# Holy Crap! SDMB (on this site) is ten years old this year, right? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 14, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862 "2009-02-14T21:06:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/1 "2009-02-14T21:06:43Z")
The SDMB, in its current form on this web site, will be turning 10 this year, will it not? Does anybody know the day? Happy birthday SDMB! Sure, I complain about stuff, like the broken search engine, but it likely this is the site I spent the most time at in the last decade of my life. It’s a mighty big internet, so I think that’s saying a lot. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/2 "2009-02-14T21:12:58Z")
Member #1 doesn’t work, but #2 is **Lynn Bodoni** , who joined March 9th, 1999. Hookers and blow for everyone! ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/3 "2009-02-14T21:19:57Z")
Do I have Alzheimer’s? My profile says I joined in July 2001, but I remember posting on the message board in 1997 or 1998. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/4 "2009-02-14T21:34:47Z")
Might that have been on the old AOL boards? Those predate the current site. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/5 "2009-02-14T21:56:15Z")
We were on AOL from the summer of 1996-roughly April 1999. Columns and message board. During the time The Straight Dope was on AOL the [www.straightdope.com](http://www.straightdope.com) site served as a “placeholder” and you could read the new column there and get info but not much else. You could could also see Usenet sites such as alt.fan.cecil-adams; these sites had their own following as well. The AOL side closed April-May 1999, iirc. The AOL Straight Dope message board was visible for a while after that — and available through some playing with urls for several years after we had closed the door. It’s gone now, they finally cleared off that server at AOL. The current incarnation of the Straight Dope Message Board started . . . I want to say April 1999 but that may or may not be accurate. It was a little bit after we got everything going good on the main Straight Dope site, I think, so it’s possible we may not have been open for business until as late as May. Not sure where the first postings are – we were on another message board software and we’ve been through a lot of changes since then. ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/6 "2009-02-14T22:16:55Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Member #1 doesn’t work, but #2 is **Lynn Bodoni** , who joined March 9th, 1999. > > Hookers and blow for everyone! Ha! That was my 21st birthday. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/7 "2009-02-14T22:21:13Z")
Regardless, it’s been a major part of my Interwebs experience. I’ve looked at a lot of message boards, signed on with a few, but none compare to the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/8 "2009-02-15T04:59:28Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > The current incarnation of the Straight Dope Message Board started . . . I want to say April 1999 but that may or may not be accurate. It was a little bit after we got everything going good on the main Straight Dope site, I think, so it’s possible we may not have been open for business until as late as May. Had to be at latest March 1999 when it started, since that’s my join date (unless those are inaccurate). ---
**Author:** ![HongKongFooey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c4cdca/32.png) [@HongKongFooey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HongKongFooey)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2009, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/9 "2009-02-15T05:55:34Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > Ha! That was my 21st birthday. but were there hookers and blow for everyone? ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/10 "2009-02-16T07:42:46Z")
What are the oldest accessible posts? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/11 "2009-02-16T13:04:25Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > What are the oldest accessible posts? This appears to be the oldest: > **[Welcome](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=491)** > > Hi, and welcome to the “About This Message Board” forum. Post here if you have comments or questions about how this message board works. But please, read the FAQ first, this will answer (we hope) the most commonly asked questions. Notice it has been damaged, all the user names are missing. ---
**Author:** ![meek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce73a5/32.png) [@meek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meek)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/12 "2009-02-16T14:20:33Z")
Ed’s join date was 02-18-1999. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/13 "2009-02-16T15:37:12Z")
> [@meek](#): > > Ed’s join date was 02-18-1999. It might, since the thread **Fear** linked to, number 471, has an OP date of March 10. Seems fair to me to proclaim throughout the land that this Wednesday is DopeDay. I’ll bring pie. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/14 "2009-02-16T16:18:32Z")
I’ll invite Dopey, and he can bring the other Dwarts if they want to come along. You already said Snow is coming, with the hookers. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/15 "2009-02-16T18:56:02Z")
I also vote that 2/18, this Wednesday, be considered the SDMB’s 10th anniversary in its current form. What say you, Admins? ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/16 "2009-02-16T20:08:05Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > This appears to be the oldest: > > [Welcome - About This Message Board - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=491) > > Notice it has been damaged, all the user names are missing. You can read through the text of subsequent posts to get some of the usernames from what used to be quote tags and people’s in-post signatures. **TubaDiva** made the second post in that thread (as currently ordered; in some cases of board hiccups posts have been re-ordered). Also included are **CatBiker** , **Eutychus** , and people referred to as “Monty” and “Chip” (though these may not be their exact usernames), among others. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/17 "2009-02-16T23:43:51Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Had to be at latest March 1999 when it started, since that’s my join date (unless those are inaccurate). We had a select group register and it was beta testing for a while first, it wasn’t wholesale open to the world until a little later. You were on our shakedown cruise. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/18 "2009-02-17T00:00:18Z")
Thread numbers from the early days aren’t entirely reliable: The board originally ran under UBB rather than vBulletin, and the thread numbers got juggled around some in the transition. IIRC, UBB had separate numbering for each forum (thus, thread #572 in General Questions would be different from thread #572 in Comments on Cecil’s Columns), so it wasn’t really possible to keep the same numbering through the transition. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_griffin-kentzel/32/14787_2.png) [@Larry\_Griffin-Kentzel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Griffin-Kentzel)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/19 "2009-02-17T02:15:12Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Member #1 doesn’t work, but #2 is **Lynn Bodoni** , who joined March 9th, 1999. Member #1 was **TubaDiva**. At that time, the board software was somewhat wonky, and her original registration was lost in cyberspace. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862/20 "2009-02-17T20:47:35Z")
> [@meek](#): > > Ed’s join date was 02-18-1999. That was my 29th birthday. > [@Revtim](#): > > I also vote that 2/18, this Wednesday, be considered the SDMB’s 10th anniversary in its current form. Makes it easy for me to remember, anyway! 😛 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holy-crap-sdmb-on-this-site-is-ten-years-old-this-year-right/485862.md?page=2)