Contrary to what some might think, commenting at CC is a privilege, not a right. And we actively enforce our commenting policy, which is clearly stated in our “Welcome to CC” page, accessible from the top menu bar. Unfortunately, all too many don’t seem to have read it, or be willing to follow it. And just like with a driver’s license, after so many points, or one very egregious violation, one’s CC Commenting license will be revoked; as happened last night to one repeat offender who finally stepped way over the line.
I’ve barely tolerated suzulight’s almost invariably negative (and often factually inaccurate) comments for years here, and written to him a number of times telling him to tone it down. But I’ve learned from experience that my warnings rarely work, and invariably repeat offenders cross the line, like a moth to the flame. He left this comment at the Parking post last night:
I have no love or use for cyclists. They are all morons, think they own the road (at least here in Portland) and are simply too stupid to realize the human animal invented the automobile for a REASON. Run them all over.
This comment is hardly borderline. Advocating the murder of all bicyclists is pretty cut and dried. I suppose he could argue that advocating murder is not in the Commenting Policy. But calling them all morons is. As well as his idiotic comment that humans invented the car for a reason: to run over bicyclists, presumably.
suzulight has now lost his CC license, and I rather hope he loses his driver’s license too. Frankly, I’m rather relieved, as I long since tired of his negative rants/innuendos. And he joins a growing list of others that have taken involuntary CC commenting “vacations”.
Frankly, the whole job of reading all comments and moderating them has become a major chore (headache, actually), but I simply can’t abide stupid, negative, disparaging comments. I know that many of our commenters equate the number of comments to the success or popularity of their posts, but it’s mostly not the case. Yes, the number of comments here at CC may not consistently be as high as some other sites, but we will not allow our commenting to be degraded by negativity and stupidity.
There are days I feel like pulling the plug, one way or another. But whenever I’m discouraged, inevitably something really good happens at CC, or I get an email like this one, just this morning, regarding obnoxious commenters:
I can imagine the constant struggle you must endure between your love of old cars and the workaday need to keep the site going. But your efforts are appreciated more than you perhaps know by folks you hear from only occasionally…or not at all. Other than some news and sports sites, yours is probably the only site I visit almost every day.
BTW, morons are everywhere, so abandoning CC won’t get you away from them as I know you know. Not much of an enticement to keep going…but hey, it’s something.
The reality is this, and I have to keep reminding myself this: there’s a whole lot of CC readers who never or rarely comment. And somewhat unfortunately, they’re invariably the kind of readers I’d like to get more comments from! OK; I don’t want to pressure anyone, but it’s really heartening to hear from them (you) from time to time. And to hear less from those that just want to spread their mental pollution or feel the need to externalize every fleeting thought, no matter how banal or repetitive.
Thank you Mathew for your email today, and thank all of you commenters who keep it intelligent, interesting and civil. And let this be a warning to those that don’t. It’s a privilege, not a right.
Thank you!
Twits like this are what give car enthusiasts like us a bad name, and he totally deserved a lifetime ban. I cycle to work and locally to shops and so on, have done for years, even before having my Cadillac as my only car (I now have another daily driver, also a big V8 of course). It makes sense to cycle even if your automotive passion isnt for big broughamy landyachts like mine is, and prior to the Cadillac I owned an LTD which wasnt much better on gas. Usually people who cycle also drive and vice versa, and may be both avid cyclists AND car enthusiasts
True. Edited now.
so funny reminds me of that Curb Your Enthusiasm… “beloved aunt”…
I own a (not so big) V8 but ride a bike to work too. I’m with you brother. Also, thank you Paul. Your site is a wonderful daily read. I’ll contribute that article one day.
Hello Paul (and everyone else),
Firstly I absolutely agree with all the positive and encouraging comments about the site in general and your work in particular. I come here almost daily and enjoy most of what I see here.
With that said, as this is a thread specifically about commenting and commentators may I be permitted to just throw in one negative here?
As a person originally from Britain and now living in Canada I have become increasingly irritated at the anti-British sentiment that surfaces in just about every article about a British car.
True to form, just a week or two ago there was an article about an MGB and, sure enough, there was a blatantly ignorant comment that basically implied that “Brits” had no idea how to design or build anything at all.
I drafted a witty and withering riposte to the poster but, just as I was about to post it, I decided I didn’t want stoop to his level so let it slide.
I know I should just shrug this sort of thing off as I know it is just the ignorance of a few small-minded people but when it crops up again and again it becomes annoying.
