# Why did you join the Dope? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 27, 2008, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669 "2008-11-27T06:28:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/41 "2008-11-28T13:44:24Z")
Read the books. Around book 2 or 3 there were messageboard posts in the back and I told myself that the minute I got internet access, I was going to check out the messageboard. And that’s exactly what I did. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@The\_Tof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tof)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/42 "2008-11-28T13:45:55Z")
My friend introduced me to The Straight Dope, like 10 years ago. (First article I read: Does a Ducks Quack Echo?) I browsed around on the website for awhile, and discovered there was a message board. I was not really a member of any real message boards at the time. Little did I know that this would turn out to be a bright shining star in a sea of crap. I just thought it seemed full of intelligent like minded folk- so I joined. ---
**Author:** ![MadTheSwine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MadTheSwine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadTheSwine)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/43 "2008-11-28T14:21:26Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Read the books. Around book 2 or 3 there were messageboard posts in the back and I told myself that the minute I got internet access, I was going to check out the messageboard. And that’s exactly what I did. I read the books when iI was young.I think the Dope was one of the first things I looked up on the internet when I got my first computer.(seeing if any new books where coming out)Didnt join for many years though. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/44 "2008-11-28T14:26:25Z")
> [@Mahna\_Mahna](#): > > I stumbled onto the boards quite by accident while browsing the main Straight Dope site (which I’d been reading on and off for years as a safe place to kill a few minutes at work during downtime). > > I stayed because it’s awfully rare to find a place where posters don’t mistake “lol” for punctuation, have something intelligent to say (most of the time), and are as kitty-obsessed as I am. 🙂 This except the cats. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/45 "2008-11-28T15:05:08Z")
I was trying to track down an urban legend, and remembered a friend (thanks, Dave) had mentioned this column called the Straight Dope, so I searched for it and found the boards. I think I was unemployed at the time, so I joined. I stayed because people used standardized spelling and punctuation (and lots of white space). I really liked the way the way threads rambled like conversations, too (I think some mods are a bit ruthless about staying on topic now.) This was back when people wrote all their posts in something like Notepad or TextEdit, because the server ate so many well-written, erudite, and documented posts; people actually typed in passages from real, hard, paper books instead of linking; _(They also walked to school up hill, both ways …)_. I left when they went pay to post because I still didn’t have a job, but I still lurked occasionally. I re-joined later, because sometimes I just want a new and blunt viewpoint. I preferred the board before the pay-to-post experiment. I remember there being a lot more very well written and very silly posts. The posts were also a bit more exploratory, more apt to celebrate strange little differences and less to insist on a specific tone and culture _(… barefoot, in the snow all year 'round…)_. ---
**Author:** ![JollyGoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dec6dc/32.png) [@JollyGoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JollyGoon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/46 "2008-11-29T10:00:56Z")
Hey **DataZak** , I’m from Indonesia. I have a neighbor (of sorts) here. Yay!! ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/47 "2008-11-29T10:07:02Z")
I wanted to see what an Internet message board would be like and this one looked intelligent. I don’t remember exactly how I found it from England, but probably it was because it appeared on a search as answering a question… ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/48 "2008-11-29T10:29:33Z")
I took and online IQ test, and was googling Marilyn Vos Savant. The wikipedia page on her mentioned Unca cecil’s coloumn also. I lurked for 3 years before joining . This board fights ignorance , and there is lot of intelligence around here ! ---
**Author:** ![tarragon918](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@tarragon918](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarragon918)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/49 "2008-11-29T10:55:01Z")
I had been reading The Straight Dope column for years but didn’t know about the message board until an online friend pointed me here; IIRC, it was a Star Trek-related thing. It was just after 9/11 and I found that I really liked the community here. I might not post very often–it’s just not my thing I guess–but I’m almost always reading. I’ve never met anyone IRL yet, but would like to. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/50 "2008-11-29T11:28:33Z")
