Let's hear from you, all of you who joined the DU in its first year: 2001

ME, ME!!! A month before 09/11.

Joined 10/8/01.

I didn't have my own PC at the time and didn't want to join using my work PC. Finally used my boyfriend Tombo's PC. :D

Didn't have my own PC until January of 2002. Was a bad girl for the first few months, still am.

:evilgrin:

It's my sanctuary!!!

:toast:

I think I signed up a couple of days after Sept. 11, 2001.

I had been lurking, very infrequently, since about June. When I woke up that morning and heard about what had happened, this was the first place that I thought to come for constant updates without having to rely entirely on cable news.

I've been around here and there ever since.

-CollegeDude
Somehow racked up 2000 posts along the way

DU is the best friend I have -- how remarkably pathetic is that? DU has outlasted jobs and girlfriends and hobbies. I just can't seem to stay away.

you have a lot of company here. Good company, I might add. :D

We are family :)

:toast:

I feel much less pathetic now.

That's why I LOVES ya :D

Well, yer more pathetic-er than I am.
:P

Jan/Feb 01

Cheers
Drifter

Obviously I'm not a prolific poster

but DU was a wee baby then ! Maybe Jan or Feb of 01?

you are still a DUer :D

.
.
.
. . :shrug:

my boyfriend had filed the initial email received from DU after my registration in his "Susan folder".

ZW was born October 6, but I had been lurking since May or so.

Skinner was on Washington Journal (C-span) He was a call-in Any way that is when I joined up !! I said"I like this guy--I am checking this out!"

I immediately just ADORED that tagname of yours. :thumbsup:

Then 5 seconds later, you wanted TO KICK MY ASS. :7

and I responded AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA and they have never forgiven me? :7

I do remember we are the only two people on DU who thinks Prince is a phony no-talent poser!! ;-)

I am the third.

the people who infer that Prince is somehow "SEXY" - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Don't kick my ass, Skittles, I'm here reliving the history I missed...

A friend told me about this place.
Even though I don't post very much, it's been like a drug and a haven for me.
Gotta have my DU! :silly:

~Lisa

about 12,000 members , i started lurking in dec 2001..hell that was along time ago

Or started lurking the day after I got my first Notebook that year.

That's when I started.

I was there, man. I was THERE!!!

:hi:

HOWDY :hi:

:D

:hi:

:hi:

and then started posting at a fast and furious pace,( as you can see by my current post count). No really, I think I came sometime in April 2001. I know I was here in May, because I remember Jim Jeffords switching parties on my birthday - what a present.

Sometime around June.
John
This place irritates the hell out of me at times, but I don't know how I would have survived the Dopey administration without it.

I can't remember which.

I came in here harboring a true admiration for Clinton, and a vendetta against the stolen election. Now, over the span of three years, I've went from being a moderate Democrat to a radical leftist.

I may not fit in as much anymore, but I still love you all!

On edit: I really have to donate again.

Somewhere around there. Almost feels like home. :)

Got the link through Bartcop, who kept me sane during Debacle 2000.

That was when I was Populistmom though. I lurked for a couple of months before I joined. I lurked for the most part really until August 2003 and then I started posting a lot.

Before 9/11. Don't ask me to remember more specifically than that.

I do the remembering for both of us! ;-)

I found the site in late summer 2001 and lurked for awhile. I told two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on.... :-)

I don't think I really started posting much until after 9/11. mkuhl still doesn't post that much, even now. But he's always lurking around, you can trust me on that one!

;-)

She's my nurse.

I'm becoming increasingly doddering.

Lurked a lot before I started posting. Being here the day of and weeks after the terrorist attacks was a great source of comfort and strength.

At the risk of sounding cheesy, DU really has changed my life in countless and amazing ways. And I hope I have been able to have an impact on others as well.

:loveya:

... seems like I've been here forever.

Made some wonderful friends, brought some 'real world' friends on board ... traveled, argued, joined local activist groups, and learned lots from the DU family ...


:loveya: :grouphug:


LOVE YA' DU !!!

:bounce:

if I remember correctly.

Shortly before I got a job up in Chicago, I finally followed the link over from BartCop.

Saw the url at the inauguration. Lurked for a few months and made my first post in early June of 2001. :)

after a few months of lurking. I posted a lot during the last election build up, but not so much since.

:)

Bob Boudelang first showed you LIEberals the light in June of that year...

"It is about time you ugly leftist Democrat socialists learned the Republican story about this nation's energy crisis and not the truth "put out" by ugly leftist Democrat socialists. We are in the grip of an energy crisis so severe that we must toss all concern for public health or the environment out the nearest window if we are ever going to continue to enjoy increased snowmobiling, jet-skis, NASCAR, neon lights, video card games and all the other necessities that make this modern country what it is today and always has been.
This crisis is the result of the Klintoon Administration not having any energy policy at all. That's why the first priority of George W. Bush, who did NOT steal the presidency, and his terrific Administration has been repealing all of the Klintoon Administration's energy conservation rules and initiatives."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/bob/01/2001_bob_01.html

And Smokey Sojac made his debut in October of that year...

