I like the gray...

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn)
08/21/2014 at 20:57 • Filed to: None

So far, most every comment I've seen that wasn't promoted doesn't deserve to be. Maybe people will start trying harder to say something useful.

DISCUSSION (22)

Tom McParland > ttyymmnn
08/21/2014 at 21:01

This reply is pending

Seriously though...I'm mixed on it. On the one hand there are a lot of good comments that I have to spend time promoting (I don't mind, but it is an extra step) on the other I often get comments that are very WTF? I used to feel obligated to respond...now I can just leave them in the gray.

Squid > ttyymmnn
08/21/2014 at 21:04

I don't mind it because I'm not stuck in it. . .

ttyymmnn > Tom McParland
08/21/2014 at 21:05

I was just clicking through a Lifehacker article and all the gray comments were one-line throwaways. But in your case, I can see how you would have more work moderating an article. But it was the active moderation that got me hooked on Jalopnik in the first place.

ttyymmnn > Squid
08/21/2014 at 21:08

I'm not gray on Jalopnik or Oppo, but I am on some other sites. I just try hard to make sure that what I have to say there is worthy of promotion. I hope the gray sticks around. It used to be the norm, and the active moderation of Jalopnik is what got me hooked on it in the first place.

Money Hustard > ttyymmnn
08/21/2014 at 21:18

I like it too. It's not like it's hard to get followed or anything, you just have to ask. If you want to comment on this site, you should I least be able to feel like you can ask for it. If someone can't be bothered to do that, I probably don't want to read their commentary.

Captain_Overboost > Squid
08/22/2014 at 11:20

I'm followed by Jalopnik, but not Oppo. Not sure if that matters or not. As for the rest, I don't give a rat's ass whether my posts are "in the gray" on Jezebel, or Gawker, and definitely not anything Hamilton Nolan whines about. As long as I'm ok on Jalop and Oppo, that's all that matters to me. Frankly, these two are the only reason I come here AND the only places I have anything worth saying on a routine basis. The rest of the Gawker Media properties (or whatever they go by) are a way too liberal for me and that's fine. I don't care what they write and I know they don't care what I think about it. So, it all balances out in the end. lol

Strange Noises Alou > ttyymmnn
08/25/2014 at 08:55

I would like to know how to not be gray. Kinja's rules are ever-changing and I can't make sense of them. I thought on the 21st it was stated "no more gray".

ttyymmnn > Strange Noises Alou
08/25/2014 at 16:23

You are not in the gray 1) if you are a designated author on a site, like Oppo. That means that you can create original posts. If you want authorship, ask for it and you'll probably get it. There are also occasional mod posts offering authorship to those who reply. Authors on Oppo can post comments out of the gray; 2) you make a gray comment that is promoted by the author of an an original post; 3) your comment is promoted by an author on another blog. For example, when I comment on Gawker it's gray. But if the author of the OP recommends my post, or of the creator of the comment I replied to recommends my post, it gets moved out of the gray. The only way to always be out of the gray is to be followed by that site. Clear as mud?

Strange Noises Alou > ttyymmnn
08/28/2014 at 19:00

this explains why *some* of my Oppo posts are non-gray; because SteveLehto (Oppo designated author) has recommended them. (thanks, Steve!)

I don't think I want to be a 'designated author'; that implies too much responsibility to produce meaningful content.

ttyymmnn > Strange Noises Alou
08/28/2014 at 19:22

For Oppo, I wouldn't see it as a burden. It's pretty easy to post interesting things around here. Lots of varied interests. Find something that you think others will find interesting and write it up. On topic or off. You're bound to find a few people who are interested in reading it.

Strange Noises Alou > ttyymmnn
08/28/2014 at 19:56

I'm barely a jalop ;) I mean, my household owns some interesting cars, and 3/4 of them are manual... but I don't much care about the latest GM recall, or how gauche the new Lexus corporate grille is - and I certainly can't identify a '62 Impala by sound alone. hell, I have a mechanic do all the work on my cars!

so I'm casually interested in cars, but not so much that I'll ever post an interesting article. "belt was squeaking on the Taurus. took it to shop. new belt. $120. hooray." yawn.

ttyymmnn > Strange Noises Alou
08/28/2014 at 20:13

You sound a lot like me. My driveway consists of a 2001 Golf with the 2-point-slow engine (but a 5 speed) and a 2003 Honda Odyssey. Woo hoo. I know some about cars, but the most wrenching I've ever done is changing a headlamp or replacing my battery. Oh, and changing tires. I like cars, but I don't know very much about them. I love to drive, even my dopey cars. My real interest is in airplanes, and there are some real aircraft buffs here that I like to swap articles with. I like F1 very much, but most other forms of racing bore me. So, there are no levels of "Jalopitude." If articles don't interest you, don't read them. Don't feel compelled to comment on them. If you have something good to add, speak up.

