Which forum?

[Ignatius J. Reilly]

[Ignatius J. Reilly]

It's the best of forums, it's the worst of forums. It's Yet Another Cycling Forum. We're in the general vicinity of their 15th anniversary.

– Permissions profile hits the spot.
– Just the right amount of busy.
– Wordsmithery.

– Super-Twats. In their own words.

Spoiler

It doesn't take many to spoil it.

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Anyone familiar with our history <waves to the peanut gallery> will know that I have had a closet full of axes to grind (not an entirely fair metaphor, but great imagery). Been there, done that.

Some of the most active members are little better than children, but without the curiosity and possibility for growth. Dishonourable mention goes to:

alt text

aka Nosferatu. Happy to be corrected.

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But wait, there's more



Two words, neither of which is gotcha, was all it took. Trans issues have been a reliable litmus test.

I don't post much at YACF because of moderators who delete without explanation. Way to encourage healthy debate, guys.

Villains-Я-Us

That I continue to post at all is a mystery.

Spoiler

As my mere presence likely annoys those who haven't taken the trouble to put me on ignore, it's the closest I get to trolling.

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That they allow me to have an account is, too – I wouldn't blame them if they zapped unto me as I zapped unto them so long ago – but it does seem to indicate there's at least one grownup in the backroom.
 

Mad Men meets Saul Bellow

PS. The vice on the copy of Which? I guest edited (it's a hobby) is explained here.

[Ignatius J. Reilly]

My name is Pale Rider
Theodore Blovius
Agony Guy
Ignatius
anothersam, and I'm a foraholic.

CycleChat and acf both launched in 2005. Shaun was in it to make a buck,^[1] whereas I was in it to make enemies. I mean, that wasn't the plan, but it may as well have been.

After yet another stumble by C+/BikeRadar, Mr fun-n-friendly proceeded to hoover up users who weren't interested in my particular utopia.

He possesses a technical competence which has kept things humming along smoothly, along with a talent for being in Google's good graces.

On the downside, he chose moderators who mostly can't moderate #youhadonejob; but there haven't been enough disaffected users to cause real problems. He learnt from the BikeRadar exodus.

There was a golden age with just the right mix of regulars to keep things intellectually^[2] lively. Institutional memory favours this era, the regular surfacing of 'TMN' being an example. 

Shaun's most interesting move – aside from his tribute to Vernon,^[3] when he plastered the deceased's name everywhere, causing glorious chaos – has been to split off the politics board onto its own little island without oversight. Being unable to join the fun, I launched a board in its honour.

If you can't join 'em, beat 'em. Mercilessly.

Of the cycling forums I've been to and posted at, CycleChat is perhaps the most addictive. It doesn't matter that the moderation sucks, the owner is bland as a smiley, and the permissions are much worse than YACF. It's a very stable genius.

[Ignatius J. Reilly]

Next up is supposed to be Cycling UK, but I may just relegate it to this footnote: It's good that those not overly sharp of wit can be accommodated with their own forum.