Off topic, but this looks like a well organised, independent learning network. Where can I find others, on serious topics, that are independent of platforms or publishers? Is there an 'awesome' list of topic-based reading groups (not book clubs) for interested learners?
I don't know of a single resource, but I would search for "X [reading group OR journal club]".
Also, many academic associations, like ACM, have Special Interest Groups (SIG). Some SIGs have journal clubs but you might need to become a member or ask someone to add you to their Slack, Discord, etc.
thanks, this helps. i've tried different search terms with little success (descriptors for resource-based independent learning in groups are hard to refine). i'm retired so my professional affiliations have lapsed. and, with the freedom to pursue my interests, the possible topics are all over the place. but i'll look for some SIGs that might work (cultivating Australian native plants, tiny compiler design, etc).
I'm part of a math one, where each individual goes through books in their interest with the guidance of a person who has a PhD. He checks our proofs for us, which is super useful when learning, and is constantly learning new math (and physics) himself. It's platformed in on Discord, though, as that's where we meet. Sadly, I dunno if we'd be able to recreate it if Discord were to close down tomorrow, though we're also all on Reddit.
Just because I'm not the owner of the server, though I have been given permission to ask, look through my comments. I've mentioned it before, and mentioned who to contact on Reddit for it. Just mention you came from hackernews and he'll know it was me.
We have an analytic number theory book club at https://antmeet.github.io/. The reading sessions occur at 18:00 UTC from Monday to Friday. This is a book club though, not a reading group. We meet online and go through each page of the chosen book together. During the meetings, we illustrate the theorems with concrete examples, work out the intermediate steps not explicitly specified in the book, and then discuss any additional insight the club members may have to offer. See https://antmeet.github.io/boards/ for notes from the previous meetings.
