At over 450 links, the Dark Communities page used to be my largest. I stopped listing any more Yahoo! groups when in general they became havens for spammers. Many moderators stopped moderating and cleaning their groups. This makes me sad, I loved this resource. It was great for sending out one-way mailing lists (in which people couldn't respond) like newsletters - I used to send out Dark Side of the Net news that way.
Now, I'm focusing mostly on Livejournals since Facebook groups exist and have tons of members but don't seem to be posted to or interacted with as much as one would think.
1. BatLady
This is actually a one-way mailing list/newsletter, not a community. But I love the concept so much, I have to add it in here. Forgive me? She riffs on the popular housekeeping-reminder site "FlyLady" but tweaks it with a gothic flavor. Daily reminders, tips, and homemaking advice.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BatLady/
2. FogeyGoff
An LJ community for "First Generation Goths, Ur-goths, Ex-Goths, Batcavers & Deathrockers." Surprised that this isn't just a bunch of fashion or event ads. There's actual news and interesting things posted here by eldergoths. I'd like to see a few more posts here.. but then I should get off my butt and share something here myself!
http://community.livejournal.com/fogeygoff/
3. Goth Housing
What a brilliant idea! This is a community where you can post to find roommates of a goth persuasion. I'd definitely prefer to live with another goth if I ever had to rent out a room in my house. Then I could borrow her black lipstick if I misplaced mine! Most of the posts are London-based, but maybe the group will be used by a wider group of goths in the future.
http://community.livejournal.com/gothhousing/
4. Goth Trademarket
A very busy LJ community for posting goth items for sale. The ads here are really interesting, and I'd much rather see them here in a community asking for the ads to be posted, than spammed in other communities that would rather have actual content posted. This community is a great way to blow your spending money on beautiful things you probably don't need but really would enjoy owning!
http://community.livejournal.com/gothtrademarket/
5. Gothic Babe of the Week
Still going strong after all these many long years. Ladies post beautiful pictures of themselves, and the commenters are amazingly kind and supportive. Tatyana still keeps it nicely moderated so you don't have to see spam or off topic posts. Visit every day to see more gorgeous goth girls.
http://community.livejournal.com/gothic_babes/
6. Gothic Decor
Wow, this Yahoo! group is still on topic, and someone cares enough to moderate the spam out of it. The group has been around since 2000, practically the "Dark Ages." There haven't been any posts in the last couple months, but I hope it will pick up. Goth home decor is an important topic, and something a lot of people get excited about.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gothicdecor/
7. Gothic Dollies
An LJ community for actual dolls (not girls who like to pretend they are dolls) made by goths or featuring goth and horror themes. Some posts are showcasing the dolls just for fun, others attempt to sell the dolls. Either way, this community is really interesting to browse through.
http://community.livejournal.com/gothicdollies/
8. Memento Mori
An LJ community for all things death. Funerals, cemeteries, memento mori, mourning jewelry, near death experiences, and more.
http://community.livejournal.com/hour_of_death
9. Ocular Xs
This community is full of awesome art! It specializes in Big sad eyes; characters with eyes overtaking their heads; spooky paintings of eyes that follow you; creepy dolls with enormously wide eyes; and sinister little children with big glistening eyes.
http://community.livejournal.com/ocularxs/
10. Real Vampires
A Yahoo! group. The Real-Vampires Community Alliance. I really respect what their charter states, so I'm reproducing it here for you: "Whatever your reasons for joining, we welcome you but we expect you to be your real self. Leave your "vampire persona" at the door. We are not role players. We seek to combat mainstream society's prejudice and discrimination by dispelling the myths and misconceptions surrounding our community. While you may use an alias to protect your identity, claims of immortality, shapeshifting, or other fictional abilities are not welcome."
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/real-vampires/
11. Deathly Decayed
A community for people who enjoy photographing cemeteries and tombstones.
http://community.livejournal.com/deathly_decayed
12. Deathrock
A community for discussing deathrock, batcave, and gothic rock music. I appreciate that this community is moderated to remove for-sale posts, and they limit club events to 2 posts per month. This way you can see more news and album announcements and major events that are upcoming.
http://community.livejournal.com/deathrock/
13. Spooky Style Guide
This community discusses dark and spooky decorating, designing, entertaining, and crafting year-round, not just at Halloween time.
http://community.livejournal.com/spookystyle/
--Carrie Carolin
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