I had recently discovered the magnificent song “Hotel California” by the Eagles. In listening to it over and over, I started to wonder what on earth “colitas” meant. So I googled and found Cecil’s column on the subject. “Hm”, says I, “that was informative and entertaining. I wonder what else this Cecil fellow has written about.” So I read a couple columns, had a few laughs…and then I found Threadspotting, and eventually the current fora. From reading the threads therein, I fell in love with the boards. This place has such a capacity for off-the-wall humor and silliness and wit, as well as open-minded and respectful discussions about most anything. Then there are the advice threads, which always garner in-depth and intelligent replies and sympathy if need be. You help each other out in times of need (the “sponsor my membership” thread is a good example). It boggles my mind that you would help out a perfect stranger for no reason other than sheer kindness. And, of course, the “I’m new here” threads, which are so warm and welcoming and friendly that I almost cry every time I read one of them. I get the sense that you guys, whether you’re being silly or serious or what have you, are good people and genuinely care about each other. You’re good folks to be around, and that’s why I joined this place. I’m not too prolific of a poster, but I do enjoy being here very much.
That was pretty much how I did it, as well. I actually first joined in the fall of 2001, but during the Winter of Our Missed Content, my registration was lost, so I had to sign up again when the board came back to life.
Long-time fan of the Straight Dope books and column (when I could get it - when I discovered the books, there was no newspaper around that carried the columns).
I occasionally read the columns online, but never bothered with the boards.
Then someone forwarded a link to Scylla’s “The Horror of Blimps”. That one had me laughing so hard I was wheezing and frightened my spouse in the next room (he came running to make sure I was OK). I wanted to find more by this author - and you had to register to search. Thus was born Mama Zappa (well, a boring name based on my real name, changed rather quickly).
I found the place over three years ago when searching for something or other – it was the first I’d heard of this “straight dope” thing, but I knew what it was about because I’d read Cecil’s competition’s books. (ahem David Feldman ahem) I hung around and read the Straight Dope archives for a while. (Yes, all of them.) Since I obviously liked reading them I figured I’d check out the community. I’m glad I did.
I found this to be a place containing, on the whole, a great wealth of knowledge from its many contributors. People seemed in general to be pretty smart folk – there was certainly a much higher concentration of intelligent, well-spoken people here than any other place I frequented, so I eventually decided I had to sign up.
Since then this place has become a bastion of sanity whenever I get too depressed from browsing other forums where it seems like everyone who participates has a T9 keyboard, no patience, has only heard of a dictionary in fairy tales, and approximately half the populations seem to be part of the group that inspired the Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory.
Although there are some of those here, too…
But the ratio of cool people to idiots is much more favourable here than just about anywhere else.
I was never apart of any message board before Heroes came out and I loved the show so much I started googling around for more info on it. After a few hit and misses, especially the IMDB message board, I found this place had a thread about it and after a few months of pretty much just reading the Heroes threads I decided to join.
And to this day I still do what I did the first time I read my first Heroes thread here. I’ll watch the episode and then come here and read the thread about it and after seeing all the little things and connections I didn’t pick up on but others here did I then go back and rewatch the episode for further understanding.
I knew **Tripler **from a previous assignment. He was TDY at my location and his then-girlfriend-now-wife (sorry, I still don’t know her Doper name!) logged on one night after dinner to read something to me. A week or so later I registered, then later purchased a membership. I don’t post often but I read daily. I only frequent one other message board and it is the complete opposite of this site. The people are rude and condescending and will flame-roast people at the drop of a hat. It’s pretty fun, but again, I rarely post there but read daily.
Oddly, I’d read a thread several years ago that was passed around on email but I didn’t know it was from here. It was **Scylla’s **thread about the toy blimp. I have never laughed so hard in my life! I still read it every once in a while, when I’m having a Bad Day.
I joined because I find that I get looked down upon by a much better class of people here.
Actually, I had never heard of The Straight Dope before I found the board, and although I don’t recall just how I got here exactly, it was something like what Lobsang mentioned – I may well have found it through Bored.com.
I was amazed at the discourse and many of the responses to that thread. The maturity and general intelligence shown by the OP and respondents was very refreshing.
I started exploring the rest of the board and I was hooked.
I have to add that although I have had my - shall we say - difficulties from time to time in the almost 8 years I have been a member, I have never regretted joining, and I cannot think of a better place where I can be just me - warts and all.
I joined up here, after years of lurking, because the SDMB spin-off board I frequented (G’Dope) was closing down due to lack of interest. The nice people at NADS also put out the welcome mat for fleeing G’Dope exiles, so I signed up there too. G’Dope was shaved, blindfolded, and buckled into old sparky for the trip to board heaven, when the governor rang. A last minute management change has kept it, if not in fact alive, not certifiably dead either. So I joined the SDMB under false pretences.
But this is where the action is, even for a hick from the sticks.
I started reading completly by accident. I was doing some research for a Latin project, and I happened to find the site. I kept looking and I was like, whoa, this column is really interesting. So I kept reading, and then I found the threadspotting function. There was one thread in particular…it was about ‘What evolution got wrong’. It was in GD, and what first started out as funny lists of weird/redundant things quickly devolved into an evolution vs. creationism debate. At about the fourth page, the two biggest arguers suddenly made up, and all was well.
I was stunned. Stunned, that such a reasonable and fascinating discourse could be found on the internet! So I kept reading, and I stuck around.
I joined about a year later, when I discovered mafia.
from time to time in the almost 8 years I have been a member, I have never regretted joining, and I cannot think of a better place where I can be just me - warts and all.