How Not To Get Banned On TTAC

by Bertel Schmitt

February 25th, 2013 8:45 AM

It is very simple: Stay civil.

Commenters can say anything on TTAC, as long as it is said in a civilized way. It’s not what one says on TTAC that can attract a ban, only how comments are made. Rudeness, bullying, name calling can quickly lead to a permanent bannage.

TTAC is proud to be different than the usual sites on the Internet. A huge part of what sets us apart is the depth and quality of the comments. Sadly, there are a few isolated cases who don’t seem to understand this simple rule. Last week, we had to ban a few commenters because of that. We also received a few letters in the recent weeks, complaining about a deterioration of the general tone in the commenting section.

It always pains me when I have to send someone away. However, sometimes, sacrifices must be made. It pains me when long term quality commenters are shown the door. However, the commenting rules apply equally to everybody, including TTAC editors. (The commenting rules do not apply to TTAC articles.)

Rudeness triggers rudeness, and soon, it brings the whole discussion down. Do you want to go to a party where you know you will be accosted and bullied?

Please

When commenting, picture yourself being invited to a dinner party with a roomful of strangers. You probably will not attack or insult the host, or the other guests. You will get annoyed by rude and uncivilized guests. You will understand that the host will not invite people back who violate simple rules of civility. Attacking the host could mean an end of the dinner before desserts are served.

You have a right to your opinion, you are immediately wrong if you are rude. Rude, uncivilized remarks mean an immediate loss of the argument. They also can mean a loss of commenting privileges.

To make it even simpler, we have worked principle #2 into the

If someone gets rude on TTAC, simply say “TTAC Law.”

If someone calls you a cottonpicking male offspring of a female canine, simply say “TTAC Law.”

Instead of demanding to bring a banned commenter back, simply say “TTAC Law” when rudeness happens. YOU can prevent bannage: Say “TTAC Law.”

Also, we have new authors, and we will have more. Please go easy on them. Unless you are a very seasoned , long-term professional writer, having your writing criticized in public can be extremely embarrassing. We have lost a few new good writers because of this. From now on, we will rather lose a few bad commenters. By the way: TTAC editors never ever edit comments, we are not here to clean up other people’s messes.

So before you hit SUBMIT COMMENT, check your writing: Is it rude? Insulting? Would saying it get you not invited back to the dinner party? Would it get you smacked over the head in a rough bar? Then DON’T SUBMIT THE COMMENT.

#BertelSchmitt #Housekeeping

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 42 comments

LALoser on Feb 25, 2013

I offer my apology to you Bertel; I had you figured wrong.

Like Reply
-Nate on Feb 26, 2013

oops ~ I'm guilty of being rude to some commentors , sorry . I like the writing here , it needn't be perfect in every way as the writers tend to be real car people unlike some of the whiny trolls . I'm a hands on kinda guy , Journeyman Mechanic who also drives for pleasure as much as I can , older vehicles always but the writing here is *so* dang good , I read the newer vehicle stories occasionally too . KEEP UP THE GOOD WORKS ! . -Nate (prolly the old man on the magazine cover)

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Kat Laneaux Agree with Michael500, we wasted all that money just to bail out GM and they are developing these cars in China and other countries. What the heck. I understand the cheap labor but that is just another foothold the government has on their citizens and they already treat them like crap. That is pretty disgusting to go forward to put other peoples health and mental stability on a crazy crazed, control freak, leader, who is in bed with Russia. Thought about getting a buick but that just shot that one out of the park. All of this for the greed. They get what they lay in bed with. Disgusting.
Michael500 Good thing Obama used $50 billion of taxpayer money to bail them out and give unions a big stake. GM is headed to BK again with their Hail Mary hope of EVs. Hopefully a Republican in office will let them go BK the next time, and it's coming. The US economy is not related/dependent on GM and their Chinese made Buicks.
MaintenanceCosts "Rural areas hardly noticed COVID at all."I very much doubt that is true in places like the Navajo Nation or the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, some of which lost 2% or more of their population to COVID.No city had a death rate in the same order of magnitude.Low-density living is a very modern invention. Before cars, people, even in agricultural areas, needed to live densely to survive.
Wjtinfwb Always liked these MN12 cars and the subsequent Lincoln variant. But Ford, apparently strapped for resources or cash, introduced these half-baked. Very sophisticated chassis and styling, let down but antiquated old pushrod engines and cheap interiors. The 4.6L Modular V8 helped a bit, no faster than the 5.0 but extremely smooth and quiet. The interior came next, nicer wrap-around dash, airbags instead of the mouse belts and refined exterior styling. The Supercharged 3.8L V6 was potent, but kind of crude and had an appetite for head gaskets early on. Most were bolted to the AOD automatic, a sturdy but slow shifting gearbox made much better with electronic controls in the later days. Nice cars that in the right color, evoked the 6 series BMW, at least the Thunderbird did. Could have been great cars and maybe should have been a swoopy CLS style sedan. Pretty hard to find a decent one these days.
Inside Looking Out You should care. With GM will die America. All signs are there. How about the Arsenal of Democracy? Toyota?