Is this the worst forum in the world ?

bernithebiker

Be careful what you wish for.

Spikey replies are part of forum life. You have to develop a thick skin. Post in the right place for a start - if it's a newbie question like 'do I pedal clockwise or anticlockwise?' then post in the Beginners section.

Censorship or over enthusiastic mods are to be avoided like the plague - i use some French forums, and they are a nightmare; absolutely no impoliteness allowed, no links or mention of a brand (advertising innit?), and rapped knuckles if your spelling is poor, or you miss off some accents!

I think this forum is probably the best cyclingone out there.

napoleond

I advocate the crushing of a beginner's soul from the outset. It gets them used to the ignominy of being dropped like a Findus Lasagna.

cougie

If you think this is rough - you'll be shocked at the pisstaking on the average club run !
;-)

rolf_f

Maybe a bit over-moderated at times but on a big forum that tends to be better than under-moderated!

My main complaint of BR when I joined was that it felt very cliquey - some areas more than others. I don't notice it now but I don't know whether I've got used to it or it is just less cliquey than it was. It might help if instead of having off topic areas for each type of biking there was a single one where everyone could chat together and break down the barriers a bit. But then we'd have to talk to MTB folk and Commuters and that would be wrong.......

lotus49

Although there are a lot of very knowledgeable and helpful people here, there are also plenty of people who are just downright rude on a regular basis for no good reason.

This may be one of the better forums compared to YouTube but I wouldn't say that compared to other specialist forums of which I am a member. I normally find that there is a sense of community on specialist forums but that is rather lacking here. I am a member of a couple of specialist music forums (one for pianists and one for Early Music buffs) and the standard of behaviour there is far better than it is here and it is almost unheard of for members to be gratuitously rude to each other. Sadly that is common here.

I keep coming back here because it is very informative but I have come to the conclusion that pianists are both more articulate and more polite than cyclists based on my experience on the web.

Phil Fouracre

Not been posting long, I reckon it's a great forum. Though must admit I haven't had the courage to admit that my fifth bike, just bought, is electric assist 'cos everyone will take the p1ss. As I'm using it to recover from a catastrophic paragliding accident I really don't care what comments I get. Keep 'em coming.....

bompington

Pianists suck. Real men play the guitar.

markos1963

CiB wrote:

Ha. I had a bit of a rant on here a few weeks ago. Do you mean me?

This is one of the nicer places on the internet, and worth dropping into occasionally. I's real world though, and tbh some of the questions that newbies ask aren't daft per se, but daft in the wider context that instead of just getting on a bike and enjoying it, there seems to be a trend for every little bit of cycling needing to be pored over, and advice sought and proffered, even when they tend to be the sort of questions that are easy to think through or resolve themselves. Take clips. There's not a super-breed of cylist born with an inate ability to ride clips. We all learnt. Some made more mistakes than others but we learnt, fairly quickly iirc. Same with riding on the hoods or drops, or learning how to climb a hill, or use the gears, or keep warm, or stay dry. You go out, find out what works for you and enjoy the moment when you discover something else you learnt to do. Instead there's this trend where nothing is too trivial to raise a thread on, and it does nothing except make it look as if nobody has the courage these days to just go out and discover for themselves whatever it is is being asked. And the threads about doing my first 5 miles, or my first 10 miles that went well but should I have stopped for a meal and a stash of gel bars halfway to stop me bonking cos I was completely stuffed at the end of it. It's just a change of use as far as your muscles & lungs are concerned -it'll take a handful of rides to adapt.

After a few of these sort of threads it starts to look as if the point of cycling isn't to get out on your bike and explore your personal limits and find out what works for you and whether you can push ypurself, it begins to look as if too many people are too keen to keep checking that they're fitting in with the rules, with the club. Riding a bike is as easy as... It doesn't require asking what really are very basic questions or checking that you're doing it right. Enjoy the learning curve.

It works both ways anyway. If people who don't know one end of a bike pump from another can come on here and ask which end fits where, other people can sometimes go off on one in response.

Probably one of the best responses I've read on here, well done for summing it up so well.

Brakeless

lotus49 wrote:

I keep coming back here because it is very informative but I have come to the conclusion that pianists are both more articulate and more polite than cyclists based on my experience on the web.

What a brilliant quote. Do you find Male Ballet dancers drink slightly less beer than rugby players?

Cleat Eastwood

bernithebiker wrote:

Be careful what you wish for.

Spikey replies are part of forum life. You have to develop a thick skin. Post in the right place for a start - if it's a newbie question like 'do I pedal clockwise or anticlockwise?' then post in the Beginners section.

