I became an atheist reading some of the arguments on this site. I’d count that as pretty significant.
Well… I"m new, about 48 hrs new. I discovered this site purely by accident and I had never heard of it before. I think that, like a few people above, I might be in one of those places where I need a little bit of social interaction but dont quite have the ability to extend myself that far right now. This site has given me that opportunity almost immediately, b/c of the fact that it is fairly anonymous. I dont quite know what I expect from this site: information, friends, entertainment, a little bit of release but I feel like there are enough outlets here for me to find significant use.
Since I am new, and have no idea what the different rooms are for, but I read that other people were here to just share so that is what I am going to do.
I am not normally a shy person, usually quite the opposite, but I am definately in one of those low points in life and I am in the process of a little re-grouping. I recently quit my job and moved 500 miles back home and I am not too proud of it. I know things happen and I have gotten all of the pep talks from my family and friends but I just need this “down time” to be a little disappointed in myself and eventually get back on my feet. I know that its not going to be forever but right…I guess I kind of need my depression.
to answer the question, I am not quite sure what part of my life SDMB fits into but I have enjoyed my short time here and plan on reading and posting regularly. I could keep going but I dont know how appropriate it is and I usually dont want to read the longer ones so I will just leave it here.
Thank you so far SDMB
Very well-worded post, Lamia.
I have loads of comments but I’ll limit them to the most relevant ones.
First of all, at age 34, I find it fascinating that you’ve been on-line since the age of 11. At 11, we thought typewriters were really cool. Even in highschool and university, computers weren’t a necessary part of life. Some people used the computer to type their papers but most hand wrote them. We considered those who used the computers as a bit ass-kissey, because the prof or teacher would always comment how much easier it was to read their writing. We were sure they got better grades because of it. I don’t think if the internet was available to me at the age of 11, I would’ve used it in a responsible manner. It’s amazing how much has changed.
As far as the socialization goes:
I think you get out what you put in. There are some very well-known posters who frequent Dopefest and meet up with other Dopers regularly. There are more that do not. Some don’t because they are too far, or their family structure or job makes it impossible. Some choose not to get into any personal relationships with other Dopers, but get along well on line.
I’ve met a good few Dopers so far, and without exception, I’d say they are interesting, lovely people. There are a few that I’d actively avoid if they were at the same event I was attending, but far more whom I’d like to meet.
I’ve really enjoyed the friendships I’ve made on the boards. A lot of the people I am very close to, I got to know through LiveJournal, but I first encountered them here. I keep up with them on a sometimes daily basis. In fact, I keep better correspondence with them than I do my family or friends in the States.
Having spent 20 months being relatively isolated in France, with little or no social contact, the SDMB and the friends I made here were really critical to the maintenance of my sanity (don’t laugh!).
I hope those who are a part of my life know how much I appreciate their friendship. I know I bitched and moaned a lot and they never (at least not to my face) made me feel guilty for it. I’m now in a much better place and I can look back on that time and know I couldn’t have made it through without them. They know who they are, so I won’t acknowledge them, but I think it’s important that people realize a lot of the community strength does come from relationships that deepen off-boards.
Also, like you, having had no access to news in English, I often got a great deal of my news here on the boards. But more than that, I really enjoyed the craic, the jokes, and yes, even a few PitThreads thrown in for added excitement.
It’s really become an integral part of my life, socially and intellectually.
Besides the obvious entertainment value, The Dope is a veritable fount of wisdom and well thought out opinions.
I’ve already learned a lot here. And, I’ve helped some people learn things with my serious posts, so it’s fulfilling, too.
On days that I’m not working or bidding, I can spend hours here. I don’t count it as wasted time. Where else can I hear debates on whether there is a God and have both sides contribute something meaningful? Where else can I learn some minute detail of a subject which suddenly makes it crystal clear in my mind? Where else can I satisfy my need to say outrageous things and have them taken as pure fun? The Dope.
Thanks for an enlightening thread, Lamia.
Thank you all for the responses so far. It’s interesting to read about those with experiences different from mine, and comforting to read about those with experiences that are similar.
Another thought I had about why for some people this board may seem less like a forum for socialization and making friends than other forums is that there’s just so much to discuss here. Other online forums are usually either intended for friendly chit-chat or are devoted to a specific topic, like maybe a TV show. Even if you’re a huge fan of a particular TV show you can’t talk about it constantly, and during the summer rerun season there’s not much new to discuss anyway. So it’s inevitable that people start talking about their personal lives because there’s just nothing else to say. But here there’s always something else to talk about, so no one has to get into a personal discussion out of sheer boredom.
Anahita, it’s funny even for me to think that I’ve been online since I was 11 – that’s half my life! But despite what, looking back, seems like a comically primitive and limited online world (I was one of the lucky people who had a high-speed modem…2400 bps!), in a lot of ways I grew up online and I’m sure my life would have been very different without that experience. I was an underweight kid with bad eyes and bad teeth who always had her nose in a book. Predictably, I spent a fair amount of time having things thrown at me by other children. But online no one knew I was an underweight kid with bad eyes and bad teeth, and they liked to talk about books and computer games and other things I liked, and if I managed to say something intelligent no one made fun of me for it! It was great! I worry that, with more people online and more unmoderated and uncontrolled forums for discussion, kids online today are far more vulnerable to adult predators than they were then, but barring that problem the Internet can be like heaven for a geeky kid. I think being online was one of the things that helped me to grow up into a fairly well-adjusted geeky adult rather than a paranoid, self-loathing geeky adult. I always feel sorry for geeky kids who had to grow up without a modem.
