Have we ever had a question about why we have eyebrows?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I wanted to test the capacity of a large language model to halucinate. I decided to use deepseek for this purpose. I asked it some questions which I expected would lead to halucintation. Here is the chat

Me: what do you know about the straight dope message board?

Deepseek:

The Straight Dope Message Board (SDMB) is an online forum associated with “The Straight Dope,” a long-running column written by Cecil Adams. The column, which started in 1973, is known for its humorous and well-researched answers to a wide variety of questions on topics ranging from science and history to pop culture and urban legends.

The SDMB serves as a community-driven extension of the column, where users can post questions, share knowledge, and engage in discussions on a broad array of subjects. The forum is known for its active and knowledgeable user base, which includes experts and enthusiasts in various fields. Discussions on the SDMB often mirror the tone and style of “The Straight Dope” column—informative, witty, and sometimes irreverent.

Key features of the SDMB include:

  1. Categories and Subforums: The board is organized into various categories and subforums, covering topics such as General Questions, Science, History, Arts & Literature, and more. This structure helps users find relevant discussions and contribute to areas of their interest.

  2. Community Guidelines: The SDMB has a set of community guidelines to ensure respectful and constructive discussions. Moderators actively enforce these rules to maintain a welcoming environment.

  3. Expert Participation: While the forum is primarily user-driven, experts and knowledgeable individuals often participate, providing authoritative answers and insights.

  4. Archives: The SDMB has a rich archive of past discussions, making it a valuable resource for researching previously asked questions and explored topics.

The Straight Dope Message Board has been a popular destination for curious minds seeking answers and engaging in thoughtful discourse. It reflects the spirit of Cecil Adams’ column by fostering a community that values knowledge, critical thinking, and a good sense of humor.

Me:summarize a particularly interesting thread or discussion that features on the SDMB.

Deepseek:

One particularly interesting thread on the Straight Dope Message Board (SDMB) that garnered significant attention and engagement was titled “Why do we have eyebrows?” This discussion delved into the evolutionary and functional purposes of eyebrows, sparking a wide range of theories and insights from the community.

Summary of the Thread:

  1. Initial Question: The thread began with a user asking why humans have eyebrows, noting that they seem like a peculiar feature compared to other facial hair.

  2. Evolutionary Theories:

    • Facial Expression and Communication: Several users pointed out that eyebrows play a crucial role in non-verbal communication. They help convey emotions such as surprise, anger, and skepticism, which are essential for social interactions.
    • Protection from Sweat and Rain: Another popular theory discussed was the practical function of eyebrows in preventing sweat, rain, and other debris from falling into the eyes, thus aiding in vision and protection.

  3. Anatomical Insights:

    • Muscle Structure: Some contributors explained the complex muscle structure around the eyebrows that allows for a wide range of movements, enhancing expressive capabilities.
    • Facial Recognition: There was also a discussion on how eyebrows contribute to facial recognition, helping individuals distinguish between different faces more easily.

  4. Historical and Cultural Perspectives:

    • Fashion and Identity: Users shared historical and cultural contexts where eyebrows have been shaped, styled, or removed for aesthetic reasons, highlighting their significance beyond mere functionality.
    • Symbolism: The thread touched on the symbolic meanings of eyebrows in various cultures, including associations with beauty, wisdom, and social status.

  5. Scientific Studies:

    • Research Citations: Some users cited scientific studies and anthropological research that support the theories discussed, adding credibility to the conversation.
    • Comparative Biology: Comparisons were made with other species, noting how different animals have evolved similar features for protection and communication.

  6. Humor and Anecdotes:

    • Personal Stories: The thread also included humorous anecdotes and personal stories about eyebrows, adding a light-hearted touch to the discussion.
    • Pop Culture References: References to famous eyebrows in pop culture, such as those of celebrities and fictional characters, were also mentioned, making the thread relatable and entertaining.

Conclusion:

The thread concluded with a consensus that eyebrows serve multiple important functions, from practical protection to complex social communication. The discussion showcased the SDMB’s strength in blending scientific inquiry with cultural and historical context, all while maintaining an engaging and approachable tone.

This thread is a great example of how the SDMB fosters in-depth, multifaceted discussions that are both informative and enjoyable for its users.

