# Cecil's (and Mailbag) Questions....where do they come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 1, 2000, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-and-mailbag-questions-where-do-they-come-from/39302 "2000-11-01T21:45:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2000, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-and-mailbag-questions-where-do-they-come-from/39302/1 "2000-11-01T21:45:26Z")
Sorry for not posting this in ATMB, but I think the question is more general than that and as such doesn’t necessarily apply to “this message board” So, where do these questions come from, mainly? Is there any way we could find out if the majority of selected questions are from snail mail, e-mail, or the MB? It seems to me most of the questions selected are not “via the internet”. This makes me wonder how many letters Cecil gets a day/week and if there is an enormous backlog of questions waiting to be answered and published. For example, supposing I had an excellent question for Cecil, would my odds of it being published and answered in a timely manner be influenced by the manner in which it was submitted? Once it got read how long might it take to be responded to? Whats the procedure for getting a question from my desk to the Reader? Thanks, just wondering out loud. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-and-mailbag-questions-where-do-they-come-from/39302/2 "2000-11-03T02:47:13Z")
Wow, I really am boring… ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-and-mailbag-questions-where-do-they-come-from/39302/3 "2000-11-03T02:51:05Z")
Well, I once had someone hand deliver a question to Ed (yeah, I have connections), and according to her it really grossed him out, but it didn’t get answered. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-and-mailbag-questions-where-do-they-come-from/39302/4 "2000-11-03T03:11:14Z")
Well, I don’t know about the rest, but there’s definitely a backlog of mailbag (AKA staff report) questions-- Dex has been begging all of us mods and other staff to pick up some of the slack. This really isn’t about the board per say, and it deals with Cecil and the staff equally, so I’ll just leave it here. ---
**Author:** ![Gunslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gunslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gunslinger)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-and-mailbag-questions-where-do-they-come-from/39302/5 "2000-11-03T04:14:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chronos \* > \*\*Well, I don’t know about the rest, but there’s definitely a backlog of mailbag (AKA staff report) questions-- Dex has been begging all of us mods and other staff to pick up some of the slack. > \*\* I’ll answer some of 'em. Just seeing my name on the article would be enough payment for me (although other compensation would be gladly accepted ;)) ---
**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:** [November 3, 2000, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-and-mailbag-questions-where-do-they-come-from/39302/6 "2000-11-03T13:15:39Z")
Most of the Mailbag (now “Staff Reports”) questions come from email, simply because most mail that Cecil gets nowadays is email. Cecil can only deal with one (approximately) question a week; that’s all he gets paid for. Some questions that Cecil thinks might be of interest, are sent around to Staff to become (with luck and hard work) Staff Reports. I get the honour (no pay) of helping administer the stuff that gets sent around to Staff, of bugging them to get more done. We are certainly glad to have guest contributors to the “Staff Reports”, and have done so in the past. Gunslinger (or anyone else), if you have areas of expertise and would like to try your hand, please email me, describing your credentials and the kind of topics you are interested in. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2000, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-and-mailbag-questions-where-do-they-come-from/39302/7 "2000-11-03T14:19:21Z")
Over a year and a half ago, on this very message board, Cecil himself promised to respond “soon” to some points I brought up about a defective column – see [Cecil’s Lousy Call Letter Answer](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=2) for more details. Since then, I have been waiting patiently. Sort of. If this delay continues, perhaps someday the _Chicago Reader_ will find itself surrounded by a roiling mob of radio history enthusiasts, demanding immediate action… ---
**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:** [November 3, 2000, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cecils-and-mailbag-questions-where-do-they-come-from/39302/8 "2000-11-03T17:20:43Z")
Cecil is NOT what you’d call a work-aholic. He gets around to stuff when he has to, or when Ed Zotti goads him (kinda like Archie pushing Nero Wolfe). There’s about 300 questions in the Staff hopper alone (some of which we’ll never get around to). Although Cecil knows the answer to everything, some questions need verification or detail clarification, that can take a great long while. Patience, my friend, patience.