Clearly, the SDMB has a lot of different kinds of folks. But also clearly there are some ways the average doper is skewed from the mean. I propose the average Doper is:
Intelligent
Politically left of center (by U.S. standards)
In his/her 30s
A writer by profession
Gay
Underpaid
What do you think?
hmmm, well, I think I meet the first criterion, but I definitely don’t match up with any of the others. Do we have all that many professional writers here? I would have guessed computer professionals made up a big chunk. And I don’t think the majority are gay by any stretch.
What do you base your proposal upon?
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Kind of.
Not that I know of.
Yes.
Well, I’m not sure if I match any of them.
And you’re correct, I don’t believe that the majority (and therefore the average) are gay, or writers; I guess what I meant was that for a group of people, I suspect there are more gays here then would be found in an average group of the same size, same for writers.
What do I base it on? nothing but assumptions, which I throw to the masses for discussion, expansion or discardation.
Intelligent: Yes
Politically left of center (by U.S. standards): farrrrr left (vs USA)
In his/her 30s: yes, already 16 years so
A writer by profession: I wrote my PhD, does that count?
Gay: usually happy, yes. What?
Underpaid: I don’t think so.
Intelligent
I think the collective intelligence of the board is unbelievable. A person could find reliable answers to almost any question. I would guess that some dopers are highly intelligent and some, like me, are just average.
Politically left of center (by U.S. standards)
I think dopers are more open-minded than the average person. They seem to think there is more than one way of thinking and living. Dopers seem to place high value upon accuracy but find a way to embrace flexibility.
In his/her 30s
Probably mid 30s to mid 40s.
A writer by profession
Write well.
Gay
and straight and bi and …
Underpaid
Doesn’t everyone think of themselves as being underpaid?
OK, lesse…
Intelligent? duh… OK, sure!
Politically left? Nope. Fairly conservative, with some radical leanings. I guess I’m multidirectional politically.
In my 30s? 40 as of 01-26-03
Paperback writer? I’ve sold my words before, but I do home and restaurant remodel. Sometimes I help an image setter friend of mine. I still do freelance photo work, too.
Gay? I’m pretty happy overall… What?! …Oh… Gee! Mongo straight!
Underpaid? I am not even close to wealthy, but I get paid very well for what I do. Sometimes, though, I don’t have enough to do.
I know I’m not an average person. How close to average Doper am I?
Intelligent
I would place myself in the top 49% of the population. Actually, I’m not even sure what intelligence means anymore. As I get older, I become less sure. I used to top my class in English and History, and come dead last in mathematics. There are different types of intelligence. I think I could have a good chance of being the guy who manages to talk a suicide off a building ledge. I think I would never win a game of chess. When I see numerals, my brain shuts down. When I see the letters of the alphabet, the motor revs.
Politically left of centre
No. I’m a moderate right-winger (with certain left wing ideals here and there).
In his/her 30s
Yes. 33.
A writer by profession
No. I would love to be, though.
Gay
No, utterly heterosexual. Being gay would be cool though. Apart from the fact that I don’t find men sexually attractive, I think I’d be good at gayness. Oh well.
Underpaid
Underachieving, so my pay is what I deserve.
We’re definitely a collective. But thanks to dumb people like yours truly, we can keep the collective from becoming an evil collective, like the Borg, or something. But then again, people are assimilated rather easily here, aren’t they? They post once, and then they can’t stop for years and years. . .
Is there such a thing?
Intelligence: full up on the book learnin’ but woefully lacking in common sense. Voted most-likely-to-get-lost-in-her-own-bathtub. Also, innuendo is totally wasted on me.
Politically: Moderate (I think I’m liberal, but my hubby tells me I’m far more conservative than I think I am.)
Age: 35
Professional Writer: If you can 11 years of compiling and publishing State environmental regulations writing then OK. Now, I answer questions from the public and the regulated community.
Gay: Nope, married 9 years to Hubby
Underpaid: Did I mention I was a State employee? Paid only enough to keep us off the welfare rolls. But I do have WONDERFUL health insurance and benefits, just no cash.
A collective pool of knowledge? The SDMB spans countries and professions…
As for me:
Yes
Yes
No
I write as a hobby; does that count?
No
I don’t get paid, as I have no job. My parents give me food and board, though, sometimes in exchange for my English skills.
Yes.
Yes, though not as far as some Dopers.
No.
No, only by hobby.
No, only on Thursdays.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Just barely.
No.
No.
No.
Intelligent: there are a lot of knowledgeable people here.
I’d suggest that the more active dopers are to the left by European standards. The more vociferous ones tend to the harder left.
Age? Well, 30s is a good average, but we’ve got dopers from teenagers to OAPs.
Profession: we’ve got all sorts. I’ve seen no indication that writers predominate.
Gay? They mention it more often. As far as I can tell, I’m straight, but at 36 I’ve yet to manage so much as a kiss.
Hmm.
Intelligent? I guess so, but so is a dolphin.
Politically left? No. Pretty far right, actually.
Age: 30. I’ll fit your average there.
Profession: Management. And I can’t write worth a damn. I cant spel either.
Gay: No. Although I am happy much of the time.
Forgot one!
Underpaid? I guess so, but I think most people think they are.
I guess one other thing I meant by the OP was
What do y’all see as the “statistically average doper”?
At this moment, the SMDB has 36,935 members, 189,784 threads, and 3,569,803 posts (including this one).
From that, we can conclude that the “average” poster has made 96.65 posts and started about 5.14 threads. And apparently, the average thread gets about 18.8 posts.
Well personally
Intelligent - well we’ll see when I get my exam results!
In his/her 30s - Way off. I’m 18
A writer by profession - Well I’m a student at the moment, but I want to be a journalist.
Gay - I’m bi.
Underpaid - I don’t work.