Willman Released From Purgatory

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

A few days ago, reader Willman was banned for making rude comments in violation of TTAC’s commenting policy. Willman is back.

He is back, because in a private message to Shaikh Jalal Ahmad, Willman “apologized and gave a bit of human context for the particular state he was in during posting, all of which I very much appreciated. “ Willman most of all is back, because Shaikh asked for it.

Please read TTAC’s commenting policy. It is quite simple: Readers can say anything , as long as they say it nicely. Attacks, name calling etc. are not allowed.

You can say:: “[INSERT NAME OF CAR COMPANY HERE] makes the worst cars on earth.”

You cannot say: “You dickhead, [INSERT NAME OF CAR COMPANY HERE] makes the worst cars on earth.”

You can say: “Get it?” You cannot say: “Get it, asshole?”

As simple as this rule may be, some still seem to misunderstand it. All we ask for at TTAC is that discussions are conducted in a civilized way. People who think that their rights to free speech are abridged if they are asked to expand their vocabulary beyond four letter words, should better use a different forum.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • BigMeats BigMeats on Oct 13, 2012

    I've hesitated to comment thus far 'cause I'm a n00b, but I've got to say I was mystified that a non-profane comment which garnered much agreement would be banned in the first place. And when Schmitt wrote that "we are about to lose" Shaikh Jalal Ahmad, does that mean he has quit TTAC for good? Isn't that a mite thin-skinned? Maybe 'Shaikh's are accorded too much deference back home.

  • Stumpaster Stumpaster on Oct 14, 2012

    Turning mundane admin annons into clicks, brilliant. Now we can just skip those silly articles about cars and discuss editorial policies and stuffs.

  • BlueBrat BlueBrat on Oct 14, 2012

    This is what makes TTAC unique and the most awesomest vehicle blog on teh interwibbles.

  • Mr Nosy Mr Nosy on Oct 16, 2012

    Oh Look! Its Li'l Miss Silicon Valley...Anyways,if you need to type in shit and hit enter just to verbally abuse a complete stranger,one should realize that on craigslist,just under part-time jobs,there's "ETC". I say monetize simple name calling and verbal abuse skills. You can go on salon or yahoo (The gold standard,where you can pretend its an e-dive bar,recently renovated.)In which you typescream "Buddy!" in riposte to a snarltype "Pal!" To which you then typebellow "BUDDY!",etc(This really happened on salon.)You finally agree to fisticuffs after coordinating mutual logistics of air mile black out dates,business trips and layover hubs.Settling things,once and for all.

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