General Cycling Discussion - using time wisely

does anyone else relate to this. its called "lunch break"
http://www.velotravels.com/movies.html

Welcome to the forums CarbonGuy, I noticed your email address was a @velotravels.com address. Could you please do me a quick favor, and read #4 of the community guidelines (http://www.bikeforums.net/misc.php?s=&action=faq&page=1#about)?

I'll leave this post alone, however please dont do this in the future. If you want forum members to visit your site, your more then welcome to put a link in your profile (http://www.bikeforums.net/member.php?s=&action=editprofile). This link will show up on every post on the forums.

Sorry!!
The truth is that I made the movie and wanted people to see it. I have a @velotravels address because the guys that built the site are friends of mine.
I was hoping people would see the movie and like it and I didn't think about the connection to velotravles.
Sorry again.

No problem, thanks for understanding.

dang, this is the most oppressive forum I have ever been to. I am obviously breaking the rules, and I will step out gracefully.

:o

oppresive? nooo, Joe(the creator) just has specific rules, and since he owns the site, when spammers encroach upon this rules, he has the right to enforce those rules. So read the rules and then this site isn't oppresive.

The way i see it, is there are tons of cycling forums on the internet, i have 17 in my personal bookmarks (including yours). So, why did i start another forum? Most of the other forums on the internet sucked, they were full of advertisements, full of spam, and flames. I wanted a place where i could talk with other cyclists, a place full of respect, good threads, and fun.

I didnt want a place where people could put others down, a place full of spam and advertisements, or a place supported by 15 ad's on each page.

If you think this site is oppresive, feel free to move on, however you are more then welcome to stay here and chat, just obey the community guidelines, thats all i ask, and there really not that strict.

BTW., the movie was great, how did you make that? You need to continue it, riding to work, bad drivers, flat tires... :)

Yea I totally appreciate your rules and this is a good site you have a good community here. I hope this doesn't reflect badly on my friends at velotravels. Also I am glad you liked my movie. I am trying to make some more. THANKS

I like this forum because people are generally treated with respect, there is tons of good advice for cyclists at all stages of development, there are no ads that jump out at you, no popups, people are often VERY VERY FUNNY (one of the best things about it, in my book), it's easy (well, pretty easy) to navigate and quick to load (there's another forum I've about given up on because it's so balky)--and I suppose I could go on.

In sixty years of following rules and disobeying a few here and there, I've come to believe there are many, many more rules in this world than there need to be. But there are some good ones, too. (Such as, in theory, traffic lights.)

Nobody compelled me to come here, but I stick around because the experience is overwhelmingly positive. If I felt uncomfortable, embarrassed, or annoyed much of the time, I'd be out of here, because there are other things to do. So I think the rules are reasonable and effective.

Originally posted by ridemonkey.com
dang, this is the most oppressive forum I have ever been to. I am obviously breaking the rules, and I will step out gracefully.


You could have stepped out gracefully, but your preceding comments made that impossible. But I will say no more, since I relish these forums as a place where personal arguments are rare.

Sorry you don't like it here, man.

Amen, Pete.

As most of you know, I am new to this biking thing. Since I somehow happened across this forum, I have never searched for anyplace else to hang out! A nice place to call home, visit with friends, take some advice, maybe give some once in a while, share a sorrow, or have a laugh.

Thanks, Joe.

Keep up the good work Joe! :D

While checking out some stuff on the RAGBRAI site, I came across the following:

“To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is . . . the greatest benefit that can be conferred upon mankind. It prolongs life itself and enlarges the sphere of existence.” John Quincy Adams (7/11/1767)

Thanks again, Joe!

Thanks yall :)

Originally posted by nebill
“To furnish the means of acquiring knowledge is . . . the greatest benefit that can be conferred upon mankind. It prolongs life itself and enlarges the sphere of existence.” John Quincy Adams (7/11/1767)

What a good quote. It bears upon why I love and cherish all those good teachers I had throughout my school years (including grad school). To me, a good teacher is a kind of saint. But I suspect there are saints all around us: they just don't make a lot of clamor!

Thanks for the quote, Nebill!

Originally posted by Joe Gardner
The way i see it, is there are tons of cycling forums on the internet, i have 17 in my personal bookmarks (including yours). So, why did i start another forum? Most of the other forums on the internet sucked, they were full of advertisements, full of spam, and flames. I wanted a place where i could talk with other cyclists, a place full of respect, good threads, and fun.

I didnt want a place where people could put others down, a place full of spam and advertisements, or a place supported by 15 ad's on each page.


I fully agree, Joe.

