# A wee bit hypocritical there, Ed **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 4, 2008, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946 "2008-09-04T06:05:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/121 "2008-09-04T19:31:22Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > That’s what I was talking about, at least. Ed’s started a forum to reach out to a group he thinks would be particularly interested in The Barn House. I don’t see that as a hanging offense, but it didn’t take people too long to bust out the inane hyperbole. Nope, not a hanging offense at all. I’m not heading to Chicago with a collection of pitchforks and torches for the gathered Teeming Millions. At the heart, though, I think this is about the pace of evolution and change at the SDMB. People beg and plead for years to get new subforums added; since 1999 when the BBQ Pit went live, the only new additions to the SDMB have been Cafe Society, and more recently, The Game Room. It’s something that frustrates many here. All of a sudden, out of the ether, there’s this Barn House subforum. It’s something nobody asked for; a subforum promoting a book by someone who really didn’t participate much on the site of his own making, who usually just showed up when something really went wrong. Maybe if Ed was an active participant in the past, or if new subforums were a more common occurrence, members would be more accepting of The Barn House. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/122 "2008-09-04T19:32:24Z")
“Fighting ignorance since 1973 (it’s taking longer than we thought)” Perhaps Ed needs to reissue the memo, … to himself. I plan to fight ignorance by ignoring the new forum. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/123 "2008-09-04T19:40:50Z")
> [@Alan\_Smithee](#): > > [ He was originally going to set it up on a separate site, but the site wasn’t ready on time (imagine that!) so he set it up here temporarily in an effort to drive some traffic our way. Kindly direct me to where he indicated that the forum was intended to be temporary. And that is not the same as saying he might [parphrase]“pull the plug if things didn’t work out.”[/paraphrase] I think this bit sums it up: > [@So, Is anyone going to tell us about/explain this new forum?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-is-anyone-going-to-tell-us-about-explain-this-new-forum/461941/29): > > Bottom line is I get to do it because I’m the site administrator, but this isn’t just an exercise in ego gratification - it may do the SDMB some good. Doen’t deny that it is ego gratification, just claims that isn’t the SOLE reason. 😛 Gotta appreciate the honesty, but that doesn’t make it any less distasteful in my mind. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/124 "2008-09-04T19:45:14Z")
I want to say for the record, I have never complained about this board before. When people got up in arms about the pay-to-post policy, the slow response time, navigation and search function issues, moderator protocols, or the inclusion of ads, I never thought it was anything to get worked up about. I can’t really say I’m “worked up” about this either, and I acknowledge fully that EZ and co. can do whatever they want with this board. But I still think it’s dumb. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/125 "2008-09-04T20:05:58Z")
Am I the only one here who thinks that a McDonald’s forum WOULD also be a good idea? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/126 "2008-09-04T20:06:36Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > If it wasn’t for Ed Zotti this site wouldn’t even exist at all. > > Show a little respect. You mean like the respect you show to most of us posters here, sweetie? Your idea of “respect”, **Tuba** , seems to be nothing less than falling to the ground, kissing the hem of your skirt as you sweep past. Give us a break. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/127 "2008-09-04T20:41:11Z")
Oh, for Christ’s sake. You all are upset that Ed opened for a new forum to flog his book on his own website? Seriously? This entire site is dedicated to flogging Ed’s books. That’s the whole point of it. That’s why it exists, because Ed thought it would help sell his earlier books. What’s the big deal? If you don’t like the forum dedicated to flogging Ed’s new book, just skip over it. Is that so hard? What’s the big deal? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/128 "2008-09-04T20:42:41Z")
I have been posting here for a long time and was never aware of Ed’s books. Unless you’re saying Cecil’s books are Ed’s books. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/129 "2008-09-04T20:48:16Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > So we should have taken him aside and discreetly whispered that it was a tacky little ego forum instead of yelling that across the room. What bothers me is that it seriously messes with the traditional format of this place, which is that forums are defined by the type of discourse one wants to engage in and not by the subject matter. The Game Room is an exception, but one that solves the difficulty one would otherwise face in placing sports-related threads. Given the good job the mods and admins normally do around here, this arrangement has worked very well. I love being able to wander into any forum without looking for something specific, and being surprised by something interesting. That’s what the original newspaper column was all about. It doesn’t bother me because it’s a tacky little ego forum–if it even is that. That would be reassuring, because it would indicate that it’s a one-off forum and that the Dope is not about to become like commercial cable TV, with a dozen topical “channels” whose purposes get all muddied with the passage of time. If forums here become channels, the same thing will probably happen with them. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/130 "2008-09-04T20:48:58Z")
