Retro Grouch 

Now don't get too worked up quite yet. Some call them "off topic posts." I call them "fun posts." Stormcrowe calls them "silly posts." Whatever - they're staying in 50+, at least for now, so long as they don't get too nasty or political.

I'm happy about that.

I-Like-To-Bike

Perhaps Facebook is the appropriate spot for sharing non-cycling life experiences with your friends.

I-Like-To-Bike

Facebook is also a great place for "fun"/idle chit chat among a circle of like minded individuals. The modern version of the old stove at the village grocery.

blt

Almost by definition, we 50+ people are pretty crochety (and any of my fellow 50+ people who disagree only disagree because they are crochety), and a group of regular posters on ANY internet forum is, by definition, a clique. Absolutely nothing can be done to prevent this from being a crochety clique, because it is one by definition.

It does seem that the majority who come here regularly do so because it is a non-subject specific forum for the 50+ crowd. But no ID is required here, and those under 50 are welcome, it isn't as cliquish as some other forums. A lot of other forums will respond to things that are only partially related to the topic with "why don't you take this to a different forum?" Unless it is only in threads I skip, I never see those kinds of complaints here. Funny, this place has posters who are much friendlier about things that are arguably off-topic, yet admin finds a need here to start heavily policing whether things are off topic.

What is obvious by the 6 (so far) pages of responses is that, even if there are a few who express agreement with how admin is handling this, there is significant demand for a forum of the type that this has been (and seemingly was designed to be). A few people say, "I don't like the type of forum 50+ is," and a HUGE number say, "I like what the 50+ forum is." The people who say, "I don't really like what the 50+ is, I agree with admin" don't suggest that admin's changes will make it a place they want to frequent more often, they aren't suggesting they would visit Bike Forums or like Bike Forums more if a more limited type of board replaced what 50+ has been, it just turns out 50+ isn't their cup of tea. So that raises the question, does admin really want to change a board from something that a lot of people like into something that a lot fewer people will like?

If the concern is, "There are too many good threads on 50+ that people on other boards would be interested in," well, 50+ is very friendly. Just post a link to the thread on the other boards that might be interested. As you say, the accounts work in other forums, so rather than taking actions that would destroy the wonderful character that many find 50+ to be, why not do things that would invite others in to 50+ to add to topics of interest? It is work for the mods either way, and if the goal is to make Bike Forums the best possible place for everyone, isn't it better to choose the method that will preserve something people enjoy rather than destroying it?

I love what the 50+ forum is. I mostly only post on 2 boards (50+ and NorCal), I don't post very much, and I have never found this place to be too cliquish, by comparison to other boards at Bike Forums and to most forums on the entire Internet, it is friendly and welcoming. Even though I would think of myself a road cyclist far more than anything, I don't like frequenting the 41 very often, in part because I get the vibe that, as is the case with many 50+, I am not a "pure enough" road cyclist, and belong somewhere else. No amount of moderating will change that vibe. If you change what the 50+ forum is with the type of moderating suggested, then someone like me has no non-regional board worth frequent visits to. Why would admin want to make bikeforums less desirable for a lot of people like me and like many others?

No forum will be for everyone. If the goal is to have a wide variety of forums, so that every cyclist can find at least one or two forums that are appealing, then why change the nature of a forum that is so appealing to many into something that will no longer be so appealing to that large group of people, especially when changing it doesn't improve things for other people?

maddmaxx 

No forum will be for everyone. If the goal is to have a wide variety of forums, so that every cyclist can find at least one or two forums that are appealing, then why change the nature of a forum that is so appealing to many into something that will no longer be so appealing to that large group of people, especially when changing it doesn't improve things for other people?


Cannot be repeated often enough to those who would move the geezers off to facebook for their own good. Especially when there is a grudge driving the situation.

CB HI

And sadly, that is our lose. Both of those subjects are appropriate for our 50+ forum. Seems many of the original 50+ forum feel the same as they rarely post anymore.

oilman_15106

Me neither. My post on the Mortality Index was greased. What could be more appropriate? The medical study was done for people over 50 years old and developed an index for doctors to use. How is in question.

Related to cycling? Not really but should have been of interest to the 50+ers. If this whole thing has to be cycling related totally, I am out of here.

BluesDawg

I don't have a problem with the Pub 51 idea. I really don't think the mods intent is to take the fun out of 50+. I'm sure we'll continue to interject our usual bit of silliness and unique perspective into discussions about bicycling related topics and we'll have Pub 51 to talk about other things we want to share with this group of folks.
Heck, I thought carbon frames, indexed shifting, brifters, full suspension and 29" wheels were dumb ideas at first, but I'm glad I tried them anyway.

maddmaxx 

This is what I was afraid would happen. In the end, 50+ will be inhabited by those who didn't like it. But it will by damn be pollitically correct.

CbadRider

That thread was moved to P&R because while the study linked to was not political, the comments about government and the First Lady were. Since those were in the first post, they set the tone for the thread.

I'm going to edit out the political comments and move the thread back to 50+.

ThatBritBloke

Really ... just let 50+ers talk about what they like. I mean like being 50+ and stuff.

Me? I'm old enough to recognise the "I practice my banjo while polishing my assault rifle" themes and avoid them ... I'm a big boy now.

rydabent

That Brit

But----------------if you ride a recumbent, you could play your banjo while your rifle was on the rack behind the seat.

See what I mean, only a 50+ rider would play his banjo while carrying a rife. I think that is interesting.

crazyb

Please, just don't take away the bent vs diamond threads.

crazyb

Or the "should I wear a jersey" threads.

Retro Grouch 

Interesting pair of posts in the same thread.

cranky old dude

Well actually, if I already had dozens of close cyclist friends of my own generation as diverse and knowledgable as we have here to "Facebook" with I wouldn't have to come here.

The point is that no one really does.

NVanHiker

Miss Kenton. +3

BluesDawg

Funny. One of the guys in our club, who rides road, triathlon and MTB along with his wife and daughter, drove one of these to the trail work party today where he helped us work on a new section of MTB trail to help make our most challenging local trail more accessible to new riders. He's no redneck and certainly never throws beer cans at fellow cyclists.

CB HI

And promptly dumped back into P&R.

jdon

They gave us a second chance..we blew it.

CB HI

Seems the thread has now been deleted. And the move back was by a different mod just listening to added complaints because CbadRider did not also edit the thread title, not because of additional P&R post.
This place is getting bi-polar.