I miss the old days
Thread started by
Creative Thing at 06.5.11 - 9:30 pm
I had such a blast at the L.A. River Ride today, seeing friends and meeting several new ones from our Ridazz community.
I really miss all the post event chatter that used to appear here.
I'm kinda sad so many seem to have abandoned this forum.
I also find I have very little to contribute to the posts of late.
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Yea me too. Hopefully things will pick up.
AirCooled06.5.11 - 9:48 pm
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Yeah I miss the old days too. Wish i could have been on the river ride today :(
Roadblock06.5.11 - 9:48 pm
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Good to see you if only for a few minutes. I saw Allan at the end of the ride.
mk452406.6.11 - 12:18 am
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A simple, after-ride acknowledgement would be great.
But it looks like some how, some way, even in an economy as bleak as this, many still find ways to keep their schedules booked up from front-to-back.
bentstrider06.6.11 - 1:47 am
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People have to get busy living or get busy dieing. I'm sure riding a bike makes it easier or harder, depending on circumstance. Cheer up and keep riding.
Hippy Sippy responding to a
comment by bentstrider
06.6.11 - 2:32 am
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Sometimes I feel the same way, I've seen the LA bike scene change from proactive bike people to two-wheeled ravers. Perhaps I'm just getting older and my view of things are changing, but the energy level seems less, people seem bored or at least act like they are. I just keep going, it's all I can do. I'll just keep giving it my all.
rev106 responding to a
comment by Hippy Sippy
06.6.11 - 6:21 am
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Im starting to think you have a secret crush on that guy.
OsnapsonJC responding to a
comment by sack or crack you choose
06.6.11 - 10:32 am
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Sorry I missed you guys. Agent Orange, Bruce and I did some route marking on Saturday, then I rode up to the Autry and hung out for a while yesterday. I saw a few other familiar faces there.
I see more bikes than ever on the streets on a daily basis, both night and day. Things have changed, for sure - stuff that was once new is now routine, perhaps. But it's all part of an inevitable progression. Like Paul says, keep on doing what you do.
mr rollers06.6.11 - 10:45 am
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I just fear that the way things are going with threads and the low turn-out at what used to be massive rides, this whole thing may go out with a whimper.
But, I've learned to quit bitching and ride this wave until it either smacks the dry land hard, or gently settles back out into the blue mass from which it came.
Besides, plenty of other states and municipalities to fuck up with a sound trailer and leaflets scattered all over the place.
M-80s and SkyRockets all night long!!!
bentstrider responding to a
comment by Hippy Sippy
06.6.11 - 12:15 pm
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Quality not quantity, maybe?
I rode my beach cruiser as a teenager all over the place, before organized rides like this happened. As an adult, I got a car because it was the thing to do, since I worked full time and went to school full time. Never did I thought to myself to trade in my car for a bike in those years because I was very busy and could not imagine to be able to do everything I did in one day riding a bike. And when I saw you guys riding up and down while I was a motorist, I thought to myself "Damn, I just want to get home. Why are these assholes taking up all lanes?!" Well my friend, I don't have a car anymore, nor do I go to school anymore, and yikes.... I don't have a job. I can go on as many rides as I please but I don't because I still need to find a job, make money when the opportunity is there, and it takes most of my time. I do regret not commuting on my bike when I was a car slave because I now see that it would of saved me tons of cash and time. I now see the value of a bike as a complete mode of transportation, busy or not, rich or poor.
Quality... I like smaller rides even though large rides are awe inspiring. I like to know that we as a group give cyclist a good name to our example, don't brake laws, don't bogart the whole road, and have a safe, fun time. When I get home, I sleep like a baby and tend to never post. I had a negative streak about MR but have changed my mind because of the many amazing rides I have experienced. I now feel much calmer and relaxed, much more at peace. All Thanks to riding a bike. We can all get together when we have the chance, but for the most part its just you and your bike making your way in this paved/unpaved road of life.
Hippy Sippy responding to a
comment by bentstrider
06.6.11 - 4:52 pm
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great words. thanks for sharing.
Roadblock responding to a
comment by Hippy Sippy
06.6.11 - 8:04 pm
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The boards are responsible for me turning from a full-time cager to a cager-only-when-necessary. I love riding, I love my crummy bike, I love saving gas and money and I owe it all to the boards. I really enjoy hanging out after a ride and shooting the breeze with people. It's fun.
