# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/41 "2011-03-15T00:02:35Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Straight Dope columns haven’t appeared in the Chicago Reader for about five years. I’m 99% certain you’re wrong. It’s in every weekly issue. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/42 "2011-03-15T00:04:38Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > 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. Because Cecil writes a weekly column for the _Chicago Reader_. He doesn’t do two, nor three, but one. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/43 "2011-03-15T03:07:05Z")
Here are the twelve newspapers that currently carry _The Straight Dope_: [http://www.straightdope.com/pages/newspapers](http://www.straightdope.com/pages/newspapers) I suspect that what they pay Cecil isn’t enough to live on. ---
**Author:** ![Roadfood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc348/32.png) [@Roadfood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roadfood)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/44 "2011-03-15T05:33:54Z")
> [@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. Given the history of the way staff members always find it necessary to play silly games about Cecil, everything any staff member says about him is completely unreliable. So I have absolutely no reason to believe that anything you say here has any basis in reality. You’re making it up, and yanking our chains, and having a good old time at our expense, just as you always do. Care? None of you care in the least. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/45 "2011-03-15T05:52:34Z")
Why is it difficult to understand that Una writes the columns (=does the research) and Ed peppers it with wit? It comes out so obvious in certain threads in CC. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/46 "2011-03-15T12:56:16Z")
> [@indian](#): > > Why is it difficult to understand that Una writes the columns (=does the research) and Ed peppers it with wit? It comes out so obvious in certain threads in CC. _ **Ed** _ peppers it with wit? That seems a stretch. Maybe they farm it out to Dave Barry? ---
**Author:** ![Dero\_von\_Hesse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cc9497/32.png) [@Dero\_von\_Hesse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dero_von_Hesse)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2011, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/47 "2011-03-15T13:05:08Z")
> [@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. This sounds suspiciously like the Santa Clause/Jesus/toothfairy talk I had with my parents when I was a kid. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/48 "2011-03-16T00:10:41Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Is this true for the print edition? There’s a major banner link to the Dope on the online Chicago Reader site. It links to this site. [At the Chicago Reader site](http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/ArticleArchives?category=870375), they’ve only posted one new Cecil column since 2007, and it’s a reprint of an earlier column. That’s why I asked if his column still appeared in print… Samclem says yes, and I’ll take him at his word, even though he doesn’t live in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/49 "2011-03-16T03:25:09Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Cecil is also a fictional character . . . \ Can’t hear you. La, la, la, la. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2011, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/50 "2011-03-16T22:19:02Z")
> [@Roadfood](#): > > Given the history of the way staff members always find it necessary to play silly games about Cecil, everything any staff member says about him is completely unreliable. So I have absolutely no reason to believe that anything you say here has any basis in reality. You’re making it up, and yanking our chains, and having a good old time at our expense, just as you always do. Care? None of you care in the least. How do we know there is a Cecil? What proof is there? Every time ignorance is fought, there is a Cecil. Every times a prayer for a cite is answered, it shows there is a Cecil. Every time there is a new column sent from heaven, it proves there is a Cecil. Every time we see a rainbow, we know there is a Cecil. Whoops, wrong deity. Damn atheists. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/51 "2011-03-17T19:59:34Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > If you don’t already own jackboots, you’re not even considered for the position. > > The riding crop and corset are completely optional, though. Back on the AOL Boards, we heard he would issue a [gas mask and suit of armor.](http://slugsignorino.com/straightd3.htm) Nice to see things have advanced a bit. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/52 "2011-03-17T23:49:34Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > The riding crop and corset are completely optional, though. Since **Czarcasm** already admitted he wears his maybe we could get a link to you wearing yours. I’m an equal opportunity appreciator. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/53 "2011-03-18T00:12:10Z")
Yeah, why doesn’t he come to the boards more often to answer questions like [this](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=601007)? > [@anson2995](#): > > That’s why I asked if his column still appeared in print… Samclem says yes, and I’ll take him at his word, even though he doesn’t live in Chicago. I haven’t picked up a _Chicago Reader_ in a long time; I prefer the _Red Eye_, and the CR is hard to find around my neighborhood. But two summers ago when I lived in a different part of Chicago, and worked in different job, I’d occasionally grab a CR, and I distinctly remember seeing the column in print at least once. For what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/54 "2011-03-18T01:31:14Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Since **Czarcasm** already admitted he wears his maybe we could get a link to you wearing yours. I’m an equal opportunity appreciator. > 🙂 The corset is optional…so I don’t own or wear one. And I use a wooden spoon or my walking stick, not a riding crop. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/55 "2011-03-18T02:17:01Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > The corset is optional…so I don’t own or wear one. And I use a wooden spoon or my walking stick, not a riding crop. [Agent J]You know the difference between you and me? I make this look GOOD.[/Agent J] 😃 ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/56 "2011-03-18T02:57:26Z")
I bet you do, baby! ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/57 "2011-03-18T03:27:52Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > [Agent J]You know the difference between you and me? I make this look GOOD.[/Agent J] 😃 OK, how about this frilly, feathery red baby doll nightie? It’s sheer in most places, with a few strategically placed feather clusters. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/58 "2011-03-18T03:41:29Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > OK, how about this frilly, feathery red baby doll nightie? It’s sheer in most places, with a few strategically placed feather clusters. Been there, done that…_without_ the feathers. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/59 "2011-03-18T04:57:12Z")
Now _I_ want a link. ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409/60 "2011-03-18T08:09:51Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Here are the twelve newspapers that currently carry _The Straight Dope_: > > [http://www.straightdope.com/pages/newspapers](http://www.straightdope.com/pages/newspapers) > > I suspect that what they pay Cecil isn’t enough to live on. I write a column for an alternative weekly…a small column. If it were syndicated to a dozen papers I think I would be able to live on it easily. As it is, I have to supliment with freelance work and photography. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-doesnt-cecil-post-more-often/574409.md?page=2)