# A note from Cecil Adams about The Straight Dope
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891
**Category:** About This Message Board
**Created:** [June 28, 2018, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891 "2018-06-28T03:20:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 7
### Author:  [@Clothes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothes)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/121 "2018-06-30T01:46:31Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#):
>
> It’s an interview with Mike Lenehan, the first Cecil, relating how he was asked by his boss to start a Q&A column along the lines of one in a Phoenix paper called Owen’s Need to Know.
Mike Lenehan got it slightly wrong. Owen Slade’s Need to Know was a not from a Phoenix, AZ paper, but the Boston Phoenix. (Or possibly its predecessor Boston After Dark, or perhaps the old Cambridge paper called simply the Phoenix - one of those, and I understand how Mike got it confused - there’s a phoenix in there somewhere.)
---
### Author:  [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/122 "2018-06-30T02:21:57Z")
I started in 07, bur I think I lurked for a couple of years before that. Even though I got to the SDMB through a column, I haven’t read more than one or two in the last 6 or 7 years (not counting threads about a column). Its demise per se doesn’t affect me, although I can’t imagine this “end” not having an effect on the SDMB. For me it’s always the MB what counted.
And, pleeeeeeeease, can we drop even the pretense of C. Adams being a real person and not a literary/copyright artifact?
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### Author:  [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/123 "2018-06-30T02:49:07Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> Can we expect some sort of over-the-top administrative decision that people will talk about for years to come, sometime before the stroke of midnight Saturday?
I’m hoping for a Facebook Livestream so we can all watch him step out of a steamy shower to reveal that he is in fact Bobby Ewing, and this was all a dream.
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### Author:  [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/124 "2018-06-30T02:51:30Z")
I started reading The Straight Dope in hte '90s in on of Raligh’s free papers. I have a sad.
Good luck on the farm , **Ed**. Maybe you can play with all my pets that went there.
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/125 "2018-06-30T03:06:16Z")
Ed, my old acquaintance, I can’t blame you. Forty years is a long time for a demanding part time job. When writing my SDSAB columns I was lucky that I was poorly supervised at work. The pressure of doing it on the down-low for that long must have been a burden, and at home? Now that you will have time for it give your lovely wife my best. Nothing personal, but I liked her better. 😉
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### Author:  [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/126 "2018-06-30T03:09:34Z")
> [@Lancia](#):
>
> Ed, I for one would happily purchase several copies of any new book that may be published. I’ve given them as gifts in the past and just recently purchased _Know It Al_l for my 13yo son. I’ll get him the rest of the books in a year or two. I’d love to have a new one to add to my collection.
This. Happy to add my voice as a definite purchaser of multiple copies of a new book.
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### Author:  [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/127 "2018-06-30T03:17:54Z")
HOWEVER, what will this do to the SDSAB? Will there be room on the site for new content?
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### Author:  [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/128 "2018-06-30T03:40:35Z")
Blog?
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### Author:  [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/129 "2018-06-30T03:59:33Z")
Adding another voice of thanks!
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### Author:  [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/130 "2018-06-30T04:49:11Z")
Everything ends. Everything dies.
But I add my voice to all who are saying thanks. You made a difference in a lot of people’s lives.
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### Author:  [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/131 "2018-06-30T07:40:53Z")
Ditto,
This was a great place to learn the road honest thinking…while maintaining civility…with the smartest board–bar none…in an otherwise bleak cacophony of national discourse.
Hat tip to Ed, the staff and all the members of the board for making this the greatest toy the Internet could ever have.
El Regardos,
**user-hostile**
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### Author:  [@BraheSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BraheSilver)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/132 "2018-06-30T09:59:37Z")
Well, heck.
A random thought passed through my mind about twenty minutes ago: “You know what site I haven’t visited in a while? Let’s see if it’s still here, and if I still have an account.” Turns out I do, and I find _this_. What are the odds?
Thanks for all the knowledge-bombs through the years.
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### Author:  [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/133 "2018-06-30T12:45:19Z")
The column sends new users to the MB. Without the column will the MB just wither away (even faster)?
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### Author:  [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/134 "2018-06-30T13:30:00Z")
Are y’all taking applications for the new Chief Moderator position yet? … shedding season’s over so I’d be a great fit … I bark softly but carry a BIG stink … qualities this board is in desperate need of …
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### Author:  [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/135 "2018-06-30T15:03:48Z")
> [@Ed\_Zotti](#):
>
> I can’t say what lies ahead for Cecil; as he says, that hasn’t been decided. My role as administrator will end July 1.
First I was sad that you guys were stopping the production of what became the gateway drug to the SDMB, I’d been reading the column since the mid-80’s. Then I read this.
I don’t have any direct evidence, but if I was going to say what made this place the place where I’m a member and I post, of all the places on the internet - it would be that it had Ed guiding it. You run a nice message board.
Damn, I’ve just realized you’ve been entertaining and informing me in some form for decades. Here’s to hoping your successor can at least approach your abilities! Thank you!
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### Author:  [@Jumpbass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jumpbass)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/136 "2018-06-30T16:41:39Z")
It seems that everything I could have said was said already. I lurked for many years before joining, and it’s part of my daily routine. It’s an amazing thing to have a spot of sanity on the internet. Well, a _kind_ of sanity.
Ed, I wish you luck in the next phase of your life. Thank you.
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### Author:  [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/137 "2018-06-30T17:40:29Z")
> [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](#):
>
> And, pleeeeeeeease, can we drop even the pretense of C. Adams being a real person and not a literary/copyright artifact?
Meh. I think it’s gotten pretty silly over time, but harmless enough. I’ve been following Cecil / “Cecil” since 1983 - he/she/they is part of our history.
Another HUGE thank you to Ed.
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### Author:  [@Missy2U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Missy2U)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/138 "2018-06-30T17:49:19Z")
Ed:
Many, many moons ago, back when I first started posting here, you wrote me a PM about something I wrote on the board regarding getting rid of mice in my kitchen (it was about 16 years ago or so) and your mirth at something I had written. I saved that message - it was something that really made me feel like I belonged here amongst such austere company. Frankly, it made my freakin’ day, and a whole bunch of days thereafter. 🙂
Thanks to all of you for all of the good times, the good laughs, and the good knowledge - you will be sorely missed here in my world.
M2U
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### Author:  [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/139 "2018-06-30T18:03:09Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#):
>
> I’m sorry to hear that. I hope you get a giant raise with whatever it is you will go on to do.
A MUCH bigger coffee mug.
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### Author:  [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)
#### Post date: [June 30, 2018, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-note-from-cecil-adams-about-the-straight-dope/816891/140 "2018-06-30T19:35:40Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#):
>
> Meh. I think it’s gotten pretty silly over time, but harmless enough. I’ve been following Cecil / “Cecil” since 1983 - he/she/they is part of our history.
>
> Another HUGE thank you to Ed.
And if your name was Ed Zotti, a very common first name combined with a unusual last name where all your life you had to go last- wouldn’t you want to reverse it? Go first finally? Have a common last name and a unusual first name?
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