Well yeah. Ed doesn’t own the trademark for Cecil Adams since he took over the column after it had been in existance for a few years, so it isn’t exactly true that Cecil Adams is just Ed’s pseudonym. But he’s certainly been writing the columns published under that byline for the last 30 years or so. Was anyone else unaware of this fact? ---
**Author:** ![Library\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cab0a1/32.png) [@Library\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Library_Boy)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/131 "2008-09-04T20:49:58Z")
> [@control-z](#): > > I have been posting here for a long time and was never aware of Ed’s books. Unless you’re saying Cecil’s books are Ed’s books. While you are getting all caught up with everything, I’ve got some bad news about the Easter Bunny too… ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/132 "2008-09-04T20:51:25Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Oh, for Christ’s sake. > > You all are upset that Ed opened for a new forum to flog his book on his own website? > > Seriously? > > This entire site is dedicated to flogging Ed’s books. That’s the whole point of it. That’s why it exists, because Ed thought it would help sell his earlier books. What’s the big deal? If you don’t like the forum dedicated to flogging Ed’s new book, just skip over it. Is that so hard? What’s the big deal? Well, for one thing, the idea that it is not a blatant advertisement. That this particular book, which really has nothing to do with the SD other than Ed wrote it, deserves its own special forum, something which hasn’t been given to the SD books as a whole, let alone singly. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/133 "2008-09-04T20:59:40Z")
Well, the Straight Dope books are collections of Cecil’s columns, so Comments on Cecil’s Columns is the forum that specifically flogs the Straight Dope books. This whole site is a blatant advertisment. In other news, the Pope shits in the woods, and Soylent Green is a sled. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/134 "2008-09-04T21:06:59Z")
The only thing that annoys me is that it takes an eternity to get an upgrade, and no sooner do we get one than we discover something that got piggybacked on to it. This seems to happen every time, and it leads me to believe that the upgrades aren’t done because they’re the right thing to do but rather as an attempt to make more money, in this case handling more traffic due to Ed’s redirect. It’s their sandbox, it’s their rules, but it’s also got a stink to it that just won’t go away. If only they would be more forthright about why they’re doing things. Yeah, and if your mom had balls she’d be your dad, too. I really oughta know better. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/135 "2008-09-04T21:10:37Z")
I think it’sa great. I think we should all have forums. As many forums was we want. Mods, please start a form about cats that have had their front paws de-clawed, but not the rear ones. I would also like a forum to discuss spokes-animals, such as the Geico gecko. BTW, is it possible to designate a whole forum as “Ignore”? ---
**Author:** ![iampunha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/74df32/32.png) [@iampunha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iampunha)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/136 "2008-09-04T21:16:00Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > PS - Welcome back, **iampunha**! 🙂 You remembered:) How’s stuff and things? (Aside from the Pit topic, of course. But I gotta think – without having read any of pages 2 or 3 and not much of page 4 – that ain’t any higher on your list of cares than it is on mine.) ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/137 "2008-09-04T21:16:26Z")
What a fucking joke… Here I was getting excited about the new server, when in reality it sucks and fucking Ed Zotti is using it to fucking push his bullshit books that nobody wants to read. Fuck Ed and his books. Jesus Christ what a fucking nightmare. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/138 "2008-09-04T21:19:19Z")
And here comes the paranoia. Oy. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/139 "2008-09-04T21:23:03Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > And here comes the paranoia. Oy. It’s not paranoia. It’s disgust. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2008, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946/140 "2008-09-04T21:26:59Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It’s not paranoia. It’s disgust. “The upgrade was only done so Ed could sell The Barn House” is paranoid, or at least it’s nonsense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-wee-bit-hypocritical-there-ed/461946.md?page=8)