A bit over a week ago, I wrote a comment on Electrec complaining about how it's frustrating that Fred continually asserts that Tesla's Semi numbers don't work out without some sort of miracle battery energy density breakthrough. I broke down the weights of various components and showed that it did. I'd done such breakdowns before, but he'd never commented on them, just continued asserting the same thing. This time, however, before going into the breakdown I referred to the notion as "stupid". This apparently got his attention. And the fact that I was uprated 42 times made him furious (writing "I'm ashamed that people here would upvote it.") Fred's replies to me were consistently rated lower than my replies to him. Then something odd happened. I had been going from getting a large number of uprates and supportive replies to none at all. I'd write something helpful, or funny, or whatever, and... no matter what, ever since then, just nothing. Today it occurred to me... did Fred do something to my account? So I went to view threads where I'd posted from my cell phone where I wasn't logged in.... and none of my posts are visible. They show up when I write them and look like they post, but they're not visible to anybody else. For example, in this thread: https://electrek.co/2018/03/23/tesla-model-3-deliveries-production-q1/#more-64128 I have 8 replies as user:Karen. You don't see any of them, do you? I've been writing posts for over a week, and I'm just now finding out that they've been secretly hidden from everyone else. I'm still getting "likes" and replies on my old posts - yet only the ones written before Fred apparently decided on this "silent block".
He has been know to fall below the standard one would expect. In fact there was a time when M3OC automatically relayed his news as new threads but certain things he said about those managing things here meant that it did not make sense to promote his stories here.
Note: incoming opinion!!!! Prepare yourself!!! You have been warned!!! Short answer to your subject question: Yes. Long answer:. Having only begun to follow the Electrek site in the past couple of years myself, I get the feeling it’s gone from a small, niche reading base to a much, much larger clientele extremely quickly thanks mostly to Tesla, but also EVs in general, gaining popularity and people’s curiosity. The nearly constant stream of posts with any tidbit of data about the Model 3 is when things really seemed to ramp up. This prompted things to change (and attitudes to match) so quickly that it was almost overwhelming to the people involved with the site. I can imagine the shock/surprise/elation as the sites readership grew, and continued to grow so rapidly (along with the profits connected to site visits, ad clicks, advertising in general, etc.) that it felt like a dream. It’s what they wanted after all (a successful website that brings in a good, steady income...as I imagine it does) but to get it, to ACTUALLY get it and have it be so successful perhaps even beyond what they thought it could become is what I feel happened. And as is known to happen with a bit of fame, success and money, it goes to the head, causing some to twist and turn into a different version of themselves. Motivation turns from passion to conservation, questioning of posted site material becomes an attack on his income (that he now feels entitled to) instead of a potential for a great discussion. “Who are you to question me?” scoffing starts to warp the ego and shuts down doors to open conversation, the opinions of others and the ability to use logic. Having never met the man, the above is all 100% pure speculation (clearly). Maybe I’m right, maybe wrong, maybe partially both...who knows. I must say it doesn’t present a “good look” for him to shut you down @KarenRei, it seems it’s the type of thing he would want to discuss on a website dedicated to the TREK of all things ELECtric!! I’m certain your reputation here is one of great knowledge and expertise (along with a good humor) whose opinions are beyond welcome. At least that is how I view you and your posts. I know I for one enjoy your contributions and have come to the conclusion that I might not understand everything that you post since you’re much smarter than me, but I will always have my niche as the guy who “off topics” every thread with (mostly eye-rolling bad) attempts at levity. In solidarity, I will not frequent Electrek!!! (For the next 5 minutes)
Yes, he is. From December 2016: I do love that Electrek exists and does a great job of covering electric cars and related technologies. But I stopped commenting on the articles after that happened.
@Lovesword as a longtime Electrek reader I tend to agree with your assessment. When he started taking pot shots at Trev for seemingly no reason, it was clear to me that something had changed about the way he viewed himself and Electrek within the context of the EV movement. There is an undertone of "zero-sum game-ism" to his actions that I do not find appealing, especially given how rapidly the whole pie/EV market is expanding. Like, "Elon can only have one Tesla-friendly media outlet, so I must be it". Or, "There are only so many EV-news page-views to be had per day, so any other source of EV news or discussion is a threat to Electrek. Conversely, any increase in my share of page views validates Electrek as a leading EV news source and, by extension, me as a journalist." I do appreciate what he and Electrek have brought to the table over the years, but this recent trend toward denigrating and shunning other voices, outlets and opinions -- while simultaneously giving increased emphasis to his own, largely speculative viewpoints, via the "Electrek's Take" section under every article -- is very troubling, and makes me question how reliable and worthwhile a read Electrek will continue to be going forward. I'll take @KarenRei 's thoughtful, data-based analysis and prognostications (not to mention humor) over Fred's any day. Silencing her (not to mention a helpful, objective-minded voice like @garsh) is a mistake, and points to greater troubles ahead if not corrected.
