keepin it positive re: ilx and your real life

feel like there have been lots of people worrying about the effects of ilx on their real life and how their real selves are reflected on here. this is the thread about how ilx has benefited our lives and changed us for the better

its blank

http://tinypic.com/b6d0nk.jpg

It's helped refine my thought-processes and behaviours, certainly.

i will be honest in that this thread was inspired by me making roasted asparagus for dinner tonight, which i learned how to do from ilx and has definitely made my life better. but in a real more serious way, ilx gave me a set of people that i already kind of "knew" when sarah and i moved to chicago, which really helped with adjusting to life in the big city. most of these people have gone on to be real friends in my "real" life, people who i hang out with all the time in person, for which i am sincerely grateful

ilx is awesome. it's brought together the finest english-speaking minds of its generation. if i want to find out about something, an ilx thread is always first place to look. and it delivers lols on the daily.

otoh fuck the whole kip circle-jerk imo.

i never post on ilm but i have learned about music i like from it, especially from the r&b threads. thanks, r&b thread posters!

so so so much music... which has enhanced my life immeasurably

have helped me become less dumb, less corny, and I'm sure nobody will believe this but compared to 7 years ago I am way less weird about feeling the need to relentlessly explain/clarify/argue points with people

Helped me man the fuck up, and I'm sure it's done the same to any poster this site has who's worth a damn.

learned about music, laughed occasionally.

have helped me become less dumb, less corny, and I'm sure nobody will believe this but compared to 7 years ago I am way less weird about feeling the need to relentlessly explain/clarify/argue points with people

― nabisco

^^^care to explain this?

1) i feel much more free to let my nerdy self show here, which has allowed my nerdy self to be more dynamic IRL social situations, oddly enough.

2) the ILX gays have been a tremendous source of support and help to each other in rough times. also, we talk about dick. anyway, finally, a place to talk to other fags on the internet sans all the bullshit of sites like manhunt, dlist, etc.

3) MUSIC. music music music.

4) in times of intense depression and loneliness, ilx provided a nice psychological outlet and support. glad those times are over, equally glad ilx was there for me.

also, roffles.

so so so much music

^^^^ yes that

plus met a buncha cool new york people to go drinky drinky and go to shows with at a time when a lot of my "other" friends were havin kids & not going out as much

Helped me man the fuck up, and I'm sure it's done the same to any poster this site has who's worth a damn.

― Britpoppage (The stickman from the hilarious xkcd comics), Wednesday, 25 February 2009 00:32 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

I think I'm en route to this ^^^ tbh, a work in progress if you will

not to mention random encounters with all the interesting ilx out of towners who hit nyc who I woulda never met otherwise

also just like... overhearing chitter chatter about other peoples' lives outside my experience, even if it's similar people who live in different parts of the world, is something i'm grateful for.

made me a better thinker and arguer, introduced me to a bunch of good bros, expanded my knowledge about the world both past and present, taught me how to lols at uk ppl

Taught me that as well as playing bass guitar and working in development charities, bisexuals can sometimes also talk about rap music.

Yeah, the social aspect is not to be underestimated. Not only do I have a close group of friends in Chicago that I first met on ILX (a couple of whom I'm even going to see at pub quiz an hour from now), I've also hung out with ILXors in San Francisco, New York, and Montreal, who showed me around, gave me a place to stay, etc.

The other big thing is that while I've always been a music fan, ILM made me a lot more excited about music -- seeing people talk intelligently about genres outside my circumscribed tastes made me want to explore those genres more fully. It also made me want to write about music, which I did semi-regularly for a blog and website for a couple of years and in the process made connections with a whole host of other people.

Oh, and I met my girlfriend one night three years ago when n/a, Kenan, and I went to see Jordan's band play at a jazz club. Indirect, maybe, but I like to think that ILX is somewhat responsible.

pros: lots of music and movies. sci-fi and teh gays thread hipped me to a lot of good stuff. sf restaurant reviews. lots of lolz.
cons: daily lessons on "how to be an asshole"

ilx ate my baby

Expanded on a core group of friends who were already chatting before Tom E. kicked it off, resulted in a slew of professional opportunities including the invitation to join in Marooned, music galore as mentioned, travel tips and advice for all around the world, plenty of laughs -- it goes on.

And in times of shock and grief -- 9/11, the passing of various board members, more besides -- a place to gather, pass on information, and reflect.

you need lessons?

xpost zing denied

i cant say the social element has been a big thing for me but there have been a few really excellent people i've met in irl thru ilx, and who are real friends now, you know who you are, and im grateful for that too

oh yeah Ned OTM about ILX during times of disasters. The Hurricane Katrina thread springs to mind.

nipplegate

I mean when shit like that is going down ILX is usually 1 million times more valuable than trad news outlets (most recent example I can think of: Mumbai terrorist attack)

hahah
x-post

if i want to find out about something, an ilx thread is always first place to look.

