How I Found eGullet

[Steve R.]

On 8/21/2020 at 5:05 PM, heidih said:

 

"Starting splinter groups is hardly a new impulse. Chowhound users have left the site before, dissatisfied over changes or after being banned, and set up new sites. Steven Shaw started eGullet after leaving Chowhound, and Opinionated About Dining, Chicago’s LTH Forum and Mouthfulsfood.com were all started by ex-Hounds".

 

 

On 8/21/2020 at 5:20 PM, Margaret Pilgrim said:

I was active on RecTravelEurope on Usenet in 2001 when internet friend Robert Buxbaum told me that this guy, Steven Shaw, was starting a forum on food.    "What's a forum?"   So he described how special interest groups were going to take the place of cumbersome usenet.    I joined in August, as member #80..

 

(Steve was the real pioneer.  The progression was, AFAIR eGullet ->  OA ->  Mouthfuls and, separately,  Chow.)

 

 

On 8/21/2020 at 7:52 PM, Margaret Pilgrim said:

What???  You actually meet face to face?    You really have an in!!!

 

Not that I'm THAT old, but Leff started Chowhound's board in late 1999 or so.  I started participating in early 2000.  The software sucked but it was highly entertaining.  And informative.  And argumentative.  The first exodus from CH came here and, while some stayed, others moved on to OA (with Plotnicki) and then to MF.  Some of us never left any of the boards and just added another one as they came, sometimes using different "names" (you know who you are, "weinoo").  I lurked here for years before joining, as I didn't want to write that damn essay.

 

As to "face to face"; well, I'd guess that I'm friends in the real world with a dozen or so food board contributors and have met (& had meals with) well over 100 of them (that might actually be a very conservative estimate).  I've been pleasantly surprised that the overwhelming number of you all seem reasonably sane in person, although I'd guess that may not be a vice versa assessment.  Not a bad way to get through 20 years of eating.

Edited August 24, 2020 by Steve R. (log)

[heidih]

13 minutes ago, Steve R. said:

 I've been pleasantly surprised that the overwhelming number of you all seem reasonably sane in person, although I'd guess that may not be a vice versa assessment.  Not a bad way to get through 20 years of eating.

 

Thank you for your historical re-cap.  Sane - what is that ?  In today's circumstances I have seen quite a coming together of people with similar passions in many venues whose shared experiences foster comfort and connection.  

Edited August 24, 2020 by heidih (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Re the migration most of us have undertaken, and how many of us have enjoyed multiple simultaneous relationships, I think back to the Plot’s assertion, “If you weren’t kicked off eG, you are a nonentity.”  Oh, well, I knew that already.

[heidih]

4 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Re the migration most of us have undertaken, and how many of us have enjoyed multiple simultaneous relationships, I think back to the Plot’s assertion, “If you weren’t kicked off eG, you are a nonentity.”  Oh, well, I knew that already.

 

My experience was more being vilified and name called  (Nazi was a fun one) - but we get over it because ultimately we recognize we enjoy food conversations even if we do not agree.

Edited August 24, 2020 by heidih (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

2 minutes ago, heidih said:

 

My experience was more being vilified and name called  (Nazi was a fun one) - but we get over it because ultimately we recognize we enjoy food conversations even if we do not agree.

 

Heck, i can't even get food agreement at the dinner table!    eG is a Victorian dinner party in comparison.

[pastameshugana]

On 8/23/2020 at 7:44 PM, Margaret Pilgrim said:

Heck, i can't even get food agreement at the dinner table!    eG is a Victorian dinner party in comparison.

Too funny. 

[andiesenji]

I remember that in early 2004 I had explained my method for making candied/crystallized ginger - using mature ginger so I could get large slices - on a food site.

Another subscriber commented on my segment and wrote, "You should join eGullet, there are a lot of people with a lot of expertise with whom you should fit quite well."

And so I joined and have enjoyed every bit of it.

[Eatmywords]

Back in 05, I was briefly on chowhound when my real life friend, Nathan (eventual frequent poster and antagonizer) found Eg and declared it superior (as well he was kicked off of chowhound and I was not far behind as the mods were silly). He encouraged me to 'apply' for membership.   I lurked more than posted and was more interested in meeting others.   We were very fortunate to be in NYC where it was easy to have big meetups at places like Shriraphai (a famous Queens thai that set the bar over 20yrs ago) and in cook for each other in our homes.  I befriended posters like Steve, BKeats, Sneakeater, Jessica and many others.  The NYC restaurant boards were on fire back then.  

[heidih]

Ah the pre everyone has a blog, twitter, instagram etc. world.   Interesting background.

[Kerry Beal]

Here's what I said the last time we went around this same topic - when I joined

[heidih]

7 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Here's what I said the last time we went around this same topic - when I joined

 

And I am the bozo who did not check for  prior topic- but people forget and new ones arrive. Thanks for the link. 

Edited August 25, 2020 by heidih (log)

[scubadoo97]

It’s been so long. 2002 when I joined. 5 yrs after discovering the internet.  

[donk79]

Quote

I wish I could remember how I originally found Egullet.  I do recall that some shift in the software provoked me to finally register, after I had been lurking anonymousy for quite a while.  My profile says that I joined in January 2003.  I have not been the most prolific poster, but for almost all of my adult life, Egullet has been my go-to for any question on food.  It has perhaps not been as transformative for me as it has been, for say gfron1, but it has still been one of the greatest influences on my experience of food. 

 

When I first joined, I knew little, but thought I knew plenty.  I was still welcomed warmly by many signatures that I would love to see again.  But I still enjoy reading new voices, and gaining from the experiences of new participants in the forum.  Thank you to all of you for your sharing!

From the same thread that @Kerry Beal linked.  Since then, I have reflected more, and suspect that Tom Sietsema at the Washington Post may be to blame for my connection to Egullet.  I used to follow his articles and chats regularly, and I know that he mentioned Egullet a few times in the early days.

[Martin Fisher]

I can't remember how I found the site.

I lurked here many years before I joined.

I joined in 2011 because of sous vide.