What did I miss while on 'vacation'?
#76
Sock Puppet
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,687
Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit and too many others to mention.
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1026 Post(s)
Liked 851 Times
in
565 Posts
I generally agree with this--attacking a newbie for asking too basic a question is just not useful to anyone. I would much rather risk being trolled into giving a sincere response to an insincere question than risk insulting a sincere kid or someone else not able to work google for whatever reason. Also, it seems that oftentimes there's a subtle issue that makes the newby op atypical in some relevant way such that the standard answers you'd find with a google search just won't be adequate, and experience of other cyclists on the forum might be helpful.
However, there's also a type of newby that shouldn't be treated with kid gloves (staying withon forum rules, of course). It's the ones who post something that looks like a question, but are really " you're a sucker" insults. I'm paraphrasing here, but this is typical of the genre:
"Why do people spend so much on lightweight high-performance bikes when it's obvious that they'll get a better workout on a heavier cheaper bike?"
Some variation of that gets posted a couple times a year, generally by a newby, who isn't really looking for information, but has Dunning-Krugered himself into believing that he's here to enlighten us fools. Note that the form of the question assumes people are ignoring the dubious "obvious" fact, and isn't asking whether that "fact" is actually true. That newby came to play, and they're fair game for an argument in my book.
However, there's also a type of newby that shouldn't be treated with kid gloves (staying withon forum rules, of course). It's the ones who post something that looks like a question, but are really " you're a sucker" insults. I'm paraphrasing here, but this is typical of the genre:
"Why do people spend so much on lightweight high-performance bikes when it's obvious that they'll get a better workout on a heavier cheaper bike?"
Some variation of that gets posted a couple times a year, generally by a newby, who isn't really looking for information, but has Dunning-Krugered himself into believing that he's here to enlighten us fools. Note that the form of the question assumes people are ignoring the dubious "obvious" fact, and isn't asking whether that "fact" is actually true. That newby came to play, and they're fair game for an argument in my book.
If a seasoned member here is really afraid of being "duped" by giving a legitimate response to a troll question, then they're pretty thin skinned to begin with.
#77
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Posts: 4,453
Bikes: 1989 Cinelli Supercorsa
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2667 Post(s)
Liked 2,202 Times
in
1,335 Posts
I generally agree with this--attacking a newbie for asking too basic a question is just not useful to anyone. I would much rather risk being trolled into giving a sincere response to an insincere question than risk insulting a sincere kid or someone else not able to work google for whatever reason. Also, it seems that oftentimes there's a subtle issue that makes the newby op atypical in some relevant way such that the standard answers you'd find with a google search just won't be adequate, and experience of other cyclists on the forum might be helpful.
However, there's also a type of newby that shouldn't be treated with kid gloves (staying withon forum rules, of course). It's the ones who post something that looks like a question, but are really " you're a sucker" insults. I'm paraphrasing here, but this is typical of the genre:
"Why do people spend so much on lightweight high-performance bikes when it's obvious that they'll get a better workout on a heavier cheaper bike?"
Some variation of that gets posted a couple times a year, generally by a newby, who isn't really looking for information, but has Dunning-Krugered himself into believing that he's here to enlighten us fools. Note that the form of the question assumes people are ignoring the dubious "obvious" fact, and isn't asking whether that "fact" is actually true. That newby came to play, and they're fair game for an argument in my book.
However, there's also a type of newby that shouldn't be treated with kid gloves (staying withon forum rules, of course). It's the ones who post something that looks like a question, but are really " you're a sucker" insults. I'm paraphrasing here, but this is typical of the genre:
"Why do people spend so much on lightweight high-performance bikes when it's obvious that they'll get a better workout on a heavier cheaper bike?"
Some variation of that gets posted a couple times a year, generally by a newby, who isn't really looking for information, but has Dunning-Krugered himself into believing that he's here to enlighten us fools. Note that the form of the question assumes people are ignoring the dubious "obvious" fact, and isn't asking whether that "fact" is actually true. That newby came to play, and they're fair game for an argument in my book.