I stopped posting a few months ago because I have no self control and too often say things that are rude or politically incorrect. I guess it's in my nature to call it how I see it, throwing tact to the wind... anyway, the only way to stop making enemies was to stop talking - so I did.
When I came back around recently, trying to take over an ailing ride for a guy who moved away, I saw the boards largely dried up. Ride posts are still coming up, but not a lot of conversation.
Anyway, it was a little depressing and it made me feel guilty for being such an a-hole all the time. Feel like I should do something about it but I am afraid of myself these-a-days.
outerspace06.7.11 - 11:53 am
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me too i missed them.I think when I made an account it was the last days of the RIDE and POST era.lol
Huey55506.9.11 - 1:25 am
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I STARTED RIDING IN LATE 07 EARLY 08 AND THE RIDES AND POSTING ARE NOT THE SAME AT ALL. I MISS THE GOOD OLD DAYS. I FEEL THAT TO GET A LITTLE BIT OF THE NEW DATE THRILL (AS FAR AS A RIDES GO), AREAS THAT HAVE NOT YET BECOME POPULATED WITH ALL THESE YOUNG PUNKS TAKING OVER THE STREETS AND GIVING BIKE RIDING IN THE STREETS A BAD NAME ARE A PERFECT PLACE TO START YOUR OWN RIDE. INTRODUCE IT AS IT WAS AND HOPE IT STAYS THAT WAY FOR A WHILE.
I MISS THE OLD CRANK MOB RIDES, CHILL CHINA TOWN MOSEY, ALPHABET SOUP RIDE, STAR WARS RIDE, STUFFED ANIMAL RIDE, LINGERIE RIDE AND ALL THE OTHER FUN RIDES.
I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW AWESOME IT MUST HAVE BEEN EVEN BEFORE MY DAYS.
ANNIE, HARRY AND ALL THE OTHER FUN RIDERS WHERE ARE YOU??????
BuggyBabyBumper06.9.11 - 10:29 pm
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There was a period of time, the first year or so there was very little snarky or negative comments. The negativity became a cancer. To Marino's point, i think it has to do with the anonimity.... Its easy to be negative when no one knows who you are.
Roadblock responding to a
comment by outerspace
06.10.11 - 9:16 am
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It started about two years ago. I met Roadblock a while back and he is a nice, cool person. Not hateful or nasty. But some of the people posting here at that time were just psychopathic/sociopath haters.
They would rag on certain rides all the time, especially Critical Mass. They laid into people like they were school yard bullies. It was a small group, but they were very vocal, and condescending. They would gang up on people or certain rides like cyberbullies and verbal terrorists. Those who sat on the sidelines just got fed up with the hate. Everyone fled to Facebook. Which is sad, because there is a charm about MR and the way it works, when people are respectful, helpful and engage in civil discussions. It was tragic, because people should have called out those cyberbullies and verbal terrorists, including myself. Self-regulating is always better than having the administrator delete the post. Maybe MR can be reborn, this time with respectful posts, discussions and debate. Everyone would flock back. It can happen...
sgrant06.10.11 - 12:18 pm
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I think the FB kind of ability for thread creators to delete or block people from posting in their threads could help...
I wanted to regulate harder on the trolls... but I also wanted so badly to see the community self regulate. I thought it could happen and it's sad to see most of the conversations happening on FB now where there is not as many eyes on any particular topic and the diversity of opinions is lacking... FB is like small bubbles of friends talking without as much of a chance for people of opposing views to chime in. People generally "friend" like-minded people and thus their views don't reach the people that could benefit (all of us) from a diversity of views.
The early days of this website were so friendly and positive.... though it went through a bad phase I see the positivity bouncing back a little... Maybe the new design will bring back more of the ability to keep that positivity going.
Roadblock responding to a
comment by sgrant
06.10.11 - 1:23 pm
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I miss the chatter of this board. It was so fun, like smoking crack and masturbation. Great time while it was happening, but a feeling of life wasted when it was done. After I would finally pull myself away from the computer I would think, "I just spent hours of my life allowing myself to be targets of ridiculous and timing consuming conversations that went nowhere, this has got to stop"
sexy responding to a
comment by Roadblock
06.10.11 - 8:15 pm
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I think the FB kind of ability for thread creators to delete or block people from posting in their threads could help...
