Okay so I know I said that there were more important things in life to worry about than my type, but I've reverted back to feeling that I should make one last ditch effort to determine it.
I'll try and make this short since I know most people are put off by long posts. But I want to try and explain how my type journey has evolved to its current state.
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When I first arrived here (not that long ago), I made a long type thread (http://www.the16types.info/vbulletin...ad.php?t=14732).
A couple of posters noted that I looked like an INTj. hkkmr though was certain from the outset I was an INFp. Dioklecian suggested INFj, but his reasons were brief. munenori then said that I reminded him of himself, so he suggested an introverted NF type, and since I sounded serious, suggested INFj.
Eunice suggested I was a Delta type, but no INFj, so she suggested ISTp (later she backed this up by saying I sounded like I had Fe PoLR and I didn’t look infantile).
>>> Out of all the suggestions so far, I most identified with the INFj descriptions.
A lot was made of my statements about being on time, and I think hkkmr related this to Ni ego, though others disagreed about this association.
Kristiina then suggested 3 IP types, and ruled out INFp based on my photos, leaving INTp and ISTp. She ruled out INFj because I said I didn't mind telling people what to do if I felt confident. However niffweed and thehotelambush then chipped in and suggested my post was Fi driven with not much Fe, therefore suggesting INFj.
Empathy and acceptance of others was another issue, which some associated with Fi while others disagreed.
Dolphin, an INFp then said she identified with parts of my post and suggest INFp. She also told me to not take the descriptions too seriously because INFps and Beta in general are stereotyped as being more dramatic than is the case.
Heath and Quirk Satellite Division, then chipped in with INTj and INFj respectively, though neither gave real reasons. Ezra then suggested (again with no reasons), that I was Delta or Gamma. Later he suggested Delta or Alpha, rather than Gamma.
Sunshine Lively then voted for INFp, because of a general impression she got, and because I didn't vibe her Fi PoLR. Dee suggested ISTp.
>>> By this stage, 9 pages in, I was starting to seriously consider ISTp, and was still skeptical about INFp, mainly because of the Beta descriptions and the fact I felt INFj fit me better. Ezra also said he saw “no evidence of Beta”.
Meanwhile, the debate about being on time continued.
Then, I made a post reviewing my thread so far (http://www.the16types.info/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=263100&postcount=99). Out of the blue, the INTj votes flowed in. First Mea, then Gilly, then Bionicgoat, then Heath again, though still no one gave reasons.
reyn_til_runa then went through my posts in some detail, and seemed to suggest INFp. She asked some questions, which I answered, but these were not followed up (http://www.the16types.info/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=263440&postcount=117).
tereg then was very helpful and summarised my posts into 52 points (http://www.the16types.info/vbulletin...&postcount=122), to see whether each point could be mapped onto IM elements. By this time, I had read about the hidden agenda on socionics.com, which described that of IxTp as “to love”. I felt some affinity towards this, though dee quite humorously could not see how Fi HA could be summarized by “to love”. dee went through and interpreted tereg’s list but didn’t really reach a conclusion, though he felt I was more delta than alpha.
Slacker Mom said that based on my first post and tereg’s list, she felt that I valued Si but was not strong in it. She also detected some Ti (but could not pinpoint it) and so suggested INTj. This was when I started to take INTj more seriously. I said something like “I’m definitely not gamma” which was taken as another point towards Alpha.
tereg then used functional analysis of the list and came up with two types – the Beta NF’s. I realize that he was still somewhat of a newcomer to socionics, but I still feel that his input was valuable and useful. I was sure I did not have Fe as base function, though Fe-creative was more plausible. And I still didn’t think that I valued Se/Ni over Si/Ne. Taking these sentiments into account, tereg revised his conclusions and arrived at the two Alpha NT’s.
By now I felt some internal pressure to conclude the thread, and all the evidence seemed to pointed to LII.
However then two late calls came in – INFj from HollywoodWanderer and INFp-Ni from Wittmont. HW said I looked like an IJ type but was too “affable and gregarious” to be an LII. I also told Wittmont that I didn’t identify with the Ni-base descriptions. LII it was.
--------------- time passes --------------
I posted some descriptions of my friends (edited out). From these, Kristiina felt that I was an INFj, because she couldn’t see an INTj writing such descriptions and valuing the things I said I valued about them. hkkmr still felt I was an INFp, though he admitted he had a “blindspot” for Fi.
>>> I was back on the INFj track. Or at least delta. I also exchanged some PMs with a member that I was acquainted with in real life, who suggested that from the PMs I sounded more like an INFj than an ISTp.
-------------- more time passes, the search function was used a lot --------------
I found one of Expat’s tests – the retirement questions. I answered them (http://www.the16types.info/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=7447&page=19) and hoped Expat would give me some input, but alas it was not to be. Niffweed however suggested Delta ST. He almost completely ruled out an Ni type because I mentioned the need for an aesthetic environment. To me, it was another point towards Delta.
-------------- time is relentless ---------------------
I finally found the guts to post a video of me looking very uncomfortable (http://www.the16types.info/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=9481&page=71). From this, reyn was sure I was an IP type, probably INFp. Niffweed, UDP and implied all agreed regarding IEI. ScarlettLux however, said I did not seem Beta to her. Baby said my video was in limbo between an uncomfortable INFj and a can't-be-stuffed INFp. Kamangir and Wittmont still felt I was INFp.
>>> And hence my current state of confusion. I identify both with INFp and INFj (even though it doesn't make sense), though Expat's Fi/Fe analogy has made me edge slightly away from Fi.
Unfortunately, this was not as short as I hoped it to be, but hopefully someone has read through and will help me make sense of it all.
I really appreciate all the people who have tried to help so far.