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I do think that Dopers as a whole are more intelligent - or perhaps more expressive and not afraid to state what they do know - and the overall lean of the boards is politically left of center (though there are a number who are right wing as well. And those like me, who tend to be firmly in the middle).
As far as your last three? I doubt that.
Writers? No, there are some, but there are large numbers of students, of professionals, of blue-collar workers. I doubt that writers are even in the majority of posters, much less the average doper.
Gay? Nope. Again, there are some, but I don’t think gay dopers are in the majority by any means.
Underpaid? Well…I’m not, considering that I’m in the middle of a career change. But I think most dopers make enough - yes, almost all of us would like to make more, but are we really paid less than the average for our specific jobs/careers?
Intelligent: Yes.
Politically left of center (by U.S. standards): Libertarian, actually.
In his/her 30s: No, I’m 42.
A writer by profession: Writing is my hobby, though I did do some professional brochure copywriting and technical writing in the past.
Gay: Nope.
Underpaid: I like the person who said “underachiever” – this fits me now, and it’s my choice, cynical creature that I’ve become.
Intelligent - can’t remember if I used to be or not
Politically left of center (by U.S. standards) - nope, Libertarian
In his/her 30s - very late 40s
A writer by profession - latest work: Surprised by Dementia: Early Retirement and the Post Menopausal Construct (It’s an autobipgraphy) I do actually write poetry, if that counts.
Gay - nope
Underpaid - unpaid at present
IMHO, I don’t think there’s necessarily more gays here than in the rest of the population - it’s just that they are more “visible”. What I mean is that in RL, if a “gay topic” comes up, your gay coworker probably won’t chime in with: “Oh, yes, I am gay, and here’s my opinion…” while on an internet message board you’d get more of that.
This is probably supported by the mode of discussion on the SDMB, where you don’t have to fear any repercussions if you state your sexual orientation (it happens occasionally but people get ousted pretty quickly for it).
I don’t know about the leftist slant either, I think I’ve heard that a
couple of times but the slightly to the right crowd seems to be pretty outspoken as well, if you ask me.
Other than that:
Intelligent: I guess so.
Politically left of center (Non-US, though): Yep, I voted Green. Though I don’t like our chancellor, but that’s a pure personal dislike.
In his/her 30s: Alas, just turned 30
A writer by profession: Umm…no. And I’d second the opinion that there’s more IT people around here than writers. Maybe there’s a lot of IT writers.
Intelligent Well I get by alright and pick up new concepts pretty quickly.
Politically left of center (by U.S. standards) That seems about right.
In his/her 30s I’m in my 20’s.
A writer by profession I love writing but it is not in my job description. I write for myself for fun music, poetry, and fiction (both longer and shorter). Everyone who has read my poems has asked why I haven’t been published yet. Does that count?
Gay Yes. However, I don’t think most members are gay. You must be lurking around the gay threads only if you think this is true.
Underpaid Nope. I was underpaid when I first started working out of college. Now, I do pretty well for myself.
I think your average doper profile is a bit skewed.
I would say that the average doper is as follows:
Intelligent;
A left centrist politically (ie, more to the center than the left);
In their late 20’s to early 40’s (median age 35 or so); and
Straight but not homophobic (not Bi either).
Again, that is the average doper. It excludes myself because I am not straight and am farther left of the center. I suppose the intelligence part could be up for debate as well. I also think it will be a bit more specific depending on which forum the poster in question frequents most often. For example, people in Great Debates I would think are more opinionated, the BBQ pit is for inimical harpies ;), Cafe Society would have more artsy types, General Questions the more brainy types, etc.
Intelligent - Relatively, I guess
Politically left of center (by U.S. standards) - yes
In his/her 30s - late 40s
A writer by profession - Nope
Gay - Nope
Underpaid - Who isn’t?
Intelligent- I thought so, til I started hanging here. My word, but some brilliant people post to these boards.
Politically left of center (by US standards)-definitely.
In his/her 30s/40s- Yep, 37 next Monday.
Writer by profession- Oh, if only.
Gay-um, not as far as I know…
Underpaid- this one took me a while. By Bay Area standards, yeah a little.
“Average” carries with it the idea of something that’s quantifiable. So age is a concept that has a reasonable average, but occupation is not. I think a better word for it would be “typical”. You could say that Dopers “typically are American”, but saying that they “are American on average” is not very meaningful. I would say that five of the six things listed in the OP - intelligence, political standing, age, sexuality, and pay - are quantifiable, but age is the only one stated with any degree of precision. To be consistent, you should say that the “average Doper” is “neither old nor young”.
As for the stats listed in the OP, I fit only 1 out of 6 - I’m left of center, that is.
Intelligent: I have pretty good grades in school and have always scored high on standardized tests. Common sense is a little lacking though, and I’m somewhat emotionally driven sometimes. That may or may not effect my intelligence, depending on who you talk to.
Politically left of center: Yep, that’s definitely me. I’m close to being moderate, but I’m more to the left than the majority of Oklahoma.
In his/her 30s: No, I just turned 21 last month.
A writer by profession: I can write essays for school, but that doesn’t really count. I’m not a very creative person.
Gay: Definitely straight. I’ve always had an interest in boys
Underpaid: Unpaid. I don’t have a job, and I have no idea how people currently attending college have time to work and concentrate on school. They amaze me.
I agree with the OP that the first three criteria listed are probably the average around here. I think the next two criteria just have a better chance to be expressed on this message board than in real life. And I have yet to meet anyone who thinks he’s underpaid