On user-friendly levels of anonymity in standing around talking shit while someone fixes a car

"Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen" (distraxi) 09/08/2020 at 18:20 • Filed to: kinja'd

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Recently the Kinja gods “improved” the Oppo homepage by making the author of a post invisible until someone’s starred or commented it embiggened it (ETA: which is even worse - I ha dn ’t realised I’m also missing out on seeing how a posts’s been received by prior readers). No doubt there was some discussion of this here at the time - I wasn’t around, I didn’t see it.

Having lived with it for a few days, I’m finding it has a *hugely* negative effect on how many posts I click into. Previously, I didn’t really filter posts by author - there’s a few who I’ll usually pass by, but in general it’s the title and image that’ll cause me to click in or not (since they removed visibility of the first sentence or two from the homepage, which was another big mistake). However *not knowing* who the author is makes the post much less interesting, somehow. It’s surprising (to me at least), but it’s true.

HHFP came up with an analogy for Oppo which I really liked - it’s like a bunch of folks standing round shooting shit on someone’s driveway while a few of them work on a car. I guess in that analogy, the author’s handle is the equivalent of seeing their face. You may not know their name or story, but at least they’re a “person”, and thereore worthy by default of engaging with. Without a face attached to it, at a subconscious level who gives a fuck what some anonymous voice says from the crowd: that’s not a conversation starter any more.

This could actually kill Oppo for me. Which would suck - I like it here.

Is anyone else finding the same thing?

Just Jeepin' > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 18:25

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Very much so. I’ve been advocating embiggening as a workaround, although I try to still limit its use for my own content.

But yes, I’ve speculated they’re doing this as a subtle way to get us off their platform. Seems like a roundabout way of doing it.

Nauraushaun > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 18:25

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For my part, I don’t really look at authors. It means that half the guys on here I don’t even recognise. Such as yourself, hello!

I should pay more attention to folks, but it does of course mean that this change doesn’t bother me. I didn’t notice it.

PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 18:28

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Not having the author is a huge down vote for me. TBH I didn’t know that it became visible once a comment’ s been posted.

VincentMalamute-Kim > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 18:28

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I completely agree with you. If everyone would “embiggen” when they post, the issue is eliminated .

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/embiggen-you-glorious-bastards-1844960267

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > PyroHoltz f@h Oppo 261120 09/08/2020 at 18:33

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Actually, turns out it doesn’t: it’s embiggening that fixes it. I mostly view Oppo on Safari Mobile and embiggeni ng has no noticeable effect on that so I thought it was stars/comments which trig ge red it.

That’s actually even worse - means there’s no way of k nowing from previous readers’ feedback whether a post has merit or t he re’s a conversa t ion going on.

HammerheadFistpunch > VincentMalamute-Kim 09/08/2020 at 18:33

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That comes with some readability problems.  Its a tradeoff.  

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 18:37

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Exactly! Even the person’s profile picture is enough for me to basically know what sort of post I’m giving me attention to. Seeing this photo, you know you are in for a slightly too rambling exploration of something or other. If you don’t like me, you don’t like this picture, so you don’t click on my stories.

Lots of us have our distinct type of story headlines including correct or incorrect punctuation , capitalization, length, degree of explanation, etc. You can recognize DOTS and Doggo but you wouldn’t know who it is for most posts. And there are enough posts on here most people don’t want to pick through each post to figure out what to read.

We need Best of Oppositelock back!

Admittedly what you call “shooting s **t” is part of what keeps this community alive and draws many people back but not everyone clicks on Hour Rules. Some people just want that sweet sweet Dash-Doorhandle-And-Bondo rust pr0n and that’s okay. It’s just hard to prevent Oppo from being a time suck as it is if you want to read a more narrow section of the posts here.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Nauraushaun 09/08/2020 at 18:39

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I generally read most posts on days I’m not totally flush with work as I find it to be very enjoyable to be here. But not everyone wants to or can follow so closely so they have a few regulars they follow. Like how I usually comb through the FP for Torch’s and Tracy’s posts and maybe any others that sounds interesting unless I ’m really bored.

VincentMalamute-Kim > HammerheadFistpunch 09/08/2020 at 18:40

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oh, wasn’t aware of downsides.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 18:47

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I like seeing the author, there are those that I really enjoy reading and seeing what they are up to. Maybe we should lead every post with an image of our avatar?

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 18:48

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Yeah, like I’m obviously clicking on a post with a large discussion. You can’t see that without the byline.

