Set up NodeBB this morning to kick the tires a bit, and I have to say, the reality of federation feels downright magical when seen inba medium that is traditionally small and fragmented. Watching my test posts show up on the NodeBB community forum, and then seeing my test replies show up back on this forum is surreal.
The ability to promote Mastodon posts to forum posts is super cool, too.
This thing has real potential. It's local first, but brings the wider fediverse into the small internet of the past. I see really great things for this form factor (forum factor?)!