From free libraries and archives to web tools and communities such as Reddit itself, users of the front page of the internet shared their favorite free resources from around the World Wide Web.
The now removed thread posted to r/AskReddit reads like a love letter to the good old internet, where users connected and shared knowledge.
u/Electronic_Author366 asked, "What is something free from the internet everyone should take advantage of?" Over one hundred responses weighed in with a litany of suggestions.
One commenter pointed out that free resources available online are underrated. "I’ve lost whole afternoons just reading random stuff and learning things I’d never seek out otherwise," u/ZcriptureZ wrote. "There are entire bachelor's degrees' worth of information on YouTube," added u/Knineteen.
Here's what others had to share...
1. BBC archives
"The BBC archives - aka iPlayer / Sounds, there is almost 100 years of programming available in some cases, programmes like In Our Time are an insanely great cultural resource. And so much great radio comedy." —u/JCDU
2. Radio Garden
"Listen to stations from all around the world." —u/272027
3. Project Gutenberg
"It has over 60,000 free eBooks. Basically all the classic literature (Sherlock Holmes, Frankenstein, Pride and Prejudice) is there for free because the copyright expired." —u/Pixeko
4. LibriVox
"Free audiobooks of public domain works, all read by volunteers. Pair it with Project Gutenberg and you've got classics covered in both formats." —u/Time_Profession_4539
5. DIYs and repairs on YouTube
"DIY fixes for repairing things around the house on YouTube - that you would otherwise need to call a professional for." —u/3xlduck
"Just about any repair you can think of some person has already made a detailed guide on YouTube. Just fixed my trunk latch, thank you to the old guy with the same car as me who took the time to document it." —u/zerbey
6. Foobar
"I see so many people complaining about music streaming these days that I figured I would remind people that they could just go back to having music in their own computer.
You can use online platforms for discovery still, or maybe use them every once in a while to support an artist that you like, but having your music right there on a highly customizable music player of your choice is just good. I think that people forgot how good it is to have control over that." —u/Insecticide
7. Astrology websites
"Drag me all you like for this suggestion, but I really think everyone should go to one of the free sites (Astrolabe is one) type in your info and read your astrological birth chart. The accuracy will probably surprise you. Even if it doesn’t, you’ve only wasted 5 or 10 mins. Works best if you know the exact time and place of birth, within two hours will give the best results." —u/J0an_0f_Sn4rK
8. Library Genesis
"The library Genesis website. it's like the Pirate Bay but for textbooks and it has saved my broke as thousands." —u/Accomplished-Tree551
9. Reddit, of course
"Reddit (specifically the subs that are straight up made to help people)." —u/InitialLevel4189
10. Wayback Machine
"The Wayback Machine Website of archives." —u/coolbr33z
11. Dictionaries
"Far too many of you struggle with the most basic words." —u/BaseballFuryThurman
12. Public domain entertainment
"r/Publicdomain is a subreddit that keeps a lookout for stuff entering the public domain." —u/LuckySEVIPERS
13. Online libraries
"I’ve lost whole afternoons just reading random stuff and learning things I’d never seek out otherwise. It feels nice to use the internet for curiosity instead of doomscrolling for once." —u/ZcriptureZ
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