Why is the SDMB special?

[C_K_Dexter_Haven]

@flight

We are a board that has no special affiliation with nuclear science of any kind.

On the third of this month there was a question in GQ asking how dangerous it is to handle weapons grade plutonium.

Five hours later there was a post that started, “I write safety basis documents for a facility that processes weapons grade plutonium.”

Stuff like that happens all the time.

Explain how we are not better than everyone else.

I got a kick out of this, and I thought it might be fun to accumulate some examples here in ATMB about “what makes us special.” I’m not asking for personal feelings, mind, but for actual real-life examples. It might make it somewhat easier for newcomers to read this kind of thing in one thread.

Please, no thread-shitting. If you want to write complaints, Lord knows there are always plenty of Pit threads and that’s the place for them. Here, I’m just looking for examples of what differentiates us (in a positive way.)

[Musicat]

Explain how we are not better than everyone else.

Not only are we better, we are humble about it.

[MsWhatsit]

We currently have a Pit thread running where people are vigorously discussing whether or not it is appropriate to bring up Andrew Jackson’s genocidal Indian policies in any Andrew Jackson-related discussion that comes up.

I love this. I mean, I love that someone posts, “God, will you STOP thread-shitting in every Andrew Jackson thread” and the response isn’t “uh, you two are a bunch of nerds” but rather an animated argument about Andrew Jackson. I love that we have enough threads that mention A. Jackson in the first place that this is even an issue.

[zut]

Here’s one of my favorites: A GQ thread asking Where does that stereotypical “oriental” song come from? (asking about the “Kung Fu Fighting” riff that “everybody” instantly associates with Oriental music.) Some good discussion, and some pretty good research into earlier versions of the riff. Even better, on page three, guest mani returns over a year later with a slew of songs, all the way back to the teens, that include the “Kung Fu” riff. A whole lot of unpaid research went into this question; not something you’d see at “Yahoo! Answers”.

[Amp]

The proper punctuation and grammar alone sets us apart from all the other message boards. Just try reading some other boards sometime. I am not a Grammar Nazi but even I have my limits.

[bbs2k]

It is special, though it’s hard to explain.

My friends and family sort of josh me about it when I mention it. “How are you internet friends?” ::Sigh::

What sealed it for me was my first Dopefest, when I got to meet some really cool, and real people. I suppose I’m rather a nuisance sometimes for TPTB, even though I rather respect the effort they put in to keeping this place a clean and directed message board.

Basically, I like being a resource in the GQ for laboratory related questions. Other than that I am a reader.

I am also a sarcastic ass in other forums, but those have gotten familiar with my sometimes immature posting style know that I really have nothing but love for everyone here.

It is a special place, even though I cannot accurately describe it.

[Derleth]

Chronos and Qadgop the Mercotan. Two posters with exceptional specialized knowledge (physics and medicine, respectively) that commonly post responses to just about any question within their respective fields of expertise.

We have plenty of other posters like those two. It might be contrary to the spirit of things to list all of them, however. I just used those two names as examples of a general phenomenon.

Something notable by its absence: Junk posts, and not just spam. It’s possible for any moderated forum to keep spam out but it takes a certain culture to keep the racists, bigots, and other morons at bay. We’ve even survived invasions of the yahoos and retained our peculiar character.

[Annie-Xmas]

Members helping members. We are nice!

[twickster]

Derleth – another poster with specialized knowlege he’s generous about sharing is colibri, an ornithologist whose knowledge goes way beyond birds to wildlife biology in general, plus evolution.

[jjimm]

Because the administration of the board respect us so much, they get us to do their testimonial marketing for them!

[Duck_Duck_Goose]

We are a witty place. Not “funny”, because there are websites that are kneeslappingly funnier, but “witty”.

And true wit takes intelligence–the painful pun, the snappy comeback, the elegantly constructed parody are not the province of the mouthbreather–and since this is an intelligent place, this is also a witty place.

And, inevitably, this is a snarky place, because when you get a whole bunch of bright, witty people together in a room, sooner or later there will be wit at someone’s expense, and there will be tears.

And what makes the SDMB unique is not the wit, or the intelligence, or the snark, but the fact that the snark never seems to lead to a complete board meltdown and collapse, with huge contingents of members rocketing off in all directions to start their own boards in an assortment of collective snits, leaving the remaining membership of a decimated SDMB to circle the wagons and defensively insist that it wasn’t their fault. The SDMB, uniquely, hangs together like one of those marriages that has onlookers baffled as to why it continues to work.

I think that one of the reasons it continues to work is that this isn’t a one-man show; the other boards where I’ve seen complete meltdowns have all been small enterprises, run by a tiny core group of insiders, if not just the board’s owner himself/herself. So when people get in a snit at these tiny boards, it rapidly turns into Clique vs. Clique, and it all ends in tears, and one or more entire Cliques goes stomping off, which leaves a sizeable dent in the board population, never very large to begin with.

