My concern about moving to a "New Oppo"

"Blondude" (Blondude) 11/06/2020 at 18:10 • Filed to: Oppositelock

3

98

So it obviously has to happen, this place is going to shut down, but I c an’t help but feel like a lot of our options so far lack one key thing: V isibility.

I know Oppo’s schtick has always been it’s like the super secret Jalopnik hideout and the community here tries to keep it on the downlow to keep the “normies” or whatever out, but at the same time the Jalopnik front page is what gets people to come here in the first place. I’ve been here about 8 years now and there’s hardly any people from back then who are still here. Life gets in the way, things happen, and you stop visiting Oppo every day. It’s just how it goes . But the occasional mention on the FP and the users who comment in both places brings enough curious new users over to keep it alive. It’s basically free advertising. If we move to somewhere like Reddit or Discord or a dedicated site then there’s really no way of bringing in those new people and slowly the community will wither away to nothing. It might take a year or two, but eventually it’ll die. I don’t know how to avoid that, but I’m afraid these new options are only going to delay the inevitable.

Anyone here old enough to remember Oppo+?

sony1492 > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:15

3

To a degree that problem began  when jalopnik severed ties a couple? years back.

ClassicDatsunDebate > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:15

3

Haha...that was the old Google+ oppo.  Oh man.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:17

3

I can completely understand this and have thought it myself, to an extent....but we have to at least try... :(

phenotyp > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:19

8

Yep.

There’s a long legacy of good people doing good stuff, here. I don’t know any of you in person, but I’ve had conversations with smart, funny, kind, compassionate, and appropriately-snarky people here going back years.

I remember the freakout and exodus when it was switched over to the kinja platform, and the temporary Canadian Oppo, and we recovered from it. That was when? 2013? Maybe we can rebuild elsewhere. Please let it not be reddit or FB. But whatever the platform, it’s the people who ultimately make it what it is. We can do it again.

PowderHound > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:22

5

We hire a bunch of strippers to toss out fliers on the street for new members?
We bombard FP with “JOIN OUR AWESOME SITE, FREE CARCAINE”
Some sort of collab with that Torch/Tracy website I saw earlier? Is that real? I didn’t look hard enough

Jb boin > PowderHound 11/06/2020 at 18:26

1

The super OPPO’ PAC, shady contributions are welcome !

Blondude > phenotyp 11/06/2020 at 18:27

4

Canadian Oppo was the shit. Also the super-ultra-top sec ret Oppo that only showed up if you used a certain Chrome extension.

I’m a bit more confident now though. Oppo is absolutely enormous now compared to early 2013 when we changed over to Kinja. So many people left after the change from 5.0 to 6.0 about 9 months earlier that I swear there were maybe a dozen or so people regularly posting.

Wacko > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:28

12

Once oppo is done, I will never visit Jalopnik again, not in spite but because I only went there cause I oppo daily. Oppo is my only online presence, and I’m not gonna go else where. I’ve been here daily for a decade. If they kill oppo, I will miss you guys but I won’t follow to any other place.

Take care all of you. And best of luck to all of you. To all the FP authors that started on oppo, start searching elsewhere cause the ship known as Jalopnik is sinking.

So I will be here daily until they kick us out. Let’s make the most of what little time we have left. 

Wacko > ClassicDatsunDebate 11/06/2020 at 18:29

1

Another plat form that died, that’s why I’m not gonna invest any of my time on a new site. 

Blondude > PowderHound 11/06/2020 at 18:29

4

I’m not opposed to using some burner accounts to advertise in the FP comments...

Blondude > ClassicDatsunDebate 11/06/2020 at 18:30

1

I joined it shortly after I was created, but the UI was weird and I didn’t recognize people by their real names and so I never posted there. It died out long before Google pulled the plug.

Blondude > sony1492 11/06/2020 at 18:32

4

Sort of. Not having the same URL probably hurt it somewhat, but there’s still been some connection between the two. Hell, a couple regulars here got hired as writers just last month.

PowderHound > Jb boin 11/06/2020 at 18:33

0

Shady… shade tree… it’s all the same.

Blondude > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 11/06/2020 at 18:33

7

Oh you bet your ass we’ll try. I’ve spent too much of my life here to just stand back and watch it all burn down.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:35

1

Hear hear!

RacinBob > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:36

2

1. I see there is a Oppositlock Facebook page, will that be the place where news about where this all ends up?

2. Any thoughts about relocating or encouraging T he Drive or Autoweek to be the new host of something similar?

AdamB > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:38

4

My main concern is that we have too many plans at the same time yet not that much time. We should start trying several of the backup plans so that we can narrow it down to the one or two best, so when we get the axe we all know where to go. Now we have Reddit, FB, Discord, Mastadon, Drivetribe, Twitter, something else I forgot the name of,  and a different website owned by an Oppo

ttyymmnn > phenotyp 11/06/2020 at 18:39

3

Kinja  Day One was wild, but also kind of fun. What was so awesome was how everybody pulled together and helped each other out. 

