pj7
06-06-07, 11:57 PM
There is a real problem here, and I'm sure everyone sees it. And when all is said and done with this message ask yourself, "do we really need these two forums".
Does anything ever get resolved or discussed here that actually makes an impact? I truely do not think so.
With the exception of maybe 3 posters on this message board (and you know who you are) everyone else has their "home" forum. They might even have a few forums, their "home" forum and their "home(s) away from home" forum. For me it is the "Commuting" forum with a little bit of "Clydesdale" and "Touring" on the side. When I have a safety issue to discuss or an idea about advocating cycling I take it to my "home" forum because that is what makes sense. The needs of an everyday commuter when referring to advocation and safety are not the needs of the pace-line paleton (rolling sausage fests) riders. Nor are they the needs of the BMX kids or the guys showing off their wacky-ass creations (some of those bikes are damned cool) in the "Alternative Bikes" forum. It makes sense doesn't it? Do the roadies think that the tourers really care about safety issues while drafting? Do the BMX kids give a crap about (well, anything really) managing a left turn on a 6 lane road that they will likely never see? Yet people come in here and post a question or an idea and damned near everything gets turned into an argument of power weaving or Nazis. WTF??
For instance:
N_C might have an issue with people not seeing him on a certain street because he rides a recumbent bike and there is alot of foliage at the corner of every side street that is just tall enough to obstruct the drivers view of him. He comes in here and asks about lane positioning. Helmet Head who does not ride a bent and spends more time in the sausage fest than commuting gives out what he thinks N_C should do based on his vast experience riding in pace lines. Then someone from an island that has 400 cyclist for every 3 motorists pops in with their input. and before you know it the egos and war of words begins. Where's the help and support in that?
A better example would be what happened to me many years ago when I first came in here with a question. I was almost 400 pounds, had not been on a bicycle in over 20 years, and could not hold a straight enough line to keep from drifting off the sidewalk! I asked about what I should do at an intersection where the sidwalk never resumed on the other side properly and I was forced to ride in the grass. the first 10 posts to me where to take the lane and exert my rights to the road. Really?? I would have ended up dead if that had happened. And I know it.
It is really sad that a certain subject that for all intents and purposes should be one of the best things for cyclist safety has become nothing more than a backdrop for people with egos to place behind their soapbox while they mountebank and try to show others how much better than them they are. It even got so bad that a subforum was created to keep that garbage out of the main forum. we can't kid ourselves and say it was for a different reason than that either. Just take a look in there. the VC subforum is another P&R forum, only worse. Nothing gets resolved and it seems to me to serve no purpose than to keep a few posters away from the rest of us (which is probably a good thing).
When I have an issue while commuting I bring it up in the commuting forum. When roadies have an issue they bring it up amongst themselves. And every "group" of cyclists who have a "home" forum do the same.
So with all that in mind ask yourself, do we really need this forum? And if so, what can be done to make it useful?
Does anything ever get resolved or discussed here that actually makes an impact? I truely do not think so.
With the exception of maybe 3 posters on this message board (and you know who you are) everyone else has their "home" forum. They might even have a few forums, their "home" forum and their "home(s) away from home" forum. For me it is the "Commuting" forum with a little bit of "Clydesdale" and "Touring" on the side. When I have a safety issue to discuss or an idea about advocating cycling I take it to my "home" forum because that is what makes sense. The needs of an everyday commuter when referring to advocation and safety are not the needs of the pace-line paleton (rolling sausage fests) riders. Nor are they the needs of the BMX kids or the guys showing off their wacky-ass creations (some of those bikes are damned cool) in the "Alternative Bikes" forum. It makes sense doesn't it? Do the roadies think that the tourers really care about safety issues while drafting? Do the BMX kids give a crap about (well, anything really) managing a left turn on a 6 lane road that they will likely never see? Yet people come in here and post a question or an idea and damned near everything gets turned into an argument of power weaving or Nazis. WTF??
For instance:
N_C might have an issue with people not seeing him on a certain street because he rides a recumbent bike and there is alot of foliage at the corner of every side street that is just tall enough to obstruct the drivers view of him. He comes in here and asks about lane positioning. Helmet Head who does not ride a bent and spends more time in the sausage fest than commuting gives out what he thinks N_C should do based on his vast experience riding in pace lines. Then someone from an island that has 400 cyclist for every 3 motorists pops in with their input. and before you know it the egos and war of words begins. Where's the help and support in that?
A better example would be what happened to me many years ago when I first came in here with a question. I was almost 400 pounds, had not been on a bicycle in over 20 years, and could not hold a straight enough line to keep from drifting off the sidewalk! I asked about what I should do at an intersection where the sidwalk never resumed on the other side properly and I was forced to ride in the grass. the first 10 posts to me where to take the lane and exert my rights to the road. Really?? I would have ended up dead if that had happened. And I know it.
It is really sad that a certain subject that for all intents and purposes should be one of the best things for cyclist safety has become nothing more than a backdrop for people with egos to place behind their soapbox while they mountebank and try to show others how much better than them they are. It even got so bad that a subforum was created to keep that garbage out of the main forum. we can't kid ourselves and say it was for a different reason than that either. Just take a look in there. the VC subforum is another P&R forum, only worse. Nothing gets resolved and it seems to me to serve no purpose than to keep a few posters away from the rest of us (which is probably a good thing).
When I have an issue while commuting I bring it up in the commuting forum. When roadies have an issue they bring it up amongst themselves. And every "group" of cyclists who have a "home" forum do the same.
So with all that in mind ask yourself, do we really need this forum? And if so, what can be done to make it useful?