As a mod,

Huh?

I neither moderate this forum nor have a parka with a target on the back.

I neither moderate this forum

Are you sure? really sure?

this lull in fighting just gives the opportunity for new big hitters to establish themselves, banned members to create new log ins (hi surfmatt!) and gives the frail and delicate a window to post repeatedly about how nice things are now that they can rebuild their online ego and how much better things are now the nasty boys have gone. It also gives the sychophants a platform to ply their trade *applause*

in 6 months time everyone will be arguing like none of this ever happened.

yossarian, my “Applause” thread was not about the overall modding or bans, it was about one specific post.

SurfMatt wasn’t banned was he?

He just flounced, or his wife told him to stop STWing so much and do more work, seeing as she was his boss.

my “Applause” thread was not about the overall modding

Yes, of course…

Somebody needs to start a thread about Ed Milliband, maybe..

yossarian, my “Applause” thread was not about the overall modding or bans, it was about one specific post.

Yes, of course… 😉

Smurfmatt was “Surfmat” – one T…

two Ts reduce the awesomeness by a significant factor.

Smurfmatt was “Surfmat” – one T…

it was surf-mat IIRC

Indeed it was

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/profile/surf-mat

Smurf mat earlier…

Are you sure? really sure?

Really. WTF are you rambling on about?

he thinks ^ a moderator…..

I have to say – alarm bells are ringing…

Moved over to STW after my previous forum of choice dwindled away to nothing as a result of increasingly abusive posts / threads and increasingly heavy handed moderation.

It really isn’t the individuals who step over the line that kill a forum. A forum is killed when it no longer allows the debate that the users want. Mods need to exercise caution and discretion.

I just tried to google mtb-wales and drew a complete blank. That was a very, very good forum. Would hate to see STW go the same way 🙁

Reported!

I just tried to google mtb-wales and drew a complete blank. That was a very, very good forum. Would hate to see STW go the same way

That is a pity. I never used to post much, but I did used to find it very useful, especially for actual bike / trail related stuff.

I just tried to google mtb-wales and drew a complete blank. That was a very, very good forum. Would hate to see STW go the same way
That is a pity. I never used to post much, but I did used to find it very useful, especially for actual bike / trail related stuff.

Perhaps the owners pulled it because they were sick of a minority spoiling it for everyone else…

For sure it is a balance act and this version is somewhat more conservative [ in the non political sense] that previous incarnates.
I do think moderation is essential however I find it unlikely that blandness will bring popularity.

Its funny they swear in the mag but you cannot on their site.
the numbers are going up but some folk are putting people off.

I also think some users need to exercise the choice to not open stuff.

I dont like/have no interest in cars, coffee, watches, rugby photography

I simply dont read these threads [ its a diverse world so something for everyone] and dont moan about them or go on them to explain why I dont like them or to provoke those who do or start a BH type name for those on there etc
I do like Politics and discussing/arguing about it- you dont have to read or join in.
At the end of the day STW makes the decision but we seem to be loosing all the characters from the site {TSY was not a trill or abusive that I am aware of] and we are descending into the world of the Bland
I am not sure if this will lead to greater success or not but it is not my call.

I suppose we THEY need time to tell

The Heart ripped from STW

or was it just an arse?

I just tried to google mtb-wales and drew a complete blank. That was a very, very good forum. Would hate to see STW go the same way

mtb_wales went down due to spambots and viruses. All kinds of bad stuff happened to your computer after visiting there.

Perhaps the owners pulled it because they were sick of a minority spoiling it for everyone else…

I think MTB-Wales was mostly run by one guy (Phil Lee) and when he stepped back from it, it waned slightly. There were never masses of users and it just takes a few key ones to drift away before somewhere goes moribund. Have a couple of mates who were very active on there and neither of them mentioned any drama.

The other issue forums face is social media. FB and Twitter must have killed off a lot of the quieter forums, and, as a broad generalisation, both tend to have a more positive, supportive atmosphere than traditional forums as negative comments can be associated with your real life identity. (Yes I know both have their share of trolls, but neither seem to have the routine verbal smackdowns that typify so many STW threads).

Perhaps the owners pulled it because they were sick of a minority spoiling it for everyone else…

[my partisan view*] That forum was very succesfully moderated for a number of years by a small number of volunteer forum members. Very informative site, good debates, healthy level of banter (to me “banter” is one of the most important but indefinable characteristics of a good forum).

The mods, IMHO, did a very good job, but again IMHO, were not properly appreciated – and when some posters started to over-step the mark the mods questioned what it was all about. Forum owner steps in, heavy handed moderation, site starts to loose its appeal and members drift away. After a hack and half hearted re-build I hardly went back. Seems it’s now gone completely.