The word “troll” is thrown around on this forum with wild abandon, often by folks who don’t seem to have any understanding of the meaning of the word. This is unlike any other forum I am a part of, including ones with way more testosterone. In no other forum is a newbie’s stupid question post automatically labeled as a troll more often than here. I’ve never seen the “ignore list” threat used more often than here. The insecurity displayed by many is truly astounding, and plays right into the general public’s perception of cyclists (see “Pearls before Swine”).
Likes For smd4:
#78
For The Fun of It
Join Date: May 2007
Location: Louisissippi Coast
Posts: 5,760
Bikes: Lynskey GR300, Lynskey Backroad, Litespeed T6, Lynskey MT29, Burley Duet
Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2079 Post(s)
Liked 1,562 Times
in
785 Posts
It must be very comforting for you to be able to know the motives of a complete stranger through a message board posting. You’re clearly very talented.
The word “troll” is thrown around on this forum with wild abandon, often by folks who don’t seem to have any understanding of the meaning of the word. This is unlike any other forum I am a part of, including ones with way more testosterone. In no other forum is a newbie’s stupid question post automatically labeled as a troll more often than here. I’ve never seen the “ignore list” threat used more often than here. The insecurity displayed by many is truly astounding, and plays right into the general public’s perception of cyclists (see “Pearls before Swine”).
The word “troll” is thrown around on this forum with wild abandon, often by folks who don’t seem to have any understanding of the meaning of the word. This is unlike any other forum I am a part of, including ones with way more testosterone. In no other forum is a newbie’s stupid question post automatically labeled as a troll more often than here. I’ve never seen the “ignore list” threat used more often than here. The insecurity displayed by many is truly astounding, and plays right into the general public’s perception of cyclists (see “Pearls before Swine”).
Likes For trailangel:
#80
Sock Puppet
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,687
Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit and too many others to mention.
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1026 Post(s)
Liked 851 Times
in
565 Posts
It must be very comforting for you to be able to know the motives of a complete stranger through a message board posting. You’re clearly very talented.
The word “troll” is thrown around on this forum with wild abandon, often by folks who don’t seem to have any understanding of the meaning of the word. This is unlike any other forum I am a part of, including ones with way more testosterone. In no other forum is a newbie’s stupid question post automatically labeled as a troll more often than here. I’ve never seen the “ignore list” threat used more often than here. The insecurity displayed by many is truly astounding, and plays right into the general public’s perception of cyclists (see “Pearls before Swine”).
The word “troll” is thrown around on this forum with wild abandon, often by folks who don’t seem to have any understanding of the meaning of the word. This is unlike any other forum I am a part of, including ones with way more testosterone. In no other forum is a newbie’s stupid question post automatically labeled as a troll more often than here. I’ve never seen the “ignore list” threat used more often than here. The insecurity displayed by many is truly astounding, and plays right into the general public’s perception of cyclists (see “Pearls before Swine”).
I'm actually glad to see there is some moderation here. That seems almost non-existent on RBR.
#81
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5,188
Bikes: Colnago, Van Dessel, Factor, Cervelo, Ritchey
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3430 Post(s)
Liked 6,215 Times
in
2,511 Posts
#82
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Posts: 4,453
Bikes: 1989 Cinelli Supercorsa
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2667 Post(s)
Liked 2,202 Times
in
1,335 Posts
Likes For Lombard:
#84
Over the hill
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Posts: 24,182
Bikes: Giant Defy, Giant Revolt
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 922 Post(s)
Liked 1,060 Times
in
618 Posts
__________________
It's like riding a bicycle
It's like riding a bicycle
#85
Tragically Ignorant
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613
Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM
Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8182 Post(s)
Liked 9,077 Times
in
5,047 Posts
It must be very comforting for you to be able to know the motives of a complete stranger through a message board posting. You’re clearly very talented.
