Disgusted
 

I haven't long been in this forum and already have seen enough to make me quit. One man who is extremely arrogant and rude, and makes nasty remarks that had nothing to do with my post, is now on 'Ignore'. If he was the only problem, that would be okay, but I saw something, last night, that made me wonder if it was worth staying here.

Somebody asked if they should use grease or anti-seize compound on a square crank axle. The answers went both ways: Yes and No. It turned into a battle for mechanical knowledge supremacy, boasting about their involvement with manufacturers, some saying the axles must be greased, and some saying they mustn't. One man, in disagreement with another, said: "100% wrong!" Is it possible to be 89% wrong or any other degree of wrong?

My point is, the member who wrote the OP now doesn't know whether to grease or not grease the crank axle. He settled for not greasing it. It seems to me that every post soon turns into an argument. Nothing is gained. So it becomes pointless seeking help.

So I'm out of here. And, yes, I know... don't let the door hit me in the ass on the way out.

Bye. Keep looking, you may find a forum that suits you. Velocipede Salon is ok, sort of a group hug.

Couple of points:

First of all, too much agreement is bad. It means that contrary points of view aren't being aired. If we agreed on everything there wouldn't be any point in more than one person posting.

So how do you decide whom to listen to? Read lots of posts. There are a number of very knowledgeable bike mechanics posting on this forum. After a while you'll learn to pick out which ones you respect most.



Oh - and that greasing the square crank spindle thing, I'm a non greaser. If the crank is pushed too far onto the taper, it'll crack at the corners of the square hole. No grease and just the right amount of torque for me.

Go lay on the beach.

Bike Forums is both Information and Entertainment.

Doesn't take too long to figure out who knows their stuff and who doesn't, particularly in areas like mechanics and C&V.
Personally I very lightly grease my spindles, mostly for galvanic corrosion reasons.

There is a lot of entertainment value on BF for sure. P&R and A&S I read mostly for entertainment.

**** - I find myself saying this more frequently lately for some reason

This.
In reference to unjustified rudeness. Having a thick skin like new yorker helps, or a laid back attitude "to each his own" like calfornians, or a I don't care what you say, think, or do, I'm right, like a Texan.
My suggestion is find a thread that has your bike as the subject. You'll find them to be more understanding and knowledgeable and experienced on your specific bike you have concerns and questions about. And check other threads for sources of general knowledge and entertainment.
Well that's what I do.....and of course I'm Right.

Better to throw words at someone than punches, so no need to get your shorts all wadded up. :D Stick around for a while, you might find out something new that will be of use.

Good-Day!!

If you go...how will you know how it all turns out...?

BF is a weird place but there is actually a lot of great information here.

Maybe 70% of people who post here have very little idea of what they're talking about. Maybe 15% have some idea, they get some stuff right and some stuff wrong, just like in real life. And are reasonable. And maybe 10% really do know what they are talking about. You eventually figure out the cast of characters.

Culturally, there is a huge fascination in BF with making fun of people who post "stupid" or "newby" questions. Add to that being a woman and you will sometimes get misogynistic remarks on top of everything else. And I've had some weird creepy stalker type stuff too.

Despite that, I would argue that its worth figuring the place out because you really can get a lot out of it. I connected with my coach here, learned a lot about training and equipment and strategy and many of my favorite people in the world of cycling post here regularly and we are friends in real life and sometimes ride and race together.

I do have people here who absolutely hate me. I've even inspired one elderly gentleman to change his signature line out of a desire to put me in my place, lol. You just have to let that stuff roll off your back and see it for how silly and kind of sad it is. Many people on BF have agendas in their posts, they are not just trying to help you out or relay info. The behavior here is commonly grown men behaving like high school boys. STILL it can be very useful and its worth hanging out- you do really have to hang out, though, because its the only way to learn who's who and to be able to read between the lines in their posts. Hugely inefficient and if you don't have that kind of time, BF may never work for you.

Good luck with whatever your bike questions are!

I completely support the decision to leave and mostly agree with the OP's observations, such is the internet.

What about it folks? Is it grease or anti-seize compound?

You are absolutely right. But I don't think it's a BikeForums thing, I think it's an American thing. I sometimes read UK bike blogs. They are full of brilliant commentary, tongue and cheek humor, and no hostility.

Fixed it for you.

Well, Kudos to the OP, he said he was gone and he is. You have to respect that he did what he said he was doing. On the other hand, if he came back to BF it would show his post was not serious, just looking for attention. Credit to a man of his word!

Yes.

You forgot to add:

#FailingAtTheInternet

No.

Whoa! Just happened on OP's cable thread. We're lucky he's gone, got enough short fuse derangement here already....

Some people think they elevate themselves by denigrating others. It's a personality defect. Don't take it personally.

Perhaps forums in general are not for you. This is the nature of anonymity on the internet. All forums operate this way and you have to weed out the BS and trolls to absorb relevant information. A lot of people here claim to be experts. A few are and most are not. Overall is is a positive experience. Take everything you read with a grain of salt and use your own judgement to make decisions. When that isn't possible seek professional help.

Come over to C&V. We're more genial, know a lot more about bikes, and have less of the 'tude.

Wrong !!! ..................... :D

Well ... to be fair that thread on cables went south with shocking speed ....

Personally i love BF because so few people call me out for being a pompous bloviator spreading an exceedingly small amount of actual knowledge far too thinly across far too many words .... plus, the people who Really know stuff seem generally to be willing to share it without pointing out specifically that I don't really know anything. I can remain an ignorant wordy reprobate and still obtain all the benefits of civil society.

That "cables" thread ... seems to me both posters were just having really bad days.

Oh, and when I went to C&V, people were much less tolerant of my enromous ignorance coupled with my tendency to claim knowledge I didn't have ... so there.

??
;)

Gotta go adjust my power dial to 400 watts before I go riding. Take care.

Ummm, I've been meaning to mention a few things ................... :innocent:

It's funny, if the OP were to read these responses they might realise that what makes this place great is how the community here can take a ragequit and make it insightful, educational and downright hilarious. Sure there are trolls and know-nothings but that's all part of the mix, wishing for some sort of forum utopia is silly, and it's best just to sit back and enjoy things the way they are. And if you don't like someone's post/thread, learn from their mistakes or just leave it alone.