Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the U.S., aka Turkey Day, aka the high holy day of food (and booze-related gluttony), so we’re shuttering a little early today so our American crew can get a jumpstart on the holiday and our Canadian folks can get a little well-earned time off. We’ll be posting here and there over the long weekend, but expect a lighter content mix than usual.
Some of you noticed that we had a little bit of a technical snafu yesterday, and a few of you commented on Steph’s post with references to your own IT issues.
I try to read as many comments as I can, but it’s not humanly possible for me to catch them all. The same is true for the rest of our editors. Our moderators do a great job and clue us in to issues, but we’re all busy and things get missed.
As you’ve no doubt already seen, Tim Cain is leaving us to pursue another opportunity. We wish him well, but as punishment, he owes us Timbits from Tim Hortons. Lots of Timbits. Like, caseloads.
Confectionery jokes that I have already run into the ground aside, what does this mean for the site? If you love Tim’s sales analysis, it will still be a part of TTAC – just less often. He will still post for us a few times a month on a part-time basis.
For more than 13 years I’ve been writing about cars, first in print media, then with my former website GoodCarBadCar, then with Canada’s far-reaching Bell Media, then with Cars.com, and eventually here at my long-term home, The Truth About Cars.
I will not stop writing about cars. But my current full-time role as sales analyst and road test editor at TTAC comes to an end today.
Let’s keep this short, shall we?
This Friday will be my last day as The Truth About Cars’ managing editor. On Monday, I begin a new career elsewhere, outside of journalism but still in the automotive industry.
But this isn’t really a goodbye. I’ll be vacating the seat to sit in another as an editor-at-large here at TTAC, and will stay for as long as my replacement will have me.
Speaking of my replacement …
UPDATE
Everything is good now. Comment away on your phones, dear friends.
We’re having an issue with the site today where a bug is redirecting logged-in mobile users from TTAC’s main page to the forum. Currently, we don’t know when the issue will be fixed.
In the meantime, we have a workaround: log out of your commenter account on mobile. I know — it sucks. But for now, that’s the only solution we have.
Sorry, folks :(
Your moderation team here at TTAC thought it might be time for a reminder on our commenting policy. The rules apply to everyone — commenters and writers alike. Recently, we’ve been a bit lax on enforcing the rules, but that time has now come to an end. Included below is the TTAC commenting policy by which we all must abide. Posting comments on TTAC constitutes an acceptance of these comment guidelines.
In November of last year, I asked you, our loyal readership, for your input on how to guide this website into the future. You spoke to the tune of 300 comments, and I replied with the following:
When it comes to politics, we must walk a fine line, and we must define the meaning of political discussion. There’s no doubt that politics, government, regulation, and the automotive industry are intertwined like a well-stirred spaghetti. If we’re to ignore those aspects of the automotive environment in America and globally, we aren’t doing our jobs. However, there’s a vast difference between politics and partisan rhetoric. It’s the latter that’s become an issue.
So, we’ll eschew partisan rhetoric unless it’s germane to the story at hand. Otherwise, TTAC will not take part in the dissemination of rhetoric itself. Still, we’re about to enter a new era in American politics, where rhetoric plays an even more active role than it has in years and decades past. Keep this in mind when reading our reports. We cannot and should not ignore the words escaping the mouths of politicians, elected officials, regulators, and bureaucrats. To do so would be a disservice to you.
Well, dear readers, I’ve done you a disservice.
As we roll into the holidays, TTAC is signing off for a four-day weekend and its writers are enjoying some much needed rest with family and friends. As much as we love to pour our hearts into this little corner of the web, we also need to share those hearts with other loves in our lives. So, because of that, TTAC can wait for a few days.
But before we go, I’d like to thank you — the writers, the readers, and everyone else that makes this possible — for an excellent year. Enjoy your holidays safely. We’d really like to see you come back here in 2017 in one piece.
In the meantime, and in the spirit of the season, let’s try something.
Last week, on TTAC’s 15th birthday, I asked you — all of you — for your input on what TTAC should be going forward. I wanted to know what we were missing. Thankfully, TTAC’s leaders have a history of holding open conversations with its readership.
It’s this open communication that’s such a blessing during an age of websites shutting down their comment areas by throwing the uncivil baby out with the bathwater in the name of civility. If anything, empty commentary is civil. It also isn’t commentary.
But we are not empty. You filled the space with a chorus of over 300 comments. We’ve listened and have already begun making changes behind the scenes to put your suggestions in motion.
However, I also need to address the elephant in the room. Actually, there are a few.
Update: It looks like we’re in the clear. If you notice anything broken with the site, email me at mstevenson@ttac.com.
We’re currently working on a site issue that’s restricting the ability of many of you to scroll pages. When it’s cleared up, we’ll update this post.
Thanks for hanging in there.
We’re growing again and you might be just the guy (or gal) to join our little automotive internet enclave.
Interested? Hit the jump.
The annoying Facebook overlay is dead. Hurrah!
Colin Chapman is given credit to an infamous line overused by today’s automotive cognoscenti: Simplify, then add lightness.
We’ve applied Mr. Chapman’s philosophy to our commenting policy, which will now be rigorously enforced.
These are TTAC’s Six Rules of Civility.
Since a significant part of our staff lives north of the Freedom Border, we’re keeping it light today.
As Steph does each Canada Day, he’ll be crossing the Upper/Lower Canada border to extol the benefits of federalism to separatists. I’ll be reciting “O, Canada” with the gender pronouns intact while eating Canadian bacon and pledging allegiance to the ghost of John Candy. Tim will be counting up U.S. sales numbers. Sad!
You still have a couple of news items coming your way today, so stay tuned. Also, make sure to come back on July 4th as we will have a special piece from Jack (not Mark) Baruth.
Recent Comments