# SDMB To Me **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 5, 2022, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275 "2022-01-05T20:01:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/41 "2022-01-13T02:52:05Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > This place is very important to me. It’s changed me for the better and has opened my world view. If this place ever goes away I’ll grieve for it the same way I would for a lost loved one. > > It’s weird. I wouldn’t say I’m close with any singular person here, but collectively, this place is very dear to me. Likewise. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/42 "2022-01-13T02:54:52Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I have a feeling that if we got all the Dopers together in a very big room and asked, _“How many of you as kids (or adults) sat and read the encyclopedia and/or dictionary for fun?”_ most hands would go up. American Heritage Dictionary, with the appendix of Indo-European roots. My mother gave it to me when I was 13. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/43 "2022-01-13T02:59:52Z")
If you’re interested, I started a whole thread on this: > [@POLL: Dopers are a curious lot -- and have been since childhood](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-dopers-are-a-curious-lot-and-have-been-since-childhood/957324): > > Continuing the discussion from [SDMB To Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/25): Let’s just see how many of us as children sat and read the encyclopedia just for fun. And not just to find the sex stuff. (I learned what intercourse was from the encyclopedia, and boy was I shocked! People do WHAT?? scream ) We never had any of the high-end encyclopedias. Ours was the kind you got one book at a time from the grocery store. Along with drinking glasses and dishes with the Golden Wheat pattern on them. ([Now a desirable “vintage” item](https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/143085720143_/Vintage-Homer%C2%A0Laughlin-Golden-Wheat-Pattern-China-22k-Complete.jpg) … You’ll find Your People there… 📖 📚 👩🏽‍💻 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/44 "2022-01-18T07:33:13Z")
In some ways, I seem to use this place differently than most, so instead of repeating all of the above, which is true for me as well, how about some ways the SDMB matters to me that aren’t mentioned: 1. I’m very public about all my interwebz identities, so my family, my ex-wife, my kid, the women I date, all of them know about this place and I send them links to stuff I write constantly. Hell, there’s this one thread which has me and the woman I was dating at the time [flirting for a bit](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-a-space-opera-for-a-person-who-doesnt-read-science-fiction/937902/109). I even wrote a love letter disguised as a piece of fiction which was a book review about her favorite book, this story starring her as the central character, the entire review written in the narrative style of the book I was reviewing, and posted it here. If that makes sense. Anyway, I sent her the link and the relationship has gotten _much_ closer since then. Given I wrote it for an audience of one, it seemed to have hit its mark. 1. I link back here all the time on Twitter, FB, texts… but mostly the Twits. I’m the only doper (other than CodingHorror, who owns(?) Discourse) who has 300 outsiders click on my promoted SDMB links, and the only doper who has 1,000 outsiders click on one of my threads. I promote this place constantly, and I do get the occasional email/PM/whatever from someone who joined. At least the women I date probably join too, lol. Hi! 😘 2. This place has helped me become a better writer, now to the point where I’m doing so ‘professionally’ - ghostwriting for websites is my main source of $, not glamorous stuff but work is work and experience is experience. I also have my own Substack and am building a nice audience - my last piece earned 12 new subscriptions, including one I’m pretty sure is a verified account on Twitter. @Ion1 was the one who suggested I do this after reading my work here, and I’m always grateful for the suggestion. (and, yes, I do social media and given I’m working to monetize it, probably take it more seriously than most here. But then, I consider the SDMB to be part of the social media continuum as well. And act as such.) ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/45 "2022-01-18T12:05:43Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Pretty much the same for me - absent a topic specific (upright bass) board. Here’s the thing: most other discussion boards that I’ve seen are topic-specific boards. Usually something to do with a hobby - trainspotting, motorcycling, woodworking, upright bass, sailing, flying, and so on. Sites like that tend to attract a certain type of people with a certain type of mindset that engenders discussions that tread well-worn paths. The type of people and discussion varies depending on the topic of the discussion board. In my case, I frequent a motorcycle touring discussion board. Who tours on motorcycles? Almost exclusively men, physically and mentally healthy/able, with disposable income that they can burn on an expensive hobby (so white, middle-age, middle/upper class). Almost all of the members are based in the US. I happen to tick off all of those categories myself, so I fit in fine there, but there’s not exactly a vast breadth of perspective on the world there, you know? And then I found this place in the mid-2000s. GQ attracted me at first. Finally, a place where people could come with high hopes for a definitive answer on the factual uncertainties/inclarities that plaque their minds? And a place where my own technical expertise would in turn be valued? Holy shit, sign me up. In the years since I joined, I’ve certainly enjoyed learning and helping others learn reliable facts to satisfy their curiosity about objective aspects of the world. The thing that has surprised me along the way is my enjoyment of learning about the subjective experiences and perspectives of other people: IMHO now rivals GQ for my attention when I’m here on the Dope. In contrast with the motorcycling site I mentioned above, this place has a vastly greater variety of people - male, female, trans, gay, non-white, non-American, people with physical disabilities, elderly, minor, people dealing with mental health issues, crazy-smart people, irredeemably dumb people, obscenely rich, frightfully poor, a thousand other descriptors that I can’t even think of right now, and a continuum of gradations in between. You’re all here, and each of you adds one more unique ingredient to this stone soup we all enjoy every day. So, a heartfelt thanks to all of you for sharing your personal triumphs, tragedies, foibles, predilections, and even the banalities of your daily life, and for giving me room to do the same for myself. Please carry on. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/46 "2022-01-18T12:31:07Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > plaque Loved your post…but the only thing plaquing our minds is incipient Alzheimer’s! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/47 "2022-05-06T19:12:06Z")
Yeah, as I said, I always wanted to just belong somewhere. But especially these boards 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/48 "2022-05-06T22:02:31Z")
I’m still waiting on that $50. 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/49 "2022-05-07T14:39:34Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Here’s the thing: most other discussion boards that I’ve seen are topic-specific boards. Usually something to do with a hobby - trainspotting, motorcycling, woodworking, upright bass, sailing, flying… So if I suck at trainspotting (“Oh, look, there’s a trai…oh, never mind. It was a chicken.”), motorcycles and bandanas scare me, I hire a carpenter if I need to drive a nail, prefer morally-compromised instruments, and think sailing and flying are best enjoyed from a seaside bar on good ol’ terra firma… I should stay here. Okay! ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/50 "2022-05-07T15:57:18Z")
Interesting thread! The SDMB is basically my ‘front page’ of the Internet, and I consider it one of a pair of my only regular hangouts on the innerwebz (the other is a spinoff of the SDMB). There’ve been some good friends I met here and at in-person Dopefests\*, and yes, the occasional dipstick. It’s interesting, to me, just to see how my posting style and lifetime experiences have evolved over the past twenty-two years. Man, I’ve chronicled a lot over that time. Lots of things change. . . - Are Dopefests still a thing? Tripler . . . and some things don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2022, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/51 "2022-05-07T18:15:15Z")
Having thought about my last post, and having missed the edit window, I did want to say that I consider many Dopers extended family, that I would go outta the way for. Need a place to crash? Gotcha covered. Hot meal and a shower? Steak and I’ll do yer laundry, too. Couple of bucks? Here’s a couple more. I’ve had such great times and memories built with others from the SDMB, that I feel obligated **want** to pay it forward to the SDMB. Tripler Except the dipsticks. They get coal in their stockings, _if_ they’re lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/52 "2022-05-08T01:29:39Z")
So **that’s** why all that coal keeps showing up in my mailbox. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2022, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275/53 "2022-05-08T12:45:29Z")
Whoa, sorry about that! I told the shipping department to send you [Trinitite,](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinitite) not _anthracite_. I’ll have a word with them. 😠 This is what happens when I outsource the Quality Dept. at TripCo to 3rd graders. Tripler Budget cutbacks are a PITA. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-to-me/957275.md?page=2)