MetaFilter

What's the deal with your nickname? How did you get it? If your nickname is self-explanatory, then tell everyone when you first started using the internet, and what was the first thing that made you say "wow, this isn't just a place for freaks after all?" Was it a website? Was it an email from a long-lost friend? Go on, spill it.

I first started using the net when my college roommate convinced me having email was cool and usenet would eventually replace the newspaper. This was Fall of 1991. The first net-community I really belonged to was the FutureCulture elist. I read one of Andy Hawks missives on Alt.Cyberpunk and signed up. Ever since Andy left the net (Did he really?) I've been searching for another place with as strong a sense of community AND an eye on the future of culture. Metafilter is one of the best (and most efficient) I've found in all those years.