# Why the heck is this board called The Straight Dope? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 4, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-heck-is-this-board-called-the-straight-dope/166357 "2003-04-04T02:02:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Canadagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Canadagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-heck-is-this-board-called-the-straight-dope/166357/1 "2003-04-04T02:02:37Z")
I was just wondering, what is the origin of the name _The Straight Dope_? My brother saw me on the sight the other day and thought I was on a site about drugs. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Taran](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Taran](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taran)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-heck-is-this-board-called-the-straight-dope/166357/2 "2003-04-04T02:06:45Z")
The board is named after Cecil Adams’ column _The Straight Dope_. The phrase “The Straight Dope” is slang for “the true story” or similar. ---
**Author:** ![Canadagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Canadagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-heck-is-this-board-called-the-straight-dope/166357/3 "2003-04-04T02:21:45Z")
Thanks for clearing that up. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Pelleas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e8c25b/32.png) [@Pelleas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pelleas)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-heck-is-this-board-called-the-straight-dope/166357/4 "2003-04-04T03:09:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Canadagirl \* > \*\*I was just wondering, what is the origin of the name _The Straight Dope_? My brother saw me on the sight the other day and thought I was on a site about drugs. :eek: \*\* I had the same thing happen to me today. Someone came in my office, saw the Straight Dope logo and asked what I was doing on a sight about drugs.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-heck-is-this-board-called-the-straight-dope/166357/5 "2003-04-04T03:27:37Z")
Click on the link at the bottom of the page titled “The Straight Dope Homepage”, or go to [www.straightdope.com](http://www.straightdope.com) Do it. Do it now. Read this weeks articles. Read the archives. Learn to worship Cecil the way you should. 🙂 - **mnemosyne** , addicted since 2000 ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-heck-is-this-board-called-the-straight-dope/166357/6 "2003-04-04T05:34:06Z")
Be _proud_ to be a “doper” (in this context, of course.) 😉 _Proudly addicted to Straight Dopedom since c.1987._ ---
**Author:** ![Maria](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Maria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maria)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2003, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-heck-is-this-board-called-the-straight-dope/166357/7 "2003-04-04T14:18:47Z")
I think the name appealed to the readers of the original free newspapers, as being a little bit of “not your father’s newspaper”. ---
**Author:** ![dobbinaire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e79b87/32.png) [@dobbinaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dobbinaire)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-heck-is-this-board-called-the-straight-dope/166357/8 "2003-04-05T02:48:37Z")
My brother showed me this site, and I have been an avid lurker for over two years now. My daughter also saw the ‘dope’ in the title and was ready to tear a new asshole in her friends for daring to look up drugs on Mom’s computer! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-the-heck-is-this-board-called-the-straight-dope/166357/9 "2003-04-05T22:23:52Z")
ya straight dope, BDSM/SDMB/whatever… 😃