Why Avoiding the FP is Stupid

"HammerheadFistpunch" (hammerheadfistpunch) 05/18/2016 at 13:30 • Filed to: Be the Jalop you want to see in the world, RAnt

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Fair warning that this will be more cathartic rant than well researched argument but here is the deal: Avoiding the Front Page [Jalopnik] is stupid.

First let me get this out of the way that I too am a little worried about the current state of Jalopnik; increased sponsor content, sudden and quiet dismissal of liked authors, an increase in seemingly tangential shares as well as an increase in the shitpost level of those shares...its not the same animal as the optimistic grown and excitement of the last few years.

That being said...why avoid it? There are still some great authors, some great content and its still one of the most active and (generally speaking) most civil and entertaining car blogs on this electronic interwebs.

Sure, you may not like the ads all over your face...adblock?

Sure you may hate certain authors...don’t read them. Alternatively you could use !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! which blocks any “author” on the kinja domain (I say “author” because it also works for things like deals and kinja roundup)

“Well the FP is full of the lamest people who only want to talk about brown manual wagons” Says the crew that posts pictures of candy all the live long day...

Seriously though, despite the flaws inherent in the calculus of crowds Jalopnik commenters are, for the most part, actually pretty good when you compare them to other car blogs, or even other Kinja domains. There is usually some interesting stuff and funny comments if you are wiling to look.

Frankly, if you are worried that your precious flower will get lost in the weeds consider maybe that there would be more flowers if you stuck around. Instead of complaining, why not BE the good content, or find some poor gray that wants to be good and ungray, or correct the misinformation and help people learn more about cars (without being an ass). Yeah, its not going to work all the time, and it will generally be thankless but its how we all learned.

Lastly, to the point of “it aint what it used to be” or “whats going to happen when hulkamania comes to town”...well...what about it!? You want it to be amazing? You want it to stick around? Start visiting, start commenting, start being part of the solution to show the decision makers that Jalopnik is worth investing in, worth its weight.

To that point, even though we lost the our .jalopnik middle name in the great Kinja purge, doesn’t mean we don’t owe a lot to the FP in our conception and in our continued existence. Yeah, its fun to joke around and goof off in the back room but if business is bad, there isn’t like to be a back room for long. At the very least there is some respect given to the folks that help keep the lights on in this place.

Don’t get me wrong, I think its fair to have criticism and I think its fair to bring to light issues and general trends so that the people who care (and trust me, PG and others DO) have metrics on how they are doing...but...don’t be “too good” for the front page, that’s lame.

Rant out. Enjoy more car gifs.

Brian, The Life of > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:35

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Dusty Ventures > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:35

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It took me entirely too long to realize what was going on with that first gif

For Sweden > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:36

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Good rant.

But Oppositelock better be your homepage.

Future next gen S2000 owner > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:37

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Rants feel so good, don’t they.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:37

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I’m not avoiding the front page because I’m some kind of boycott-strategizing neo-sophisticate, more because ain’t nobody got time for that. What I mean is, individual articles have a throng lifespan and periods of time when they’re active and when they aren’t, and if your timing is good (via crack-monkey F5 skills) you can get on the leading edge and form the conversation... at the expense of having to be an F5 crackmonkey. Or you can just talk to yourself down below the line somewhere alone and unloved, until such time as a cockwaffle with a brain full of gremlin pee three days later misunderstands something you said and starts an argument.

In short, I got tired of it. Our high author density and more focused comment counts here on Oppo mean that I can comment on things I like to comment on and engage the author or commenters on any kind of schedule at all, and as long as it’s somewhere on the front page, there are a non-zero number of people who may start a conversation. For somebody whose job strikes out of the sun without warning, it’s a better model.

HammerheadFistpunch > For Sweden 05/18/2016 at 13:38

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Do people still have home pages? I just have like 50 tabs open when I open Chrome

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:38

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I was too cool for the FP before it was cool...

For Sweden > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:38

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All 50 should be Oppositelock

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:38

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~20% are porn.

Do those count?

SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:39

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I just avoid Kotaku and I’m fine

Party-vi > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:39

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Can we still hate the Mods?

Steve in Manhattan > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:40

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I do my best to post here with some regularity. I also make an effort to look at the FP once a day. But like commenting on gawker, you have to wait for that ‘pending’ nonsense. If we’re good here, shouldn’t we be good there? Don’t want to post there, just be an occasional commenter.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Party-vi 05/18/2016 at 13:40

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Well, yeah, I mean those freakin’ scooters have no place on Oppo at all.

Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 05/18/2016 at 13:40

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Depends on the porn...

HammerheadFistpunch > Party-vi 05/18/2016 at 13:40

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Only on theme days

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:42

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Well thought out rant 4/5 would read again. Needs more gifs though

Party-vi > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:42

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Every day is theme day!

