# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/81 "2024-10-19T14:22:08Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > free weekly, called, IIRC, the Montreal Mirror. In 1989 I was posted to Montreal and discovered the “Mirror” and, with it, the Straight Dope. I eventually started reading Cecil’s columns online when that became possible. I think I started lurking in the board around 2005-ish. ---
**Author:** ![colinfred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colinfred/32/21338_2.png) [@colinfred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colinfred)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/82 "2024-10-19T14:41:12Z")
[Getting Past German Immigration | Foil Arms and Hog](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeGjQHwpzJA) “When a German says they have a little bit of English, what do they mean?” “They speak English better than you.” ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/83 "2024-10-19T15:06:22Z")
^^ That’s hilarious 🤣! Thanks for the laugh. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/84 "2024-10-19T15:28:49Z")
I frequently ran across the dope as a reference when googling misc. questions. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/85 "2024-10-19T16:05:31Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Back in the mists of time, Cecil Adams’ _The Straight Dope_ column appeared in various alternative weeklies. This. I was reading the SD column in The Isthmus in Madison (WI) when I started grad school there in the early '90s. Once the WWW took off, I quickly found the SD website and started reading the column there. It didn’t occur to me to check out the message board until the mid-2000s, but once I did, I was impressed with the FQ forum, and signed up. I was soon surprised by how much I also appreciated the IMHO and MPSS forums. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/86 "2024-10-19T16:08:55Z")
I found the board in college, in 1999/2000, after seeing the television show with Mike Lukas. Unbeknownst to me, I was drawn into signing up in May 2000, by the future-clairvoyant action of @TriPolar, who is far, _far_ more attractive and has telekinetic abilities. Tripler Think of him as a young, rugged Bruce Willis with ESP. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/87 "2024-10-19T16:41:30Z")
When I worked at a credit union we had a member who was always falling for every scam out there and claiming how she didn’t understand how all of these transactions were coming out of her account. I was reviewing her account for her one day and saw some debits from some company I hadn’t heard of. I googled it and a thread here about it popped up. It was some pyramid scam, I forget which one. But I started reading the board and got hooked. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/88 "2024-10-19T16:45:18Z")
I discovered _The Straight Dope_ newspaper column when I started college in '83, and started reading the local alternative weekly newspaper (Madison, WI’s _The Isthmus_). At some point in my college years, I also bought the first two paperback collections of the columns. When I first went online, in '95, I was using AOL, and soon discovered the Straight Dope forum and discussion group on AOL. Though I wasn’t one of the original '99ers when the discussion group transitioned from AOL to a Web-based board, I followed pretty soon after (my join date here is in 2000). ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/89 "2024-10-19T17:01:48Z")
Nitpick: voilà! Diacritical marks are important. I found the columns around 2010 or 2011 and did not realize that there was a forum attached for ages. But when I found out I pretty soon had to correct someone on some very important topic and then I was corrected in turn and it has been like that ever since. > [@deneen](#): > > I’ve never seen a misspelled word or clumsy sentence or ignorant statement I am disappointed that you have not yet read my contributions with the attention they merit. But you will, I am patient. Oh! And welcome, **deneen**! ---
**Author:** ![doc481](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f8ce5/32.png) [@doc481](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doc481)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/90 "2024-10-19T20:34:32Z")
Thank you for the translation. ---
**Author:** ![nate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nate/32/13085_2.png) [@nate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nate)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2024, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/91 "2024-10-19T20:52:44Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > I had a job in the early 2000s that I spent a lot of time poking around online. Somehow I managed to find the Straight Dope column then the message board. Same. Think I typed in [bored.com](http://bored.com) and straightdope was in the list of links on the page that came up. This was circa 2000 or so. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2024, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/92 "2024-10-20T15:06:49Z")
I don’t really remember but it was maybe 2002 when I followed someone from one mb to another and another. Brunchma was one. Then here. I Stuck around for a bit then left but I reappeared later. None of the other mb are still functioning afaik ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2024, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/93 "2024-10-20T15:08:33Z")
Another “I read the books and searched for a web presence”. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2024, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/94 "2024-10-20T16:00:10Z")
I read the columns for years. Had the first book and maybe the second. I noticed one day one of my fellow profs was reading the column online. Maybe 1997? So I started reading the column online. Then board-dom ensued. It’s sad to ponder how there will never be any more books, not even in the cheaper-to-publish ebook form. With updates and organized into categories. My fatberg question will never be compiled. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/95 "2024-10-20T16:08:26Z")
I’d read the Straight Dope books and searched through Alta Vista. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2024, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/96 "2024-10-20T16:38:26Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > I read the books back in I think the '88-'89 window as a roommate had a couple of them. When I discovered Usenet, back in '91-'92, I started participating in alt.fan.cecil-adams and alt.folklore.urban. I had never read the books or columns, but I found out about alt.fan.cecil-adams from reading alt.folklore.urban. I think that years later I must have been searching for an answer to some question and I found the Straight Dope website. Or maybe there was a link from the Snopes website that led me here? ---
**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 21, 2024, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/97 "2024-10-21T01:10:15Z")
> [@deneen](#): > > What is this place?.. > I’ve never seen a misspelled word or clumsy sentence or ignorant statement… not sure how it’s possible. Each sentence seems expertly crafted. I am definitely the dumbest person in the room… No, we’re not smarter, just pickier. I spend way too much time proofing and editing my posts. I’ll even google terms and change verb tenses (I’m still not sure how to conjugate that pesky pluperfect)… Oh, and I resent the fact that when I’m talking to someone in real life, I don’t get a five-minute EDIT window. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/98 "2024-10-21T02:16:37Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Oh, and I resent the fact that when I’m talking to someone in real life, I don’t get a five-minute EDIT window. Fifteen minutes, now. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/99 "2024-10-21T02:23:20Z")
IIRC Google lead me to Cecil’s online column. I started reading them. Eventually I followed the link to this board. I lurked for a long time. It was a intimidating place back then. There had to be fifty or more very active posters. Skilled professionals in various fields kindly answered questions in GQ. Eventually I started posting and it didn’t take long to put my foot in my mouth. Several times. Trial by fire. I eventually learned better. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2024, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957/100 "2024-10-21T09:36:26Z")
Back in the mid-90s, a co-worker loaned me a couple of the Straight Dope books, which I devoured. I liked Cecil’s style, and his answers to questions were spot-on. A couple of years later, the co-worker mentioned that the Straight Dope was online. I was happy to read the columns as they appeared, once a week. Then, one day when work was particularly boring, I clicked on the message board link off the main page. Holy hannah, this was a whole new world. I had been used to local dial-up BBSs, but this was a BBS on steroids. So many people, so many experts, so many questions that were knowledgeably answered. I lurked for about a year, probably. If I had signed up immediately, I could call myself a 99er. Anyway, I did eventually sign up (not as a 99er, but at least I have a four-digit user number), and I’ve been here ever since. I’ve been a part of other message boards, but this one is always steady, accurate in answers, and just plain fun. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-everyone-find-this-board/1008957.md?page=6)