Advocacy & Safety - A & S Forum Stinks ( At Times ) => My 2 cents

I'm a fairly new cyclist, been commuting for about 2 years, and do some occasional Crit races in my hometown. I've been trolling the forum for some ideas to help with cycling advocacy and how I can help my fellow cyclist.

I'm really disappointed ( and today disgusted ) to see someone posting a simple safety question/concern, and they get spammed with so may horrible posts of people arguing items that are so unhelpful and irrelevant to the topic. The arguing and bitterness is so unhelpful. As an outsider looking in, some of you posting on these forums are not helping in any way to build a better community.

You should rethink your purpose, and perhaps it is time to get back on track. I think we are loosing focus on the topic of actually helping people.

"You should rethink your purpose"

Who is YOU?

The problem with A&S is that there are multiple strongly-held viewpoints on many of the issues of bicycle advocacy and safety. Contention is inevitable.

The problem with A&S is that there are multiple strongly-held viewpoints on many of the issues of bicycle advocacy and safety. Contention is inevitable.

And opposing viewpoints are not necessarily a bad thing, if it get's people thinking about things that they hadn't thought about before.

And opposing viewpoints are not necessarily a bad thing, if it get's people thinking about things that they hadn't thought about before.
+1

I really enjoy the vigorous debate. Many of the people who post here are brilliant and have proposed valuable, to me, solutions to problems. Most of us grow a thick enough skin to handle a bit of disagreeable disagreement.

And opposing viewpoints are not necessarily a bad thing, if it get's people thinking about things that they hadn't thought about before.

+2

+1

I really enjoy the vigorous debate. Many of the people who post here are brilliant and have proposed valuable, to me, solutions to problems. Most of us grow a thick enough skin to handle a bit of disagreeable disagreement.

Exactly, and one of the things that I have found interesting here is that in one thread two (or more people) may disagree "violently" but in another thread they agree so much that one might think that they've formed "a mutual admiration society."

While A&S can be pithy at times, if someone can't get pas that I would say they may be a bit thin-skinned. I've been part of a lot of forums, and this one really isn't all that bad, comparatively speaking. There exists a lot of good information and help here, it just takes a little time to sort the useful from the not-so-useful. Overall, I found it very useful, myself. YMMV.

I'm a fairly new cyclist, been commuting for about 2 years, and do some occasional Crit races in my hometown. I've been trolling the forum for some ideas to help with cycling advocacy and how I can help my fellow cyclist.

I'm really disappointed ( and today disgusted ) to see someone posting a simple safety question/concern, and they get spammed with so may horrible posts of people arguing items that are so unhelpful and irrelevant to the topic. The arguing and bitterness is so unhelpful. As an outsider looking in, some of you posting on these forums are not helping in any way to build a better community.

You should rethink your purpose, and perhaps it is time to get back on track. I think we are loosing focus on the topic of actually helping people.

I see you haven't been in the P&R forum yet...

And opposing viewpoints are not necessarily a bad thing, if it get's people thinking about things that they hadn't thought about before.

+3

You should rethink your purpose, and perhaps it is time to get back on track. I think we are loosing focus on the topic of actually helping people.

Your purpose isn't my purpose, sweetie. You may be here to help people. I'm here to try to hook up with a hot blonde.

I'm a fairly new cyclist, been commuting for about 2 years, and do some occasional Crit races in my hometown. I've been trolling the forum for some ideas to help with cycling advocacy and how I can help my fellow cyclist.

I'm really disappointed ( and today disgusted ) to see someone posting a simple safety question/concern, and they get spammed with so may horrible posts of people arguing items that are so unhelpful and irrelevant to the topic. The arguing and bitterness is so unhelpful. As an outsider looking in, some of you posting on these forums are not helping in any way to build a better community.

You should rethink your purpose, and perhaps it is time to get back on track. I think we are loosing focus on the topic of actually helping people.

Welcome to the wonderful world of the internet.

VC Rules!

Who is YOU?

You smell a sock puppet too? :lol:

It's like someone put a fork in the road on the west coast while pedaling, if you get my drift. :innocent:

Your purpose isn't my purpose, sweetie. You may be here to help people. I'm here to try to hook up with a hot blonde.

What part of NO money no honey don't you understand?

Welcome to the Internet.

A&S is great for people posing what they think are easy questions -- they get beat down hard, but their eyes are opened to the differing opinions out there, which might contradict their own. Outside of BF and cycling lifestyle minutia, whodhavethunk that there would be completely different and opposing view points within the cycling community about supposedly no-brainer stuff like helmet use and bike paths...?

Use A&S to sharpen you knowledge about what you might run up against when you propose advocacy stuff IRL. It would suck to start a helmet campaign only to be ambushed by cyclists who don't share your views, same with bike paths/lanes. Use this rough and tumble forum to further develop your views -- once you lay them on the public, you'll be prepared for the inevitable resistance.

I.e. Use A&S to HTFU

^^^^ what he said.