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.
It is the best.
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.
yes.
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.
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 
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’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.
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.
I know. 
It’s among the best anyway.
Absolutely.
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
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.