I don’t even get what the basis of it is really. I have driven hundreds of thousands of miles in all manner of old British machinery and have literally NEVER suffered an electrical or mechanical failure that has left me stranded at the roadside, and very few other issues either. I AM NOT SAYING that British cars were by any means perfect, not even close, but they were not, in general, as bad as gets made out.
No, this has become one of those internet themes (memes, even) that just becomes ingrained in the sub-conscious and gets trotted out time and again by people with little imagination and no respect for the actual qualities and vast achievements of people from a different country than their own.
My beef with you, Paul, is that I have mentioned this to you before but I have NEVER seen you post a rebuttal comment to anyone posting an anti-British comment on here.
Ergo, it APPEARS that you, as an American (-ish, I know you are from Austria) condone this as “just joshin’ ya, folks”.
Well, we used to accept all kinds of derogatory comments to all kinds of groups of people such as the disabled and visible minorities but we don’t accept them any longer.
So, as a Briton I am taking a stand. Please don’t allow negative comments against this proud nation and its’ people any longer. (Or against any other nations come to that).
Unless, of course, you think of this as an American site for American readers, in which case no doubt you don’t give a rats’ about me and my fellows and I apologise for bothering you.
Thank you for considering this issue, and keep up the otherwise fine work here.
Regards,
Simon.
Simon,
You bring up a very good point. Yes, there has long been a popular culture meme in the US about British cars, as well as French and Italian. There’s an unfortunate knee-jerk reaction tendency among too many when the hear/see the name of a British car, and respond with the inevitable “Lucas – Prince of Darkness” comment or such.
I have never taken on the subject directly in a post per se, but I am all-too aware that the reality is never as simple as many like to make it out to be. And that most Brit cars, especially like the MG, are fundamentally sturdy cars that are very easy to keep running and enjoy great support. And whatever weakness they might have had, there are ready fixes for them now.
I did address this issue most specifically in my Peugeot 504 CC: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-european/curbside-classic-1976-peugeot-504-one-continents-french-mercedes-and-coty-is-another-continents-most-rugged-vehicle-is-another-continents-pos/
Like many things, it’s not a simple and clear-cut issue. regardless of the merits (and flaws) of a particular European car, there were issues that exacerbated problems with them in the US. One was that many American buyers were simply not attuned to different maintenance needs of foreign cars. Service and parts were often spotty/indifferent. And starting in the late 60s, US-bound cars had unique emission control systems, and were often equipped with power-sapping and heat-creating accessories like automatic transmissions, power steering, air conditioning, etc.. These all-too often had a deleterious effect on reliability.
One could rightly say that the cars imported to the US starting in about 1970 or so increasingly were different from their domestic market counterparts. That alone was a big factor.
Then there’s just plain old American chauvinism/exceptionalism. There’s a real tendency to that here, with cars. Americans will hear about a few bad experiences with a British, French or Italian car, and quickly they become a huge thing (“Fix It Again Tony”; “Lucas Prince of Darkness”).
Undoubtedly, these reputations were earned to some extent or another, but they were often vastly exaggerated, depending on the specific car.
This issue is even one here with domestic cars. I get endless blowback about my Deadly Sins. I try endlessly to explain that it’s more about the business decisions GM made than the cars being necessarily bad per se. Some were; others not. Some in between.
The point is that it’s an endless education process. I have responded to some obviously knee-jerk comments about Brit, french or Italian cars. but I can’t fight the war on all fronts. Hopefully most readers here will have learned that stereotypes applied to cars are as intrinsically flawed as when applied to people.
I think that goes with any type of car. Me being the Volkswagen guy, I fight a myriad of stereotypes about VWs. I even wrote a COAL as a rebuttal to a comment about how crappy and unreliable water-cooled Volkswagens apparently are.
I’ve made the British, Italian and French car jokes before. Simply in light hearted jest. Every car has its quirks. Heck, I love and hate the things about my VWs that drive me nuts. It wouldn’t be the same without them.
And i have to say, while I have made the Lucas wiring jokes before, I have also said, upon hearing the exhaust note of a TR6 that I don’t care how much trouble one may be, I’d welcome that sound in my driveway any day.
Hi Simon,
Have you written a similar note to Jeremy Clarkson regarding his views on American cars?
As someone who was one of the last rear-engine Skoda holdouts in Canada, and as someone who still owns an AMC Matador sedan, not to mention a DAF, I’ve taken my fair share of hit pieces.
I would strongly argue that the answer is not censoring everyone else who may offend you, but rather develop a thicker skin.
There is a reason why British car guys hang out with other British Car guys, and muscle car guys hang with muscular car guys and so on and so forth.
The British automotive industry, once a world leader, did implode. Sorry, but it’s true. But what a spectacular ride it was while it lasted.
