Yeah... I don't know if the person you're mentioning meant productive stuff or not, but I was in a pretty niche community there. One where parents were dealing with their kids on operating tables, but not often. It was as exactly the kind of thing internet forums were made for: medical advice from doctors, venting and whatnot from strangers who'd been there. I said a lot of practical helpful things and a lot of meaningless nice platitudes at the right time.

And I was happy to do it the same way I swapped guitar tabs as a kid.

There's honest money in making a community space.

There's no honest money in monetizing a community.