First off I’d like to say that I have a real world social life (and I’m not saying other dopers do not), I have plenty of friends and go alot of places with them and if the SDMB shutdown I would be dissapointed but I’d be able to move on but I have noticed lately that this message board stays on my mind throughout the day. Because everything that happens to me I analyze to see if it would make a viable thread, for instance no more than 5 minutes after that “throwing up incident” I had the thread practically written.
I met a girl almost another potential thread, my brother does something stupid another potential thread, etc.
I would probably say that atleast 20 things happen to me each day that I consider on the spot whether or not I am going to make a thread about it.
Does anyone else suffer from this syndrome or am I just crazy?
Well, I suffer this syndrome sometimes myself, but that doesn’t necessarily rule out you being crazy. 
Also, I might be able to go you one better: sometimes I compose OPs in my head for things that are potential, but haven’t even happened yet.
Of course, sometimes I suffer the reverse: something totally thread-worthy can happen, and it might take days before it occurs to me to start a thread about it.
You’re not alone. I actually resented the fact that my wife called me from a business trip Wednesday night because it took me away from the political rants and meltdowns I was participating in in the Pit. :eek:
I have since apologized to her, but it will cost me some grovelling when she gets back.
START, go get yourself a Live Journal. Maintaining a journal can be a cathartic experience (and you can control who does or does not read it). In this way, you can record all your vagrant thoughts without fear of self-censorship and you will either burn out the need to comment on every aspect of your own life or (with enough practice) you might turn into another Pepys, revered through the ages.
Yeah, me too. I rationalize potential threads all the time. But when it comes time to actually create the threads, I just say **ck it.
I’m not much of a thread starter, but I do start a sentence at least once a day with, “This guy on my message board said…”
My husband, family and friends all know about “my” message board and are used to me referencing things that were discussed here. My husband frequently says, “You should ask those message board people about that,” whenever we’re wondering about some inane trivia.
This happens to most people who become dedicated to a message board I believe. Back when I posted at Gamespot.com, I went through the same thing. Every thought, question, feeling, and opinion about games I had (or not game related matters), I thought about posting it, considered how others would respond, and weighed the possible directions the thread might take. Before even writing the post, I had a decent idea of how the entire thing was going to play out, and would even have a witty retort to comments I knew were coming my way in some cases.
Now this was at least 4 years ago, back when Gamespot didn’t take 5 minutes to load, there was no such thing a a “GS complete member”, and everyone could only imagine the possibilities of the PS2, The Dolphine, and whatever the hell Bill Gates was talking about making. GS was my introduction to message boards. Before I could even make a post like this one here, many other people commented on how they thought about the GS boards all the time, and constantly had plans to post something, and had the threads written out in their heads before even approaching a computer.
Kind of funny seeing people wondering this so many years later. This is your first message board right START? I’ve been all over the web looking for quality boards, and this is probably the best one I’ve found, so you’ve done good to find this place. Thinking about posting is a great thing as far as I’m concerned, it means you like writing, and there’s dozens of perks to communicating through message boards that speaking in real time (phones, instant messaging services, debating in person) lack. I’ve written an essay not too long ago for a class on how a online presidential debate would be an improvement over a real time debate. There’s the lack of time constraints which removes some incentive for lying, being able to site a source, and being able to let audience members ask more questions, also it would be easier for people to access.
I quite frequently compose long elaborate posts in my head either for a new thread or an ongoing one. Obviously based on my low post count, and the fact that I’ve never started a thread I very rarely actually post these. Maybe one day I’ll actually start a thread… I do have several things I’m rather curious about and that the people here I’m sure could answer.
Oh, man, I do this too. Actually, I have to bite my tongue to keep from telling my boyfriend too many message board stories. I’m afraid he’ll realize (after 2 1/2 years) that I’m a big geek.
Also, I find myself writing CITE? in the margins of stuff I read for class.
ZJ
Ditto. I don’t refer to it as “my” message board, though, just as “this message board I go to.”
I think I suffer from the syndrome too. . .
I often find myself in a real-world situation thinking “Oh man, this would make an awesome thread title!”. But I have to admit, the Pit and it’s “OP preparation” has made me a sharper debater. There are a couple of instances that I thought about bringing up a point, and covered my ass from the real-life “following posters” that I made airtight arguements.
But I have to admit that when I’m deprived of the Dope, I tend to get back to reality.
Personally, I see the SDMB as a huge convention in a bar. Everyone’s relaxed, they can drink if they choose, hang out, wear whatever they want, but everyone’s got something interesting to say. Even if it’s a discussion in the MPSIMS, it’s something I have the choice of eavesdropping in on, just to hear different points of view.
It’s a non-stop knowledge party, and everyone’s invited.
Tripler
It just takes some of us to pick up on the smarts quicker than the others.
