CONFESS!!!!! When did you join DU and what inspired you to sign-up

[LynneSin]

I joined right around the time that Jeffords was defecting from the republican party. I had found this website through one of the Yahoo political groups where I use to post regularly. I really hated the Yahoo format and thought this looked like a good place to post. Been here ever since.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

1. 2001. A friend told me about the Top Ten Idiots.

I started reading them and I signed up, although I barely ever posted.

Oddly enough, he never signed up for DU. He still reads the Top Ten Idiots though.

[skygazer]

2. Summer of '04

I was out of work on a surgical leave and doing a lot of net surfing. Found a link to Conservative Idiots on All Hat No Cattle and got hooked.

[Midlodemocrat]

8. Me, too. I had lurked for a while, but one of the Top 10 convinced me to join.

I just can't remember which one.

[ZombieNixon]

3. A friend and colleague happened to drop the name of the site

and the Top 10 Conservative Idiots. A few weeks later, I looked it up and stayed around. :P

[LynneSin]

4. It seems the Conservative Idiots list is a real turn-on

:shrug:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

5. After being called a "commie pinko dirtbag" in a non-politics forum

I googled the phrase just for kicks. One of the results was Auntie Pinko, and the rest, as they say, is history.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

6. Not sure, but it was

before the invasion. I was something like the 13,000th person to sign on. I was looking for other people who knew the invasion was wrong. I had hoped we could stop it............ :shrug:
Who knew * was going to be such a GIANT disaster? Most of us knew he wasn't the man for the job, but man, he has surpassed anything I thought I'd ever see!!!

[LSK]

7. October 2003, freepers on another board drove me to find sanctuary

Someone else on that board was here and told me about DU.

[crim son]

9. I joined within days of the 2004 election.

I had been active in another chat group for a few years but it became totally freeperized before the election and it was impossible to actually discuss issues, so blindly stupid were the conservatives. Outstandingly stupid, I'd say. Anyhow, somebody posted the link to DU and I checked it out. Been here ever since.

[Bossy Monkey]

10. January '03: A DUer who is my namesake googled his real name and discovered my webpages

Given the Trotskyite leanings evidenced there, he recommended I sign up at his favorite website DU. I had previously seen the Top 10 Conservative Idiots a few times, but hadn't noticed that there was a message board attached. I had also spent a good deal of time tracking imbeciles at FR, but that runs out of entertainment value pretty quickly as I'm sure we all have noticed by now. DU, especially the Lounge, has been much more fun.

(My namesake DUer isn't hiding his name as far as I know, but since he doesn't post very often anymore (even compared to me) and since my name is still clearly visible on my still-up webpages, it's just as well not to reveal his DU screenname again here.)

[Patiod]

11. Used to post on Bartcop, but wanted a more active forum

with more participants. Needed A LOT of moral support around the 2004 elections - was out canvassing, phone banking, etc., and had a lot riding on the election emotionally.

This forum looked like Bart, but busier. Still love Bartcop, though!!!

[Norwood]

12. November '04

After the election was stolen again I was absolutely furious and I just happened to stumble on DU. I remember it took some time to get registered and all because of the traffic from the election.

[azmouse]

13. It was Nov '05

I was reading a lot of liberal websites and decided it was time to sign up and start talking. I had to do something to keep myself from going insane. Joining DU helped a little. :)

[Starbucks Anarchist]

14. After the 2004 election.

I had found out about DU through Buzzflash and had browsed for a bit before finally signing up.

EDIT: Up until the build-up to war, I didn't follow politics too closely, but as soon as I knew war was inevitable, I started doing some research, eventually ending up here.

[SeattleGirl]

15. Joined in May 2005, after reading a post from DU forwarded to me

by a friend. Actually, I lurked for nearly two years before I signed up; she had sent me the article in 2003.

[ohiosmith]

16. 2003. I could not resist the lure of the Lounge.

[WritingIsMyReligion]

17. about.politicalhumor.com had a link to the Top 10 right after Bushie's coronation in Jan 2005.

It took me 'til September of that year to sign up but I read the Top 10 religiously throughout the lurking period.