^^this. For me, ILX search function is often second behind Wikipedia as an A++ online reference for just about anything. So that plus the lols plus music plus the kitchen sink = awez. hell i even love the political threads.

i do tend to steer clear of meta threads, but really just because my job keeps me busy enough to where they often don't make much sense. i suppose this also helps keep the whole thing in perspective as well.

yeah social aspects are probably the most important, if i ilx got nuked tomorrow i'd still be in contact with tens (tens!) of A+ people

now know several local bros that i doubt i would know otherwise thx to ilx. good times had when ilxors drift through the MPLS/STPL, and when ive drifted through cities where i didnt know much of anyone (thx nyc). heard a ton of music i prob never would have dug into otherwise. TBH i dont really (other than the every so often dumb flare up, my fault as much as anyones) have anything other than good feelings about ilxors, for a self-selecting bunch its a pretty stellar crowd, and id be glad to hang with all you all IRL as far as i see it.

i can't credit this site, but i met my gf IRL separate from ilx but she used to read it and posted on it maybe half a dozen times way back in tha day but left before i ever showed up.

the new answers page also keeps me abreast of various goings-on and solid jokes about them* in a way I'm not sure I could get elsewhere! plus at least thread-title information about topics I don't usually pay attention to.

* so another thing ILX has taught me = how to say "oh, THAT topic, I just read someone say X about that" in a way that hopefully makes it seem like I might be half-remembering a line from Proust

yeah im kind of neutral on this but ilx has made me more up on stuff than i reckon i would otherwise have been. nothing to compare it to since i've been here almost since i got my first job, but most people don't have a clue about the hot new memes, animal collective, etc.

lol

hot new memes

ha yeah.... my gf who is like 5.5 years my junior but about 10x busier over the course of her workday is always "where in the hell do you find this stuff??" when i'm lolcat'n her back in like '06.

* so another thing ILX has taught me = how to say "oh, THAT topic, I just read someone say X about that" in a way that hopefully makes it seem like I might be half-remembering a line from Proust

Haha I do this all the time. "Yeah, I remember reading an interesting take on that subject, I forgot where...." vs. "A stranger on an internet forum I read said..."

most of the people i hang out with regularly i met thru ilx and there have been many good times in the last 6 years
site in general has made me smarter and funnier, a better thinker and writer (all fsvo), helps me realise who i was/am/could be (lol ugh)

nice to get to know the younger posters (basically anyone under 30) and their take on music/films/politics. keeps me slightly less out of it. also, seriously funny people post here.

ILE gave me a place to slang poetry with Beth Parker. This improved both my demeanor and my complexion.

Ilx also gave AAD a permanent residence, in the same way that a window sill so often gives a dead fly a home, and I credit AAD with teaching me how to whistle. Or else I imagined this; it may have been Lauren Bacall.

ILBooks allows me to speak of books without being regarded as a snob and a bore. How they manage to overlook this is beyond me.

i come here mostly to read smart and funny people talk about art and politics - and also for the 'robots in dis guys' thread (which never fails to make me laugh no matter how bad a mood i'm in).

ilx meets real life
http://www.letsgetitright.org/blog/trainwreck.jpg

i come here mostly to read smart and funny people talk about art and politics - and also for the 'robots in dis guys' thread (which never fails to make me laugh no matter how bad a mood i'm in).

100% for me as well, except for coaches-caught-in-mid-coach and worried traders instead of robots.

In essence: I came for the rap discourse and stayed for the bros.

lol @ the thought process in early 2006--"I can use this board to point me towards new music all the time! I'll never run out of stuff to write about!" That didn't really happen and the whole "music writer" thing has kinda been scrapped, but at least ILM helped me realize that there were people overthinking this stuff as hard as I was. I don't really have a bunch of record geek friends IRL, so ILM was key as far as finding dudes to talk about shit like Deodato.

Now I'm all tangled up in ILX and whatnot. What to do but embrace?

Redbulldozers (02:46:51): i wouldn't have this new camera if i didn't join ilx
Redbulldozers (02:47:19): as i wouldn't have bought the ixus before that which was from that nick southall vs stevem ixus thread

Redbulldozers (02:48:07): would probably eat less
Redbulldozers (02:48:11): due to lack of ipso fatso

table's list could double as my own; even though i'm kind of selective about the personal shit i post here, the few times i have it's been good to talk to other people in the same boat, and at its peak it's a consummate stress reliever (i mentioned it elsewhere but the EVIL GUIDE DOG thread brought me serious lolz when i desperately needed some after a kind of intense tragedy). and yeah, i've learned unbelievable amounts of things from this site and have met a couple of cool ppl irl too. i'd be way more productive w/o ILX but internet would be more boring w/o it too i think

also iirc when i first started posting here i realized an acquaintance of mine also posted occasionally to ILX and we sort of bonded over it in real time. he is now a v. good friend and also my roommate!

this thread otm. relative to pretty much the entire internet and a sizable proportion of "real life," ilx is a great place full of cool people.

u guys get me through the workday, what can i say?