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Nah, I'll call bullshit on your bullshit.
I've run enough communities to know that the trolls are fine and full of jest... but they wear people down long-term. All that happens is that people leave and we're left with people who think everything is a laugh to amuse them (at the expense of others), and ultimately I get tired of running a cess pool and I shutter the site.
Sites evolve, social boundaries change, things that were small once feel bigger at other times (not an innuendo), and so it goes.
The rule of thumb is a simple one: This site exists for a community of people, it is what people make it. Either they make it a place welcoming for all and it is able to sustain itself, or they make it a place only welcoming for them and ultimately it goes into a decline that at some point gains momentum. We're somewhere after the peak of this site, not yet in decline but no longer having strong growth... meaning a new chapter in the story is upon us, the community bonds are fragile as many people built stronger small networks outside of the site (a natural part of the evolution). With that in mind... whether this site survives is whether the community cares for it to survive. When I see pile-ons and such... my view is that the community as a whole doesn't care enough for it to survive... it's not constructive to say "but he did it too!" - that's just childish and adds nothing... either this is a cool, chill, fun place on the internet for the people here, or people leave.
When someone leaves the community loses a piece of itself... when enough old-timers have left then the heart is gone and the writing is on the wall.
Hey, I get tired of running this place at times but I still visit most days. It's the last bit of the web I care about... that's basically what keeps it alive, it being that for others too. But when people lose that emotion, when it's worn them down... the site is dead, and it won't matter if you think someone was right or wrong or you feel defensive about the fact that you feel called out... the site is dead. If you feel you're being called out (I didn't see you mentioned)... perhaps that's a thing you need to reflect on... why do you feel that? Is it true? If your response is "well he did it too!"... you have your answer.
Velocio-
I hear you, personally I engage less with the forum (posting) but do more reading, and it helps that I’ve got some people and threads on ignore so you don’t have to wade through the posts that trigger the anger and frustration and the desire to have an argument with someone on the Internet.
Reasons for leaving are myriad, probably just file them under life and keep moving.I hope newer members (despite the pandemic) are getting the most out of the real world social interactions that the forum can provide like we did back in the day, and the friendships and relationships made here, survive outside of the forum.
I’d like to think that the information and social interaction and the informality of this place will continue to provide a space for people who aren’t just riding bikes for marginal gains, and that it’s broad appeal means it’ll have a life after all of the members who were around early on have passed.
It would be a shame if the forum was shuttered because we’ve all spent times on other forums, cycling or otherwise and none of them can replicate the engagement I have had on here.
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And I am glad youre here
cornelius_blackfoot
ChainBreaker
Have to call bullshit in this. @fatberg commented he was gone before people said anything - I assume he said this from a position of knowledge. I don’t think we “toxic arseholes” said anything worse than Joe had said to people in the past. You can point the finger and blame people but he had been indicating his intention to leave/regret he was still on here for quite some time.