Be a gamer for long enough and soon you'll start taking an interest in all things related to it. If you want a better looking experience it means getting a better display or a faster video card. If you just can't stand all that waiting between load screens of Dragon Age or Elder Scrolls then you get a faster Hard drive or an SSD.
Sooner or later you may feel the need to interact with others of a like mind. You revel in the chance to discuss the merits and limitations of the latest hardware or game with others from all ages and interests.
Like any other online community devoted to a particular topic you'll find lively conversation and strong opinions on both sides of any argument. The value and intelligence of the discourse vary with the forum poster.
There is an issue, however, when you're a mid aged gamer.
While gaming has become mainstream across almost every demographic the hard core enthusiast tends to be on the younger side. Without making sweeping generalizations about the difference between generations I will caution you to tread lightly when entering forums.
More than once I've had the misfortune of having to deal with a gang of embryos consumed by their fanboydom and geekness. Their weaponry of personal attacks and empty statistics defies reasonable discourse. As much as you may want to pin their ears back it ultimately serves no purpose. You may be thinking about how to fit your addiction into line with keeping the lights on and paying your mortgage. They're thinking about frame rates at any cost because it's likely someone else is paying the bills.
Worse, if the moderator of such a forum also subscribes to a similar fascism you may be done before you start. Remember that the Internet is still the wild west. Just as Paypal isn't a bank (and many have found this out the hard way) forums are not bastions of free speech. More often than not a differing opinion from an article post or comment will be quashed without remorse. Doubly so if such contrary opinions threaten the site's advertising revenue or access to free hardware "for review".
My suggestion is that it's better to take a more passive stance on such sites. Enjoy the articles but resist the urge to post anything contrary to the group think at least until you've trolled the forums for awhile to get the lay of the land. If half the forum posts are consumed with " great article" or " you're an idiot" then just move on.
Better yet, start your own forum, post your own articles and when you get the attention of a major hardware vendor, resist the urge to have your opinion swayed by them. There are sites that claim to have done this but actions dictate otherwise more often than not. That's fine so long as you don't claim to be unbiased in your opinions.
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