My university’s student newspaper ran an editorial of fun stuff to do on the web. I guess it was a slow news day. Anyway, one of the websites mentioned was the Straight Dope. I checked it out for some reason, and enjoyed Cecil’s writing style so much that I read nearly all of his columns in the ensuing month or so. I finally clicked on the message board link for some reason, and enjoyed the board so much I signed up right away. I was expecting to get bored with it soon, as I had never stuck around at any message board very long.
I actually started a thread on my first post, as soon as I found the Board.
I got curious about whatever happened to Buddy’s Holly’s kid, the one his wife was carrying when he died. (Miscarried, btw.)
I stuck something to the effect of “Buddy’s Holly’s Child” into a search engine, (MSN?), and it kicked me to the Dope.
Now, I love trivia and I REALLY love second hand books, so of course I had a Straight Dope book. When I realized what the site was, my mind went “PING! Oh, COOL!!”.
An article by Cecil (Why Doesn’t Water Burn) was used as a handout in my junior year of high school biology class. I followed it to the webside, and then to the boards.
I used to read the Straight Dope column in the Memphis Flyer, our free weekly here. I’d always notice that there was a Web site mentioned in the shirttail of the columns. So one day I checked out the site and got interested. I browsed the columns at random, always finding something interesting. I forget why I checked out the message boards the first time. Maybe it was the “comment on this column” link at the bottom of one of the columns. I’d never seen a message board, and wasn’t much interested, but checked it out long enough to get hooked. For my first six months or a year, though, I don’t think I ever ventured outside MPSIMS.
I lurked for a week or so, but not for very long because I make a habit of rushing headlong into things I know nothing about.
I was bored, so I typed in www.bored.com and lo and behold, there was a website at the other end of the URL, so I browsed around and, well, the rest is history.
Actually, I got through all of the archives before I even realized there was a message board. And that was through Threadspotting. :o
Okay, not really. A site I used to frequent had a link to the main Straight Dope site, where I spent a lot of time reading Cecil’s articles; from there I eventually peeked in on the madness on the SDMB.
Delurking for my first post here (hey, it seems appropriate). A couple of years ago I was reading some interview or other with Terry Pratchett, and he mentioned the Straight Dope as one of his sources. On a whim I decided to check out the website, and the rest is history. So can I claim Terry Pratchett introduced me to the boards? I’ve heard it pays to have connections round here…
I first saw the Straight Dope columns in Folio Weekly - the local freebie paper. When we returned to this area, I was surfing, and on a whim, I searched for Straight Dope. Curiosity led me to check out the message boards. Within a month, I registered, and I’ve been hooked ever since.
A friend of mine was looking up information on cams and cam gears for his car, and somehow ended up finding a thread on the SDMB. He looked around for a moment, told me to check it out, and resumed his hunt for information.
I posted shortly after that.
I believe it was to ask whether or not I should drink my own pee for a substantial amount of money.
Shagnasty and I were arguing over lunch about the merits of Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs. He felt compelled to show me a thread he’d started on the subject. I think it was this one:
I had a question about funeral procession vs. school bus: who stops? Cecil hadn’t answered it, so I posted in GQ, and then started wandering around. Been hooked ever since!!
I had been reading the column in a local weekly tabloid years before the internet.
A couple of years ago I did a goggle on something and straight dope came up on the search. I’ve been addicted ever since.
I read the books long ago, and kind of forgot about them untill I got the OPERA browser. They include a link in the “fun and games” section of the bookmarks. I said “hey, I remember the Straight Dope!” and I’ve been checking in every day since then.
