Originally Posted by
chasm54
I'll do my best.
In my view, allowing everything and anything to be discussed in 50+ (or any other forum) erodes the distinctiveness of that forum. It becomes, as someone said earlier, a "one-stop shop". Those who use it have no need to go anywhere else, and forums cease to be defined by their subject-matter and start to be defined by their clientele.
What is wrong with that, I hear you ask? Well, nothing, if you want the tone of the forum to be defined by a smallish group of people who are principally interested in one another's company rather than the content. And some clearly do want that. Others evidently don't, hence Tom's sticky at the top of the forum. I don't know what subjects he was referring to specifically, but I do recognise the sentiment. Sometimes this place resembles a local pub in which the only regulars have been coming in for years and have such a sense of ownership that change and intrusion are resented.
In my view Bike Forums is best viewed as a whole. I post mostly in 50+ because I'm mainly interested in the racing/training sub-forum (there are very distinct issues associated with racing as an old fart) and while navigating my way there, other subjects here sometimes catch my eye. But if I want to talk about touring I go to touring, if I want to talk road cycling unrelated to age I go to road, and so on. I prefer to get different perspectives rather than talk to the same people all the time. But that is because I am more interested in the content of a post than in its authorship. Others, clearly, feel differently. And in the end, it is for those who run the forums to decide which model they want BF to adopt.
Darn! That was well said!
And, while I can't bring myself to agree with it, neither can I argue with it...
Perhaps that problem is that the 50+ forum covers a lot of territory and the edges are not sharp and clear cut. So the differences are more a matter of degree than objective substance with a clear line that you can't cross... (Like "Cyclocross" or "Hybrids". When you enter those forums, you pretty much know what to expect. Yet, their topics and discussions are pretty restricted and often die off quickly.)
But, I think the essence of your point is that the subject matter and content needs to dominate over the social structure and "Group Think".
... I agree: Yet I hesitate to draw a definitive line that cannot be crossed.
I keep coming back to: "Non-political topics that interest a 50+ year old cyclist"... And that covers a lot of territory.
The rules of the forum are clear: Avoid abuse. Discuss and argue a topic. But respect each other and their opinions -- even if you don't agree with them. And, especially, "Don't gang up on somebody"... I think that if everybody follows those (paraphrased) guidelines, a lot of these discussions will be unnecessary.