Any interesting reason the URL for this site is:
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb
and not something like:
http://sdmb.straightdope.com
Yeah, I know deep thoughts and all…
Techie answer: The specific name chosen for the machine doesn’t really matter. It all gets translated into IP addresses when the packets get routed, and the DNS servers don’t care what their lookup tables say.
Non-techie answer: I don’t know, it just started out that way and nobody has any reason to change it. I suppose the machine’s name is boards' because it is, in fact, hosting message boards, and the sdmb’ portion is relegated to a subdirectory (apparently) because the SDMB is the boards the boards.straightdope.com machine is hosting.
Asking, “Why boards.straightdope instead of sdmb.straightdope?” is really not answerable. Someone just picked that. They could have chosen forums.straightdope, threads.straightdope, or any infinite combination of letters. That’s just what they chose. There is no technical reason why it works better as boards.straightdope. Nothing would work any better than the other. Even sickhamster.straightdope would have produced the same affect if it was registered to the IP 207.97.195.229.
As for /sdmb. That’s just the folder that all these forums, threads, posts, etc are crammed into. Again, they could have named it anything they wanted. I doubt the techies even spent much time thinking about this part. Boards.straightdope and /sdmb were the first names that popped in someone’s head when he started all of this.
When you’re about to make a new folder or name a new file, what system do you have for naming it? I just type something relevant relating to the file or folder and move on. I don’t spend much time thinking about it. What about you?
So basically. To answer your question, “Any interesting reason the URL for this site is…”
I’m gonna say “No.”
But who knows… maybe there’s a humerous anecdote about how the IP address was named.
he he he. Just for shits and giggles, I edited my hosts file so now http://sickhamster.straightdope.com/sdmb will bring up these message boards on my computer. I think I’ll keep it like that.
Actually, try just http://boards.straightdope.com - watch it work… 
As everyone else has said - it’a an arbitrary decision. But there is an automatic redirection from http://boards.straightdope.com to http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb
Dani
…Which makes you wonder what is in the other directories under the main domain name – things that only the IP staff at the Reader and the SDMB staff are privy to! :eek:
Shirley, you don’t mean boards.straightdope.com/sacrifice_to_the_dark_ones, do you?
I could tell you, but then I’d have to…mess up your hair!
hehehe.
“Arbitrary”? “Arbitrary”???!!!???
Hmpf. Like anything we do in the secret depths of the system is arbitrary. No, there’s a grand cosmic reason, I have no doubt. They haven’t shared it with the Moderators, yet. But I know there is a seasoning for every thyme, and a purpose to every URL under heaven.
Hey! Hey! Hey!
Are you bringing religion into the administration of the boards? When did the SDMB become part of the national political mandate? Huh Huh?
Well, it’s not really all that interesting. You see, there’s a numerological significance to “http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/” - the administration is big into mysticism, and more specifically, Jewish eschatology. It’s believed that when enough people have typed the phrase, it will bring about the end of the world.