Oppo, please respond.

"-Amateur" (amateur)
07/21/2014 at 20:26 • Filed to: None

I see all kinds of stuff about 'rules' this, "bringing in new blood" by not scaring them away, making oppo more 'inviting,' making 'themes' a single mega-thread and so forth. What...the...hell.

It seems the bureaucrats are taking over. Seems like a lot of red tape that's really, dare I say, unnecessary. I mean no offense to anyone, and the intentions may be good but I ask why do we need it?

In the words of James Hunt in that movie Rush, "You're killing the sport."

I get the current rules of don't be a dick and morals and such but that's pretty much a given anywhere, here or the real world. But pandering to make it more inviting or whatever nonsense is the new trend is pointless.

I read a good article about making this place more inviting to women and children and how it isn't where it needs to be. I'm all for a more diverse commentariat but seriously?

Let's face the facts. Oppo is probably more skewed to men in its nature that men are proportionally more inclined and passionate about vehicles as a demographic. Are there woman car enthusiast? you bet you and some more hardcore than me. There are a lot of prominent women drivers that have great skill past and present.

This is my point. Women, man, man-bear...it's all the same to me. America is made up of different genders and ethnicities and at the end of the day, they are all called Americans. Oppo is the same way to me. Despite our backgrounds, we are all Oppo commentariats or authors.

I have nothing against Jezebel, but are they trying to make things more inviting for men. I'm going to lean on that answer being a no. I'm not even close to being offended at that fact because in it's nature, it's a largely female skewed site. I get that and take it for what it is. Am I going to complain or get offended. nope.

This crapshoot of anything that get's posted is what initially drew me in to the thunderdome that's Oppositelock. Got a new car, sweet! A restaurant review that you dined in while being horrible drunk? awesome!

Don't get me wrong, Oppo is by no means an exclusive club to anyone. It's a forum created by the people, for the people, governed by the people. Laissez-fare and enjoy it for what it is. Those enablers that want change, by all means achieve that change, I will not stand in the way. It's either you have a genuine interest in cars and want to take part in a passionate community or you don't. Nobody is stopping you from joining or writing but yourself, regardless of who you are. You can make all sorts of excuses to why you don't feel invited to participate but I'm pretty sure it's 99% unfounded. To all those people on the fence of becoming part of us, what's stopping you? I challenge you to jump right in, you have nothing to lose.

We don't need big brother and a nanny-state governing too much as nothing good can come out of it. I for one will stop my trending NSFW posts as some of the past articles do make a good point that it can be seen as a deterrent. Should others follow suit? Doesn't matter to me, you do what you want because like I said, Oppos a peacock chief, you got to let it fly!

DISCUSSION (48)

Manuél Ferrari > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 20:28

That Countach needs more wing. Look at how it slides all over the place without it

Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast. > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 20:30

Chaos rules my house. Please, feel free to do whatever the hell you want to do.

PowderHound > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 20:31

put on your tin foil hat and post more cars!

jkm7680 > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 20:33

There are quite a few female lurkers around here :) I can name three of the top of my head.

I think that this website isn't built for young children, I think that being drunk and making drunk posts is hilarious and acceptable. I've stopped my NSFW posts though, I never posted full nudity, and I don't find full nudity acceptable in large quantities here.

tromoly > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 20:34

Almost all of my female friends who are in the Motorsports industry don't read Jalopnik or Oppo at all, not that they aren't enthusiasts but because they feel their time is better used for, y'know, car stuff.

Goggles Pizzano > Mr. Ontop, No Strokes, No Smokes...Goes Fast.
07/21/2014 at 20:35

The old Goggles would have all up in that...

Now I'm just like...

Blondude > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 20:38

Kinja'd!!!

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 20:42

We dont have a big brother though, for the most part. The mods are insanely hands off with their dealings. The other complaint was whether or not we should allow websites to post when they are clearly fishing for views and someone complaining that Oppo isnt the same anymore, which by no means are uncommon.

