# What originally brought you to the SDMB? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 22, 2013, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669 "2013-03-22T18:51:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/21 "2013-03-22T20:46:14Z")
I was told there would be cookies. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Wiggler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/red_wiggler/32/13190_2.png) [@Red\_Wiggler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Wiggler)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/22 "2013-03-22T20:53:21Z")
I want to hear more about these board wars with Left Behind. Board versus board or internecine? ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/23 "2013-03-22T20:59:44Z")
I lurked for years before joining. I mostly read GQ, because there were some really exciting questions (and answers) there. When I joined, it was to add a comment on a thread about a certain author’s books, to the effect that I was glad that someone else had noticed, and been annoyed by, all the comma splices in the books. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/24 "2013-03-22T21:09:57Z")
Back in 1999 I went looking for it. I knew by then the Straight Dope must be online. I’d read the columns in Chicago. First ever column I read? “Is it true male pigs have a corkscrew shaped penis?” ---
**Author:** ![grama](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@grama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grama)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/25 "2013-03-22T21:15:46Z")
Stumbled upon it while browsing forums in tapatalk. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/26 "2013-03-22T22:04:07Z")
I’d followed the column since the 70’s, in the alternative newspapers of Baltimore, Chicago, and Milwaukee. And continued to read it when it moved online (post AOL version) in 1999. Sadly I didn’t sign up for the MB until early 2000, thus missing out on being a registered '99er. I did follow the wacky antics of the Teeming Millions for at least 6 months before finally signing up. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/27 "2013-03-22T22:05:44Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > No kidding? I didn’t know that! That was an epic board war and it was mostly annoying, but if it brought you here it was worth it. Aw, thanks. 🙂 **Red Wiggler** , I don’t really know the whole story, since I saw one side of it at the time, then lurked here for a couple of months before joining, but basically groups from each side visited the other, with, IMO the LB folks being very poorly behaved. Searching for LBMB might give you more details, but I’m not sure what’s still out there. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/28 "2013-03-22T22:34:44Z")
The books led to the website, which led to the message board. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/29 "2013-03-22T23:33:43Z")
I can’t remember what lead me to the web version but I used to read Cecil in my local giveaway long before there _was_ a web version. ---
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/30 "2013-03-22T23:37:38Z")
> [@EmilyG](#): > > I lurked for years before joining. I mostly read GQ, because there were some really exciting questions (and answers) there. > > When I joined, it was to add a comment on a thread about a certain author’s books, to the effect that I was glad that someone else had noticed, and been annoyed by, all the comma splices in the books. To add: I found the message board through the [straightdope.com](http://straightdope.com) website. I used to spend hours at that website, educating myself. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/31 "2013-03-22T23:44:53Z")
I came here for the water. “But we’re in the desert!” I was misinformed. Seriously, I was on my way to cancel my AOL subscription – I had a trial that was about to run out … and as I signed on the welcome screen flashed 'NOW ON AOL! CECIL ADAMS THE STRAIGHT DOPE!" I had read at least one of the books and so I clicked on the link as fast as I could. At that point the portal on AOL was still being built and was a placeholder with a chat room that was open. And people were sitting in it. And I went in. Two weeks later I was hosting chats. Two weeks after that I was supervising other chat hosts. By September we had a message board too. 17 years this June. What the hell happened? ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/32 "2013-03-22T23:45:14Z")
PS I STILL have an account at AOL. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/33 "2013-03-22T23:45:36Z")
I hung out at another message board where politics and other “hot button” topics were not allowed. Someone started a thread asking for a good board that allowed such topics and this place was mentioned. Checked it out and lurked for a while before joining. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/34 "2013-03-22T23:47:26Z")
One day, maybe 30 years ago, one of my kids brought home this alternate newspaper (the Montreal Mirror) that had Cecil’s column in it, saying it might interest me. It did and I got a copy every week until the time came that they stopped carrying it (presumably didn’t want to pay for it). This happened some time in the 90s. After the web got big I would occasionally search the Straight Dope and one day I got a hit. I’ve been here, on and off, ever since. I do regret not signing up as a charter member, but it’s too late now. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/35 "2013-03-22T23:57:39Z")
Stumbled onto the main website while bored at work back in 1999. Spent the first few weeks reading all the archives, then joined the message boards in July of that year. Ended up an MPSIMS moderator in… 2001? Did that until around 2004, I think. Fourteen years… ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/36 "2013-03-23T00:01:32Z")
A friend at work turned me on to Cecil’s books in 1988. Later, I ran across the column online while searching for something else, and there was a link to the message board. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/37 "2013-03-23T00:01:56Z")
**Coldy**! Where you been, dude? We missed you! ---
**Author:** ![Silophant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a698b9/32.png) [@Silophant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silophant)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/38 "2013-03-23T00:18:13Z")
Read an Imponderables book at my aunt’s house, which mentioned the Dope. Found the website, read all the columns, then became a lurker on the message board. A few years later, I used my guest month, but couldn’t afford to pay for a membership when it ran out, so I went back to lurking. Then, the board went free again, so I started posting again, albeit relatively rarely. ---
**Author:** ![misstee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@misstee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/misstee)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/39 "2013-03-23T00:34:40Z")
My very good friend \*\* withak\*\* was a lurker who shared many, many stories about things he read on the dope. I was compelled to seek it out. ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2013, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669/40 "2013-03-23T01:16:31Z")
> [@Silophant](#): > > Read an Imponderables book at my aunt’s house, which mentioned the Dope. Found the website, read all the columns, then became a lurker on the message board. A few years later, I used my guest month, but couldn’t afford to pay for a membership when it ran out, so I went back to lurking. Then, the board went free again, so I started posting again, albeit relatively rarely. I was going to say I didn’t recall, but this is a good guess. I did read those, and I knkow I knew about the Dope books before I knew about this site. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-originally-brought-you-to-the-sdmb/653669.md?page=3)