I do love British cars; my old man had a Healey 100, and I have a long-running urge to buy a Rootes product which may happen.
That occurred to me too. American cars have long suffered at the hands of Europeans (and other continents, for that matter) with knee jerk reactions regarding bloat, indifferent quality and gas guzzling.
And, of course, the stereotypes regarding American cars are a little too true in some cases. The 1977 Plymouth Fury Salon was a fairly awful car, but on the other hand the 1977 Oldsmobile Delta 88, while similar in many specifications, was really a better transportation device / value than just about European car priced similarly, or even much higher, especially for American conditions.
There is good natured and bad natured commenting, and each of us has a slightly different sense of what that is, and that might even vary by the day and our mood. But, turning every car, (it’s a CAR, for heaven’s sake) into a political correctness zone would make for a rather dull website.
For whatever it is worth, “Lucas, Prince of Darkness,” is rather humorous the first time you hear it, especially if you live in a virtually British free car zone like I do. This website is about how “every car has a story,” and frankly I want to hear about Lucas or Chrysler’s infamous ballast resistor as much as I want to hear the positive side of the story.
First of all, I want to thank you Paul. Thanks to your hard work I have a site that I can look forward to seeing everyday! I find it continuously interesting and informative. I also appreciate the work of the contributors and the commenting public. I appreciate the varying views and opinions and I’m glad that open hostility and trolling is not permitted and is removed. Whenever I post comments I hope that they are interesting and sometimes entertaining. A round of applause for Curbside Classics!
What he said.
What THEY said! Recently discovered CC, and I read and enjoy it daily! Has become one of my favorite car sites. Doing right by banning the
A-holes 🙂
As I read through all of the interesting/amusing/informative comments under CC articles, I don’t think about the ignorant/hostile/abusive comments that had to be removed. Hopefully they are few and far between. I can’t imagine the constant work that goes in to monitoring comments on a website like this, but I do appreciate the end result. Thanks!
CC is not like other automobile blogs, which makes it one of my faves. Thanks to all the writers and 99% of all the commenters.
I read your blog faithfully every day. I rarely comment, unless I feel I have something worthwhile to contribute. Thank you for your efforts, and keep it going.
Delurking, to chime in as another 98% lurker.
I like the vibe (bad pun time) here and appreciate the fact that effort is made to curate the comments.
Paul, I just tried to write a comment about how thankful I am for your hard work on this web site, and it came out sounding so much like a teacher’s pet that I had to delete it and try again.
Your intelligence, knowledge, good-naturedness, life experience, facility with the written word, and ability to master the mechanical realm are an inspiration to me, and I truly appreciate the ways you have encouraged me in my writing.
And your work moderating the comments is very appreciated, as there is often quite a lot of additional learning available in the comments section.
Please keep up the great work!
Thanks Paul. This is one of the reasons I love this site. The comments are not what most of the other sites I read have devolved into. People may have different opinions but here they are (usually) reasoned arguments.
When commitments to work, family and friends mean I cannot read or post as often as I’d like it’s easy for me I can just take a break and come back later. When I consider Paul can’t do that and has to post, edit and monitor this site on top of the challenges of daily life I find these kinds of posts important for us to read. Not sure how you do it Paul, and it’s not said often enough, but we appreciate your hard work and commitment to CC.
+1
Paul, I’m one of those people who while I don’t comment much, I do appreciate your endeavors to keep this place going. So thanks for taking the time to maintain such a healthy/useful site for car knowledge. When my friends ask me where I’ve picked up all of my miscellaneous car-knowledge from over the years, I always point to CurbsideClassic. This place has been my breakfast-read site for a while now. It’s given me insight to so many different makes/models of cars that I otherwise would know nothing about. As a result, these days it’s rare for me to take a drive where I come across a car that I know absolutely nothing about.
What originally brought me here was the car information; however, I find myself increasingly scrolling through the comments sections and the COAL’s because there’s a lot of good life-stuff there. As a young 20’s person, it’s a bit enlightening/refreshing to read the insights and reflections of people who are a little further through life. So please keep on doing what you’ve been doing. You’ve managed to foster a very nice niche here in this corner of the internet.
Thanks to your professionalism Paul, you have a very solid community and fan base here that have your back. And it reflects highly of you. I am amazed at the quality and level of work and commitment you devote, day after day. As commenters we should all share appreciation, gratitude, and respect.
I recall the same commenter making very strong homophobic comments weeks ago, that you obviously had to delete. It made me realize he had serious anti-social issues, showing so little respect to you, and such a professionally run automotive blog. Using it as a soapbox for his hate. While ignoring your hard word and tolerance.
