Cecil's Columns #2

I’m curious to know what is the sequence of actions taken upon receipt of potential questions for the Cecil Adams Column.

Who looks at the questions first? Are any discarded immediately because they are too easy, uninteresting, or for any other reason? Do some or all questions get answered irrespective of their appearance in the column?

What happens to those questions for which there is insufficient available data to answer? I’ve seen partial answers from the column so some of them must get through the selection process. What percentage of questions can’t be answered due to lack of insufficient data? How much research is carried out before denying an answer?

I’m aware that humour may be a relevant factor in this process. Some questions are surely selected because they are clever, witty or both. The column will attempt to answer in a like manner, and will sometimes succeed in so doing. Similarly the column may take an ordinary looking question and answer it on the basis of potential for displaying humour in its reply.

I would be very interested if someone, at their leisure, could provide a brief narrative which encompasses the points raised by these queries.

Thank you.

The sequence is basically this.

C.K. Dexter Haven acts as Cecil’s right-hand man, and screens out mail from Cecil’s Inbox. Cecil receives an outrageous amount of spam, according to Dex, and just wading through it is an effort which Cecil would not waste his time on.

Then Dex sees which questions have already been answered, and does something with those - either discards them, or sends a response saying “Thanks for writing; this question was answered (link)”

If a question is a follow-up or comment on a column, then Dex stores that in a certain location so Cecil can read it, and Dex may or may not send an acknowledgement to the sender.

If the question is new, original, or otherwise Cecil-worthy, Dex passes the question on to Cecil by placing it in another location, where Cecil can review it at his leisure. If there is not enough data to answer a question right away, Cecil researches it. He may have many irons in the fire at the same time, with letters, calls, and other sources pending. He also asks the SDSAB for assistance on columns if they have a special expertise, to help dig up references, such as when he asked me to help with the steam leaks column.

If the question is a good one but not Cecil-worthy, Dex puts it in an area reserved for the SDSAB Members who write staff reports to view. The SDSAB choose these at-will, and write them at their own pace.

Cecil alone decides what he will or will not answer. I do know that he has to balance a few things, such as what will be of enough interest to enough people, and what will fit into a column of about 800 or so words in length. Cecil sometimes grabs questions from the SDSAB area if they are interesting enough. Dex does a lot of work and keeps the system running very smoothly. Otherwise, Cecil might move to a cabin in the woods and spend his time writing manifestos against technology.

There are many more questions sent in than can be answered. Each week only one is answered by Cecil and (usually) one by the SDSAB, but many more than that are received. While several are repeats or close to other questions, many are original. As such, there is a backlog of thousands of questions currently.

To hijack this thread for a related question: How did Cecil get away with some answers being so short in years past? (Example: http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_124a.html). Was this combined with another question in that week’s paper? When’s the last time Cecil had a multiple-question week?

Happy

Ed Zotti hasn’t been mentioned. He doesn’t do any screening? Where does he fit in?

Ed is too busy making mistakes. He has little time for screening. Alway remember the phrase

From one of the oldest extant threads still viewable. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2

See? They didn’t all get put into storage. :slight_smile:

Sorry, I thought the question was more limited and I was trying not to overspeak the question so I’d get into trouble. Ed in fact does a lot of work - he does some of the screening and sorting, serves as Cecil’s Editor, helps Cecil with research, acts as a fact-checker for Cecil - and he is the Editor and fact-checker of the SDSAB reports, as well as the person who decides which SDSAB reports run or don’t run on the website. Overall though, I believe that Dex does the large majority of the initial screening and sorting.

Not speaking to any specific question, I believe that Ed or Dex has posted here in the past that that the short questions/answers were indeed taken from multiple question weeks.

As far as the last time there were multiple questions answered, I think this was the latest: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/060929.html from September 29th of this year - less than a month ago.

Another thing too I might add, since the subject came up. I’ve got to know Ed a little bit, and what he does, and I don’t think people appreciate the work he does for the SDMB. What he does may not be as visible as a moderator or frequent poster, but Ed is a huge champion of the SDMB, and I know he wants a healthy, viable, and yes, fun SDMB to exist. It pisses me off a bit when I read people saying in other threads that “Ed doesn’t do anything” - without Ed’s hard work and tireless advocacy, I don’t really know if the SDMB would be around at all. I of course may be wrong, but that’s my informed opinion. Furthermore, I for one think that Ed does deserve some thanks, or at least a nod of recognition, from the people who enjoy the SDMB.

Seconded.

Thirded. [sub]Is that a word?[/sub]

No, but fourthed is. :slight_smile:

Did anyone tell you that you sound like Snagglepuss? Assuming he was able to post here?

Una, thanks for the post(s) – you pretty much said what I would’ve, and saved me the trouble. And, now, if I ever need a job description, I got one!

Seconded.

I also should note, just in case anyone has any strange ideas, that my job is just sorting the mail. I have no say or role in what happens to any mail after I’ve sorted it into the appropriate pile.

The other part of my job is nagging the Straight Dope Science Advisory Board into writing Staff Reports, but that’s not what you asked about.

Do you get paid for that? It seems weird that anyone (other than student doing an internship) would volunteer to sort mail for a paid columnist but we’ve often been told that Tuba is the only one recieving a “modest stipend”.

A good summary, but there is another pile that has not been mentioned, “Questions Cecil is Still Thinking About,” for those questions so dumb or bizarre that they cannot readily be answered, even by Cecil. Cecil has been mulling over some of these questions for a very long time. But even these will occasionally yield a column.

I’ll take fifthed. :slight_smile:

I guess I’ll sixth it with a windy “but”:

While we can all appreciate Ed’s work to keep the place going, there is an element of self-interest is there not? I mean, this is a message board all revolving around HIS column that I assume brings him some income. It’s in many ways a fan site for his Cecil alter ego. This is also why I was surprised when jdavis took all responsibility as the Reader’s man-in-charge of the Dope. Does Ed seriously have no authority over the setup of this place? He can only advocate?

No, I don’t get paid for it. I do it for the sheer joy of being involved in, and helpful to, Cecil’s endeavours to fight ignorance. And for the mug, of course.

Actually, mopping out Cecil’s mail bag is a condition of Dex’s Work Release agreement. It was that or disinfecting bathrooms at Union Station.