(I know it’s been done, but just not recently)
I found it through a search engine while looking for lyrics for American Pie By Don Mclean. I ran into an archived article which had some history on it. After a couple weeks of searching the archives I came to the SDMB. On Jan 1, 2000 I became CLAYTON_e.
How about you?
I found this board back when I used to check the main page about once a month. I was bored and clicked on the link for the boards.
That’s when I realized that every answer was “The Master already covered this”, “Google is your friend”, “Drop AOL and get a real ISP” and “Did you check Snopes?”
I realized, “Hey, I could do this.”
I love A&E and bumped into the TV show one night. I didn’t have a computer for a long while after that, but once I did…and here I am.
The thread in, err, 1999 I think it was, about the farmer who couldn’t get rid of, lets see, was it Hedgehogs, Groundhogs, moles, err, anyways, one of those peskt rodent things.
Read through the entire thread, kept on coming back, lurked on and off for three(!) years, signed up, here I am.
I found the SDMB through a Snopes link. I think I got to Snopes from a link in The Simpsons Archive.
I was looking for some information about the rate of expansion of the universe, and must have plugged something right into Google, because I found this strange place.
Google is not ALWAYS your friend. 
A friend at work showed me the Straight Dope archives, and I found the message board from there. I lurked for about a year before I finally signed up.
I found it when I stumbled upon someone’s site claiming that the “balancing eggs on the equinox” thing we all learned in school was false. I did a search through Google and found this site claiming you can balance eggs any day of the year. I tried it, balanced three eggs, and have been hooked ever since.
http://www.bored.com
The Straight Dope - Find out true answers to many of life’s most interesting questions.
I couldn’t resist that description.
Wearia
Considering that I never knew the SDMB originated on AOL until I bought Triumpth of the Straight Dope…
Actually, I think I Google’d it…
…and voila, here I am!
…um, make that Triumph of the Straight Dope…
:rolleyes:
I’m the dinosaur of the crew. I became a Dope addict through the books in my first pro library job. (Working the Reference Desk; and yes, people really do ask questions that weird, and yes, it’s a pure killer finding credible, authoritative answers.)
I read the site for ages for Cece’s columns, hooked on the general quirkiness and attitude but it took me years to finally, tenatively edge my way onto the board.
Had I But Known it would morph into an addiction that would suck away precious free time that I’m sure otherwise would have been spent maintaining a spotless household, a rigorous exercise regimene and growing organic vegetables.
That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
Veb
Found it through bored.com. Spent months reading the archives. When I finished there I figured I’d find out what the MB was like.
I’ve been hooked ever since.
Bought the first book in '88 or '89 when I was a new mother staying home and going crazy. Bought every book after that as soon as I found it in the bookstores. I knew there was an internet site.
The Straight Dope was very first place I came to the very first time I had unfettered access to the internet.
**It’s all Mr. Ujests fault **
When we were dating, he had this book sitting amongst other books and magazines on the floor of his bathroom. *I cannot tell you how many times I looked at that book - More of the Straight Dope - but never touched it. Had to be at least two years or longer. *
Then one day, lacking anything interesting to read on the commode because his mom had cleaned the bathroom, there all by its lonesome was this thick volumed book. *The Straight Dope *…it couldn’t be about pot, the man abhorrs cigerettes.
I cracked it open, and, the rest they say, is history.
When I read about the message board comments in one of the books, I thought Hmmm, these smartasses are right up my ally. and…I was right.
I would die a happy death of any of my brainfart questions made it to the *Master * himself.
Oh, FTR, Mr. Ujest has never even read any of the books. He doesn’t quite ‘get’ this online community, but knows it keeps me from going postal.
I don’t remember exactly, but I believe a link from Snopes led me here.
I picked up a copy of The Straight Dope from the display at a bookstore, and found it interesting. I noted that it had an online presence. However, I knew from past experience that I could not be trusted on a metered internet service (I was an old QuantumLinker, and ran up quite a bill). When AOL went “all you can surf for $20 a month”, I signed up and checked out the Straight Dope forum on AOL. Back then, TubaDiva was just a chat host. Shortly thereafter, she became a message board moderator for the Straight Dope on AOL. Later still, I became one, too, and then Euty signed on as well.
I’ve been buying the Straight Dope books as they come out, and give them as presents as well.
A friend sent me a link to one of Scylla’s more memorable posts, actually. It intrigued me so much that I decided the SDMB was worth checking out. I’d actually been following the Straight Dope column for quite some time (the City Paper in DC carries it), at least the early eighties, and had seen the Straight Dope home page, but never checked the boards before.
Might I just say that this is a wonderful and funny community that has grown up around the SDMB; I find myself checking here several times a day, and when the boards were down, I was definitely in withdrawal. 
I don’t post much, but have asked some really obscure questions from time to time and found the answers from other posters!
tarragon
Count me in with Ripple and 5 time champ. Someone referenced a link here from Snopes.