Why do you prefer the SDMB? (Or do you?)

In My Humble Opinion
1

Forgive me if this question has already been posed; I wasn’t sure how to search for it, as “why,” “do,” and “you” are all under the four-letter seach limit.

But anyway, back to the question: If you have been a member at other message boards (or are still) why do you prefer the SDMB (if you do–if not, I’m interested in that as well!) If you left other message boards for the SDMB, why?

Personally, I prefer the SDMB for several reasons:

[ul][li]I prefer the set up–the vB code is easy to use, the forums are neat and well organized, and it’s easy to read and discern posts from replies. You don’t have to click something to read replies.[/li][li]For the most part, the posters here are friendly, supportive, caring, empathetic and funny. I’m not ashamed to post things here and I know what I say will almost always be met with good humour.[/li][li]Posters here have spectacular grammar and spelling, and can deal with it if they are corrected. Very few people have had fits for being told they are wrong.[/li][li]Posters here are diverse, accepting, and considerate. Much of the time, the thread title is relevant to the thread. People aren’t flamed for being different.[/li][li]The board itself is diverse. It’s not strictly anything. There is a forum for everything and a forum for everything else. So long as you can categorize it properly, you can post it.[/li][li]Posters are helpful.[/li][li]The whole community is like a huge family![/ul][/li]
Now that I’ve rambled on, what are your thoughts?

[Virtual hug to all]

2

  • Careful moderating based on rules which are more-or-less consistently applied (if you disagree with this, I can direct you to a college hockey message board I frequent. About once every 4-6 months, the one admin logs on and suspends a bunch of people arbitrarily, then they all sign up as socks while they’re suspended…it’s insane).

  • Very fast moving. This is important for me because basically the internet replaces the TV I don’t own as an entertainment source. So I love MBs for their self-updating (as it were) content, and the SDMB moves so fast it can always fulfill the need for new things to read, etc.

  • Not a personal fiefdom. There is the Cecil thing, but he’s very distant. I left one board because I thought the rules were becoming too synonymous with the arbitrary whims of the board founder. Here the college of mods and large number of ‘founding’ posters (the since the AOL days folks) makes it impossible to consider this board as one person’s domain.

Those are the primary ones for me.

3

In brief:[ul][]Good moderation.[]Good vibrations.[]Spelling, grammar and communication skills are higher here than many boards, with a few notable exeptions.[]It comes right into my computer. What a convenience.Unlike some forums, a bigfoot sighting is taken with a grain of salt.[/ul]

4

This is not the place to be if you’re…

[ul]
[li]Conservative[/li][li]Christian[/li][li]Southern[/li][li]Moderate[/li][li]Think Bush won the Election of 2000[/li][/ul]

If you’re any one of those five, you might as well keep going.

5

[QUOTE]
Originally posted by Saint Zero *
This is not the place to be if you’re…[ul][li]Conservative[]Christian[]Southern[]Moderate[*]Think Bush won the Election of 2000[/ul] If you’re any one of those five, you might as well keep going. [/li][/QUOTE]
Two-and-a-half out of five ain’t bad. But I think I’ll stick around anyway. :stuck_out_tongue:

6

~ Intelligent people make up majority of the board (not to say some people aren’t complete dumbasses, but compared to other boards… astonishing :eek: )

~ No one uses “u” or “r” or “LOL” (unless it’s to make fun of people who do so)

~ Fairly moderated. I’ve been to boards where people are free to say whatever they want. And I mean whatever. Then there are boards that are so closely moderated that if you say “I disagree with you, here is why…” and it’s against the views of the majority of the board, it’s bye bye for you.

~ Diversity of topics. People are also willing to discuss personal (SEX!) things.

There’s many reasons, but those are the main ones I’d like to point out.

7

That’s funny, I’m Southern and do just fine around here. In fact, we had a “What is Southern?” kinda thread not too long back that was fun.

My reasons:

  1. This board is large enough that someone, and probably a group of someones, shares your interest and you can have a good thread. For instance, I posted a thread on the Battlestar Galactica show that SciFi was running tonight about an hour before it came on and it had 12 replies when I came back, right after it was over.

