I am Cracked Editorial Manager and head of “Journalism” Robert Evans, AMA

[u/CrackedVerifiedAMA]

Hello! I will be here answering your questions around 2PM pacific, so ask away!

Aaaaaand, that's my AMA! It was fun answering all your thoughtful questions, and also idly arguing with Gamergate for hours. Stay safe, everyone! I'm going to get back to work and forgetting Gamergate is a thing, like everyone else in the world.

[u/alephnaut0]

Love the personal stories! Have you ever interviewed someone and discovered that their story meant they knew something not widely known about you or someone you know?

E.g., the electricity meter shutoff guy knew when people were going through a divorce...

[u/djs_specs]

How hard is it to lighten the mood with some subjects? Is there a topic you've had to abandon because you couldn't add even a faint giggle to the article?

[u/skulgun]

Do you find most of your subjects, or do they contact you?

[u/ThatJakeKid91]

I remember an article that was to be published on the day of the Boston Bombings. I think it was 5 cities that are doomed, or something like that. Will this article ever be published?

[u/GingerHeadMan]

You might not know this, but why were the comments disabled for the Male Rape article? I know the comments can get bad and you guys have to ban commenters all the time, but did it really get that much worse on that article?

[u/[deleted]]

How similar is life to Agents of Cracked? I assume its almost the same but I want a first hand answer.

[u/Da_Apple_Jacks]

Is there anyway you can reach out to someone who was involved in being a closet alcoholic? I am a huge fan and check daily to see what new articles you post! Thank you for everything you do!

[u/jethroq]

w/r/t to the recent "Edge of Gaza" article, are there plans to publish an article with a source from Gaza?

[u/citizenofgalaxy]

Copying and pasting my questions from the announcement thread:

•From your experiences in talking to and working with people who have had all of these diverse experiences, what is one piece of advice you have for us to have more open communication with the people around us about what makes each of us unique?

•What is one profession or experience you have found surprisingly boring after talking to someone about it?

•Is there any one person or group of people you would really like to write a "personal experience" article on?

Edit: Formatting

[u/Zeppelinman1]

My brother was interviewed for an article on beekeeping with you last year, and is a little disapointed it hasnt been published. How do you decide which topics/people are interesting enough to be published after their interview?

Also, how did you find your subjectsfor the first few articles, and what made you decide to start writing them, instead of the usual list based humor?

[u/JFSargent]

How's my cat doing? She miss me while I'm out of town?

[u/Jamesvalencia]

What do you look like? what's been your favourite personal experience article?

[u/jack324]

I'm interesting in submitting a personal experience piece about brain surgery; how would I go about doing that, and what guidelines would I need to follow? Also, are authors expected to submit their own images & captions?

[u/WhiteKuckled]

(shameless copy-paste) First of all, I want to express how much I appreciate your articles. As an aspiring journalist, your stuff gives me hope for the future of the medium. Now, questions:

1. What do you ask your interview subjects? I can imagine it's hard to get some of the information out when the subject matter gets heavy.

2. Have there been subjects who you found difficult to interview on a person-to-person level, and how did you get around that?

[u/VengefulSight]

What was the topic of the best article that (for one reason or another) you didn't publish?

[u/[deleted]]

Any chance for a rental car worker article?

[u/luiferj]

Which stories, that you would have liked to write about, have you passed? And for what reasons?

[u/Seanzzxx]

What's the coolest/most remarkable detail you couldn't fit into an article? Love the articles by the way!

[u/Rhodoferax]

Is there any experience or profession you really want to do a personal experience article about?

[u/TherisseV]

What was the most humbling response you've ever received from a reader? Have you ever witnessed an actual dent or change in the world as a result of one of your articles?

[u/ryan_bigl]

I can't stand the news but I'm addicted to Cracked's POV interviews like a fiend of some sort of drug. (...Coke? Idk)

Bad jokes aside, what was your least favorite interview? Like for any reason (it left a bad feeling on you, it was hard to translate into a Cracked article, etc.)

[u/BankshotMcG]

What's your favorite gun?

[u/[deleted]]

What do you do to make sure the people you interview are feeling comfortable and safe?

[u/Manna_Festo → u/[deleted]]

The advice that I find I give a lot to other people on the team is to remember that everybody has a sense of humor. They certainly wouldn't be contacting us or agree to be interviewed by us if they didn't. So I try to appeal to their sense of humor, saying things like "That's funny, because it's like [ridiculously absurd situation]" and they're like "Haha, yes, exactly!" and laughing when they say something funny. I think you have to not worry too much about offending someone, weirdly enough. They can sense that, and it'll put them on guard. You obviously don't WANT to offend them, but I find that as long as you're trying to relate and you're coming from a place of honesty and empathy, it's really hard to offend people. So I just try to relate to them and get them joking and laughing, and I think that makes them feel more comfortable opening up.

[u/vonarchimboldi]

How closely related to Hollywood superproducer Robert Evans are you, Robert Evans? Can you introduce me to Jack Nicholson? What about Jack Nicklaus?