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I'm just curious as to how people found out about this site, so I'm running a bit of a survey here. Basically, if someone has provided an answer to the titular question already, upvote it. Otherwise, post your own answer! After about a month or two (providing I remember), I'll update this question with a pie graph of the results. Thanks for participating!

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    That's interesting- the voting means that three people have not found this site yet have voting privileges!
    – Often Right
    Commented Oct 8, 2015 at 22:03
  • 4
    If I had to wager I'd bet that the voting means 3 people don't think this is an appropriate question for meta, which is supposed to be about SF&F site policy.
    – KutuluMike
    Commented Oct 9, 2015 at 0:40
  • 1
    @MikeEdenfield well you could say this is about site policy in that if we figure out how most people found this site we can focus our advertising efforts to that effective method thereby increasing users!
    – Often Right
    Commented Oct 9, 2015 at 0:42
  • we can do that now. it's called google analytics.
    – KutuluMike
    Commented Oct 9, 2015 at 2:24
  • @MikeEdenfield Well, I was just trying to make a lame excuse 😜
    – Often Right
    Commented Oct 9, 2015 at 2:37

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I found out about this site through StackOverflow.com!

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    Just in case you're wondering, this is how I found out about it.
    – Often Right
    Commented Oct 8, 2015 at 1:10
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    I guess in a manner of speaking. Technically I discovered SFF through the HNQ list, but SO was my main stack before that
    – Jason Baker
    Commented Oct 8, 2015 at 3:25
  • Whaaatt? Hot-network questions works?
    – Möoz
    Commented Oct 8, 2015 at 21:32
  • I was on SO a few times when i started coding a few years ago... lately i had some questions about HP and SFF is entertaining...
    – user68762
    Commented Aug 11, 2016 at 22:24
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I was brought to the site from the Hot Network Questions list.

I saw something that was incorrect.

I joined.

I corrected it.

The rest is history.

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    Honey, Someone Is Wrong On The Internet! :)
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Commented Oct 11, 2015 at 0:44
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I found out about this site through a Stack Exchange website other than StackOverflow.com

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  • I saw it on the list of SEs at the bottom of the page, back in 2012 when I used to ask occasionally on Maths.SE. Lurked for a couple of years, eventually signed up in 2014.
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Commented Oct 8, 2015 at 22:54
  • I think I found SFF.SE from Programmers.SE rather than SO, but it's all kind of a blur now...
    – Ixrec
    Commented Oct 11, 2015 at 15:25
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I came from StackOverflow. I've been there for several years, and one day I was reading down the hot links down the right side of the page (I had never really paid attention to the sidebar for the longest time) and saw something interesting. Star Trek, maybe? Wheel of Time? I could wish for more Heinlein discussion, but he's my favorite author, so I'm biased.

Anyway, that's how I got here.

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  • +1 for being interested in Wheel of Time.
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Commented Nov 2, 2015 at 22:57
  • @randal'thor I just read the entire series over again this past spring. I always cry all over the last book. I love that series!
    – pixelmeow
    Commented Nov 3, 2015 at 18:45
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While out xmas shopping, I was taking a short break and browsing the news on my phone. I spotted a clickbait article about the "top 100 essential sites" (according to the Guardian Newspaper) and followed a few different links, including the one to SFF:SE.

I think I actually joined the following day.

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  • "I think I actually joined the following day" ... and NEVER looked back!
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Commented Oct 9, 2015 at 10:24
  • 10
    @randal'thor - Oh, I've looked back more than a few times. Mostly to see the rest of you in my rear-view mirror, admittedly.
    – Valorum
    Commented Oct 9, 2015 at 12:50
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I had been rewatching the original Star Wars trilogy and suddenly realized that R2-D2 tries to trick Luke in Empire Strikes Back, and I wanted to find somewhere to ask questions about Star Wars. This was the best place I could find. I joined the site and asked the question linked above, and the rest is history.

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I first found out about this site through the Movies & TV Stack Exchange, where this site and its partial overlap was brought up now and then during the early days of meta discussion. I didn't join this site until about 2 years after finding out about it, though.

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I had a tax question, and I couldn't find a definitive answer in "Lasser". I googled and found Personal Finance and Money SE, got an answer, and then just explored the SE.

