Seriously?

"Party-vi" (party-vi)
03/25/2016 at 17:07 • Filed to: None

I make !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! about how I know a guy that could write for Jalopnik, and I get grayed on the front page? Thanks, Obama Ballaban.

DISCUSSION (45)

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:09

The FP shows no mercy

The FP takes more than it gives

The FP is cruel

The FP is death

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:10

A similar thing happened to some other people as well.

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/29/2016 at 17:11

Does FP = Ballaban?

Xyl0c41n3 > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:14

The pettiness is strong with the FP. They’ve been doing it to Oppos all week for similar comments.

The new kid... the weekend kid, greyed me out a couple of months ago. I was so hurt. /s

RallyWrench > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:14

Kinja'd!!!

Future next gen S2000 owner > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:14

Welcome to the club! There are quite a few of us who have been dismissed and/or greyed for that same thing.

Justin Hughes > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:15

Dang, really? I know he’s been using the ban hammer today, but geez...

Kinja'd!!!

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:15

I get the impression that that is a bit of a sore subject over on Yonder front page, especially among those employed to write for it.

Funktheduck > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:16

I just saw people getting dismissed. Kinda petty to send someone to the greys

ttyymmnn > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:18

Methinks you struck a nerve.

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:20

I’m shocked.

Oh wait. No I’m not.

Hooker > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:22

I saw this the other day and it pissed me off. And now I go back to just lurking primarily. Honestly, I used to think so much better of the comment management here. Now, if they get butthurt, it’s all over.

MUSASHI66 > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:24

Fuck the FP - 90% is junk anyway, and trying to have meaningful conversations when articles have 200+ comments becomes impossible. Plus, the whole “gray” system where only the writers can ungray you is shit. Stars were so much better.

Funktheduck > Xyl0c41n3
04/29/2016 at 17:30

Which one?

They whole greying/approval crap is nonsense.

They're willing to go to court or quit over free speech but the second you say something they don't like, you're gone.

Funktheduck > BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest.
04/29/2016 at 17:31

Front Page. On oppo it generally means Jalopnik but can refer to any of the main blogs

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > Funktheduck
04/29/2016 at 17:32

I know what it actually stands for, but I thought it would make more sense.

Funktheduck > Justin Hughes
04/29/2016 at 17:33

Maybe he comes from the school of Jesus. The only GM employee, that was such an asshole to people, to get banned

Funktheduck > ttyymmnn
04/29/2016 at 17:35

A lot of people did. This is the first I've seen of someone regreyed.

Klaus Schmoll > MUSASHI66
04/29/2016 at 17:35

While I never made it to becoming a starred commenter, despite my one COTD, I have to fully agree. It often put shitstorms up top, but at least they were entertaining. Right now comments get buried to oblivion, and no real converation happens. Everybody seems to be just hunting for the snazziest comment and the most recommendations.

BmanUltima's car still hasn't been fixed yet, he'll get on it tomorrow, honest. > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:37

That’s why I frequent Oppo and other separate blogs more often and use a very strict ad-blocker.

ttyymmnn > Funktheduck
04/29/2016 at 17:42

This is petty, to be sure. They have to realize and understand that it was an unpopular decision.

Kailand09 > Funktheduck
04/29/2016 at 17:42

Haha isn’t that awesome how hypocritical that is?

TDogg > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:44

Thanks, Obama Ballaban Taliban.

FTFY

MonkeePuzzle > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 17:48

careful laddy, mods will grey you on oppo next! :P

pauljones > MonkeePuzzle
04/29/2016 at 17:54

That might be hard to do given the fact that he himself is a mod

tromoly > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 18:04

It’s interesting how someone gets gray’d for making a joke, yet many are able to post straight-up hate in other articles with no repercussions.

Funktheduck > ttyymmnn
04/29/2016 at 18:09

They don't care and they don't like anyone with a dissenting opinion.

ttyymmnn > Funktheduck
04/29/2016 at 18:10

I rarely comment on the FP, but that seems to be a recent development over there. It sounds like people might be worried about keeping their jobs these days. And that’s unfortunate.

Funktheduck > Kailand09
04/29/2016 at 18:10

It’s been a problem for years from a commenter’s perspective. Well, ever since commenting was implemented. For them it's just a solution.

Funktheduck > ttyymmnn
04/29/2016 at 18:12

Not recent at all. Before the greys and dismiss they had the ban hammer. I’ve been reading gawker sites for over 10 years.

Getting rid of anyone who says things they don't like has been their MO since the beginning.

Xyl0c41n3 > Funktheduck
04/29/2016 at 18:14

Justin. It was pretty funny. It was after he and I had had a pretty good discussion soon after he got hired and he did a post here on Oppo asking to hear our concerns or see what kinds of stuff we’d like to see/issues he should be aware of, etc. Then like a week or two later, I left him a comment about something sexist he posted on the FP (you know me, you know how I roll), and reminded him of our earlier conversation. Radio silence. The next time I tried to comment on the FP, I was in the grey.

Kind of ironic considering the author who first approved me was Kat, who constantly fought to dispel sexist stereotypes in automotive culture and was always shit on about it from Jalopnik commenters and more than a few Oppos.