Jim Spanfeller > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:41

6

That’s why I think Drivetribe is our best bet. There’s enough other stuff going on there, and enough posts getting cross-posted to other sites that visibility is not an issue. We can still have our old community, but with a potentially even greater audience. It’s also probably the most similar to Kinja in terms of functionality, except that it actually works. Hope is not lost, just check out Drivetribe and give it a try.

Blondude > RacinBob 11/06/2020 at 18:45

3

I’m sure as the community starts to settle into one place the others will share the news and redirect people there. It would be amazing if we could talk The Drive into creating a community forum for us. There’s tons of ex-Jalopnik writers there too. It would be like 2015-era Oppo. I’m doubtful about it though. I feel like of the current options DriveTribe has the best setup for continuing our survival. It’s a pretty popular site and the way it’s formatted allows people just checking the site to potentially find our little community.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:45

3

SR20 era and heart clicks checking in. 

Blondude > AdamB 11/06/2020 at 18:47

5

There’s no doubt that when this place shuts down we’re gonna get thrown all over the internet. It’s key then to make sure the different sites keep in contact with each other and if one site starts taking off more than the others that we communicate that so we can try to  regroup.

Brian, The Life of > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:47

6

We have ways/ideas to go outside the J-nik ecosystem to get the word out. There is a not insignificant amount of old time Oppos that tend to stay away because  of the mother site. 

Blondude > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. 11/06/2020 at 18:48

3

Back in the day when if someone had a star next to their profile pic you knew they were Hot Shit.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:49

2

all good things must come to an end

(i domt know who made up that rule...but it sucks and i vote for we slap him...a lot)

im sure many of the oppos will find a new place to hang....but it wont be this one....this ones special

(unless ofcourse politics are mentioned....then its just a shithole like the others....but left leaaning ......mostly

Blondude > Jim Spanfeller 11/06/2020 at 18:52

4

I just signed up and joined there too and I agree. Sometimes when I’m looking up car shit I’ll come across a DriveTribe post someone created. Oppo is literally the only other community-run car site that gets enough pageviews to show up in Google search results. Of the current crop of A lt-Oppos out there this one is definitely the closest to what everyone is already used to.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:57

4

I was one of those people, I got a quote of the day. *clears through*

“Bro, do you even lever”

In response to a post about engaging 4wd with buttons. 

Jim Spanfeller > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 18:58

2

I’m already going through old Oppo posts of mine and transfer ring them to Drivetribe, just to get the ball rolling and preserve some of my old posts. Besides, I figure by now some of these have been forgotten, so it’s almost like new content!

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. 11/06/2020 at 18:58

5

GTFAC if you don’t respect Roy Wort and the dragoning  of the GTR.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 11/06/2020 at 19:00

2

I’d dragon the shit out of a GTR, however does it baby? 

interstate366, now In The Industry > Jim Spanfeller 11/06/2020 at 19:04

1

Does Drivetribe still require a Facebook account to register? That’d  rule me out.

Blondude > Brian, The Life of 11/06/2020 at 19:05

4

Need some of the old Jalop/Oppo alums at R&T, The Drive, etc. to do some subtle name dropping in their pieces to get people interested once we have a new place figured out.

I always felt like the issue Oppo regulars had with Mother Jalopnik was when people would find us they would just jump right in without lurking and understanding the way our community runs. There’s a lot of unwritten rules around here that you don’t really figure out until you been hanging around for a little while.

RacinBob > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 19:10

0

How do you get onto drivetribe with your “oppo” name? I used my real one when I signed up and expected to find a place for a user name, but don’t see one. Did I miss something?

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 19:11

1

Which is why the authorship by individual permission only works so well.

RacinBob > interstate366, now In The Industry 11/06/2020 at 19:13

0

Nope, I used email and it worked fine

Noodles > Jim Spanfeller 11/06/2020 at 19:14

1

I’ve been posting on DT for a while on the Live and Let Diecast tribe. It’s kinda shit. if it’s the only option i’ll probably join you guys but posting from mobile sucks there. that kinda takes the fun out of it

Jim Spanfeller > interstate366, now In The Industry 11/06/2020 at 19:14

0

I don’t think so. But even if it does, you can always just create a Facebook account and then ignore it for all time. Maybe use a different email so it doesn’t fill up your inbox.

Jim Spanfeller > Noodles 11/06/2020 at 19:15

2

Then again, Oppo on mobile kinda sucks too...

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. 11/06/2020 at 19:15

3

Everything will baby if you’re a masochist. The real question is whether it will oversteer your bagel. 

Blondude > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. 11/06/2020 at 19:17

2

Your comment made me go search my username on the front page to find all of my hat tips and AOTD responses. Man, those were the days.