The word “troll” is thrown around on this forum with wild abandon, often by folks who don’t seem to have any understanding of the meaning of the word. This is unlike any other forum I am a part of, including ones with way more testosterone. In no other forum is a newbie’s stupid question post automatically labeled as a troll more often than here. I’ve never seen the “ignore list” threat used more often than here. The insecurity displayed by many is truly astounding, and plays right into the general public’s perception of cyclists (see “Pearls before Swine”).
The word “troll” is thrown around on this forum with wild abandon, often by folks who don’t seem to have any understanding of the meaning of the word. This is unlike any other forum I am a part of, including ones with way more testosterone. In no other forum is a newbie’s stupid question post automatically labeled as a troll more often than here. I’ve never seen the “ignore list” threat used more often than here. The insecurity displayed by many is truly astounding, and plays right into the general public’s perception of cyclists (see “Pearls before Swine”).
Did you actually read my hypothetical example? I don't need anything other than the ability to read to know the motive behind such a post because the accusation against others is plain to see in that post. It's plain trolling on its face. The type of posting I'm talking about isn't just a "stupid question", it's a stupid assertion/accusation. I suggested quite the opposite about assuming the motives of people asking basic questions, I just assume good faith with those and will either answer or not. I agree that people on this forum seem to jump to the trolling conclusion way too easily, but that doesn't mean we should assume good faith when anybody, newbies included, posts a classic " are you still beating your wife " type question.
I think it's ironic that your put-down of me pretty much ignored what I actually posted, jumping right into a completely wrong read of my supposed motivations. You just completely skipped over the first part of my post that largely agreed with the "treat naive newbies decently" message Billy d was suggesting.
I find your pearl clutching about "Pearls Before Swine" ironic as well. I'm not buying into this "public's perception of cyclists" bs for one second.
Last edited by livedarklions; 11-12-22 at 04:04 PM.
#86
Tragically Ignorant
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: New England
Posts: 15,613
Bikes: Serotta Atlanta; 1994 Specialized Allez Pro; Giant OCR A1; SOMA Double Cross Disc; 2022 Allez Elite mit der SRAM
Mentioned: 62 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8182 Post(s)
Liked 9,077 Times
in
5,047 Posts
But it's a lot more complicated than that. I've seen forums die simply because the lack of moderation allowed newbies to flood the forum with all sorts of hijacking and trolling, often political, sexist, racist, spammy, promoting crackpot theories, or just plain mean behavior. I think the mods here do a good job of balancing these concerns, trying to
get people to stop jumping on naive newbies, but giving short shrift to newbies with an "incompatible agenda".
Likes For livedarklions:
#87
Sock Puppet
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,687
Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit and too many others to mention.
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1026 Post(s)
Liked 851 Times
in
565 Posts
But it's a lot more complicated than that. I've seen forums die simply because the lack of moderation allowed newbies to flood the forum with all sorts of hijacking and trolling, often political, sexist, racist, spammy, promoting crackpot theories, or just plain mean behavior. I think the mods here do a good job of balancing these concerns, trying to
get people to stop jumping on naive newbies, but giving short shrift to newbies with an "incompatible agenda".
get people to stop jumping on naive newbies, but giving short shrift to newbies with an "incompatible agenda".
#88
Mother Nature's Son
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Sussex County, Delaware
Posts: 2,921
Bikes: 2014 Orbea Avant MD30, 2004 Airborne Zeppelin TI, 2003 Lemond Poprad, 2001 Lemond Tourmalet, 2014? Soma Smoothie
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 779 Post(s)
Liked 1,247 Times
in
717 Posts
More like what did we miss while you were on vacation. Almost 2000 views already, close to 100 replies. Jump right back in.
#89
Full Member
Agreed. So BillyD, is cx perma-banned from the Bicycle Mechanics subforum? If so, I think that strategy should be re-considered. That's where his expertise shines and where he contributes the most.
Likes For Rogerogeroge:
#90
Sock Puppet
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,687
Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit and too many others to mention.
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1026 Post(s)
Liked 851 Times
in
565 Posts

#91
Full Member
why is my LBS loaded up w/ bikes? - Bike Forums