We are a website full of people ages 14 to retired, men and women, straight and gay. There needs to be a moderate amount of respect to all demographics, and I dont think any of the proposals that have been put forward are a burden by any means.

PowderHound > jkm7680
07/21/2014 at 20:42

I'm usually mildly drunk when I make my posts. Dealwithit.gif

norskracer98-ExploringTheOutback > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 20:45

It's fine the way it is, except for maybe the NSFW which isn't necessary but it doesn't bother me. The way this site or blog or forum or what ever you want to call it is what brought me to it.

Car people who are passionate about cars and are kind to other car people and enjoy talking cars and helping the younger people here, myself as one, get even more into something they already love. I've learned some since I've started coming here regularly.

KEEP OPPO, OPPO!!!!

Laird Andrew Neby Bradleigh > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 20:51

I'm an asshole!! :) Let the newborns join... We're a bunch of jerks on Oppo, but we're a nice bunch of jerks :)

yamahog > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 20:53

You can make all sorts of excuses to why you don't feel invited to participate but I'm pretty sure it's 99% unfounded.

Spoken like someone who has never been on the receiving end of an acid attack, rape or murder threat...

Leadbull > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 20:56

No Prius Needed > jkm7680
07/21/2014 at 21:02

That was a while ago. Benjamin Rolland scared the rest of the females here away.

pdthedeuce > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 21:03

I , for one , will miss your posts ... but , I must call attention to one part of your post ...

"This is my point. Women, man, man-bear...it's all the same to me."

I'm sure you meant "man-bear-pig".

Party-vi > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 21:08

I shall miss ze boobies and butts you used to post.

*salutes*

-Amateur > Leadbull
07/21/2014 at 21:17

hahaha, well played!

I Do It For Miatas, NC Owner > No Prius Needed
07/21/2014 at 21:20

What did he do?

jkm7680 > No Prius Needed
07/21/2014 at 21:20

Haha, Rolland is fucking hilarious. I crack up every single drunken night post.

Leadbull > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 21:28

There is some bad news, though.

Apparently, Brian, The Life Of is about to be crucified...

Tom McParland > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 21:45

Jezebel =/= Oppo...however Groupthink is very similar to what Oppo is and I have found that place to be very welcoming.

pauljones > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 22:04

Thank for expressing your concern. Let's address this point by point, shall we?

I see all kinds of stuff about 'rules' this, "bringing in new blood" by not scaring them away, making oppo more 'inviting,' making 'themes' a single mega-thread and so forth. What...the...hell.

Rules exist anywhere and everywhere you go, even on the internet. For the most part, they are pretty lax and common sense-oriented, particularly around here. In fact, around here, there are far fewer rules than just about anywhere else you'll ever encounter, short of, perhaps, 4Chan. What few rules exist here exist for the sake of making Oppositelock a place that people like you can enjoy and feel welcome. More on that shortly

I can't help but notice, though, that you seem to have a particular issue with topics that I bring up. You even included a mention of a post that was made months and months ago, though it was far from the only one that was made by a moderator, and one of only two to come from me. And yet, those seem to be the ones you remember most. Interesting.

But if that's so, step up and say it. If you want to have a conversation and discuss things, I'm happy to do so. Trust me, dude. There are no reprisals or anything of that nature. I'm not going to revoke your authorship privileges merely because you disagree with me or one of the other rules in Gamecat235's handbook.

It seems the bureaucrats are taking over. Seems like a lot of red tape that's really, dare I say, unnecessary. I mean no offense to anyone, and the intentions may be good but I ask why do we need it?

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

In the words of James Hunt in that movie Rush, "You're killing the sport."

If by the term "bureaucrats" you mean, "moderators," well, the answer to that is a little complex. You're both right and wrong at the same time. You see, as mods, we do not own this forum - Gawker Media does. We have simply volunteered to help encourage others to make Oppositelock a fun and inclusive place for anyone that wants to be here. So, no, we are not taking over. We are merely keeping this place tidy.

