# Cecil Adams isn't real!!!!!!!!!!!!!! **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 7, 2011, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-adams-isnt-real/605386 "2011-12-07T17:05:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-adams-isnt-real/605386/121 "2011-12-28T05:06:40Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Oh by all means allow me to apologize. I withdraw my entire post. Wow! You came _this close_ to…absolutely nothing happening to you. I hope I’m half as brave as you someday. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2011, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-adams-isnt-real/605386/122 "2011-12-28T05:34:00Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > It’s not a reality that any one Doper has control over. You can’t address the injustice as you want to. On the other hand, it costs absolutely nothing to try. That’s what people tend to forget in the costs benefits analysis of complaining about behavior on a message board. You don’t always pick battles you can win, just ones where there’s no real consequence for losing. ---
**Author:** ![Bootstrap\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d2c977/32.png) [@Bootstrap\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootstrap_Bill)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-adams-isnt-real/605386/123 "2012-05-14T15:35:55Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > By this logic, Abigail Van Buren doesn’t exist and neither did Ann Landers. Never stopped people from writing to them. Both columns were originally written by a set of twins. I’m pretty certain they never tried to hide their true identities. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-adams-isnt-real/605386/124 "2012-05-14T15:40:13Z")
> [@Bootstrap\_Bill](#): > > Both columns were originally written by a set of twins. I’m pretty certain they never tried to hide their true identities. And I’m pretty sure they were trying to hide their identities by the fact that they used pseudonyms. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-adams-isnt-real/605386/125 "2012-05-14T15:46:13Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And I’m pretty sure they were trying to hide their identities by the fact that they used pseudonyms. :rolleyes: Le sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-adams-isnt-real/605386/126 "2012-05-14T15:49:46Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > :rolleyes: Le sigh. Right back atcha. > [@Bootstrap\_Bill](#): > > Both columns were originally written by a set of twins. I’m pretty certain they never tried to hide their true identities. The key word is “never”-for the longest time they hid their real names from the public. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2012, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-adams-isnt-real/605386/127 "2012-05-14T17:01:40Z")
Eppie Lederer was not the first Ann Landers. She was preceded by several other writers. Once she took over, however, she made it a point to refuse to divulge her real name. Pauline Phillips created Abigail Van Buren/Dear Abby and declined to identify her real name, for years. When she retired, her daughter, Jeanne Phillips took over the rights and column. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecil-adams-isnt-real/605386.md?page=6)