Poll: Should the General and Off Topic section be removed?

[Mike Muz]

Re:

Against for this reason.

It brings out the worst in people.

We are on here as we like/build/ride bikes. We can have personal likes and dislikes about those, without a thread becoming offensive. Just differences of opinion. Everyone goes away happy.

With Off topic, a lot of which is news based, that is not very often the case.

Mike

 

[Piperdave]

Voted to keep the section.

I have opinions and express them :shock: . I listen to other peoples opinions, and may or may not like them :roll: . That is life. It is only when people are being belligerent or bullying to someone else that I feel the need to pull them up about it .

If we were all the same, there could be no discussion at all, we would be clones, droids, zombies........ :roll:

Come on peeps....is all we have "my duck god is better than your duck god" or "my MTB is better that your road bike". If so, what a great example we show to our kids and the world.

Civilisation.... :facepalm:

Dave

 

[one-eyed_jim]

Remove it?

:shock:

Where on Earth would we put the Word Association game?

:?

 

[al-onestare]

Re: Re:

Al let me show you why what you have said is rather hypercritical

You two are jokes

Yeah, just jog-on if you don't like it. Because that's how life works isn't it and it's what both of you do.

but a few sentences later you said this

If bikes aren't the primary importance of visiting or contributing to the site then perhaps it's worth finding somewhere where political or any other non-biking related discussions with like minded folks is.

You cannot call others out then go and do the exact same thing you have just called others out for

I personally use the bike part of the forum on every visit but also take part in some threads in the general and off topic and many other parts of the forum

I, like you and every other registered user can do what they like (within reason) which is exactly the problem this sub-section has!

Almost a third of your posts are in this section. Using and contributing are 2 different things. I'm confident the majority use this site for it's primary purpose and we're eternally grateful for that opportunity.

What we do with that knowledge and how we build on it is more important as it will ultimately steer the future direction of the site. This sub-section does very, very little to help anyone in that regard and wastes our volunteers time that could be spent on moderating content that has relevance and real value.

There are so many communication tools and platforms we can use to talk or express what's important to us and why we're passionate about them. This place is about bikes and our scene. Let's keep it to that.

 

[firedfromthecircus]

Almost a third of your posts are in this section. Using and contributing are 2 different things.

And not a single build thread I can find. Not the only one either. :roll:

Most of the people causing the strife in off topic seem to contribute very little to the reason for the sites existence. So why are they here?

Maybe if we get rid of this section they will stop coming back. Seems a good enough reason to me. :xmas-big-grin:

 

[KDM]

If I may comment on the two above posts but in a polite manner as I feel they show a worrying trend on membership of rb.

I, like you and every other registered user can do what they like (within reason) which is exactly the problem this sub-section has!

Within this section as you rightly point out we can do as we wish within the rules. Not ONE person is forced into a thread they do not wish to enter into, ANYWHERE in rb

Almost a third of your posts are in this section.

Thank you for acknowledging that over two thirds are NOT in this section. This subsection how ever is largely Off Rb but more of a general one and to my knowledge that is how it is being used, would you agree?

This place is about bikes and our scene. Let's keep it to that.

Not entirely true as I mentioned above, you appear to be saying we should not have a off bike section as it encourages people to talk about stuff that may be off bikes? Your right to think that of course but it would be a poorer site for that removal I feel.

And not a single build thread I can find. Not the only one either. :roll:

Not saying you have an agenda but I thank you for going through everyone of my posts but you're not my type, love you

I have always felt a break in I had that resulted in some bikes being stolen was a direct result as of me showing what I had, so now I tend to keep my bike stuff private as to what i build and what is in the biketarium. I think the last pictures of one of my bikes was a sale in the members section some time ago.

Most of the people causing the strife in off topic seem to contribute very little to the reason for the sites existence. So why are they here?

Your assumption that unless members show build threads that they offer contribute very little to the sites existence is an interesting one.

Can you offer some light as to what you feel validates members and how many builds we should publish to meet your requirements to be valid in here?

Maybe if we get rid of this section they will stop coming back. Seems a good enough reason to me. :xmas-big-grin:

By your standards, and even though over two thirds of my posts are in the main forums and NOT in this section, you feel I am not a valid member

You offer an interesting opinion about who you feel is valid within rb and who should even post in here, I suspect some may disagree?

I have no issue with the debate on the section and should it remain. It worries me however that some have some kind of mental elitism in regards what clarifies a "valid member"

 

[firedfromthecircus]

I didn't have to look through your posts thankfully. I just used the search function. :roll:

This site is about bikes. It's about remembering the bikes of the past, sharing knowledge, cataloguing it even. It has become a repository for info that fans of old bikes, particularly retro mtbs, will find useful and entertaining. Some folk have more to offer in that department than others. We can't all match Al-onestars investigative efforts on 1997 Konas or Sinnerman and Gios brit builds, but that still remains the purpose of the site. I just find it strange that if I were to pick three regular gobshites in the off-topic section and searched for a build thread I wouldn't find one! And for at least two I can't recall ever seeing any decent bike chat at all. Does that mean I'm an elitist? I don't think so. I just don't understand why people come here to argue about politics without seeming that interested in bikes. And for me, I'd prefer the site without the sideshow.
That might make me a delicate snowflake in your eyes. That's fine. The people from the site who have met me on retro rides on retro mtbs that I have built and written about might agree. What would the folk who've met you on rides you've organised think of you?

 

[jonnyboy666]

Re:

gents,

KDM stop quoting and picking apart others posts, it's dull and irritating


FFTC, indirectly calling someone a gobshite, not ideal.

keep it sensible or the Edit/delete thread/forum will come out.

 

[LikeClockwork]

Re:

I'm concluding a couple of deals on here, and then I'm going to leave. That's for a variety of reasons, not least of which is because I just feel my attention span with forum life has come to a natural conclusion, plus the fact that I just don't get chance to ride any more.

I won't lose interest in the hobby completely, obviously, but it will be taking far more of a back seat from now on.

I have to say, though, that the amount of non-bike content and constant bickering between members on here is the straw that broke the camel's back for me. I'm not seeking to apportion blame in any way, just stating a fact. If the bickering had been purely about cycle related differences, I may well have been more tolerant of it and learned a lot about my hobby in the process, no doubt.

 

[retrobikeguy]

I dont use it and am not keen on online bickering or confrontation caused by Politics, Race or Religion therefor would probably vote to get rid IF it was a binding - 'everybody must vote' thing, but then I dont use it so I'm easy as long as it doesnt get nasty and spill over into the bike side of things... as for visiting G & OT sections, as my boss would say

If you dont like it..........Leave