...help create a bunch of miniature FB-style echo chambers, maybe. Other than that, it would be disastrous.
PC responding to a
comment by Roadblock
06.10.11 - 9:25 pm
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sexy wrote:
After I would finally pull myself away from the computer I would think, "I just spent hours of my life allowing myself to be targets of ridiculous and timing consuming conversations that went nowhere, this has got to stop"
Oh please, Sexy. Like your conversations in real life are any less ridiculous and futile? Come on, man, I've been in a lot of them.
PC responding to a
comment by sexy
06.10.11 - 9:27 pm
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I like the idea of every person who originates a post has the opportunity to take responsibility for moderating that post. Everybody and an equal opportunity to have their own voice heard in a post where they can set the tone and context for their thread, ride, photo, etc.
trickmilla responding to a
comment by PC
06.10.11 - 9:33 pm
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I love the forum but I honestly believe that if there were sub-forums, for instance: bicycle maintenance, local bike shops (LBS), general chat forum, etc, that it would disperse a lot of the negative threads. Right now everything is just condensed here in one place. I don't see people being too negative in a bicycle maintenance thread where people would go for tips and suggestions as well as instructions on how to take care of your bike (I could be wrong tho).
July responding to a
comment by sgrant
06.10.11 - 10:32 pm
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What happens on here means little compared to what happens in the real world. Where as I may not gleam with positivity on the boards, my actions do.
rev10606.11.11 - 8:08 am
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constructive criticism is one of the driving forces of innovation.
coldcut06.11.11 - 1:33 pm
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Be careful what you post on the web. Especially if you plan to run for public office!
Creative Thing responding to a
comment by braydon
06.11.11 - 8:58 pm
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Interesting, yeah free software to promote the Libertarians!
braydon responding to a
comment by Creative Thing
06.11.11 - 9:34 pm
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Can free software ever be wrong?
hmm...
godmode responding to a
comment by braydon
06.12.11 - 1:43 am
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People in LA don't know how go they have it. I just moved here from the IE(909) boring town no bike scene at all. I've road my bike more this year then 10yrs if being in the I.E. The bike scene is here, it's just underground right now. If you are looking for it it's not to hard to find it. People just need to get motivsted again is all...............
genuine406.12.11 - 6:58 pm
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I miss the "older" crowds. And by older I mean the age range 26-50 year olds.
Bikekowski06.12.11 - 9:34 pm
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Hi!
The baby is grown and out on its own.
No need to mourn...
marino06.12.11 - 10:07 pm
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cant WAIT to see the new site :D :D :D
jonnyboy responding to a
comment by Roadblock
06.12.11 - 11:31 pm
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I like the idea of every person who originates a post has the opportunity to take responsibility for moderating that post. Everybody and an equal opportunity to have their own voice heard in a post where they can set the tone and context for their thread, ride, photo, etc.
If the goal here is to make sure that every MR participant is protected from ever having to be exposed to other humans' points of view, it will probably work just fine. It will also kill what's left of the original spark of collaborative creativity in the forum, which often fed on conflict and disagreement...but hey, at least nobody's ideas will ever have to be subject to criticism!
PC responding to a
comment by trickmilla
06.13.11 - 12:29 pm
reply
I highly doubt that your assumption will end up truth. If a troll knows that misinformation will just be deleted, it takes away the troll's power.
I see your point with blowing away other points of view, but I think it will only make people think a little harder before posting mindless bullshit or for example littering informational threads with countless image tags like some of us used to do back in the day ;)
I think that trolls will come back a little though, because by giving the moderating power to the original poster a troll can start a trolling or disagreeable thread where internet meme's and crafty posts rule. It will just delineate the actual information from the fun / entertaining / off topic kind.