For Sweden > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 18:48

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Someone's going to click on a post and discover I wrote it

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > HammerheadFistpunch 09/08/2020 at 18:49

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Yes, but I feel it is worth it. Either we ALL do it ALL the time or we use classic embiggen rules about not doing it yourself unless it is a long form type thing. Th e in between isn’t fair.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 09/08/2020 at 18:50

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Best of Oppo’s still there, but it o nly picks up the long-form posts. There’s a lot of short ones which generate worthwhile conversations - the comments section is often the best part of Oppo.

I like the “ shooting shit while someone fixes a car” analogy beca u se it captures the car-centric-but-off-topic nature of Oppo. A lot of the talk is just banter (aka sh itposts) but occasionally someone will have a good story to tell or somethi ng serious they need to unload. A lot of it’s car relevant , but other hobbies, life, politics, and whatever comes up. You can wander round the group and dip in to the conversa t ions that interest you, but you don’t need to en gage with the o ne s that don’t. But bec au se the folks that hang around are a ll ba sically car people, the talk will eventually range o ver something you’re interested in.

Goggles Pizzano > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 19:02

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This morning I noticed I’m no longer able to access a user’s comments through their Discussion tab in their profile. There’s no way into the discussion. Some have “Read More” and others don’t. Very disappointing.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 19:03

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Oh, sorry, I meant the weekly thin g that was done a long time ago. Obviously a huge time suck though for who did it. Can’t remember who. Best of Oppo is still worth a read as I usually miss a few good ones.

Its like King o f the Hill with people drinking beer over a mower that won’t start. But it’s also that we share the more difficult stuff when life really kicks you while you’re down. Like junkr at’s house but ing and him evacuating. The response on that post was, well, not heartwarming as the man’s possessions burned but it was great to see to cama raderie in these trying times.

Just Jeepin' > For Sweden 09/08/2020 at 19:05

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2020 ain’t seen nothing yet. 

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 09/08/2020 at 19:09

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Oh yes, I remember that: you’re right, it was good. Pretty sure it was mostly DasWauto, who presumably now has a life.

And yes, the hanging together part’s a really good aspec t of Oppo. Particularly as most of us are guys, and men culturally don’t find it easy to share their problems . I suspect the quasi-anonymity means there’s troubl es p osted about here that people don’t even talk to their IRL friends and family about.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Goggles Pizzano 09/08/2020 at 19:12

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I’ve hardl y ever used that feature, but now I try it, you’re right: it’s broken. Which is daft. Even dafter: you can still save their comments from there, even though you can only read the first line of them...

Goggles Pizzano > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 19:17

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Yep. And if you were to save their comment then go to your S aved C omments, it’ s the same thing. What?!

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Goggles Pizzano 09/08/2020 at 19:19

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You can still get to them if you click on the timestamp on the discussion page, i.e. the “16 minutes ago” or whatever it says.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/08/2020 at 19:20

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That doesn’t work for me

Goggles Pizzano > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/08/2020 at 19:23

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Not on my end. No clicky.

Jb boin > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 19:29

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* Rick-rolling risk intensifies*

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

—

!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

The real question : Is that a bug or a feature ?

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 19:31

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Ah, yes, him. Those clearly took massive effort. Presumably.

quasi-anonymity means there’s troubles posted about here that people don’t even talk to their IRL friends and family abo ut.

Yes, like we know about each other, how we respond to situations, how we live life, etc depending on the degree to which we share here but the community here is simultaneously supportive and sufficiently distant from our lives that there is little fear of repercussions from oversharing. Most of us live far away from each other and IRL meets are few and far between.

There are two or three Oppos in my neck of the woods with a few that moved away but remember the area but that’s more than most. It’s just rare for an online community to be this well rounded. Plus the huge cross section of life that comes here is interesting in its own right. Just today I was talking on here with a retired guy who lives on a boat in my state who I would never ordinarily converse with. Then I learn fascinating tid- bits about life in places I will never visit or might not notice as a visitor. Like a talk with Svend made me realize railroads in the UK don’t follow paved roads so the police need offroaders to get to them. Here, the railroa ds came first so the main roads are always right next to them. It’s things like that.

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 19:33

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I'm on mobile and it works

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > Goggles Pizzano 09/08/2020 at 19:34

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It’s working on mobile

Jim Spanfeller > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 19:38

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You nailed it. A lot of the time, I’ll click on a post because I’ll see the name and want to see what they’re up to. Without that, it feels no different than the thousands of anonymous articles you find all over the internet and skip past because you don’t know who the author is or care what they have to say. Unless, of course, you click on every single Oppo post to see who wrote it, but who’s got time for that? Other than goofing around making posts that look like they were made by someone else, there’s nothing I enjoy about this Kinja “update”.

smobgirl > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 19:45

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I’m sad that you can’t see how many comments there are on a post anymore. Sometimes I open and comment early but I’m looking forward to coming back to engage in more conversation on that topic. Two hours later  there might just be 3 comments so I can leave it be, or there might be 60. Now I don’t have any idea until I open it again.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 09/08/2020 at 20:11

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railroads in the UK don’t follow paved roads

I lived in the UK for 5 years and I never notic ed that! But now I thi nk about it, no, they don’t. Things you learn...

