HN is more analogous to a town square than a community. People stop by to see what's new, do some window shopping, interact with others a little bit (maybe star

HN is more analogous to a town square than a community. People stop by to see what's new, do some window shopping, interact with others a little bit (maybe start a fight!) and then get on with their lives. Very few people get to know one another through HN, I would imagine fewer still end up forging friendships. It sounds like you are looking for something more like a club or at least an informal social group. The online equivalent to these are web forums and chat rooms. There are loads of these and they tend to fly under the radar. I have handful of hobbies and the best communities for these are _well_ outside the borders of the mainstream social media sites. They're frequented (mostly) by people who are friendly, knowledgeable, and generous with their time and advice, which is not something you typically see on facebook, twitter, reddit, etc. They're not secret or hidden, but you do have to go out of your way to find them. "Civil discussion of progressive ideas" sounds like you want to discuss politics, which I can assure you never ends civilly! But if that's really what you're after, you should not have to go very far to find plenty or venues for that online.