Don't worry PC, you'll still be able to put a lot of effort into your posts! I doubt people will delete your disagreements anyway, but you can always start a thread of your own and take matters into your own hands if need be.
jonnyboy responding to a
comment by PC
06.13.11 - 2:44 pm
reply
I agree with what PC is saying... the problem I see with facebook is that it isolates you into little bubbles of agreement and happiness and you don't get exposed to criticism and conflicting points of view - things you hadn't though of before... new people... etc.
there has to be a happy medium somewhere... maybe instead of being able to delete trollish comments there is another way to regulate a bitch ass troll???
halp
Roadblock responding to a
comment by jonnyboy
06.13.11 - 3:31 pm
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Don't worry about. Things will work out.
gado_gado responding to a
comment by Roadblock
06.13.11 - 3:40 pm
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comment rating system al la reddit / youtube
AT's mouf been sayin this for years
jonnyboy responding to a
comment by Roadblock
06.13.11 - 7:10 pm
reply
Have you
read youtube comments? They are packed to the gills with stupid. The only positive function that the rating system serves there is to filter out spam. Other than that, it's just an exercise in reinforcing groupthink. Youtube comments can be full of loathsome, hateful diatribes as long as they agree with the prevailing attitudes of those viewing the video. This might be an unfair comparison to make though, since youtube was never really designed to be a discussion forum, and anyone who tries to engage in a serious conversation in a youtube comments section is almost by definition a moron or a masochist.
A better solution than echo chamber moderation might be for everyone to have their own block list, so that they can choose which users' comments they want to filter out without preventing other people from seeing those comments too (also perhaps with an option for people to view individual comments from blocked users via some AJAX-y thing - "click to show comment from [blocked user]" or something). Since the bulk of really trollish comments around here come from "fake" accounts that rarely have anything worthwhile to say, this could solve much of the problem. And since the trolls won't even know who's blocking them, it has the advantage of not letting them know that they're getting to you (which is all that most trolls really care about). Thin-skinned people who would otherwise be driven away by disagreement can block
everyone and have their own personal echo chamber if they want it; they just can't censor anyone else. A block list isn't totally without it's problems, but I think it's better than what's been proposed so far.
What I found sort of unsettling in the last discussion of MR 2.0 was the description of the new format as being like an "activity feed," which often implies that comments are displayed newest-first. If the list of comments reads from bottom to top, conversations are impossible to follow, which just encourages the kinds of throw-away comments and compulsive posting that (at least to my eyes) make Facebook such an intellectual desert. So my one request for this new "activity feed" forum is that conversations be displayed in chronological order (and preferably without pagination), like the current forum threads. It's a small request, but I think it matters.
nathansnider responding to a
comment by jonnyboy
06.13.11 - 9:36 pm
reply
"Facebook is an intellectual desert" ?!?!
That's an insult to its 700 million members. I'm reporting this to the Admin as racist.
Speaking of which...
RB I like bubbles of like minded people. In fact that's what MR used to be.
Anyone making stupid republican comments on my FB is instantly unfriended.
I can't believe you let those right winger roadies litter yours.
Anyways as other have posted before me, MR has fulfilled its purpose. It spread bikeness all over Los Angeles. Mission accomplished. Rest on your laurels comrades. There is nothing to revive here. Addicted to the fresh smell of revolution? Move on to the next city. Tripoli, Kairo, Damascus...
marino responding to a
comment by nathansnider
06.14.11 - 3:04 am
reply
Yeah, yeah, we get it - you are
so over MR, and now you've got your ear to the ground, finger on the global pulse, etc., all thanks to Facebook. There's an uprising in every fan page, a molotov cocktail in every unfriending. Raise your thumbs to the sky, comrades, and join the revolution!
Each unto his own
brand identity, I suppose.
I think it would be ridiculous to expect a website redesign to bring back the "old days," but then, nobody really has such high expectations. At best, it'll be a more useful tool for people to keep doing what they're doing. To really revive the spirit of the "old days" would require rekindling a kind of surprise that can never quite be re-lived. It's all very subjective. Clearly, MR has fulfilled whatever purpose it may have had for you, but that doesn't mean that it's outlived its usefulness for others.
nathansnider responding to a
comment by marino
06.14.11 - 2:28 pm
reply
In the 2.0 version in the recent photo gallery section id like to see a link for viewing more recent pictures.
buckchin06.14.11 - 2:41 pm
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Does the 2.0 version remove that stupid feeling caused by referring to this forum when actually hanging out with friends?
markd06.14.11 - 4:57 pm
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