"Imagine for a moment that you are lucky enough to have a father and brother who could make you President of the United States. Do you have what it takes to lead this great nation of ours during a crisis? Take this handy test and see.

1. During a photo-op with elementary school children, you are informed a hijacked plane has crashed into one of the World Trade Center Towers in New York. Do you:
a. Immediately stop the photo-op, and return to Washington?
b. Immediately stop the photo-op, and head for New York?
c. Immediately stop the photo-op, and address the nation?
d. Continue the photo-op, placidly reading to elementary school children about a hungry goat?


2. A second hijacked plane crashes into the other tower, and you are informed at least two more planes have been hijacked. You are told you must address the nation. What is the best thing to tell them?
a. "I have scrambled Air Force jets to meet this threat."
b. "I have called for a joint session of Congress immediately."
c. "I have declared New York City a Federal Disaster Area."
d. "I have checked in with the Vice President."


3. The third hijacked plane has crashed into the Pentagon and the fourth has come down in Pennsylvania. Time to spring into action. What is the best thing to do?
a. Head to New York to provide reassurance and aid.
b. Head to the Pentagon to provide reassurance and aid.
c. Head to Washington to huddle with Congress.
d. Head to Nebraska to hide for ten hours.


4. In the difficult period that follows, what is the most productive use of your staffers' time?
a. Keeping the Mayor of New York City and the Governor of New York state from phoning you.
b. Fabricating a story about a supposed threat to Air Force One.
c. Complaining to a television network about a planned interview with a former President.
d. All of the above.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/01/10/02_quiz.html

I came on about July, 2001, supporting the Democratic line on gun control down in the J/PS Gun Dungeon. Still have to have my daily DU fix or things seem incomplete.....

:hi:

but I know I was here well before 9/11 even if only in lurk mode

I joined the end of May 2001 and started
posting in July 2001.


:hi: Skittles!

my first post was in response to a freeper thread.

You'de be amazed at what comes back at you when you type bush sucks into a search engine. At first it got me into a yahoo group, I stayed for a while but didn't like it, someone posted a link to bart, so I went there, and loved it, then found the DU link, came over here to check it out and it felt like coming home. Ten minutes later I was registering, if I knew how long I would be here I would have found a better name.
Thanks for the sanity guys, I really don't know how I would have made it without you, if things don't go right I'll see you in the camps.

First post in Dec. 2001. I'm still not up to a 1000.

:shrug: :shrug: :shrug: :shrug:

I believe I looked it up one time, it was late July/Early August. I'll have to go back to old DU archives and rummage around a bit to pin down the date.

Not surprisingly, I did little lurking, just jumped in with both feet. I was moderating within 3 or 4 months, IIRC.

DU was a lifeline on and after 9/11. The only place to get real news, not flagwaving.

prior to 9/11. When was coming of Kephra's Krypt in Keph's sig line? It was prior to that, as I recall when Kephra added it. I *think* that was pre 9/11...

I think I linked here from either Democrats.com or American Politics.

I think it was mid to late 2001. :hi:

me, me!

so heres where all the old heads are? whats up guys? stopped back in to DU today for the first time in months.

inauguration, and posted for the first time on February 1st or 2nd. The first thing I read was a part of the "7 days" article about the creation of DU and I remember laughing so hard for the first time in what seemed like ages that I bookmarked the site, but I didn't realize it had a discussion board until I came back about a day or so later.

:)

If memory serves me.

And it's hard to believe it's been so long. Can you guys believe that the elction is actually approaching at last?? And hey, haven't seen Pitt on here in quite a while; anyone know what he's up to?

(why, no, I don't throw anything away. Ever. How kind of you to notice it. <G>)

But I know I lurked for a couple of months before I registered. Probably about March or April, and I came here from a link to a Bob Boudelang "editorial" that somebody posted on the forum I was running.

I thought I'd found my home away from home.! :loveya: And it just gets better all the time. God Bless Skinner and the admins for creating this place. O8) :thumbsup:

joined very shortly afterwards.

Wholly moley that 3 friggin years ..

...I believe it was a mention on BartCop or Bush Watch that sent me over here just as the site was starting up...

hope those 2 dozen who have my tie dyes from the first atlanta evil duer meeting i handed out still have them......catwoman, nyylover, uly and the misses scgopisevil, mike malloy and his misses, and a bunch of others. that was a good run of stuff i did that week.

There used to be an option to download part of DU to your PDA via avantgo.com. My favorite thing to read on the bus ride to work was Top 10 Conservative Idiots, which I was always amazed with. Considering the number of deserving candidates it is amazing they can whittle it down to ten. I guess the PDA version of DU got to be too expensive and was discontinued.

I don't think I made my first post until 2002 or maybe 2003. I am not sure.

shortly after the inauguration from hell. Think I lurked for a month or more before I couldn't contain myself, and joined so I could put my two cents worth in. Hard to tell by my post count, but I've been here three years, I think.

I joined maybe within a month of the site's inception.

