please tell me?