  2. This board is large enough that a vocal group doesn’t dominate discussion as much as on a smaller board.

  3. I left a board I used to hang out on because the Great Debates kinda material overwhelmed the purpose of the discussion group. It just got old watching the same six posters rehash an issue (politics, usually) and run it into the ground. Here, if it happens, it happens in GD, which I seldom read.

  4. Diversity-Lots of different people, all kinds of ages, backgrounds, etc.

  5. Low bullshit tolerance. Threads get moved, posters get gutted, mods lock people down. Good.

  6. No spam, moneymaking schemes, etc.

  7. The moderation-I’m sure I’ll screech and wail when one of my pet posters is banned, but the mods do their best and apply the rules mostly fairly.

  8. The people-This is a good group of people. Look at what they’re/we’re doing for CajunMan and DrMatrix.

  9. So much to do-When I’m not reading the boards, I’m checking in to my SDMB-related NationState (#1 for Most Corrupt today!), or swearing at my incompetent players in my SDMB Fantasy Football League. In the past, I’ve attended Dopefests (well, attended 1 and tried to attend 1, heh), played a little AD&D…etc. etc.

8

Well, you guys, I’ll miss you. It’s been a blast :rolleyes:

9

Funny, this Christian feels more at home here than I did at a Christian message board. Among other things, neither I nor my denomination have been accused of being in league with the Anti-Christ for disagreeing with someone here, and I’m pretty sure that if I accused someone of supporting evil for being in favor of divorce, *Lynn Bodoni would be sweeping my ashes out of the BBQ Pit, assuming there were enough left for her to find.

This place allows me to think! I can talk to people who hold views which are radically different from mine and come to see why they hold them, even though I may not be able to foresee circumstances under which I’d agree with them. This applies to hard Atheists, Fundamentalist Christians, and, the hardest to understand, people who think Janet Jackson is talented.

It is also, as others have noted, a supremely supportive community. I found that out a few years ago when I went to vent about some problems I was having with depression, basically shouting into the wind, only to find a bunch of people I barely knew surrounding me and supporting me. When I was laid off, not only did I get support encouragement, people even tried to help me find a job.

People here are brilliant. I suspect that there isn’t a question I could think of which would be so obscure that someone wouldn’t have an accurate answer for it. If it were a question which didn’t have a clear cut answer, chances are I’d get several answers which give me a take on it I wouldn’t have seen.

You can also get a different perspective here. Technically, I could claim to be a conservative, Christian, Southern, moderate who believe Bush won the election. I am conservative on issues of divorce and adultery, moderate on homosexuality (in other words, I consider a heterosexual who’s been divorced twice for adultery a greater threat to marriage than a homosexual who’d like to marry once), Christian in more ways than count, who was indeed born in the South. The only thing is, it was England’s South, not America’s, despite an American upbringing. As for Bush, his address is 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, so the evidence that he won the election is rather difficult to deny. As a political independent who’s fed up with both major parties in the US, I’ve noticed that conservatives think their oppressed by liberals and liberals think they’re oppressed by conservatives. As for me, I’ll echo a button I wear to elections and say “Just once I’d like to vote for the greater of two goods!”

This board challenges me and comforts me. What more could I ask of a community of strangers who are friends?

CJ

10

I disagree. You can stay in General Questions & Cafe Society & easily avoid threads concerning politics & social issues.

I love trivia. That’s what drew me in initially. But I think it’s the rhetorical bullshit I mean…erm…thoughtful discouse…over topics that keeps me coming back. :slight_smile:

11

The leisurely pace of the server lets me think things over, and reduces my chances of posting something in a cheap French accent. :rolleyes:

12

It’s waffa-thin.

Oh. Sorry.

13

It’s been my experience that all those above are welcome here.

It’s those that whine about imagined discrimination because of being one of those that are generally not good company.

14

Well, I love it here because there are so many people, I’m bound to get a reponse (not to mention a mighty quick response) from a bunch of people who know what they’re talking about.

I’ve only been here a few days, and I’ve already seen the community pull together to help people several times. And send Xmas card/postcards for various reasons.

