Just curious. There are a whole lot of old usernames in her memorial thread - people who haven’t posted here in months or years. I’m just wondering what brought you back - I don’t mean, in Opal’s honor, to pay your respects, etc. I mean, what made you aware that she had died and that there was a thread here about it? Are you all still lurkers? Did active members email you?
Welcome back, by the way. I hope at least some of you stick around. I’ve missed ya.
I know I used Facebook to contact some of them that are on my list, and they also likely spread the word. Other friends in FB who also knew Opal and had other old timers in their list also announced it. Also, if you go over to Opal’s forum (Fathom, FFF), you’ll see there is an announcement. Lastly, even if they don’t post, there are many lurkers here who probably saw the announcement on passing.
Specifically, an old-timer poster put a public post in Opal’s Facebook page (the OpalCat one).
It’s a sad occasion, but it is good to see so many familiar names. I suppose it is like a funeral in some ways.
“Old Dopers”… for some reason, I get a very vivid picture in my head of a Star Trek or Twilight Zone-type cave full of beings that have evolved into wise creatures with giant glowing heads. I’d assumed they all just knew.
I tried several different ways of phrasing it, each more awkward than the next, so I just decided to go with it.
It really is good to see them, in very much the same way it’s good to see old friends/family at a funeral. I’m sad, and at the same time want to squee and give hugs.
Thanks for sending out the “Dope signal”, KarlGrenze.
Others did, too. 
Remember her original passing was posted in FB, so oldies with access to those venues probably knew/know more than me.
But yea, my main reaction when seeing that thread was “Hey, X, WTF is that I’m reading?”
Every couple of weeks I visit mainly to browse threads. Don’t post much any more. I just happened to log in and saw the “threadspotting” announcement. I was unaware of the passing of the other recent posters until today as well.
If it weren’t for the announcement on the main page I doubt I would have seen the thread. I never visit MPSIMS.
I got a message on FB from one friend and a phone call from another. This is the third time this type of “Bat signal” has gone out to me, so I’m starting to feel like I’m only showing up on the boards for RIP threads. 
Some of us who have been here for many moons go for years without posting - I did for awhile. There are (IMHO) a lot of “vets” who read now and then, but don’t post for whatever reason as well. Sometimes we have nothing to say (and I know the years I wasn’t posting because I had nothing to say were some of the quietest y’all have ever had.) Sorry I’m back now.
As if THAT makes sense. Sigh. I should just go back to shutting up.
I am an active poster here, but I keep in touch with many former posters via LiveJournal and Facebook. Lots of us have known one another IRL for many years. I saw the news in at least four different places on FB (in two groups and in two personal posts) as well as on LJ.
A few of my longtime SDMB friends are Facebook friends with her (her public and “real” FB) so that’s how I heard, and it branched out from there as it was reposted.
I pop in every once and a while here, but only seem to post in memorial threads anymore. That’s kind of sad.
It’s funny too, so many of my FB/internet friends in general are people I met here and became real life friends, and we’ve watched other grow up, more or less. Marriages, buying homes, kids, divorces… when we first met most of us were just out of college, broke kids and our biggest concern is when the next D2 expansion was coming out and where to go dancing that weekend in NYC.
I am a semi-active poster and I saw the post on the FB SDMB page, which I hadn’t checked in awhile and was saddened by the announcement.
Met her at ChiDope in 2004, she was a nice person.
And, who you calling old!
I haven’t been on in a Year or so… but I saw the announcement on Fb… and then I realized it’s been too long. Once again I’ll probably start lurking around here again.
-R
Nm
I heard it from geobabe on LiveJournal and then FaceBook. It’s so weird to be back here - so much has changed, and so much hasn’t. Good to see so many people from the past.
I confess to not being on SDMB very often these days, but I saw it on FB too. Very sad.
I didn’t interact with Opal but when I read the thread I told some old, non-posting Doper friends about it because I thought they would want to know. I think some of them already knew from Unaboard and Facebook.
Are you out of med school yet?
I’m not one of the old posters you speak of, but I saw it on the SDMB facebook page. I would have seen the thread on here eventually but facebook was where I first got the news.
I just happened to be scrolling down my friends feed in Facebook and saw it mentioned by a mutual friend, and 9 hours after she’d posted it. I don’t read here very often, and if I hadn’t scrolled way back, I’d have never heard.