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    Who would've ever thought that tax could lead you here! Very interesting story :D
    – Often Right
    Commented Nov 5, 2015 at 0:16
  • 1
    @N_Soong - I have 3 words for you: "Taxation of Trade Routes". (tm) Lucas
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 1:14
  • 2
    @DVK That's 4 words actually.
    – TARS
    Commented Dec 23, 2015 at 12:56
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Found out about this site via the main Stack Exchange sites; Stack Overflow, Super User, etc…. I have contributed to this site on and off over the years, but mainly have been an active reader of the content here: No kidding, some of the questions and answers here are great!

As of the last few weeks, far more active thanks to The Force Awakens being released and Star Wars being more in the spotlight. For the first time in genuinely decades I have deeply thought about certain aspects o the storyline I have not thought of.

And as a result I am part of that “weird” aspect of the Star Wars fanbase who only really cares about Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and really was disappointed with the childish/pandering tone of Return of the Jedi.

But that said, being back on the site has made me appreciate the universe of Star Trek far more than I did before. And I have some deep respect for a few of the regular contributors here.

That said, if I were not an active member on Super User and other sites I will honestly say I might only have been a reader of the content here. So to me the unique aspect of the Stack Exchange system is it took me little to no effort to link my account up here and decide, “Well, let me try my hand at a few questions or answers here…” So kudos to the whole Stack Exchange eco-system for allowing enthusiasts of all levels to participate in discussions across various topics!

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I was curious about a Star Wars question, googled it and came up with nothing but I did find a related question on SFF.SE so I signed up and asked. I also had a Stack overflow account but I didn't know about SFF.SE

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  • Actually, I will upvote it, because that means this applies to one person - if you wouldn't mind upvoting the SO one on my behalf
    – Often Right
    Commented Oct 8, 2015 at 1:11
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Follower/supporter from Area 51!

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From The Screening Room.

I think Keen (or maybe someone else) mentioned it in chat with pro-temp mod of Movies & TV on various occasions few years back.

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I was trying to find the answer to a question, one I'd had for several years - googling around various keywords. One of the links was to a question on the site. It was not actually relevant to the question I had - but I realized I could write my own question. Unfortunately the question that brought me here is not so easy to answer, but so it goes.

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    It looks like you got your answer! I hope you have more questions for us, and decide to try out answering some questions. Welcome to SFF!
    – user31178
    Commented Dec 22, 2015 at 2:47
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The Force Awakens came out.

I was already participating decently actively in the Myth.SE.

Then, I was probably looking around in people's profiles(AKA being a stalker), and I see a SF&F.

This will finally meet my questions for The Force Awakens!! Yessss

And so I join

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I came from MathOverflow of all places.

When I first joined that site, it was an independent site using an earlier version of the Stack Exchange software. Later, the owners signed a deal to join it to the Stack Exchange network, with a few special arrangements remaining. This was sort of a big deal at the time, so obviously I found out about the other Stack Exchange sites. Of all the sites, Sci Fi became the one that captured me, because I already had a liking for Harry Potter and for western sci fi books.

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  • ... but your linked MO account is just a 101-rep account with no activity?
    – Rand al'Thor Mod
    Commented Aug 20, 2016 at 11:46
  • @Randal'Thor: yes, I know. I have a separate account on MathOverflow, since I created both accounts when MO wasn't yet in the SE network, and didn't join them.
    – b_jonas
    Commented Aug 20, 2016 at 13:04
  • Since the previous comment, I have joined the two users to the same SE user. SE's interface got too annoying to keep up the separate users.
    – b_jonas
    Commented Aug 8, 2018 at 14:57
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I stumbled across it while searching for the title of a book.

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  • What book was it?
    – Valorum
    Commented Oct 16, 2015 at 21:12
  • I think it was Sen Stewart's The Night Watch. At least that was my first question here.
    – Joe L.
    Commented Oct 16, 2015 at 21:15
  • Yikes. I mangled this poor chap's answer
    – Valorum
    Commented Oct 16, 2015 at 21:21
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    I know the feeling. It seems like whenever I check on my old questions or answers I find more typos. But as an art teacher told me once it's better to concentrate on improving what you're doing now than trying to fix what you did in the past.
    – Joe L.
    Commented Oct 16, 2015 at 21:27
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I was told about it by someone who had already been using SE.

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Like others, I started with the main Stack Overflow site (although they claim my Super User account is older) and branched off to here. I want to say that the English Language SE was the one I went to after that, then it gets fuzzy. I came here via a sidebar advertisement and now it's my primary haunt.

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