What first attracted you to the SDMB?
Cecil’s columns (which I encountered in book form, found on the shelf of my then girlfriend and now soon to be ex wife). I found the AOL forums and participated lightly; my first experience there was to ask a question that was, in retrospect, kind of dumb. I got in response both useful information and a mildly snarky (and amusing) spanking for the dumb question. It was a perfect fit for my mindset, since I don’t mind having my stupidities pointed out to me. I browsed a bit, but I hated the AOL interface; when the site moved to the web I became a much heavier user.
What do you keep coming back for?
The sheer variety of content, combined with a high standard for both writing and analysis. On any given day, I can find threads discussing manufacturing codes on the labels of beer bottles, healthcare policies of sub-Saharan Africa, the relative merits of Marx Brothers comedies, proposals for vote tabulation in Virginia, and whether or not it’s a good idea to feed one’s fish by jerking off into the aquarium. Then I can post a question about the logistics of safely flying a 747 into the Grand Canyon and receive detailed, interesting responses from pilots, engineers, and geologists. Show me someplace else on the web where I can get all of this, and I’ll check it out, but as far as I know it doesn’t exist.
How important is the site to you?How much time do you spend per week?day?
Very important. Per the above, I get an amazing amount of entertainment and edification here. On a daily basis, I learn, and I laugh. The quality of political, artistic, and personal interaction here is superior to damn near anywhere else, and because we’re populated with people who both agree and disagree with my views in equal measure, I learn a lot more than I would if I were hiding in an echo chamber. I can’t overestimate the value of this. As far as time, I’m probably here 2-3 hours a day, on average.
Do you think it lives up to its stated goal of “fighting ignorance”? How?
That depends on how you define “fighting,” I think. If you take it to mean “defeating,” then the answer is no, because that’s pretty much impossible. If you mean “resisting,” then yes. There’s a fair amount of nonsense here, but many orders of magnitude less than other places on the web, or in meatspace. The refusal to accept assertions without backup, and the awareness of minimal standards of debate even in the non-debate fora, have been quite influential on my thinking outside the boards. Ignorance will never be eradicated, but a safe haven for rationalism, an outpost for responsible thinking, is a very good thing.
What do you think sets the SDMB apart from other message boards?
As above, the quality of writing, the intellectual and analytical standards, and more than that the breadth of membership. That we can have teenagers and septugenarians mingling in the same threads is pretty remarkable. Plus the moderation, for as much grousing goes on about its heavy-handedness (which is occasionally warranted), is a major part of why the place is as civil and balanced as it is.
What other MBs do you go to?
None with this frequency. I drop in at a few specialty sites (TiVo Community, Scifi.com’s Battlestar Galactica forum, etc.), but this is home base.
Which forum do you go to first?
Depends on the planned duration of my visit. During my lunch hour, or on weekends, when I have lots of time, I start at the top and work my way down. If I’ve only got a few minutes, I start with Cafe Society and then go into the Pit.
Do you lurk more or participate more overall? in any particular forum? on any particular subject?
I read probably twenty threads for every one I post in. I have a lot of posts but I’ve been around a long time. I think this read-to-post ratio is pretty consistent from forum to forum.
Do you enjoy debating, and do you think you hold your own there?
I don’t enjoy debating for the sake of debating, i.e. taking up a contrary position simply to sustain a competitive back-and-forth. When I feel strongly about something, I’ll express my opinion, and I think I’m usually pretty good about being clear and thorough, although of course I can always be better. But my approach is to get everything out in one or two long and comprehensive posts, because for the most part I think debate on the perennial subjects is a waste of time. The players, generally, are pretty well entrenched, and argument isn’t going to change anybody’s mind. So I’ll aim my post at the silent readership, the people who are partly or entirely undecided, and make my points as best as I can, and then leave it alone. I’ll occasionally get a congratulatory response, a sort of “thanks for summing up exactly what I wanted to say,” most frequently in threads on atheism, so I think I do pretty well for the limited role I choose to play.
Describe yourself - age, sex, location, occupation, etc. What interests do you have in real life?
I am a 27-year-old Chinese-Hungarian woman who has spent over a decade in the deep-sea hospitality industry. I live in a soap bubble floating at thirteen thousand feet somewhere between Ankara and Schenectady. Instead of a head, I have a jumbo mayonnaise jar full of vodka and brine shrimp. My mother is a hand model and my father was Pope Pius the Ninth.