You see, this place, this forum, that you enjoy so much? The one you enjoy for exactly what it was that first day you came across it and fell head-over-heels for it?

Yeah, you enjoy that because we work hard to keep it that way and encourage others to do the same.

In the words of someone that isn't James Hunt in that movie Rush , "The sport doesn't exist without all of us."

I read a good article about making this place more inviting to women and children and how it isn't where it needs to be. I'm all for a more diverse commentariat but seriously?

Seriously. In fact, seriously seriously.

As stated above, the goal of Oppositelock is to make this place a haven for enthusiasts, whatever their age/gender/height/weight/shoe color, etc.

It's seriously not that complicated. Seriously.

Here's the other side of that fact - If it is skewed in such a manner (and you're certainly right that it is), there are actual reasons for that. Reasons like the stupid shit that the communits sometimes does that alienate women and remove any desire they may have to interact. Or, perhaps, the social conditioning of an older generation that told girls that they could only play with dolls or whatever else.

As many talented women may be enthusiasts or drivers, there are far fewer of them that there could be because of the way they are treated by the "gentlemen" of automotive culture.

It's time to change that. Enthusiasts are enthusiasts, and Oppositelock, from its very inception, has been about catering to enthusiasts and the community that rises up around a group of enthusiasts.

Do we expect, or even want, every single post to be car-related? Absolutely not. Really, we don't. We are well aware that there is far more to life, and we enjoy many other things. We are happy to share our interests here.

No one is advocating quashing that sort of thing. We're simply pointing out that when you post, you should consider what value your post is contributing to a community as a whole.

More on that shortly.

And this is my point: you're exactly right, and astoundingly astute.

But you've missed something: In making such a detailed comparison to society as a whole, you've neglected to note that just like anywhere else in society, we do not advocate the objectification and trivialization of an entire gender these days. It's not like you can walk down to your local newsstand, buy a copy of the latest Car Magazine of choice, and open it up to enjoy pages and pages of softcore porn and a thousand stupid little pages of one tiny little photo and a three-word comment per page before getting to the interesting article about how to swap your camshaft or what might be a great restaurant to take a road trip to visit.

As I'm sure you can understand, we do our best to try to avoid such annoying, completely value-less crap as well, and in that way hope that you can find the content that interests you quickly and easily.

You're welcome.

(Side note - not everyone that reads/posts/comments here is an American.)

Obviously, you do. And, for the record, they very much do make efforts to be inclusive of any boy/man that wants to comment there, particularly in their off-topic forums like Groupthink or Powder Room.

The catch is that all the Jalopnik commenters that have gone over there and had a bad experience were those that trolled, intentionally or not. They were those that went over there and tried to talk at them like they were alien species on a strange and dangerous planet. They made jokes that may have been funny elsewhere, but wouldn't fly there.

(Side note - knowing your audience is always key.)

If you want to interact there positively, then do so. Read a bit first, try to catch the trends, and engage with them on things that they talk about. Listen, acknowledge the points that others make, and then address them with your own viewpoints.

Just like you would want people to do here.

I'm glad you're not offended by Jezebel per se, but I'm not entirely convinced that you have nothing against it. After all, if you had nothing against it, you would never have thought to bring it up here in the first place.

Hey, guess what! You like crapshoots? The whole world in general is nothing but a gigantic crapshoot! So carpe diem (Or, as the kids these days say, "YOLO!"), get out there and eat it all up! Shine on, you crazy diamond!

Having brought you that enlightenment, all of those things that you enjoy, from the car builds to the restaurant reviews, we try to make sure you can get at quickly and easily. We know it's what you like, and we work hard to bring you as much of what you like as we possibly can. A big part of that comes from trying to minimize bullshit posts and other posts that do nothing to contribute to the the community as a whole and its members; member like you.