Urambo Tauro > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 20:16

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Another change that isn’t an improvement. T hey really are trying to drive away users, aren’t they?

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Urambo Tauro 09/08/2020 at 20:37

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You have to wonder if that’s the objective sometimes. 

Nauraushaun > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 09/08/2020 at 21:01

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Ah fair enough, that makes sense. I have a thing that downloads posts as a feed. So I see all, but open those that interest me based on content.

Exage03040 @ opposite-lock.com > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 21:17

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I agree man, I was away for a few weeks and booted up Oppo and was like “WTF, where are the authors?”

To be honest I do profile authors here. Many times it’s helpful for content recognition as you mentioned. Such as our aviation aficionados which do very good pieces. On the flip politics, in which I’m much more likely to not click but it does depend .

Now it seems imperative to have a picture or video lead, just a title ge ts me skeptic like if I click then Monkee puzzle is gonna hit me with that rickroll or something .

Chariotoflove > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 21:20

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It would be interesting to have a conversation with the devs and find out what they are really thinking and aiming for when they implement things.

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 21:41

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Yup. I fucking hate this layout.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 21:41

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EXACTLY! Just the subtle difference of whether railroads were built before or after the main roads and what that affects is part of the reason I keep coming back. Admittedly most of the minutia is car related but that one example stuck with me.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Nauraushaun 09/08/2020 at 21:54

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This is how I like to view the FP

https://jalopnik.com/sitemap/2020/september/8

I’m intrigued. What exactly is this “thing that downloads posts as a feed?” 

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 09/08/2020 at 22:35

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If that sort of thing rattles your cage, see if you can find the 1970s (and revived in the 90s) BBC series “Connections”. Historian James Burke starts with an invention or fact from ancient history, and shows how it leads by unlikely paths to an apparently unrelated modern invention or fact. For example I remember an episode where he shows how the number of currently known galaxies in the universe is dictated by the width of a horse’s ass (via cart sizes, rut widths, Roman roads, standard gauge rail, rail tunnel sizes, shuttle loadbay dimensions and the diameter of the Hubble telescope, if you’re interested), and there’s another one where he links ancient Persian astrology to the modern production line (via calendars, clocks, the British Navy and precision machining). As a geeky kid, I was glued to it every week - it’s probably a significa n t cause of me goi ng into engineering

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/08/2020 at 22:42

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Well, I know what I’m watching tonight. I eat that sort of thing up. It’s funny as I specifically look for those things myself. For instance, I was so confused for a while when Svend was talking about having to offroad to get to train tracks so the transit police use Ford Rangers etc then it hit me that their railroads weren’t there first like they were in much of the US and other newer settled places. Even in the East Coast of the US the road built to service the railroad often became a main road itself.

Nauraushaun > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 09/08/2020 at 23:22

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LOL that’s amazing. It’s perfect. Could use thumbnails, maybe.

I don’t even know. It’s called gReader but I think it’s extremely unsupported by now and I installed it to my current phone via APK. Occasionally I have to re-enter the URL for it to download from since it starts borking out. It uses RSS or something.

But when it’s working it’s very good. And no ads, just articles.

Nauraushaun > Nauraushaun 09/08/2020 at 23:23

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I am a software developer. I should make something like this. I just don't wanna miss a thing.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 09/08/2020 at 23:34

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It’s about 50/50 over here. We have the US situation where a lot of the roads were first built   to support construction of the r ailroad so they follow the same routes, but we also have a heck of a lot of challenging geography ( it’s a geologically young country so the rough edges haven’t been worn off) which mea n more often than not, between any two towns the road takes the shortest route and the r ailway the flattest route .

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Nauraushaun 09/09/2020 at 00:28

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What happens if a post is updated? You said it downloads them so if you want to comment you go and visit the article through your browser?

Dude, you could have it he a subscriptions service and make TENS on the app! Just need a few overdone youtube ads and you’re golden haha. Seems like something that you wouldn’t expect so little market saturation.

The sitemap is amazing as everyone forgets it exists so it still has no ads or anything. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/09/2020 at 00:35

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I actually just finished an episode and I love it. Great suggestion!

This particular part of the states is geologically young too but the railroads were b uilt before the roads as trains made Atlanta exist. The city started as a surveyors stake to mark the terminus of the Western and Pacific Railroad and only expanded from there. So it was always the most convenient to build the road by the tracks. Rarely does it diverge.

Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 09/09/2020 at 01:05

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You’re in Atlanta? Nice city, e xcept in high summer . Our US office ( along with one of our main suppliers and one of our main custo me rs) is there, so in more travel-friendly times I used to visit pretty frequently. The founder of the supplier in question is a bit of a local history buff, so I’ve actually been subjected treated to a comprehensive history of Atlanta’s status as a railhead, while walking part of the beltway :-).

Jb boin > Chariotoflove 09/09/2020 at 01:57

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Could be that they are fixing things for the “ official” pages and/or implementing new things and it’s breaking things here but as Oppo is not a priority they don’t test for r egressions here and just leave it that way as nobody tells them that it’s broken and/or that they should fix it.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Distraxi's idea of perfection is a Jagroen 09/09/2020 at 09:14

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I thought everyone knew my status as the guy who won’t shut up about Atlanta’s history by now. There’s so much history around every corner here, especially for what is a comparatively new settlement by East Coast standards. I’m a college student at a major university here so I don’t have a car but I can walk or take a train.

If you ever head back this way I can recommend a whole lot to do in the city and surrounding area . That guy sounds real fun. 

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/atlantas-oakland-cemetery-a-photographic-journey-1844821086

I’ ve never walked much of the beltline but I would like to. That and the Silver Co met Trail are high up my list.

I love it here, even in summer. I’d rather be in Georgia during high summer than Minnesota during high winter for sure. 

AdverseMartyr > Urambo Tauro 09/09/2020 at 10:01

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Well, as you can see, my post is clearly not 2 meters away from your post. So we’re not observing proper social distancing, and this could spread viruses, but they can’t just tell us to leave. Therefore, they are finding ways to make stopping in here more costly than beneficial.

So yes, it does seem that way.

Stef Schrader > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/10/2020 at 15:40

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I noticed that mine went away as well. So frustrating. Sometimes I just want to go to a specific comment.

I threw that, the lack of bylines thing and the newsletter pop-up that keeps popping up after subscribing into a bug report. The community features are  why we all keep coming back, for Pete’s sake.

Stef Schrader > For Sweden 09/10/2020 at 15:47

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we’re doomed

Stef Schrader > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 09/10/2020 at 15:48

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Whoa! I never knew about this view before. 

Stef Schrader > Jim Spanfeller 09/10/2020 at 15:49

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I get really excited when I see certain Oppos are back, too! This change is hot garbage. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Stef Schrader 09/10/2020 at 16:25

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That is what you get if you click "sitemap" in the black bar at the bottom of every blog. You can view the posts of anywhere in the kinjaverse on a specific day and year, which is amazing. 

Stef Schrader > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 09/10/2020 at 19:54

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NEAT.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Stef Schrader 09/10/2020 at 21:25

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I think you commented on this post so maybe you forgot?

https://oppositelock.kinja.com/lets-muck-about-in-the-past-kinja-implements-an-amazing-1844475399

Stef Schrader > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 09/11/2020 at 01:11

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I DID ! It’s been a long day.

(Week.)

(Month.)

(.........Life.)

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Stef Schrader 09/11/2020 at 08:55

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That's something I can relate to. How's the job search coming? You have a fun and we'll developed writing style so I'm sure someone will notice. 

Stef Schrader > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 09/11/2020 at 14:25

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It’s...not going. Everything’s on hold. I took a part-time spot at The Drive as Night Editor, but other than that, there ain’t much hiring in that “full-time but not entry-level” level. It’s good to have some regular enough gigs to feel sorta-wanted/less alone, but man, I need a full-time job with an appropriate salary and benefits. I want to be able to fix my stupid cars and hoon them around again. That’s really why I get up in the morning, and it’s not been happening lately. I’m just exhausted all the time. The longer people drag out this stupid pandemic—which they are doing absolutely everything within their ignorant power to do, it seems—the longer I’m stuck in this cursed holding pattern as the industry’s garbage leftover.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Stef Schrader 09/11/2020 at 14:36

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That sucks. I know most people around here read The Drive instead of Jelop.net now (though the site has gotten much better recently with actual real content) but I don’t so I haven’t seen you over there. What exactly does “night editor” mean and what role does the position play? Sounds like it is a good “in” to the website but I also know nothing. It’s a tough time to be a writer, which is actually somewhat odd as people are spending MORE time on the internet than ever before even if businesses aren’t paying much to advertise. I’ll be praying for you as it seems you’ve had more than your fair share of 2020 lately. 

Have a donk I saw for your time.

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 09/11/2020 at 14:48

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That appears to work only on mobile.