PorkchoPlissken > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:42

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Agree 100%. Oppo is still the first place on the internet I go, and Jalopnik, though flawed and future uncertain, is still my number two.

Chris_K_F drives an FR-Slow > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:44

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I still go on the FP daily, I just find a lot less content that’s appealing/worth commenting on.

CalzoneGolem > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:45

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Nah, I’m just going to keep avoiding the FP like I normally do.

RallyWrench > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 05/18/2016 at 13:46

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Fair game as long as you close them before sharing screenshots.

Andy Sheehan, StreetsideStig > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:46

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Word. I still read the FP every day, and I shall until Herr Denton beaches this ship.

PatBateman > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:47

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Pretty sure they're just preparing for the Hulkamania settlement.

EL_ULY > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:47

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Solution: Go to LaLD :]

CalzoneGolem > Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire 05/18/2016 at 13:48

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Tranny obliviously.

MonkeePuzzle > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 05/18/2016 at 13:48

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oppo IS porn

His Stigness > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:49

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I really wish more people would heed this advice. Same goes for articles they don’t like, even by an author they like. No one is forcing you to click on a damn article.

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

HAHAHAHAH! Nice one!

Also, saying we should go and contribute is all well and good, but if you’re the grey you’re essentially shouting into the wind, which takes the wind out of a lot of people’s sail.

JustAnotherG6 > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:50

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Subject A: http://jalopnik.com/engine-compani…

FTTOHG Has Moved to https://opposite-lock.com > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:52

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This is pretty much exactly how I feel. I don’t go as often as I used to, but its crazy to avoid all together. I’m bummed Máté and Sean got let go (and when Wes left, Travis left, etc.), but there are still some great writers. Every day there is at least something that entertains me. I do use Kinja blocke, though, because there are a few authors I don’t care for (I tried, but their style consistently bugged me to the point of blocking then). I really think the comments are just a phase and will get better again over time. The only way it will get better though is if the people who used to read and comment hang around.

cazzyodo > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 13:58

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First: The fact that there is a Kinja blocker extension both does and does not surprise me. I’m simply amazed I didn’t know about it.

Second: Reverse gifs are fun.

Third: A VP in my company said that if a vendor has problems and everyone else runs away, we would rather cut business to cover our risk but work with the company to fix the problems and better them for it. You seem to share that same sentiment and approach, overall. I approve.

Brickman > SnapUndersteer, Italian Spiderman 05/18/2016 at 14:01

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I avoid Deadspin, Gawker, Jezebel, 98% of Gizmodo, and Lifehacker is turning into a bunch of ads, so to hell with them too.

Jalopnik and/or Oppo needs to be sold off from Gawker and made into its own site.

JR1 > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 14:03

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Eh I still read certain articles but it has gotten to a point where I am also searching for alternatives for car news as well. Don’t plan to stop going to the FP (I really like the weekend work a lot and Truck Yeah) but at the same time the content has gone downhill enough to look for alternatives as well.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 14:08

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...flowers lost in the weeds... I like that.

Your post misses in one significant regard: whose butt does one have to kiss and for how long before one isn’t grey on Jalopnik any more? Can’t ungrey someone if I’m grey myself.

What motivates anyone to spend more than five minutes on Oppo or anywhere else? In my opinion, it’s participation ; it’s community . You get to contribute. Not so on Jalopnik.

Jalopnik doesn’t respect the people who participate. Granted, contributors go on FP and say stupid things in rude ways are are unceremoniously and summarily banned. (And then they come and whine about it on Oppo.) Oh well. Whose sandbox is it, anyhow? But the rest? The writers don’t put any time into perusing the comments or acknowledging the commenters.

There are ten or twenty personalities who are regular here and whom I enjoy interacting with, and who take the time to acknowledge when I’ve said something to them. On Jalo, no acknowledgements — unless from a fellow Oppo — and the writing is profane and of poor quality. Where’s the draw?

Wacko > MonkeePuzzle 05/18/2016 at 14:09

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* was *

the mods banned it remember.

MonkeePuzzle > Wacko 05/18/2016 at 14:10

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I didnt say it HAD porn, I said it IS porn

pauljones > Party-vi 05/18/2016 at 14:11

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Always.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Party-vi 05/18/2016 at 14:11

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And your everyday theme is SALT

Mercedes Streeter > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 14:12

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I’d say that anyone who doesn’t like the Jalopnik FP should go read some The Slot and Gawker...A trip through their comment threads will make you thankful for the existence of Jalopnik as it is.

Now, if only Jezebel would stop posting NSFW images in the header...

pauljones > Dusty Ventures 05/18/2016 at 14:12

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It took me a few seconds, too.

As understanding slowly dawned on me, I laughed a little bit because I thought they were putting a dummy under there to stage a car accident for some reason that was probably funnier in my mind than in reality. Then I realized it was a reverse GIF, at which point I got hid hard upside the head with guilt and sadness.