[NewWaveChick1981]

18. March 2005. I lurked for about a month before actually signing up for my user ID.

A really good friend told me about DU, and I KNOW I post more than she does. :P

[johnnie]

19. I joined last week

I heard about this site while hanging around free republic. I was the guy who would order porta potties for their protests.

[LynneSin]

21. $3000 worth of Portapotties for 40 protesters

that's about $100 a dump - not very good with money are you?

[Hosnon]

20. November 2004: I lurked but the intoxicating swirl surrounding the election drew me in! nt.

[graywarrior]

22. Michael Moore's forum got shut down FAST and a friend told me about DU.

I ran here sometime in 2002, maybe April. I like it here, I hate it here. But I keep coming back....like AA.

[malta blue]

23. March 2005

After lots of goading from Distressed American. He kept trying to get me to join, and when I finally did, I replied on one of his posts and it took him several exchanges to realize it was me. I dropped hints, and he replied "my friend does that too..." or things along those lines. It wasn't until Mrs DA peeked over his shoulder and said hey - that's Malta Blue that he realized it was me....alas, I think that was the longest exchange I have had.

[BarenakedLady]

24. I signed up I think before the 2000 election

I could be totally wrong and it was the 2004 election (my memory sucks) I was under another name at the time though. I signed up with a new name because I couldn't remember the old one or my password. I just wanted a place to play with like minded people, which is why I stay in the Lounge. LoL.

[LynneSin]

29. DU started in Jan 2001

EarlG & Skinner went to the inauguration joke and carried a big banner announcing their new website

[BarenakedLady]

30. Well then that answers it for me. LoL

Danke

[hippiechick]

39. Look at your profile:

... it says you joined (in this incarnation anyway) on Sept 16, 2006.

:hi:

[BarenakedLady]

43. yes, i am aware of that...

as I said, I was here under another name prior.

[av8rdave]

25. Joined in late '03 as soon as I learned of DU's existence

[Initech]

26. I had been lurking since before the '04 elections.

The Terri Schiavo incident got me beyond pissed off, and that's when I finally joined (it was somewhere around April - May '05).

[BlueIris]

27. I found DU through Cannonfire. I was trying to find more stories/discussion

about that "election" we'd just had. I was inspired to join up in March of '05, but I don't really remember what the catalyst was.

[pdx_prog]

28. 2002....

I was just browsing one day and ran straight fucking into DU.

[book lady]

31. I joined in Sept 2005...

right after we came back from the UFPJ march in Washington DC. My daughter convinced me to join DU.

[jarab]

32. Late 01. My brother - member - clued me in. eom

...O...

[Mojambo]

33. I cannot remember how I got here

I don't even really remember when it was.

Post 9/11.

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

34. January 2004. I was so frustrated that I couldn't find any message

boards that shared my outrage over the pass that Chucklenuts had gotten from the corporate media for the past 5 years.

I think I found DU from a link posted on something on Online Journal.

All I know is I'm so glad I found this place. It saved my sanity...

[graywarrior]

35. This thread is so civil. It's almost unreal.

[redwitch]

59. LOL, so true!

Tonight seems like it is gonna be one of "those" nights.

[redqueen]

36. 10/22/2003

I seem to remember following NNadir here, IIRC.

I think he mentioned it on Smirking Chimp, and so I checked it out.

[leeroysphitz]

37. 2003. The Judge said it was either DU or prison so...

[hippiechick]

38. March 2001 and ... I dunno why ...

... I think I was re-directed here from SmirkingChimp and this place was easier to navigate than Chimp.


:shrug:

[LaurenG]

40. I joined in 2004 after lurking for two years

I tried to sign up in November before the election that year but the place was not accepting new members, band width problems or something. I found it after playing around with "the googles".

[Left Is Write]

41. I signed up in Sept 2004. I was directed here by someone I posted with elsewhere...

and, of course, it was election time.

[GalleryGod]

42. Same time as LynnSin ;Dumb Luck I Simply Stumbled upon it.

You should look back to the earliest archives. We were all so nice and (ahem) ISSUE (as in politics and working in campaigns) driven.

[elfrangel]

44. My hubby.

He joined and started posting. Sometimes he'd find something and want me to come and read it. I started surfing on my own while staying home with my son...something to do. I got hooked. Don't remember when exactly I signed up, but I did and here I am.

