/b/ is to internet identity as SomethingAwful is to personal identity. /b/tards act the way they do because there's no consequences, and absurdity is welcomed. SA Goons act the way they do because it's how they think.
You decide which is worse.
I'm not sure I follow. How does a extremely well-moderated board system with a minimum IQ of around 90 (except in BYOB, but no one gives a **** about BYOB except people who post in BYOB), tens of thousands of users from all walks of life (and I do mean ALL--doctors, soldiers, lawyers, even former mental hospital patients), ruthless extermination of trolls, and a forum for just about any subject you could think of compare to a board on a website devoted to pornography where anything that isn't blatantly illegal goes?
Is that what the cover charge on SA is? To keep out /b/tards and the like?
No, it's to pay for the massive server expenses so they can keep a forum with 70,000 (that figure is probably grossly inadequate as it's from June '06 when I joined) people running. If you manage to get banned you can reinstate your account by paying another $10 (the "idiot tax"), unless you get banned a whole ****load of times, post illegal material (child porn, warez, malicious files, etc.), admit to committing serious crimes (I mean REALLY serious), or admit to being a pedophile, in which case you will likely be permabanned.
Hmm, the SA I know must be different from the one you know. I remember a place where the general atmosphere was about arrogance, obnoxiousness, and overall intolerance to people who didn't think like them. The name "something awful" described it perfectly.
And besides, from where you're coming from, it sounds like BYOB == /b/
No, BYOB is not quite like /b/, it's...relaxed. Too relaxed. Kind of like all the people who post there are sedated or high on something. The ridiculous color and font scheme (pastel blue and Comic Sans) kind of reinforces it. People who post in BYOB or FYAD (it's hard to describe FYAD. It stands for **** You and Die, and you either "get it" or you don't. You'd have to read it to even try to understand) generally stay there.
As for people being intolerant, not really that I've seen. Even furries aren't really harassed anymore unless they whine about being picked on or post furry threads. What Something Awful doesn't like is pedophiles. Even joking about being a pedophile will get you banned. I wouldn't recommend being a Scientologist either ("Anonymous" and Scientology is pretty much a forum punch line).