Chris

I didnt want a place where people could put others down, a place full of spam and advertisements, or a place supported by 15 ad's on each page.

Joe, I full agree with you, and I appreciate the stuff you do on the forums. I don't agree with ridemonkey's comments about this place being oppressive. I think he's possibly mistaking guidance with censure, and I believe that's NOT what this forum is all about.

Like the others have said in this thread, it's not about someone preventing opinions in this post, but rather ensuring that this forum doesn't get out of hand with advertising and inappropriate flaming. I think it's more about respect, and respecting the rules that everyone had agreed to when we registered on this site. :)

Ridemonkey, even if I disagree with your comment, hey, that's no big thing, I still think you should hang out here anyway! :)

Btw, Joe, I'm still wondering if you've found a patch yet, for your bikeforums.com site--I'm still WAY TOO addicted to this place! :D

Amen, TG!

You know, when I first read this thread I thought it would be about suggestions for using time wisely. Three leaped to mind immediately:

1. Ride my bike
2. Work on my bike
3. Watch TDF on TV
4. When not occupied by anything more important, earn a living to be able to do 1 through 3. :D

Hi folks,
I am the Webmaster for velotravels.com. I thought it might be appropriate if I said a few words on this subject. We here at Velotravels have only one interest, that is building the online community of cyclists. We respect Joe and Bike Forums, we also respect the thousands of other cycling sites out there struggling to put good cycling content online.

What happened here was not an effort to steal Joe's members. Rather, it was a well meaning and misguided (if not unauthorized) effort to get a short film clip some play on the net.

Continually adding to this post and allowing it to remain near the top of the list is counter productive. It does not serve Joe anymore than it serves us. It is pretty much a dead horse.

Sincerely

Originally posted by bvelo
Hi folks,
I am the Webmaster for velotravels.com. I thought it might be appropriate if I said a few words on this subject. We here at Velotravels have only one interest, that is building the online community of cyclists. We respect Joe and Bike Forums, we also respect the thousands of other cycling sites out there struggling to put good cycling content online.

What happened here was not an effort to steal Joe's members. Rather, it was a well meaning and misguided (if not unauthorized) effort to get a short film clip some play on the net.


In all fairness, I don't think there was any direct criticism of velotravels.com in this thread. It was merely people expressing support for the forum guidelines that Joe has on this site. This is support that I share.

Chris

I saw the flicks. It didn't seem like a diversionary tactic to me.

No big deal.

I appreciate any attempt to add some entertainment to the bicycle world.

HOWEVER, Dear Webmaster at Velotravels.com, if you are going to put that much effort into making a video, you need better writing than: 1) guy drinks, 2) guy puts down cup 3) guy drinks and puts down cup again 4) guy rides away on a bike.

Contact me, I'll help. Seriously. Let's do it and make the download more worthwhile. You can reach me through the private messages at bikeforums.com or e-mail me.

If fairness had anything to do with it it would have ended when Carbonguy said;


Sorry!!
The truth is that I made the movie and wanted people to see it. I have a @velotravels address because the guys that built the site are friends of mine.
I was hoping people would see the movie and like it and I didn't think about the connection to velotravles.
Sorry again.


And then again when he said;


Yea I totally appreciate your rules and this is a good site you have a good community here. I hope this doesn't reflect badly on my friends at velotravels. Also I am glad you liked my movie. I am trying to make some more. THANKS


I'm not going to say anymore about his post. I think you guys have a great forum full of loyal members. Keep posting and have a nice ride next time you go!

bvelo, thank you for posting, your more then welcome to post on these forums. I agree 100% with your last post, its not an issue. I may have come down a bit to hard on carbon guy for this post, I do apologize.

No need to apologize. You are totally right.

Thanks for the welcome. I'll see you around the forums.

Not to beat the aforementioned "dead horse", but...

I think I missed something.

I saw this post, went to the site, and downloaded the movie. I then watched it.

When I proceeded to read the replies, I was surprised that this would warrant any discussion. I didn't perceive this post as an advert, a diversionary tactic, or any other form of spam.

I've been to other forums where the sense of community is lost and where there is genuine spam and too many ads. (Mostly, I don't like the ads because they are too "in my face" with info I don't want. If it was stuff I actually wanted to buy, it probably wouldn't bother me too much.)

Here, though, is a great community, very supportive and helpful. I fully support this forum and wish to participate for a long time to come. That said, I didn't see the interloping factor of this post. I thought it was just some guy sharing his movie about doing something fun on a bike. People sometimes post links to photos of funny things they saw, pics of their own bikes and accessories, or pics of other people's bikes. I thought this was one of those. It was just moving and had a soundtrack.

