# Why no new answers from Cecil? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [December 14, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999 "2012-12-14T03:56:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kp\_72110](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e68b1a/32.png) [@kp\_72110](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kp_72110)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/1 "2012-12-14T03:56:53Z")
Seems like 99.9% of the time it’s all “Straight Dope Classics”? Did Cecil die, get tired of answering new questions, has no new questions worthy of his time or figured he’s not needed anymore since Google is so easy to use? ---
**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:** [December 14, 2012, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/2 "2012-12-14T04:05:19Z")
Cecil writes one column a week, which is put on the Straight Dope website on Fridays. For the other weekdays, yes, there are Straight Dope Classic columns. So, four days of Classics, and one day of Current, plus two days of no change in columns. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/3 "2012-12-14T04:06:09Z")
[December 6, 2012](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3083/do-you-burn-more-calories-when-you-think-hard) ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/4 "2012-12-14T05:43:19Z")
Somebody needs to give Cecil a Suu-u-u-u-u-uper genius grant so that Little Ed can hire a minion to get the Staff Reports running again. Or maybe a smart corporation would consider a multi-year sponsorship. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/5 "2012-12-14T14:07:43Z")
I heard Cecil works at the North Poll from early November through late December each year. That might explain why he’s been a little busy. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/6 "2012-12-14T14:57:06Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I heard Cecil works at the North Poll from early November through late December each year. This is an election year, after all. But Santa seems to win every year. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/7 "2012-12-14T15:05:29Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Somebody needs to give Cecil a Suu-u-u-u-u-uper genius grant so that Little Ed can hire a minion to get the Staff Reports running again. Or maybe a smart corporation would consider a multi-year sponsorship. Seconded. I miss the Staff Reports. They were like the regular columns, but better. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/8 "2012-12-14T15:24:33Z")
“Cecil is dead.” – Nietzsche ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/9 "2012-12-14T15:37:37Z")
I too would love to see the Staff Reports come back. ---
**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:** [December 14, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/10 "2012-12-14T15:49:20Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > “Cecil is dead.” – Nietzsche Nietzshe is dead. At least Cecil still shows up once a week. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/11 "2012-12-15T02:08:53Z")
> [@kp\_72110](#): > > Seems like 99.9% of the time it’s all “Straight Dope Classics”? Did Cecil die, get tired of answering new questions, has **no new questions worthy of his time or figured he’s not needed anymore since Google is so easy to use?** I did see a comment, some time back somewhere, that Cecil has found it advisable to become much more selective in the sort of questions he chooses to answer, for just this reason. A lot of answers to a lot of the questions he used to take back in the olden days are now just a google search away. ---
**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:** [December 15, 2012, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/12 "2012-12-15T13:29:48Z")
Yes, the selection process has become more difficult because so much is so easily found with quick internet searching. Lots of the earliest staff reports, for instance, were pretty much done by fairly simple internet searching. However, Cecil continues to write one weekly column every Friday, so it’s only 80% (M-T-W-Th) that are “classic.” But the super-availability of information does mean that he has a stronger tendency towards the weird nowadays. He’s always had that to some extent, of course, but I think it’s becoming more pronounced. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/13 "2012-12-15T13:52:59Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > A lot of answers to a lot of the questions he used to take back in the olden days are now just a google search away. But the Google search often leads back to Cecil, so maybe his work is not in vain. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2012, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/14 "2012-12-15T14:33:07Z")
Well, it’s called “Straight Dope.” To me that means there is as plethora of misinformation people can easily get on the internet but people still need a trusted source to distill it all down to the “straight dope” people want. Have you seen some of those wikianswers? ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-no-new-answers-from-cecil/643999/15 "2012-12-16T01:57:35Z")
> [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](#): > > But the super-availability of information does mean that he has a stronger tendency towards the weird nowadays. He’s always had that to some extent, of course, but I think it’s becoming more pronounced. Are you saying that some form of senility is beginning to set in? Or Cecil’s previously unknown fetishes are coming to the forefront?