[leftyclimber]

45. I repatriated from Canada

and six months or so later I found that there WERE still sane people left in America.

So I joined. (Just don't post much.)

Thanks for being here, folks.

[u4ic]

46. Where in Canada?

:hi:

[leftyclimber]

50. Southern Ontario

Mostly Toronto.

I was in high-tech at the time, so the visa wasn't a problem.

Then I quit tech, got really homesick, met an American guy on a vacation in the States, fell in lurve, and moved back. I had NO idea how bad things had gotten down here while I was gone. I've been in culture shock pretty much since I went through Customs moving back and saw black-uniformed, gun-toting people crawling all over.

I think I got Canadianized. If the Repubs steal 2008, I think I'm going to try to get another job in Canada once I finish my doctorate.

:hi:

Oh, and --edit-- I'm thinking about Univ. of Alberta. I like ice climbing. :)

[u4ic]

52. I'm originally

from Mississauga. :hi:


Wow. That would be quite a change. Even in redneck Alberta, I haven't met anyone would likes Bush, or agrees with him.


The U of A would be a great choice! :toast:

[leftyclimber]

54. Even redneck Alberta

has nothing on this crap. I can't even articulate what a giant clusterfuck this is compared to what you get on the news.

And there's no Coffee Crisp here! Or :beer:

[u4ic]

55. Coffee Crisp

is one of the best things about this country! :thumbsup:

[u4ic]

47. Oct 2004

I'd been lurking for about 6 months.

[mwdem]

48. 2002. I found it through Media Whores Online.

I miss that site.

[Dastard Stepchild]

63. Me too! n/t

[VenusRising]

49. November 22, 2006

My husband, Zodiak Ironfist, has been here since 2004. I started really reading the DU after Katrina hit, but never registered. I just continued to read on Zodiak's account, and one day I decided to get my own account to read on. I registered and now I'm a DU-lover, for-evah!!

:loveya:

[Ms_Dem_Meanor]

51. 11/10/06

Mad_Dem_X is my co-worker and she is on all the time at work. IT'S ADDICTIVE just reading the post! :)

[femmocrat]

53. I joined after the 2000 selection debacle, but lost track of my password

and user name. I lurked from time to time, then rejoined in 2006.

[Arugula Latte]

56. In 2001, I started seeing DU mentioned on another political board.

The person mentioned how liberal DU was, and I came to check it out. It soon became my main home on the tubes of The Internets. :)

[Nicole]

57. 2001 I found the site by googling for something

I lurked for a few months & then signed up in 2002.

[redwitch]

58. 2003

My son turned me on to DU because I was so upset about the Iraq war.

[applegrove]

60. I joined a few months after the 04 election. I found lots of disruption and

mean spiritedness and obfuscation on the mixed boards and was tired of bullshit discussions where some freeper calls you a name and you are supposed to get all upset and go off topic. I heard about the DU. Love it. Discussion is always serious and right on. Even if I don't agree with everything said here..it is usually discussed in such an adult way - I learn so much. Thank you DU.

[LostInAnomie]

61. 2/17/04 I had never heard of the site...

... but some dumb ass freeper on a local forum kept calling me a "DUmmy", and claiming that I got all my arguments from "DemocRATic Underground". After scaring him off by calling him out on his bullshit talking points repeatedly, I decided to see what this mystery site he kept whining about had to offer.

5000+ posts later and I'm still here.

[Dastard Stepchild]

62. Smirking Chimp, I think.... or Media Whores Online...

I must have followed some links. I didn't officially join til 2004. The delay was more out of laziness than lack of interest.

[TOhioLiberal]

64. August 5 2003...

...I had been reading the top 10 Conservative Idiots for months, with out realizing there was a message board here also. I signed up, lurked around a bit. Actually started posting in October 2003. The rest is history.

[Maat]

65. I joined in Jan. 2004, after getting massively depressed about ...

the illegal, immoral, unconscionable and unnecessary invasion of Iraq. I found this site during a random Google search - I can't even remember my search words now.

