MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
The constant arguing on here is starting to get me down, It doesn't seem to matter if its about footy presents, murderers, politician's or just 26 V 29" wheels, no one seems to be able to just get on, express their views, & accept that people differ.
So what is the real reason for the forceful views? Pent up aggression?
No, it is because people come here knowing that there are other people who are in it for the sport and from whom they can learn and have their own views challenged.
Some people like that sort of thing.
mleh. you tune it out as a pro.
All forums become verbal sparring grounds for many. This one is no exception.
Although i am constantly amazed about the pettiness of some of the bickering stuff on here. Most people posting are adults!
I used to just ignore it, now I find certain debates a bit more interesting, but I just can't read some without getting a tad upset.
I don't want to turn into TJ, so please help 😉
When it all starts getting me down, I just take 5 mins out and watch this. If it's a really bad moment, they have a forum on their website too... HTH
The constant arguing on here is starting to get me down.......... no one seems to be able to just get on, express their views, & accept that people differ.
He says. Before having a sly dig at another forum user with :
I don't want to turn into TJ
Now, I like a good argue as much as the next person. Possibly more than some.
I know it's all about ego, insecurity, inner rage yadda yadda yadda. Domn't stop me getting sucked in mind.
It's like a game of intellectual chess; of course you don't want to lose, and it can be challenging to ensure you aren't outmoved.
Most folk are essentially ok, even if they do have silly views and opinions. Some are just plain ignorant. What can you do?
Only one or two are truly nasty. But it's not good to hate. I might have a proper ding-dong with people on here, but I'll happily have a pint or go for a ride with most of 'em. And I'd like to think most folk would do the same with me. If they don't want to, then it's no skin off my nose. I've met plenty of nice people off here to know mostly it's just a bit of banter, and not to take it too seriously. Certainly not to let it cloud your ability to get on with folk in 'real life'.
It can get a bit stupid sometimes, and yes, some comments can be upsetting, but then there are moments when it's a joy to use this form, and be part of the 'community'.
The good outweighs the bad by some way, imo.
Stick around...
Better people bicker and argue on here than in the street. It's all for the greater good...
Besides, my views may polarise opinion but I don't hold grudges and I'd expect (hopefully) neither do others.
Plus sometimes, as a result of healthy heated debate, we all learn something at some point.
At least you never noticed my poor spelling ernie..
TBH I did wonder about that, then thought that I shouldn't worry as he is fair game for all.
and as if by magic...
Best post ever from Fred IMO, just what turned you, was it meeting people from here that done it? You have never been the same since TBBB 😉
It's like a game of intellectual chess
LOL ! 😀
It just amazes me how some of the more argumentative contributors to this forum have so much time to spend on proving they are right.
It's like a game of intellectual chess
Intellectual soggy biscuit more like.
Well you know, life's too short and all that. Better to concentrate on enjoying it, and appreciating the good things you have in life, than waste it hating and despising and resenting. A good whinge or rant is cathartic now and then, a good argue gets things out of your system, but if you allow yourself to hate, then you're succumbing to negative energies, and doing yourself a disservice.
*spafff*
doing yourself a disservice
www.whodhavethoughtthatwasagenuinesmuttysitename.com
Jesus!
*goes off to investigate more fully*
I feel some banning action may be headed in the direction of this thread....
Lol @ stoner.
No it isn't just you, this place can get a bit much at times.
A bit of sport is fine if the thread calls for it but there's enough shite and needless point scoring in real life without peeps getting as argumentative or inappropriate as some do on here. The mods have been pretty active of late, which will hopefully dissuade / remove the worst offenders. I'm all for free speech but there are plenty other sites doing politics, religion and scantily clad wimmen, although not necessarily at the same time, so why bring it here?
Why not.... 😉
Let's be honest; this forum would be interminably boring if it were solely about bikes. There is more to life you know...
[i]The constant arguing on here is starting to get me down, It doesn't seem to matter if its about footy presents, murderers, politician's or just 26 V 29" wheels, no one seems to be able to just get on, express their views, & accept that people differ.[/i]
Best stay in the house with a duvet over your head I think. You've just described the human race. I'm in total agreement though, I'd nuke us all from orbit if I could. The crap people are crap (and I'm clearly in that category), and good people make me want to kill me or them. That video yon yeti posted above made me feel a bit sick. We're just a vile race as far as I'm concerned. Smart enough to be evil, stupid enough to be dangerous.
