There are people who played over multiple accounts over the years for a myriad of good reasons. This is my third account, so you can’t possibly know for sure when I started. Just my word to go by.
And that should be enough for the forum. If someone is lying about starting early, who cares. Playing achievement monitor isn’t going to accomplish anything. This is literally a few dozen nerds with nothing better to do geeking out on a forum for a 20+ year old video game.
No need to play detective.
Same. Who cares.
I mean, the first order of business is probably who cares. There are plenty of people who started playing in 2004. The thread was a little more than spam. So since we were talking about spam and a spam thread, everything that happens inside of it is pretty much pointless right? If they want to be proud to be a 2004 gamer, maybe they could highlight that a bit more or they could do like everybody else does and stick it in their diary.
2004, Red Sox break the Curse of the Bambino.
Beat the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS in seven after being down three games to none.
Sweep the Cardinals in the World Series.
GO SOX !!!
Fair point. Useless within useless can become useful if entertaining.
My husband is laying next to me asking why I am always on these “stupid forums.” Meanwhile he’s doom scrolling through Facebook. Who even uses Facebook anymore?
I’m a 2007/2008ish player.
It’s all about the entertainment these days. We might find one or two threads that have actual useful information in it. The rest of it, myself included, is little more than creating something to strike up some conversation during and otherwise boring day at work. 🩷
I remember when I first played the resource buildup for the Gates of Ahn-Qiraj was happening, so I’s say 2005-06 ish?
Me three. 
I was online playing Horde on Illidan, in my mid 50’s leveling, when the Serenity Now Funeral Crash event happened.
Chat was nuts that day.
I want a medal!
I haven’t done anything to earn one, but you know, it’d be kind of cool to have.
Despite some in this thread, this means you got to experience the best era of wow: when the community was helpful and the magic was still there.
Everyone that started playing after ~2008/2009 will never know the truth. It wasn’t the amazing content and fights with a million mechanics challenging even the best of us. It was you running into some random undead and trolls somewhere, teaming up to kill something, and becoming friends with them for the next decade.
We’ll be chasing that high again the rest of our lives.
Edit: shout-out to Misha server and my old guild Proven.
I’m a 2,000 man.
some of us don’t do achievements
With 292 posts? Maybe you’ve been afk since 2004?
I started playing then too, but not on this account. I quit shortly before Wrath and did not come back until DF. Had to start back from scratch. 
Not sure how that matters, since all it means is I’m probably considerably older than most of the people now playing.
His name is Robert Paulson
These forums are new.
As if i care about the achievements back then. I came at December of 2004.
My Vanilla experience is nothing like the rest of the Expansions. Discovering Black Fathom Deeps and doing it as 4-man and get massacred/wiped. Discovering Ironforge coming from Teldrassil on foot and amazement to see an Auction House and amazement of discovering a Train to Stormwind. Exploring the Barrens on foot to find Razorfen Kraul for a Warrior quest and returning again on foot to bring a friend to help me. Spending more than 3 hours in Maraudon. Forging the Mallet in Hinterlands for use in Zul’farrak. Navigating Black Rock Depths… it’s another Mega dungeon like Maraudon that you could spend more than 3 hours. Experiencing falling in Upper Black Rock Spire and landing on Lower Black Rock Spire. Farming for Fire Resists gear for Molten Core, Onyxia and Black Wing Lair… Experiencing the heaviest lag spikes at the opening of Ahn Qiraj. Experiencing and realizing that you could tank on 2H sword with stance dancing to beat the first dungeon speed run happened in 45 min Stratholme Baron run. Spending more than 4 hours on Alterac Valley then you logout and when you log back in, the same Alterac Valley fight was still ongoing having 10000 honor kills and it still wont end. You have to score 3 to win in WSG. The best was when you start as 0:2 and end up with 3:2 win. You cant experience close fights nowadays. And experience Naxxramas 40 without knowing you are among the 0.5% who has done it.
Yeah, i was there in 2004. And it all started in Vanilla.