[recoveringdittohed]

66. October 2004

Was fed up with the Republican party having not voted in any primary in 2002 or 2004. Was lurking on a notorious right wing website and some idiot posted you've got to see what those DUmmies are saying over at Democratic Underground. So I did and the rest is history.

[madrchsod]

67. about this time in 2002

found it from buzzflash and did`t post for several months. i think i`m about 11,000 or so

[deepthought42]

68. Hmmm, well I became hooked on the Top 10 Consersative Idiots list...

Then I lurked for a while. Finally got my shit together and joined back in November just in time for '06 elections. I wanted to be here for it! :toast:

[RevolutionaryActs]

69. Right after the 04 election.

I joined because we lost the election and because of the "My name is.." thread. :)

[mike_c]

70. back in early 2001 and I joined just to annoy Carlos....

:evilgrin:

[stuntcat]

71. Apr 13th 2006

:party:

[smtpgirl]

72. On a link from Smirking Chimp in early 2001

[mvd]

73. August 2001 I think

My mom saw Skinner on C-SPAN and told me about DU. The rest is history!

[Liberal Veteran]

74. Back in 02.....I made a complete ass of myself.

Fortunately, some very nice DU'ers promptly put me in my place and I realized that they were absolutely right and I was terribly wrong (even though I pretty much knew where my heart was on that particular issue and it was in line with the consensus here, I was trying to be realistic).

[salin]

76. Hey you,

I remember early conversations - but with so much time having past - I don't recall (and maybe never knew) to whichissue you refer. Nevertheless, always good to see you.

[salin]

75. enron death spiral

first days of Jan 2002. I had found a link from Buzz Flash in November - read some really far left threads (and I am solidly left - so these were past me) and wanted to respond - tried to register and couldn't get it to work. Lurked for a little while - found LBN and was hooked - then over the Christmas Holidays (a little extra time) I tried to register and actually figured out how to do so. Was absolutely hooked by LBN. For a little while, when my time permitted, was able to do a lot of LBN posting (when the community was small - sometimes hours would go by before new news was posted - hard to believe today).

You have been a mainstay, since the time I first joined. So glad that I can still cross paths with you on the boards. :hi:

[The Traveler]

77. Back in 2003

I was on the Clark site ... a really good community. It was sorta slowing down for obvious reasons, and I got referred to DU by one of my buds there.

Ya know, I like the diversity of views here. Lots of great information gets passed around here. A ton of good people. DU has, at times, been my only refuge in a world that has seemingly lost its sense of proportion.

Hanging out here has caused me to change my views on certain matters ... that's called learning.

[Wapsie B]

78. 2001, after the coup, err inauguration

Never knew about Skinner's sign in DC until well afterwards. I was just doing a search for democratic forums and this popped up. I lurked for a few days and then signed up. Didn't venture into the lounge for quite awhile.

[Broken_Hero]

79. end of May, 2005

I joined because I felt like it was time to join in the discussion. I came to DU on Nov 8th, 2004. There was so MUCH here to read on DU I would spend hours, upon hours reading the homepage, and going back the whole 20 pages, just reading some brillant GWB rants/ravings....

The one poster that got me was the Plaid Addler....her/his writing's really hit home with me. I spent about 6 months reading, and then I joined the madness....:D

[WCGreen]

80. I was at Bartcop from 2001 on.....

And a Bartcop poster I knew from Cleveland got me going on DU in about 2002...

But I really didn't start posting until the summer of 2004 when I got out of the hospital after spending about a month in ICU and the step down unit...

After that, I seemed to have a lot of time on my hands...

[Jimbo S]

81. Feb. 2005, after lurking 9 to 12 months

no way of remembering how I found this site. Most likely from another site.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

82. I was new to the internet......

And I was just moving around, looking in wonder at all the incredible websites that were available...

And one link led to another, and another......and I ended up here...

I lurked for several months.......

And, as a matter of fact, tomorrow is my two-year anniversary here!

Came into the Lounge a month after I joined......

And the rest, as they say........is history!

I will never leave......this place is home to me.........

:loveya: :grouphug: :loveya:

[kedrys]

83. Nov 10th 2004

Right after I read about the "My Name Is..." thread on another board. It blew me away. Been here since. You guys keep me sane.