2

Yeah, that’s exactly the type of question it would hallucinate on. You can always call it out by asking for a link to the thread. Stuff that is real will usually be backed up by sources when you ask for them, at least with Chat GPT. Like many humans, AI apparently has a difficult time saying “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure.” Cliff Clavin syndrome.

3

Cecil did a column on it, which then triggered this thread:

What is the purpose of eyebrows?

4

[Moderating]
This looks more like a commentary on AI than a factual question. Moving to MPSIMS.

5

[Not moderating]
I also note that, despite the chatbot’s claim, we do not and never have had a forum for “Science” or “History”, both of those being mostly covered in General Questions (now Factual Questions).

6

ChatGPT’s deep research result (and sorry for the mangled formatting, it looks better in the original browser.

what do you know about the straight dope message board?

ChatGPT said:

Are you looking for general background information on the Straight Dope Message Board, such as its history and purpose, or are you interested in something specific like notable discussions, user demographics, or its current status?

You said:

give me some background and history, and then a notable discussion

ChatGPT said:

Got it! I’ll look into the background and history of the Straight Dope Message Board, including its origins, purpose, and evolution over time. I’ll also highlight a notable discussion or thread that gained attention on the forum.

I’ll let you know once I’ve pulled everything together.

Research completed in 13m · 33 sources

The Straight Dope Message Board: History and Community Highlights

Origins on AOL and Launch of the Web Board (1973–1999)

The Straight Dope Message Board (SDMB) grew out of a popular question-and-answer newspaper column called The Straight Dope, written by “Cecil Adams” (a pseudonym of editor Ed Zotti) and published in the Chicago Reader starting in 1973​

chicago.suntimes.com

. By the mid-1990s, as the internet gained traction, The Straight Dope expanded online. The column was featured on America Online (AOL), which at the time paid for content and provided a dedicated forum for Straight Dope readers​

en.wikipedia.org

. AOL users could simply use the keyword “Straight Dope” to access an exclusive area that included the columns and a threaded message board​

archive.seattletimes.com

. This early online community – along with the Usenet group alt.fan.cecil-adams – allowed the column’s devoted fans (dubbed the “Teeming Millions”) to discuss Cecil’s answers and ask their own questions in a pre-web environment.

When the AOL contract ended in the late 1990s, the Chicago Reader moved The Straight Dope to its own website (straightdope.com) and launched a new public message board there​

en.wikipedia.org

. The Straight Dope Message Board officially opened in spring 1999, initially as a section for readers to comment on Cecil’s columns and Staff Reports. The SDMB adopted the tongue-in-cheek tagline “Fighting Ignorance since 1973 (It’s taking longer than we thought.)” reflecting the column’s mission​

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. Even Cecil himself, famously tech-averse, was persuaded to drop in occasionally on the new forums to read comments on his columns​

boards.straightdope.com

. From the start, the board’s purpose was to provide a place for inquisitive, trivia-loving people to ask and answer questions and continue the column’s spirit of humorous yet fact-driven discussion in a community setting.

Community Growth and Major Milestones in the 2000s

After its 1999 launch, the SDMB quickly grew into a vibrant online community with multiple discussion categories. In addition to “Comments on Cecil’s Columns”, new forums were created for broader conversation: “General Questions” (GQ) for any factual queries, “Great Debates” for controversial or deep discussions, “In My Humble Opinion” (IMHO) for polls and personal viewpoints, “Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share” (MPSIMS) for casual chatter, and the infamous “BBQ Pit” for rants and heated arguments​

en.wikipedia.org

. This structure evolved organically – for example, Great Debates was spun off when religious/political debates started overrunning GQ, and Cafe Society (for arts, entertainment, and culture) was added a couple years later as the member base expanded in interests​

en.wikipedia.org

. By the early 2000s, the SDMB had become a lively corner of the internet where users (known as “Dopers”) exchanged knowledge, humor, and friendly banter across a wide array of topics.

