There are a few posters on BF who seem to enjoy provoking arguments. Wouldn't bother me if moderators were a bit stricter in what's allowed.
On the other end of the spectrum, I am a moderator on an investing forum, and the slightest "personal" post gets deleted. 75% of BF posts would be deleted by their rules !

Which leaves a large pool of people (i.e. those who may at best think they know what they are talking about) available from which ooze those who repeatedly post that the 10% are trolls (or worse) for posting ideas or opinions with which the majority allegedly disagree or do not believe is the Approved Conventional Wisdom on the subject.

I've found that the modding here spans hypersensitivity (something I've personally fallen foul of) and complete tolerance of personal attacks. The later can get really annoying if you're just trying to talk about bikes.

Also, I realize I'm an old fart but it bugs me when people say "it's the internet, get a thicker skin" in response to someone else complaining about personal attacks. Being a rude ******* shouldn't be tolerated simply because of the medium.

I lurked here for a while before signing up - I guess I figured I better learn a little before posting.
One thing I learned is that many here will argue about almost anything/everything.
I now feel much more confident in expressing myself. :) The people here are nuts! :innocent:

Holy cow, that's hilarious. And stupid. And brilliant.

I already know that you should both grease and not grease. The Buddha said so.

That is funny and appropriate!

Actually, the answer seems to be 'No.' The consensus is grease or dry.

Yeah, I wanted a definitive answer and didn't get one. Instead, I got opinions, some of which were backed up by good documentation. That's a pretty good result, IMO.

Yes, some folks here confuse opinions with facts, but that's the nature of human beings.

I thought rule #1 of internet fora is 'take what makes sense; ignore the rest.'

bet you he does not frequent the conspiracy/alternative media sites such as Godlikeproductions.com

it gets brutal there :)

I'll have to go check that site out. Thanks for the recommendation:thumb:

Good luck with your safe space goals.

http://quotesblog.net/wp-content/upl...dbye-girls.gif

Look at his profile. He hasn't had any activity since the OP of this thread. Maybe he has a sock.

Maybe he has a life, and doesn't waste time posting on BF, as some people do.
You've been here over 6 years and have over 7,500 posts. How many of those can possibly be worth writing/reading ??
Jeeesh

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:innocent:

Your observations are astute (truth and a compliment). Two other tidbits from my years here...first, this is pretty much winter/offseason and the atmosphere tends to be "different" in that regard. Secondly, every forum has a king of the hill that loves being a bit further up than others. This aptly and punfully applies to cyclists if you know what I mean. Ok, that's the petty stuff.

What I like about this place is the sense of humor tossed in with the cycling knowledge. I have also met some very nice people and laid ahold of some darned hard to find bike parts for my classics. I couldnt care less about someone's power rating on their trainer but I am fortunate to read what some of the veteran racers have to say from their experiences.

That just requires logging out.

Absolutely. If you just want to leave then leave. If you want people to comment about your leaving then post a farewell address, delete your profile, then come back as 'visiitor' to check on your dramatic impact.
As for grease on an axle...............I don't really have an opinion, but that never stopped me from voicing it.

Isn't Greasing the axle' just another term for 'stirring the pot'?

Wow,

I'm just absolutely stunned to hear that a bunch of people actually express opinions on the internet.

I thought that everything I read was absolute fact, and that there is only one true answer :mad:

In a sense, I do also find it interesting that a bunch of people have actually found similar solutions to various problems and issues. Often two people are typing similar answers simultaneously.

But equally interesting, and enlightening are the different solutions that people find to the same problems.

In many cases, it may not really make a huge difference one way or the other. Or perhaps something like salt will make a huge difference for some users, but others won't be in an environment with exposure to either road salt or sea salt. And, of course, some people ride rain or shine, others just on sunny days.

I gave up on another website because too many users were trying to force conformity. Either their way or the highway. It just seemed unhealthy.

I had been lurking here for awhile before joining. I have to say most of what I've seen around here has been positive. There have been a couple of A-holes I've seen that enjoy expressing their internet superiority on occasion, and I'm betting they have the same type of "I'm a better biker/person than you" when on the road as well. The old rule of thumb is 10% of any group are complete A-holes... 80% are polite A-holes, and the last 10% are downright nice folks.

But then again, I generally hate everyone so my view might be skewed...

And if it's grease, what kind? Homebrew? Wet? Dry? Steel cut?

Keep in mind that nobody here is paid for posting (I don't think). We all have a different knowledge base. Most wouldn't truly be "experts", but the pool as a whole can become more "expert" than many single individuals.

If a person wants an "expert answer", then they can go to their local bike shop and pay someone $100 an hour to give that answer (keeping in mind that the person is actually only getting paid $10 an hour). And, in some senses a collective community may be better/smarter than many paid technicians.

Ask a question like "What's the best pedal". At a store, they may show you their stock. On the internet, you'll get 100 different opinions. Suggestions that you've never considered. And, perhaps equal reasons to go with cleats, flats, or clips. The individual must then sort out the answer. Yet, at the store, you can try them on. On then internet, you can ogle photos and listen to anecdotes. Very different.

Ask "what's the best tire", and one has to keep in mind that few respondents have the resources to put 5000 miles onto multiple tires within a dozen different brands to actually determine "the best". And those that have done that probably refer to tires that were discontinued 30 years ago :eek: We've all had something work, or go bad, but haven't conducted randomized controlled trials.

I will say that I hope the first half dozen posts in a topic generally stay on topic. Once people think the OP's question has answered, why not ramble a bit. Perhaps that is part of the "entertainment" aspect of this website. How did we actually jump from pre-owned Bike Fridays to Ford Model T cars to classic Raleighs? Oops, that might have been in part my fault, :p but that is part of the life of a thread on the internet, both entertaining, and informative.

I love this place!

You guys are in luck. I have forgotten more about bikes than anybody else on this forum will ever know, and if you ask me about something I will say I forgot it. What were we talking about, now?:p

Disgusted

I think it is interesting that this OP started at 8:30 this morning has already elicited 54 responses in about 10 and a half hours (on Super Bowl Sunday, no less). Don’t we cyclists have anything better to do?

Actually with the other posters I was interested in enough to reply because much of the discussion has been so introspective. Back in December I replied to this post “How do you use this site?.”

And on a different thread,

It was started at midnight last night ... 12:29 to be exact. OP probably hasn't been back because he went to bed.


And ... it's quite obviously winter in the northern hemisphere. :lol:

i got my riding in this morning as the sun came up, dropped off some things for my daughter who is in college about an hour away, then spent some time cleaning up the garage. I'm kicking back the rest of the evening with the iPad while hoping Denver can beat Carolina.

As for the recently departed, too bad they feel as they do but I much prefer the atmosphere that exists on BF than something overly and usually biased, moderation.

What's worse than a discussion that may be rough around the edges? Answer: Trying to censor a discussion or establish requirements for how one must answer (other than basic rules of courtesy which each site establishes).
If a discussion doesn't arrive at a unanimous conclusion (and why should it?) readers can takes information offered and choose whether to apply it to their situation.
There are no Bike Gods with the One Right Answer, there are people here with varying levels of experience.

Such is the nature of the internet. It's full of true and false information, opinions, entertainment, jockeying and gamesmanship.
The flipside is that the right to free-speech is too often abused and moderators are often accused of bias and censorship. That's one trick of the trolls.
To ensure they get their comments posted, trolls accuse the moderator of censorship and bias.


In BikeForums, I recognize a name I would not respond directly. I know the game too well. At most I indirectly address the troll's issue but only if I feel if there's still anymore worth contributing.