# Is this the best message board on the internet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 7, 2002, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074 "2002-12-07T02:52:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074/41 "2002-12-09T18:49:49Z")
I live in dread of the _New York Times_ or someone like that discovering and profiling the SDMB—just _everyone_ will be wanting to come in. I like the fact that it’s still a fairly well-kept secret. ---
**Author:** ![OfBlinkingThings](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ebca7d/32.png) [@OfBlinkingThings](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OfBlinkingThings)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074/42 "2002-12-09T21:46:21Z")
It is the best. ---
**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074/43 "2002-12-09T22:31:05Z")
I’ve never looked back (even though I’ve not exactly posted particularly regularly, I look at the boards most days) since I discovered the SDMB. I’ve never found another board that comes close in terms of breadth and depth of interest. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074/44 "2002-12-09T22:41:40Z")
yes. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074/45 "2002-12-09T23:04:42Z")
Some days, after dealing with continuous trolls and complaints, I think to myself “I need to give up on the Straight Dope Message Board.” But then I remember why I came here in the first place. The smart posters we have here are what make this MB the best one. Thanks to all of you for your intelligence and participation. ---
**Author:** ![TheOtherOne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dbc845/32.png) [@TheOtherOne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheOtherOne)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074/46 "2002-12-09T23:20:28Z")
Me too! I haven’t ever bothered to check out any other boards in the past few years. I lurked for a long time, then decided for one reason or another to go ahead and register, and have never looked back 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2002, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074/47 "2002-12-09T23:23:39Z")
Hah! The reason this is the best message board is our Administrators and Moderators who put some teeth behind our members’ efforts to keep this the best place on the net. There are better websites for specific subjects – I particularly like [devx.com](http://devx.com)’s message boards for programming, but for general knowledge, debate, and information, this place is the best. Also, the level of genuine human caring is truly remarkable. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074/48 "2002-12-10T00:36:56Z")
Yes, it is the best, the most comprehensive, the most enlightening, the most caring community, the most entertaining and by far the most intelligent international group of people anywhere. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eutychus \* > \*\*Incidentally, **Pantone Swatchbook** … cool name! I’m a printer and may be one of the few people on the board who knows what your name refers to. \*\* I know. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Purd\_Werfect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e47c2d/32.png) [@Purd\_Werfect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purd_Werfect)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074/49 "2002-12-10T01:01:52Z")
It’s among the best anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074/50 "2002-12-10T01:15:46Z")
Absolutely. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074/51 "2002-12-10T01:22:52Z")
Well, in true SDMB fashion, let’s remember that we’re not looking at an unbiased sample here… Myself, I check out three messageboards daily: this one, the ENBoards (the best Dungeons & Dragons site out there), and the Rat Bastards Forum, a private MB for sadistic DMs. The other two, of course, are where I turn for specialized knowledge. But you guys make me laugh, and educate me, more than anywhere else on the Net. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2002, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074/52 "2002-12-10T02:01:41Z")
I’d say definitely, overall. We are probably the only board with a large, diverse, and literate membership. There are better boards for specialized stuff – but if you post _anything_ in GQ, somebody here knows about it or can dig up links. The same goes for Cafe Society. Excess energy can be drained off in the Pit – yet GD-level discussions often take place there (albeit with a lot more cursing). I don’t think there are any boards that have such a big membership, yet we’re much closer-knit than a lot of boards thanks to IMHO and MPSIMS. Even the lurkers feel like they know everybody. We have tough-as-nails mods that don’t stand for a lot of trollery. Spelling and grammar only gets a pass if English isn’t your first language. The best part is that everyone’s a skeptic (which is probably what makes Randi’s boards so good too). Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Ignorance is not tolerated by anyone. And there may be other boards (somewhere) that provide all of these things – but they aren’t nearly as big and fast-moving. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-the-best-message-board-on-the-internet/141074.md?page=2)