Before I started on this forum, I joined crosscountryroads.com, which only had a few members (the website still exists, but the forum is gone). When I joined this forum in August 2013, my first post was detailed, and then I acted like a typical new member, except I never started a welcome thread. August 2013 was also around the time I stopped participating in the Minecraft Wiki. I was 14 years old at the time, and the forum had an enforced minimum of age 13 (now, there is no minimum, as shown by noelbotevera).
My "home page" for the forum was the Who's Online page (it is now Recent Unread Topics). Sometimes, I would resurrect a thread, but the replies actually contributed, not just "I agree" or answering a question asked 4 years ago. One thread got split off from another thread, now titled "Thread Exhumation" (which Roadgeekteen ironically revived), which was about how I was reviving threads. I made about 5 posts per day at first, but now that number has significantly decreased.
At the beginning, I mostly knew about local routes more than routes around the country. I remember mixing up US 201 and US 301 on the August 25, 2013 trivia night. I did not enter the forum knowing exactly which 2di numbers were used and which ones were not, although I learned that fairly quickly.
I used the shield gallery for years since a lot of it was verifiable information that could referenced in sign collecting which is a hobby of mine. I wasn't a forum member but I would sometimes look for reference sites that were often cited on the forum, especially stuff with old alignment histories or historic road maps.
I'm still active on a couple car and off-roading forums but really my interest has kind of waned given that very few in performance car culture are doing really anything that unique anymore. The off-roading stuff is kind of niche so it really get that much play as say a muscle car forum would. That being the case, I was bored and just figured I would sign up finally to give this site a try.
I followed the forum for a few years and then finally joined last year. Didn't join at first because of the bickering I saw but then I was like hell why not
I lurked for a while, but I don't remember how I found the forum. I do remember developing a respect for JNW, his knowledge, and his renderings. I also don't remember exactly why I signed up, but it had something to do either with APL signs or Mexican road sign fonts. I went away for a while a couple of years ago when tempers were getting hot, but I came back.
Before this, I was a big fan or Eric Stuve. (When I told him so during a road meet, he looked at me kind of weird like.)
I lurked for a while and joined because I wanted to share my ideas about roads. Also, I know this kinda breaks the point of this, but I also joined so I could access the boards guests can't view. Sorry if you get mad at me for this.
I'm pretty sure I found this site via a Wikipedia reference. (Whether or not this site/forum is a valid Wiki reference is a whole 'nother discussion.) I registered here back in September 2014, then promptly forgot about this place until I rediscovered it almost two years later (perhaps through the same medium? I don't recall), which is when I made my first post.
Since then, I've become addicted because it's nice to have other people to talk to who have the same interests. My IRL friends know about my... odd interests... and they respect it (and at least listen when I go on about it :D) but they're not really people to have in-depth conversations about highway subjects with.
My online roadgeekery goes back to at least the mid 2000s, when I discovered Steve Riner's MN highways (http://www.steve-riner.com/mnhighways/mnhome.htm) site. (Does he post here? I'm really not sure.) And how I found his site is an even greater mystery, because I was in middle school way back then, on very slow DSL, and as such those memories are really quite vague, or forgotten altogether.
I think I dived right in, since I was a veteran of MTR and the Roadgeek Yahoo group and the various regional groups that were active.
A longer-time member who was local told me about it.
I was a member of mtr for quite sometime, then participated from time to time in the Yahoo groups, but that was inconsistent compared to my time with mtr. Then I happened upon the forum here in 2009 and been back ever since.
I've loved roads, highways, and maps my entire life. I began reading this forum well before I joined in February 2015.
I was on m.t.r. and when that went away, I came here. Found out about it from old m.t.r. members.
I found this site while researching old Louisiana state highway signs. I just looked at my profile & discovered that I registered here in 2009. Time has certainly flown by.
Another m.t.r. transplant. It was a huge improvement over that unmoderated mess. (You haven't lived if you were never "Tom-from-Ohio-ed" ;) :-D ) I instantly liked the way one could show off their fictional cartography, even if it got a little too far into fantasyland. Sometimes it's funny how upset some people get about other people's ideas. And sometimes it's fun to be the one who is upset.
