# What's with the (redundant) Barn House forum? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [October 29, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234 "2011-10-29T22:27:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/1 "2011-10-29T22:27:39Z")
It’s rarely visited and many people don’rt even know it exists. It appears to have been set up for Ed Zotti’s book, whoever he is… But that book has only had [7 reviews](http://www.amazon.com/Barn-House-Confessions-Urban-Rehabber/dp/0451225570?tag=5336612429-20) since 2008. Seriously meh; pathetic on amazon… And the attached website or blog or whatever that Ed (whoever he or she is) has been abandoned and is no longer viable. So - why the pointless and [sadly embarrasingly-unpopulated forum](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?f=18)? It seems that people who post there are either trying to drum up business for the ignored Zotti book, or are clueless. Well-meaning people post home repair questions to the main forums on a regular basis; mods never move them. The BH forum is pointless, really. So what’s the point? ---
**Author:** ![Crazyhorse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crazyhorse/32/31_2.png) [@Crazyhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crazyhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/2 "2011-10-29T22:47:26Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > It appears to have been set up for Ed Zotti’s book, whoever he is.. We don’t know for sure, but nobody has ever seen him and Marilyn vos Savant in the same place at the same time - I’m just saying… ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/3 "2011-10-30T05:31:02Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > So what’s the point? Why do you care? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/4 "2011-10-30T05:41:43Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Ed (whoever he or she is) Oh if only you knew… ---
**Author:** ![tnetennba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tnetennba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tnetennba)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/5 "2011-10-30T21:58:23Z")
I don’t think Amazon reviews map to actual sales, but even if they do, it was obviously a “labor of love” project and not some huge commercial venture he was banking his future on. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/6 "2011-10-30T22:24:07Z")
OK, i probably should have googled first…Ed Zotti and Cecil are apparently connected, somehow. > **[Ed Zotti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Zotti)** > > Ed Zotti (born 1951) is a journalist and urban transit planner in Chicago, Illinois. He is credited as being the "editor and confidant" of Cecil Adams, the pseudonym of the writer of the column "The Straight Dope" (published by the Chicago Reader and nationally syndicated from 1997 to 2018). > Zotti is a native of Chicago, Illinois.\[citation needed\] He attended high school at Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary, where he served as editor of student newspapers. He graduated from Northwestern ... But that still doesn’t answer my question - why does a separate forum exist, if it’s rarely visited, mostly ignored because most are unaware of it, and never visited by Ed Zotti himself? It siphons off the occasional question from the main forums and questions there get few views or answers.While home-maintenance-type questions are routinely asked, not moved and answered prolifically on the main forums? Just seems counterintuitive to the whole fighting ignorance thing. And why no responses from TPTB? 😕 My guess is that Ed Zotti published a book, it didn’t take off as expected but TPTB decided it was worthy of a separate forum, the forum really never took of either, but out of loyalty or nepotism or something the lonely little forum remains. Is that close? ---
**Author:** ![Sister\_Vigilante](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Sister\_Vigilante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sister_Vigilante)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/7 "2011-10-30T22:28:26Z")
Ed is Cecil. Why people like to be so secretive about it is anyone’s guess. I don’t read it, for the same reason I don’t read Straight Dope Chicago or Games. ---
**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:** [October 30, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/8 "2011-10-30T22:47:42Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > OK, i probably should have googled first…Ed Zotti and Cecil are apparently connected, somehow. > > [Ed Zotti - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Zotti) > > But that still doesn’t answer my question - why does a separate forum exist, if it’s rarely visited, mostly ignored because most are unaware of it, and never visited by Ed Zotti himself? It siphons off the occasional question from the main forums and questions there get few views or answers.While home-maintenance-type questions are routinely asked, not moved and answered prolifically on the main forums? Just seems counterintuitive to the whole fighting ignorance thing. > > And why no responses from TPTB? 😕 > > My guess is that Ed Zotti published a book, it didn’t take off as expected but TPTB decided it was worthy of a separate forum, the forum really never took of either, but out of loyalty or nepotism or something the lonely little forum remains. Is that close? 1. Ed is the boss here, in case you didn’t know that. 2. Sometimes we try things, just to see what happens. The site has always been run this way, sometimes we’re making it up as we go along. Occasionally it works. You can find Ed’s book _The Barn House_ on Amazon in [hardback](http://www.amazon.com/Barn-House-Confessions-Urban-Rehabber/dp/B004AYD29S/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1320014038&sr=8-2), [paperback](http://www.amazon.com/Barn-House-Confessions-Urban-Rehabber/dp/B0035G04CU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320014038&sr=8-1) and [Kindle](http://www.amazon.com/Barn-House-Confessions-Rehabber-ebook/dp/B002361KDA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1320014038&sr=8-2) formats. FWIW, I’ve been in the house a time or two, it’s gorgeous. ---
**Author:** ![chiroptera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/9 "2011-10-30T23:25:39Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > 1. Ed is the boss here, in case you didn’t know that. > > 2. Sometimes we try things, just to see what happens. The site has always been run this way, sometimes we’re making it up as we go along. Occasionally