I was told there would be cookies.
I want to hear more about these board wars with Left Behind. Board versus board or internecine?
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.
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?”
Stumbled upon it while browsing forums in tapatalk.
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.
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.
The books led to the website, which led to the message board.
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.
To add: I found the message board through the straightdope.com website. I used to spend hours at that website, educating myself.
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?
PS I STILL have an account at AOL.
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.
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.
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…
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.
Coldy! Where you been, dude? We missed you!
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.
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.
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.