Mercedes Streeter > CalzoneGolem 05/18/2016 at 14:13

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Tranny porn is best porn.

“Oh baby, swap those cogs........Wait, NO COGS? Freaking CVT!!!”

pauljones > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/18/2016 at 14:13

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Talking to yourself is awesome, though. I swear, sometimes it’s the only way to get some halfway decent conversation in life.

Wacko > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 14:14

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i go on the FP less and less, not to avoid it, but lost interest in Jalopnik.

too much cross posts, too much jezzie trending articles.

If i wanted to see dicks all day, i wouldn’t be on a car blog

pauljones > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 14:15

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Well said, good sir.

CalzoneGolem > Mercedes Streeter 05/18/2016 at 14:17

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#thatsmyfetish

That's gonna leave a mark! > pauljones 05/18/2016 at 14:26

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And you meet nicer people that way!

HammerheadFistpunch > pauljones 05/18/2016 at 14:26

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yeah, that happened here in Utah a few years ago. Accident, dude got trapped under a 7 series, people jumped into action and lifted it off him and pulled him out. Crazy stuff.

HammerheadFistpunch > pauljones 05/18/2016 at 14:27

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I talk to myself because I like dealing with a better class of people.

Jackie Mason

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > pauljones 05/18/2016 at 14:28

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Talking to myself is less fun at the office - less opportunity for funny voices.

HammerheadFistpunch > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 05/18/2016 at 14:30

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I hear you, and It can be frustrating. The approved commenter nonsense is a PITA for everyone, can you imagine trying to write and research stories, then to read all the comments on the story and actually hunt down and follow good comments? What a choir for the authors. Thats why I’ve started taking time to hunt out the grays these days. Surface good comments.

not for canada - australian in disguise > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 14:31

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I don’t avoid the FP completely, but I’m gonna be honest, I only go there anymore for Torch, Orlove, and DeMuro. I perfectly understand anyone who just doesn’t want to go to the FP anymore, because they don’t want to.

HammerheadFistpunch > Mercedes Streeter 05/18/2016 at 14:32

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oh man those freaking nudies in the popular bar. Thank goodness for adblock and element blocking.

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 05/18/2016 at 14:33

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It used to be better. Before the times. Before the Empire.

HammerheadFistpunch > JustAnotherG6 05/18/2016 at 14:33

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Exactly!

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht 05/18/2016 at 14:34

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Yes, what you’ve said, and what I’ve said:

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/flowers-lost-i…

Bytemite > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 14:36

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I liked Jalopnik back when they had original content interactive polls/posts and comments meant something. Ever since they double-downed the PC-bro koolaid and grayed everyone and made images click to view, it hasn’t been the same. I was never able to get ungrayed, and the only comments that got attention were some played out stupid one-liners.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 14:37

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People here (generally) care about each other. Jalo doesn’t care about us at all. It shows, and folks are giving up on it. Taking the time to acknowledge people who comment on the stories should be part of the job. Currently it ain’t, and maybe they’ll figure that out.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn 05/18/2016 at 14:38

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“...the times...” What’s the reference?

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo 05/18/2016 at 14:38

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Star Wars, Ep. IV.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 14:41

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I get more love on Jezebel than I do on Jalopnik.

DanimalHouse > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 14:51

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So what you’re saying is....

Stapleface > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 14:54

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FWIW, I don’t ignore the front page. But Oppo is my primary landing spot. It’s more active, and there is generally more stuff that I find interesting to comment about.

One of the problems I have with the front page (and this can be said with most of the front pages across gawker) is that if you don’t comment on a story within the first couple minutes, your response will never be seen unless it’s from someone who will click through and read all, whether you’re in the gray or not.

And yes, the sidebar is rather annoying when I see stuff from Jez or Gawker posted as these are usually questionable when it comes to NSFW. I don't have that problem if I stay on Oppo.

HammerheadFistpunch > Stapleface 05/18/2016 at 14:55

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True on all points. The grays are really hurting “The Big G” I feel.

bhtooefr > Mercedes Streeter 05/18/2016 at 15:18

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I even like parts of Jezebel’s content, and find their NSFW in the sidebar bullshit.

Although, yeah, the comments on The Slot can get pretty awful.

LongbowMkII > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 15:18

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I don’t avoid it, but I do participate less. It’s largely getting stale. Have you guys heard about tesla and autonomous driving tech?

Edit: often the news gets reposted here first.

avens > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 15:26

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As of late at best 5% of the articles are about actual car related stuff, with original content coming from this website. The FP turned into mere gossiping, copypasting, advertising and a cult of personality.

Below are all the articles in Jalopnik.com right now. The tl;dr: is it confirms what I just wrote. This cycle repeats itself over and over again, plus adding the daily clickbaits from Tavarish and the daily coverage of whatever Tesla is doing.

