I will play the role of the guy who has never got the chance to read the article, although it is very old, and I will thank the poster!

Me too. This so perfectly describes how I feel in social situations, and it's nice to hear somebody say "It's Ok! It's society that's screwed up, not you."

Such a great article though that all extroverts should be forced to reread it yearly until it sinks in.

I'm an introvert but I also understand it goes both ways. Some of my extroverted friends may need me to swing the pendulum more their way as well. It may be uncomfortable and draining for me to be that outgoing or engaged, but I think back to the situations in which I made a conscious effort to do so -- I seem to have grown a little bit each time I did.

In case anyone wants to go more in-depth into the inner workings of an introvert, I highly recommend the book "Introvert Power" by Laurie Helgoe. The article sums up most of the basic points pretty nicely though.

And I've had it hanging on my wall ever since. Helps remind roommates and enlighten guests. Definitely warrants revisiting from time to time.

Sorry - unintentional repost.