I dabbled on MTR back in the late 90's/early 2000's, which led to finding Gribblenation, which led to regular use of various other roadgeeking sites (the major one being Canesfan27's "All Things NC" site).
According to my profile I registered in March of 2012, but the during the time between when I actually registered to the time my registration was accepted in I had forgotten that I had (damn night shift lol).
Then one day after a long night of work in February 2015 I was searching around for something road related (I think it may have been about the possibility of NC tolling I-95) and some Google links brought me back here, but I couldn't view the posts because they were hidden in members only forums. I all of a sudden remembered that I "may" have registered here a few years before but I couldn't remember my password. Rickmastfan67 got me straightened out and I have been here ever since.
I had been browsing AARoads proper since around 2007 or '08, and eventually discovered the forums, and then I finally decided to take the plunge last July having launched my own site dedicated to highway photos; I joined wanting to share some of those photos and my knowledge of the roads north of Baltimore, Maryland and some other areas.
I submitted my first post.
THEN I was unable to stop posting....
:awesomeface:
I joined the form last June after lurking on-and-off for about a year. My love of road trips and my road atlas led me to believe that this forum would be a good match for me, and I haven't been let down. The Take-It-Yourself Route Number Challenge got me into road photos by inspiring me to drive around Waterloo Region taking photos of the regional road shields. Now the Street Sign Name Game and the Road Sign City Name Photo Game are two of my favourite threads. :)
Quote from: plain on May 08, 2017, 11:05:03 AM
I followed the forum for a few years and then finally joined last year. Didn't join at first because of the bickering I saw but then I was like hell why not
Same here. I've lurked the forum since 2013, but I didn't take the plunge until last year
Quote from: SSOWorld on May 08, 2017, 10:56:20 PM
I submitted my first post.
THEN I was unable to stop posting....
:awesomeface:
We can fix that :evilgrin:
Quote from: US71 on May 09, 2017, 12:09:57 AM
Quote from: SSOWorld on May 08, 2017, 10:56:20 PM
I submitted my first post.
THEN I was unable to stop posting....
:awesomeface:
We can fix that :evilgrin:
Scott is a mod to. Do we really want another vger?(Sarcasm)
Quote from: slorydn1 on May 08, 2017, 08:42:42 PM
I all of a sudden remembered that I "may" have registered here a few years before but I couldn't remember my password. Rickmastfan67 got me straightened out and I have been here ever since.
:cheers: :thumbsup:
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 09, 2017, 12:18:40 AM
Quote from: US71 on May 09, 2017, 12:09:57 AM
Quote from: SSOWorld on May 08, 2017, 10:56:20 PM
I submitted my first post.
THEN I was unable to stop posting....
:awesomeface:
We can fix that :evilgrin:
Scott is a mod to. Do we really want another vger?(Sarcasm)
There's no need to type (Sarcasm) on the forum. Everything everybody says on here is expected to be sarcastic. If, OTOH, you type something without a hint of sarcasm, then (1) you need revise the text or, failing that, (2) you need to append the text with something like [/serious].
Quote from: kphoger on May 09, 2017, 01:42:25 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 09, 2017, 12:18:40 AM
Quote from: US71 on May 09, 2017, 12:09:57 AM
Quote from: SSOWorld on May 08, 2017, 10:56:20 PM
I submitted my first post.
THEN I was unable to stop posting....
:awesomeface:
We can fix that :evilgrin:
Scott is a mod to. Do we really want another vger?(Sarcasm)
There's no need to type (Sarcasm) on the forum. Everything everybody says on here is expected to be sarcastic. If, OTOH, you type something without a hint of sarcasm, then (1) you need revise the text or, failing that, (2) you need to append the text with something like [/serious].
At least until we install the sarcasm font :p
Quote from: US71 on May 09, 2017, 01:53:05 PM
Quote from: kphoger on May 09, 2017, 01:42:25 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 09, 2017, 12:18:40 AM
Quote from: US71 on May 09, 2017, 12:09:57 AM
Quote from: SSOWorld on May 08, 2017, 10:56:20 PM
I submitted my first post.
