magicant

From a relative newbie:

Part of this is a product of the board's success. With over 70,000 members, there are lots of discussions going on and you can't keep up with all of them (other boards I've been on, that hasn't been the case).

Because we live in the same region and are such an active cycling region, it's only natural that we get to know each other better than we know other members on the board (live and online). And it's only natural that there be more discussion and chatter as "friends" rather than straight discussion about various topics.

I don't see anything wrong with that - if I want to discuss a cycling-related topic and get advice from my "friends" then this seems like a good place to do it. There are certainly other solutions, but what's the harm in this? Sure, you could get 200 responses on a topic if you posted it elsewhere, rather than 50 responses. But is that a good thing?

I like the community aspect of this group - it's a very different feel from other boards I've been on.

And, no one's really addressed m.e.'s original question of why that thread was moved while many others that could have been similarly moved (food on bike, why am I not losing weight, biking in France - which probably SHOULD have moved IMO- ) weren't? Not saying to move all of those, I like the discussions.

But she does raise a fair question.

chipcom 

Troublemaker. Why do you hate freedom?

merider1

You just reminded me that I need to get back over to FOO for some R&R. I'm wasting too much time debating. Of course, I was on the debate team in college and I got kicked off! I won't say why... Hope you're doing well, chipcom!

chipcom 

You southern cal gals always brighten my day ...and provide great material for my warped sense of humor.

merider1

Well, I'm a fan of your sense of humor...it's aligned with mine. So, glad to be of service.

Drew12

This explains why I sometimes can't find a thead I resonded to, or started reading.
I don't go to any other forums, i just don't have the time.
So, if they move a thread, they might just have well deleted or locked it.
I like it here, and that's just the way it is.

merider1

Hey, Pheard, when you going to join on a ride? You're up north, right? I'm considering Sea Otter Classic this year (more than considering actually as that century is off the scales in terms of beauty!). Would you be up for that? I mean the century not the events. Although, I'd love to arrive early and see some of the events this year.

EDIT: oops, and I'm a dumbass - Costa Mesa. You're down south. My bad. But that means you CAN join on any other ride, mister - like the 200K brevet!

Drew12

I could join for 1/2 of the brevet! Or just bring cab fair for the last part...

I'm not to far off from doing a 100 or so.....

merider1

ooooh...a VIRGIN...and a conquest! Young man, you are all mine! You name the century, I'll be riding you with it...um...I mean, riding it with you! Seriously, centuries are so doable (doubles...well...a litte harder ) But you'll get there, and this group is one to do it with!

Drew12

A conquest...?
Oh teach me please!! I want to do it.. um.. 100

herbm

Palm Springs is a good one for your first....come on out with us!!
Oh sorry ME..I know you dont like that one!

merider1

Oh...I don't like the roads, silly. But I may still join. Anyway, Pheard, you and me...100 (imagine a big sh*t-eating-grin on my face).

Drew12

I'll seriously look into it....

but I must warn you,
I have major commitment issues......

cuda2k

Hey all, I'm going to pop in here with my two cents on the topic, as a mod, forum member, non-SoCal native (but someone who can appricate the community here in the SoCal forum).

First off, why one thread is moved and not another? Simply put, not every thread gets seen by the same mods, or a mod at all. Previous "sports drink" threads here in SoCal simply because someone with the authority to move it didn't have the thought of, "This would probably be better in X forum where it can benfit everyone." I don't think anyone really believes that any particular person is being singled out here. I certainly hope not anyways.

Second, when I move threads that aren't going to the trashbin, I always leave the redirects. Yes, in an active forum those are going to fall down the page fairly quickly, but the shortcut to its new location is retained. You can still get to the thread from the SoCal forum, and with a click of the 'back' button after reading the thread its as if you never left SoCal. The suggestion above of the redirects moving back up the page when the thread is replied to is an interesting one. I'll leave it to Joe to look into if that's possible or not.

Over all the mods are simply trying to strike a balance between making the forum friendly and organized. If it becomes to disorganized, and too disjoint (ie: too many people stay only in their regional forum) then the power of having such a huge community is lost. I agree with Joe that there's nothing wrong with having off (cycling) topic threads in the regional forums, especially here in SoCal where you all do have such a close knit community (even with some of the out-of-state folks). Heck, I pop my head in here quite often to see what's happening. However that's partially because I want to see if there is a cycling related thread that I can either learn something from, or contribute something too. If every regional forum was as active as SoCal I'd never have time to see if I could lend any personal knowledge to the 12 different "What sports drink is best" threads that were currently active in each one.

Ok, that's probably more than two cents worth, so I'll wrap this mini-monologue up.

roadfix

My suggestion is any mod making any changes to a thread should also pm the thread starter so any issues can be addressed just between the two of them.

merider1

The Mod who moved the thread did pm me, George, and he was very nice. I put this out in the open so that it could be discussed and that everyone knows why threads are moved and what is expected in terms of posting in this subforum. I also wanted to express my thoughts that we as forum members should be allowed to discuss topics within our region and among each other (without excluding any BF member, of course). I still hold the opinion that it is appropriate to ask for specific information (in the form of threads) from those I ride with in my geographical location - thus, this is why I am in the So Cal regional forum. I have noticed that some questions I raised in this thread have yet to be addressed, but it is what it is, I suppose.

Pamestique 

Fixer excellent suggestion - mods - I think this would have been a great way to deal wth similar situations instead of getting 5 pages of well what we got!

Pheard

Sea otter?

Yea I can make it down to monterey. That's a two hour drive, but I'd do it to roll with you. Century- That implies road riding.. I'm still looking for a fixer upper roadie off CL. Right now all I have is 3 mtbs. Next week me and BigSean are gunna go for a mtb ride. If you come up you should come do demo with me and Sean. I'll try to get my road bike soon.

When is this, sea otter?