# How long have you been a Doper? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 9, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-have-you-been-a-doper/513196 "2009-10-09T15:27:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-have-you-been-a-doper/513196/61 "2009-10-12T14:01:22Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > '97er here. There are a handful of '96ers (including **Lynn Bodoni** and **TubaDiva** and **C K DexterHaven** (?) and **JillGat** (?)) some of whom might even be '95ers for all I know…I’m not entirely sure when the AOL board was born! and enright3, thank you. March of 99 on this board, plus the AOL days too. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-have-you-been-a-doper/513196/62 "2009-10-12T15:08:51Z")
I lurked for about a month before joining. I’ve had some weeks/months of re-lurking during that time and I also went through about 2 years of dormancy (when I was all about the LJ and the not subscribing), but I’ve been relatively active for the whole 9 … years, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-have-you-been-a-doper/513196/63 "2009-10-12T16:36:50Z")
I started reading the board (in its previous incarnation) a few weeks after beginning my current job in 1998 – it just took a few years before I signed up. ---
**Author:** ![Mudshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Mudshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mudshark)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-have-you-been-a-doper/513196/64 "2009-10-13T06:30:51Z")
Started reading in May 2000, (Memorial Day, actually) and joined in July 2001. Nine years if I did the math correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-have-you-been-a-doper/513196/65 "2009-10-13T08:51:38Z")
I subscribed to AOL as soon as it quit metering online time. I don’t remember when that was. 97? 95? At any rate, the AOL SDMB was up and running, but it wasn’t very old at all. I think that it had been up for about half a year or so. So yeah, I go way back. And I have the pics of Ed, the squid, and the goat to prove it. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-have-you-been-a-doper/513196/66 "2009-10-13T09:13:58Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > I’m not sure how much of a conclusion I can draw from the non-scientific sample here, but, while I knew things would skew towards the top end, I didn’t guess it would skew so lopsidedly, esp. given the now-free posting we have. I’d imagine that 99% of all message boards would skew heavily the other way. Self selecting polls skew massively and this one will do so towards those proud of being old timers and away from newbies. Run your eye down the right of the page in any long thread: I very much doubt that nearly 70% of active members have been here 7 years or longer. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2009, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-have-you-been-a-doper/513196/67 "2009-10-13T09:24:58Z")
I joined on 10 Feb 2001, so that’s 8.5 yrs (or if you’d rather, 27% of my lifetime) with a posting rate of 0.6 posts per day. There’s an old skool acid house board I’ve been a member of since 1996-97 but that and the Dope are the only long standing boards I post on. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-have-you-been-a-doper/513196.md?page=3)