# Decline of GQ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 24, 2005, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decline-of-gq/305270 "2005-05-24T16:01:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decline-of-gq/305270/21 "2005-05-25T01:50:09Z")
> [@cabdude](#): > > …posting a reply with a joke then getting three pages of the same running gag without any attempt to address the OP - grrrrrrrr… Did we ever figure out if scalar weapons are for real? ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decline-of-gq/305270/22 "2005-05-25T02:04:45Z")
> [@Una Persson](#): > > First, each day I visit I see several questions that have already been asked before, and answered, completely and fully, in the past. But for some reason people either can’t or won’t search to even see if the question has been asked before. Or, they searched and used the wrong terms, or, through no fault of their own, the search failed. Are they _still_ re-indexing the database? Several times I’ve gone searching for threads that I _knew_ should have been there at a particular date, only to get no matches. If I use a more common search string, I’ll get a long string of threads going back to 2000, but with several multi-month gaps in between. Inquiries about it are usually met with, “we’re working on it, but it takes a while and it’s the least of our priorites”. Maybe that’s a big part of all the repeated questions. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decline-of-gq/305270/23 "2005-05-25T02:51:46Z")
> [@av8rmike](#): > > Are they _still_ re-indexing the database? Several times I’ve gone searching for threads that I _knew_ should have been there at a particular date, only to get no matches. If I use a more common search string, I’ll get a long string of threads going back to 2000, but with several multi-month gaps in between. Inquiries about it are usually met with, “we’re working on it, but it takes a while and it’s the least of our priorites”. > > Maybe that’s a big part of all the repeated questions. Well, re-indexing takes a bit of time, and the sad thing is, anecdotally speaking, with extremely large vBulletin databases it used to be there was quite a bit of…instability during the process. I can’t speak at all for the version the SDMB runs; my experience is only with version 2.x. I have a really powerful server, about as powerful as the SDMBs if not moreso, and my 250,000-post forums take about 15 minutes to index. There’s 6,000,000 posts here, so we could assume if all went well it would take about 6 hours. However, I think practically speaking it might take more than even a day or so, depending on memory usage and the way that version 3.x runs. Once again, not my expertise. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decline-of-gq/305270/24 "2005-05-25T05:34:59Z")
If memory serves (no pun intended), the last time the board was reindexed, it took several days to complete. your humble TubaDiva ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decline-of-gq/305270/25 "2005-05-25T05:49:59Z")
> [@ZebraShaSha](#): > > It went from my favorite forum to the one I visit least next to the one about Cecil. Really, it’s like Ashbury Park minus the prostitutes Cecil a pimp? ---
**Author:** ![Greg\_Charles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Greg\_Charles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greg_Charles)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decline-of-gq/305270/26 "2005-05-25T06:27:33Z")
> [@Una Persson](#): > > I try every time I make a joke to include humour If only everyone were so conscientious! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decline-of-gq/305270/27 "2005-05-25T06:48:51Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > I routinely get email where people don’t even feel disposed to post a comment or a question to the board; they write me and ask me to do it for them. I also get a lot of "Tell Cecil . . . " > > Some have told me they just can’t be bothered with all that registration crap; they just want someone to do this for them. Others want a personal reply from Cecil. > > I refer them all (politely) to the board. I never see them again. Confession: I emailed Cecil a couple of times (with questions for his column) and received polite suggestions that I join the board. I didn’t get around to it for well over a year or two or more. > [@](#): > > I don’t get this. If you’re moved enough to make a comment or ask a question, why not follow through? Short answer: Human lameness. Longer answer: Registering with the SDMB -even before they charged money- seemed like a bigger deal than registering with the New York Times, something that many can’t bother with. ---
**Author:** ![roger\_thornhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d9b06d/32.png) [@roger\_thornhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/roger_thornhill)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decline-of-gq/305270/28 "2005-05-25T06:52:51Z")
Well, on balance, it must be admitted that humourous jokes are to be preferred to humourless ones. ---
**Author:** ![cabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/58956e/32.png) [@cabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cabdude)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decline-of-gq/305270/29 "2005-05-25T12:22:39Z")
And also - I love the “just the punchlines” posts - I laugh myself silly because I’ve heard all the jokes before. But there is one, simple, unwritten rule. Read the thread first. If your favourite punchline has already been posted…don’t post the punchline again. Okay? Even if it’s a slight variation. Don’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2005, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decline-of-gq/305270/30 "2005-05-25T13:15:47Z")
> [@Greg Charles](#): > > If only everyone were so conscientious! 😛 :o Wow…I really mis-typed something there. That’s an atrocious sentence of mine. I think I meant to say that I try to refrain from humour in posts unless the question has already been answered, or I’m including a good answer myself in that same post. I think I’ll be quiet now before I waste more space… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/decline-of-gq/305270.md?page=1)