I’ve taken to calling it “the message board.” It’s the only one I frequent now, having given up on others in disgust for various reasons.
Me too to the Nth degree. We’ve had at least one person here (hell, for my money, a shitload more’n that) who started thread after thread in this forum dealing with the mundanities of his life.
He now has a livejournal. Many fewer people now will simply ignore his OPs than did back when he’d start a thread about how his balls itched that morning.
This board has helped me in many ways, and thinking in terms of creating a thread is one of them.
At work, I now phrase comments in non-threating ways - as if posting an answer.
On the flip side, I will call someone if they make some huge, inaccurate generalization (CITE!) and feel obligated to speak up.
I am known through the office as “the guy” to go to regarding Urban Myths…despite the fact I have often emailed the entire office that all they have to do is go to Snope.com to get the same info.
I too find myself quoting something from SDMB, but I usually say “a friend of mine said…”.
And just a slight hijack question: Do you keep the SDMB a “secret” from people, so that they don’t join in and figure out who you are and see what you post?
(Gee…that would be a good thread…)
The thing is that I want to remain as anonymous as possible eventhough so far I have exposed my real first name and shown my face in the SDMB picture thread.
I have seen a person looking on this message board and I did not go up to them and START a conversation about it because I am trying to keep some aspects of my identity secret such as where I live and what school I attend.
I have told people about the boards but never mention that I post and respond to threads. My cover will be completely blown if someone sees my photo and my real name which makes me wonder why I did that in the first place.
I do! Although I wish I could share it friends and family. No way in hell would I ever let them know my ID if I did tell them about it. There are things I’ve posted on here that they should never know. But there are also things on here I that I wish they could read about me, because I don’t share much personal information with my friends as much as I should. I think my friends would be like :eek: and then :dubious: after they’ve read my posts. But I think they would understand me better as well.
Also, I do tend to start off topics with, “I found this on this on such and such board…” with some things, usually when talking about cars and music stuff. I’m just afraid they’ll think I’m “that guy who believes what people say on the net” kinda thing, when I totally don’t. I’m a member of many boards, mostly hobby type stuff. I take all of this knowledge and tend to make up my own decisions, but I don’t think they’d understand that either. I’m living a lie.
The most disturbing symptom is SDMB Syndrome is when you dream about the message board itself. I actually had a dream the other day while I was napping, and it was just basically me reading a lot of posts and typing responses. I don’t even remember any of the topics or who the other posters were, but when I woke up, I was a bit disoriented to find myself not at the computer…
Yep, I’ve got the syndrome. And also lots of little notes around the house with things I’d like to know about, but they’re surely far too trivial to bother anyone with. Such as:
Phone etiquette – Do those pauses when no one’s talking bother anyone else? Makes me feel it’s time to say goodbye. Also, shouldn’t the person who made the call be the first to say goodbye? It bothers me a little when someone calls me and it becomes obvious that the only way it’s going to end is if I finally say goodbye first.
Hate/hatred – I see and hear references to “hate” lately, as if it’s a noun. I thought the noun was “hatred,” and that hate is a verb.
Movies - I want to see very few—only ones that are critically aclaimed—and my local BlockBuster doesn’t have most of them. NetFlicks would be too expensive for the few I want. Is there any other way? Other than going to the cinema; I refuse to do that, and they’d be impossible to find here and now anyway.
Are there poems that make you smile? – Such as Ogden Nash’s “One bliss for which there is no match/Is when you itch, to up and scratch.
Computerese expressions – “Program has performed an illegal function” and “Fatal Error.” Do you agree that these seem a bit overly dramatic for the setting they’re in?
Peeves - Why do parents give their children names they’ll have to spell every time they say it to anyone, their whole lives? Or names that can’t be discerned from the way they’re spelled? Or names that can’t be spelled from the way they sound–like Thom, Dann, Stephen?
From TV – ‘House Hunters’ – “I want a Mac Daddy bathroom.” What the hell is that?
When I rewind my VCR all the way, the numbers don’t say “0”. There are always seconds showing, and quite often minutes—as many as 5 or 6–and seconds. When it’s totally rewound, why doesn’t it show zeroes?
Is the blind guy on “Becker” really blind? (I looked at the IMDb [or whatever it is] site but couldn’t tell from that.)
If anyone wants to address any of these, I’d be grateful, as I don’t know anywhere else to ask.
And thank you, START, for starting this thread!
I don’t do it too often, but I have been known to think “I wonder if I should post about this.” Then I usually decide it’s too mundane and pointless even for MPSIMS.
I know I’m going to regret posting this, but I have dreamed about Dopers. Nothing X-rated. I just dreamed that a bunch of Dopers lived in and around my town. Some of them apparently attended my university. I dreamed that iampunha was our token guy operator, even though we don’t have one this semester.