gerv 

Maybe we could award cars to the remaining few who view active transportation as a feasible option. My goodness! How could you survive in the modern world without an automobile. Heresy!

gerv 

I was thinking of Trollheim, but I think that's already been taken.

Machka 

Quite frankly, the way this forum has gone lately, it might as well be merged with General ... or Foo. There's very little in here that is "Living Car Free"-specific.

Roody

Interesting thought...coming from the person who is by far the most prolific poster on this forum!

Machka 

I'm probably one of the most prolific posters on many forums. I frequent a lot of them.

Look at my post count ... I rank 3rd overall. And believe me only a fraction of those are LCF posts.
https://www.bikeforums.net/memberlist...rt=posts&pp=30

It helps I have a near 70wpm typing speed ... I can knock of a comment like this in less than a minute.



If it ever happened that this forum disappeared because it was considered redundant, then I'd just keep posting in the other forums as I already do.

I-Like-To-Bike

The bicycling related posts, as few as there are, are mostly rehashes of what can be found on the commuting, utility or general lists, without any special LCF slant. Same applies to the where did you ride today? or what kind of bike do you own/should I buy? posts; redundant and redundant.

The car culture bashing, and environmental, sociological, and/or political proselytizing/daydreaming posts/screeds, do not belong in General Bicycling since they are not about bicycling and are more appropriate for P&R or Trollheim.

Roody

And yet, you're probably the second or third most prolific poster here. You think it's really horrible, but you presumably enjoy spending a good deal of time here almost every day.

Does that seem weird, or am I the only one?

Machka 

Go outside LCF and see where else the rest of us are posting. You may be surprised how prolific we all are elsewhere. Most of us divide our time between several ... many forums.

wolfchild

I wonder why LCF forum has such a small handful of regular posters, compared to commuting forum, after all it's all about using bikes for transportation isn't it ??..
Commuting forum constantly has new members coming in, LCF forum has been the same for years and years.
I've also noticed that most of the hard core LCF'ers almost never post anything in other forums and then there are car-free people out there who hardly ever post anything in LCF forum.

I-Like-To-Bike

There is a "hard core" of LCF posters who desire that this list be nothing but a support group or echo chamber choir for their screeds on an agenda package of political, economic, and social issues. They expect all posters to this list to agree with their "hard core" version of LCF political correctness. Obviously, on other lists objections and rebuttals to some of the kooky economic theories and smug PC posts would fall down on them like rain.

Some"hard core" posters consider it weird that there is any skepticism of their social theories and economic daydreams. Some of the hard core consider it "OT" to raise any objection to their contention that living car free is all about "hard core" choices in ascetic lifestyle and PC agendas.

Needless to say anyone interested in the subject of bicycles as a tool in living car free, and/or not interested in conforming to the correct "hard core" PC agenda will have to look elsewhere for guidance, as this list is all about being PC as it is decided by a "hard core" of sanctimonious characters proud of their preening smugness.

Machka 

Well, first of all, this forum is one of the most negative and argumentative forums in BF. In other forums, such as Road, Touring, Training and Nutrition, etc., a person can post something and not have it degenerate into mud-slinging within the first page. In order to post in LCF, you've first got to grow an incredibly thick skin.

A second point, related to the first, as ILTB points out ... if you don't hold the same ideology as the "hard core" LCF'ers, and don't parrot it back to them and then sit around in a big group hug, and instead present a different viewpoint or perspective on the situation ... you'll be labelled a troll. And yes, there are members here who rarely ever or simply don't leave this forum, and perhaps that is because they'd be presented with lots of different viewpoints or perspectives.

Third ... what is this forum about? It came out of Advocacy and Safety, and included a Utility Cycling component. From what I can gather the Utility people had enough of ... the stuff I mentioned in my first two points ... and requested to break away into their own forum. But what is there in this forum that isn't already covered in another? Is there anything in this forum that is genuinely unique to living car free? You mention using bicycles for transportation ... well really, Commuting and Utility pretty much have that covered. If we look at each post on the first page or two, we could quite easily name another forum that post could go into.

Hardly anyone in this forum is car free anymore and so this forum has become another General forum ... it seems like we can talk about anything here, whether it specifically relates to a car free or car light lifestyle or not.

And fourth ... I suspect that most of the people who are living car free have worked out the details and are just getting on with it.


More on this topic: https://www.bikeforums.net/living-car...e-threads.html

wolfchild

Road forum and SSFG forums are pretty bad too. Those people will flame you to death and then crucify your dead body for just asking a simple question or for disagreeing with them.

I think a lot of lurkers are just turned off and never join because they think LCF people are a bunch of anti-oil extremists, haters and quacks...ILTB is right, too much socio-economic-political-environmental-politically correct BS and too many half-baked theories passed on as facts.

Machka 

I've never been in SSFG, but Road has gotten a whole lot better in the last 2 or 3 years. It's quite a friendly place now.



+1

And not really much about actually living car free ... or even car light for that matter.

B. Carfree

Although I wouldn't call the folks who drive people away from lcf with their constant accusation of "Troll!" hard core, particularly since they shudder at the thought of riding even relatively short distances on a bike, they certainly form a core group of intolerant like-minded people who brook no dissent. I wonder if they would be more interesting and if this forum would become more interesting if they spent some time participating in other forums.

Machka 

+1000!!!


In the thread I linked to, one of the core group admits to starting threads here about topics he is not even interested in.
https://www.bikeforums.net/living-car...e-threads.html

If that's what it takes to keep this forum going ... what's the point?

Machka 

Even this topic ... it doesn't have much to do with LCF. It might have had a better response in Advocacy ... or even Touring, especially since they mention cycletourists as a main source of those jobs.

And I wonder what sort of discussion there might have been if it had been started in General.

Roody

Um, the topic of this thread is cycling has created jobs in Europe. Those who are more interested in insulting and griping should start threads instead of constantly derailing threads started by others.

Machka 

Ah ... another LCF refrain.

Ekdog

There are two are three posters who do little more than complain about how boring, irrelevant and off topic this sub-forum is, yet they keep coming back, day after day, to participate!

I-Like-To-Bike

Um, yourself.

Take a look at post#25 and #26 for two LCF hard cases taking this thread off the rails with their off-kilter, OT, flights of fancy.
#25 https://www.bikeforums.net/living-car...l#post17312075

#26 https://www.bikeforums.net/living-car...l#post17313776