Your patience is amazing.
One of the longtime readers/rare commenters chiming in:
Thanks for putting up with the Internet, Paul. Comments make or break automotive sites for me, which is why I can’t go to TTAC anymore. But either as a result of your constant moderation, or a loyal contingent of people who “get” CC, or both, this place is very fun to browse around in every day.
Out of curiosity, from a web publishers standpoint, what are your options for commenting systems? Does something with upvotes/downvotes allow us to take part of the moderating burden off of you by burying or flagging people who are obviously jerks? Or, does that just take away your ability to moderate the narrative?
First of all, I’m not the only one who reads and moderates comments; all the Editors here do, to one degree or another. But I still read them all, even the ones that have already been trashed. And in good part because I like to read what you all have to say. 🙂
I’m leery of turning the comment moderation over to the commenters. There’s pros and cons to that kind of system, and the cons may create a new set if potential issues.
Over to commenters or to moderators? I’m on a couple of forums where there are moderators who seem to do a good job. One for Ford Trucks and the other for World Affairs (http://www.worldaffairsboard.com/index.php).
World Affairs covers many international issues which can be hot buttons for some. The moderators, scattered over the world, keep a watchful eye out for even disrespectful speech. Being a forum, started by military folks, decorum is usually respected or you are banned. Been running that way since 2004.
The CC community is by and large a friendly bunch. I read each and every comment that gets posted to my articles (really, it is the least I could do, since you were kind enough to read my post in the first place).
In the four months I’ve been doing this, I’ve deleted only one comment. That said, it does require constant vigilance. Much like kudzu, if you allow bad comments to get even a toehold, it will soon overrun the place (witness TTAC). Thanks to Paul for his continual weeding of our garden.
Paul: Thank you so much for this blog. It is a lot of fun. I love hearing why people buy the cars that they do. I grew up in the 60’s and 70’s and love the cars from that era. My father appreciated cars from the 20’s to 40’s. It’s fun to see people appreciating the cars from the 80’s and 90’s. I thought most of them where junk at the time and would never be appreciated. But I am learning now. My life has taken some severe downturns and your posts have been a fun diversion. Please keep it going.
Thanks
Thanks from another rare commenter on running the best site out there! Sorry this has to be a part of it. I wish all would treat posting on the internet the way they would a televised interview and carefully consider their comments before making them 🙂
As someone deeply into cars as a hobby and car design as a career I applaud you for weeding out commenters like this. I was run over and dragged down the road on still attached to my mountain bike with the result being a broken neck. The motorist who had shot the red light made similar comments after this near fatal “accident “…..incidentally many car companies (Rover, Humber, Sunbeam et al started out making bicycles which were arguably the vehicle that gave folks their first taste of independent travel. A true enthusiast of fine machinery should also find pleasure analyzing the engineering of bikes….I love this site and certainly feel privileged to read it most every day…..
Thanks Paul, for your hard work and effort.
A lot of folks out in the CCsphere appreciate it in a big way.
There are innumerable places on the net where you can say virtually anything. The civility of CC is a breath of fresh air. Haters please post elsewhere!
Please keep fighting the good fight! This site is one of the best. Also, iirc, the bicycle was invented before the automobile. Sheesh, some people…
Well done. CC is one of a tiny number of websites where I even bother reading comments – the intolerance and lack of basic civility on most of the WWW is appalling. Posting nonsense about running down cyclists – even if, by some tremendous stretch, was meant to be darkly humorous – has no place on a site like CC! The depth and breadth of knowledge and insight here at CC is amazing – weeding out people who refuse to understand that is much appreciated by this reader.
+1 to all of the above. As I see it, we read / comment / contribute to CC to share our interest in old (ish) things with wheels, not to push agendas or insult people we disagree with. It doesn’t seem a big ask to keep the discussion civilised, and I for one would be put off contributing if I thought my effort would get a response like the one Paul has quoted.
Thanks Paul! Every day for years on end you’ve encouraged a commenting community I’ve seen nowhere else, and held the line against the rotten eggs. Even when I don’t comment I read and appreciate CC daily. Thanks!
PS: Regarding the picture of the revoked license, I once worked with someone whose last name is Sample. I wonder if he ever has trouble with his ID.
Thank you, Paul, for diligently enforcing the commenting policy. Like Tom said, you can’t let certain commenters get comfortable making inappropriate comments or we end up losing the genial atmosphere and “dinner table civility” you call for and which makes CC’s discussions so delightful. The comments, for me, are required reading like the articles themselves… what other site can you say that about?