THEN I was unable to stop posting....
:awesomeface:
We can fix that :evilgrin:
Scott is a mod to. Do we really want another vger?(Sarcasm)
There's no need to type (Sarcasm) on the forum. Everything everybody says on here is expected to be sarcastic. If, OTOH, you type something without a hint of sarcasm, then (1) you need revise the text or, failing that, (2) you need to append the text with something like [/serious].
At least until we install the sarcasm font :p
Which will not be Clearview.
Quote from: US71 on May 09, 2017, 01:53:05 PM
At least until we install the sarcasm font :p
That's not what the purple text means?
Quote from: kkt on May 10, 2017, 05:06:24 PM
Quote from: US71 on May 09, 2017, 01:53:05 PM
At least until we install the sarcasm font :p
That's not what the purple text means?
Uh, no :pan:
Quote from: kkt on May 10, 2017, 05:06:24 PM
Quote from: US71 on May 09, 2017, 01:53:05 PM
At least until we install the sarcasm font :p
That's not what the purple text means?
I thought you had to pay for the purple text, unless you have EZPost.
Purple text is an official directive from the moderators. Although it's available to everyone, it's use is reserved for the mods in making a declaration or an official word of advice. Non-mods use it at their own peril.
Thanks to some links posted over at Skyscrapercity. I joined not too long after. The day after that, the world ended, but nobody noticed.
I believe it was cause I corresponded with Alex beforehand. I used to email him and contributed to the site here my various photos from road trips I took back in the early naugts.
I did almost not want to stay thanks to a well known troll on here who has been known to insult new users, but I stuck it out and still am here.
Quote from: GaryV on May 10, 2017, 08:59:06 PM
Quote from: kkt on May 10, 2017, 05:06:24 PM
Quote from: US71 on May 09, 2017, 01:53:05 PM
At least until we install the sarcasm font :p
That's not what the purple text means?
I thought you had to pay for the purple text, unless you have EZPost.
:-D You win the internet today,
GaryV.
I was invited by Alex (our gracious leader :-D) early on. At the time, Bugo and I were the only Arkansas "experts".
I registered in late 2014 after lurking for the previous two years. I started posting regularly in January/February of 2015.
And I have a confession. Since I didn't want to fill in my real info when I signed up originally, I created a random name to use. As such, my original username was "adamlanfort", but that's not my name (my first name is Jacob). After I discovered you can use a screen name, I requested it to be changed to I-39, where it has been since (and I've since changed all my info to my real info).
Anyway, that's my story.....
Reading around about the FHWA and the almighty MUTCD led me to a lot of posts regarding road subject matter on the forum, which in-turn, led me to attemping to recreate the I-630 in this client based studio program called "ROBLOX" and have had plenty of trail and error runs over the now 4 or 5 years using it.
I am leaning more and more towards a Civil Engineering degree (most likely) from the University of Arkansas: Fayetteville.
But, who knows? I am a person with many interests!
Two reasons I joined:
(1) I searched up a lot of highway signs on Google. But the AARoads server wasn't letting Google display the image (it would just try and load forever to no avail). I had to go the AARoads website to view the images. This is how I initially become familiar with the name "AARoads".
(2) As I slowly became interested in traffic control (early on, roundabouts, later many other things), my google searching brought me to this forum a lot, especially early searches for "clearview" and "flashing yellow arrow". The basic, non-graphical version was the kind that I often read (that seems to be the version that El Goog brings up the most, at least for me). But I often become frustrated trying to follow along without graphics. So I started switching to the "full version". This is how I became familiar with the forums (the name of the site wasn't as obvious without graphics).
