# Ok... I give up. What are MADs? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 4, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523 "2004-10-04T20:31:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/1 "2004-10-04T20:31:37Z")
Self-explanatory title. ---
**Author:** ![Berkut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e57/32.png) [@Berkut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Berkut)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/2 "2004-10-04T20:39:27Z")
Without knowing the context, maybe Mid-Atlantic Dopers? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/3 "2004-10-04T21:22:50Z")
> [@Berkut](#): > > Without knowing the context, maybe Mid-Atlantic Dopers? Got it in one. BADs are Bay-Area Dopers, but I haven’t seen that abbreviation in a while. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/4 "2004-10-04T22:06:29Z")
whoa! Now WTF is Mid-atlantic? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/5 "2004-10-04T22:10:32Z")
> [@chaoticdonkey](#): > > whoa! Now WTF is Mid-atlantic? Roughly anything within 300 miles of Washington, DC. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2004, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/6 "2004-10-04T23:23:02Z")
Mid-Atlantic refers to the middle of the USA’s Atlantic coast. Around the Maryland, Virginia, and District of Columbia area, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/7 "2004-10-05T00:34:45Z")
Ah. Ok then. I was wondering until today why I had never been invited to join the MADs. SADs unite! ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/8 "2004-10-05T00:40:38Z")
Mid-Atlantic is actually about halfway between New York and Lisbon, Portugal… so there are very few Dopers from there. And the ones that are, well, that explanation would be all wet. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/9 "2004-10-05T01:12:17Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > Mid-Atlantic is actually about halfway between New York and Lisbon, Portugal… so there are very few Dopers from there. And the ones that are, well, that explanation would be all wet. Hey! You stole that line from someone years ago writing a piece about Barbara WaWa…er, uh, Walters. Someone said of her accent it was Mid-Atlantic…somewhere between NY and London. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/10 "2004-10-05T01:47:48Z")
So are Florida dopers FADs? Are there any NADs? ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/11 "2004-10-05T07:58:34Z")
The mid-Atlantic is about 6,400 feet below the surface (and about that much from the floor). The area is sparsely populated except for a few Dopers who’ve crossed the mafia and have been dumped in the East River. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/12 "2004-10-05T08:00:10Z")
No way I’m prepared to argue with someone from New Jersey about that… ---
**Author:** ![grimpixie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecb155/32.png) [@grimpixie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grimpixie)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2004, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/13 "2004-10-05T13:19:46Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > Are there any NADs? Looking for NADS? [Try here…](http://pub75.ezboard.com/bnads) 😃 Grim ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/14 "2004-10-06T18:46:43Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > So are Florida dopers FADs? No, they would be the Flori-Dopers. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/15 "2004-10-06T19:18:58Z")
So are those of us in the Reader’s home town CHADs? ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/16 "2004-10-06T22:29:04Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > So are those of us in the Reader’s home town CHADs? No, they’re ChiDopers. ---
**Author:** ![chaoticbear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f07891/32.png) [@chaoticbear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaoticbear)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/17 "2004-10-07T03:07:46Z")
To clarify… when I said SADs, I meant “Southern-Area Dopers.” I don’t live near ANY ocean. ---
**Author:** ![SnakeSpirit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snakespirit/32/7271_2.png) [@SnakeSpirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakeSpirit)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2004, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-i-give-up-what-are-mads/267523/18 "2004-10-07T04:07:29Z")
No, no, no. You got it all wrong. MADs are “Mothers Against Dads.” (unless you’re talking about [MPEG Audio Decoders](http://www.underbit.com/products/mad/)) A LITTLE CONTEXT WOULD HELP… oops, cap-lock slip, too lazy to fix it. ☹