# Have you ever met a fellow Doper in real life, by pure chance? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 19, 2006, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115 "2006-07-19T02:37:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/21 "2006-07-19T18:26:05Z")
**ITR champion** and I were in the same graduating class at college. His handle gives it away, and with a little detective work, I was able to figure out who he is (or at least, I think I was). We certainly met, but I don’t think either of us ever mentioned the doper connection. ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/22 "2006-07-19T18:28:21Z")
Back some years ago, Neidhart and I figuratively bumped into each other a few times. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/23 "2006-07-19T18:45:01Z")
[QUOTE=Meeko] I was sitting in finance class today, and my Professor started talking about a WAG, and how someone in another class had offered it to a question. The instructor asked (or implied) if any of us knew what a WAG was, I offered the answer, and then pondered if a fellow doper has my instuctor for a class. [/QUOTE] Because he used a common term that dates to decades before the web existed? ---
**Author:** ![Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/cab0a1/32.png) [@Man\_With\_a\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_With_a_Cat)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/24 "2006-07-19T19:21:17Z")
[QUOTE=SkipMagic] Yes, and oh boy, did I feel bad about it. I was analyzing traffic on our network when I saw the URL and IP for the board flash across the screen; when I checked, I saw that the local IP accessing the board wasn’t my computer’s address, so that must have meant a co-worker also read/posted to the SDMB. After tracing the local IP back to the computer using it, I noted the company user to which it belonged and filed the info away in case I ever met up with her. I figured it’d be a fun conversation to have. What I didn’t count on was my own bumbling of the situation. The next time I saw her, I took her aside and asked whether she posted on the Straight Dope. “No!” she said, almost frightened. “I have so much work to do that I don’t have time for personal browsing.” I was confused. I knew the traffic came from her computer, but here she was saying otherwise. Plus, hey, stilted and formal speech. It took me a few seconds, but then I realized that, in her eyes, a company system admin was accusing her of wasting company time. “Wait, I post there, too,” I quickly told her. (She was about ready to bolt.) “I just happened to see traffic going to the Straight Dope and thought I’d say ‘Hello’ to another user. I don’t care what sites you visit.” After that, she relaxed a bit, and we talked for a few minutes, but I could see that she was still pretty uncomfortable. Alas, I may have scared off a potential paying member; thus far, she has let her guesthood expire. I guess I oughta throw in $15 to make up for it. [/QUOTE] Oh nice going **Skip** , people are intimated by us big-brainers as it is, you go and run off a potential. Was she good looking? Because that would have just been that much worse… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/25 "2006-07-19T21:58:26Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Bus Guy] Was she good looking? Because that would have just been that much worse… 😉 [/QUOTE] Yeah, right, what if she still lurks from home? You trying to get me fired for harrassment? ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/26 "2006-07-19T22:00:09Z")
My roommate is a doper, but she and I went to high school together and were friends before the Straight Dope came into our lives. (Well, mine anyway. I can’t speak for her on that one) I have never accidentally run into someone only to find out that they post here though. ---
**Author:** ![Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Helen\_s\_Eidolon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helen_s_Eidolon)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/27 "2006-07-19T22:04:47Z")
I once saw someone reading the boards on a computer in the hallway of my university. In my excitement, I think I kind of scared him and our conversation was very confused. No idea who he was - I kind of assume he wasn’t a regular. Unless you are, McGill guy! I didn’t mean to scare you! ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/28 "2006-07-19T22:13:56Z")
Not yet, but there seems to be an inordinate number of Austinites here so chances are fair to midland of running into one eventually. ---
**Author:** ![NajaNivea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/22d042/32.png) [@NajaNivea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NajaNivea)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/29 "2006-07-20T02:20:53Z")
Turns out one of my best friends lists the SD as one of her top four visited websites. I don’t think she posts, though. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/30 "2006-07-20T03:32:48Z")
I once met Ringo and Irishman on a street in Houston. But it was hardly pure chance; it was a half hour before we were supposed to be getting together in a bar and we ran into each other outside a used bookstore two blocks down the street. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/31 "2006-07-20T03:34:27Z")
And I once met Eve on a train. But again, not pure chance - we were both going to NYC that day for the General Slocum memorial cruise and there’s only one train line that passed through our hometowns. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/32 "2006-07-20T03:48:15Z")