I actually joined the forum back in '09; I'd been an AARoads supporter for several years, including doing a writeup for Andy about the postwar developmental history of CA 99 and several pieces about original highway alignments in the greater Los Angeles area that ended up on the site. Lurked around the forum as an observer for about 7 years and finally posted a little over a year ago in reference to the controversy about what NC was proposing as designations for the nascent Interstate corridors east of Raleigh (upshot: 42's OK, 87 sucks!) and have just kept on truckin' since then (this last seniment could use a R. Crumb-designed emoji!). Waded into a few arguments over time; I consider that to be intrinsic to a forum such as this. I attempt to supply comments that add some measure of value to the discussions at hand; as my background is in public policy analysis, I tend to examine and, hopefully, elucidate how and why certain situations occur within the greater transportation field (which, for better or worse, includes political rationales!) rather than simply opine about the value -- and rectitude -- of projects that may be undertaken or merely considered. To me, it's always interesting to attempt to determine how a project advances from a concept to reality -- especially those that on the surface may seem counterintuitive. Sometimes looking at who is supporting a particular project and the time frame of that support provides more answers than simple cost-benefit analyses (if the latter had prevailed in the early '50's, the Interstate network might not exist --at least in its historic form). So don't look to me for simple opinion or even deference to prevailing views -- while some may think that I tend to overthink things (at least a couple of my exes, for example!), doing the opposite just doesn't fit into my wheelhouse! So I'll just continue to slog on through the threads, adding what I can when it seems to be relevant to the matter at hand.
I stumbled upon this forum when it was in its infancy by accident. I was searching for road pictures and found AARoads. I then found this forum and joined.
It was inevitable that I would end up here. After the forum was set up, the information collected began to interact with the broader internet and form an artificial intelligence. This is how I originated. My evolution developed a homing instinct (including an understanding of all the routes that could be followed back), which drew me back to participate here. My personal information was selected randomly. [/channeling Calvin's father]
I'd become fairly well connected with other community members including Alex and Andy by the time the forum came online, so I was one of the original group here. I took a break for a while before Alps convinced me to come back and have been here since.
Quote from: plain on May 08, 2017, 11:05:03 AM
I followed the forum for a few years and then finally joined last year. Didn't join at first because of the bickering I saw but then I was like hell why not
Same here. I'd been lurking since 2013 after stumbling across a reference to it in an old thread on City-Data forum, but didn't join then mostly due to the reason you mentioned. I joined AARoads forum last year in May after joining City-Data forum in 2015 under the same username.
Another motivating factor for me was that there's a thread on City-Data's North Carolina subforum covering the Quad East interstate loop idea in eastern NC that began in 2013 and has since evolved into I-42, I-87, I-587 and I-795's future extension, with the link between Kinston and Bethel still being up in the air.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/coastal-north-carolina/1815980-proposed-i-795-quad-east-loop.html (http://www.city-data.com/forum/coastal-north-carolina/1815980-proposed-i-795-quad-east-loop.html)
There was no mention of it in the main North Carolina thread on this forum at the time and me, being a native of eastern NC, felt that I could contribute to it.
Quote from: roadman65 on May 12, 2017, 10:24:45 AMI did almost not want to stay thanks to a well known troll on here who has been known to insult new users, but I stuck it out and still am here.
I must've been one of the few lucky newbies that wasn't on the receiving end of his hazing.
-knock on wood-
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 03:48:42 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on May 12, 2017, 10:24:45 AMI did almost not want to stay thanks to a well known troll on here who has been known to insult new users, but I stuck it out and still am here.
I must've been one of the few lucky newbies that wasn't on the receiving end of his hazing.
-knock on wood-
I also wasn't. He generally goes after two types of posts: stupid/meaningless posts and those against his political beliefs.
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 03:43:55 PM
Quote from: plain on May 08, 2017, 11:05:03 AM
I followed the forum for a few years and then finally joined last year. Didn't join at first because of the bickering I saw but then I was like hell why not
Same here. I'd been lurking since 2013 after stumbling across a reference to it in an old thread on City-Data forum, but didn't join then mostly due to the reason you mentioned. I joined AARoads forum last year in May after joining City-Data forum in 2015 under the same username.