Loosing the characters risks loosing the character

* – partisan view – very much from my perspective. I know others on here have come from the same place, and respect that they may / will have a different view or recollection… 😉

ETA

I think MTB-Wales was mostly run by one guy (Phil Lee) and when he stepped back from it, it waned

Have to disagree strongly with this. The site flourished for 4-5 (?) years after Phil was drawn away by “other interests”. The mods over that period were never properly credited.

there’s no culture here any more is there..

Yunki – is that the sort of place hippy James Bond baddies would use as a hide out?

Have to disagree strongly with this. The site flourished for 4-5 (?) years after Phil was drawn away by “other interests”. The mods over that period were never properly credited.

Fair enough. My understanding is that he did the “back end” programming and without someone feeding the hamsters, it’s quite easy for the wheels to fall off.

I understand a lot of the members still keep in touch and ride together so it’s not all doom and gloom.

is that the sort of place hippy James Bond baddies would use as a hide out?

indeed Zokes.. it does slightly resemble my immediate surroundings, yes

can’t we all just not get along?

Course not….idiot.

… and gives the frail and delicate a window to post repeatedly about how nice things are now that they can rebuild their online ego and how much better things are now the nasty boys have gone. It also gives the sychophants a platform to ply their trade *applause*

Well, I’ve been aware of this forum for a long time, people i work and ride with have often told me to join. I’ve looked in and lurked a bit but really the level of self-importance has of some folks has always put me off, until recently. No I’m not frail or delicate and things are much better now that the ‘nasty’ boys have gone. But to think that they were intimidating is just wrong and another example of the kind of self-importance which put me off. I really didn’t see them as nasty, I think few did. I just saw them as really really tedious. Name calling, one-upmanship, point-scoring, arguments based on technicalities and semantics really aren’t very productive or clever. I’m stunned that folks think this makes them big-hitters. Seems to me they were continual displays of small-mindedness. But, now they are gone the forum section seems to be more balanced in favour of cycling chat and that is a good thing. It used to look like the main activity of the forum was ‘off topic’ to the extent that ‘off topic’ was the main forum topic. So, yes, the forum is a nicer place now, maybe less active, but in a good way. that’s what I think, no doubt some will disagree, that’s fine. Others will choose to disagree, that’s less fine and still others will look to engage in those activities I listed above and that’s even less fine. But, just to let the regulars know, that from the outside, this now looks like a much more interesting forum.

No need to thank me

as a lurker who doesn’t post much unless i’m 110% sure i can offer fantastic advice on a thread, i’m glad this place has been cleared out. i’m much more likely to post now.

what are the benefits of being a big hitter?

Whilst I get what you’re saying, dragonphoenix, are you aware that you can select to just look at the bike forum, and ignore the chat (OT) forum entirely if you’re only interested in bikes. There’s no harm in doing that.

It seems natural that when the forum is split into ‘bikes’ or ‘other stuff’, then the ‘other stuff’ section is full of, well, other stuff 🙂

Using more toilet paper and having to double flush.

what are the benefits of being a big hitter?

extra ‘enlarge your penis’ emails in the inbox

plus we all know being single, bitter and lonely means a healthier bank balance.

Whilst I get what you’re saying, dragonphoenix, are you aware that you can select to just look at the bike forum,

Thanks for this. I think maybe folks casually slip into pisstake mode without realising it. Pisstaking is ok, if it is funny, but this is just typically old, tired, lazy and predictable. More to the point, I doubt many find it even raises a smile.

and ignore the chat (OT) forum entirely if you’re only interested in bikes. There’s no harm in doing that.

It seems natural that when the forum is split into ‘bikes’ or ‘other stuff’, then the ‘other stuff’ section is full of, well, other stuff

I’m not daft, I am aware that the off topic forum is just for that. But the general weight of the forum was pretty much un-bikey. Cat forums have off-topic sections, but I don’t visit them because I have no interest in cats. My point was that the emphasis of the off-topic forum was that it gave the impression that few of the people on here were actually interested in bikes

This is a bike forum??? GTFO.

I have no interest in cats.

+1

we are less than human you know?

My point was that the emphasis of the off-topic forum was that it gave the impression that few of the people on here were actually interested in bikes

Or, just look at the bike forum and ignore the chat forum if off-topic conversation irks you so much. Pretend it doesn’t exist by bookmarking the “bike forum” page. I don’t mean to come across as argumentative here, but it does seem bizarre to complain about the number of non-bike-related posts in the non-bike-related bit of the forum.

Almost as daft as moaning about the number of “what tyre” threads in the bike forum 😆

I’m not going to comment on the merits or otherwise of people being banned as its not my forum but it always seemed to me that there was a certain amount of provocation and trolling towards tandem jeremy.

As far as im aware it didnt seem to bother him (I dont know though i have never discussed anything with him on here or elsewhere) and he was capable of defending himself but IMO such stuff makes for a worse forum ‘atmosphere’ than anything he posted. Even now he is banned there are still people having digs at him on other threads, that is poor show.

I’m stunned that folks think this makes them big-hitters.

It’s an ironic term, not an actual accolade.