# How did everyone find this board? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 18, 2024, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957 "2024-10-18T18:20:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/41 "2024-10-18T21:37:18Z")
It might have been from something like this. 1 lb 1.3" thick book. I went looking for it a while back and came to the conclusion I threw it out. Bummer! [![](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/o2oAAOSwR21kiJTz/s-l1600.webp) ](https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/o2oAAOSwR21kiJTz/s-l1600.webp) ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/42 "2024-10-18T21:40:14Z")
I used to read Cecil’s column in a local freebie paper. Then one day in 2000, I decided to Google “Straight Dope.” Simple as that. I’m not hooked. I can quit any time I want to. Really. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/43 "2024-10-18T21:42:09Z")
I saw The Straight Dope television show circa 1996 and rushed to join circa 1999. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/44 "2024-10-18T21:47:00Z")
> [@How did you find the Straight Dope?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-find-the-straight-dope/550455/23): > > [Fark.com](http://Fark.com) used to frequently link to the articles. I’m not sure what got me checking out the boards or what got me signed up for them. I do remember the pan-fried semen thread from my early days. Maybe that’s what sold it for me. ---
**Author:** ![deneen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deneen/32/17713_2.png) [@deneen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deneen)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/45 "2024-10-18T21:50:11Z")
Wow! I love that so much. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/46 "2024-10-18T21:51:35Z")
I had never heard of the books or the Chicago Reader, and I had never participated, at any level, in a message board. I came across the Boards in a Google search about who knows what. I lurked for a while amazed by the constant flow of funny, fascinating, infuriating material. Then someone asked for advice on quitting smoking and, thinking that I had the perfect advice, I joined and began posting. ---
**Author:** ![deneen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deneen/32/17713_2.png) [@deneen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deneen)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/47 "2024-10-18T21:52:08Z")
I love every one of these answers so so much. ---
**Author:** ![stretch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@stretch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stretch)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/48 "2024-10-18T21:57:53Z")
Someone asked a stupid question in a thread on the That Home Site / gardenweb forum, and they were directed here. I came for Ask the Gay Guy\*. Of course, I stayed. \*phrasing ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/49 "2024-10-18T21:58:11Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I was really just looking for a place for online discussions that was populated with the least possible quantity of morons and more than the usual number of knowledgeable professionals, and the SDMB is it. Hey, don’t leave out us total dipsticks! ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/50 "2024-10-18T22:01:19Z")
I used to read the _Straight Dope_ column in the _Austin Chronicle_ free newspaper back in the 80s and early 90s. After I left Austin in the mid-90s I somehow found the website running the column. I read the columns on the website weekly. Eventually I clicked on the “Message Boards” link. I lurked on the boards for a year or more, before [finally having a question](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/minimum-time-between-sending-a-bill-and-due-date/221560) that seemed important enough to join so I could ask it. That was December 2003. Irony is I check the board nearly every day. I can’t remember the last time I read a column. I think @Mangetout, @TriPolar, and @Gfactor are still active from that original very short thread. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/51 "2024-10-18T22:05:30Z")
I found the main Straight Dope columns site when I did a search\* on a question it had an answer to (I think it was the Kemosabe / Tonto / Lone Ranger one) and started visiting semi-regularly. Somewhere along the line I read the SDMB too. It was many months before I finally signed up, when people started asking questions about New Zealand, where I grew up, so I could offer some insight. \*_I was going to say ‘googled’ but I think this was pre-Google_ ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/52 "2024-10-18T22:06:28Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > I saw The Straight Dope television show circa 1996 I didn’t know that was a thing. I would of have watched it. [The Straight Dope TV Series on A&E Funeral Homes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tothGVuniuY) ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/53 "2024-10-18T22:08:53Z")
The books led me to [the column](https://www.straightdope.com/). The column led me to pose a question via email. I received a response directing me to this message board. I procrastinated for months (years?) then signed up with a random username (flowbark), thinking I wouldn’t stick around for long. It took forever for me to update my username; I thought of a better one a day later. Currently this is my pseudoanonymous handle across the internet. (Follow me on twitter-X, Bluesky, Mastodon.social and urusai.social if you like anime/manga.) 30,000 posts later, here I am. I seem to recall that my first post asked for a citation. 🙂 The columns, written for the alternative press, are erudite but contain humor. That tone transferred to this message board. ---
**Author:** ![Hoops](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoops/32/6408_2.png) [@Hoops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoops)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/54 "2024-10-18T22:26:23Z")
I got my first internet connection from Roadrunner, and it came with a very useful guide to the internet; there were sections on what the WWW was, how to set up email, nettiquette, Usenet, etc. It was actually a rather thoughtful and useful booklet, and at the end, there was a list of recommended starter sites to visit which included the SDMB. I was already familiar with the Straight Dope books, so I jumped right in! (Another site I remember from that list was [Memepool](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memepool) (Wiki article—the site no longer exists). That site steered me towards a lot of internet content that turned out to be classic (for certain definitions of classic), like All Your Base Are Belong To Us, Homestar Runner etc.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/55 "2024-10-18T22:27:46Z")
That was my buddy @Tripler actually. We look so much alike people often confuse us. Hint: he’s taller and better looking. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/56 "2024-10-19T00:17:05Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > That was my buddy @Tripler actually Oops, sorry about that. I’m going to blame a bug in the “Straight Dope Dark” color theme. When I @ someone, the selected name is colored with \textcolor{white}{\colorbox{lightblue}{white text on a light blue background}}, and I can barely read it. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/57 "2024-10-19T00:43:52Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > The SDMB was started by the Chicago Reader and I am a Chicagoan who always picked up the Reader and looked forward to Cecil’s column. Somewhere in there I learned about the message board. > > Also, the internet was a lot smaller back then. I used to pick up the Chicago Reader on my way home from work, and enjoyed Cecil’s column. For some reason the place I usually got it from didn’t have it one week, and after a little online searching I found not only the Reader but also the Straight Dope message board. And the rest, as they say, is history. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/58 "2024-10-19T00:52:34Z")
Found a book on a bench in an airport. The Straight Dope. Read it til my flight was called. Left it sitting there. Another woman boarding thought I left my book and brought it to me on board. Well, I was stuck with it. Fell in love with @Cecil_Adams. Now we’re a thing. We talk secretly. Man can do some talking, lemme tell you… And gifts! Oh my! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/59 "2024-10-19T00:57:51Z")
Before I had a computer I was a student in Chicago and got a copy of The Chicago Reader, which had the Dope as a newspaper column. Ah, those were the days. The first column I read was “Is it true that male pigs have a corkscrew shaped penis?” When computers became a thing, and I finally got one, I looked for the SD and found it. I have been here since December of 1999, ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/60 "2024-10-19T01:07:22Z")
I was a big fan of “Underground Newspapers”… … back in the late '90s, just reading an independent paper counted as Sticking It To The Man. And I just loved Cecil’s column, so when we got our first PC (a [Mac Cube](https://64.media.tumblr.com/fa84ece16377d103d893fa86dbc0b05a/tumblr_o33gdhIJ991v0jfsto1_640.jpg)), I finally got to type in the web address, and found The Dope. I spent almost a decade just lurking. And I highly recommend it. Listening was good for me. And I got to learn how to hang out with people smarter (and, maybe as a result, ‘leftier’) than I was. And I had more free time than I do now, when I’m responding to threads. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957.md?page=4)