Another motivating factor for me was that there's a thread on City-Data's North Carolina subforum covering the Quad East interstate loop idea in eastern NC that began in 2013 and has since evolved into I-42, I-87, I-587 and I-795's future extension, with the link between Kinston and Bethel still being up in the air.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/coastal-north-carolina/1815980-proposed-i-795-quad-east-loop.html (http://www.city-data.com/forum/coastal-north-carolina/1815980-proposed-i-795-quad-east-loop.html)
There was no mention of it in the main North Carolina thread on this forum at the time and me, being a native of eastern NC, felt that I could contribute to it.
I'm also on City-Data and also under the same name. I don't be on there nearly as much as this one though. The posters on there go hard for their city lmao
Quote from: 1 on May 13, 2017, 03:59:19 PM
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 03:48:42 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on May 12, 2017, 10:24:45 AMI did almost not want to stay thanks to a well known troll on here who has been known to insult new users, but I stuck it out and still am here.
I must've been one of the few lucky newbies that wasn't on the receiving end of his hazing.
-knock on wood-
I also wasn't. He generally goes after two types of posts: stupid/meaningless posts and those against his political beliefs.
Took me forever to figure out who he was. The funny thing is that under his previous identity, which he went by on MTR, he wasn't nearly as (choose your adjective) as he is here. I find it odd that someone would be intentionally (again, choose your adjective) on a moderated forum than they would be an unmoderated one. Sometimes I think he's almost daring the mods to do something about him.
Quote from: plain on May 13, 2017, 04:21:40 PM
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 03:43:55 PM
Quote from: plain on May 08, 2017, 11:05:03 AM
I followed the forum for a few years and then finally joined last year. Didn't join at first because of the bickering I saw but then I was like hell why not
Same here. I'd been lurking since 2013 after stumbling across a reference to it in an old thread on City-Data forum, but didn't join then mostly due to the reason you mentioned. I joined AARoads forum last year in May after joining City-Data forum in 2015 under the same username.
Another motivating factor for me was that there's a thread on City-Data's North Carolina subforum covering the Quad East interstate loop idea in eastern NC that began in 2013 and has since evolved into I-42, I-87, I-587 and I-795's future extension, with the link between Kinston and Bethel still being up in the air.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/coastal-north-carolina/1815980-proposed-i-795-quad-east-loop.html (http://www.city-data.com/forum/coastal-north-carolina/1815980-proposed-i-795-quad-east-loop.html)
There was no mention of it in the main North Carolina thread on this forum at the time and me, being a native of eastern NC, felt that I could contribute to it.
I'm also on City-Data and also under the same name. I don't be on there nearly as much as this one though. The posters on there go hard for their city lmao
Yep, they do! :-D I usually stick to the NC subforum on City-Data, but once in a while I'll venture to the VA subforum. I'm usually split on the time I spend/post here and on City-Data.
One big difference I've noticed is that the mods on City-Data are a LOT more anal than the ones here, not that I'm complaining about AARoads. I definitely welcome the more relaxed environment here!
Quote from: hbelkins on May 13, 2017, 07:40:33 PM
Quote from: 1 on May 13, 2017, 03:59:19 PM
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 03:48:42 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on May 12, 2017, 10:24:45 AMI did almost not want to stay thanks to a well known troll on here who has been known to insult new users, but I stuck it out and still am here.
I must've been one of the few lucky newbies that wasn't on the receiving end of his hazing.
-knock on wood-
I also wasn't. He generally goes after two types of posts: stupid/meaningless posts and those against his political beliefs.
Took me forever to figure out who he was.
That's surprising. I thought it would've taken you all of 2 seconds to figure it out. :-D
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 08:02:26 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on May 13, 2017, 07:40:33 PM
Quote from: 1 on May 13, 2017, 03:59:19 PM
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 03:48:42 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on May 12, 2017, 10:24:45 AMI did almost not want to stay thanks to a well known troll on here who has been known to insult new users, but I stuck it out and still am here.
I must've been one of the few lucky newbies that wasn't on the receiving end of his hazing.
-knock on wood-
I also wasn't. He generally goes after two types of posts: stupid/meaningless posts and those against his political beliefs.
