# If you became famous, Do you think you'd forget about the SDMB?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [July 3, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947 "2005-07-03T20:22:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/1 "2005-07-03T20:22:45Z")

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Suppose you became famous. A celebrity that most knew or at least heard about. Movie star, writer, inventor, athlete, or anything else that would make you recognizeable (and there’s a lot of things out there that can do this) and asked by people for autographs.  
Would you still post here? Would you still find the time each day or week to put aside to log in here and post like you always did? Or would your username collect dust and become something people only talk about from then on? (Well, **Hal Briston** -Yes, THAT **Hal Briston** , the one now banging Julia Roberts-used to come here. See? His name? Right there. He even confessed one time to giving great oral sex to his wife!)  
What would you do?  
Me, I’d like to think I’d remain the same. Sure, my life would change and I’d probably be a million dollars or more richer, but I’d still log on here every time I was around a computer and post.

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**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/2 "2005-07-03T20:37:57Z")

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Fame is a very personal thing. Some people let it go to their heads and they become imersed in it. Believing they are somehow different, somehow unlike status quo.  
Personally, I don’t know how much fame I would allow myself to have. In the world of academia, I have papers and articles published, and in the feild of Environmental Psychology I am at least known to some. To me that is about all I want to allow.  
This doesn’t really answer your question in full. But it gives some personal perspective.

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**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/3 "2005-07-03T20:48:12Z")

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I seriously doubt that I’d keep posting here – but not out of any inflated ego, merely because I can’t imagine that I’d have the time. As it is, my participation here ebbs and flows with how busy my regular, non-famous life is (or, like this summer, is not).

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**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/4 "2005-07-03T20:55:00Z")

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Well, I already am famous and I’ve just never told you. Actually, I’m Paris Hilton. It’s hot!

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**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/5 "2005-07-03T21:06:49Z")

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I’d stick ar, but I would try to avoid being known as a famous person here.

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**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/6 "2005-07-03T21:12:40Z")

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I have a few story ideas, but I really doubt they will ever work, commercially. None the less, you can bet that I will not forget all the high quality doping here. 😃

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**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/7 "2005-07-03T21:18:28Z")

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I’d like to think that the first thing I’d do with my fame (and accompanying fortune) is pay for brand-new servers and more tech support for the Dope, so it would be fast and free. Then…I would probably spend much less time here. ☹

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**Author:** ![dare\_devil007](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@dare\_devil007](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dare_devil007)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/8 "2005-07-03T21:20:55Z")

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> [@Misnomer](#):
>
> I seriously doubt that I’d keep posting here – but not out of any inflated ego, merely because I can’t imagine that I’d have the time. As it is, my participation here ebbs and flows with how busy my regular, non-famous life is (or, like this summer, is not).

This is what I was thinking, too. If I became famous, I’d love to still hang around, but I think that’s probably the most I’ll be able to do, depending on what I’m famous for. But, I’d definitely not forgot about this place. 🙂

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**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/9 "2005-07-03T22:07:43Z")

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How could I ever forget all those little people who were among the first to appreciate my unrecognized brilliance. Dear, dear, little people. _No touching!_

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**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\
**Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/10 "2005-07-03T23:52:02Z")

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I would definitely have in my employ, a SD Reader and Analyzer, bringing to me only those threads that would make me happy.

Yup.

And I would pay her well.

And , she would be naked.

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**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/11 "2005-07-04T00:16:18Z")

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I’ve had less time to post lately because I’m working, and I’m not even famous. :smack: Unless it conflicted with my occupation in some way or I was just too busy, I think I’d keep at it.

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**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/12 "2005-07-04T01:13:38Z")

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Well, I’d stick around because I love it here, and it’s the best place to ask a question and get it answered quickly. But I’d have to hide my fame from you all. Because all the adoration and clamoring for autographs would get tiring pretty quick. 🙂

Honestly, though, I’d like to think that I’d still come here occasionally to read and contribute to threads. But, as others have already said, my Straight Dope time is dependent on how much free time I actually have. So if my fame and fortune keep me very busy, you’d probably see less of me.

The chances of my achieving fame through my work are very slim, so I don’t think I have to worry about potential Dope abandonment quite yet.

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**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/13 "2005-07-04T01:15:20Z")

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I would still post here giving all of my close personal friends valuable insight to the drunken debaucheries, cat fights, and kow towing I witness and partake in.

I would, I promise, to work in secret doper words into interview answers and possibly the scripts of the movies I would star in. Just because I will always be a doper, no matter how large my fortune or ego.

I would ask the real life burning questions that you have always wanted to ask the stars and report back.

🙂

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**Author:** ![inkleberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f17d59/32.png) [@inkleberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/inkleberry)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/14 "2005-07-04T01:22:41Z")

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I must confess…

Secretly, I’m really…

Are you ready?

I’m so nervous!

It’s been a secret for so long!

Ok, enough stalling. I’m really Don Knotts

I’m sorry to all the people who I’ve mislead. I’ll make it up to you with a free jaunty scarf tying lesson.

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**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/15 "2005-07-04T01:23:15Z")

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It would probably be refreshing to have at least one place to come to where people related to you based on what you had to say rather than on your reputation or money – a place where you could be totally yourself without pretention or masks.

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**Author:** ![congodwarf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@congodwarf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/congodwarf)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/16 "2005-07-04T01:24:46Z")

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I’d never let fame get in the way of my time here. This place is too much fun. But, I’d also have a laptop with me at all times so I could play City of Heroes every time I get a break. Since I usually come here before playing and after logging for the night, I’d always find the time. I also don’t think I’d care if you all knew I was famous.

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**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/17 "2005-07-04T02:24:43Z")

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If I were famous, I’d probably become reclusive. Not so much because of the fame, but because the money I’d no doubt have would allow me to sit on my arse at home a lot, an activity I enjoy.

I’d keep the SDMB as a bunch of people who either liked me, disliked me, or were indifferent before I became famous. And their former attitudes would be verifiable, so there’d be no IRL-style fawning, because they’d get called out for it.

That said, if my fame was disruptive to the boards, I’d leave.

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**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/18 "2005-07-04T03:02:27Z")

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> [@Shirley Ujest](#):
>
> I would, I promise, to work in secret doper words into interview answers and possibly the scripts of the movies I would star in.

Do you know how _cool_ that would be? Already, whenever I meet someone who seems like a Doper type, I feel like tossing a 1920’s style Death Ray into the conversation, just to see if they’re, you know, one of _us_.

Imagine having Doperisms on the big screen! 🆒

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**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/19 "2005-07-04T05:39:16Z")

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I’ll dump all you losers like a bad habit the first chance I get!

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**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\
**Post date:** [July 4, 2005, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947/20 "2005-07-04T06:53:53Z")

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Depends. To answer the question somewhat seriously, I think any Doper who became famous would not want every thread they have ever started to be scrutinized, nor every post they have ever made…

Imagine if the National Enquirer were to go back and read every single thing you have ever written here on the board…not even taking it out of context…I think a lot of people might not exactly want that to be public information. A lot of threads in the past have shown that people don’t even tell their friends they are here because…well, it is nobody’s business.

But don’t be too sure that there aren’t some “famous” people already members of this board who do not want their real identities known.

[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-became-famous-do-you-think-youd-forget-about-the-sdmb/310947.md?page=2)
