How did you find this website and the boards?
I read one of Jan Harold Brunvand’s books about ULs and he must have made dozens of references to either The Straight Dope or Snopes. I originally spent most of my time here just reading the archives but eventually got hooked on the message boards.
How about everyone else?
From the www.jokeaday.com site (hope that’s ok), Ray drops in an excert of Cecils collumn on his site (it’s still on the JAD site, but with links/brand all over the place)
From there, I followed the link titled Straight Dope Message Boards, and was hooked
From another Doper I know IRL. His picture can be found here:
Please disregard the picture above. It is merely a test to see how many people click before they read the whole thread. 
A weekly newspaper in my area runs Cecil’s columns, and I always thought they were interesting… so here I am!
I started reading the SD in the Dallas Observer in 1985. When it went digital, I followed right along, originally on AOL, changed to this site, and then I signed up for the MB eventually.
I don’t think I’ve missed a column in 16 years . . . and I’m only 22.
Was trying to disprove something and ended up at Snopes and here. I read a whole bundle of the archives, like the OP’er until I stumbled in here, then spent a while lurking, before signing up, and the rests history, they say… 
Esprix.
I began reading the LA Reader in 1981, read the East Bay Express and now on the web.
I too discovered it in the Dallas Observer then it went to the met. Then I was bored at work one day and I hadn’t had a chance to read the column lately so I figured I’d try my pot luck and typed in http://www.straightdope.com on my computer and viola!
When I first started read the SDMB I gravitated towards the GQ section and I thought to myself “Why hte hell would I care what some faceless person would have to say about my questions?” Then after reading I realized that there are some smart people on this board. AS well as some cool ones too.
Theo Britton.
I know you’re still here, Theo. I just haven’t worked out who you are yet.
Snopes - I was reading a thread about the Newlywed Game (“That’d be up the butt, Bob…”) and someone referenced an ongoing thread here. I checked it out. I stayed.
I’ve also recruited four people here, including the above-referenced BoiToi.
Esprix
I used to frequent another message board, and enjoyed getting into spirited but rational and non-insulting debates there, until a bunch of militant people showed up and started replying to everything they disagreed with with long strings of expletives. Their debate skills included such gems as, “that’s my opinion and if you don’t agree with it, you should be shot” or “I don’t need cites I’m a cop and I’m just going to laugh when you liberals get clubbed in the back of the head with a 2 x 4.”
They were very prolific posters, and you couldn’t get into a debate without them showing up and derailing it into an insult-fest. Seriously, it was that bad. Halfway down the thread it would just degenerate into curse words and personal attacks. It drove me absolutely nuts, and the place lost a lot of its appeal to me. I made my good-bye post.
Around four days later I got an e-mail from someone on the boards who read my post and sympathised with my plight. He gave me a link to these message boards, saying that I should enjoy them because the Great Debates forum was all debate, no insults. I read it and I loved it.
I don’t post in there very much though because everyone always seems to make my points before I get to!
That’s pretty funny, Caiata.
Me, I was trying to find out what happened to bullets fired in air. My search led me to this site. I decided to join so that I could also ask what causes bubbles in standing tap or mineral water.
Stumbled into work one night and a cow-orker said hey look at this cool website. That was way back in early October of last year. I read all the columns that were on-line then started reading the MB. After lurking for a bit I decided to join and the rest is history.
I’m old-school… well, for a 27 year old
I loved the books first. Got them all. I loved to read them over and over again, especially the way Cecil talked in his first book. Interestingly enough, I never knew there was a newspaper column.
Then, when the Internet came out, I typed in “straightdope.com” one day. Loved the message boards ever since. And had one impact: made me seriously rethink my position on religion (happily liberated!).
How did I find out about SD books? From a Readers Digest long ago. It had that quote “if ignorance was corn flakes, you’d be General Mills”.
I also came from Snopes. I was lurking on the message board and someone posted a link to this site, saying something like “Here is what Cecil has to say about this!” I though, “Who the hell is Cecil?”. I clicked on the link and the scales fell from my eyes.
The column runs in the Portland Phoenix (ME, not OR) and after reading the paper for a couple of years, I decided to see if it had an archive of old letters on-line. It didn’t, but I found this site, though I’m not sure how since the URL isn’t in the paper or on the paper’s website, at least I don’t think it is. I had no idea until then that he was a national columnist!
I started out reading the columns in the LA Reader back when I was 14 or 15. I then picked up the first book, then the second and third. Got on the web, found the website, started posting to AFCA, then drifted over here.
I used to watch the TV show on A&E before it was cancelled. Cool, some faceless guy who knows why manhole covers are round! I didn’t know Cecil had a column until I picked up a copy of SLC Weekly one day and saw the words “Straight Dope”. I read that for months before I was finally bored enough to type in http://www.straightdope.com. From there it was only a short threadspotting click away from the boards.
[sup]To this day, when I think of Cecil I think of a mysterious voice who knows everything and talks to bald guys with glasses.[/sup]