Is it a clubhouse? A Geeks Anonymous meeting? An encyclopedia? A desktop toy you fiddle with?
Entailed in the question is how you use this place. Do you come here for the diversion? for the camaraderie? perhaps the scintillating wit? the reliable information? the smackdowns? What?
All of that and more.
I came here for the conservative camaraderie.
I was misinformed.
For me, it’s like a community. Just like you chat to people you meet in real life, I chat with people I meet when I find a thread title that interests me.
And just like in real life, there are lots of times when I find that the same person can have a viewpoint that I completely disagree with on one topic while we are in complete accord on another topic.
It’s a great distraction during downtime at work. It’s the most intellectual board I’ve ever been a member of, which is really saying something. There’s a focus on truth and cites without being annoyingly pedantic. And with very few exceptions, nobody talks in jargon or employs an overly high level of speech.
It’s essentially a group of really smart people talking like really real people.
Honestly? Okay, honestly. The truth is that the SDMB is my substitute for family and friends sine I have very few of either.
I think “community” works for me, as well. This place is a great source of information, to be sure, but I spend most of my time in CS, IMHO, and MPSIMS: I’m here for the personalities. Even when some of them don’t like me. 
Yeah, what she said. I really do enjoy the intellectual level here…the sharp and sometimes caustic debate. Too often, in many discussion groups, a disagreement just degenerates into snarkiness and name-calling. That seems to pass for debate in most folks’ mind, especially if not always those of conservative political/social persuasion. Can’t really blame them, I suppose they learned their technique from listening to Glenn Beck or reading Ann Coulter.
Anyway, I enjoy the level of conversation here, the (generally) reasoned tone, the diversity of subjects.
SS
I have learned more in GD than I have in school. I wasn’t ever able to really articulate even the theory of evolution until I read it here. (thanks Skald).
But most importantly; The Funnies. Best funnies on the internet.
Intelligent people I can relate to…mostly.
Fighting ignorance is something I can get behind and I hope everyone on here remembers that is the original idea.
LouisB- you have lots of friends here. You would be surprised how many follow your posts.
I come here to steal funny and clever thoughts.
Just The Dope – slightly addictive and effects me different ways at different times but more often than not it leaves me feeling better.
The underside of the toilet lid:
It’s (arguably) the least shitty- not counting the WoW general forum, Baptistboard.com, and the m4m section of Craigslist personals.
Thank you for saying that. It made my day. My real life family is widely scattered as are my friends.
The Dope is a pretty flower, that smells bad.
Sweet, sweet crack.
I’ve got two, neither of which are especially brilliant:
A substitute for weed.
A bridge across the Atlantic.
A group of people exactly like me, who humbly share their genius, wight rell, have a, clear understanding of; punctuation, never make types, always use appropriately gramer and speeling, and who are able to express themselves cogently, completely and.
A place to go where everybody knows your name. Except it isn’t your real name, so it’s a place to go where nobody knows your name.