Jonathan

I agree, the reason for my first post in this thread, was it was carbonguys first post in the forum, i saw a few red lights, 1st post, links to a website, has an email address for that website, website has forum. I'll try to keep my spam-radar on low from now on :)

I think you're alarm bells are right on and it was spam to some degree.
It is a really difficult issue from both points of view. On the one hand there are thousands of small online businesses rampantly marketing their junk online as cheaply as possible. Spamming.
Then there are thousands of content sites. Some are hugely popular like mtbr, but most are struggling to get people to their sites. Some resort to spamming larger sites. And, I have been guilty of that in the past.
It used to be that search engines got you in front of people. Now yahoo charges a few hundred buck for any new site wanting to get listed. If you don't pay they take forever to list your site if at all. In short, if you have a small site and no budget, it is very difficult to get people to go there. Just getting the domain name out there is rough.

It used to be the information super-highway right. Wrong, now it is the e-commerce super mall. Those without burn money need not apply.

How’s that for a cynical old computer geek.

I too want to give my support for the rules and my thanks to Joe for being such a great administrator. I have been to other cycling forums that have ended up loaded with "junk" as well as with exchanges that become REALLY nasty, including use of language that might offend some of us. Joe, you do a great job!:thumbup:

Originally posted by bikebrat
I too want to give my support for the rules and my thanks to Joe for being such a great administrator. I have been to other cycling forums that have ended up loaded with "junk" as well as with exchanges that become REALLY nasty, including use of language that might offend some of us. Joe, you do a great job!:thumbup:

Same goes for me. It's so nice to have a place with actual activity that is helpful, not inflammatory.

Jonathan

Originally posted by bvelo

It used to be the information super-highway right. Wrong, now it is the e-commerce super mall. Those without burn money need not apply.

How’s that for a cynical old computer geek.
Count me as your cynical buddy, bvelo.

As an ACLU member, I attended a conference in 1996 (ancient Web days, obviously) dealing with privacy and freedom of speech on the Internet. Concerns were being raised even back then about the growing commercialization of the Web, with the subtle and not-so-subtle losses in communication that entails.

It's sure not so subtle now.

The Bike Forums represent to me a place where an almost ideal balance is struck between free speech and freedom from harassment, in a virtually commercial-free ambiance. For those moments of unrestrained wildness that call forth some of the less admirable aspects of human character (or lack of it), I or any other member is free to go to the numerous other venues where flames, obscenity, and mischief are the norm. But I like it here because I can usually express my opinions in a reasonable way and don't have to dread visiting the site because I'll be repelled by personal attacks and really disgusting content.

The issue that started this thread shows that it's hard to make judgment calls sometimes--black-and-white is the exception in a sea of gray. If Joe didn't over-react occasionally he'd probably begin to seem like an automaton. I'm glad he keeps on top of things, and can even admit when he was a bit too zealous. :)

This is a pretty pure format. It is a total free exchange of ideas. This aspect of the web is great.
What I hate is when a website forces your email address and other info out of you, Then they set cookies so when you return they can match you back up to the personal info they got from you. Then if you buy something or search for something or whatever they record it. Then they show you adds that are targeted to your interests. I hate that.
Amazon is the biggest one. Have you ever seen what happens to the items listed on the homepage after you look around or buy something. They change it to match you interests. Check it out.
Couple that with this;
Search engines sell search terms. If you go to yahoo and buy "cycling" your banners will be on the page when someone serches for "cycling" And/or you can just pay to be ranked in the top ten. Someone searches for "cycling" and your website is on top of the list every time.
End result:
If you have money enough to get listed and market your site, then you probably have money enough to have a site that tracks everybodies every move and markets to them based on that info. So we end up with more and more sites like that, and less and less little guys.
:(

Originally posted by bvelo
End result:
If you have money enough to get listed and market your site, then you probably have money enough to have a site that tracks everybodies every move and markets to them based on that info. So we end up with more and more sites like that, and less and less little guys.
:(
This is a good example of "free enterprise" at its worst. I've never been able to see why unrestrained capitalism and competition are a good thing. To me, they simply aren't. I think the protestors at the G8 meeting in Genoa are misguided in their use of violence (arson, looting, attacking police) but I sympathize with their basic viewpoint: the rich get rich, and the poor get poorer--and how can that be right? And it's the same with the Internet now.

This talk about providing Internet access to Third World countries and illiterate peoples--what a joke. What are they supposed to do, shop on eBay? Arrange their holiday excursions? Manage their stock portfolios? That's about all that's going to be on the Web at the rate it's going.