It’s good that you don’t let people get ridiculously off-topic and political, too. I don’t know the political affiliations of anyone here and I couldn’t be happier!
It’s a hard slog running this site (I can imagine) and this is another key part of it. At least the offenders don’t keep coming back and trolling, for the most part. And any who do continue to read the site but leave angry comments should realise that it’s not always Paul that’ll delete their comments, sometimes the rest of us may get there first. After all, when much of the US is sleeping, Australia is wide awake…
+1 on the political reference. There aren’t many places to get away from it these days.
Time well spent here on CC
+1+ on the politics, this is one of the few, if not only, blogs I can read now because the rest have become so toxic it isn’t worth the effort.
I want to thank everyone who puts in the hard work necessary to make this site so enjoyable. Do I agree with everything I read here, I do not but for the life of me I don’t understand how negativity towards others makes one’s life any better. As my mother used to tell me, “if you can’t say something nice about somebody don’t say anything”.
Amen.
Agreed on the politics. The internet is international. it’s so nice to have a site free of politics. When so many of us live in other countries, any one country’s political squabbles are irrelevant.
Thanks, Paul
Believe it or not I can actually be quite a smart ass, but I clamp down hard on myself here. This site is an oasis in the desert.
Thanks Paul. The restraint here is a welcome relief, why I visit several times a day and spend a lot of time in the archives.
I did not know how difficult it was on you to moderate everything all the time. Or that it was even necessary.
It should have clicked at some point. So many well informed, congenial people commenting, it really surprised me you had to do this. Clueless in a lot of areas am I.
CC is an invaluable resource and it would be the automotive web’s loss if you were to pull the plug. Understood if you feel the need for your own sanity, but it would be a sad day for many, this ordinary slob included.
Well, the fact that I still come here to CC and enjoy the discussion is proof enough that the system works. I know that as commenters, there are certainly people who do parrot stuff that can get obnoxious or tedious (I’ve been guilty of that here a couple times). I also understand that there are frequent commenters here, who can get barely tolerable somedays, either for Paul or the others. (Certainly there are some for me, I’m not going to say who or call anyone out). But, I can say, without exaggeration, that CC is the friendliest, most civil site I’ve ever visited in my entire life. The rampant toxicity and refusal to put the hammer down on certain people is what caused me to leave the last Automotive website I joined, so the fact that I can still enjoy coming here says volumes about the efforts of the editors to keep this place civil.
On behalf of all of us, thanks for taking your time to keep the peace. It’s certainly an unenviable position, but your hard efforts are worth it for making this community what it is.
Well said J of E. A motoring site that stands up for cyclists. How cool is that. “Rampant toxicity”, I love it.
A thousand times yes. I’ve moderated and adminned a fair number of forums, and it’s usually been about the same: most people behave themselves, but a few don’t. Of those few, some are just shit-disturbers (Canadian term for someone who likes to make trouble for its own sake); some fancy themselves awesome rebels, stickin’ it to the man by constantly testing the rules (yep, they’re still there…yep, they still apply…), and some consider themselves exempt (…nope, they still apply even to you). With a very small number of “Oops, sorry” exceptions, the common thread that binds all of them is their misperception of the moderator as some kind of power-crazed traffic cop with an itchy ticket finger—or they dispense with the niceties and just jump directly to accusations of censorship and/or nazism.
In reality, the job is much more akin to that of the janitor with mop bucket and assorted other tools for scraping up feces, vomit, and maliciously emplaced chewing gum.
Thank you for making and keeping this site, Paul. The signal:noise ratio here is highly excellent—in fact, come to think of it, it’s vastly better than any other automotive internet forum I can think of.
Daniel, I just love the way you word things!
Thankya kindly! »doffs cap« I’ve got a bunch of posts (CC Tech, COAL, CC Toolbox…) queued up for when I will find time to extract them from my head!
I missed suzulight’s anti-cycling comment because, ironically, I took advantage of yesterday’s beautiful weather and took a long, long ride on my bicycle.
Thanks for keeping it civil, and for keeping people like me safe.
On the surface of it, that comment appears to be macabre’ humor or hyperbole. I can’t comment on any of his other posts.
I don’t agree. Given his track record here, he probably wasn’t trying for dark humour or overheated hyperbole. Either way, it’s not even a darkly-funny joke. I’m sure he had plenty of excuses when he was banned; no need to be making them for ‘im. 🙂
I’ll defer to you Daniel. Sometimes I give people too much credit. 🙂
Paul and fellow CC’ers, you are my number one automotive team. Thank you all for making this a go-to place where we can share, correct each other nicely, fill in the gaps, and learn.