You see, we want you to come here. We want you to be here, and we want you to like this place. We do everything we can to make sure you feel welcome here.

All we ask in return is that you help us keep it a nice place not only for others, but for yourself as well. Thanks for your effort in doing so.

Don't get me wrong, Oppo is by no means an exclusive club to anyone. It's a forum created by the people, for the people, governed by the people. Laissez-fare and enjoy it for what it is.

Correct, it is not a club that is exclusive club to anyone in particular. More than anything else, it's simply a place for enthusiasts of all stripes to gather and enjoy cars and automotive culture.

We try really hard to keep it that way.

Those enablers that want change, by all means achieve that change, I will not stand in the way.

Everyone, in some way or another, wants change. Judging by your need to make this post to begin with, even you want change. The catch is that there are a great many people that want a great many different kinds of change. As moderators, part of our job is to find a balance amongst all of that in order to make this place somewhere that as many people as possible can come here and enjoy this place.

I'm so sorry that we haven't catered to your individual needs as much you'd like. But, quite frankly, the community is far larger than just you. There are a lot of people here, and we have to try to keep all of them, as well as the overlords over at Gawker Media, happy.

It's either you have a genuine interest in cars and want to take part in a passionate community or you don't.

And yet, despite your assertion that participation in this place is adamantly a product of being enthusiastic about cars and automotive culture, you don't seem to be quite as enthusiastic about cars and automotive culture. It seems to me that you want other things here as well. Things like restaurant reviews, plane articles, beer reviews, and other things.

Perhaps you're a little undecided?

Nobody is stopping you from joining or writing but yourself, regardless of who you are.

If only that were true for everyone. However, as has been clearly pointed out in many other places, that's simply not the case.

You can make all sorts of excuses to why you don't feel invited to participate but I'm pretty sure it's 99% unfounded.

99%, huh? Boy, are we glad to have you around to quantify this crazy world for us. Similarly, 99% of the things that you started complaining about at the beginning of your post were totally counter-pointed by the last two paragraphs of your own post.

To all those people on the fence of becoming part of us, what's stopping you? I challenge you to jump right in, you have nothing to lose.

That question has been answered many different times, in many different ways.

As moderators, part of what we do is take the answers we get to that question and figure out how we can take that input and make this a community for everyone. I'm sorry that you feel alienated by our efforts as a community to keep this community going.

Big Brother? Nice literary reference, bro!

There is no nanny-state here. Even as moderators, we intentionally choose to interfere as little as possible, so long as the overall notion of this being a welcome place for all is more or less maintained.

You want to make a post about the oatmeal and yogurt you had this morning because you were too hungover to prepare anything else after getting drunk working on your buddy's car the night before? Awesome. Go for it. I'm sure it's a fun story, and one that's not likely to hurt anyone else in any way.

We are appreciative of the fact that you have curbed your NSFW posts. I'm not kidding - that's something that's been noted and we very much appreciate you for doing. You acknowledged that you realized it could be a deterrent, and you stepped up to the plate to lead by example. That is maturity. That is being an adult and a positive member/contributor to the community. I hope that others follow your example in that regard.

Now, I'm not sure where the rest of the complaints about the community trying to welcome anyone and avoid alienating them stem from, as they are rather childish. But whatever, you were an adult where it mattered most in this instance, and we are impressed and happy to see that. In all seriousness, thank you for that.

And to leave things on a positive note, I think that addresses all of the concerns that you brought up in your post, conflicting as some of those concerns may have been with each other.

Welcome once more to Oppositelock, we're happy to have you here as part of the community.

Help us keep it a nice place, huh?

If you have any other questions, let us know.

pauljones > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
07/21/2014 at 22:06

This. Times a thousand. Times a million. Exponentially. Squared.