But when people get in a snit at the SDMB, there are plenty of cooler heads around to pour water on the fire. People can go stomping off individually, but it’s statistically never going to be likely that the entire board population will have a mass temper tantrum and all go stomping off.

[Colibri]

I recall a thread a long time ago with some questions about mountain-climbing. Someone posted to it who was actually in the middle of an expedition climbing in the Andes.

Aside from expertise in many specialized fields, we also have members from all over the world who can give first hand information on different regions and cultures.

@twickster

Derleth – another poster with specialized knowlege he’s generous about sharing is colibri, an ornithologist whose knowledge goes way beyond birds to wildlife biology in general, plus evolution.

Thanks. Of course you yourself might be mentioned with regard to editing and word puzzles.

[bufftabby]

@Duck Duck Goose

…the other boards…

There are other boards?!

No, seriously, I’ve been lurking for nine years, and only joined a few days ago. Obviously, you people have got some interesting things to say, so interesting I’ve been preparing myself for this long so that I could hope to be somewhat interesting myself. Mission maybe not accomplished in this post, but you smell what I’m stepping in.

[Fear_Itself]

During an especially deadly period in the occupation if Iraq, we had a member posting from Baghdad*, which I found particularly meaningful. The calibre of our international contributors who can comment on world issues with a personal perspective is very valuable in the fight against Ignorance.
*Anybody remember his name? Is he still around?

[Duckster]

@Duck Duck Goose

We are a witty place. Not “funny”, because there are websites that are kneeslappingly funnier, but “witty”.

And we try to keep some of our ducks in a row, too.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

@bufftabby

Obviously, you people have got some interesting things to say, so interesting I’ve been preparing myself for this long so that I could hope to be somewhat interesting myself. Mission maybe not accomplished in this post, but you smell what I’m stepping in.

If I’m supposed to be able to smell what you’re stepping in from here, I think that would qualify as interesting…

[cards]

The Quantum History Channel is On The Air!

This type of thread won’t be found anywhere else and Hypno-Toad’s response at post 15 is the type of priceless wit and insight that is often found here.

[Darth_Sensitive]

I liked gabriela’s information on her job as a coroner, and I was sad to see that she’s now listed as a guest.

[Nature_s_Call]

I asked a question about topology in this thread. Within a half an hour a Doper named Mathochist provided a great reply. From there others chimed in expanding the discussion. Topology! I’ve had other experiences with quantum mechanics, genetics, computers. I’ve enjoyed others’ threads that did the same with medicine, pornographers, art/culture and countless other specialized human activities. Where else but SDMB?

[vison]

My first internet experience was as a member of a Lord of the Rings forum. The site is still there and I still post occasionally. I joined several other LOTR forums over the years, two of which I still post at regularly. I’ve made wonderful friends there. Not much discussion of LOTR any more, of course, but many interesting literary threads, friendship/support threads, writers’ threads, etc. Some of us have met in person and the “imaginary friends” have mostly turned out to be terrific real world friends.

But SDMB is different, for sure. Last year I joined another MB famous for its efforts in determining what is or what is not an Urban Legend, etc. It is a good place but has one fault: I think the moderation or administration is capricious and inconsistent. I felt that I was walking on eggshells all the time.

SDMB has the BBQ pit. That is, I think, the one thing that makes the biggest difference between this site and that one. After I’ve been here awhile I might think differently, but at this point I think it is the safety valve that allows this board to function so well.

I’ve lived through 3 board “meltdowns”. I’ve seen friends banned and seen others NOT banned who should have been. People flounced out vowing they would never be back. If some of those boards had had “the pit” things might have been different.

The first internet friend I made was a physicist who occasionally worked as a consultant for STNG and who was an LOTR fanatic. Another is a bible scholar who can and does read Greek, Latin, Aramaic and Hebrew. Another is an evangelical Christian clergyman. Another is a diehard Libertarian/atheist. One is an aircraft controller and I will never forget his posts in the wake of 9/11. Another is a young man in Australia who I think will one day be Prime Minister there - if the Aussies have any sense, that is.

What is my point, you ask? I guess my point is that SDMB seems to me to be a destination that my internet wanderings inevitably led me to. I was never involved in the swooning threads, no longer have much to say about Frodo and Aragorn, but am passionately interested in the world around me, in issues such as global warming, the American presidential race, the future of agriculture, literature, etc.

It’s never easy being a newbie and I am sure not at ease yet. It takes awhile to know your way around, to know any given poster’s style, to operate within the unwritten boundaries. I also think that many of us, if not most, are introverts who find “virtual” relationships easier and less troublesome than real world ones. (Not that we don’t have those real world ones, I am not suspecting the other members of SDMB of being hairy comic book guyz who don’t get out much.)

There may be other places as swell, but I’m not going to look any further.