# Old AOL Straight Dope **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 22, 2000, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889 "2000-10-22T17:36:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HerMajestyLorna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/7cd45c/32.png) [@HerMajestyLorna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HerMajestyLorna)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2000, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/1 "2000-10-22T17:36:51Z")
I was wondering who of yall have been around since the old AOL days of the straight dope? I’ve been around since then, although I always tend to stay in the background…I read a lot of posts but dont contribute often. So, who out there has been a SDer since the old days? ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2000, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/2 "2000-10-22T18:35:41Z")
I guess I count. I was on the AOL boards back when Jane & Tuba first became moderators. Must be around four years ago, I think. And I’m also mostly a lurker. There are several of the old regs around, and others post on Opal’s boards over at Fathom, or on usenet at AFCA or MFSD (the Bob and George show goes on over there). Ugly ---
**Author:** ![DougC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@DougC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DougC)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2000, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/3 "2000-10-22T20:58:40Z")
- - - Here! - MC ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2000, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/4 "2000-10-22T21:44:19Z")
I’ve been reading the SD for several years now, but I didn’t join the SDMB until Mar of 2000 I believe ---
**Author:** ![kinoons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a698b9/32.png) [@kinoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kinoons)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2000, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/5 "2000-10-22T21:45:40Z")
march, january…whatever… ---
**Author:** ![AETBOND417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@AETBOND417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AETBOND417)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2000, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/6 "2000-10-22T22:05:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HerMajestyLorna \* > \*\*I’ve been around since then, although I always tend to stay in the background…I read a lot of posts but dont contribute often. > So, who out there has been a SDer since the old days? \*\* Ditto, but I’ve been a member of the SDMB for a _while_. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2000, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/7 "2000-10-22T22:12:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RJKUgly \* > \*\*I guess I count. > > I was on the AOL boards back when Jane & Tuba first became moderators. Must be around four years ago, I think. > \*\* Jane? Who’s that? ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2000, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/8 "2000-10-22T22:52:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by RJKUgly > > > [@](#): > > > > I guess I count. > > > > I was on the AOL boards back when Jane & Tuba first became moderators. Must be around four years ago, I think. > > Jane? Who’s that? Jane was JKFabian. She and Jenny (TUBADIVA) were the first two moderators on the AOL boards after Ed. I remember seeing the posts from Ed saying that they needed moderators, and then a couple of weeks later an annoucement that JKFabian had been chosen. I think (although my memory is fuzzy) that TUBADIVA became a mod a short while later. Cecil has also mentioned Jane as his assistant in several columns in the last year or three. Ugly ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2000, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/9 "2000-10-22T23:04:13Z")
Yeah, I was there with the old AOL page. I also stay in the background most of the time. I actually preferred the AOL page’s method of searching the database, dividing it up into different catagories. I got AOL in 1994 and back then or soon after, there was an even more primitive style of page. Anyone remember the original like me? ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2000, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/10 "2000-10-22T23:06:39Z")
Off to MPSIMS. ---
**Author:** ![Shadowfox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Shadowfox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowfox)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/11 "2000-10-23T00:02:53Z")
Let’s just say I remember when “Titanic Wallpaper” evolved in “Who is Mr. Ruda Duda?”, which probably still holds the record for the most posts to a single thread (Guy Stuff may have passed it up, but not sure) ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/12 "2000-10-23T00:37:42Z")
Shadowfox, I thought the Titanic wallpaper evolved into the first MPSIMS, not Mr Ruda Duda? (I never bothered with the latter–it got too huge too quickly for me to follow.) This of course means I’ve been around since then. My screenname was LauraRae/Lrconaway at that time. And, as I remain an AOL user (and glutton for punishment), I still have access to the original “General Questions” board. Not too long ago I hunted down the first MPSIMS thread there. ---
**Author:** ![Welfy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e56c9b/32.png) [@Welfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Welfy)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/13 "2000-10-23T01:39:40Z")
Yeah, it’s still around, strange enough. There’s at least 20-30 (bad estimate) around. I gave a roll call once, but I forget how many people answered. ---
**Author:** ![AndYrAStar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8edcca/32.png) [@AndYrAStar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AndYrAStar)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/14 "2000-10-23T01:43:08Z")
uh… I used to read the articles on AOL and I think I might have read the boards before… does that count? please? ---
**Author:** ![Wicked\_Blue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/2acd7d/32.png) [@Wicked\_Blue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wicked_Blue)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/15 "2000-10-23T02:12:15Z")
I was there, maybe for about 6 months or so, mostly lurking, before the AOL boards went kaput. I remember my first thread too…‘Why no Siamese Triplets?’. I also remember I did not get one serious answer. 🙂 Rose ---
**Author:** ![Juniper200](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@Juniper200](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Juniper200)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/16 "2000-10-23T03:10:15Z")
I used to hang out at the old AOL boards, but I’m a semi-professional lurker, so I never posted there. ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/17 "2000-10-23T03:22:04Z")
I started there soon after the board opened but mostly lurked, left for long period of time and then came back almost 2 years before it shut down. This place is nice, but nothing will ever take the place of the old AOL board. I’ll have to go check out MFSD. The Bob and George Show was my favorite! ---
**Author:** ![Highlander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Highlander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Highlander)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/18 "2000-10-23T04:07:43Z")
I was there, mostly as a lurker. My wife, Melin, was there before me, and was quite active in the last year of the board’s existence. ---
**Author:** ![masafer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@masafer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/masafer)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/19 "2000-10-23T04:36:14Z")
I find it interesting that most of the people responding to this thread are lurkers in some capacity, as am I. I lurked on the AOL board for about 2 years, and only became seriously involved in one thread, which became a huge flame war (by my thin-skinned standards). I was sad to see the old board go, and followed the debate on the creation of mfsd and voted for it, but I ended up here instead. I’ve been here for a while, but rarely if ever contribute, as my post count indicates. Am I allowed to have a post party for my 5th post? For me it seems some sort of accomplishment. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2000, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889/20 "2000-10-23T05:20:12Z")
I was there. Under AOL SN Katpower. I’m sure no one remembers though…although I wasn’t exactly a lurker. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-aol-straight-dope/37889.md?page=2)