She’s on her own MBs and understands. But my wife will never understand (until she discovers a doll house MB), so I stay closeted with her. She thinks I took Eve’s Harlow book out from the library because I’m a sucker for show-biz biographies, which I am. I’m too uncomfortable to explain, “Well, I know the author and reading her book (for free) is the least I can do.”
The whole Wally thing would be beyond her, frinstance.
Anybody else here closet Dopers who don’t know how to say, “It’s not just a message board. And I AM friends with these people, sorta?”
Sorry, I can’t help you dropzone. I’ve always been a very open person.
Everyone who knows me hears about the SDMB, and the Dopers here. I’ve even given my doctor the url.
I talk about this place a lot with my family. In fact while the LIONsob’s uncle was having chocolate cream pie with whipped cream for desert on Thanksgiving day, I told him all about felching.
This is my own little world, which I protect and keep to myself, anymore. I let a lot hang out so I don’t want casual aquaintences having access to such intimate information. But, I am also not married or involved.
I’ve experienced a few misunderstandings in the past over the board. And, I’ve introduced one lady I was seriously involved with to the board. She still posts here.
Yep, dropzone. My MIL, stuck in the last century, thinks this sort of ‘nonsense’ is a complete waste of time. Of course, it’s ok that she sits and listens to talk radio all day, while watching tv at the same time. I’m going to have scars from all of the bite marks from the many times I start to say “On the board today…” or “Guess what Wally said today?” and I swallow it, knowing she’d never understand this place.
I am, however slowly but surely sucking my kids into this world, by having them read posts or even whole threads. And, as you all may know, I’ve sucked in one friend <pipefitter> and my hubby <Mr Bear>. And, it was Vestal Blue who sucked me into here, and now I can’t leave.
My dad has his own message board (I think it’s kind of like the SD, but more serious and for lawyers), so he understands, and my sister is a complete internet addict, so she isn’t in a position to question anyone else’s net habits. My mom is kind of clueless when it comes to the net, so I don’t really talk to her about it, but she’s pretty okat with it all. But I would NEVER give them a link to the SDMB. My dad and I sometimes discuss topics that have been discussed here, but I don’t show him anything. I don’t talk to friends or coworkers about it. Partly, it’s my own place, and partly, I don’t want non-internet people to think I’m kooky.
Well, I’ve only really told my parents that i’ve met people from this message board. They seem really OK with it, especially since they know you guys aren’t psychos (well, most of you :)). I think since they know i’m an adult, they trust me to make my own descisions and follow my own best judgement. They dont ask about it much about it. I havent told them what this board is about or what the chatroom is for, mostly cause this is my little place, and i want somewhere where my family isn’t lol.
I haven’t told my brothers, and i think my older bro and his fiancee would be OK with it, but i’m not sure if my twin would think it was weird or something. I havent even told my friends, cause we havent had enough time to hang out together to talk about it (i’d ask them what they thought of meeting people from the internet IRL to see how they’d react if i told them I had). Anyway, i was very nervous when I told my parents I was going up to San Francisco for the weekend with my internet friends, but all they said was “have a good time”, so I felt good about it.
I’ve told my parents about this, but haven’t giventhem the address or anything, I just had to share some of Wally’s stories. My gf also knows about this place and lurks. She’s registered under the name little_tiger (I think) but can’t post - I think because she uses WebTV, but I’m not sure if that has anything to do with it or not.
I’ve told my boyfriend and one of my close friends about the SDMB. My boyfriend and I always get a good laugh out of some of the threads here. He thinks that I just read the board though, he doesn’t know that I post stuff here and he doesn’t know my username. My friend Terrance just got a computer and will be joining soon. I’ll be sure to introduce him when he joins. Hopefully it will be the first of July!