Strange Noises Alou > ttyymmnn
08/28/2014 at 20:20

I'll actually do wrenching where, if I somehow screw it up, I can safely drive it to the mechanic. for example, I'm planning on replacing a waterlogged headlight on my 86 CRX with one from a junkyard. because if I screw it up, I can drive during the day to the mechanic, tail between legs, and tell him "uh yeah can you unfuck me?", which is not something I could do with, say, even something as straightforward as a distributor.

my main interest is driving, not really for the visceral pleasure (though that helps, thus the CRX which *feels* fast even though it's really not!) but just to see the sights, and it helps that I can write a lot of it off for business (~70K miles/year, thus the 45mpg CRX!)

(I don't follow auto racing either.)

ttyymmnn > Strange Noises Alou
08/28/2014 at 21:52

I hear you about driving. I love driving, even if it's only taking the family truckster up to the grocery store or running errands. Stick around Oppo and see what you find. I've been here about 5 years now, and I have yet to find a better community anywhere on the 'Net.

Strange Noises Alou > ttyymmnn
08/28/2014 at 21:55

good to know; thanks! I occasionally try for the smart-aleck quote on Deadspin — or even mainline Gawker, where the secret seems to be "comment within 3-4 seconds of the post appearing" — but haven't really gotten to taking the time to actually *interact* with anyone on gawker-media. oppo seems to be the place most conducive to that.

ttyymmnn > Strange Noises Alou
08/28/2014 at 21:58

It is. I rarely comment anywhere else, because all you'll get is recommendations or the occasional abuse. Oppo's where it's at. Let me know if you want authorship here. I'll throw a line out to the mods.

Strange Noises Alou > ttyymmnn
08/28/2014 at 22:01

sure; please do put in a good word for me — that would be great!

ttyymmnn > Strange Noises Alou
08/28/2014 at 22:09

I'll post something tomorrow morning.

ttyymmnn > Strange Noises Alou
09/01/2014 at 16:34

If you haven't yet been followed by Oppositelock, hit this link.

http://oppositelock.jalopnik.com/club-openings-…

Strange Noises Alou > ttyymmnn
09/05/2014 at 12:05

so I got my oppo perms (thank you!), but damn there are a LOT of subdomains to jalopnik. is there a way to get blanket perms to all of them?

basically I'd love to post comments to "anything that shows up on Jalop's front page", which is a mishmash of main jalop stuff, various subdomains (who knew "lane splitter" was its own thing??), and then the occasional crosspost from Gawker/etc.

I'm okay not having mainline gawker perms, and can even stand to be told I'm too dangerous and weird for mainline Jalop, but "all the subdomains" would be nice.

ttyymmnn > Strange Noises Alou
09/05/2014 at 12:11

You have to be followed by each of the main sites (Gawker, Jalopnik, Lifehacker, etc.) to comment out of the gray. You can request authorship on other sub blogs (Photography, Live and Let Die Cast, Truck Yeah, Code 3, etc.) and you might be able to make original posts on those sites, like Oppo, or at least comment out of the gray. When you compose a post, you can click the drop-down menu and see where you are able to post to. I've got permissions on a couple of other blogs, but really only post to Oppo and occasionally Photography.

Kinja'd!!!

So no, there is no "God button" that somebody can push to get you approved everywhere. There's talk of bringing back a starred commenter system, like they had in the pre-Kinja days, and that might allow you promoted comments everywhere. Not sure, though. If there is a Jalopnik sub blog you'd like to have authorship on, ask one of the regulars who the mods are and how to get signed up. It shouldn't be that hard.

Strange Noises Alou > ttyymmnn
09/05/2014 at 14:30

got it. I think my major source of frustration with the current system is that, as recently as a week or two ago, I was defaulted to black comments instead of gray...

I don't really care for original authorship (I really don't have much original to add); I would just like to partake in comment discussions. the way I approach the site is to type in jalopnik.com and see what looks interesting. I don't really care all that much which sub-board it happens to be on.

I don't remember the old starred-commenter system; I came to gawkerland just about at the time that kinja was getting rolled out.