After what happened to Aaron Sorkin on the TWoP boards, I doubt any celebrity would publicly and regularly post, or at least, would do so very carefully.
What happened to Aaron Sorkin? I only discovered TWoP a few months back, so my mind is racing with the possibilities! 
Do you remember a West Wing episode called Poet Laureate? A side plot was Josh posting on a message board. It quickly got away from him and CJ finally threatened to shove a message board up his ass if he ever posted there again.
If you read the recap, you will see that it was a slam of Sorkin against TWoP, where he started posting and got into an on-board fight with one of the writers (?) of the show. TWoP got a few digs in of their own in the recap, and I think there’s some links to the actual thread.
I definitely subscribe to the belief that famous actors are no more than (usually) attractive people that got ahead in their chosen field. I respect them for them for that but no more than people that have done well in any other field. I am so snooty by nature, I have usually blown off any celebrities I considered unintelligent or bores when I have been around them. The only unique value they have to me is their experience of being idolized by millions. That is just a curiosity however.
I was thrilled when I contacted a childhood friend a couple of years ago. He had a terrible life in Louisiana although he was extremely smart. I was his only friend until his mother had to move him suddenly to California in 8th grade. I happened across his name and was curious if it was him so I sent an e-mail. It was him and through a long series of events ended up and Stanford engineering and invented the animatronics that made the dinosaurs possible in Jurassic Park as well as characters in AI, Minority Report and a whole slew of other movies. That was way cooler to me than talking to a biological moving body prop that acted in the movie. Likewise, I am happy that astronauts, especially the early ones, are famous but they were mainly just bodies strapped to a rocket that the real achievers built.
My mother has always wanted to be famous desperately and has worked towards that goal all her life. Now she is an accomplished international speaker in education and spends all her time flying around the world speaking to audiences of dozens to thousands. She most have spoken to over a million people by now. She isn’t a name you would now outside of education circles but her second book just came out and she does book signings etc. It drives me crazy to be around her when she brings that stuff up and I easily bore of it. Likewise, my wife is famous in some circles including a town in France having a surprise parade for her, a ball in her name, and giving her the keys to the city. I respect equivalent accomplishment equally no matter what it results in.
The most “famous” member of the SDMB that is of the type that I really respect is The Bad Astronomer. He was an active member for a long-time and has been featured on many TV shows and prestigious magazine articles. He was a key figure in helping debunk the public idiocy surround the “moon landing hoax”.
Kevin Smith has posted in the AICN talkbacks- a site that he ridiculed in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.
I’ve thought of that myself, but after seeing the kind of research members will perform to out a sock puppet, I realize that the “secret identity” would likely be blown within a day or two.
Hmmm … Looking over this thread, I see that one already has. Happy Year!
This is the sort of stuff I’m interested in. That, and “average day at the office” type of stuff for actors, because they’re involved in fields I have no knowledge of.
You said more clearly what I was trying to say in an earlier post.
I just left a call out at a NASCAR sim message board frequented by some real NASCAR drivers. Dale Earnhardt Jr. used to be a regular but hasn’t been there much lately. Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears had been there in the last 24 hours, maybe one will swing by here.
Oh believe me, if they posted, I’d ask them things. 
They’d probably be asked a lot of things by a lot of people.
I’ve always kinda suspected that too. But if they want to remain anon, that’s fine of course. I’m not really looking for someone to just post once in here and say “Hey all, I’m Tom Cruise. Celebrity checking in”…I’m actually hoping it would be more than that, of course. Like DeadlyAccurate said, an Ask the Celeb of sorts would be nice. Debunk some ignorance about it or their area of work. I dunno…but not just to come in for the point of filling a celeb asking for spot.
I’d think (and hope) they’d have more sense than that! :dubious: I wouldn’t expect anyone of major celebrity status to be able to post regularly anyway. I was just talking about a one time visit for…well, a couple reasons…but for one, just so we could say one had been here. I know I know, that probably makes people feel less important…“Oh just a celeb to make a post and say a few words”. Like lissener and AuntiePam mentioned a bit, come just to be admired. But that’s not the only thing I was hoping for. Depending on who it was, they really could debunk a lof of stuff and tell a story or two.
I dunno…I know some celebs who seem to LOVE attention and the glamour. Hahaha.
(Assuming it’s permissible to pimp another board), why not go to them?
F. Paul Wilson, Rick Hautala, Doug Clegg, Brian Keene, Tom Piccirrilli, Elizabeth Massie, Steve Savile, Tim Lebbon, Tom Monteleone, Ray Garton, Harry Shannon, Steve Vernon, Gary Braunbeck, T. M. Wright and several small press publishers post pretty regularly at the board accessed via www.shocklines.com.
No Koontz, King, or Rice, but that’s okay, because then people feel more comfortable complaining about their latest book.
In this Straight Dope article it’s mentioned that that Jon Cryer, upon learning the secret of Pompatus, sent it to Cecil. It’s clear that Cryer is a Straight Dope fan.
What about other celebrities? When I lived on Roscoe street in Wrigleyville in 1995 (the area of Chicago near Wrigley field, for you non-Chicagoans,) virtually everyone I met had to tell me that Chris O’Donnell lived a block or two away, and could be found in one of the neighborhood clubs almost every night. (I never saw the guy, just reporting rumors.) I know that John and Joan Cusack also frequented that neighborhood, as a friend of mine was a bouncer at a club they used to go to often. Everybody in that neighborhood read the Reader, and I can promise you that if they read the Reader, they read Cecil. We can presume that includes O’Donnell and the Cusacks.
It follows that they might check out Cecil online, and from there would end up here. So I’d say odds are good some A list actor has at least browsed the site, if not joined up and posted.
But really, who cares? I’d be more interested in some Nobel Proze winners. As much as I love John Cusack’s movies, bottom line is that his job is to put on makeup and read cue cards. I’d much rather hear from someone like Lisa Randall.
Er, Nobel Prize winners.
Guess I won’t be getting the Nobel for spelling…
No, I’m Spartacus!
My feeling is that this kind of “gee, I’d love to talk to a Real Life Celeb” is exactly WHY a bona fide celeb might prefer to keep his or her identity secret, assuming they did read or post here. There’s probably a lot more interesting about a famous person than their famousness, but once that’s revealed, that’s all anyone is usually interested in.
There’s a well-known musician who is also a huge ham-radio buff. He’s a regular participant on a ham enthusiasts’ e-mail list that one of my friends is on, and he posts under his real name. He’s tremendously generous with ham-radio info, but inevitably, a couple times a year, someone says, “You’re not THE <Celeb Name> from <Well-Known Band>, are you?” and then brings in a gajillion people who are NOT ham enthusiasts, but who want to be able to say they talked with Famous Person. Which bogs down the list for everyone who is an actual enthusiast, you know?
How do you know I haven’t already?
Allan Watts is every poster here!
An authorative quote was attributed to me in USA Today, about a year and a half back. Do five dopers know me? Maybe, I’ve met a lot of people in my life.
I’m
[spoiler]
BATMAN![RIGHT]no, really…[/RIGHT] [/spoiler]
No, dammit, I’m Spartacus!