Back in the seventies, I read the Straight Dope in one of the free papers. In the eighties, I read the books. I loved the sense of humor and writing style in which Cecil (whoever he was at the time ) answered questions and was impressed with the quality of the answers.
A few years ago, while looking up a link to use in response to some glurge, I followed a link to the Dope. I was hooked!
It took a thread for a Nashville Dopefest almost three years ago for me to actually sign up. I think I’ve found my people.
I don’t know the details anymore, but for some inexplicable reason I felt I needed to know why my alarm snooze timer was 9 minutes instead of 10… Thus with some creative google-ing (googling?) I came to the main page, read a few articles, read some more because they looked interesting, and when I had a very boring internship i clicked on the messageboard link…
I have been lurking ever since
I know! And the strangest thing is that in real life I’m an extreme extravert and never ever stop talking. I’m here every day pretty much, but I just don’t post very often. I have a suspicion it’s because I’m very nosey and at the same time not willing to have my words held in perpetuity.
I saw the TV show on A&E, and found out there was an AOL element to it, and started in there. Gotta be…fifteen years, now, or close to it. Crom.
Actually, it was my question to Cecil that was the last article posted on the AOL page before it went defunct. I think I’ll be here when they turn the lights off.
MoodIndigo1 & her son had a messageboard. I remember him mentioning it in a post. I came, lurked, joined but I kept losing my password. When it went pay to post, I didn’t because I was on some messageboards that were free. Unfortunately they all collapsed. It was too frustrating lurking & not being able to post (the weak NZ dollar at the time) made joining just too expensive. But I happened by once, saw that the Dope was going to be free. So I waited - & now here I am. Ta dah!
I found The Straight Dope looking for an answer to a question, I think “running vs walking in the rain.” Google sent me to a Cecil column. I lurked at the boards for a while just reading the offerings. Someone started a thread asking for advice about giving up smoking. I had given up a while before using a technique not all that familiar to most people and registered so that I could tell them about it.
I love all your responses - this has been so fascinating to read! Thanks so much for sharing! Am starting to feel compelled to check out one of Cecil’s books now . . .
I believe I first visited after reading the L-Space website for Terry Pratchett’s writings. He references the Straight Dope books as the source of some of his info, so I did a google search and ended up here.
I remember the TV show too. It was on at about 4:30 in the morning, I can’t remember why I was up watching it. I recall seeing a segment about how they put the writing on M&Ms, and another about where gelatin comes from (ew!).
I knew about the column, from finding one of the first books at a bookstore in Chapel Hill NC 20+ years ago (we at that time did not have a paper that carried it). When the internet became prevalent, I found the columns were available online. I saw the links to the message board but never thought anything of them.
Then someone forwarded a link to Scylla’s “The Horror of Blimps”. When my husband had to come running in from the other room to make sure I was OK (was laughing so hard I was wheezing), I knew I had to find more stuff by this funny fellow. Of course, back then, nonmembers couldn’t search… so I had to sign up.
Scylla is also responsible for my husband spraining his ankle. Not long after that day, Typo Knig (or “Papa Zappa” as I referred to him then) happened to be near a Zany Brainy and thought he’d check to see if they still had any blimp kits. It had just snowed, and Typo missed a step onto or off of the curb…
Here’s the oldest Equipoise post I can find.
Go to “Advanced Search”
Select for “Search all open Forums”
“Search for User Name Equipoise”
Leave “keyword” blank
Sort Results by “Last Posting Date” “In Ascending Order”
Show Results as “Posts”
Searching “Find all Posts By” in a profile tops you out at 750 posts.
I saw the TV show first, then I found the boards and lurked for a few years. I loved the skeptical nature of this place, but it was for Cafe Society that I finally joined.
A friend of mine said it was a good forum to read during slow periods at work; I’ve lurked for about a year now. Thought it was time to finally say hello.
I made it through the selection process for “Who wants to be a Millionaire” and needed to find some mnemonics for trivia and such. Through my surfing I found this site as well as the now defunct UselessKnowledge.com.
Always been a fan of trivia and, well, useless knowledge. Enjoy the range of inut here.
Way back in the dim dark days of AOL, I was a participant on several boards in a section called “The Exchange”. The entire AREA (practically a subdivision of AOL) was being nuked, killing off the boards I was on. So I needed to relocate my online activities.
Around the same time, the Welcome screen would occasionally highlight various message boards that were otherwise buried in places you’d almost have to already know about in order to ever find them, and one day I saw SDMB being highlighted and checked it out and never left. Followed it here in '99.
It was all essentially voluntary on my part though; I wasn’t coerced into doing it
Like maplekiwi, I came from MoodIndigo1’s messageboard. I was bored one night, and talking to one of its members on instant messenger, and she suggested I read here. I signed up immediately, and have been posting off and on since.
Refresh my memory? I assume you had a different name there? Your current one isn’t ringing a bell.
) answered questions and was impressed with the quality of the answers.
I know! And the strangest thing is that in real life I’m an extreme extravert and never ever stop talking. I’m here every day pretty much, but I just don’t post very often. I have a suspicion it’s because I’m very nosey and at the same time not willing to have my words held in perpetuity.