I suspect (though I may well be mistaken) that the “Member”/“Guest” distinction, at least here on Discourse, is an artifact of whether the poster in question had a paid membership at the time of the switchover from vBulletin to Discourse – as we haven’t had the ability to pay for membership, nor re-up old memberships, since that changeover, and the subsequent passing of TubaDiva.
Oh. I think I did pay before. Forgotten how long ago.
Oh man. Imagine if @Beckdawrek and @Sampiro had a baby. Test-tube of course. The SDMB’s gift to the world!
ISTM that some folks confuse introvert with outcast. I’m definitely an introvert, but I have a good full-time job, get along well with my coworkers, have a wife and son who love me, have a few close friends, and a good relationship with my folks and brother (who live in another state). I like the Dope because it gives me a conversational outlet that doesn’t make me feel uneasy or awkward (like social situations with strangers often do).
I can relate to this, too.
I’ve been a member of the SDMB for years, but I don’t feel that I’m an outcast in real life. I’ve got a wide circle of friends and associates, from all walks of life; and after all the travelling I’ve done over the past year, I seem to be very good at striking up conversations with the folks around the airport bar. As somebody once said, “Being nice is just as easy as being nasty, and it makes you a helluva lot more friends.”
I wouldn’t call myself an introvert, but neither would I call myself an extrovert. I’m just me.
I have a good number of friends where we can just sit and talk about in-depth stuff for a couple hours. However, many of these friends have made comments to me to the effect of “I don’t have other friends” or “You’re my closest friend” or “I don’t talk about this kind of stuff with other people.” I think a lot of people find it less intimidating to post their thoughts on social media (SDMB is a form of social media) than to specifically pick out a person to open up to and show your vulnerability. Depth isn’t synonymous with vulnerability, but I think there’s some overlap.
All of my social interactions outside of family are online.
I can relate to what you are saying…having to “dumb down” when discussing things with certain people and wanting to have more in depth discussion about things with people.
But when I do find people smart enough to have in depth discussions about stuff I almost always find myself just listening to others talk without really saying anything myself.
I am in this awkward place where I am smart enough to get tired "dumbing down’ conversations but not actually “smart enough” to contribute to intellectual conversations because most smart people are are more educated/better talkers than I am. It is very frustrating.
Which is I mostly interact socially online where it is easier to leave interactions if I feel out classed.
Through my teen years, as a socially awkward, long-haired, gay musician, I was most certainly an outcast, in regard to my peers, and my conservative midwestern relatives. To the latter, I’m still an outcast, but in reality, I lead a rather social, although somewhat introverted, life. Having said that, there will always be a soft spot in my heart for outcasts. Been there, done that.
Extrovert here, with active social life. Working from home since COVID has been a burden to me, I miss the social interaction.
omg, did you just summon Sampiro? Hope so.
I’m not an outcast in real life. I think I’ve cast everybody else out, though, except my spouse, brother, and mom. Once a year or so each, I catch up with a few very old friends on the phone, and one cousin, and I find that while they love talking to me, they don’t seem to ask any questions. 
But perhaps this is merely because I’m very, very dull.
Or, in seriousness, the friendships have cooled as we all continue to age and our lives diverge.
When I’m at Kroger, I only want to find the Cheese Whiz and best post-dated 1% milk, but people keep trying to engage me on intellectual things.
If only I was an SDMB member I could hold my own. 
outcast, no
outlier? definitely
i’m way out on one end of the bell curve by more than one measure. it can get lonely out here, but hanging out in the crowded middle is taxing in it’s own way
i insert myself into the matrix whenever i need that more mainstream kind of social connection (or need to subject myself to it in order to get or do something else important to me) and otherwise tend to hang out with other outliers enjoying deep conversations, collaboration, art, etc.
Should we welcome you though? We don’t want to run you off. 
I’m not an outcast. I’m unsocial by choice. The pandemic made it much easier.
“outcast”? No. At least not in the sense that I think everyone is out there doing all this fantastic stuff but not including me.
Although I mentioned it in some other threads, but between most of our actual friends moving away, day to day logistics with the kids, and my wife wanting to spend most of our weekends out in the country by her parents, I really no longer have much of a social life. Not like I want to be out partying until 3 am in Manhattan like I’m still in my 20s…or 30s. I’d just like to do stuff with other adults from time to time without kids in tow.
I am outgoing and social, and offline am in no way an outcast or awkward. I actively engage with some very diverse groups such as university students, Burners, outdoor enthusiasts, artists and political activists.
I definitely don’t feel a need to dumb myself down for my friends or even casual acquaintances. Even when my interests are intellectual or scientific or niche-hobby-specific, I generally find ways to communicate this that aren’t alienating to less-informed- or -involved people, but also I can usually find something in their interests to engage with.
Communication is an acquired skill, I find. A lot of people claim extroversion as an excuse for never actually acquiring it.
Not an outcast, but I definitely enjoy solitude and absolutely detest crowds. I grew up a military brat, constantly moving ‘somewhere else’ just as I made any real friends. Being painfully shy in the first place, the effort to ‘belong’ was a big hurdle to jump. After a while, it just seemed pointless to even try.
I’m retired now, but when I did work, it was in retail with a constant need to engage with and help people, and I was good at it. If you had asked my boss or the customers, they would have told you that I am outgoing and pleasant to interact with. I fake it well after lots of practice doing so.
I really relate to ‘just smart enough’, and find myself not interacting even online much. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve written out a reply or comment only to delete it. As far as the lockdown? I had been practicing for that my entire life. Give me an internet connection and I’m good.
Yeah, the pandemic was great for that, except for all the extroverts whining.
We’re not members, we’re ramones.
This just popped up in my feed.
I have always felt like an outsider, since I was 5. Tis why I’ve always liked the Ramones, John Waters et al.
Here I am accepted, .long as I behave.