Why did you start visiting the first one you did?
This was the first one I visited regularly. I was intrigued when I first stumbled upon it, and I think I spent about 24 hours in 2 days just reading thread after thread, post after post. I thought everything was well organized, and I could jump into a different pool depending on my mood.
What exactly stimulated you to start posting/browsing regularly?
Ummmm. I think my first posts were in the Canada Regional Forum, and I didn't know I was allowed to post elsewhere. I thought that all of the foreigners were banished to the regional threads, and only Yanks were allowed to post in the general discussion threads. I found that Charlatan, Flyman and AceofSpades were Canadian and posting other places, so I did too.
What is it about TFP that keeps you coming back?
The level of discourse. At the very start, people cared about what I had to say, and gave their (sometimes opposing) views very intelligently. I went on some other boards and found the abundance of Post-Count-Whores and old vets that bombarded me with "STFU NOOB" that I quickly ran back to TFP and licked my wounds (along with other body parts that I could reach
).
What draws you to any other boards you regularly visit?
As the answer above shows, I stay away from other boards.
Are you a lurker? Do you almost always feel motivated to give your opinion? Do you post about everything?
I post about almost everything. I feel motivated to give my opinion because of pure ego. I think people want to read what I have to say. If they don't, they just skim over my post when they see the name of the poster.
What benefits have you gotten from being around message boards?
Different points of view;
A shoulder to laugh/cry on;
a sense of belonging in this big open cyberspace;
a place to vent (my physical environment often discourages venting);
learning about others, without all of the bullshit "How is my hair fixed today" or petty visual hang-ups that normal face-to-face interpersonal communication is plagued with.