I started reading The Straight Dope in the Isthmus in 1980. I kept searching for The Straight Dope to come on line and it eventually did. I used to be an unending walking trivia fact machine. I’m not any longer able to recall like that. The board is mostly correct and well monitored so it’s a cut above many other sites. Having a large base of like minded people that came together from reading Celcil’s columns helps the board maintain cohesion. ---
**Author:** ![malm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/278dde/32.png) [@malm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malm)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/51 "2008-11-29T13:38:07Z")
> [@JollyGoon](#): > > But this board, this strange but beautiful board is just something else. From serious discussions on why ET doesn’t call, bizarre stories like the blimp from hell, and tremendous kindness and generosity as in that thread where a Doper was asking about tips on how to live on a small amount of money and it ended up with other dopers sending money to him/her. > > Your peculiar and often funny stories plus your friendship for people whom most of you have never met face-to-face are the reason I’ve lurked here for so long and keep coming back. What about you? > > -Cheers- This. I just joined (kind of…) Oh. and I enjoy reading the pit. ---
**Author:** ![timbicile59](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@timbicile59](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/timbicile59)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/52 "2008-11-29T20:07:16Z")
I was lookin for useless pot… ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/53 "2008-11-29T20:11:23Z")
I was sat at work, bored. I got a lame idea - See if there is a site for bored people. I tried “[www.bored.com](http://www.bored.com)” Sure enough there is/was such a site. It had th Straight Dope Message Board on its front page. I came here. I posted. I stayed. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/54 "2008-11-29T20:35:09Z")
I read the newspaper column for years in the local free city paper. Every once in awhile I’d think of a question but couldn’t be arsed to actually write a letter. Eventually, when everyone else was getting email & websites, it occurred to me “surely Cecil wouldn’t let the internet pass him by.” I looked up the email address for submitting questions, submitted one, got the autoreply, “we get lots of questions, don’t hold your breath 'til you turn blue or anything.” That led me to the boards. I’d been on [Salon.com](http://Salon.com) but their boards went pay, and the SDMB seemed to have the same quality, for free. Plus, I could ask questions in GQ. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/55 "2008-11-29T21:13:55Z")
I was on AOL in 1997 and they had a link on their front page every day to a different bit of their network. One day they had a link to the SD’s site. I had seen the TV show, and liked it, so I clicked on it. Ended up reading every column available, and when I ran out, noticed that there was a message board. Except for a period of a year and a half when I was overseas and had terrible internet access, I’ve been here ever since. ---
**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:** [November 29, 2008, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/56 "2008-11-29T21:36:04Z")
I used to watch the TV show on A&E in college, and when that was cancelled, I read the articles on the main page. I saw the link to the message boards, and in '00, signed up. Ever since then, it’s been a roller coaster of pie, goats, beer, hot wimmin (Doper wimmin, at that!) and rockstar parties. The only thing I had to pay for was the occasional four-figure power bill. Tripler It’s all about the Hot Doper Wimmin. ---
**Author:** ![thirdwarning](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecccb3/32.png) [@thirdwarning](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdwarning)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2008, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/57 "2008-11-29T22:19:58Z")
I found the place at random, or as Polycarp said once, I just surfed in. As I recall, there was a discussion going on about creation, with CMKeller holding his own there, and a couple of other things that looked interesting. I signed up because it looked like something I might want to see more of, and I’ve been here ever since. What can I say, I’m hooked. I can’t really even compare the Dope to any other message boards, because I really don’t do any others. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/58 "2008-11-30T13:41:47Z")
I don’t remember how I first stumbled upon this message board, but I lurked for at least a year before signing up. It was the addition of “Cafe Society” that prompted me to do it. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/59 "2008-11-30T13:51:18Z")
I’d say it was by accident; some might say it was destiny. [QUOTE=Wikipedia] "It was once when I read a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses travelled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of: for instance, one of them discovered that a camel blind of the right eye had travelled the same road lately, because the grass was eaten only on the left side, where it was worse than on the right—now do you understand serendipity? [/QUOTE] I could never quite work out why the princess was following a one-eyed camel. ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669/60 "2008-11-30T21:16:32Z")
I joined because I had a question which I thought could be answered in GQ. IIRC, it generated about 25 replies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-you-join-the-dope/474669.md?page=4)