How honestly do you represent yourself online?
I do not really have a jumbo mayonnaise jar full of vodka and brine shrimp for a head.
Okay, okay. I’m a thirtysomething male. I live in the Pacific Northwest and I do high-technology work at an internet company you’ve all heard of. I have a fine arts degree from an exclusive arts college; although this degree does not serve as the literal basis for my income, it wasn’t a wasteful indulgence: indeed, it’s far and away the best investment I’ve ever made, as it’s influenced my thinking and life habits in every area of my life, and has made me a better person than I would be otherwise. It’s a practical source of enjoyment also: I’m currently acting in a play.
As far as I can recall, I’ve never deliberately misrepresented myself online, though I do avoid posting too many specifically identifying details.
What do you see as your standing in the SDMB community? Does that correspond to your standing in real life?
I have no real idea where I fall in the SDMB pantheon. Everybody knows my telemarketer thread, but at the same time I very infrequently show up in any “name your favorite Doper” threads or flirtfests or that sort of thing. (The mention by silenus above is a rare exception.) I’ve been around long enough that I’ve acquired a small reputation by sheer inertia, I think, which sort of goes along with my profile in meatland. Call me a middle-of-the-pack type.
Do you think people here would be surprised by what you are like in real life?
I don’t think I’ve ever before mentioned the mayonnaise jar full of brine shrimp. Also, I don’t know if people are really aware of how stunningly handsome I really am. Other than that, I don’t know how to answer this.
Do you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing more often with other members? On what subjects?
Varies by forum and topic and, hell, time of day. As I said above, the simple fact that opinions span such a wide range is one of the things I value most about the boards. As an example, I don’t expect many people to agree with my views on Paul Verhoeven and Showgirls in particular, and I usually don’t get into it when the subject is mentioned by others, but the fact that we can discuss our varying opinions cordially (mostly) is a big plus. And I think that the simple fact of my minority viewpoint is a demonstration of the value of the board’s diversity. The same can be said for all the other nut-bars out there with equally oddball opinions. 
In general, I’m not sure I can answer this with much accuracy, because I don’t really keep score. It’s the give and take, overall, that I find interesting and worthwhile.
Are there any rules (official or not) that you disagree with?
Not really. That said, we are, by dint of the board’s core statement of purpose, a population of inveterate nitpickers, and there are a handful of rather specific regulations that are clearly designed to handle the jackwipe yahoos who seek to excuse their obnoxious behavior by asserting absurdly narrow readings of common-sense principles. “Don’t be a jerk” is a perfectly useful standard of conduct for anyone with a modicum of intelligence and empathy; it’s too bad when the occasional socially-challenged exception forces the moderators to craft a legalistic variation on the general directive to cover some specific bit of stupidity that is obvious to those with basic social skills but that must be made explicit for the interpersonally feeble minority.
Who do you see as the leaders of the board?
I don’t see “leaders,” I see a highly vocal rabble, and I like it that way.
Who on the board do you most look up to? Why?
If I had to pick a single Doper who exemplifies what I think of as the best qualities of Doperdom, I would name Left Hand of Dorkness. He’s articulate, thoughtful, patient, curious, intellectually responsible, and in general a pleasure to read. That being said, the caliber of personality here is very high, and there are many people besides LHOD who make me aspire to be a better person than I am.
Have you made enemies?
I don’t think I’ve “made” enemies. I think that a handful of people have presented themselves and announced themselves as being in stark opposition to me and my point of view, and I’ve accepted them as being so opposed. If that makes them enemies, then so be it. I can’t say I’m necessarily proud of this, by the way.
Do you feel like you know the other members well?
Yes, absolutely.
How important is the anonymity of the board to you?
Interpersonal anonymity, not so much; see the next question. Cyberspace anonymity, absolutely. There are a lot of fruitcakes out there and I don’t want to wake up one morning to find “ATHEIST” painted on my front window in blood.
Would you want to meet anyone here in real life? Have you?
Yes and yes. I value the friendships I’ve made here, and I have expanded my social circle quite a bit. My offline activities (work and theater) tend to restrict me to fairly small communities, and many of the people I got to know here first before meeting elsewhere I never would have met any other way.
Is Michael Jackson a space alien or what?
Definitely a space alien.
I would say that fools and the non-thinking are not tolerated gladly here.
I think we should be free to discuss medical issues. I think anyone who gets their medical advice off of a public message board gets what they paid for.