DnvrFox

Bikeforums.net has gotten so big with so many posts, that I no longer even attempt to participate in much except the 50+ forum, FOO, Training and Nutrition. I find that every question on earth possible has been asked and answered again and again in the Road and General and other forums.

I can remember when having 20-30 people online at any one time was a "big" group, and often there were 7-10 people, with maybe 10-20 messages posted daily. You sort of knew everyone, and even had chats with them. Now there are 100's of messages posted daily, and there is no way to keep up. The whole forum has become quite fragmented, which makes trying to keep all threads in their proper "pew" sort of a laughable experience. Progress? I guess!

I would prefer to see comprehensive (all areas included) "mini-forums" where you at least had a clue about the other posters than the segmentation we have now. I believe we try to do that in the 50+ forum, but the moderators keep trying to keep things "straight" by moving the posts they don't think are strictly 50+. It is unrealistic, given the size of the group and the number of posts.

monogodo

I understand what you're saying.

When I joined (oh, so long ago), I visited 7 sub-forums (Bike Mechanics, Commuting, Mtn, Road, General, Foo, Politics). I'm now down to 4 (Bike Mechanics, Road, General, Foo).

I do think there are too many sub forums here, and that many of them could be removed with no loss of functionality (not gonna specify which ones, 'cause I don't want to piss anyone off). Many of the other forums I visit are the same way, though, and one solution one group found was to start up their own forum, based on their geographical location.

skydive69

I would love to simply see the feature of being able to filter out those forums that hold no interest to an individual. Then one can click on "View New Posts," and be shown only the new posts on those forums that are subscribed to by the user.

MsMittens

Forum selection. That's done at the website I moderate. That way people only see the sections that interest them and everything else is ignored (unless you truly are a geek and want to see EVERYTHING -- like me).

I think it also gets down to being selective as to what you read and post to. I generally scan the subject lines and decide from there if a post/thread is worthwhile for me to respond to.

That all said, there will always be those that like the "segmentation" and those that dislike it. And there are pros and cons to each. (some pros may also be cons)

Pros: people can pretty much be sure which forum to post in; if they are only interested in a specific area (BMX) they can just visit that forum; people can read about areas they may not have noticed existed; can help people identify others who can help them with things (narrows the focus down -- e.g., touring)

Cons: can lead to volumnous postings when viewing "New Posts"; can be too narrow a focus when you need a wider view; can be hard to moderate at times because people may be unsure as to which forum specifically it applies to (e.g. mechanical breakdown on a tour -- touring or mechanics); can be daunting for a new person

I don't know if there is a perfect solution but I have found, at least at the forum I moderate, that the hack that was created for the purpose of forum subscription/selection (that is, you only see those forums and nothing from the others unless you explicitly visit them) has worked out well for some. They didn't want to see the political or general computer discussions (the forum in question is a computer security forum) and don't have to. They just focus on those related to security.

DnvrFox

Likely no perfect solution.

There are some characteristics that would be important to me:

1. The ability to get to "know" other posters. For me, this is more than info sharing, but an opportunity to get to know the personalities of others.

2. The lack of domination by one or two "personalities" of an entire area. This has happened remarkably in the Road forum lately.

3. The ability to screen out things of absolutely no interest - i.e., I have no knowledge of BMX.

I realize a couple of the things I have mentioned are probably mutually exclusive. But it is at least worthwhile discussing.

Perhaps each poster could classify their post from some sort of checklist, and I could have an "interest profile" and there could be an automatic match?

MsMittens

So you want to know everyone in the whole city, eh? Reality is that as a site grows in popularity you won't know everyone. It's good to want to do this and keep an open mind to others out there in the Blue Nowhere but as size happens, it goes from a small town to a mini-city.

I've seen this happen elsewhere. Reality is to start encouraging others to get involved or to stick those overdominating types on ignore.

The checklist would have to be fairly extensive for this to work effectively, IMO. Certainly an interesting concept but if you want to get to know others you may end up excluding some inadvertantly. I have found that the way people are online isn't a true representation, regardless of how much we believe we are "just ourselves", of who we really are.

DnvrFox

I have really enjoyed getting to know some of the folks in the 50+ forum, for example. Nope, I don't want to know the whole city. Just some of the folks in my "neighborhood."

I wish the "ignore" function really was that - it isn't. It brings up a screen that states that your "ignore" person has posted a message - something I don't wish to know.

Anyway, you are absolutely right, and success breeds new problems.

