Found two or three of the paperbacks at a bookstore back in '92. Eventually got around to looking for the dope online. Lurked for a while, then finally got around to registering and discovered that I had already done so several years earlier. 
Somewhere back in the late 80’s or early 90’s I was fortunate to read a copy of Cecil’s first Straight Dope book. Wow
“The Worlds Smartest Human” answering pressing questions for the masses. I tracked down each of his books and enjoyed them all. After wasting time plinking around the internet looking at all the stupid stuff I thought, I wonder if Cecil has a site and whallah I found this site and have been here most every day since.
I think that story was by Scylla.
Reader of the Straight Dope column in the Baltimore City Paper since 1980/81. Bought the books. Found and became active in the alt.fan.cecil-adams Usenet group c. 1994, it was there I was apprised of the launch of the non-AOL board in '99 and been here ever since.
It then appeared in a British ballooning magazine. I contacted the magazine’s office, hoping to buy a copy,and they sent me one for free.
I was working in the 1990s at IBM, which had its own internal networking system pre-Internet. There was an IBM-only message board system, meant to discuss programming questions, network setup, undocumented software features, workarounds, etc.
Just like topics here, their topics were focused on the different product lines, but one was “Miscellaneous”, sort of like MPSIMS here. I was spending more time reading those fun posts than the work ones, when sometime mentioned Straight Dope. By that time the internet had matured enough to be practical, so I joined here in 1999.
I think there are some others here who were also at IBM then. Anyone remember the name of that system (because I don’t).
I had Googled a question; now I have no recall of what it was. The Dope came up as one of the prioritized responses. I thought I needed to check it out after that, and here I am.
Would read the column in the Chicago Reader then got into the habit of reading the column online since I live in suburbia and couldn’t always snag a timely copy. One week the column mentioned the new forum and I immediately signed up – User #199 back in March '99. Missed the Straight Dope AOL/Usenet days but I still feel pretty old. Thinking about it, I’ve spent more of my lifetime on this board than without it. Weird.
Well, that means I’ve spent almost 40% of my life here.
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.
I used to post more, but haven’t as much lately, but I lurk a lot.
This was me as well. Can’t remember what led me to that Usenet group in the first place.
I know I had one of the books for a while (it was the one that discussed how people use toilet paper – the illustration was unforgettable). I didn’t have access to the columns until I found them on the internet (I don’t remember exactly how that happened). Eventually I noticed the link to the message board, and I lurked for a while (months? years?) Finally I dipped my toe in, they didn’t dissect me or eat me for a snack, so I stuck around. I think the first thread I started was asking for help identifying a childhood book and a couple of people were very helpful. That encouraged me to keep going. That was in November of 2005.
I was doing a web search on some random thing and I noticed that someone was Wrong On The Internet and felt compelled to jump in and correct them. Though the task become increasingly grueling and joyless over the years, the work must continue regardless of my personal feelings about it.
A friend during senior year in high school loaned me the first book. A year later I was going to college in Chicago, reading the column in the free newspaper Weekly Reader. This is at the end of the 80s.
I read the online column occasionally, I guess starting circa 1997. Decided to check out its “message board” thingie around 2002. Lurked for a couple years, then felt confident to subscribe. Soon thereafter, I spent too much time Doping (in March 2005 - that I remember well), and had to find ways to pace myself. It’s been a struggle ever since.
Casey Jones.
Somebody at work made a reference to Casey Jones, I think referring to the high-speed train crash. I asked if he was referring to the Grateful Dead song. That led to me Googling Casey Jones and reading the above article. I got slightly hooked. Later, when I was at home and had more free time, I looked up further Straight Dope articles including those written by Cecil. I realised that I had read those articles years before when I was living in Detroit in the free music and events newspaper of the time 1994. I lurked for years and then decided to post once Brexit was happening and so much misinformation was being posted on this board.
I started reading the columns in the DC version of the City Paper too, although in the late '80s. Bought the books and then found the site on the internet and joined back in '99.
Circa 2003, I googled “passive aggressive” and found Cecil Adams’ article on the topic. Soon I was hooked, and eventually I worked my way through the entire catalog of Straight Dope articles and staff reports. Life was good.
Then Cecil left us, and for a time I was lost. Then I noticed that other disciples of the Great Adams gathered in the SDMB, where I found a new home. Life is good again, although I still miss Cecil 
…
I read the first two Straight Dope when I was in high school–1989 to 1993. (Well I was supposed to graduate in 93 but THAT is whole other story.)
Anyway from reading the following books I looked online and discovered the Usenet group from there I discovered the message board which I was lurking and reading when it launched in 1999.
I did NOT actually JOIN the board until 2005 though.
You must not read any of my posts… 
I don’t really remember exactly how I found this site, but back in the day the SDMB had a lot of Google juice. Often if I googled a question that had also been asked on the board, it was the #1 hit. I’m sure that’s how I came to be here.