I have been a member of this site for over two years now and in that time i have made some good mates and of course met my Blueboy.I have always enjoyed the good banter and debates on here and the meets and ride outs have been memorable to say the least.I have always found the members on here to be good company,virtually and in the real world.I haven't always agreed with evreyones point of view,but have enjoyed discussing these points with(i hope)respect,good manners and the knowledge that opinion is only opinion and there is not neccessarily a right or wrong.I now find however that this is no longer the case.
I read a thread now and it seems peppered with personal opinion stated as fact,thinly disguised sarcasm or personal sleights,hostility and more and more outright bad manners.It seems to me that this site is becoming more and more adolecent by the day and is no longer the enjoyable place it once was.
If this is natural evolution of the site and the way people want it go forward,so be it,but i find it hard to believe that this is what the majority of the membership wants.Am i alone in thinking this?What do you want from biker match,what would you like to see happening on this site??
doesnt seem any different to me the odd flare up now an then, i think when i first joined i upset a few people!then i settled down and chilled out!! which people like lamble shoudve done! jus give it time an try an see the others point of view which is difficult by posting instead of talkin face to face! mickey taking has always happened as hijacking of threads does just makes it a laugh,but can get frustrating if your trying to be serious!seems its always been like this!
Congrats on your 1000 cassie, & sorry to read what it was about.
I have noticed a difference in the short time I have been here & like you wonder why its all happening.
Yes we have had some lovely debates & lively ones on here & at rallies etc etc , but I agree sometimes when reading posts there does seen to be some 'nastiness' that never used to be there, I know things cannot always be read as they are ment to be, but I do agree with how your feeling.
I am just glad that I know people in person & know when a 'lively debate' is done with a twinkle in the eye rather than through gritted teeth, however yes, others I do not know & I am not certain how it is meant. This is not to say that I always assume its done in a not nice way, but it is sometimes frustrating to try to 'translate' the written word.
Echoes the same thoughts this end Cass,too much of nothing seems to be happening on the threads nowadays,cept for general chit-chat and not too much about biking etc..(not too bothered myself since T.D.M went to bike heaven...that,s soon to change though),you & I have crossed swords in the past & are still I hope able to regard each other as mates,meeting yourself & blueboy & a few others from the site during the early inception days of the F.B,s was a good time for me & hopefully when 2 wheels are mobile again those days will return,we can only wait & see what happens as regards the site,seems to be going a bit *clique*ish but that,s only my view. anyways as of previous 2 wheels with an engine should be twixt my thighs in time for the onset of winter but this time it,s def heated grips!! lets see what the winter brings
As a moderator I would just ask that people take a deep breath before posting on a subject that's starting to get lively. I don't think there's anyone particularly nasty here, but there are some who in my opinion are posting first and thinking later. Easily done, and it's a common thing on some other forums I'm a member of. That's a general observation, by the way, and not aimed at any specific people. Maybe it's a reflection of the slightly overheated atmosphere at the moment that I've even got to make that proviso. Shell is quite right about knowing when a lively debate is done with a twinkle in the eye. The kind of teasing or slightly sarcastic remark that would be part of the general banter face to face can often be read in a completely different manner when filtered though the words appearing on a web page. It's also easily to fall into the trap of being rather more unguarded when you know the person face to face and can imagine the twinkle in the eye. Then someone who doesn't know you face to face pitches in, misreads the message and before you know it the temperature has risen several degrees. Other people add their contributions and it's getting hotter and hotter... What we haven't seen so far (fingers crossed) is deliberate trolling, where people come in with outrageous opinions purely for the delight of seeing respondents flying at each other's throats. This is all good behaviour on any forum, but it's worth restating. Maybe we all like to have the last word, get in a witty parting shot, but please, please think a couple of posts ahead. I was gonna say rant over, but perhaps sermon over would be better!
Lots of nails on the head there from the very reverand Fr Wills prob the reason for my lack of karma at the mo is the fact that I,m still bikeless,not getting to meet folk(even Rivi is a hell of a trek on a pushbike)and don,t see much point in post,s due to the fact that as a boring old fart I aint got much of interest to say anyhows(not till I,m mobile again anyway)but hey ho that,s life an each to his/her own
With the greatest respect Wills i believe we do have a couple of "trolls"(never heard that description before and lovin it!!)amongst the membership.However i do agree with the rest of your comments and see where people can easily pick things up the wrong way.There just seems to be a lot of downright nastiness lately that is spoiling the overall feel of bm.I know of several members who have stopped contributing because of the way things have been going on here and wondered how others felt about this situation.
I would like to take this opportunity to apologise to all those BM members who have had to suffer 'trollish' (is that a word, it is now) comments on the site and admit that I have been drawn in much further than I should've allowed myself. From now on I will (try to) think twice and type once and I think everyone should consider feelings and respect opinions of others before posting.
I have already contacted one of the members with whom 'words' were recently shared and the offer has been made for him/her to meet up so we can have a damn good chin-wag and I can finally give the advice I promised (no names, no pack drills, eh RK )
TM - congrats on chilling out, any chance you could share your secret with the masses?
Wills - Damn your sensible-ness, I wish I was as level-headed as you mate.
Old Red - Stop moaning mate () 'two wheels is two wheels', 'it doesn't matter what you ride, as long as you ride' and other such cliches. Start peddling now and we'll meet you at Squires on Sunday. Hope you get your bike-less situation sorted soon mate.
Def not the same without an engine, try rolling downhill without triumph growling underneath yathen tell me!!as for Squires you did say 2 weeks Sunday didn,t ya?too many of them darned hills in Yorkshire! as to bike situ I,ve just P M,d Emzed to see if he can use his Bike-whisperer skills on a Kwak G.P.X I,ve got arriving this w/end...watch this space!!
wills sugestion if anybody is posting on a lively thread or being sarcastic chuck a smiley in as punctuation it makes a virtual twinkle in the eye and changes the overall view of the post
i been on here long time now .... and noticed theres an increasein newbbies every so oftern ( no disrespect to the new members) .... we go threw this regularly see it all the time ... like tangoman says they soon settle ........i noticed generally once they get a partner ! lmao BUT this is MY opinion plz dont bite my head off .......
My personal opinion is that some people put a few decent debates on here and others go running to teacher about it to have them removed if they don't like it. There are also people that don't like to read the truth.
I put what i think and i do think about it before i post it. If people get upset then get on with it. As has been said before on some previous threads,thats life.
and others go running to teacher about it to have them removed if they don't like it.
my understanding is all moderators can remove anything they may feel is offensive ....... they do this voluntary & all we are doing is giving them more & more work to do by acting like 5 year olds
There are also people that don't like to read the truth. what maybe the truth to u may not be to me !
That's very true but i did put a post on ages ago that was the truth and everyone could see because of what the person had put previously. My post was deleted,no explanation. Thats fine but if they don't want to read what people have to say then don't blab your life on the web.
if you feel u have been treated different to any 1 else then u should report this to the main man Matt (soz matt just got u more work ) i have never witnessed any1 being favoured more than others
like i said b4 i have been on here over 2 years .. seen it all b4 ... if ur here in a years time u will too
Been here since April last year so have seen it. I never said i felt like i was being treated different to anyone else. Just an explanation would of been nice, I don't expect to be treated different and wouldn't want it.
I also don't go running to anyone, mod or Matt.
i dont think any 1 gets told their post has been deleted as i say if they think it isnt appropriate then it will go .......
maybe what u had deleted was not appropriate ?