What first brought you to the coffeeless coffee shop?

[Cyclefrance]

Had a quick scan of the archives and couldn't immediately see anything relating to this - mind you, I can hardly see what it is I'm typing...

Assuming I am right, what event or reason brought all you various people that make up this community to come here in the first place?

In my case, it happened because I cycled into Amiens, France, on the way back from an eventful solo ride from there to Paris and back in the summer of 2005, only to find that all cars and other vehicles, bar cycles, were being refused entry into the city centre. I was waved through.

Descending the hill, I noticed a strange object in the distance - a large, wooden bullet-shaped object, its nose buried in the now broken sidewalk, and steam emitting from its base. It had portholes - it was some kind of rocket which had apparently crash-landed. Nothing else around, just the rocket.

But then I heard people shouting and and the occasional noise of music in the distance along the road to my left. I cycled towards it and was confronted by a crowd watching a 40 foot high elephant being manoeuvred by men in red tunics and tricorn hats on tractors, or sitting alongside its legs. And in front of the elephant a 15 foot high girl also being manoeuvred by similarly dressed men, only these ones were pulling and slackening ropes to provide her with movement - these strange large creatures were giant puppets!

It was fascinating. I took loads of photos. Then, when I returned home, I wanted to find out more about this strange entertainment. So I searched the web, and, lo and behold, I discovered entries about this very extravaganza from people with the strange sounding names of Undertoad and Bargalunan. I had found the Cellar!

I was keen to know more so I signed up and became involved with the community. So that's how I joined. The entry I found from my search is here

So what first brought you to this place?

[BigV]

I remember this thread.

This is my contribution to that thread and this one:

I joined the day I found the cellar in 2004.

I felt the need to respond to a discussion about the red/blue states where the standard map of the states had been refined by showing a county by county map of the country. It looked a lot more purple. There was a further map that changed the size of the counties to be in proportion to their populations (or perhaps it was the states that changed sizes...) and the map looked very little like the geographic projection we're all accustomed to. I believe the discussion was centered (at that moment) on which states were donor states and which were beggar states.

It was that image that reminded me of an image of a homunculus. I joined the cellar so I could join the discussion. I even got to post the image of the homunculus eventually.

[elSicomoro]

I was on a 6-day crack bender...

Undertoad announced that there was a new version of the Cellar available on Usenet in early 2001...it seemed like a cool place, and I've been here for the most part ever since. I'm user #18 on this incarnation.

[Aliantha]

Someone who has since been banned recommended this place to me. That was quite a while ago now.

[Cyclefrance]

Originally Posted by elSicomoro

I was on a 6-day crack bender...

I get those if I venture into the curry world of madras and Vindaloo! But one that lasted 6 days sounds extremely debilitating!

[fargon]

I had just bought my first computer, and I was surfing the web. And I was on a site where you were rated by other people on the site. I can't remember the name of the site, but there was a link to a pic on IOTD of a boat set into the ground and people were living aboard. And I decided that this was the best place ever. I can't find my first post, but I said that this is the best place ever.

[lumberjim]

This has been done a few times I think.

Anyway, I came in via IOTD. the octopus opening a jar.

Huge day for me.

What kept me was tonys divorce thread. I think there was a month in between.

[Gravdigr]

Apparently this was my first post.

I thought maybe it was the foam-filled hangar that got me here...and it may have been. I said I'd been lurking for a while...

[sexobon]

I owed Tonchi money. She said I could work it off if I came here and ran interference for her.

[DanaC]

I can't quite recall my first visit here. But - I have a vague recollection of one of my American gaming buddies in UO recommended I check it out. I can't recall which of them it was - it may have been HeRog, my old PK guild leader, or the chap who ran the dwarves guild. I'm inclined to think it was the dwarf guild leader - I can't recall his character name at the time (though he later had a character called vae victus) but I think his rl name was Greg. I don;t know if he actually posted here, or just lurked and read. I do recall whichever of them it was telling me I had to go check out this site because it was fascinating and full of really interesting people talking about everything under the sun.

I lurked a little and then got drawn into a political thread. Probably someting to do with the Iraq war or Palestine :p Pretty sure I started out like that and then posted a belated intro post :P

[glatt]

Your memory is like a steel trap.

[BigV]

rusted shut?

[limey]

It looks like this was my first post. I saw an ad on another forum and wandered over, wondering what it was about.

[Sundae]

I think this was my first post http://www.cellar.org/showpost.php?p...&postcount=138 but I came here from a weekly humour newsletter which happened to link to an IoTD.

The pic was completely WTF, but it was the replies which blew my mind. I'd only ever been on fan-sites before, with the usual balance of fast-moving inane responses and poor spelling.

I think my next post mentioned my titties.
Because you've got to be upfront about some things.

PS Dana, did you honestly cry when I killed Tony Benn? Because the post after mine says you would.
I have a feeling our relationship is founded on lies...

[DanaC]

Yehbut, sometimes lies are the truth, right...