Everyone thinks I’m eccentric enough as it is.
Everyone else is strange.
My husband learned to accept that every other phrase out of my mouth is “…on the message board…” long, long ago. I refer to him as a lurker but technically, he is not even that. He is registered–he’s on the Master List in ATMB–but he has not posted beyond that and I’m not sure if he ever will. Sometimes when I print off and read him a thread about how much a movie we like sucks, he will say, “I should log on there and explain some things to those people!”–but he never does.
He does somewhat understand the dynamic of the posting board because he was very active on several local BBS boards years ago and they used to meet in person sometimes. However, it is a little different meeting people who live on streets you have travelled down your entire life and meeting someone who lives in another country! To his credit, when I came home the other morning and told him about Wally, he said, “Wally died? That’s awful!” and when I thanked him for not thinking I was weird he said, “No, I don’t think you are weird. You may have never seen him in person but he was still your friend and when friends die, it hurts.” He even offered to stay home from work to be with me if I wanted him too!
My mom has a little message board that she posts on that is made up of people who grew up in and around her hometown in England. It doesn’t have discussions–it’s just a place for people to come and say, “Hey, remember that old candy store that used to be on the corner across from the church?” and stuff like that. Needless to say, she thinks I’m a little weird for being so involved on the internet.
My little brother, however, is convinced that all of you (not just Coldfire) are perverted, middle-aged, serial killer-types just looking for easy prey and that only losers and pedophiles hang out in chat rooms and on message boards.
Uh-oh! She’s onto us! Y’all trace the IP, I’ll sharpen up the knives, heat the branding irons and get the handcuffs ready!
I met my boyfriend online, my mother met her boyfriend online, and my best friend met her boyfriend online LOL Those are the only people I know who understand this world so I keep my mouth shut to other people. My boyfriend and I don’t frequent the same boards, (he is a regular on a financial board) but we share what is going on at each one all the time. Sooo, a nice deal for both of us!
Shirley Ujest said:
<…Rodd Hill sadly takes off funny hat and replaces it on the shelf…>
I often mention the board to my best rl friend; he’s a serious Straight Dope fan, so he gets it. He occasionally lurks here, when I direct him to a thread he finds particularly interesting. I don’t recall mentioning my screen name to him, but he could easily deduce it from my posts. The only difference between the way I post here and the way I talk is that I have many more interesting and intelligent people to communicate with here.
I haven’t mentioned it to anyone else, just because I don’t know anyone else who’d really be interested. I just direct people to the SD homepage. If they belong on the board, they’ll find it.
Eve wrote:
Eve, what was the point of lying about this? No one IRL would roll their eyes at a reference to David Hasselhoff, who is the Renaissance Man of our times!! And just so manly!
I haven’t actually hidden SDMB from friends, but I haven’t given the link out either. I fully intend to get my roommate involved, but I’m deliberately holding back until the end of July, as he is studying for the bar exam. I refuse to be responsible for him failing.
As for the SO, Ms. Hypothetical, I haven’t posted anything yet I’d be embarrassed about. By the time Ms. Hypothetical changes into Mrs. Real, that may change. I’ll see where I stand at that point.
Sua