I don't know if any of you get around on the other Web design/development/Internet marketing/SEO/SEM forums, but if you have, you'll probably recognize me from such places as SitePoint (where I'm an Advisor on the Design Team), Digital Point (I'm just a regular joe over there - but an active and helpful one), the International Web Developer's Network (IWDN), CodingForums.com, The Blog Experiment, and SEO.com (where I'm a forum moderator) just to name a few; which probably means you already know what I not only do for a living but also help others out with.
For those who don't, well, I guess it's time I tell you a bit about myself. So grab a beer (please drink responsibly, and only if you're legally able to, of course) or other beverage, pull up a chair, and prepare to be bored out of your mind.
I've been developing Web sites since 2002, most of those sites being related to the
BattleTech tabletop miniatures war game (it ain't dead, folks). At the time, I didn't even have a computer of my own (big shock, I know) since they were out of my price range at the time, and given the fact that I prefer quality over low prices, I wasn't about to waste my money in the long term on one that I'd have to replace every year or two. I didn't get my first computer until 2003 (and no, it wasn't a Fischer Price My First Computer either, but it was a hand-down nonetheless), which sadly was a piece of garbage even by the standards of the time (if you really want to develop an appreciation for easy to find, easy to access and easy to use Web sites, try using one on an ancient PC that has a 133mH processor and 256MB of RAM). Later that year I ended up getting a "slightly used" computer with an Intel Pentium III 933mH processor on an ASUS TUSI-M motherboard that also had 512MB of SD-RAM on it and a 20 GB Maxtor hard drive.
Don't knock the Maxtor - it was one of the few that actually WORKED and lasted a long time (I finally replaced it last year with a Western Digital 250GB hard drive), so yeah, I got lucky with it. I'm still using that PC to this day; aside from the new hard drive, the only things that I've replaced were the CD burner (I now have a DVD burner) and the PSU. And it's still purring like a kitten too.
I started taking HTML and Web design seriously in 2004; however despite my best efforts, I could never quite *get* JavaScript for some reason. I could understand the syntax (that wasn't a problem), but making it *work* just seemed beyond me. So I started focusing my efforts on mastering HTML and CSS instead. From there, rather than branching out into actual Web design (creating layouts and graphics) or programming, I started to learn everything I could about accessibility, information architecture, search engine optimization (and quickly came to appreciate the emphasis I was putting on making Web sites for all people, not just some of them, regardless of what device they choose to use), usability and even Web copywriting.
I've been doing this professionally since 2006 (I didn't have much of a choice), and while the past couple years have been hard on me (physically as well as mentally) I can say with a degree of certainty that it's all starting to pay off.
So, why am I here? Easy. I like helping people. And the more people I can help, the better off everyone will be. I'm not the type to BS people or lie - I tend to be blunt, direct and to the point, but I always strive to be respectful of others, since that's one of the few things I ask of others when they deal with me.
Other than that, if anyone has any questions or wants to know more about me, well, that's what this thread is for, so fire away. I'll just hide behind this protective plating here...
Welcome to WT Dan. You will get along well with most of us here. We are here too because we enjoy helping people. You will most especially get along well with LadyNRed - she is a one woman army enforcing web standards, not that the rest of us don't support it, but she has a special passion for it 
