Public poll.
Counting the years before “the internet” (let’s say early 90’s and the World Wide Web anyway) when it was local dial-up bulletin boards or other modem-oriented connections with other personal computers, how long have you been a participant in such things?
For a bit of history, check out History of the World Wide Web
I can remember being back in middle school when kids were passing around BBS phone numbers (mostly for porn – in text, of course). I’m 32 now, so yeah, over 16 years. I’m such an addict.
12+ years just here, then there was the AOL boards. Plus I was on other message boards on AOL before the SDMB came along. Before AOL I screwed around with the sorry excuse for message boards they had over at Prodigy and before that I did the BBS thing. But that was just one or two local people that were hosting little servers out of their bedrooms. Once in a while I might dial into something bigger, but not much. I’m going to say 15-16 years only because that would put me at 16 years old and I distinctly remember having a driver’s license when I was first getting started with the BBS thing.
Yep. I was already grown when my son got into “modeming” with the Commodore Users Group in our area. My first log-on was in 1985. Just now I was having a momentary brain fart with arithmetic and thought that meant 16 years. That’s off a bit! We didn’t get an IBM-type PC (Compaq actually) until 1995 and it took a little while before the message board thing caught us, but that may be why 16 years were stuck in my mind. That and fuzzy thinking.
The GEnie boards and Usenet go back 20+ years for me.
Got my KayPro II in '83 and found a movie review bulletin board. My, how time flies.
Not too long ago, and maybe still, you could still find my first Usenet posts from 1997.
I was on the “fly boards” and “yeast boards”, more like list servs, back in grad school in early '90s. They were for asking questions about techniques using these experimental orgs. If I google my old email from grad school these posts come up still! Also, we had access to Usenet boards like alt.tv.etc and other topics that I participated in. I found an old Twin Peaks post and an old recipe request once while ego googling.
I went with 15-16 years since I’ve been doing it since discovering the Buzzsaw boards on aol sometime during my freshman year of college, so probably early in 1996 (if not Christmas break in 1995).
!3 years. AOL boards and then the X-Files message board, then Gingerbeer.
Usenet via the Uni computers, 1995. Good times 
Since 1983, starting with local bulletin boards, up on through fidonet, then onto usenet newsgroups. Strangely, I avoided WWW message boards for a long time, based on the perception that they were exclusively populated by half-wits.
Just out of curiosity, has that perception changed? 
Yes. “Half” was being generous :D:D
Wow, looking at the poll results, we’ve got some geezers here! Including myself, who fondly remembers Fidonet and all the others…
9 - 10 years for me. I got an internet connection in early 2000, but it took over 2 years before I discovered message boards. I first joined a message board (GameFAQs) in November 2002.
It’s a geezer party for sure. I’m wondering if the public nature of the poll is scaring short-timers away. Or maybe it’s that short-timers are just not into polls to start with.
One other thing: when “geezers” include folks in their 30’s, maybe we need a new term for that group. Ideas?
Board-weary?
I’ve been here for a long time. :o
I’ve been fascinated by message boards for as long as I’ve been on the internet - which I think started in 1994 or so. I’m pretty sure I joined my first message board when I was 11 (a BBS discussing some silly computer game I played), and I’m 26 now, so 15 years. Wow.
I didn’t have my own computer from 2004 - early 2009, but I still read message boards on the occasions I did have access.
Since I was about 14 in 1993. Like Larry Mudd I remember AOL and the www were considered sort of bullshit when they came around.
The oldest Usenet post I can find is from 1994 (in alt.fan.conan-obrien).