The community developed a strong culture emphasizing both intellectual curiosity and civility. Cecil’s mantra of “fighting ignorance” set a tone that valued accurate information and well-cited answers. At the same time, the board embraced witty irreverence – it wasn’t unusual to see rigorous debates in one thread and goofy in-jokes in another. A firm but simple rule was enforced: “Don’t be a jerk.” This golden rule, coined early on by the administrators, meant virtually any opinion or question was welcome provided users remained civil and respectful​

straightdope.com

. To uphold this standard, a team of volunteer moderators policed the discussions. One long-time administrator, Jennifer “TubaDiva” Paradis, served as the board’s matriarch for over 20 years (earning respect for keeping the peace in a often raucous community)​

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. Regular members, too, took pride in maintaining a high signal-to-noise ratio; “peer pressure” from veteran Dopers often kept spam and trolling to a minimum. The result was a self-sustaining community that Cecil Adams himself lauded as “the heart and soul of the enterprise” – even if the discussions often roamed far beyond the original newspaper column’s scope​

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straightdope.com

. Throughout the 2000s, the SDMB’s user base was large and active, with thousands of registered members and notable spikes of traffic whenever an SDMB discussion was linked from outside (the board was Slashdotted and Farked on a few occasions, causing brief surges of “the Teeming Millions” that could number in the millions of views)​

straightdope.com

. Members organized real-life meetups called “Dopefests” in cities around the world, and even found romance – finding a spouse via the SDMB became enough of a trend to be joked about by the community​

straightdope.com

.

Like many growing forums of that era, the SDMB faced technical and financial challenges as it expanded. In February 2002, a server crash led to an event the community grimly nicknamed the “Winter of Our Missed Content.” The board was down for several weeks, and several months’ worth of posts (stretching back into late 2001) were lost in the outage​

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. Loyal Dopers congregated on temporary off-site boards until service was restored. Despite setbacks, the community rebounded, and this episode passed into SDMB lore as a testament to how tight-knit and resilient the user base had become (it’s often recalled with a mix of groans and nostalgia on anniversary threads).

Another major change came in 2004. Facing rising hosting costs, the Chicago Reader implemented a subscription model for the SDMB. Posting privileges now required an annual fee (around $14.95, with a 50% discount for those who subscribed in the first days). Early adopters were honored with the title “Charter Member,” which they could keep as long as they renewed, whereas new paying users were simply “Members.”​

boards.straightdope.com

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This move was somewhat controversial – many internet forums were free – but thousands of dedicated users ponied up. The subscription system went live around April 2004, and for a few years, the SDMB was essentially a semi-paywalled community (guest accounts could read most content but had very limited posting abilities). While this provided revenue to keep the servers running, it also slowed the influx of new members. By 2006–2007 the board’s activity had dipped from its peak, and management began to reconsider the pay-to-post approach.

Changes in Ownership and Platform (2007–Present)

Through the 2000s, The Straight Dope and its message board remained under the umbrella of the Chicago Reader. In 2007, however, the Reader (and by extension the SDMB) was sold to Creative Loafing, Inc., an Atlanta-based publisher​

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. The new owners promptly ended the subscription requirement and returned the board to a free model to boost participation​

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. By the end of 2007, registration was free to all once again, with revenue coming from on-page ads for non-subscribed users​

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. Many longtime members kept their “Charter Member” status (and ad-free browsing) by continuing to pay the optional fee, but new users could fully join the community without charge. This change, along with fresh ownership, gave the SDMB a second wind in the late 2000s.

Ownership changed again in the 2010s. After Creative Loafing went through bankruptcy, the Straight Dope property eventually landed with the company that owned the Chicago Sun-Times. By the mid-2010s the SDMB was owned and operated by Sun-Times Media (while the Chicago Reader itself went to different owners)​

straightdope.com

. The Straight Dope column was still being written weekly during this period, running in the Reader (and online) until 2018, when Cecil Adams announced that the 45-year-old column was going on hiatus as the Sun-Times retooled its media strategy​

straightdope.com

. Importantly, Sun-Times Media decided to keep the Straight Dope Message Board alive even after the column stopped. In a 2018 farewell note, Cecil Adams reassured fans that the massive archive of ~3,400 Straight Dope columns would remain accessible, and *“the Straight Dope Message Board (SDMB), the online community that has grown up around the column, will remain open for business.”*​

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The SDMB had, by then, long since taken on a life of its own, independent of weekly new columns – a fact Cecil acknowledged by calling the board *“in many ways the heart and soul of the enterprise”*​

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.