I’m Taking My Aston Martin On a 1,500-Mile Road Trip (DeMuro talking about DeMuro); These Are The Guts That Are Going To Underpin The New Volvos For The Masses (nere copypaste of the non technical parts of the source); Ditch The Truck Because This Scooter Has All The Towing Power You Need (gossiping); Learn How To Tell The Year Of Any Old VW Beetle Right Now! (copypasting plus gossiping); Employees Leave Google To Start Making Self-Driving Trucks (copypasting); Today’s Best Deals: Portable Hammocks, Affordable Shoes, Fancy Straws, and More (Gawker); Singapore, For One, Welcomes Its New Electric Unicycle Overlords (copypasting); The Volvo 40 Concepts: Meet The Sexy Compact Electric Future Of Volvo (another copypaste from Volvo’s website just removing the technical bits); This Tiny Toyota Is The Angriest Car I’ve Heard In A Long Time (this belongs into the said 5% of actually worth clicking articles. Wrote by Orlove); The President Of Mitsubishi Motors Is Out (copypasting); Relax In Style With Amazon’s One-Day Hammock Sale, Starting at $25 (Gawker); articles from Jezebel and whatever (Gawker).

avens > avens 05/18/2016 at 15:44

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(cant edit) In short, Orlove is the only worth reading poster in the FP. Not enough for me to visit the website.

Reece-Current Stinger GT owner > Party-vi 05/18/2016 at 15:57

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And orange starburst still suck.

Party-vi > Reece-Current Stinger GT owner 05/18/2016 at 16:07

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If by “suck” you mean “suck dick”, and by “suck dick” you mean “are as awesome as blowjobs” then yes. orange starburst still suck.

Blondude > avens 05/18/2016 at 16:12

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Orlove and Torch are by far the best writers on Jalopnik. They’re both charmingly weird, just in their own ways.

mtdrift > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 17:17

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Instead of complaining, why not BE the good content, or find some poor gray that wants to be good and ungray, or correct the misinformation and help people learn more about cars (without being an ass).

Truth.

Jalopnik is the only core GMG platform that routinely shares user created content on its FP. Cliche warning...

Be the change you want to see in the world!

JustAnotherG6 > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 17:17

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Counterpoint: http://jalopnik.com/torque-and-hor…

Some people are just jackasses. He can stay in the greys the prick.

HammerheadFistpunch > mtdrift 05/18/2016 at 17:18

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aye, check the tag on this post.

HammerheadFistpunch > JustAnotherG6 05/18/2016 at 17:18

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Well, as I said...they aren’t ALL going to be winners.

mtdrift > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 17:27

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I’m a serial tag ignorer, which is my own problem.

Tapas > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 20:12

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I don’t feel as strongly about this whole controversy, but I sure do want to put some people under a burning car today.

Santiago of Escuderia Boricua > Mercedes Streeter 05/18/2016 at 21:54

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The Slot comments can be hilarious though. They’ve been posting cats with tomatoes whenever a hillary troll shows up

Dusty Ventures > HammerheadFistpunch 05/18/2016 at 23:09

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The car jump gif had me similarly perplexed at first

Dusty Ventures > avens 05/18/2016 at 23:11

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I can tell you for a fact the Volvo one wasn’t just a copypaste. A chunk of time and a lot of frustration went into that one.

Rufant > HammerheadFistpunch 05/19/2016 at 04:50

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At the end of the day Gawker is a business. I see a lot of passionate debate about the ‘community’, which is great, but all those employed people would almost certainly have budgets, KPI’s or whatever. The key difference between Oppo, Overland, Rally Takeover or all the other myriad of sub blogs is that at the end of the days the job of the blogs with advertising on them is to make money. Otherwise, there would be no Kinja, and all of that.

Do you ever wonder why almost nothing from O&E ever gets shared to Truck Yeah? Content not good enough? Nah, a few things people have done on there, are at least the equal of other Jalopnik content. Why would they promote something that doesn’t net them any income? For goodwill? Stuff that can distract from the content they have that does net them income.

Personally I think it’s a great platform for creating good looking content, and I am grateful that there is so many options for us amateurs.

I totally agree that the ‘grey’ system is a big problem for them. You regularly see posts with say 50 black comments and 300 greys. Well that’s 300 people with limited patience that, will probably end up elsewhere. I understand that there has to be a system, but this is not it.

If you hadn’t un-greyed me, etc, nearly a year ago, would I be writing this (or anything else here)? Not likely.

The funny thing is I wouldn’t be bothered if they did a bit of low key advertising on O&E or Oppo or whatever, those ‘Today’s Deals’ posts don’t bother me in the slightest. I can imagine the uproar in the comments if they tried it though, shame. That’s how the world works.