Hopefully we'll get hit by an asteroid or the sun will stretch out a limb and torch us all.
It is you AND you need to find another forum, no lets all calm down and have a group hug.
Hopefully we'll get hit by an asteroid or the sun will stretch out a limb and torch us all.
Well I hope not cos I'm signed up to ride at Mountain Mayhem for Petesgaff's charity. And then of course there's the BBB 2011. So I'd ask any asteroids or solar flares to hold off for at least a bit yet.
Some people like that sort of thing.
I'll openly admit that I specifically come here for "the banter".
Whatever my opinion there will be someone here that will make me rethink it from a different point of view. They won't always change my mind (rarely in fact, as I'm fairly stubborn) but they will make me appreciate a counter-argument or alternative viewpoint. Being here challenges my prejudice and broadens my mind.
A forum full of people agreeing with each other would have nothing interesting to say.
Galactic timescales. You'll probably reach 50, or maybe 51 before it happens.
So what is the real reason for the forceful views?
[s]Sexual tension.[/s]
True, there is far more to life than bikes. Splitting this forum into bike / non-bike is a great concept but the OP's point seems to be just how quickly threads descend into willy waving nastiness. Avoiding discussions on emotive subjects such as religion & politics may reduce the chances of it all going downhill. Similarly, I like a swivel hipped well stacked lady as much as the next red blooded bloke but t'internet isn't exactly short of other sites showing pics of women in 'sporting' attire. Do we really need subject matter that causes such obvious friction and potential offence?
A forum full of people agreeing with each other would have nothing interesting to say.
I could not agree more with you excellent post.
Here here, well said old boy.
Tend to agree a lot with elfin these days. A good argumentative discussion is great, but not so much when it dissolves into petty slagging off for the sake of it. The opposite side of this particular OP coin is the enormous amount of help, love and goodwill that shows up when a member has serious family or work problems. I've genuinely been moved to tears by the responses to some people's plea for help, which never ceases to astound me. There are lovely people on here, and they far outweigh the pettiness and sniping that goes on from time to time.
Threads like the Modern Art one, or the amazingly long-running 'Photo... you've taken this month' I really can't imagine finding anywhere else, and that's what has kept me coming back for eight years.
I agree that Elfin/Fred/whatever his new name is, has turned in to one of the good guys now, but he used to be akin to 'the prawn/ beer', I'm more interested in what turned him?
He was always a "good guy" IMO, just a bit volatile and deeply misunderstood.
As Elfin he just got less volatile and more understood!
I expect someone will publish a map with little cross hairs targeting forum members they really don't like soon. Then there'll be trouble.
The good outweighs the bad by some way, imo.
This is the best forum on the 'net - for information and advice and discussion nowhere comes close, IME. Some people can seem like cocks (certainly me included) but I have the strong feeling that even the most "bitter" enemies would be happy to ride their bikes together and enjoy a drink and a chat.
Pass me a hanky, I've come over all emotional ...
I reckon the bickering on here is nowhere near as bad as the bickering on other forums where people bicker. There are forums where people don't bicker at all, but they are utterly bland places where people just ask questions about how to change the windscreen wiper motor on their 1998 Passat or something.
But yes, this is a brilliant place. Nowhere else have I seen such a combination of sparkling wit, useful knowledge and genuine compassion. Even most of the arguments are intelligent and continue to draw insightful comments whilst one or two folk are having it out.
Personally I don't feel I have any enemies on here, I just get very exasperated with the way some discussions go.
OP there is alot of pent up aggression on here. I'd say the majority of the posters are late 30's to late 40's and not at ease with themselves. Probably not getting on with their SO's and unhappy at work.
The arguments are always cyclic as well which is odd and ironic considering it is a cycling forum...
I'm sure if there were more sub forums, such as a dedicated bickering forum and a dedicated non bickering forum, all would quickly degenerate into bickering anyhow. We should just embrace it and to hell with the introspection.
The arguments are always cyclic as well which is odd and ironic considering it is a cycling forum...
Lol - quote of the week for me 🙂
Jamie - MemberSo what is the real reason for the forceful views?
Sexual tension.
Surely the purpose of certain Friday threads is to help relieve this [s]tension[/s] of a [s]sexual[/s] nature that you speak?
Theses days I tend to just come here for the biscuits.
We need more happy faces among the jammie dodgers.... 🙂
On every forum I've ever been on there's always a few people needing to assert their authority and position themselves near the top of the hierarchy they've created in their minds. I do wonder if that's because in the real world they tend to be near the bottom of that hierarchy? And then there's the people that think arguing about anything is good sport... Have they nothing better to do?