Dsscats > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 22:15

Fun fact: I've been coming on Oppo since I was 12. It worked fine then, it still does now. The only thing that I dislike about Oppo now is that we've lost so many of the great regulars. It makes me really sad.

scoob > Dsscats
07/21/2014 at 22:34

WAIT WHAT. I've been reading since either '09 or '10, and I'm 17 now.

WE'RE SIMILAR!!!1!!11!!!111111111111111111111

Your boy, BJR > I Do It For Miatas, NC Owner
07/21/2014 at 22:42

Pretty mush everything at this point. I still think I may be the only opponaut to have an NSFW post FP'd. (citation needed)

TheD0k_2many toys 2little time > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 23:08

Damn. You always posted up the greatest NSFW threads... Those were very good sir and i will miss them greatly.

Kinja'd!!!

samssun > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 23:16

Sic semper tyrannis

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XWgSE5ylz5A/U…

Money Hustard > -Amateur
07/21/2014 at 23:28

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

I'm an online marketer by trade, helping companies make content is my thing. I get paid to think about this stuff all day.

Oppo, and Jalopnik's use of it, is nothing short of genius. The fact that it's wide-the-fuck-open is what makes it special, it's what makes it appealing to the great Oppo writers who give up their free time to write about a topic we all love and appreciate.

I don't totally agree with how liberally authorship has been granted in the past. Poor quality content does sometimes crowd out perfectly good content. I've read so many year-old Oppo posts that I've absolutely loved that only get 250 or so views simply because they were published in the wrong part of the day and pushed out of everyone's feed. Maybe I'm just being that guy because I've had authorship from the start (why I never had to ask for it is still a mystery to me, by the way, I was just able to post from day one).

That being said, I wouldn't change it, it is what it is. I don't want people being nice and inviting, if someone writes some shit piece of shit, I want to see an Oppo-dog pile on their ass. It's self-regulating like that. Publish something inaccurate, inane, or utterly distasteful, if you waste our time, you deserve the comments.

I've gotten countless hours of entertainment and conversation from this site. I've never paid a single penny, never even suffered an ad, all Oppo needs from us to stay alive is for us to write about cars, passionately. It's how WAY more of the Internet should be. Thanks Oppo, for everything.

ly2v8-Brian > Money Hustard
07/21/2014 at 23:33

Crocket Bernet > Your boy, BJR
07/21/2014 at 23:37

ALL HAIL THE GREAT AND POWERFUL OPPO LORD, ROLLAND!

But seriously u r awesome. Never stop.

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > pauljones
07/22/2014 at 00:05

Yeah, I was trying to channel my inner pauljones for that post.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > -Amateur
07/22/2014 at 00:26

You used three of my gifs. +1

Also I remember when I made a few NSFW threads , then there was a deal about NSFW posts shortly after I stopped.

Brian, The Life of > Leadbull
07/22/2014 at 02:54

OH NOES!!! D:

Jobjoris > -Amateur
07/22/2014 at 04:12

I was going to recommend your post until I read that last part about you stopping NSFW posts!

Money Hustard > -Amateur
07/22/2014 at 11:11

Hahah, I shared my comment in support of this post to Oppositelock last night, the nannies took it down. OH THE IRONY!

Fred Smith > -Amateur
07/22/2014 at 14:03

You know, the world looks down on us bureaucrats. They say we're anal, compulsive and weird. But, when push comes to shove, you've got to do what you love. Even if it's not a good idea.

And what we love is having never once made a major change to the site. Or any change, really.

Fred Smith > samssun
07/22/2014 at 14:11

Just out of curiosity, is this more of a "you're John Wilkes Booth and I'm Lincoln" type of "Sic Semper Tyrannis" or more of a "you're "Crazy" Joe DaVola and I'm Jerry Seinfeld" type declaration?

Gamecat235 > Money Hustard
07/22/2014 at 14:21

Kinja'd!!!

