What is the best way to get started?

[Abnaxis]

I have an idea for my own mod, and I am an experienced programmer. However, I don't want to waste my time working on something that someone else already tried and found couldn't work within Factorio. Is there a good place for modders to go and discuss ideas?

[Impatient]

You are at the right place. Post an outline of your idea in the subforum "Ideas and mod requests" and see if someone bothers to take a look.

Another approach would be to comb the forum and mod portal for keywords.

[Choumiko]

https://discord.com/invite/factorio #mod-making is also nice if you want to discuss more in real time