Views you've never heard expressed anywhere except the SDMB

In My Humble Opinion
1

Any time someone posts a thread about mobile/cellular phones there will invariably be heaps of people coming in to brag how they don’t have a phone, they don’t need one, NOBODY needs one except doctors and emergency services personnel, and everyone who does have one is a sheep, etc.

Now, without exaggeration, I don’t know a single person in the “real world” who holds this view. No-one.

Similarly, I don’t know anyone who prides themselves on not owning a TV, but again, this is a fairly common occurrence here.

So, I got thinking: What other views are there expressed here that are held by more than one or two posters (in other words, no mentioning specific posters with controversial opinions that no-one else appears to share) that you’ve never encountered in the real world?

2

I don’t think I know too many people in the real world who think that MJ was really framed and that it was all a conspiracy cooked up by people with kids who wanted a piece of his money/fame. I mean, sure, the odd huge MJ fan, but not like normal people who don’t care either way. Also, that he really had vitiligo.

I think the priding yourself on not having a TV is less of a Doper thing and more of an intellectual hipster type thing, but then again, that could be because I just read it on stuff white people like.

3

Sometimes I feel like the SDMB should be sponsored by Metamucil with all the cranky old farts who post here.

“Nobody needs a cell phone…it’s a luxury! And why aren’t you married yet? Get off my lawn!”

4

Why don’t you think he had vitiligo? That’s totally plausible, and you can find pictures of his splotchy pigmentation online without too much trouble.

5

Whenever the topic of appropriate dress at formal events comes up, I am utterly bemused by the controversy it provokes on these boards. I’ve never heard anyone complain about wearing a suit to a wedding except on the SDMB.

6

My father refuses to own a mobile phone. Of course he doesn’t post on the SDMB either, as he refuses to use computers.

7

Have a look at the letters to the editor and the on-line comments next time a newspaper prints a column about mobile phone usage and etiquette. You’ll find there are plenty of people who hold those views.

8

Yes, but that’s still an “internet” view. I’m talking about views that people actually espouse in the real world; ie over coffee with friends or at barbeques or down at the pub or whatever. And even if there are some people with those views, there seem to be a lot more of them here on the boards.

(And FTR I don’t recall seeing many Letters To The Editor about mobile phone usage or etiquette lately, but that’s invariably because we’re reading different papers)

9

I’ve never been exposed to atheism IRL like I am here. Every atheist I know off the boards is a disgruntled ex-Christian. They don’t accuse Christians of believing in fairies, they don’t read Dawkins and they have never heard of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. They just gave up on whatever they were exposed to as kids in church and continued on their lives as non-believers.

So, the “outspoken atheist” is new to me :slight_smile:

10

That’s a good one. I don’t know any RL “Militant Atheists” either, but there are certainly a few of them here.

11

I’ve yet to meet a man in RL who enthuses about shaving his balls, or a woman who enjoys popping a boyfriend/husband’s zits. Which isn’t to say that I definitely don’t know any ball shavers or zit poppers, but the subjects have never come up.

12

Your premise is broken. It’s just a reflection of who you know. I know people without mobile phones in the real world. I know people who either do pride themself on not having a TV, or did at times in their lives.

13

Do those people you know without mobiles go around denouncing them to all and sundry, or do they just not have one? Big difference.

14

This is a good one. I read the threads about wearing appropriate dress to a wedding and it boggles my mind (boggles, I say!). It’s not just grumbling about having to wear a tie on a non-work day, it is this idea that wearing a suit for a wedding is an affront to everything the poster holds dear. Also, I don’t know people outside of Resevoir Dogs who don’t tip.

15

Anonymity provokes the strangest reactions in some people…

16

Yeah, I’ve never heard anybody complain about formal dress at a wedding in real life, neither, probably because I’d avoid them like the plague. In fact, the more general bias, espoused by quite a number of posters on the SDMB, for spending money on fashionable clothes/items is something I’ve never met in real life.

Similarly, the weird association on the SDMB between liking/playing sports and being unintelligent isn’t something I’ve ever met. It just isn’t anywhere near being true, and reveals quite a bit about the poster, IMO.

17

People that think technology is just some kind of passing trend need some serious help, IMO.

As for the Dope, exclusively, I can’t think of anything at the moment.

18

I’ve never heard of anyone peeing in the shower before, except here on the SDMB.

I’d never even considered it, but perhaps I lack imagination.

19

I don’t know anyone who considers gun ownership to be a fundamental right.

However that’s coz I live in the UK.

20

I don’t mean to incite any debate with this (yeah, like such a statement ever worked as intended!), and it probably just reflects my Euro-centric bias, but the attitude that people would hide and bury in their backyard their guns should the government attempt to require them to be registered is not something I’ve ever come across before I joined here. This isn’t meant as a judgement, it’s just something completely removed from my everyday experience.