I have watched from the side lines how contributors have shared with wrenching honesty about their lives. This can only happen in a space where we can trust each other.
Paul, thank you for your careful monitoring of CC. I sat at the sidelines for a long time never thinking I would contribute, and eventually I did. I wrote an article about something I love, and hopefully in future I can realise my full voice about my love for cars and more. Let me encourage all of you who want to ‘put your toe in the water’ and write an article to do so. Once you have taken the plunge you will enjoy the journey, it’s a life enhancing moment!
Thank you Paul, and all the contributors. CC is part of my daily reading routine. We appreciate you more than you know. Sorry you have to endure the stupid. Hang in there!!!
Thank you for highlighting this issue Paul!
In my several years here writing for CC, the negative/disparaging/insinuating/insulting/hateful comments are the only thing blemish on the otherwise wonderful world of Curbside Classic and the source of much unneeded stress and discouragement.
Let me say this once and for all: I am a volunteer writer who loves cars and enjoys writing about them. I have a stressful full-time job, but I still contribute articles, taking the little free time I have to pursue something that is a passion of mine.
If I make a factual mistake and you want to politely correct me, or if I state an opinion you want to politely disagree with then go ahead, be my guest, I welcome it. But if you want to say something hateful and attacking towards me or any other party, that’s just not cool.
I feel a lot of readers don’t realize just how much time and effort goes into a single article. I’m talking multiple hours a day for multiple days, sometimes weeks. It’s an understatement to say it hurts when all a reader can find the time to do is muster negativity. To be blatantly honest, it’s a dick move.
+1
The time it takes to write something is astounding. If you consider that a COAL is theoretically just writing down your own thoughts, memories, and usually already facts of which one is aware and digging out some old and/or relevant pictures, it may be astounding that a moderately sized one of a thousand words can easily be a 5 to 6 hour affair, and a longer or more researched one can easily be 8 to 10 hours or more if editing, re-reading and re-writing is considered (for me at least, I hesitate to speak for everyone else but would be surprised if I was way off. I still have ten fingers and can type fairly well…).
Even an Outtake is rarely less than a half-hour to an hour affair (for those that don’t do them every single day or multiple at a time). The items I posted from the Ireland trip a few weeks ago were generally one to two hours each, done late at night or while the rest of the family was napping/resting etc. It’s time well spent as it is enjoyable and interesting for me personally but also the reason I generally won’t write anything about a car I don’t personally find interesting in some way.
And a well-researched and illustrated article like the ones that Roger, Paul, Don, Robert, and many of the others regularly post – I’d imagine easily 15-20 hours or even more once all aspects are considered. For those of us with kids at home, jobs, and other life challenges it’s a significant commitment that doesn’t always gel with the other real responsibilities.
I’m certainly not complaining about the time aspect of it, I just wish I had more of it, and thankfully have had very little (or at least noticed very little) negativity towards mine and in general most posts. Don’t get me wrong, if I didn’t enjoy it I wouldn’t do it, and I heartily encourage anyone to give it a shot, it’s a thrill to see your words out there!
If someone states an opinion and a reader has a completely different opinion there are definitely ways to express that point in a reasoned, adult manner and a lively ensuing debate is often enjoyable that more often than not ends on a good note. Arguing for the sake of arguing is not the same thing though. If a factual mistake is made, it is usually a trifle embarrassing for the writer, but all of us welcome someone pointing it out politely and virtually always it is corrected or noted/confirmed in the comments. Questions are always welcomed and encouraged and I believe that every single writer reviews their own writings/commentary for at least a couple of days after they are published and then sporadically looks in on them again every once in a while.
Thanks to everyone for reading, if there were no readers there’d be no reason to write.
To piggyback onto Brendan and Jim, I will echo what they have said about the time commitment to writing anything that appears here.
My first impression of CC came about in late 2011 and I wondered how that Niedermeyer guy kept cranking out articles. Fast forward a bit, and I got a huge insight into what is involved. I am still amazed how he does it.
The quickest articles, for me at least, are the QOTD’s. Anything more intensive will take quite a while – even if it pours out of me, it’s three to four hours minimum and that is before editing, inclusion of pictures, scheduling, etc. I’ve been toying with a new series, but it is research intensive – between that and remodeling a basement, working full-time, having a family, and life in general it’s not happening as fast as I’d like.
Using the Trash button I see below comments has been a rare event, but there are infrequent times it is called for. That is the only thing that has ever really sullied CC for me. I realize my comments are at times not as elegantly articulated as they could be, but well, some I have read I just don’t comprehend the thought process.