it works. > > You can find Ed’s book _The Barn House_ on Amazon in [hardback](http://www.amazon.com/Barn-House-Confessions-Urban-Rehabber/dp/B004AYD29S/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1320014038&sr=8-2), [paperback](http://www.amazon.com/Barn-House-Confessions-Urban-Rehabber/dp/B0035G04CU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320014038&sr=8-1) and [Kindle](http://www.amazon.com/Barn-House-Confessions-Rehabber-ebook/dp/B002361KDA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1320014038&sr=8-2) formats. From the wiki link: > [@](#): > > Ed Zotti (born 1951) is credited as being the “editor and confidant” of Cecil Adams, the pseudonym of the writer of the nationally syndicated column The Straight Dope. Many readers of Adams’s column believe that Zotti is, in fact, Adams, though the latter has (according to addenda in The Straight Dope books) never been photographed and those in his employ are reticent on the situation. Aha! So this Ed person IS the boss here? And hence the Barn House sub-forum. Seems to me it would make better sense to push the forum and the book a bit harder, then, if the original purpose was to publicize his book. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/10 "2011-10-30T23:27:53Z")
I still wanna know about the homeless trumpet-playing guy in the basement. ---
**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:** [October 31, 2011, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/11 "2011-10-31T12:28:39Z")
_The Barn House_ was published in Sept 2009. The forum was established then to help push the book, as well as to provide a discussion arena for those interested in home repair. Two years later, there’s not the same desire to push the book, but the forum, once in place, remains there. **chiroptera** , you’ve been here for five years and didn’t know who Ed Zotti is? … I’m not just reticent (as per your wiki quote), I’m astound. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/12 "2011-10-31T14:00:35Z")
“'Cause the world needs more _stounds_.” [/paraphrase] ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/13 "2011-10-31T16:01:15Z")
To say nothing of more gadztooks. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/14 "2011-10-31T16:08:40Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > It’s rarely visited and many people don’rt even know it exists. > > It appears to have been set up for Ed Zotti’s book, whoever he is.. But that book has only had \7 reviews\ since 2008. Seriously meh; pathetic on amazon.. And the attached website or blog or whatever that Ed (whoever he or she is) has been abandoned and is no longer viable. > > So - why the pointless and \sadly embarrasingly-unpopulated forum? It seems that people who post there are either trying to drum up business for the ignored Zotti book, or are clueless. Well-meaning people post home repair questions to the main forums on a regular basis; mods never move them. The BH forum is pointless, really. > > So what’s the point? I disagree with your assessment. While there are comparatively few replies to each thread, there is a fairly large number of dopers who have viewed each topic which would suggest that there is an interest in the forum and the information provided there. I do however agree that the mods in other forums should be moving such threads to the Barn House. My two cents… ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/15 "2011-10-31T20:46:22Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > You can find Ed’s book _The Barn House_ on Amazon in [hardback](http://www.amazon.com/Barn-House-Confessions-Urban-Rehabber/dp/B004AYD29S/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1320014038&sr=8-2), [paperback](http://www.amazon.com/Barn-House-Confessions-Urban-Rehabber/dp/B0035G04CU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320014038&sr=8-1) and [Kindle](http://www.amazon.com/Barn-House-Confessions-Rehabber-ebook/dp/B002361KDA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1320014038&sr=8-2) formats. Reported for spam. ---
**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:** [November 1, 2011, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/16 "2011-11-01T04:14:10Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > Reported for spam. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/17 "2011-11-01T13:33:36Z")
I just realized that I don’t even see the Barn House forum anymore. I remember when it first started, and I remember what it is, but it’s not there anymore. Is it because I’m a “guest”? Straight dope Chicago is gone, too. I don’t care much; I don’t live anywhere near Chicago, and I posted in Ed’s Barnhouse forum exactly once (something about about a DIY bamboo deck if I remember correctly), but I no longer see either forum. Are they members only? ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/18 "2011-11-01T14:23:21Z")
I’m a guest and I can see Barn House and SD Chicago, so that’s not the reason. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/19 "2011-11-01T14:53:26Z")
> [@ugly ripe tomato](#): > > I’m a guest and I can see Barn House and SD Chicago, so that’s not the reason. Well that’s weird. I loaded the main page just now and SD Chicago popped up. I hit refresh, and they both popped up. I hit refresh again and Barn House is gone again. What the hell? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2011, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234/20 "2011-11-01T15:12:22Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Seems to me it would make better sense to push the forum and the book a bit harder, then, if the original purpose was to publicize his book. Ed has the worst marketing mind on the entire Internet. Think of what this site could have been. Think of the opportunities lost. Think of all the times Ed has said that the Dope required money, money that he could have raised just by marketing himself as Cecil. Or even marketing Cecil. Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader sells by the gazillions and there is no Uncle John. The Chicago Reader must share in the blame, because it’s necessary to believe that something in their contract limits it, though from whose side is impossible to tell. This is Ed’s playground. We’re all here by sufferance. He might close it down tomorrow. He might create five new forums. He might write a new book. He may run for Mayor and turn it into a campaign platform. Everything here is by his whim. Why people don’t remember that is baffling. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-with-the-redundant-barn-house-forum/601234.md?page=2)