Probably should not have had any "random thoughts" this morning - just musing out loud, as I am prone to do. So, I will now bow out of this discussion.

Have a great day.

MsMittens

Oh no. I think it is a worthwhile discussion and has value. Perhaps some might realize that they are overdominanting. Maybe some don't realize that (perhaps a nudge with a PM from someone might help them realize that). Musing outloud allows for others to put in their musings and perhaps a solution can be found. Right now, we just have found the right one or one that will come closer to a solution. If we didn't muse, we'd still be playing with fire and have no wheels to move about on.

norton

.....Why does this remind me of the Bush administration?.......

MsMittens

There are pros to the Bush administration?? (sorry couldn't resist! )

DnvrFox

I think he was talking abut the "cons" IN the Bush admin! Oh, oh, I sense a move to politics.

Joe Gardner

[back on topic]

Denver, I agree, I miss the days were there was 100 - 150 "regulars", and I knew everyone, and there story. It was like "cheers". Now we have 2500 "regulars", that is, 2500 registered members log into the forums each day on avg. Thats a big group of people, but only 10% of the whole community.

The one thing I really miss about the old cheers-like community is the respectfulness shown to other members. Somehow, this was lost in the last year or two. I'm not sure what we can do to get it back.

The community becomes what you put into it, I think if more members made an effort to get to know each other, the quality of posts would go up, and you would find more groups of like minded people enjoying themselves on the forum. My goal, is to create an environment were that can take place. Are more forums the answer? I don't think so, but i could be wrong.

I'm more then welcome to suggestions, some suggestions are un-reasonable, but I'll listen and at least think about each suggestion that comes my way.

DnvrFox

How about allowing a forum, such as the 50+ or recreational or ?? to be broader?

The current moderator action is to move out whatever the moderator deems is not precisely "50+" to some other forum, where it gets lost within the myriad of posts of that forum.

A sort of comprehensive "mini-forum" where we could discuss nutrition, etc., without the fear of its being "moved" - 50+rs could discuss nutrition, or whatever as could roadies or recs or BMX'ers.

I guess my thought is, that with obvious exceptions (an intro post asking info about a specific road bike, for example) most folks put their posts in a particular place for a reason, even if they don't state that reason in the Post's title or even in the text.

In defense, I have started adding "for 50+rs" in the title of all my posts in the 50+ forum, and I suppose rec and roadies and mtn bikers might need to do the same, or it gets moved.

Just some thoughts!

jeff williams

It wasn't me!
DnvrFox was the first member I had a tiff with, I think we worked it out..or at least he stopped yelling at me.
I have increased the amount of forums I read now, posting in a forum you don't 'ride' can be a bit of a pain.
I've had some gruff in the bmx and road forums, but roadies are snobs, and the kids snotnose.
( I'm joking...) But I enjoyed bmx when younger, and I intend to start road cycling next year.
I need to get up on the info.
The commuting forum is quite polite. The mtn forum polices itself pretty well.

A community has all kinds, and we set the rules by conduct mostly (yes I know the 'real' rules of the forum too.)
I like the diversity, being a mtn biker, my interest should take me to Ridemonkey or Pinkbike, but they lack the diversity of postings and the demeanor of most of the B.F community.

I understand the want of like minded individuals, I also like the opposite, a discourse of opposing viewpoints.
I don't really need someone to agree with me...rather debate the logic of different choices.

Sub forum chat rooms might be nice for 'pals' to get together and shoot the breeze.?

"The community becomes what you put into it, I think if more members made an effort to get to know each other, the quality of posts would go up, and you would find more groups of like minded people enjoying themselves on the forum."

Well said.

>jef.

norton

I don't know.....I'm a newbie (Nov '04), so I don't know what it was like "before".....I ride a folder as well as a 30 year-old road bike....I'm an old guy (67)....Until I retired last month I was commuting (in the New England winter)....I'm thinking about a recumbent....I used to own a tandem...I used to own a Vacuum Velocipede (vintage recumbent trike)...I'm thinking about a fixie or singlespeed for winter riding...i need to know more about training & nutrition.....I read, go to movies, enjoy music.....& then, of course, there's politics & religion......


I really like trying to learn from people younger & more able than myself....


I don't know....I REALLY like it the way it is now.....


OMG!....I almost forgot HUMOR! .....I'm sorry, MsVicki!!......

SteveE

I agree. I have no problems ignoring anything in the 50+ Forums, BMX, and Triathalon sub-forums, as well any post that contains "...Lance Armstrong...", "What's the best ...", "Shimano vs. Campy".