Censorship or over enthusiastic mods are to be avoided like the plague - i use some French forums, and they are a nightmare; absolutely no impoliteness allowed, no links or mention of a brand (advertising innit?), and rapped knuckles if your spelling is poor, or you miss off some accents!

I think this forum is probably the best cyclingone out there.

Whats the french forum - I wanna go.

Cleat Eastwood

lotus49 wrote:

Although there are a lot of very knowledgeable and helpful people here, there are also plenty of people who are just downright rude on a regular basis for no good reason.

This may be one of the better forums compared to YouTube but I wouldn't say that compared to other specialist forums of which I am a member. I normally find that there is a sense of community on specialist forums but that is rather lacking here. I am a member of a couple of specialist music forums (one for pianists and one for Early Music buffs) and the standard of behaviour there is far better than it is here and it is almost unheard of for members to be gratuitously rude to each other. Sadly that is common here.

I keep coming back here because it is very informative but I have come to the conclusion that pianists are both more articulate and more polite than cyclists based on my experience on the web.

Are you telling us no one has even hinted at making an organ joke -

dabber

Cleat Eastwood wrote:

lotus49 wrote:

Although there are a lot of very knowledgeable and helpful people here, there are also plenty of people who are just downright rude on a regular basis for no good reason.

This may be one of the better forums compared to YouTube but I wouldn't say that compared to other specialist forums of which I am a member. I normally find that there is a sense of community on specialist forums but that is rather lacking here. I am a member of a couple of specialist music forums (one for pianists and one for Early Music buffs) and the standard of behaviour there is far better than it is here and it is almost unheard of for members to be gratuitously rude to each other. Sadly that is common here.

I keep coming back here because it is very informative but I have come to the conclusion that pianists are both more articulate and more polite than cyclists based on my experience on the web.

Are you telling us no one has even hinted at making an organ joke -

Now you're pulling out all the stops.

navrig

VTech wrote:

I know the internet has changed over the years but seriously, is this the worlds worst forum ?
Not for the fact that its cycling but the people here ?

Not by a long way. There are many helpful people on here and the pi$$ taking is all part of the "banter". Remove this banter by over moderation and you will have a sterile forum which fewer people with populate and it will become defunct.

Newbies really ought to register and then use the search function for the basic questions. It is not difficult and prevents the same old stuff being regurgitated.

As far as dealing with the pi$$ taking is concerned MTFU is probably a suitable response

VTech

I'm all for banter but the same few people enter threads to be downright rude. That's not the same thing in my book.
It's one thing to help, another to take part and yet another to scour for posts and be obnoxious and rude with no attempt to assist with the questions being asked.

navrig

VTech wrote:

I'm all for banter but the same few people enter threads to be downright rude. That's not the same thing in my book.
It's one thing to help, another to take part and yet another to scour for posts and be obnoxious and rude with no attempt to assist with the questions being asked.

It's a bit like:

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"- Eleanor Roosevelt

One man's insult is another man's banter.

Therein lies the problems of internet forums. Unless you can see the person's eyes you wont know if they are being rude or just mischevious. Smilies help but will never the replace the face to face experience.

Additionally there are rude people in all walks of life. In the pub you will avoid them. On a forum you cannot savoid them.

On that basis you either live with it or don't frequent online forums.

VTech

Navrig wrote:

VTech wrote:

I'm all for banter but the same few people enter threads to be downright rude. That's not the same thing in my book.
It's one thing to help, another to take part and yet another to scour for posts and be obnoxious and rude with no attempt to assist with the questions being asked.

It's a bit like:

"No one can make you feel inferior without your consent"- Eleanor Roosevelt

One man's insult is another man's banter.

Therein lies the problems of internet forums. Unless you can see the person's eyes you wont know if they are being rude or just mischevious. Smilies help but will never the replace the face to face experience.

On that basis you either live with it or don't frequent online forums.

Ohh, I've never felt inferior. Far from it in fact. I deal in .0001 of a second on a daily basis, that makes me feel inferior

luv2ride

I wouldn't be without this resource. When I got stuck changing a crankset on my MTB for the first time, I was getting great advice in real time on the Workshop forum, even though I'd stupidly chosen to start the job late evening! Even though many of the answers were merely encouragement, it gave me the confidence to give the BB removal tool some real welly, and the job got completed (with a sense of accomplishment for not having to go to the LBS to be bailed out). great advice again when I built up an MTB for my son, replacing headsets and the like, and then lastly when I built up my winter road bike. I doubt I'd have attempted those last two "projects" without getting real encouragement from people on here, together with the advice given during the builds. I find the majority of people on here are interested in passing on sound advice, and are happy to do so....

keef66

bompington wrote:

Pianists suck. Real men play the guitar.

