Any one on two wheels is a friend

when he meets people for the first time, are youis he worried they'll diss yourhis shoes?

:)

I don't think CB is serious. He can't be.

"help us become better"

"diss their rides"

There are quite a few people on this site who are pretty revolting to newbies - it's really noticeable when you first participate, in a way that it's not on other sites, but then there are rude and ignorant peasants everywhere.

Why is he worrying about what other people think about his bike?

does my bum look big?

Why not take him along to some drinks or, better still, a ride, and let him see that the forum warriors are really gentle sweet people like Damo.

exactly.
meeting keyboard warriors, like Clive, in the flesh will soon show your friend he has nothing to be scared of.

just keep him away from norths.

First mention of bum, who turns up...

Come on.. David thinks there is an issue, the blogger thinks theres an issue, i have a guy i meet who randomly says theres an issue - i think i would like to do something to make this place better. I really love the people on this forum but it is intimidating. Are we deciding now that there isnt an issue? That we should carry on as normal?

He didnt say anything about intimidating, or difficult, or anything other than its unfriendly.

faint heart never won fair lady.

man up sunshine, there's a bloody war on.

http://www.lfgss.com/thread9348-4.html#post263853

That was over two years ago. Nothing changes. Except about 17,000 people have since joined this unwelcoming forum. Horatio's response a few posts below mine is interesting.

Ha!

I mean. What a dick.

That was before i joined so it doesnt count...

OK, fair enough... I guess as this place has a personality, some people will like it, some people wont. New people will come to drinks, some will stay and some wont. Some will later become the elders like damo...

Guess we come across as intimidating sometimes. Esp if they think were going to diss their rides.

FFS, 'Diss' is a town in Norfolk, you fucking arsetard.

'Dis' is short for 'disrespect'. Not 'Diss respect', whatever kind of town pride shit that is.

You total emo hipster NJS cunt.

what i'm trying to say, is that, there's no point standing on the sidelines and not joining in.

me an elder? fuck off!

He said he was registered and sometimes lurked but he said that he found the forum unfriendly. That if you were not a purest and if you did not conform that you were labelled a hipster and told to fuck off. That we dont like anyone who likes deep sectioned rims and Japanese frames. We dont like to see bikes that mix and match.

He response was, he just likes to ride his bike. He loves the freedom and it makes him feel like the first time he rode his bmx as a kid. He doesnt want someone telling him his bike is wrong when he just wants an answer to a problem.

He said that he loves the injokes and the funny puns and the random pictures in the middle of a thread. It gave him a good laugh.

So i asked him directly, what he thought would make it a better place. His overwelming response more than anything, is that he feels it should be more welcoming to newbies.

This is more or less in line with how I feel about the place and certain other non-cycling forums (or is that fora?). I check in for some useful info and for entertainment, but it's rare that I wish to actually engage. Everyone is entitled to their views, but many of the comments have the potential of provoking an equally unfriendly reaction because they only reflect matters of taste rather than anything of real value especially when such subjective opinions are not being sought: 'Don't worry, mate, I won't ask you to ride MY bike or make your bike like mine; in case you haven't noticed, I like my bike enough to actually show it to you berks and actually ride it in real life.'

The appearance of cliqueyness (spelling?) is something of a double-edged sword. I think that it is fantastic that members actually do things together in real life. It makes this forum a very special place. If people who haven't yet met in person feel a bit left out by reading banter that extends from the real world (rather than being the other way around or exclusively online), then that is understandable but is not a cost that outweighs the benefits. I do not live in London, or anywhere in the UK, so it is not feasible for me to enjoy these unique benefits. Do I feel left out? To be honest, I think that such a question is fundamentally misplaced.

All that said, I would not characterise this place as being any more 'unfriendly' than comparable places covering other areas of interest. You can't please everyone, and any attempts at doing so will usually displease most people.

Habitual and egregious offenders ought to be banned permanently, but I think an elaborate scheme for moderation is probably not workable in the long term.

My 2p.

s

it's enough to make me sick. a more obvious pun i could not make.

I have said it before and I will say it again ( and one day I will say it in a hyperlink) - one of the things this forum does really badly is talk about bikes. Current projects and the bike porn threads are sewers of shit stained snobbery, self-satisfaction and elitism. The biggest lie the forum tells is that "It is all about the ride".

The offline stuff is bollocks. I'd rather ride with *proper *cyclists, and drink with *real *friends.

I like it on here though. [/safe... warm]

FFS, 'Diss' is a town in Norfolk, you fucking arsetard.

'Dis' is short for 'disrespect'. Not 'Diss respect', whatever kind of town pride shit that is.

You total emo hipster NJS cunt.
Thanks for the edumacation BMMF. Arsetard? lol...

Come to shoreditch - youd love it!

I've been living next door to Shoreditch since the early 90s, thanks (but no thanks).

The biggest lie the forum tells is that "It is all about the ride".

On a semantic note, some people use the noun 'ride' to mean 'steed'. I expect I'm more like you, and use it to denote a journey of some sort.

http://www.lfgss.com/thread9348-4.html#post263853

That was over two years ago. Nothing changes. Except about 17,000 people have since joined this unwelcoming forum. Horatio's response a few posts below mine is interesting.

To be honest, I don't think it was as bad back then. I do find the noob bashing now - name names: DJ - a bit over the top. So much so that I think he should be prevented from having contact with them. Beyond that, there are some people who take pride in posting things like "pea roast" and "reader's wives", but that's hardly going to scare some one off, and reflects more on how boring their character is than anything else.

The biggest lie the forum tells is that "It is all about the ride".

Not so. Actual riding is well discussed and the rides that are organised are the best thing about this forum.

What might not be so good is the discussion of bicycles and their components. Possibly this is because some of us know nothing. Other know a lot and some fall in between, knowing nothing but thinking they know a lot. As a know nothing member I tend to avoid those discussions. New members, it would appear, head straight there.

It is all about the ride and not what you ride. (provided it is a fixed wheel.)