Agreed about the time, Jim. I’ve written only one COAL, a few years back now. I’m amazed at how some of the guys here find time to write so much and have a life outside CC!
I couldn’t have said this better myself. Well put, Brendan. Thanks to you, the other contributors, and especially Paul for all the hard work and dedication. It makes for a website I can’t wait to log onto, and one that brings back many memories and makes us think, on many different levels.
Although I haven’t written any articles (yet, anyway), I’m a daily reader who appreciates all that is put into this site. Besides, just by merit of being on here, we’re all more alike than we’re different.
Finally, extra kudos to Brendan, for being a fellow BMW guy. When I looked quickly at one of your past photos, I though it was of my own 2016 Black Sapphire 428i coupe’s twin!
Keep up the great work, everyone.
Best Regards from Daytona Beach,
-Chris Rego
Thanks Chris! The 4 Series is a great BMW and a logical next move for me!
I read CurbsideClassic everyday.
I never before learned so much about American cars and the about the role of these cars in their owners life. Many times the comments here are telling a story as much interesting as the post above them. The atmosphere here is friendly and pleasant – every evening I open a beer and read the stories, the vintage tests, watching the photos you guys made – I comment very rarely but still, I feel its a place for me.
(sorry ’bout my bad English, I’m from Hungary)
Big thanks to Paul for keeping this site like this – no need for agressive arguments and threatening here, CC is not for that.
And don’t you learn so much about America, too?
Yes of course I do! The way of Americans live is connected strong to their automobiles. So if you read American car stories you can learn much about America itself too.
And I cant’ get enough of that. I live in Central-Europe and the car culture is very different here than west from here. In America to have a car is a common thing since the 1920s. Hungary is about 50 years late to that. My family has their first car in 1975, a Skoda S100. Now I drive a 1990 Mercedes 200E.
So its very interesting for me to read about what was it like to be a kid in late 1950s USA, and going to check out the new models in the showrooms in every November. Or what was it like to have a ’61 Ford as your first car in the early ’70s.
Redriot, your English is just fine. Both your posts are very well written.
It’s fascinating to read about cars from other countries and one of my favorite die cast models is a Volga.
There’s an episode of Wheeler Dealers that I have saved that features an FSA [?] Syrena. Fascinating car that I’d never heard of before and an interesting back story.
So you’re not alone in cross Atlantic curiosity about other cars and lives.
The side roads that a fascination one has for old cars will lead to discovering history, tales of business, social upheaval, industry, union relations, personal stories, music and all sorts of things. Start one place and end up somewhere else. The highway of the mind. And a wonderful road to travel.
CC does it best with it’s writers and commentary from readers.
And I’d really like to know more about your family’s Skoda !
I’ve learned so much about people from other parts of the world from this (only one I read daily and occasionally comment on) great site. We all seem to share a common bond when it comes to old cars no matter who we are or where we live.
The comments are often as interesting as the article, and I appreciate no politics and very few rude comments in general (although I have caught a few from a previously banned commentator before they were removed).
Appreciate all the effort Paul and his editors put into keeping this site’s quality up, it really has expanded it’s content from the original old cars still patrolling the streets articles in which Paul obviously put in many hours of effort into.
Would hate to see this site go away, but would totally understand considering all the time, effort and frustration it requires. Thanks Paul and everyone else involved in keeping CC in worth visiting daily condition.
Thank you Paul, and thank you to everyone. This is probably the only website that I visit in a hugely regular basis, and that’s because of the friendliness and huge levels of knowledge of editors and commentariat. I myself waited more than a year to start commenting. And I can’t even imagine the hard work you all have to keep this website clean, and the total gem it is. And I still plan to reinforce the Euro team in about a year or two.
Silly question paul- is there a bot or an app that can look for offensive words and phrases, and flag those for your attention, and just assume the mass of posts is okay?
Paul, I know it’s been said above but I really value being able to come to CC every day and never ever leaving annoyed or frustrated. Please keep it up.
Thanks
Craig
Thank you, Paul, for your hard work, and that of the other editors and writers, that keeps this site civil, polite, and genuinely informative. I look forward every day to seeing what articles are up; there’s always something I can learn! Bad attitude from commenters works against that, and I appreciate your efforts to keep the conversation civil, polite, respectful, and on-topic!
Excellent sites like this don’t just happen. Thanks for reminding us that considerable effort goes into all aspects of this site, not just the articles. Deleting commentary is not easy when you want to encourage discussion, but the internet is rife with examples of why editing is essential to good journalism. Well done, sir.
