Some other way—namely, AOL way back when. Like the other '99ers. AOL really ought to have been one of the choices. I just lurked when I was reading the Dope there, and after the move to this site, I continued lurking for some months and also took the time to read every single archived column, and only then did I feel ready to sign up.
Really not all that bright.
Just kiddin’ 
My then-wife introduced me to it. I don’t recall how she found it.
Can’t remember the exact process, but I had a Uni assignment pending that required some info regarding the speed of light or something (IANAScienceBoffin), and somehow I found the board and posted the question here.
Given that google wasn’t highlighting search terms back in 2001 like it does nowadays, I am actually curious as to how I found the SDMB at all! I’d never heard of Cecil Adams or the Chicago Reader that’s for sure. Still think Adams is a bit of a presumptuous twat though!
First read a Straight Dope book in the February of 2007, looked it up online and found this site in the summer of 2009.
IQ test … Marilyn VS… Monty hall … Unca Cecil… via internet.
Lurked 3~4 years.
I found the home page looking, I think, for the answer to Which will keep you drier, running through the rain or walking? I didn’t notice the message board for a long while and when I did I lurked for ages, then someone asked for advice on giving up smoking so I joined to contribute. The rest is geography.
A link on Snopes from DavidB, regarding the debate he was having with Libertarian/Liberal about the existence or otherwise of the “in the ass” outtake from The Newlywed Game.
I’m pretty sure I found my way here through Snopes too. It’s been so long I don’t recall.
Questions from an inquisitive 8 year old had me stumble on the Dope several times in a short period and I started reading the Dope. Then I wandered onto the board. I never heard of the column before this.
Ditto. For me, it was:
TV show —> books —> website —> message board.
I THINK that I came here from the books. I know some of the later ones had links printed (pressing the link did nothing, if I recall). I know that I never visited (except experimentally) the AOL or usenet sites.
Bob
I bet some found it by mistyping BDSM
A friend of mine pointed me to the SD columns on-line. I’ve never lived in an area where the columns were in the paper. After reading the columns for a few years, on-line, I saw the link to the SDMB moving from AOL to the www, and joined up.
Like others, the “google” option is a bit limited; I learnt about google when it was bran spanking new from a post here.
Short version: my cousin introduced me to it.
Long version: In the sixties, my great aunt left her abusive husband and ran off with another man. They moved to the far side of the country, had two children, and died. Their orphaned children were adopted by another family and my grandmother didn’t know where they were.
In 1998 I tracked them down and we had a reunion of sorts via phone. The youngest son and I struck up an online correspondence, mostly chatting via ICQ. We were first cousins once removed who never met, lived on opposite sides of the country and had about a decade age gap, but I enjoyed our conversations. In one of them, he linked me to a Straight Dope article, which lead to me joining up and hanging out here for the last 13+ years.
As the years passed we fell out of contact and he became hard to find… Then impossible. I heard he’d moved house, maybe states. Every so often I’d try searching for him but I couldn’t find him. This thread reminded me to have another look, and this time I found him. He died a week ago. So Gav, here’s to you, buddy. Wherever you are now, I hope you’ve found what you were looking for.
Referral from fellow poster at another board.
I bought the original book and then bought the second (and maybe third) before I got my first “real” computer in 2000. I happened to have one of the books next to me when I was on-line and decided to see if this 'intraweb thingie" had anything on it about The Dope. I found the main page, found the board, still here.
Pretty sure I stumbled here on a Google search of some sort. Spent most of my early time surfing the fascinating threads of General Discussions, rarely straying. After a year I registered and began to interact.
Now I find I spend most of my time in the ‘social’ areas of IMHO, MPSIMS & The Pit.
Good stuff.
Better late than never: I thought it would have been skewed more to the Internet. But at least I won!
A friend of mine introduced loaned me one of Cecil’s books, which made me check online to see if there were still columns being produced. While I was on the main page, I noticed that there was this link to “thread of the week” which I started clicking on. Then after a while I wondered what other threads were out there that might not have made the cut for thread of the week. Lurked for 8 years before I finally made by debut.