Has the forum hit rock bottom?

[PitPony]

+1

[Ben@Forest]

OK so asking such a question if you've been on the forum for long enough to have seen the answer before is one thing but a newbie asking the question isn't likely to find the answer using the search facilities on forums like this one. Sorry but I've yet to find a forum search facility that didn't return a lot of posts from the same thread that happened to contain one of the words in the search phrase. If it bothers you a simple link to a previous thread should limit the new one. Or perhaps a sticky thread of common questions that's updated.

People come to forums like this one to discuss and read about cycling matters first. Some can be newbies to cycling with no knowledge. Isn't it a better idea to help them than get annoyed about it being asked before? I've seen people disappear after one query thread getting just that annoyed response. Not sure I liked seeing it but I could be on my own about that.

Levels of Internet savviness (made up word) is wide among people using the Internet as is their use of Google. I've been on the Internet since 1998 or before I can't remember. I'm still taking a few attempts to get something useful out of search engines.

At the end of the day do such posts asking for help or information b cause arguments and insults to fly? Drivel they might be to you but they're increasingly less frequent and it's a positive act helping people unlike trying to argue them into submission like political threads can turn into.

YMMV of course. But which part of this forum would you think us most relevant to a cycling charity? Which would you miss the least?

My post was slightly tongue in cheek because the 'Tea Shop is awful' post comes up quite regularly but so does 'I'm starting cycling again after 15 years, will a skinsuit improve my time down the towpath?' question. I suppose generally l quite like Tea Shop, don't think it's reached some nadir and there are similarly poor posts under other topics.

And l suppose I'm getting old but l do feel that people want to be burdened with info before they start and they really don't need it. My first foreign tour (at 19) was great precisely because we didn't know what was around the corner.

[thirdcrank]

I simply cannot resist noting that if a pit pony cannot identify rock bottom, then nobody can.

[Bonefishblues]

Aw cheer up everyone, let's have a sing-song.

https://youtu.be/Jq4mNU0qrlk

[gaz]

Is the forum running itself into a cult de sac of drivle?

Possibly, although not for the first time .

[NUKe]

It’s February they get like this every year, bit cranky , must be the weather come April they will be able to play out most days and they will be full of the joys of spring.

On the serious side though there are certain threads I just ignore. And others where I will try and construct a reply and just have to give up and don’t post.

[Cyril Haearn]

A thread I started recently about combatting motor crime had to be pruned by the mods because people would not argue nicely, maybe people had no arguments so they used bad language. Certainly do not want to provoke them by this post, but I would like to understand

There is too much arguing nastily but lots of good info, jokes, explanations. Worth spending time browsing through old posts if one has nothing better to do

Argue nicely please!

[Cyril Haearn]

Thread drift is tolerated here, Plus One, on other fora that is apparently not the case

[Spinners]

On the Quick Links (top left under logo) could we have a new option of 'new posts excluding tea shop' or similar.

[Richard Fairhurst]

100% that - it's something I've seen done on a lot of forums and means that newcomers, occasional visitors and others are spared the more vituperative debates on Brexit etc. Often it's a user-settable preference, which I'd suggest would default to "no Tea Shop".

Other than that the forum seems generally very good and well-moderated to me. A modly word to stop people being too combative is always welcome, but given that the start-a-fight-with-their-own-reflection types never stick around for long, I presume this already happens!

[Cugel]

What with 'bring back the birch,English/Irish/Scotsman jokes,and most boring town in the UK threads.
Is the forum running itself into a cult de sac of drivle?

Modern habits of communication seem mostly drivel to me. There's lots of cliche, regurgitation of potted news gabble and tons of bald opinions, often exhibiting the mono-cultural styles of a crowd of middle-aged shaven-headed football supporters going on about their tedious game or "what I would do to supporters of them other teams".

There's an associated inclination to tweet - the emission of empty and repetitive chirp-phrases signifying nothing other than "I am here".

Personally I enjoy controversy, the orthogonal perspectives and a good dollop of evocative language. I also have my favourite bugbears, some of which are definitely trivial and an opportunity for some long-winded personal driveling.

Like you, perhaps, I find some of the rather hackneyed traditional likes of beigey old blokes somewhat tedious. This includes discussions of ancient joke-styles (and equally ancient "comedy" programmes) as well as meaningless comparisons, hierarchical lists and harks back to mad old social mores that some loon still hankers after.

On the other hand, observations of the historical stories preferred or disliked by others is always fascinating. There are some mad beliefs about; as well as many that are enlightening.

Rock-bottom? You've obviously never had a look at 4chan! (Don't participate there, however shocked you are by their utter degradation).

Cugel

[pwa]

The Forum's Rock Bottom is the Brexit thread with folk constantly bickering and lashing out at each other, and nobody keen to try to find solutions that make things easier for the other side. The other side must be wrong and must be defeated, apparently. Well that way of thinking is the absolute failure of civilised thought and I reject it. And mostly I steer clear of it. That is the way to deal with a thread that you don't like. Don't participate.

Crap towns and slightly non-PC humour? Doesn't bother me, really. I live near a dull town that would be uninteresting for visitors, and I would recommend they give it a miss. But it isn't a bad place to live, many of the locals are nice, and the surrounding area is great. And the odd joke about the Englishman, the Irishman and the Scotsman... My Irish father never bothered about those jokes much, and neither do I.

[Tangled Metal]

Rock bottom?

No it's still on a downwards trajectory. Although he can set tell if we reach the bottom or if it's just a ledge?

[Vorpal]

I don't think this forum has even gotten as low as its predecessor, let alone rock bottom

[thirdcrank]

With the possible exception of people being able to use umpteen usernames - including those already being used by somebody else - I don't remember much wrong with the old forum. That's not to say that the newer version isn't better, especially in terms of technical features, but it's also not to say it couldn't be better still. I'd struggle to find any value in polls. I'd not seek to ban them completely because I've probably missed something, but requiring authorisation based on a clear reason for wanting to start one might be the way to go, if it didn't involve more admin work.