This site is an island of sanity for me in an increasingly nasty and polarized Virtual world. I don’t comment often here, because (following my parents’ stellar example) I think I can learn more by letting others talk, My automotive knowledge also doesn’t run very deep. I love cars, but I really don’t know how they work (I can change the oil and tires, but that’s about it), and I really don’t like showcasing my ignorance.
I hope, like your old pickup, you just keep going. . .
as one who should do more, the best I can do at this moment Paul is to say thank you.
CC is the one and only thing I read every single day and would miss it terribly.
we all have moments of “foot in mouth” disease but hateful and spiteful is of no use to anyone.
let us all remember that old adage;
before putting mouth in gear, TAKE BRAIN OUT OF PARK !
Ya done good! Don’t worry about culling someone with a defective brain housing assembly.
Thanks Paul. You and this site are more appreciated than may be apparent. Like many others here, I have CC as one of my bookmarked ‘daily’ sites, and it gives me (at minimum) several hours a week of interesting and pleasurable reading.
as one of your silent readers, thank you for Curbside Classic! It’s my go-to after the day’s news gets to be too exhausting and I need a break (that’s happening more and more). We all need a place that’s civil, curious and generous these days, and I (along with a bunch of other people who never comment), appreciate it more than you can know. Thanks Paul!
I also echo the above comments that CC is one of the best sites out there, automotive or otherwise. A big part of that is the civil and intelligent comments. I always figured that happened organically, but I guess it is actually from diligent attention by Paul. Nothing stays in good condition without maintenance!
I don’t comment, or even read, here as often as I like owing to my life being way too busy. It’s taken me a couple hours just to get this comment written! I often only check in here every few days. The articles I find most interesting are often not today’s and the commenters have moved on by the time I read it. It’s the same problem I have with Facebook. If you don’t comment in the first few hours, forget it.
Thanks for all work by Paul and the other authors for a fantastic site!
Thanks for all you do Paul. CC is a treasure because of your hard work.
I want you to know Paul that I really do appreciate all your efforts here at CC, yours and all the other contributors. This is one of the saner websites out there, overwhelmingly very civil and a real relief after reading some of the vicious comments on other car sites (TTAC anyone?) or other more political news-type sites.
CC is like an oasis of peace and calm that I enjoy reading daily, and I hope it continues for many years!
All the comments above voice why I enjoy coming to the site. It’s the only site I read the comment section on as it is so civil, informative, and interesting.
Well said!
You do a grand job, Paul. CC is one of my daily reads.
Dear Mr. Niedermeyer,
I currently subscribe to twenty car blogs.
I always check yours first.
Thank you for you amazing labor of love,
Sincerely,
Paul Trautman
I never realized that the moderators read all the comments.
I’m sorry to hear that it’s an issue with some of the readers.
I try to look past some of the comments that would come across harsh about the writers opinions of the given vehicle, thinking it was a one time thing.
But I’ve seen a few names do it repeatedly and I’m glad to know they can be kept off the sight.
I’ve learned a lot from this site and I see quite a few of intelligent and thoughtful people sharing opinions
Thanks to all of you for this.
Amen! There are times when I’ve written something poisonous and I’ve had to retract/delete during the edit process (hopefully before a screenshot, erm), but I’m glad CC has high standards and this is a good reminder of that fact.
Keep up the great work Paul, this site is a true gem I’ve always wished for since I was a kid and I certainly don’t want it taken away or for it to devolve into something different.
I think the internet in general needs this kind of frank discussion or at least some kind of user registry and accountability, but I guess that kind of misses the point of information democracy and freedoms.
Interesting times.
What everybody said.
There are SO many stay-away-from-the-comments sites on the internet. This is one of the few you’re-not-done-until-you’ve-finished-reading-the-comments-and-don’t-forget-to-check-what’s-added-to-yesterday’s-articles sites.
+1, NLPT.
This is one of the few places where I actually look forward to reading the comments, because (generally) people are well informed, and are civil with each other……even when they disagree. I can tell that probably the average age of the people that post here are maybe +35? The worst is on Jay Leno’s Garage YouTube channel. I love Leno’s shows, but the people that post in the comments section are, for the most part, trolls and guys just looking to knock each other down on something that someone spent a lot of money and time–and passion–on. I’ve told myself not to read the comments, but it’s sort of like a car crash……it’s gruesome, but you just can’t seem to look away from it.
I remember watching an acceleration video (not on Leno’s show), but where the driver was filming the speedometer of a Ford GT40 doing a top speed run, and one of the comments was something to the effect of “lame……running out of breath at +200 mph”. It was at that point that I really realized that any idiotic opinion could exist out there.