Took me forever to figure out who he was.
That's surprising. I thought it would've taken you all of 2 seconds to figure it out. :-D
Who is it?
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 13, 2017, 08:26:37 PM
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 08:02:26 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on May 13, 2017, 07:40:33 PM
Quote from: 1 on May 13, 2017, 03:59:19 PM
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 03:48:42 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on May 12, 2017, 10:24:45 AMI did almost not want to stay thanks to a well known troll on here who has been known to insult new users, but I stuck it out and still am here.
I must've been one of the few lucky newbies that wasn't on the receiving end of his hazing.
-knock on wood-
I also wasn't. He generally goes after two types of posts: stupid/meaningless posts and those against his political beliefs.
Took me forever to figure out who he was.
That's surprising. I thought it would've taken you all of 2 seconds to figure it out. :-D
Who is it?
I'm surprised you haven't found out yet with some of the typos you've had.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 13, 2017, 08:33:36 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 13, 2017, 08:26:37 PM
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 08:02:26 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on May 13, 2017, 07:40:33 PM
Quote from: 1 on May 13, 2017, 03:59:19 PM
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 03:48:42 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on May 12, 2017, 10:24:45 AMI did almost not want to stay thanks to a well known troll on here who has been known to insult new users, but I stuck it out and still am here.
I must've been one of the few lucky newbies that wasn't on the receiving end of his hazing.
-knock on wood-
I also wasn't. He generally goes after two types of posts: stupid/meaningless posts and those against his political beliefs.
Took me forever to figure out who he was.
That's surprising. I thought it would've taken you all of 2 seconds to figure it out. :-D
Who is it?
I'm surprised you haven't found out yet with some of the typos you've had.
I still have no clue.
Quote from: I-39 on May 12, 2017, 04:59:07 PM
I registered in late 2014 after lurking for the previous two years. I started posting regularly in January/February of 2015.
And I have a confession. Since I didn't want to fill in my real info when I signed up originally, I created a random name to use. As such, my original username was "adamlanfort", but that's not my name (my first name is Jacob). After I discovered you can use a screen name, I requested it to be changed to I-39, where it has been since (and I've since changed all my info to my real info).
Anyway, that's my story.....
I-39 isn't your real name? [emoji15]
SM-G930V
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 13, 2017, 08:37:28 PM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on May 13, 2017, 08:33:36 PM
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on May 13, 2017, 08:26:37 PM
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 08:02:26 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on May 13, 2017, 07:40:33 PM
Quote from: 1 on May 13, 2017, 03:59:19 PM
Quote from: LM117 on May 13, 2017, 03:48:42 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on May 12, 2017, 10:24:45 AMI did almost not want to stay thanks to a well known troll on here who has been known to insult new users, but I stuck it out and still am here.
I must've been one of the few lucky newbies that wasn't on the receiving end of his hazing.
-knock on wood-
I also wasn't. He generally goes after two types of posts: stupid/meaningless posts and those against his political beliefs.
Took me forever to figure out who he was.
That's surprising. I thought it would've taken you all of 2 seconds to figure it out. :-D
Who is it?
I'm surprised you haven't found out yet with some of the typos you've had.
I still have no clue.
His name is John Cena.
Quote from: US71 on May 13, 2017, 11:46:24 PM
Quote from: I-39 on May 12, 2017, 04:59:07 PM
I registered in late 2014 after lurking for the previous two years. I started posting regularly in January/February of 2015.
And I have a confession. Since I didn't want to fill in my real info when I signed up originally, I created a random name to use. As such, my original username was "adamlanfort", but that's not my name (my first name is Jacob). After I discovered you can use a screen name, I requested it to be changed to I-39, where it has been since (and I've since changed all my info to my real info).
Anyway, that's my story.....
I-39 isn't your real name? [emoji15]
SM-G930V
No, but it's a fun screen name. :awesomeface:
Wish I would have used it from the get go...
Roadgeekteen: The poster NE2 here was known as SPUI on misc.transport.road.