On every forum I've ever been on there's always a few people needing to assert their authority and position themselves near the top of the hierarchy they've created in their minds
Not wishing to start an argument, but that is a very interesting point to come up with. It suggests that you have also created a hierarchy in your mind, no? 😀 there you go, have a jamie dodger.
My rule is never take a forum seriously and never take yourself seriously on a forum 😈
Plain Digestives are my Drug.Of.Choice.
This forum has some of the most obnoxious unpleasant gits on the internet. It also has some of the most knowledgeable and helpful.
The trick is to not get involved, then it doesn't seem nearly as nasty as it is.
[i]It's like a game of intellectual chess[/i]
Problem is, some people really do think this. It's [swear filter avoidance] hilarious!
Chess usually has a winner - on here it's whoever can keep typing bollocks the longest.
To the OP, there are plenty of other forums out there, go try some.
Yeah but it's funny, even on the most vitriolic of threads someone will pop up with a quip and make me pee myself with laughter.
Also worrying/surprising is when I see a forumite with an opinion diametrically opposed to my own on some subjest important to me, I'll think "what and absolute arse, what kind of degenerate thinks like that?" Then on the next thread/subject the same person is agreeing with me. 😯
a jamie dodger.
Otherwise known as Cambridgeshire females 😉
I've been coming here for years and never been offered a biscuit. Clearly the powers that be are selectively withholding nourishment.
It's all a sign of the times... something is gonna give soon!
i'm only on here because hora doesn't have a twitter/blog thingy.
This forum has some of the most obnoxious unpleasant gits on the internet.
If you really believe that, then I reckon you're pretty unlucky. For me the opposite is true, ie, I find it impossible to dislike anyone on here. Even people which I instinctively feel I [i]ought[/i] to dislike, such as Zulu-eleven & Woppit. In fact I would, and do, miss them if they don't post. I guess it's probably because of the detached nature of internet forum relationships - you can just close a page and walk away, it's not in your face as in real life.
I agree that Elfin/Fred/whatever his new name is, has turned in to one of the good guys now........... I'm more interested in what turned him?
He was tamed by the mods. After years of claiming that the screws and nonces would never break him, he finally broke. He is now a fine upright, respectable, and law-abiding, member of the community.
Pathetic really.
Still I guess it proves that rehabilitation can work.
iDave - slice of Guinness cake?
Why don't we arrange a weekly 8 man cage fighting tournament...the 8 most prolific bickerers from the week and compete with one emerging the victor.
He can even finish with "There can be only one!" at the end in a Highlanderesque finishing move.
Do we really need subject matter that causes such obvious friction
kyak kyak!!
But anyway, the discussions are good and it is important for all of us to hear a range of opinions. Yes, lots of arguments tend to be the same argument with a different jacket, and yes some people are very forceful and domineering with their arguments, but these people are also very predictable. I used to use a different forum which was rich in debate, with lots of people from all over the world. There, as here, there were a few individuals who felt compelled to get involved in every argument which had some bearing on their world view. For while this was very interesting, however, in the long run. It was obvious that a number of people had very different starting points and were never going to agree. Eventually the number of debates which took place dropped to near zero as for every issue, most of the forumites could predict each other's opinions and realise that the argument would go no where. As such the forum is full of anodyne, unstimulating conversation.
This forum has some of the most obnoxious unpleasant gits on the internet.
Just noticed this...you've led a sheltered ilife.
TSY - half a slice would be greatly appreciated, a whole slice and the world can have a big hug
Why don't we arrange a weekly 8 man cage fighting tournament
Would the intention behind this scheme be to decrease or increase bickering? I'm not much into bickering but I've always wanted to take part in a Royal Rumble...
He was tamed by the mods. After years of claiming that the screws and nonces would never break him, he finally broke. He is now a fine upright, respectable, and law-abiding, member of the community.Pathetic really.
😆
[i] I'll think "what and absolute arse, what kind of degenerate thinks like that?" Then on the next thread/subject the same person is agreeing with me.[/i]
Great that innit?!
Btw, where is SFB lately?
The constant arguing on here is starting to get me down
No it isn't.
Would the intention behind this scheme be to decrease or increase bickering? I'm not much into bickering but I've always wanted to take part in a Royal Rumble...
I think the intention would be for the bickerers to identify a top bickerer for the week, perhaps with some kind of championship belt.
