I’ve gotta say CS - not to be ugly, but seems like every thread I’ve started in there has been met with a chilly reception. Those dudes aren’t very friendly. YMMV, of course.
Ccc
Strangely enough, I’m probably one of the few people that breezes over IMHO and MPSIMS. I read them when I have time (like now), but if I’m in a hurry I’ll read General Questions and The BBQ Pit. If I have more time I move on to Cafe Society, then Great Debates, then here and MPSIMS.
Odd, I know. I guess I just like general scientific questions, and arguments 
To crush my enemies, see them driven them before me, and to hear the lamentations of their women.
All seriousness aside, I happened across the SDMB before I knew Cecil even wrote columns.
Regards,
Shodan
GD, for two reasons:
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There’s only so much time and I have other things to do besides trudge through the give-and-take of the controversy. Let me know when the issue is resolved and the debate is over. Or when I can get a summary of the major pros and cons of each side.
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I rarely have anything to contribute that would meet the quality expected.
I try to avoid the Pit, but I do go there occasionally. For instance, when I think there’ll be someone posting on a particular news item. But then there’s something that really riles me up, and I stay somewhat riled up for hours after I leave. But somehow I don’t quite notice how riled up I am right away, so I keep on returning for a few days. Finally I again realize my emotional state, and I don’t go there again for months.
I have to admit, I barely read the columns anymore.
To make it convenient for the lynch mob, Shodan and I live in the same region.
I think everyone should worry about Al Sharpton, for one reason or another. Personally, I worry he might visit England.
Disclaimer: My joking remarks about Shodan and Al Sharpton were due to things they’ve said and not race. Particularly as I don’t know what ‘Race’ Shodan is.
I use the “View New Posts” function because I can see new topics and posts without going forum to forum (which often hangs on at least one forum and won’t load). Of those new posts, I tend to skip GD and the Pit, though not as much as I would if I went forum to forum.
Staff Reports, Cecil’s Columns, and ABTM.
As for the main fora, it’s Great Debates.
The Pit is my least favorite in that it’s the only one that I would actually be happier to see wiped out of existence. A board where personal insults and vulgarity for its own sake* are encouraged? I think it’s not what I come here for and I think it’s presence diminishes the SDMB. I have posted in a few threads that I stumbled upon that were not so bad, but they could have been posted in MPSIMS, IMHO, or even GD. Anything that can’t be expressed outside of the pit, I’m not interested in.
My favorites, not that anyone asked, are Cafe Society and Great Debates, far and away. I find General Questions occasionally interesting.
- as opposed to vulgarity for cheap laughs, which I heartily support.
Oh I know. I was just being a wiseass 
I don’t know anybody’s race around here (not that it matters anyway)
I use “new posts” and skim quickly and check out any threads that I think might be interesting. There are so many!!! This is a very active site and there is no way I can read even half the stuff I want to.
I like the general tone. It’s just so big I feel like I’m wandering around, helpless and lost, hearing parts of conversations, then entering too late and feeling stupid, then wandering out again.