Blondude > RacinBob 11/06/2020 at 19:17

1

I don’t think there is. I just split my username in half and used that for my first and last name.

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > interstate366, now In The Industry 11/06/2020 at 19:19

0

It doesn’t.

Blondude > Wacko 11/06/2020 at 19:34

4

Pouring one out for our fallen homies tonight

interstate366, now In The Industry > Jim Spanfeller 11/06/2020 at 19:34

1

Gotcha. It used to, hence why I’ve never bothered with it.

Wacko > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 19:37

2

I’m drinking one of these right now

https://brasseursdumonde.com/our-products/beers/gamme-houblonnee-en/houblonniere/?lang=en

gin-san - shitpost specialist > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 19:40

3

That was one of my concerns as well.

I f it dies, it dies. The other mention of Drivetribe isn’t a bad idea, but with multiple options to keep it on life support, it’s already fragmenting.

A weird niche community like ours loses it’s appeal if it’s too out in the open, but otherwise dies without new users. I found this place by chance after years of casually browsing Jalopnik, and I think it was when Oppo used to make the front page.

It’s too bad, I do have a weird fondness for this place; our mutual interest in cars gave us all common ground for shitposting, discussions, arguments, food, drink, pets, and all sorts of fun posts with decent people. Life goes on, I guess.

SBA Thanks You For All The Fish > interstate366, now In The Industry 11/06/2020 at 19:57

1

No, I have a vicious allergic reaction to FB... But an email address was adequate.

And, bonus!  Password recovery is an option... No more lost Kinja Burners.

skimaro > Wacko 11/06/2020 at 19:57

0

Thats a queb beer. Have i finally found another qc oppo?

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Jim Spanfeller 11/06/2020 at 20:05

0

#TrueFacts

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Wacko 11/06/2020 at 20:06

2

Dude... just give the DriveTribe a try, at least. For me. Please. 

Jim Spanfeller > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/06/2020 at 20:08

1

Wacko > skimaro 11/06/2020 at 20:09

0

I’m in Abitibi, and been here forever

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > AdamB 11/06/2020 at 20:10

2

DriveTribe seems to have the most traction right now. We can always redirect OppositeLock.com to there for now, and redirect to a future solution if something better is found.

I like the idea of getting OPPO and LaLD back on the same platform. 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > RacinBob 11/06/2020 at 20:11

1

That Facebook page has kind of become its own separate group, although there’s some crossover.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 11/06/2020 at 20:12

3

My first ever OPPO post referenced dragoning... LOL

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > gin-san - shitpost specialist 11/06/2020 at 20:14

2

It’s definitely worth fighting for!

OPPOsaurus WRX > Wacko 11/06/2020 at 20:21

0

Thi s is not the oppo way

interstate366, now In The Industry > SBA Thanks You For All The Fish 11/06/2020 at 20:22

1

I, thankfully, jotted my burner account passwords* into a notepad app when I signed up, and just look at that when necessary.

*plural because I also ran the now-retired fake James May account that showed  up randomly

SmugAardvark > Wacko 11/06/2020 at 20:34

0

Same here. I don’t have much of a reason to visit Jalopnik anymore. Articles and writers are better on TheDrive, and DriveTribe/Mastodon will hopefully keep Oppo alive.

skimaro > Wacko 11/06/2020 at 20:57

0

Ontario transplant to sherbrooke here. i expected you’ d been around, i’ m pretty new so still figuring out where everyone is.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Jim Spanfeller 11/06/2020 at 22:19

1

I love these. 

Stef Schrader > interstate366, now In The Industry 11/06/2020 at 22:44

0

I don’t think so. 

Stef Schrader > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 22:50

2

Oh man, getting Comment of the Day over the rest of you witty hosers was always like winning the internet. Everybody brought their A-game to the comments back then, too.

I am dismayed at the lack of Bruce in this thread , though. Don’t make me go all Fine German Precision on this place.

Stef Schrader > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/06/2020 at 22:52

1

I’m sure it’ll make the rounds to the various forums/apps/pages folks are using in the meantime. Hopefully we can narrow down some kind of plan because the billion ideas thing is getting a little nuts. 

Stef Schrader > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 22:52

1

( I want to heart-click this.)

Stef Schrader > Wacko 11/06/2020 at 22:55

2

What I’d like to see happen is a new site either tied to a stable network (read: not the latest Google project, not a Facebook/Reddit page that’ll turn into Another Generic Car Page, not 12 blogs at once with five users apiece ) that wants a car-centric user forum around or completely independent and just........pick one.

I’m glad everyone’s tossing out some of the larger existing Oppo groups on other platforms for now, but the multiple site thing is a little mayhemmy. If we announce one solid Oppo Place, I feel like folks will come. 

