# New Here. Question for Cecil **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [January 10, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103 "2012-01-10T23:50:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![LabRat63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/958977/32.png) [@LabRat63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LabRat63)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/1 "2012-01-10T23:50:08Z")
Why do you allow advertisements on your website which are scams? The My Snoring Chinstrap is clearly a scam as a quick Google search will show ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/2 "2012-01-11T00:02:48Z")
Just so you know, questions about this MB go in the ATMB forum. I’ll ask a mod to move this there. ---
**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:** [January 11, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/3 "2012-01-11T00:04:57Z")
The powers that be at the Straight Dope don’t have direct control over the ads-- They show whatever the ad hosting company they use decides to serve up. They do have some ability to complain about specific ads, but I think it’s restricted to things that are illegal, and ads for direct competitors. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/4 "2012-01-11T00:10:05Z")
Moved to ATMB. **samclem** , Moderator ---
**Author:** ![LabRat63](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/958977/32.png) [@LabRat63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LabRat63)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/5 "2012-01-11T00:43:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > … but I think it’s restricted to things that are illegal, and ads for direct competitors. Um, Scams are illegal ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/6 "2012-01-11T00:57:16Z")
I have no opinion on snoring chinstraps (sounds like a 90s band) but my quick google search doesn’t reveal the product to be a scam. It might not work very well (then again, neither do lots of products) but it gets passable reviews on several sites. [http://www.amazon.com/Snoring-Sleep-Apnea-Adjustable-Support/dp/B005EGVUC2](http://www.amazon.com/Snoring-Sleep-Apnea-Adjustable-Support/dp/B005EGVUC2) Also, scams are not per se illegal. They’re just…scams. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/7 "2012-01-11T00:59:18Z")
Wouldn’t a scam be by definition fraud and therefore illegal? Now a bad product !=scam, but a true scram would sure seem to be illegal. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/8 "2012-01-11T01:19:54Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Wouldn’t a scam be by definition fraud and therefore illegal? Now a bad product !=scam, but a true scram would sure seem to be illegal. It [depends](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraud). Products are misrepresented almost always (it’s called advertising :D) but the legal threshold of scam or fraud requires a more precise definition. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/9 "2012-01-11T01:43:40Z")
Also, Cecil himself is a fraud… ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/10 "2012-01-11T01:51:11Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > Also, Cecil himself is a fraud… Or is he a _scam_? You be the judge. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/11 "2012-01-11T14:55:02Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Or is he a _scam_? You be the judge. > > 😃 I’m getting this bad mental image of Sammy Davis Jr in his judge costume from Laugh-In and a turkey wearing a mortar board dancing across a stage. And this is sober. Imagine the images my brain could create with some booze in me. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/12 "2012-01-11T15:04:15Z")
> [@LabRat63](#): > > Why do you allow advertisements on your website which are scams? The My Snoring Chinstrap is clearly a scam as a quick Google search will show You joined up just to ask this? ---
**Author:** ![Sudden\_Kestrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Sudden\_Kestrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sudden_Kestrel)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/13 "2012-01-11T15:55:19Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > You joined up just to ask this? And didn’t even choose My Snoring Chinstrap as your moniker? ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/14 "2012-01-11T16:19:13Z")
What you’re asking for is to have someone on the Straight Dope staff play the role of the FDA or FTC or whatever and somehow decide which of hundreds (maybe thousands?) of random Google ads reach some threshold of credibility. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/15 "2012-01-11T16:32:05Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > Wouldn’t a scam be by definition fraud and therefore illegal? Now a bad product !=scam, but a true scram would sure seem to be illegal. Homeopathic remedies are sold in many drugstores. Just sayin. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/16 "2012-01-11T16:46:22Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > What you’re asking for is to have someone on the Straight Dope staff play the role of the FDA or FTC or whatever and somehow decide which of hundreds (maybe thousands?) of random Google ads reach some threshold of credibility. That’s really the crux of the issue. Here’s a disclaimer which runs in my hometown, weekly newspaper. > [@](#): > > The companies and/or individuals advertising in the the Times are not investigated or qualified by this newspaper. It is recommended that you research any company that you may be unfamiliar with before using its service. Mind you, this is for a print newspaper, which gets a few dozen ads per week, and which (supposedly) at least proofreads every ad before it gets printed. About the best any site can do is respond to specific complaints about specific ads. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/17 "2012-01-11T17:13:05Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > About the best any site can do is respond to specific complaints about specific ads. True. The only way to guarantee immunity would be to do away with ads altogether. Google AdSense does provide an interface for blocking specific ads, but managing it would be a full time job for someone, would not be entirely effective (As some ad ls are resold) and Google is only one of several providers. ---
**Author:** ![Galty\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7c8e57/32.png) [@Galty\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galty_Boy)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/18 "2012-01-11T17:51:33Z")
Well thats another Xmas out of the way, although it brightens up the winter months, it is so not christian. If ever you imagined it was? tell us. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/19 "2012-01-11T18:06:28Z")
> [@Galty\_Boy](#): > > Well thats another Xmas out of the way, although it brightens up the winter months, it is so not christian. If ever you imagined it was? tell us. Did you intend to post this here? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103/20 "2012-01-11T18:27:39Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Did you intend to post this here? 😕 _shrug_ Probably (notice new join date). I laughed, though, because of the completely unrelated nature [to the OP] of the post. Have you ever noticed how cats’ breath smells like bologna? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-here-question-for-cecil/609103.md?page=2)