I’ll mention an exchange on the board in conversation, but I long ago decided to stop trying to recruit my RL (hmmm, this thread challenges the use of that term) acquaintance to visit here. My long time business partner hears about it - she was really nice when I mentioned Wally passing away. My mother occassionaly asks if I’ve had any more to do with “those Internet people.”
My friends know I go to a message board but they don’t know which one. I will relate a story to them and they will often look at me oddly. This is my place. I was brought here by someone I rarely talk to anymore but I am glad I came.
A number of my closest buds, that I met online, post here as well, but I am still comfortable in saying what I like because they generally know whats going on in my life anyways.
As far as sharing this with an SO, I dont think I would.
I would share the board with someone that I thought was worthy to join the community. So far I haven’t told any one about it. Only because most of my friends are into other things on the net such as e-bay.
I wouldn’t have a problem with my friends and family knowing or seeing what I post. They know I’m the same whenever and where ever. I have no doubt that they could guess which poster I am after lurking for a day or two.
I’ve only been posting here for a couple of months but it hasn’t stopped me from telling everyone that I know about the SDMB.
I keep telling my wife about something I’ll have read on the board, or a fun thread or something. Who knows – one of these days she might convert and become a doper.
But this isn’t a “secret life” to me. It’s recreation. (I’m a couple of bits short of a sector in real life.)
A while back my wife and I met a coworker and her husband for lunch. After about 10 minutes the coworker looked at me with a wide-eyed dazed look and said, “You really are like this, aren’t you? I always figured you’d be different around your wife.”
I have relayed various stories from MPSIMS to my brother and my dad. My brother is in the process of traveling around the country and then on his way to London but is very interested in joining the SDMB once he settles back down in Boston. Also, as I mentioned in a previous thread several weeks ago, my boss doesn’t mind that I spend half my day here as he finds my stories about the people that post here entertaining.
OTOH, my SO does not understand this obsession at all, so I have stopped mentioning it. I DID tell him I was going to Vegas and when he asked with who, I said "some friends. When I described “felching” to him, he swears the people on this board made this up; NO ONE could be that gross!
Several of my co-workers know that I hang out here - they hear me laughing hysterically often enough - but I’ve only ever encouraged one of them to check it out, and that was pointed more towards the SD page, not the SDMB page. As previously mentioned, this is MY place, MY release. I don’t want to be selfish, but there are things I talk about here that I don’t need my co-workers knowing about, y’know? None of them know my screen ID. I have told them stories about specific threads; some of them get it, some don’t.
My SO knows I hang here, and has read some of the threads, but it’s not his thing - he prefers live chat. Most of my friends are not totally immersed in the Internet world like I am.
One of the things I like about the boards is the anonimity. There’s something about a keyboard that lets me say more.
I’ve tried to explain this place to friends and my husband, but it’s too no end. I think they think I’m into some kind of cyber porn, star trek, renfair, goth thing. It’s none of the above. It’s DOPE
They don’t get it. I consider this place my Elks Lodge, minus the funny hats.
I used to forward links to Cecil’s columns, particularly the archived stuff, to my friends, so they knew I was obsessed with this place even before I started getting into the SDMB. I talk about it to pretty much everybody outside of those who are more co-workers than friends, and have so far managed to hype it enough to make one person join (my friend PattyCake).
I think the point at which I realized I was talking about it a lot was when I started to tell my BF something about “that message board I’m on,” and he instantly responded with, “Yes, I know all about that message board you’re on!”
When I mention to friends that “someone said something nice about my book” [thanks, drop!], “I’m going out with friends tonight” or “someone I know just died,” and they press for details . . . Hmmm. When I say, “it’s someone I know on a message board,” I always get the kind of eye-rolling response that makes me think I accidentally said, “I met them at a David Hasselhoff Fan Club Meeting” or “I found them through a mail-order bride catalog.”
And, as you all may know, I’ve sucked in one friend <pipefitter> and my hubby <Mr Bear>. And, it was Vestal Blue who sucked me into here, and now I can’t leave. 
