I certainly would be poorer (at least in my opinion) - the contacts and friends I made over the years through boards (and I agree that when Greenie had his board at ANS were some good times), the chat rooms associated with the boards, and the intermingling we did just doing silly little things like Dokks radio shows and talking about ideas back then that have developed into reality was a great path to take. I remember when Tommy first talked about going to private paid submits 3 years ago, when SEO was something most of us didnt pay any attention to, and toplists were the greatest thing since sliced bread
I have to grin when I see Stuveltje posting about when she was a newbie - my icq was lit up like a Christmas tree all the time - but it was nice cause I knew that she would be one of the ones that made it in this biz with her drive (and her little hopping guys).
Overall Id say that anyone that takes part in the community of a board like this one and tries to listen, read and learn as well as participate in the discussions even when you think you don't really know that much yet, makes a huge difference in your future in this biz.