I’ve learned tons from all of the cool stuff that other people on this board know.
Also, I’ve learned to be very grateful for the life I have.
It would never in a million years have occurred to me otherwise that a Canadian person might expect me to take my shoes off in his or her house.
It wouldn’t even have occurred to me to wonder if semen fries up like an egg, but I’m glad I know.
I get a lot of great non-fiction book reccomendations, too.
Definately worth five bucks.
Oh, I forgot - when I saw a sport on the high cable channels I didn’t recognize with a bunch of attractive young Irish men in short shorts with what looked like oversized salad tossers, the SDMB told me within the hour that it was called hurling.
It helps me waste time. This can be bad, but it helps when I’m writing or doing research to take regular yet enriching breaks. I can write a sentence or two and then click refresh on the SDMB to see how an interesting thread is progressing. After I’ve posted a response, I can go back to writing. It helps me to have my fun while still keeping up the appearance that I’m working.
I’m a pretty isolated person. The board helps to remind me that there’s a world outside of my existence.
Also, it has done wonders for my self-esteem to see others digest my opinions. Even when I’m getting slammed, I enjoy being able to communicate my feelings, experiences, and ideas with others. In real life, I’m very laid back, kinda quiet and quiet awkward. When I open my mouth, the words get all twisted and blocked by emotions. That doesn’t happen when I’m online.
I found the love of my life here (and he met his!), and we’re to be married on 7 August this year - what more could we ever want? We often say “Thank God for the Dope” 
Well,the books,of course.I have a folder chock-full of threads about books.
I’ve learned that there are people I think of as kids who are much smarter than I am; that some of my thought processes were (okay,are) seriously warped or illogical; that I have to really struggle to rid myself of prejudices against people who seem unable to spell or form a coherent sentence; and that I often leave this site mentally exhausted from attempting to fathom what the shape of the universe is,or anything that fascinates me but is too complex for the brain cells that I have left over from the 60’s and 70’s. I was intimidated for a couple of years before I got memberized,and now years later I’m just as intimidated,and for everything except the books I’m hugely pissed!
And now I’m paying this exorbitant fee in order to go on feeling inadequate. Call me a cockeyed masochist. Do it to me now. PLEASE! Or I’ll go on posting, and once I reach 500 there’ll be no stopping me.
QQ very usful when answers needed (have used for comp probs more than once, etc.), personal advice and fun in IMHO, entertainment and debate in GD.