# A bit of a tease regarding Cecil. **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 7, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635 "2013-10-07T23:34:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/1 "2013-10-07T23:34:39Z")
[This is the front page of SDMB.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?f=15) This is how General Questions is presented: > [@](#): > > General Questions > Got a factual question for the Teeming Millions (and possibly Cecil) to consider? Post it here. With all due respect, when is the last time that someone posted an O.P. into G.Q.- and Cecil actually responded ? Might we consider editing the definition of G.Q. ? ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/2 "2013-10-07T23:46:12Z")
Didn’t you [ask this question](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=682102) earlier this year? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/3 "2013-10-08T00:08:10Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > **With all due respect, when is the last time that someone posted an O.P. into G.Q.- and Cecil actually responded ?** [2004.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=294150&page=2) ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/4 "2013-10-08T00:24:22Z")
The problem is that most questions posted in GQ get answered, so there’s not much for Cecil to do. He does, from time to time, look over the GQ posts (and some staff keep an eye out as well.) Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it won’t. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/5 "2013-10-08T04:32:58Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it won’t. Dead threads are resurrected every day! Some day Cecil himself will come again! Ye must have faith, brethren and sistren! He will visit the most sincere pumpkin patch–er, sorry, I got confused. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/6 "2013-10-08T05:13:20Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > The problem is that most questions posted in GQ get answered, so there’s not much for Cecil to do. He does, from time to time, look over the GQ posts (and some staff keep an eye out as well.) Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it won’t. He’s never taken a question off the board? All this time I’ve been thinking, “maybe this time, maybe this time…” ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/7 "2013-10-08T11:26:34Z")
No, he has taken questions from the Message Boards. There hasn’t been one recently, I don’t think, and I have no way of tracking easily. I did scroll through some of the past columns, and found one: [Are transsexuals mentally ill? - The Straight Dope](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3066/are-transsexuals-mentally-ill) came from a thread in Great Debates (Post #173 in [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15258563](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=15258563) ) I don’t recollect offhand if any columns have come from GQ, and I don’t have the time to go searching by hand. (Searching the Archives on “Message Boards” or equivalent gives a huge number of false his.) ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/8 "2013-10-08T14:10:47Z")
When only Cecil saw the questions I suspect his job was easier. Since people can post their questions to the board and get near-instant answers – most of them right on the money – that means Cecil can’t pull from the message board so much. You’re too good at this. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2013, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/9 "2013-10-08T14:43:39Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > The problem is that most questions posted in GQ get answered, so there’s not much for Cecil to do. He does, from time to time, look over the GQ posts (and some staff keep an eye out as well.) Just because it hasn’t happened doesn’t mean it won’t. His yacht has internet access? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2013, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/10 "2013-10-09T14:30:07Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > The problem is that most questions posted in GQ get answered, so there’s not much for Cecil to do. He could take a [crack at this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=678744) if he has so much time on his hands. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/11 "2013-10-10T01:10:20Z")
Sorry, when I said “there’s not much for Cecil to do,” I didn’t mean in general, I didn’t mean to imply that he has time on his (valuable) hands; I meant only that once a question is posed and answered, there’s nothing to say about that question in a column. Basically, Cecil won’t consider questions that are readily answered by a quick internet search or a dictionary/encyclopedia check; questions with a one-sentence answer; questions that won’t be of interest to the general readership; questions that have no answers; and questions where the answer would be too long for a column. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2013, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/12 "2013-10-10T03:43:34Z")
You sound like my Dad trying to rationalize Santa Claus. 🙂 “Well, the elves don’t make _all_ the toys, of course… sometimes, like your new X-Box, Santa has to order them from the manufacturer just like any other wholesaler… Uh, well, he’s got a large bank account to pay for all that… well, he’s really old and has a lot of… , look, do you want a nice Christmas or what?” We’ll stop asking so many pesky questions… we might not like the answer we receive. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2013, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/13 "2013-10-21T18:48:58Z")
My first post to the board was a GQ thread after I had first submitted it as a question to Cecil, and was told to try the board instead. However, a couple of years later it did indeed become the subject of a column. I haven’t time to search for it now, but it was to do with which is more energy efficient - hand dryers or paper towels? I posted it in 2005 and it was made a column 2 or 3 years later, I think. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2013, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/14 "2013-10-22T11:40:12Z")
> [@Dead\_Cat](#): > > My first post to the board was a GQ thread after I had first submitted it as a question to Cecil, and was told to try the board instead. … Yeah, when I sort Cecil’s mail, I do a preliminary classifying: some questions have already been answered by Cecil or are readily available (e.g., “look in dictionary”) and so won’t be considered for a column. Some questions seem interesting, but for one reason or another won’t make (IMHO) a good column, and I suggest the authors come here to post so that some of you brilliant folks might know (or find) an answer. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/15 "2013-10-23T17:03:27Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > His yacht has internet access? I think you misspelled “private luxury space station.” ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2013, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-bit-of-a-tease-regarding-cecil/670635/16 "2013-10-23T23:57:39Z")
> [@White SIFL](#): > > He could take a [crack at this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=678744) if he has so much time on his hands. > 😃 Or a definitive answer on [this much-beloved old chestnut…](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voynich_manuscript) 😉