# Why doesn't Cecil post more often **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [March 12, 2011, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409 "2011-03-12T13:56:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/21 "2011-03-13T00:35:00Z")
> [@Heyoka13](#): > > I prefer to think Cecil is out flinging gas balls around the firmament with God, what is there about the SDMB that could compare with that? [sub]reworking an old joke[/sub] God and Cecil are out throwing gas balls across a lake which is 300 yards across. CKDextHavn is judging the contest. Cecil tosses five out of five. God goes next and doesn’t get a singe one farther than 275 yards. He walks out on the lake to retrieve his misses and try again. A noob happened to be watching and asks CK–“Hey. That guy walking on the water, who does he think he is, God?” CKDextHavn says, “No, he _is_ God, he _thinks_ he’s Cecil.” ---
**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:** [March 13, 2011, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/22 "2011-03-13T01:25:55Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > But with the advent of the internet, answers are usually just a click away. Cecil doesn’t answer questions where the answers are only a click away, or if it looks like someone else has already got the answer covered, including Wikipedia. Yes, trips to the library are still done, typically on a weekly basis, phone calls are made, snail mail sent, and quite a bit more often lately, home experiments are being done. Some of these things take quite a lot of time and effort. > [@](#): > > And when they’re not he usually delegates these “difficult” tasks of actual research to (the more than likely indentured - and no doubt star-struck ) **Una Persson**. “Star struck?” ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/23 "2011-03-13T01:48:48Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Cecil doesn’t answer questions where the answers are only a click away, or if it looks like someone else has already got the answer covered, including Wikipedia. Yes, trips to the library are still done, typically on a weekly basis, phone calls are made, snail mail sent, and quite a bit more often lately, home experiments are being done. Some of these things take quite a lot of time and effort. No disrespect intended. I know it’s work. I was just musing on why The Big C doesn’t drop in on us more often, us holding him in such high esteem and all. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/24 "2011-03-13T02:03:48Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > No disrespect intended. I know it’s work. I was just musing on why The Big C doesn’t drop in on us more often, us holding him in such high esteem and all. OK, I understand. FWIW I sometimes encourage him to post in threads. And here’s an important thing - although it may not seem as meaningful to the readers here as seeing him post, he reads the SDMB all the time, especially the Comments forums. Very often he mails me to point something out that someone said in a thread on here. I know without seeing him post it might seem like he doesn’t care, but you just have to take my word for it, he does read and pay attention, and he does care. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/25 "2011-03-13T02:06:23Z")
I imagine it’s tough for him to weigh in on threads, since he’s got to have the feeling that he’s the proverbial 800 lb gorilla. I can understand why he’d want to remove himself from day to day posting, or even occasional posting. It’s good to know he is lurking on the board though. 🙂 -XT ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/26 "2011-03-13T02:44:47Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I’ve often said I think it’s patently silly, in this era of Wikipedia and Google, to be running 20+ year old columns (which are supposed to be and indeed held up to be The Definitive Truth of the subject) which are now embarrassingly outdated. Wikipedia sometimes derives its information from, and cites, Cecil’s old columns. Unlike Wiki editors, Cecil is allowed to publish “original research,” and sometimes does. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/27 "2011-03-13T03:23:21Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > OK, I understand. FWIW I sometimes encourage him to post in threads. And here’s an important thing - although it may not seem as meaningful to the readers here as seeing him post, he reads the SDMB all the time, especially the Comments forums. Very often he mails me to point something out that someone said in a thread on here. I know without seeing him post it might seem like he doesn’t care, but you just have to take my word for it, he does read and pay attention, and he does care. We’ve gone over this time and again, but here it is one more time. If we have to take your word on this, then he doesn’t care. No matter what your experience tells you, the message the lack of Cecil sends shouts that he doesn’t care. It is deafening in its loudness. But Ed knows that. And he doesn’t care to change it. How can we hear what you’re saying over the sound of that? ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/28 "2011-03-13T04:18:00Z")
[QUOTE=xtisme] I imagine it’s tough for him to weigh in on threads, since he’s got to have the feeling that he’s the proverbial 800 lb gorilla. [/QUOTE] I imagine it’s more a matter that it is hard to maintain the image of being “the World’s Smartest Human” if he piles up a lot of evidence to the contrary by participating in threads. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/29 "2011-03-13T06:29:46Z")
Well, there is that too. Familiarity breeds contempt and all that. Everyone says something boneheaded at some time (some of us do it regularly)…it would seriously suck if everyone scrutinized everything you wrote looking at it under a microscope and trying to make it fit some preconceived notion of how you should be. Or what your position should be based on those preconceived notions. :eek: -XT ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/30 "2011-03-13T08:23:08Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > We’ve gone over this time and again, but here it is one more time. If we have to take your word on this, then he doesn’t care. No matter what your experience tells you, the message the lack of Cecil sends shouts that he doesn’t care. It is deafening in its loudness. > > But Ed knows that. And he doesn’t care to change it. How can we hear what you’re saying over the sound of that? Says the guy who actually get mad that the guy would like to remain anonymous. Methinks you are not an impartial observer. Also, I personally think that the owner of a board should very rarely post. There’s just no way for them to post like a regular user. The only time I’ve seen it work are on much less serious boards. Honestly, I do not want either Ed or Cecil regularly posting here, any more than I want Jimbo editing Wikipedia. ---
**Author:** ![Azeotrope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/0ea827/32.png) [@Azeotrope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Azeotrope)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2011, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/31 "2011-03-13T23:02:08Z")
If Cecil DID post it would probably turn any thread into a big ol’ Cecil ass-kissin’ orgy, and there ain’t enough brain bleach in the world to get rid of that mental image :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/32 "2011-03-14T08:15:05Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Wikipedia sometimes derives its information from, and cites, Cecil’s old columns. How often does that actually happen though, and is it in anything “Significant”? > [@](#): > > Unlike Wiki editors, Cecil is allowed to publish “original research,” and sometimes does. I don’t believe that’s ever been in dispute, has it? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/33 "2011-03-14T12:57:26Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > I’m sure it’s been mentioned before, but is there any reason why They haven’t simply asked if any of the board members are interested in helping update some of the “Classic” columns? I’ve often said I think it’s patently silly, in this era of Wikipedia and Google, to be running 20+ year old columns (which are supposed to be and indeed held up to be The Definitive Truth of the subject) which are now embarrassingly outdated. I disagree with this. The Classic columns are clearly labeled with their original publish dates, and I think everyone understands them to be a product of their own times. They remain quite enjoyable to read, and IMO would be rendered less so if you or I were allowed to step in and “correct” what Cecil wrote in, say, 1978 with something much less entertaining we found on Wikipedia in 2011. Besides, we already have a forum here for discussing Cecil’s columns old and new. We can and do post our own updates and corrections there. No need for any changes if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/34 "2011-03-14T13:24:13Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > What the heck else is he doing? He’s got other jobs. You think it’s actually possible to make a living writing a weekly column in an alternative newspaper? The only person that ever worked for was Carrie Bradshaw, and she’s fictional. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/35 "2011-03-14T13:41:20Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > OK, I understand. FWIW I sometimes encourage him to post in threads. And here’s an important thing - although it may not seem as meaningful to the readers here as seeing him post, he reads the SDMB all the time, especially the Comments forums. Very often he mails me to point something out that someone said in a thread on here. I know without seeing him post it might seem like he doesn’t care, but you just have to take my word for it, he does read and pay attention, and he does care. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > We’ve gone over this time and again, but here it is one more time. If we have to take your word on this, then he doesn’t care. No matter what your experience tells you, the message the lack of Cecil sends shouts that he doesn’t care. It is deafening in its loudness. > > But Ed knows that. And he doesn’t care to change it. How can we hear what you’re saying over the sound of that? Besides, Ed’s Santa Suit makes him itch. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/36 "2011-03-14T18:00:49Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > He’s got other jobs. You think it’s actually possible to make a living writing a weekly column in an alternative newspaper? The only person that ever worked for was Carrie Bradshaw, and she’s fictional. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Straight Dope columns haven’t appeared in the Chicago Reader for about five years. And Carrie Bradshaw is an autobiographical character based on New York Observer columnist Candace Bushnell, who parlayed her work at that alternative paper into a media empire, just like Cecil. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/37 "2011-03-14T18:16:40Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Straight Dope columns haven’t appeared in the Chicago Reader for about five years. > > And Carrie Bradshaw is an autobiographical character based on New York Observer columnist Candace Bushnell, who parlayed her work at that alternative paper into a media empire, just like Cecil. And in neither Bushnell’s nor Cecil’s case did they live on nothing but writing a weekly column for year after year. Cecil is also a fictional character and whoever 😉 is writing his column has other jobs to do. Bushnell did her weekly column for only about two years and I’d be surprised if she had no other sources of income – freelancing, gifts from parents, pimps, etc. If nothing else, she might have had an actual full time job at her newspaper, which would entail more than just writing one weekly column. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/38 "2011-03-14T18:34:14Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > And in neither Bushnell’s nor Cecil’s case did they live on nothing but writing a weekly column for year after year. > > Cecil is also a fictional character and whoever 😉 is writing his column has other jobs to do. Bushnell did her weekly column for only about two years and I’d be surprised if she had no other sources of income – freelancing, gifts from parents, pimps, etc. If nothing else, she might have had an actual full time job at her newspaper, which would entail more than just writing one weekly column. I was trying to be humorous. Bushnell made her living as a freelance writer. That’s why/how she was able to live the Carrie Bradshaw lifestyle that was the subject of her columns. It wouldn’t surprise me if the Observer gig paid nothing. Even if we acknowledge that Cecil is a fictional character, it seems fair to ask why more new columns aren’t being generated. But anytime you ask a question about Cecil, the mods start to giggle among themselves and you can’t get a serious answer. Their zealous defense of the Cecil mythology obliterates any actual discussion. That seems to be the way they want it, and I suppose that’s their prerogative. ---
**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:** [March 14, 2011, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/39 "2011-03-14T19:36:13Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Straight Dope columns haven’t appeared in the Chicago Reader for about five years. Is this true for the print edition? There’s a major banner link to the Dope on the online Chicago Reader site. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2011, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/40 "2011-03-14T23:12:27Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I disagree with this. > The Classic columns are clearly labeled with their original publish dates, and I think everyone understands them to be a product of their own times. They remain quite enjoyable to read, and IMO would be rendered less so if you or I were allowed to step in and “correct” what Cecil wrote in, say, 1978 with something much less entertaining we found on Wikipedia in 2011. Whereas I disagree because I really don’t care what Cecil wrote in 1978 _if it’s now outdated_. I can see having an archive to be useful and worthwhile, but actually putting really old columns on the front page is going a bit too far IMHO. > [@](#): > > Besides, we already have a forum here for discussing Cecil’s columns old and new. We can and do post our own updates and corrections there. No need for any changes if you ask me. Those two forums are virtual ghost towns IMHO, and everyone knows it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409.md?page=3)