Back in the day I joined forums for the hell of it, mostly because I was unemployed and bored. I drew back then as well, and shared what I made with people on various forums. I suppose it was a way of both ridding myself of boredom and getting some attention while I was at it (everyone wants to feel appreciated or 'liked' in some form or another).
I suppose that eventually branched out to making signatures and avatars. Learning there were other forums out there with skilled GFX artists, I set sail for NB.
Can't say I'm very active nowadays though. I glanced around like a dolt for a bit, shook my head and left.