Stef Schrader > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 22:58

2

Honestly? Post stuff that’s rad enough to get hat-tips from other sites, get shared or even go viral . Get some good-ass non -Kinja Kinja, as that’s what most of my links back to Oppo have been lately.

Remember the era of front page shares? Let’s bring that back. 

Blondude > Stef Schrader 11/06/2020 at 23:02

2

I have co-ownership over two COTDs and they are most prized possessions .

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Stef Schrader 11/06/2020 at 23:02

0

DriveTribe is taking off. 

Blondude > Stef Schrader 11/06/2020 at 23:07

2

Gotta wait for the barbershop pole of doom to load the comments first

Stef Schrader > Blondude 11/06/2020 at 23:17

2

CURSE YOU, SIDEWAYS CANDY CANE OF DEATH.

Wacko > skimaro 11/06/2020 at 23:39

0

As a young kid sure my father was raise miner, so we moved a few times, but in 87 when I was 8 we moved back to Rouyn and my mother decided she wasn’t leaving again when he would get another raise contract.

I went to English school here, but I did go montreal for a year and a half at John Abbott college in police tech back in 97, but quit that came back home and did a 3 year Technique informatique college course. I bought my house here in 2007 and don’t plan moving, even if I have to drive 100 kms to get to work by 7:30. 

And I’ve been on oppo since the SR20 times, not active at first.

Before you ask https://oppositelock.kinja.com/what-the-hell-is-sr20-1112193989

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > gin-san - shitpost specialist 11/06/2020 at 23:41

2

You make a good point. TOO visibility and we become the Facebook group. Too little visibility and we lose users in a spiral of death. We need to be just off the beaten path where we can be found but not too hard to find.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > Stef Schrader 11/06/2020 at 23:57

2

Awww, now I’m legit getting all misty eyed and nostalgic.   

Stef Schrader > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. 11/07/2020 at 00:14

1

THIS EMOTION IS NOT BRUCE!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Wacko 11/07/2020 at 10:51

1

www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Brian, The Life of 11/07/2020 at 10:51

1

www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > interstate366, now In The Industry 11/07/2020 at 10:51

0

www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dead_Elvis, Inc. 11/07/2020 at 10:51

0

www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. 11/07/2020 at 10:51

1

www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much 11/07/2020 at 10:52

0

www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > AdamB 11/07/2020 at 10:52

0

www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ClassicDatsunDebate 11/07/2020 at 10:52

0

www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > phenotyp 11/07/2020 at 10:52

0

www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 11/07/2020 at 10:52

0

www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > gin-san - shitpost specialist 11/07/2020 at 10:52

1

www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo

AdamB > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/07/2020 at 10:57

2

Yeah Drivetribe seems to be best currently. And after spending a few hours with it, I honestly like it more. It actually works, there’s an app, and no constant threat of whether we'll be given the axe. I feel people just have to give it a try.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 11/07/2020 at 11:16

1

I’d like to see it keep going with a slow growth. For the most part, it’s civil here and I think that’s because of the size of our community.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > gin-san - shitpost specialist 11/07/2020 at 11:22

1

No idea if DT allows for approval of new members or if anyone can join, but I don’t see too many  random people really joining, though. 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > AdamB 11/07/2020 at 11:32

1

I’m pretty happy with it so far, too.

Fingers crossed that most everyone will give it a try and  soon feel just as at home as they did on Kinja. 

ClassicDatsunDebate > Stef Schrader 11/07/2020 at 11:38

1

I’m hoping for a dedicated bbs on our own site.

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/07/2020 at 15:41

0

That seems handy. Who’s this going to?

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dead_Elvis, Inc. 11/07/2020 at 20:20

1

 Only to me. and I'll only blind copy people. It's just a way to keep track of users so that if we colonize some other place, there's a way to notify people. Also, to keep the folding at home opposite lock team going.

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/07/2020 at 20:26

0

Right on! I find Discord fairly opaque and chaotic; DriveTribe seems OK, but still less intuitively navigable than Kinja (imagine that!). I wonder if there’s any room for us under the Deadsplinter umbrella?

I have no how long you’ve been hanging around this place or the FP, but the email address I supplied was directly inspired by/created immediately following this post: https://jalopnik.com/polish-for-drivers-license-the-mystery-of-irelands-wor-5157109

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dead_Elvis, Inc. 11/08/2020 at 00:00

1

I don't know. I won't be much help in the development department...

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/08/2020 at 00:08

0

Same here, unfortunately ; I’d be happy to if anything pertinent was in my skill set. I’d bring the wine, if we could do this in person! (Making alcoholic grape juice is my gig - I’m an assistant winemaker at a tiny winery.)

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Dead_Elvis, Inc. 11/08/2020 at 07:30

0

Whereabouts?

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 11/08/2020 at 08:45

0

Woodinville, WA (adjacent to Seattle)