I'm sure that would start a whole new world of bickering about who is the ultimate bickerer.
I'm sure that would start a whole new world of bickering about who is the ultimate bickerer.
and maybe when a real ding dong starts we could have a poll to say who we think has one and when. So that the loser can withdraw with some honour instead of wriggling about in the mud.
Actually, rather than cage fighting...what about Gladiators?
I'm sure we could persuade Ulrika Johnson to shag someone.
[img] 
[/img]
Maybe we could have a side competition - "Who looks the best in lycra?"
deadlydarcy:Otherwise known as Cambridgeshire females
Harumph.
what I think is a shame is that there are probably loads of really interesting people out there that love reading posts, and could really add something to this place, but don't want to, in case someone jumps down their neck. That's one good reason I suppose, that lately, the mods, etc, have gone into overdrive.
edit: yeah? where is SFB?
No it isn't.
That's not an argument, it's just contradiction.
simple really:
forum users should be able to click on a "verify" button under each persons post if they doubt the content of a reply. the verify button will take you to a page listing that persons vital STW statistics... the most important part if this being:
each user cannot post until their profile is updated with a verified image of their partner, a verified image clearly showing the length of their penis or size of their boobs, and a verified by MENSA IQ level.
arguments should be won on penis/boob size, failing that IQ level and if IQ levels are equal between the arguing posters it should come down to a STW poll of which person's partner the forum would rather bump-uglies with.
premier users like myself will also have access to their bank details and should be able to withdraw 5pounds from their account each time they offend my delicate sensibilities.
each user cannot post until their profile is updated with a verified image of their partner, a verified image clearly showing the length of their penis or size of their boobs, and a verified by MENSA IQ level.
You only suggest this because it places you at a clear advantage
a verified image clearly showing the length of their penis or size of their boobs
or both in the case of some STWers
sounds fair 🙂
charlie, i didnt realise we'd met in real life? 😀
boobs and a penis gets you a "joker card" that you can only use once in situations like:
"i think all men on this forum are nasty creatures that dont do anything for society!"
"ummm actually i've dedicated my life to raising money for charities for homeless drug addicted orphans with horrible facial disfigurements"
"i was joking of course! of course there are men like you.... why doesnt anyone realise when i'm not being serious?!... here's my joker card as proof"
No, I don't want to see man boobs. 😯
Ms Cinnamon, how are you? Not seen you around recently...
Cougar - Member
No it isn't.
That's not an argument, it's just contradiction.
At least somebody got it 🙂
Hmm not sure. I guess the old addage stands, "just coz someone is a cyclist doesn't mean they are a nice person" or rather "just coz someone is a bigoted racist twonk doesn't mean they don't appreciate the sleek efficiency of rapid rise rear mechs"Great that innit?!
🙂
Let me tell you about STW.
Actually, let me tell you about something else first.
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I've been a user (and later moderator) of an Internet BBS ([url= http://www.mono.org ]Monochrome[/url]) since the early 90s (yes, before the web existed). The userbase there was originally students and most of the current users are long-standing residents. Add to this the 'security through obscurity' of Mono, it means that we have a very specific demographic; we're mostly reasonably bright late-30-somethings / early-40-somethings, with arguably a higher-than-average ratio of geeks / Aspies.
In real terms, this means that the place has a fairly unique atmosphere. Chat can be witty, sublime, passionate, intelligent, pedantic, and occasionally full of the most hostile bickering you could imagine. What it doesn't have is a raft of 14-year olds LOLing and ROFLing about the place.
And you know, I like it a lot. It's comfortable, it's basically how my real life friends interact; we won't hesitate to argue like old married couples and call each other names that I can't repeat on here, but that's fine because deep down there's a lot of love and respect for each other. And after nearly 20 years, many of the spods on there [i]are [/i]my real life friends.
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I used to think that Mono was unique on the Internet, till I discovered STW. Cos you know, this place is exactly the same. It's a very similar demographic, a good degree of wit and intelligence, very little immaturity, some really really interesting debate, and a couple of token bellends. You could argue that that's a small price to pay but you know what, it's not even that, it's part of the atmosphere. Without opposing / conflicting views (and sometimes outrageously so) we'd all be sitting around talking about the weather.
So. STW. Please don't change. Bickering can be [page down]ed past, threads over five pages can be ignored (cos you know, you don't [i]have[/i] to read everything), or in STW parlance, just MTFU. (-: