Pictures, or it didn’t happen.
Oh, god, there better not be pictures. Or someone’s going down. And not in a good way.
I SAID I’D DO IT! I SAID I’D DO IT!!!
OK, who are you on Sitcoms Online? 
There was a Dopefest that gave rise to a sudden and very loud argument and cursing in Gettysburg a few years ago. It was unexpected and I am sure unplanned. But no actual fighting. Still a pretty bad moment at an otherwise fun and family friendly gathering.
There was another Dopefest where somebody started mooning people. This was in someone’s home and the host wasn’t particularly happy about it.
I know people that read the Dope that I would love to meet up with to beat the shit out of each other…
…but we’re all members of the SCA, so we do that kinda thing for fun, not anger. 
That’s pretty much what Dopers are, we may disagree, vitriolically, but we’re smarter than the av-er-age bear (I’ve noticed that’s what sets Dopers apart in my book) and know that that isn’t the way to resolve arguements in real life.
I remember back in my BBS days I would argue passionately with another poster about politics, he was right right I was left wing. He was almost always wrong, never listened to my arguements, and frustrated the shit out of me when we’d post - at least in the politics board. Other boards, he had some great stories, and when we met at the regular BBS meets, he was the one I spent most of my time tlakiong with because he’s such an interesting guy. Politics rarely came up (and it was usually teasing each other in a lighthearted way).
While I’ve never been to a Dopefest (too far away), I’d like to think taht at them the great maxim by Linus Van Pelt is obeyed: “There are three things one should never discuss in mixed company: politics, religion, and the Great Pumpkin.” (The fact we talk about controversial issues on boar is because, well, it’s a message board that has a place to discuss those topics!) I gather if I met those that frustrate me on the board in real life, I’d wind up buying them a beer.
This is possibly the most entertaining thing I have read all week!
Small point of contention. Where did this meme of the Dope being smarter than the average person come from? I find it a little self-aggrandizing. I would say that the Dope is well moderated, and most posters take care to be thoughtful and grammatically correct. I’d actually turn it around somewhat - most messageboards are poorly moderated and commenters aren’t particularly careful, in my experience.
BTW, I really enjoyed my one Dopefest in Boston - Winston Smith and Robot Arm are cool people, as well as everyone else I met that evening. And the bill, to my knowledge, was split fair and square. 
Anyone want to fight me? Or maybe I’ll start an Austin Dopefest…
Once again you and I seem to see eye-to-eye. Careful Hippy.
Yeah, it was based on my one Dopefest experience where a small group insisted on dining on the roof of the restaurant - where only appetizers were served, screwing over those of us who were there for an actual meal. Filling up on appetizers is the most expensive possible way to dine. The situation was made much worse by the number of people who drank like fish, threw a $20 on the table and skedaddled before the bill came. I wound up contributing an additional $60 (I believe) to keep the host from being totally screwed and swore to never attend another one of these things without individual checks.
Why, I oughtta …
I assume it is based on the fact that people will challenge you to back up your claims with cites, especially in Great Debates.
Holy crap. You should come to a SoCal Dopefest. We always end up leaving really nice tips (I think one time it was close to 50%) because everyone throws in plenty of money.
Sure, but that area of the country has a long, glorious tradition of ostentatious tipping. This was Chicago.
That sucks that the people you were with were so sucky or terrible at math. I been to many Dope events and hosted many and never had a problem like that. Even one in Chicago but that one probably doesn’t count as there were only 3 of us.
That’s true, but that is more of a point that this is an evidence-based community than people being “above average intelligence.” Because, frankly, I didn’t become a member of this community in lieu of a Mensa membership. People here are mostly cool, interesting, a little nerdy, which I think describes me to an extent. I work at a university so it’s easy to find the company of smart people, but my favorite folks while very clever are humble, funny, and decent. Which trumps the “smarter than average” label.
Back to the issue of DopeFights. It reminds me of the time I was doing academic decathlon in HS and two of the senior guys got into a fight at our coaches’ house before the tourney. It was one of the most embarrassing things I’ve ever seen - bad shit talking, pussy-assed blows being thrown (and not connecting), ending with asthmatic wusses trading headlocks and ripped shirts.
Now I want to instigate a squabble between two Dopers. It would be awesome to watch.
The pee seat lady at the Chicago Dopefest really made an impression, eh?
I was going to answer yes, but it turns out that guy wasn’t actually a doper, he just had a funny name. Oh well, sorry about that dude.
I am planning to visit Texas some day (maybe when Lynn Bodoni comes through with her offer to hire me as a gardener). I’ll pencil you in.