As far as the free speech shit...

I’m a journalist, so I’m a really strong proponent of the First Amendment. (I actually side with Gawker Media in the Hulk case, though I find the subject matter of the reporting distasteful). I’ve gotten shit from some of my readers. Heck, I’ve even published some of those criticisms. Even if the criticisms are unfounded, though, it still really sucks to see bad things being said about you. That said...

It’s beyond petty to ban or grey commenters who are making valid criticisms about your work, reporting, or the actions of your employer. Doing so because your readership is expressing support for one of your former employees does nothing to engender the continued loyalty of those readers to your remaining staff or your brand, and that is just not good business sense.

We don’t know why Sean was fired. Perhaps he did something egregious and so part of the “let’s not talk about Sean; let’s not leave mentions of him up in our comments” is fueled by that. I doubt it, though. And even if he did, this erasure is still poor decision making for all the aforementioned reasons.

Gawker Media has a particular knack for staffing such thin skinned, petty people across their verticals, sadly. You’ll find authors wielding ban hammers or greying people for the most asinine of reasons on almost any of the main pages. It’s endlessly frustrating because it makes all of us look bad. Like with the Hulk case.

That case has very real ramifications for the continued strength of the First Amendment, but that got entirely lost thanks to Gawker’s insufferable smugness and the fetid asshole that is AJ Daulerio.

Sigh...

Kailand09 > Funktheduck
04/29/2016 at 18:17

Yeah. Honestly I haven’t paid much attention to FP for a looong time now. Rarely do I see an article worth the read.

LongbowMkII > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 18:17

I full heartedly believe that Lehto should get paid. He gets front paged so regularly that I wouldn’t be surprised if most people believed he already was a Jalopnik contributor.

Also, I’m surprised I haven’t been grey’d due to constantly correcting/shitposting Tavarish. It's probably only because of my Jalopnik Gold membership.

interstate366, now In The Industry > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 18:18

The FP has really gone downhill in general lately. A typical instance of me scrolling through it: “Don’t care...don’t care...obviously heavy Gawker influence...don’t care...Ecclestone being Ecclestone...we get it, Patrick, you have a vendetta against Virginia...don’t care...don’t care...Letters to Doug.”

Biased Plies > Party-vi
04/29/2016 at 18:22

lulz. I got unfollowed for one too: http://jalopnik.com/i-can-recommen…

Sad how they can’t just be up front and honest about these things. Sure, people would give them shit for the decision they took but that would happen regardless. This silent attitude only serves to further alienate their audience. Considering Gawker’s legal circumstances, that might not be in their best interest right now.

LongbowMkII > Xyl0c41n3
04/29/2016 at 18:23

He’s a night kid. probably in the hills of NC looking to challenge people to a duct tape deathmatch.

Alanis is now the weekend editor, although I’m certain she’s just waiting for a spot on Gawker to open up.

Jalopnik seems shaky recently.

LongbowMkII > Klaus Schmoll
04/29/2016 at 18:24

That’s what I do. Always. I need my fix.

Starplz.

Biased Plies > pauljones
04/29/2016 at 18:25

I’m fairly sure that was the joke MonkeyPuzzle was making.

Biased Plies > LongbowMkII
04/29/2016 at 18:26

He does get paid, IIRC. He just chooses to put of his slightly-less-relevant-to-Jalopnik or self-endorsing stuff on Oppo to prevent conflicts of interest.

Funktheduck > Xyl0c41n3
04/29/2016 at 18:44

You said it way better than I could.

I agree they had the right to present the hulk tapes as they did (edited) but was reported in the worst possible way. I personally would not have reported on it beyond saying it exists because I think it’s wrong to people’s most intimate moments that are believed to be private. I don’t see it as very different from the Fappening. The way it was reported was horrendous and childish. I think the word “fuck” and all its variations were crammed into every sentence. They can’t claim to be a news outlet and then write posts like a 12 year old that just learned they can cuss and not be sent straight to hell.

I've seen stuff like this go on for years but I've only chosen to join the ranks of the commenters somewhat recently. Now that it's happened to me and people I know, as opposed to just being another screen name, it really bothers me. Quite honestly, if it weren't for oppo, I'd probably quit all together.

Funktheduck > Kailand09
04/29/2016 at 18:47

I find myself wondering why I wasted my time reading a post more and more often. I find myself hate reading things on gawker and other main sites. I wind up arguing in my head because I know if I'm critical of the author or the subject matter I'll be either ignored or sent to the greys. That or I'll be verbally assaulted by one of their commenter cronies.

Gamecat235 > MonkeePuzzle
04/29/2016 at 19:38

There could be some truthiness to that though, we do need to practice what we preach and make sure that even we do not bite the hand that feeds shit on the front page.

And while this isn’t exactly doing that, it is a teeny tiny bit salty.

Party-vi > Gamecat235
04/29/2016 at 21:32

>.>

Party-vi > Biased Plies
04/29/2016 at 21:36

I’m sure they were tired of people giving them shit for something that probably wasn’t their decision, but still.

Kailand09 > Funktheduck
04/29/2016 at 21:42

I swear to God my blood boils with the commenters on all the gawker websites. Hateful, hypocritical bunch