Potter. Nuff said. 
Ditto on just about everything you said but especially that part.
Someone linked me to this site and I found the columns interesting. I decided to check out the forums, and I found that it was unlike any other forum I’ve ever been to. Everyone put thought into their messages and everyone was highly civilized and intelligent. I just hung around Great Debates, then started checking around General Questions. For months these would be all I would read, I didn’t pay attention to the other forums. The thought of registering didn’t occur until I actually had a question. After my question was answered I stopped posting again.
Not until pretty recently did I decide to poke my head into the other forums, and I can’t believe all that I’ve been missing. While discussing cosmic topics is great, discussing TV shows and movies is fun too. I finally posted in that gigantic LotR topic, and since then have been posting more everywhere.
Like many others I’m a bit overwhelmed with the huge amount of people here and I don’t think I’ll get to know everyone or be able to stick out, but that’s fine with me since I read a lot more than I post.
The SDMB’s role in my life has changed pretty dramatically. For the first several months after I registered, I used the boards for entertainment/information while at work. My job was not especially tasking, so I spent anywhere from two-six hours a day here.
In September of 2001, my office moved and I lost access to the boards at work. I do read the boards at home, but I’m mostly a lurker now. I’ve only posted seven times in the last month.
Throughout my time here, I don’t feel like I’ve posted enough (or been interesting enough) to be well known or to make any sort of impression on those who haven’t met me.
But.
I went to my first Dopefest in January 2001, and there I met and befriended a whole bunch of the New York Dopers. Over the past two years, a number of these people – and others I’ve met at subsequent events – have become close friends. They are now more or less indistinguishable from my “real life” friends. Plus, I’ve been dating a Doper for more than a year.
So now I see the SDMB as something I have in common with many people who are important to me. Even if I stopped posting here entirely, I don’t think I will ever lose those friendships. Needless to say, I feel very lucky that I found this place.
I like the SDMB. It gives me something fun to do at work.
Lamia
What is the role of the SDMB in your life?
It has gotten to be way more than is healthy…I spend at least 2 thirds of my day plunking away at my key board…This obsession has developed since buying a new computer and reciving a 6 month free AOL access deal. I’ve owned a computer since the mid nineties and was online 4 or so years ago for a time, and gave it up for just this reason…The easy exchange of ideas and opinions is great, and as I reside for the time being in a conservative small town, it is one of the few ways to connect with the like-minded, but with my inability to rationally moderate any thing pleasurable in my life, it has become the driving force in my life. My vocation requires a decent word processor, and that was my sole intention in purchasing the new unit, but I haven’t written a damn thing other than responses to the various boards I frequent…So for the good of my vocation and my general physical health, I intend to let my online membership fade with the end of the aol deal, and start jogging to the library.
I am really impressed with the level of intellegence for the SD posters though…I posted 4 or so years agoon this board, and believe me, the level of intellegent discourse and research has risen expansively in just that time.
PS Lamia…I’ve gathered piecemeal through the posts, that you are presently in recovery from some serious surgery…Allow me to wish you a quick and complete recovery…I have gained knowldge as well as entertainment from your posts…Rand
Thank you for the kind thoughts. I’m currently recovering from neurosurgery and so far things have gone very well, with the exception of an eye infection that’s required me to have my right eyelids temporarily sewn together. The upside is, I now look almost exactly like this little guy: 
These boards have been a lot to me over the years. Residing primarily in solitude, the anonymity allowed encourages me to be more open and verbal than I normally would be.
In that respect, it’s helped me overcome some RL feelings of social inadequacy.
Over time its meaning to me morphs along with my life. There were periods when I wouldn’t even lurk. But, I always kept those bookmarks and eventually returned.
Nowadays, I primarily use the boards as distraction and entertainment in between studying and writing papers and such. It’s a great way to lighten my mind for a few minutes so that I can return to my schoolwork refreshed and ready to go again.
BTW, welcome to the boards Iamafish. Take your time, look around at the different fora and you’ll quickly discover just which ones appeal to you.
*Originally posted by Shirley Ujest *
Most of us just have the option of doing so on ourselves. Lucky you. 
Nice thread Lamia. I’ve enjoyed reading everyone’s comments immensely and keep thinking “Yeah, that too.”
Christ, it’s given you jaundice, too!
Don’t underestimate yourself. I do not receive, I think, an inordinate amount of attention, but I have found that I’ve made more of an impact to some than I’d ever suspected from posts alone.
[sub]Notice I didn’t say a “good” impact :eek**: ;**)[/sub]
It all started as a way to occupy myself at work. Basically, I had this IT job while I was in grad school that was right out of Office Space. 90% of my day was spent staring at a computer screen with little or no actual work to do. Fortunately one of my coworkers was a long time poster and…well…long story short…now I have an endless source of Simpson’s trivia, Enterprise vs Star Destroyer/Mighty Mouse vs The Hulk debates, and comentary on issues of the day from who I assume are 19yr old college sophmores posting from their dormrooms.
In all seriousness, since I’m not in school anymore it provides a form of “mental masterbation” so I don’t get stupider from sitting idle in bullshit jobs or staring at my TV all day until I find a new job to sit idle at.
is that why I cant stop??