[QUOTE=Mr Bus Guy] WAG, as an acronym is pretty common [/QUOTE] Absolutely. For example, when I see it, the first thing that comes to mind is “Wire And Glass”. But seriously, though: if, by chance, I was to come across a fellow doper, it would truly, truly make my day. ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/33 "2006-07-20T03:51:31Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] Not yet, but there seems to be an inordinate number of Austinites here so chances are fair to midland of running into one eventually. [/QUOTE] Yeah, I actually ran into one here. I was taking Japanese at ACC (the local community college) and for one class, we met at a Japanese restaurant (Kyoto, down on Congress). One of the girls in my class asked our teacher about [people bringing personal chopsticks to restaurants](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=278781&highlight=personal+chopsticks) and said her mother had seen it on a message board. Turns out both she and her mother post here (although I didn’t recognize their user names). Truthfully, I can’t even remember the user names now either so I’m not sure if they’re still posting. Hmmmm, I just noticed the originator of the “chopsticks” thread is located here in Austin. I wonder if that was Angela-san’s mother? ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/34 "2006-07-20T04:06:17Z")
I once saw a fellow Doper. I overheard that person talking about the board and even recognized their user name. I said nothing, though, because I didn’t want to reveal my Secret Identity. I’m shy like that. (Which is why I’ll never attend a Dopefest unless it’s to lurk in the shadows and evesdrop.) ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/35 "2006-07-20T04:08:00Z")
Mozman (now listed as a guest) and I met shortly before we both joined the Dope. Mozman [figured it out](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=1241314#post1241314) about a year later. Several years later, he came to interview for a job within my department. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, the job was never filled. He was a nice guy and it’s too bad he stopped posting. ---
**Author:** ![Baffle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/dec6dc/32.png) [@Baffle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baffle)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/36 "2006-07-20T04:15:33Z")
I don’t know of too many Canadians here, and the ones that are, probably come from Calgary or someplace equally distant. Though I’ve lurked for a long time I’ve had a paid account for a very short time so I’m not sure what I’d say anyway. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/37 "2006-07-20T07:10:53Z")
Not that I’m aware of. But then, (based on the locations and from those I’ve seen post regularly), there are only three of us. Two in Anchorage, and one on Ketchikan, an island. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/38 "2006-07-20T09:03:41Z")
There’s a guy who’s been in my last two math classes who may be a Doper. He looks suspiciously like a Doper who started a thread last semester about having met a famous porn star and included a picture of himself with said porn star. Given that my college is a 2 or 3-hour drive to LA, it’s possible. There are enough Dopers in Southern California that I’ve very likely walked right past one or two at some point at Comic-Con 2003 or a Padres-Dodgers game or a trolley station or something else. Maybe I should start wearing a nametag or something. ---
**Author:** ![cards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecd19e/32.png) [@cards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cards)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/39 "2006-07-20T16:01:12Z")
[QUOTE=SkipMagic] Yes, and oh boy, did I feel bad about it. I was analyzing traffic on our network when I saw the URL and IP for the board flash across the screen; when I checked, I saw that the local IP accessing the board wasn’t my computer’s address, so that must have meant a co-worker also read/posted to the SDMB. After tracing the local IP back to the computer using it, I noted the company user to which it belonged and filed the info away in case I ever met up with her. I figured it’d be a fun conversation to have. What I didn’t count on was my own bumbling of the situation. The next time I saw her, I took her aside and asked whether she posted on the Straight Dope. “No!” she said, almost frightened. “I have so much work to do that I don’t have time for personal browsing.” I was confused. I knew the traffic came from her computer, but here she was saying otherwise. Plus, hey, stilted and formal speech. It took me a few seconds, but then I realized that, in her eyes, a company system admin was accusing her of wasting company time. “Wait, I post there, too,” I quickly told her. (She was about ready to bolt.) “I just happened to see traffic going to the Straight Dope and thought I’d say ‘Hello’ to another user. I don’t care what sites you visit.” After that, she relaxed a bit, and we talked for a few minutes, but I could see that she was still pretty uncomfortable. Alas, I may have scared off a potential paying member; thus far, she has let her guesthood expire. I guess I oughta throw in $15 to make up for it. [/QUOTE] I’ll bet she wasn’t bothered by sys admin in the least. I think she knew you were a moderator and was scared by the power to vanquish trolls. ---
**Author:** ![dmatsch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3be4f8/32.png) [@dmatsch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dmatsch)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2006, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115/40 "2006-07-20T18:38:52Z")
[QUOTE=Dante] Nope. And I have a T-shirt that says: _3. Hi Opal!_ [/QUOTE] I want one! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-met-a-fellow-doper-in-real-life-by-pure-chance/365115.md?page=3)