To clarify... are you talking about sharing a comment to Oppo? Because if so, technically anyone who is an author (and there are 2300+ authors here) can unshare a comment from the mainpage of Oppo. Unfortunately, this tool is not limited to only moderators.

Money Hustard > Gamecat235
07/22/2014 at 14:35

Good to know. Yeah, that needs to get fixed.

If there is a debate happening on Oppo, allowing one group to silence another just means the shittier group will prevail.

There's no reason this post got unshared, it was well-recommended, on topic, and just generally praises the Oppo community, meaning that it was only taken down because someone didn't agree with it. I'm not concerned about about this instance, because it was removed well after it was on the 2nd or 3rd page. It does illustrate the weakness of this model, however.

samssun > Fred Smith
07/22/2014 at 15:10

Original poster was talking about the constant push to shut people up, set identity-driven agendas people aren't interested in, and in general turn an open forum of car discussions into another mouthpiece for agreeing with Gawker's views.

So I'm more this type: certain people wake up every morning, and instead of trying to produce or create, think of ways to control those who do. And historically the march goes one direction: more laws, taxes, fees, bans, regulations, quotas, overhead, paperwork, restrictions, censors, permits, etc.

Freedom decreases incrementally, and only tends to increase in brief spurts when a lot of people decide enough is enough. And immediately the control freaks start in again with "here's why that's a problem".

Fred Smith > samssun
07/22/2014 at 19:41

Hi, I don't think I made this clear:

I run Oppositelock. It's Gawker's intellectual property, so I don't actually own the brand or anything, but I "Own" the blog and run the moderation team.

I was amused because you implied that: 1. I was a tyrant and 2. You wanted to assassinate me. Thus my joking response.

I agree to some extent with your assessment of government, but I don't really think it's the motivation of government. My agreement is why we "Run" Oppo the way we do: By barely doing anything. Our moderation group (Which includes about 20 people of various backgrounds) has done maybe two non-authorship things ever, and one of them was the "Handbook" that more or less just lightly suggested that people not be dicks. Given the size of the forum and the amount of trouble that comes about on a daily basis, we could be doing much more, but we choose not to because we feel similar to how you feel.

What's important to note is that Oppositelock is not a country, and we are not a government. We're basically forum moderators, and by forum moderator standards, we really don't do much at all, and that is entirely by design.

Another thing: There is no company line for Gawker that we tow. I certainly don't work for anyone and certainly am fulfilling nobody's agenda, and the same goes for everyone else who works with me in the moderation staff. I am nobody's mouthpiece.

Now, please don't assassinate me. I really feel like that's something I would not enjoy.

nobody > Fred Smith
07/22/2014 at 19:49

Finally, someone's pushing my agenda.

crown victor victoria > nobody
07/22/2014 at 19:54

Nobody has an agenda here. That much is certain.

nobody > crown victor victoria
07/22/2014 at 20:38

AFL, AFL, and motor racing.

And world domination.

pauljones > Fred Smith
07/22/2014 at 23:07

I think, though, that you fail to give yourself due credit. The best way to encourage people to behave positively is to set a positive example, and sometimes, that takes a hell of a lot of work.

You say that you do nothing, and that may be true from the standpoint of rule enforcement. But from the standpoint of setting a positive example, you and others work very hard.

samssun > Fred Smith
07/23/2014 at 00:31

I have no complaints with OppositeLock specifically; I come here as a refuge from the Gawker ilk that oozes everywhere else. I identified with Amateur's post about the group-think-ification of the media in general, and could potentially see the more vocal social justice warriors pushing to make this place a carbon copy of the rest of Gawker, hence the warning "sic semper tyrannis".

I was a moderator for a long time on the AutoWeek forums, both before and after their relaunch, so I'm well aware what happens when mods try to "do more". Laissez-faire.

bob and john > Money Hustard
08/05/2014 at 20:11

"Oppo dog pile"

PILE ON THE OPPO

Kinja'd!!!