# Why are you here? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 5, 2020, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951 "2020-03-05T05:51:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![FJRQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FJRQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FJRQ)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/41 "2020-03-06T00:24:02Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > They kicked us out of AOL and we had to go somewhere. > > Oh, before that? Well, AOL had this space called The Exchange, sort of little online communities where people posted. They killed it off. But by then I was addicted to posting in little online communities. AOL _also_ advertised things that an AOL member might find of interest, when you first logged on, and the (AOL version of) The Straight Dope was one such promoted space, so I came in, I shot my mouth off on a subject or too, and was quickly hooked. I still have an app email address lol. Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/42 "2020-03-06T00:35:54Z")
Because way back I read the SD in Chicago, saw that there were books, and figured that by then there would be a message board. Lo and behold there was! The first column I ever read was “Is it true that male pigs have a corkscrew shaped penis?” ---
**Author:** ![peedin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peedin/32/14095_2.png) [@peedin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peedin)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/43 "2020-03-06T00:41:52Z")
Etc., etc. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/44 "2020-03-06T03:37:49Z")
Coz Cecil is my friend. No really, he is. I swear. (:)). ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/45 "2020-03-06T03:49:48Z")
Am I the only one who thought this was a Machinaforce thread at first glance? Anyway, I’m her to kick ass and chew bubblegum. And I’m all out of bubblegum. Or something. ---
**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 6, 2020, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/46 "2020-03-06T13:59:07Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > Am I the only one who thought this was a Machinaforce thread at first glance? > > Anyway, I’m her to kick ass and chew bubblegum. And I’m all out of bubblegum. Or something. At post 45, this joke was way overdue. Good job. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/47 "2020-03-06T15:20:11Z")
Well there were these books… and now I’m here. The 30 years in between are kind of a blur. ---
**Author:** ![Sefton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Sefton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sefton)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/48 "2020-03-06T15:28:09Z")
They closed the lunatic asylum, so I chose the next best thing. ---
**Author:** ![Jumpbass](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jumpbass/32/147_2.png) [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/49 "2020-03-06T15:49:11Z")
I’m here because the posters have brains and use them. The snark is usually top shelf. I don’t have to be a grammar nazi because I know someone else will take care of it. Pie, yes. Squid, yes. Frankly, I get help with clarity. I often don’t know what to think about some things, so reading a bunch of opinions and seeing the debates and conclusions helps me get a handle on some stuff. Other posters often come up with research that I never would have thought existed, not only on philosophical or political subjects, but on mundane subjects as well. It’s a valuable resource for critical thought in action. By the way, everyone, thanks for being here. You’ve made my life better. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/50 "2020-03-06T16:09:34Z")
I am here to help other people. I am not clear on why _they_ are here. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/51 "2020-03-06T18:33:05Z")
> [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](#): > > I am here to help other people. I am not clear on why _they_ are here. To help you, duh. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/52 "2020-03-06T19:11:33Z")
snopes shut down the message board so I was out on the streets. SDMB took me in. This thread is giving me warm fuzzies. ---
**Author:** ![Fugazi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f08c70/32.png) [@Fugazi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fugazi)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/53 "2020-03-06T23:34:38Z")
But… am I here? Am I _really?_ :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/54 "2020-03-07T00:35:05Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > There are people here whose thoughts I still find worth reading, and I occasionally feel that I have a thought worth sharing. You should share more of them. 🙂 Your contributions have been notably absent of late. > [@ThelmaLou](#): > > All of the above reasons. Plus, I’m now retired (used to post at work!) and really have nothing better to do. > > People here spell good and believe in grammar. I like that in a board. Me, too, to everything you said except the retired part. I do work from home, though, and sometimes work is slow. > [@Jumpbass](#): > > I’m here because the posters have brains and use them. The snark is usually top shelf. I don’t have to be a grammar nazi because I know someone else will take care of it. > > Pie, yes. Squid, yes. > > Frankly, I get help with clarity. I often don’t know what to think about some things, so reading a bunch of opinions and seeing the debates and conclusions helps me get a handle on some stuff. Other posters often come up with research that I never would have thought existed, not only on philosophical or political subjects, but on mundane subjects as well. It’s a valuable resource for critical thought in action. > > By the way, everyone, thanks for being here. You’ve made my life better. Yes to all points, **Jumpbass**. Well said. ```auto Also, I would drive friends and family from my life if they were my sole outlet for -- I know it's hard to believe -- an unhealthy obsession with the state of our politics in the Time of Trump. I am frightened for our future, and it helps to have a place to vent. I try not to be an asshole about it. I am grateful for this place and all its wonderful contributors. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/55 "2020-03-07T03:01:30Z")
20 years ago, the Internet Classifieds section was running an ad for “Straight Dope Funnyman.” Mike Lukas has just left the TV show, so I put in an application. I got called for an audition, and have been waiting in the Green Room for 20 years now. I never heard one way or the other if they hired anyone; I just keep hanging around for the free hors d’ourves. Tripler Official Comic Relief of the SDMB (by default) ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/56 "2020-03-07T04:01:48Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > snopes shut down the message board so I was out on the streets. > > SDMB took me in. That’s how I got here too. I need someplace where I can talk/read about just about anything; including things I didn’t know I was interested in until I started reading the thread. And where you can say ‘cite please’ and probably get some. And then I get interested in the people, also. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/57 "2020-03-07T04:42:29Z")
In the Very Near Future, when we are all in quarantine (self-imposed or otherwise), SDMB will be all there is! ---
**Author:** ![Nayna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ebca7d/32.png) [@Nayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nayna)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/58 "2020-03-07T05:31:44Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Well there were these books… and now I’m here. The 30 years in between are kind of a blur. Me, too! I first discovered the books while browsing a bookstore in Cape May, NJ in 1995 or so, ended up buying all of them. Then I discovered the message board in 1998 at my job in Pittsburgh, PA … and I’ve been here ever since. A lot of the other responses are true for me, too. If I have a question, I can find an answer here. If I just feel like reading and learning, I can look for an interesting conversation and lurk. This board has made me a stickler for accuracy, for valid cites, for perfect grammar. Being a member always makes me a better person (if something of a pedantic pain in the ass in real life). In the Age of Trump, good fact-checking skills are more important than ever, and I appreciate all I’ve learned here. ---
**Author:** ![FJRQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/82dd89/32.png) [@FJRQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FJRQ)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/59 "2020-03-07T06:47:59Z")
I’ll have to check at the local library to see if they have the books. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Passing\_Through](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Just\_Passing\_Through](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Passing_Through)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2020, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951/60 "2020-03-07T13:22:27Z")
I am here because my office chair is more comfortable than my couch. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-you-here/848951.md?page=4)