If you're sucking your piano you're doing it wrong!

jouxplan

As a drummer with 1.5 million video views on YouTube, and who has in the past frequented various band forums, I can say that this cycling forum is refreshingly pleasant by comparison. It never ceases to amaze me how unpleasant people can be, when they are sat behind a desk. Whilst I am lucky enough to only deal with perhaps one nasty comment a month, it is always the nasty comments that you remember! Band forums were the worst - incredibly patronizing and unfriendly and cliquey: I simply don't go on those forums anymore.

I've found this cycling forum to generally be a huge hoot, with some laugh out loud stuff ('pulling out the stops' in reply to the piano comment made me spit my coffee out laughing, for example ). Some of the threads can get a little tedious and harsh, but often, the OP or someone else has really left themselves wide open to sarcasm etc. I guess stick to the beginners section if it really is going to be a basic question, or be prepared for someone to be sarcastic (it won't be me, I'm a friendly chap ).

On a final note, pianist's have their place, guitarist's are ok, but drummers are the best

navrig

jouxplan wrote:

On a final note, pianist's have their place, guitarist's are ok, but drummers are the best

http://gimp137.tripod.com/myfun.com/id18.html


Sorry, couldn't resist given the nature of this thread.......

Cleat Eastwood

Navrig wrote:

jouxplan wrote:

On a final note, pianist's have their place, guitarist's are ok, but drummers are the best

http://gimp137.tripod.com/myfun.com/id18.html


Sorry, couldn't resist given the nature of this thread.......

haha super - in case you dont want to click the link heres just 3 of em

What do you call a drummer with half a brain?
Gifted.


What do you call someone who hangs around with musicians?
A drummer.


Why do bands have bass players?
To translate for the drummer.

jouxplan

See how wonderfully friendly this place is? My fellow forum contributer takes the time to apologise, prior to providing everyone with a link to a load of (well known!) drummer jokes

The one about the knuckles dragging along the ground is most appropriate - in one of my vids, I did actually dress up as a Gorilla and do the Cadbury's advert thing :oops:

bompington

As a bass player, my favourite has to be:

Q. What's the definition of a bass player?
A. A cross between a drummer and a musician.

cornerblock

Is this the worst forum in the world ? Nope, not as long as it keeps producing gems like this it's not.

lotus49 wrote:

I have come to the conclusion that pianists are both more articulate and more polite than cyclists based on my experience on the web.

OP you'll find a bit of everything on this forum. From knowledgeable people who are very helpful and willing to share to people who think they know it all but don't. From those who take everything sooo seriously to those that take nothing seriously. From those that love the sound of their own keyboards to those that rarely post, but when they do it's worth a read. What I'm saying is, the forum is whatever you put into it and whatever you get out of it. Find the parts that are of use to you and ignore whatever you don't like.

Now terribly terribly sorry if you'll please excuse me I must go, I'm to perform Chopin Scherzo No. 2 Op. 31 at the Purcell Rooms this very evening. Toodle pip.

jouxplan

bompington wrote:

As a bass player, my favourite has to be:

Q. What's the definition of a bass player?
A. A cross between a drummer and a musician.

Ha!
It is perhaps a mark of just how pervasive these drummer jokes are, that when the bass player in a band I was in once exclaimed 'wow, you're not a drummer, you're a musician!', instead of being somewhat miffed, I was delighted (and yes, he was being serious, before you suggest otherwise!)

RonB

jouxplan wrote:

- in one of my vids, I did actually dress up as a Gorilla and do the Cadbury's advert thing :oops:

Could be worse, could be Phil Collins...

...oh...

...hang on!

declan1

Haven't read the whole thread, but this is most definitely the best forum I've ever been a member of. Highly disciplined forums just become boring after 2 minutes, and if you're serious about it, you get some properly good help here.

diy

if you are going to take up a hobby that involves wearing lycra gimp suits you have to be reasonably thick skinned.

smidsy

diy wrote:

if you are going to take up a hobby that involves wearing lycra gimp suits you have to be reasonably thick skinned.

Isn't lycra a very thin skin

itboffin

I agree with the OP the road section can be waaay too serious and harsh, I think that's why commuting is more relax.

Elitist gits all of you

Come over to Commuting, we have hi-viz, mud guards, cake and a trucker chick called Dave :roll: