I’m checking out this place from another (much smaller) discussion forum. I apparently posted once before, 13 years ago. Live in Los Angeles, very early 60s F, happily married. Looking for something a little less feud-y than that forum, which is very lightly moderated (by a handful of us).
We’ve been retired for a year, travel as much as we can, love smart discussion.
Any suggestions for a newbie? Frankly I’m overwhelmed. There’s a LOT of traffic here, more people, more rules etc. Which is fine, probably what I’m looking for.
Basically, I’d like to be entertained by friendly people on the internet, even if I can’t sleep at 3 am.
“Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share” (which is often just general chatting on a given topic, though it’s also the place where “breaking news” threads get put)
“Cafe Society” (discussion about arts, music, TV, movies, etc.)
“The Game Room” (discussion about sports, video games, role-playing games, board games, etc.)
“Thread Games” (actual ongoing games between board members, mostly word games and trivia games)
The other forums are often more debate-y, and can get more heated (particularly “Great Debates” and “Politics and Elections”), which may not be exactly what you’re looking for. Also, probably best to stay away from “The BBQ Pit” (which is as close as this place gets to no-holes-barred).
I’d also suggest making sure you read the specific rules for each of those forums (which are in pinned notes at the top of the forums), and browse some threads in those forums, to see if there are conversations and topics which interest you.
Another good resource is the most revised general rules, as opposed to the forum-specific rules:
(You of course may have already reviewed them, since you mentioned the “more rules” but juuuuust in case. NOTE - think this is the most recently discussed version (with feedback), but see also the full TOS)
I also echo @kenobi_65’s suggestions for least charged forums to follow. One additional is probably IMHO (like it sounds) which is a step-up in seriousness from MPSIMS in intensity but a step down from the more charged Great Debates.
But it is absolutely more debate-y - so, in keeping to your wishes and Kenobi’s completely valid recommendations, it might be the next expansion after getting your feet wet in the forums they advise on.
Welcome (back) to the board! I’m sure you’ll fit in just fine. All that the mods ask for is basic civility and generally staying on topic, the latter especially in Great Debates and Politics & Elections. Since staying civil for a long time can build up frustrations, the Barbecue Pit is the forum for unleashing them – rudeness and hostility are welcome there!
Well, the board is open all night, but I think you’ll find that because most of the members are in North America (and mostly in the US) there tends to be little activity in the wee hours, except for our European friends and a few others in exotic time zones, and a few occasional nighthawks like me.
Like any good diner. At any time, you can have a nice light lunch (MPSIMS, Cafe Society, Thread Games), something a little more substantial (IMHO, FQ), or go for the full hefty dinner (Great Debates, Politics and Elections). And an all-day breakfast in any of them, because the board is open 24/7.
The BBQ Pit is the deep-fried-artery-clogging everything that every diner offers and that nutritionists warn you about. Fine in small amounts, and often no problem if in moderation, but dangerous if too often indulged in.
This board is a little different here than many other discussion groups.
For example, you may be asked to defend your position (particularly in the weightier sections). If you do this in a measured, reasonable manner, linking to authoritative studies or reputable media, you’ll be fine. If your cites are absent or bogus, well, it can be ugly.
People can be harsh and sneering. Not being a jerk is a struggle for some. Making sure you can back up a statement will armor you against these remarks. If someone insults you personally, outside the Barbecue Pit, report them to admin. It’s not allowed. But your argument can be picked apart and dismissed, which can feel like much the same thing, although it isn’t.
Demographically you’re a great fit for this crowd. That describes a lot of us.
Not much to add to the excellent explanations and advice from others above.
This board used to be much busier. As folks have slowly left (or died), what remains are mostly long-time members. So a bit like being at a party with in-laws where you know nobody other than your spouse while everybody else knows everybody else well, that can be a bit awkward. You may be asked to defend your opinion on something that was part and parcel of your career while e.g. Bob isn’t asked the same. Because we all already know Bob used to be a [whatever] and we don’t know that you used to do the same thing. Etc.
Which raises a cultural point. In Discourse (our board software), it’s normal / polite to refer to somebody by @pezworld. Type the @ and start their name and a dropdown of choices will appear. Doing that notifies them that they’ve been mentioned. If for some reason you don’t want to notify them use boldface: pezworld. That makes the name stand out to your readers. That’s a nuance item, but it’ll make you look like a local, not a noob.
I would add that it has drifted from it’s “Straight Dope” mission considerably since you last visited, and is now more like a bunch of elders down at the coffee shop shooting the breeze. Mostly harmless, but you’ll quickly note that a lot of folks here tend to feel that their personal experience speaks for great swaths (or swathes for some of us) of the human condition. We typically can’t remember how narrow our slice must necessarily be.
If you have an unquenchable desire to know when people do their laundry or haul their trash bins to the curb, you must drop in the the MMP. There’s a new one every Monday (or Moanday, as we call it) and we just hang out and share the trivialities of our lives, keeping the rest of the board free of it. We’re a friendly group, for all that it may appear clique-ish at first. You will be welcomed warmly if you decide to pop in.
Oh, and there’s the whole nickname thing that will confuse, amaze, and delight you, or tick you off. It’s all part of the not-so-secret club fun.
Personally, I’d say that the core of this board is the Factual Questions forum. You can ask a factual question about pretty much any topic imaginable, from black hole singularities to the culinary properties of semen, and get informed, intelligent answers and discussion. We seem to have a knack for attracting experts on esoteric topics, often topics so esoteric that there is only one expert on them in the entire world.
Hello and welcome back! I’m glad you found us again.
I think this is one of the smartest groups of people you will find on the internet…which reminds me of the tagline for the SDMB forums: “Your direct line to thousands of the smartest, hippest people on the planet, plus a few total dipsticks.” I think this is still fairly accurate.
Unlike some specialty interest group message boards that I’ve participated in, we don’t have a bunch of self-professed experts determined to tell everyone else what they are doing wrong or pushing their agenda.
I personally like the fact that people write in complete sentences and are asked to provide sources/cites for their assertions. Of course people are also free to express their opinions.
Finally, I think it’s less cliquey here than some other message boards I’ve participated in, but it could be that I’m just used to it.
I totally agree with this as well. The Factual Questions (formerly General Questions) forum is what first attracted me to the board, and in fact @Chronos was one of the first board members I interacted with when I joined some 24 years ago.
So welcome again, @pezworld! I think you’ll fit in just fine.
I’m relatively new, though, and got taken into the community with what felt like little trouble. I did lurk for a while before joining, so I had some idea what was going on.
And it’s still busy enough for me to spend way too much time here.
I was looking for a place where it’s possible to talk about just about anything, and where a request for “cite please” will generally be responded to with a cite instead of with indignation. While I’ve seen occasional exceptions to the latter, overall that’s what we’ve got here.
To build on this a bit more, as it’s a part of the board’s culture:
If one makes a factual assertion in one’s post (e.g., “a study showed that most people prefer dogs over cats”), and it’s a fact/assertion that hasn’t previously been shared in that discussion (and isn’t a fact that is simply generally known by all, like “Lincoln was a U.S. President”), board etiquette is that one should include one or more citations/links (“cites”) to web articles, studies, etc., which support the assertion.
If one does not do so, one can expect others to ask “cite?” – that is, “can you support that assertion?”
Providing cites is particularly important in the more factually-based and weightier forums (especially Factual Questions).
Thanks, folks for the welcome! This place seems a lot like my current forum, but bigger. Maybe a tiny bit more NA-centric here as there are a fair number Aus/NZ and UK/Euro posters there. As with any discussion forum, they shout “link, please,” but the feuds and other bad behavior are getting to me after 20 years. And yes, I’m a moderator there, committing high treason for posting this, but someone there suggested this place.
This place could be a bolt-hole for me, but I doubt I’ll wade into heavy debates before mostly lurking a while. Cheers!
Cheers indeed. And welcome! if I didn’t say it well enough before.
We have a handful each of Kiwis and Aussies who are regulars. Maybe a dozen UK folks and a dozen or so Europeans. A couple-few from Africa. Some Far East residents, but IIRC they’re all US-born ex-pats who’ve been there for decades.