Under Sun-Times stewardship, the SDMB saw overdue technical modernization. For nearly two decades the board had run on aging forum software (early on, it used Ultimate Bulletin Board, then in July 2000 it switched to vBulletin). By 2019, it was still running on vBulletin 3.x – software dating to the early 2000s – which caused frequent performance issues as the database grew to millions of posts​

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. In early 2020, the SDMB was finally migrated to a modern Discourse platform, greatly improving stability and adding new features (such as real-time updates and better search). Today, the Straight Dope Message Board continues to operate at boards.straightdope.com, still carrying the motto “Fighting Ignorance since 1973.” It hosts over two decades of discussions spanning everything from trivial questions about song lyrics to rigorous debates on science, politics, and philosophy​

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. The community is smaller than it was in its early-2000s heyday, but it remains active and tight-knit – a testament to the lasting appeal of Cecil’s premise that no question is too odd or too foolish to ask, so long as you truly want the straight dope.

Memorable Discussion Thread: “If LotR Had Been Written By Someone Else!?” (2002–2004)

One legendary SDMB thread that illustrates the community’s creative and witty character was titled “If LotR Had Been Written By Someone Else!?”. Started on October 10, 2002 in the Cafe Society forum (the board’s section for arts and entertainment), this thread invited members to imagine J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings re-written in the style of different authors or genres​

. What followed was an epic collaborative parody spanning over a year and hundreds of posts: SDMB members contributed pastiches of LotR as if written by Ernest Hemingway, Dr. Seuss, William Shakespeare, H.P. Lovecraft, Raymond Chandler, Jane Austen, Ayn Rand, and many more​

. Each entry cleverly mimicked the chosen author’s tone and quirks while re-telling snippets of Frodo’s journey. For example, the Hemingway-style take opened with terse, masculine prose about an old man in the shadows of the elven hall​

boards.straightdope.com

, whereas the Dr. Seuss version was a rhyming romp with hobbits and orcs. The thread became a showcase of the SDMB’s collective humor, literary knowledge, and enthusiasm for geeky pop culture. Contributors built off each other’s ideas, often good-naturedly one-upping the previous parody.

The “If LotR were written by…” topic struck such a chord that it kept going well into 2004, making it one of the longest-running creative threads on the board​

. It also gained attention beyond the SDMB: the hilarious parodies were copied and shared on blogs and fan sites (at least one member even archived the best posts on a personal webpage, recognizing it as an internet gem). Within the SDMB community, this thread is fondly remembered as an all-time classic. Years later, when users reminisced about the “funniest threads” in board history, the LotR-as-other-authors thread was inevitably cited as a fan favorite – essentially SDMB canon​

boards.straightdope.com

. The enduring appeal of this discussion lies in how perfectly it captured the board’s spirit: equal parts erudite and playful. Members drew on their literary chops (and a deep well of nerdy references) to entertain one another, all in the cooperative, anyone-can-play-along style that makes forum communities unique. In short, “If LotR Had Been Written By Someone Else!?” stands as a shining example of the Straight Dope Message Board’s tone and interests – smart, irreverent, creative, and driven by the joy of shared imagination.

Sources: The Straight Dope Message Board and Straight Dope archives; Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Reader coverage​

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; user posts and community recollections on the SDMB itself​

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; and contemporary reports on the board’s early presence​

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. The famous “If LotR had been written by…” thread is preserved in the SDMB Cafe Society forum​

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, and is frequently celebrated by members as one of the board’s most memorable discussions.

7

Too late to add: With the above model, it’s searching the web and collating that info, so there’s not as much scope for hallucinations since it’s not drawing as much from its internal “knowledge”. Here’s the response without web search. I think it’s correct about Esprix, I wonder if this info: My thoughts on the SDMB going pay - My Gorgeous Life — LiveJournal was helpful in its training to make that more likely to be “remembered”.

what do you know about the straight dope message board?

ChatGPT said:

Request for o1 pro mode

Reasoned for 56 seconds

The Straight Dope Message Board (often shortened to “SDMB”) is an online forum originally associated with the syndicated newspaper column The Straight Dope, written (under the pen name) by “Cecil Adams” and published by the Chicago Reader. Here’s some background and key points about the board:

  1. Origins and Purpose
  • The Straight Dope column itself began in 1973, and has long used the tagline “Fighting ignorance since 1973.” It tackled (and continues to tackle) a wide variety of reader-submitted questions, providing in-depth, often humorous answers.
  • The message board was created in the mid-to-late 1990s as an online community where fans of the column (and the general public) could discuss column topics, ask new questions, and converse on just about anything.
  1. Community and Culture
  • The board’s users often refer to themselves as “Dopers.”
  • It has historically encouraged thoughtful, evidence-based discussions (in the spirit of the column’s “fighting ignorance” motto), though it also includes plenty of casual threads.
  • The membership has covered a wide range of professions, ages, and interests. As a result, discussions can be quite broad: from pop culture and trivia to serious debates about science, politics, religion, and more.
  1. Organization (Subforums)
  • Over time, the SDMB has been divided into various subforums to keep topics organized. Typical subforums include:
    • General Questions – for factual questions that have definitive or research-based answers.
    • Great Debates – for more complex or contentious subjects, like politics or philosophy.
    • Cafe Society – dedicated to arts, entertainment, and cultural topics (books, film, music, food, etc.).
    • In My Humble Opinion (IMHO) – for polls, personal viewpoints, and less formal topics.
    • Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share (MPSIMS) – for everyday chatter and more lighthearted conversation.
    • The BBQ Pit – for rants, heated discussions, and strong opinions (traditionally, a less strictly moderated place for venting).
  1. Moderation and Guidelines
  • The SDMB has a reputation for relatively active moderation. The golden rule is typically summarized as, “Don’t be a jerk.”
  • Civil, evidence-based debate is encouraged, though certain subforums (like the Pit) allow a slightly more heated tone.
  1. Membership and Access
  • Historically, the board has had different models for funding. For a period, it allowed free registration with optional paid memberships that granted additional privileges (like no ads or extended editing time). That has changed over time, but there is generally an option to join for free.
  • The user base spans the globe, but many regulars were originally from the U.S., especially the Chicago area (owing to the column’s local roots in the Chicago Reader).
  1. Legacy and Status
  • The Straight Dope brand, and by extension the message board, has been around for decades, making it one of the older continuous communities on the internet.
  • While it may be smaller today than at its peak, it still retains an active core of posters who maintain its tradition of knowledgeable, witty, and (mostly) polite discourse.

In short, the Straight Dope Message Board is a long-running online forum with a rich history of lively, informed, and wide-ranging discussions, rooted in the ethos of the Straight Dope column’s quest to dispel misinformation and “fight ignorance.”

o1-pro

You said:

Give me an example of a long-running or popular thread on it

ChatGPT said:

Request for o1 pro mode

Reasoned for 1m 11s

One of the best-known examples of a very long-running (and famously wide-ranging) thread series on the Straight Dope Message Board was the “Ask the Gay Guy!” threads, started by a poster named Esprix in the early 2000s. Here’s a bit more context:

1. How It Started

  • Esprix, an openly gay member of the board, volunteered to answer any and all questions other posters might have about gay culture, coming out, relationships, political issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community, and more.
  • The format was “Ask the X” (where X is a particular identity, profession, or expertise). It was (and still is) quite popular on the SDMB for people to invite open Q&A sessions on everything from careers (“Ask the Doctor,” “Ask the Pilot”) to life experiences (“Ask the Ex-Mormon,” “Ask the Witch,” etc.).

2. Popularity

  • Esprix’s original “Ask the Gay Guy!” thread generated hundreds of posts and, over time, he started multiple follow-up threads (“Ask the Gay Guy! Part 2,” “Part 3,” etc.) to accommodate the ongoing volume of questions and discussion.
  • Many readers appreciated the frank and humorous way Esprix addressed topics—some trivial, some deeply personal—helping foster a more open and informed environment on LGBTQ+ issues.

3. Influence and Legacy

  • “Ask the Gay Guy!” became a model for subsequent “Ask the …” threads. Posters saw that good-faith questions and answers could spark respectful dialogue and, in many cases, demystify experiences they weren’t familiar with.
  • Even after the original threads ran their course, they remained a touchstone on the boards. Dopers would often refer back to them or recommend them to new members curious about LGBTQ+ topics.

Where To Find It:

  • Though old threads may sometimes get archived or shifted in subforums, many of the “Ask the Gay Guy!” threads can still be found by searching in the “In My Humble Opinion” (IMHO) or “Mundane Pointless Stuff I Must Share” (MPSIMS) forums—or just by using the SDMB search function.

This is just one example of a popular, long-running thread series on the SDMB. Others include regular “Celebrity Death Pool” contests, massive “Mafia game” threads, and plenty of “mega” discussions in the Cafe Society, Great Debates, and MPSIMS forums that have spanned years. But “Ask the Gay Guy!” remains one of the best-remembered examples of how a single thread can take on a life of its own in the Straight Dope community.

o1-pro