One of the big challenges of our particular style of storytelling is that we’re usually trying to be fun. Cars are generally fun. We want everyone to be here because they enjoy being here. Usually that means covering cars in as enthusiasts, because we are enthusiasts. Even when we’re miserable, we want to blog in a way that makes the misery enjoyable to you, the reader.
At the same time, we want to inform you of important car news and that news, sometimes, isn’t funny. There’s no good way to make that news funny and maybe we shouldn’t try.
Earlier this week we knew we had a story about forced labor and cars being stuck at ports that we wanted to write about, and I think Lewin did a great job expressing what happened seriously. Forced labor is essentially slavery and this not the forum for trying to find humor there. Lewin was already asleep when we decided to try some art for the top of the piece (what we call topshots) and it presented a real challenge.
Here’s the first pass at it:
Peter immediately clocks that maybe more serious is a better move but, honestly, that top he did slaps. It looks really good. It’s bright. It pops. In our parlance, it definitely “clicks more,” i.e. more people will read it. But…
We talk about being glib a lot. We don’t want to be condescending toward our readership and we also want you to all know that we take this seriously, even if what we’re writing about isn’t silly at all.
Hmm… this gets more challenging. It’s a pretty good message in a 2nd Season of The Wire sort of way, but does it make sense?
Does anyone else care that it’s not a roll-on, roll-off ship (a RoRo)? Maybe that’s just me.
Pete is hilarious.
Ok, this was a bad idea. I’m glad we didn’t do this idea.
I went looking on the Bentley press site for something production related and, thankfully, Bentley is very proud of its production line so it has a lot of photos.
If you can’t be glib in Slack, where else can you be glib? We try to make this a safe and supportive environment for our writers and, at the same time, give them space to be writers. To try bad jokes. To be just the right amount of dumb or glib. It’s sometimes good to just get it out of your system.
Don’t we all wish we could be Gibb?
I’m curious to hear what you all think. Did we go with the right photo? The wrong photo? What was the correct tone here?
Just became a member with the President’s Day deal, and as I wait for my mattress, probably cushioned with 5mph rubber castoffs (maybe also ribbed?), I finally get to read Tales and it’s an extra dose of Autopian fun, with the two best entertainment sources: glib and Gibb.
I also need an Intel Inside sticker for my Odyssey2
I think Torch inadvertently hit on the right tone. One sign that says “Days since last accident” right next to one that says “Days since we used slavery”
The Autopian: one of the few places I actaull enjoy seeing “how the sausage is made”. These views into how things are deliberated on are cool.
Put everyone in the photo in orange jumpsuits. Take a picket line pic and change signs we want less jobs. A sign every Porsche creates room for 5 more convicts.
I’d have liked to see the photo of all the workers around the Bentley in the assembly line, with a few handcuffed and maybe blindfolded Uyghurs photoshopped in front in very similar poses to the workers clasping their hands together. That would have driven there point home but avoided being glib
There are just certain subjects it’s best to tread lightly on and forced labor is certainly one of them. As much as I love the light tone The Autopian can adopt most of the time that subject, along with some others like child and spousal abuse are just not subjects that take well to flippant humor. On the other hand showing how the sausage is made in “Tales of the Slack” is completely on brand and acceptable; I’m just appreciating that you eventually got to the right place.
I appreciate, too, appreciate the de-glibbing and that this is a pretty safe space to try it out. Shitbox is the de-facto term for “car of questionable provenance and/or functionality,” yet I can’t see Car & Driver picking up on that and running with it.
I can tell you before I subscribed, Tales from the Slack were the most tantalizing posts (followed in a hot and bothered second place by Wrenching Wednesdays), but it’s posts like exactly this one that give this place depth. Maybe you misfired and retracted a topshot or a headline. Maybe something was in poor taste that you didn’t even know was in poor taste! I’d rather every one of those little missteps and mistakes from real people than AI-generated, SEO optimized dogshit.
Sometimes you fly too close to the sun, but you flew, goddamnit.
I appreciate the degliberation that went into this decision. In this particular case, were there any photos available of the item that was actually causing the issue? Maybe you could have used an image of the part floating next to the Bentley with text like “Can’t have this [arrow to car] because of that [arrow to part]”.
That would have been factual – and not especially glib, I think – while reserving the clarification of the labor issue for the body of the article, rather than trying to fit it into the topshot. That was an admirable goal but I think it’s a little too nuanced for an image.
Barry, Maurice, or Andy?
Heh, that sounds like an Archer insult: “Okay, Andy Glib”.
“Degliberation” is my new favorite term.
I would have used the image you did with an oblique text overly. Cargo stamp font: “INVOLUNTARILY SOURCED”.
“SOURCED BY FOURCE”
Personally I’d be shitting bricks if I published the word slavery with respect to any multi-billion dollar company. If the term of art used is forced labor, then stick with that. In legal parlance, slavery and forced labor may have distinct meanings and using them interchangeably might get you in hot water.
And yes, I’d rather be Gibb too, but only if I get to choose which one.
Yeeeeeeeah, this was the right call. As much as I’m going to hell for chuckling at the shipping container full of slavery?? and then wet naps????, the subject matter’s way too serious and I think text call-outs are best deployed more sparingly for extra emphasis on lighter fare.
Never get rid of the Morning Dump lower third, though. That’s just genius.
(Also, I care about RoRo accuracy. I care!)
I’m seriously disappointed by the lack of “That’s what she said” after Jason says “though I like ribbing.” Very disappointed.
And no SWG to reply “yeah me too…Pontiac 4ever!!”
Pontiac: ribbed for Torch’s pleasure
I enjoyed the Gandalf one,but it’s probably best you didn’t use it in the published piece.
Same, halfway through this tales from the slack I was onboard with the WETNAPS one but nobody would have gotten it.
I would have wryly enjoyed the “Intel Inside”-themed one for its car connections just b/c wasn’t that one of the stickers big with the tuner enthusiast crowd back in the heyday of the fartcan muffler and bleacher bench wing? “Acura Inside”?
Soooo many “Boost Inside!” stickers in the late 90s.
I need a “parsh inside.”