The last board I was on was reptile-related. There was a Just Talk section where someone had posted something political in a VERY rightist context. I, being leftist, replied civilly (living in TX for 5 years taught me how to be a lefty and offend as few people as possible). From that day on, he would harrass me in the chatroom, referring to me as a “bleeding heart liberal who killed babies.” And the political post had nothing to do with abortion. There were a slew of other names as well, which I don’t remember.

Here, I don’t feel like my political beliefs will be constantly thrown in my face - politics stay in the thread. I like that.

And I ask some strange questions and have some strange ideas. But people don’t automatically freak out and call me sick.

And I love the TMI threads, hehe.

15

Oh. And the humor. I almost forgot how many times I’ve nearly had Yoghurt come out my nose laughing.

And it’s a good time killer. I was actually on here for 12 hours yesterday. For the love of god.

16

Damn, Saint Zero you sure have opened a can of worms.

Revtim that cutting remark at the end is not true for Saint Zero and so not relevant and surely uncalled for.

17

  1. Fast turn around.

  2. Wonderful Mods ( A little gratuitous apple polishing can be out into an Escrow account, right?)

  3. Any subject under the sun and the moon can be brought up here ( and subsequently shot down or just fall off the face of the earth, like Andrew Ridgely.) and there will be a well thought researched response on your question regarding the Ovulatory Cycle of the Giant Panda Bear in the Southern Hemisphere after a Monsoon and Earthquake doing the Missionary Position during a Full Moon.

  4. But you will always get a better response with threads involving Farts, Poop and trying to determine the Velocity of Flatulence. OG! That was funny.

  5. The people here are funny, funny, funny.

  6. I could say I come here …ok…live here…so as to broaden my eccu-mental and political outlook in order to help me become a more understanding person and help humankind reach peaceful solutions, but frankly, I’d rather waste the days before it’s release Guessing about The Things You’re Sure Will Happen In The Next Harry Potter. Israel/Palestine will keep on fighting. Gays vs. Homophobes will continue ad nauseam. Ashcroft will continue to be an asshat from another dimension, but back in the alternate universe where I reside, finding out if Harry gets a girl, kills Voldemort, Whats the deal with Snape and who in the hell is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this term is more interesting to a shallow gal like me.

  7. The sense of community is amazing. Never before have I ever seen people help out another doper during a crisis and then quickly turn around and then jump right into a Religous War Fire Fight in the Pit. It’s like SAS/Berets/SEALS and Girl Scouts all rolled into one bad ass smack down kung fu master mofo. Hi Ya!

  8. Did I mention the sense of warped humor here is absolutely essential to my very existence, like chocolate, coffee and oxygen. ( in that order.)

  9. The high quality of posters who acktully kin spel and writ clerly.
    And, this is key for me, women who have kids but also can carry on big people conversation too. Proving my point that the females brains are not pulled out with the placenta, then eaten in a yummy stew.

  10. As is the lack of LOL and L33tsp3ak crap. It’s also a pure joy to watch a Mod go on a troll hunt. One has to wonder how many stuffed heads they have over their fire place mantel.

  11. All the wonderful pop culture (42), urban legend (kidneys, anyone?) and odd references (Sekrit) never fail to amuse me.

  12. The SDMB Book Swaps and Secret Santa are loads of fun.

18

Star Trek
It’s more than just some show. It’s an awesome universe of ideas. But it is fiction, not a lifestyle. On Trek specific boards, the geek factor is enough to shrivel up your nutsack. Here, people who really enjoy sci-fi are willing (and able) to discuss it as entertainment.

Pirates

Real answers (most of the time) to factual questions in a timely manner.

Not near as many spiders as on those other boards.

The entertainment quotient is often quite high. Whether I am or not.

19

Some people have a lovely sense of humor on this board.

but then:

Most are really full of themselves and a tad annoying. [That wasn’t a remark about you, NoClueBoy. You belong in the first category]

So; No, I don’t prefer the SDMB.

20

LOL, I’m some of those, and SDMB is still my favorite board.

Oh, and DEFINITELY NOT the “Bush won the Election” one, I think the man is a moron and the worst excuse we’ve had for a president since I’ve been old enough to vote (1977). Worse than his father even, if that’s possible.

On second thought, I guess I’m only one of the above…hehe.