Dumbed Down, Not Much Of Interest

[Mike Ayling]

I gave up reading about half way through.

On CycleBlaze a touring site composed mainly of outcasts from CrazyGuy its all about touring journals but there is a little used forum. When posting on the forum a screen comes up with a box you are required to tick saying that you agree to observe the forum rules. On the odd occasion that someone strays from what the mods deem acceptable a greyed out post appears with the posters name and a statement to the effect that the post did not comply with the regs. Everyone uses their real name when joining Cycleblaze.
The CB demographic does tend to be self funded retirees.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

So you cant find anything in the rules at all about post deletion???

That wasn't what you invented.

You pretended that the rules said posts would be deleted if the reporter found them offensive.

 

[gbb]

Sorry, Rusty, no. Just no.
In the old NACA the personal abuse dished out for having the temerity to not agree 100% was unpleasant. Often from those on the sidelines.
A significant malignant characteristic was that if someone did go too far no-one from their "side", "tribe" or whatever label you want to apply would offer criticism.
The old NACA was a place where the middle ground was an uncomfortable place. (And with such extremes on display the middle ground was pretty wide). The New NACA? Worse. Infinitely worse.
And completely futile.
There are places for healthy, respectful debate about Politics. NACA is not it

Paraphrased your somewhat but this is so the truth it hurts.
Anyone who thinks otherwise is deluded, utterly deluded. As a middle grounder myself, the things often said in there are disgraceful. Which is a shame because I do genuinely like debate, but you cant debate in there. This thread, and its a shame, shows how entrenched people are. What started as a concern the way the forum is headed has descended into a 'he said, she said, you're not listening, its not fair blah blah blah
Another reasonable thread thats doomed to be locked...and people wonder why ?

 

[Blue Hills]

For those moaning about not enough new content - add some!

Forums are a 2 way street.

I have thought of starting a blank one - to save the mods having to just wipe it all after folks have replied, liked lots of stuff, enjoyed themselves innocently.
Or some meditative chant tread where folk could just post
mmmmmmm
murmurings
and float away in a meditative trance.

 

[Deleted User]

The former and you know it.

In your opinion, you know full well on here unless you're in complete agreement with the norm you get accused of 'Trolling'.

I treat internet conversations exactly like a real life encounter and not once in my life have I heard the word troll.

Example, we were discussing that the need to isolate with Covid is now over and one lad said if he felt ill he would still test, "fair enough" says I, I then asked for how long would he carry on testing, a Month? a Year? forever?

Is this Trolling or discussing?

 

[Blue Hills]

So there is no longer the deep and extended debates.

that's not what I saw.

at all.

Am reading this at the mo:

https://www.wob.com/en-gb/books/jar...social-media-accounts-right-now/9781529112405

which may seem odd as I'm not on any other social media.

But a fair bit of the book, with an entertainly forthright vocabulary, describes the sort of game-playing and mindless ego-driven nastiness that all too often permeated the old NACA.

In that sense and that sense only it played a positive role - a foretaste of the horrors that awaited on too much social media if you were daft enough to stray there. So a kind of innoculation.

 

[Blue Hills]

The removal of NACA to a separate forum was probably a sound idea in theory, but it was flawed. I said all along that news, politics and current affairs discussion was never the problem before, most moderate people on both sides (and the middle) of the spectrum could discuss all of that without getting personal. No, the real problem was a very small cohort of just downright unpleasant people, demonstrably here purely for the friction and to see how far they could get away with insulting people from behind a screen. These of course are the sort of people who are as quiet as mice in person, but who get incredibly brave and insulting online when there's no threat of a punch in the face for overstepping the mark. I know moderation isn't up for discussion, but I believe we've probably "cured" an infected leg by cutting off the leg, rather than removing the infectious bacteria.

I think the removal of NACA has has completely shut down discussion of anything substantial, and that's a shame. So we're left with tyres, front mechs, bread recipes and train spotting. Possibly a coincidence and possibly not, but the forum has also lost quite a few prolific posters (on varied subjects) over the last 6 months or so, and it's become very boring indeed recently. I can see more people drifting away.

liked though I don't there was any alternative but to float it off - for it provided a gateway for the "downright unpleasant" folk you refer to into the main pool of generally very nice helpful easy going folk on here. They were always a separate crowd. Now even more noticeable as a fair lot of them are now all but invisible in the general bit.
As for what's left, some really odd modding decisions don't help it to breathe/live.
At times it's like being in a kindergarten.
In fact I'm pretty sure there was more life in my old hallowed primary school.

 

[Rocky]

liked though I don't there was any alternative but to float it off - for it provided a gateway for the "downright unpleasant" folk you refer to into the main pool of generally very nice helpful easy going folk on here. They were always a separate crowd. Now even more noticeable as a fair lot of them are now all but invisible in the general bit.
As for what's left, some really odd modding decisions don't help it to breathe/live.
At times it's like being in a kindergarten.
In fact I'm pretty sure there was more life in my old hallowed primary school.

The downright unpleasant……….what a horribly uncharitable thing to say.

 

[bagpuss]

Someone asked what I thought had changed on CC in a pervious post in this thread . Imho it has became an even more friendly place sine NACA moved to a stand alone forum .
Yes I read its content , and no I did not post in any of the threads there in . I had considered doing so, but found some of the vitriol unnecessary .

I am off for a grand day out on two wheels today & I am chomping at the bit , enjoy your day all

 

[Blue Hills]

He definitely does not have a point.

Allowing posters eager to take offence to be able to have others removed for causing that "offence" is absolutely the wrong way to go. Indeed, it's really back seat moderating and is explicitly against forum rules!

Mods should take as objective a view as possible as to whether a post was offensive, accepting that a degree of subjectivity is inevitable.

agree - there was a view around a while ago in broader society that if someone said they had been offended by a statement they labelled racist or sexist then it JUST WAS. A recipe for social disaster and game-playing if ever there was one.
Then on here some soul confessed that they had been reporting 10 to 15 posts a day and had even reported their own posts!
(visions of self flagellation I had to work to banish)

 

[Blue Hills]

The downright unpleasant……….what a horribly uncharitable thing to say.

Not at all - unless you want to restrict simple polite vocabulary. And silence.
I was quoting and agreeing with @CanucksTraveller

 

[winjim]

Funny the way memory can play tricks on you, isn't it?

 

[classic33]

Someone asked what I thought had changed on CC in a pervious post in this thread . Imho it has became an even more friendly place sine NACA moved to a stand alone forum .
Yes I read it content , and no I did not post in any of the threads there in . I had consdered doing so, but found some of the vitriol unnecessary .

I am off for a grand day out on two wheels today & I am chomping at the bit , enjoy your day all

Will you be getting on your trusty steed from the left or right side, and will you be riding side saddle?

 

[bagpuss]

Making hay whilst the sun shines . I find getting my leg over a rare thing ,side saddle is fine , anything else plays havoc with my sciatica .
I need to do more stretching .

might get a copy of this .

 

[bagpuss]

Why are these guys coming in for so much criticism? I know they don't ride proper bikes, but come on
View attachment 635826

The bloke on the left's effort with mirrors is frankly pitiful.

Yes but he can see where he has come from .....