Inauguration day. Thank God for that banner in the crowd. I think my head would have exploded that day if I hadnt seen evidence that there were other people who realized what we were witnessing, and all that that implied.

Eternal thanks to Skinner and EarlG.

-chef-

Became a regular visitor not long after DU's rollout. Not much for the forums, which I had little interest in, but for the front page articles. I actually first learned of 911 at DU -- I'm in Asia and watch little television, I was asleep when it occurred. Signed up as a forum member shortly after.

It was either late 2001 or early 2002.

I actually came over, but one of our boards used to give the summary for the Top Ten Conservative Idiots every week, and we used to read it on a regular basis. I even submitted an article at some point, so I've been posting for at least two years on a very regular basis. I've been over more regularly lately as I'm tired of some of the freeping conservatives and their fierce loyalty to a flawed ideal. At one point, I was just grateful that there are so many libs online, and I do remember posting regularly to a board about the nomination of Asscroft for AG, which I opposed with every fiber of my being. I've been on different boards for going on 8 or 9 years now, so I've been around for awhile.

Edited to add: I actually found my article in the archives--it's dated 11/6/2001. It's also highly relevant even now. :)

http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/01/11/06_election.html

I heard Skinner do a phone interview on CSPAN's Washington Journal on a Saturday morning. They were doing a couple of phone interviews per Saturday with folks who had started political website.

After i heard Skinner, i thought, "That's the website for me." Been here ever since. I would guess that was around early March of 2001.
The Professor

:hi:

:)

still here.

This site continutes to be a source of sanity -- which really doesn't say much about the rest of the world, when you think about it!

ARound October or November of 2001

I neve had thought of that before. Okay I am off to buy Clarke's book.

n/t

I know that after the selection I found bartcop and then DU. I lurked for a long time and I joined and posted enough to get thread starting abilities, and then I got busy and my computer had some problems and the school filtered out Bartcop and I couldn't remember the name of the site, just some of the cross posters like blm. Anyway, I refound it before the changeover and just recently started posting more frequently. It's really kinda sad how much time I spend here. But I'm having way too much fun to care. :evilgrin:

based on a Freeper's "recommendation" (ie "Go back to DU, you freak!")

I didn't post much at first.

and came on over.

Seems like just yesterday.

EarlG got me into it quite early on.

P.

I'm not sure quite when though...

Tucker

I began my slow decline into the murky world of DU.

After lurking since the Inauguration of the Fraud, I signed on after 9/11.

:D

I think it was the spring of 2001.

I was so lost.

And then came 9/11 -- I remember you couldn't get on any of the news sites (CNN, etc.), but you could get on DU.

It was surreal.

to go back to the archives and look through the posts from that morning, up to khephra's at 9:37.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-bin/duforum/duboard.cgi?az=list&forum=DCForumID35&mm=3880&archive=yes

http://www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-bin/duforum/duboard.cgi?az=list&forum=DCForumID35&mm=3920&archive=yes

sometime after September 11. I followed a WR Pitt essay from Bushwatch to here. Probably late September, early October. I was surprised to find out he actually posted here. More surprised to find out most all the people posting here then were highly intelligent and very politically aware. Seemed like a good place to hang out and learn.

But it was before that -- I've since lost the confirmation e-mail in a hard drive crash, but it was sometime the second week of June 2001. Still don't post that heavily -- I only had about 180 posts when Paul Wellstone died, but somehow that was a defining event, for me. I started posting more often after that, though I still have so many irons in the fire, I don't spend a lot of time here these days.

All I know IS, I Still Don't Like GWB Worth A Damn! I think Mr. Kerry will KICK HIS ASS come November!

my husband, JohnYawl, joined in February of 2001.

In January of 2001.

Did the selection over at Salon, and much of the post mortum. I came to DU after Salon went pay to post and I never looked back...

Does that make me one of the older farts on this board?

Laura

but I do look back sometimes. TT is like a first love, but DU is like a soulmate.

Auntie Pinko told my mother, my mother told me, joined right away and at 15 and a half or so I felt WAY in over my head, so my post count is still low.

You replied to a post of mine about attending Grateful Dead concerts -- something about how you never got to see the band, because the dust was so thick. Strange how memory works, huh? I can't remember the date when my father died, and I can't remember where my car keys are, but I can remember what the first Pitt post I read was...

Your post count surpassed mine in a matter of weeks. I was pissed. Kheph, on the other hand, beat my hard-earned 100 posts in something like three days, diverting my rage from you to him.

I was also very jealous because your posts were so much better written than everyone else's, and especially mine. I'm still holding a grudge. {argumentus sulks}

and I saw the Dead 10 times.

So there. :)

it never really dawned on me that you officially joined right before I did. The very first thread I ever posted on, the one that got me het up enough to stop lurking, was one that you started. :) So it's all your fault. ;)

Joined around November 2001, lurked for months, then debut-posted in GD that chimpCorp & associates had me thinking about suicide. Replies included many hugs and suggestions to seek professional help, but all you amateurs pulled me out of it with daily doses of anger, outrage, and gallows humor. Soon I realized that I was home, in fine company.