About thread titles ending in question marks...

I'm a little disappointed that GRM is doing the tabloid thing of creating headlines ending in question marks. Tabloids do so to avoid lawsuits, where they can "ask" "Is Trump a moron?" because legally, they aren't "saying" anything, they're just asking a question... sure they are...

Anyway, I was hoping that such cheap click-bait tactics wouldn't invade our safe car haven, but it has and seems to be spreading, most alarmingly by the magazine staff. Ordinary users here really are asking question, so it' warranted, but when the staff does so, it's clearly just a tactic to drive up click-throughs rather than being an honest question. I guess I could answer with, "I don't know, is it? I came here for you to tell me." I know I can come across harsh but I'm sincerely asking GRM to reconsider the tactic of how you drive up hits. We get plenty of click-bait elsewhere and don't want more here.

Note to self: Must resist urge to change thread title to end in question mark. 

I would have if I intended it to be humorous, but it's wearing thin.

I can see what you’re saying. I don’t think it’s harsh at all. I don’t really like to see that myself.

That being said, its hard to complain for me at least because this site is otherwise so fantastic.

kb58 said:

I would have if I intended it to be humorous, but it's wearing thin.

Maybe if you understood what was actually happening.

The threads are auto-created when an article is posted to the website

Its a series they are putting together to draw people from outside the forum to the website and the magazine.

As some have told me before with other postings that are annoying; its like a party, don't like the conversation or the folks you're mingling with?  Walk away to another group or change the subject.

You do realize that the bottom floor reason for this forum is to help sell the magazine, right?

Everyone here is on point. GRM isn’t spamming clickbait with ridiculous media that doesn’t even pertain to the reason you clicked it. They also aren’t doing that whole “50 reasons why driving this car will get you laid!” Or “Oregon drivers don’t expect you to do this to their mother, but we can’t stop you!”

or my favorite “this car went 300mph, watch history be made” followed by three poorly written paragraphs about how the car never went 300mph, but the speedometer read “300” at one point, on accident. 

??????????????? huh what??????????

Rumor has it everyone's a moron?  Well gosh darn it that might mean I'm the only smart one around.  Not a personal dig but I don't know I'm kinda on a 'everyone's different kick' right now as it just seems the world is just always upset at the other guy too much.  

In reply to kb58 :

I have almost no idea what you are going on about.  I just went back through a couple of pages and all of the titles with a question mark are posted by members of the hive.  I do know the threads you are talking, but since GRM owns this web site I feel they have the right to.  Why don't you take a hike and delete your post on the way out the door.     

It's almost as if they're trying to make money on this stuff...

I say take a break from the interwebz is this upset you enough to make a thread about it.

I know there are a lot of click bait sites that have been over-using the question mark in their headlines. However, with GRM, they're using it properly: You can expect them to investigate the question and provide enough results for a clear answer. The problem is not with GRM, but with the people who abuse the implied promise to provide an answer to the question.

In reply to Trackmouse :

That's where I'm at. The titles aren't the same as the Taboola clickbait nonsense, they're typically something that car people would ask one another with a reasonable conclusion at the end.

It may be a fine line I think there's enough of a distinction that it's ok.

Appleseed said:

You do realize that the bottom floor reason for this forum is to help sell the magazine, right?

Ummm, wrong.  GRM is written entirely for my benefit each month.  I thought that was common knowledge.  

Looking through the recent articles, I don't have a problem with those, since the question mark isn't being used to pose a ridiculous question or hedge a legally risky one. For example if the water injection article were titled "Does water injection make race gas obsolete?," that would piss me off, because that would be posing what turns out to be a ridiculous question. But the article does actually discuss using water injection as a cheap (in the long term) substitute for race gas.

Fake News.

In reply to kb58 :

Sorry that some of our titles don't sit well with you. As for a reason why, (and this has been stated in this thread before I think) these forum posts are automatically generated when an article or news item is published on the site. Why? Because almost 90% of our site traffic goes to the forum. We think we post some pretty interesting stuff from time to time, and they sometimes spur on great conversations. We want as many people to enjoy what we produce as possible so we make them really easy for you guys to find and talk about.

And why are some titles questions? It's not to avoid lawsuits. That's never been a concern. Not really our style of reporting. The real reason has to do with click-through rates. There are many studies showing that some of the best performing titles are those posed as questions, "How to..." statements and lists—among others. Their purpose is to make you curious and want to find out more. And since adding more of these titles to the mix we've seen more web traffic through our articles and more people joining the forum because they're inspired by all of you after exploring our site some.

So that's the reason why. Again, sorry if it doesn't sit well with you, but I can assure you that it doesn't have anything to do with an evil scheme of some sort. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a PM.

I came here hoping for another "Can we please stop hotlinking pics?" thread.

I am disappoint.

?

??

???

I don't get it  What's the problem?????????

I don't mind questions anywhere near as much as...

"Kentuky car enthusiast adjusted his timing - what happened next will blow your mind!"

"Once this person checks their tire pressures, your jaw will hit the floor!"

"You won't believe what this Midwest buyer found in the trunk of their car!"

"SkinnyG gained four hundred pounds in one sitting; you won't believe what happened next!"

They put the FU into FUN for me.

In reply to SkinnyG :

I tried to click to find out why you gained four hundred pounds, but the link was broken.  Don't leave me in suspense, man!  WHY? WHY? WHY? 

Alright, gotta go.  I'll be back after I share this picture of Buddha with 72 of my friends so that good luck will come my way.  Then I have to sign up for Mark Z's giant cash giveaway.  I expect the link to be fixed when I get back. 

I don’t get the point of starting this thread. If it was to raise hell, it failed. If to “gripe”, no one wants to hear it. If to change things, it isn’t your place. If to bring it to someone’s attention, see all of the above. 

I’m honestly surprised that GRM hasn’t started a member fee for the site. We all know we would pay it. Where else are you going to find the cheapest way to make a car run 10’s? Or, “how to make an AWD hybrid fiero”?

Trackmouse said:

... If to change things, it isn’t your place.

That speaks volumes.