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Following on from the “forum death thread”, i thought I’d start a thread of informal advice on how to behave on here.
Here’s mine
If you’re asking a question or are looking advice it will help us all keep you happy if you are clear about whether you either want
A. Wide range of opinions on an issue, including loads of stuff you’d not thought of
B. Validation of a decision you’ve already made
Here is an example. It’s not one I’ve actually seen but it makes the point
OP asks, “what bike for less challenging off road and linking bits of road”. They have asked a type A question
20 posts later the OP is getting really irate because people keep suggesting hard trails and they want a new gravel bike
If you want to justify buying a gravel bike then chose a type B title like “Tell me why you like riding your gravel bike”
What have you got?
This is a type A question
If you want to start an argument, post a reasonably inoffensive title, mild original post and watch it all go down in flames when one of the big hitters arrives.
Ensure you make oblique references to individual characters for best effect.
(Yep, that should do it.😁)
Why have I got that guidelines scene out of Pirates of the Carribbean in my head?
I like type A/B though.
If you want sensible answers be very sure there aren't any typos in your post.
If you want sensible answers be very sure there aren't any typos in your post.
Use puntuation, correctly, too.
If you want sensible answers be very sure there aren't any typos in your post.
So far we have
Type A
Type B
Type O
Threads
If you want sensible answers be very sure there aren't any typos in your post.
So far we have
Type A
Type B
Type O
Threads
And a few B Negative forum posters
When posting images, select a clean neutral background which never requires maintenance. Specifically not, under any circumstances:
Grass
Patio
Decking
Tiling
Brickwork
I think it essentially comes down to: never say something to someone on the forum that you wouldn't say in real life polite society to someone you didn't know well.
The whole trying to specify the scope of responses to a thread seems a bit unrealistic, not least because you're instantly writing off all sort of potentially interesting or useful answers to your question. It's not a bad thing to be curious.
I’m with the OP this place definitely needs more sanitising and conflict avoidance.
It’s the thing everyone is crying out for across the planet, make the internet more boring.
I was definitely thinking pirates of the Caribbean before when i started this thread
Apologies for the mistakes. For me the mild dyslexia makes proof reading my own stuff really hard. I know what i think it says, which really doesn’t help
I think we should have guidelines on how to reply to questions:
1. Do not read the question carefully. Your time is valuable and limited. It is essential that your knowledge is imparted as quickly as possible. Accuracy and helpfulness are very much secondary.
2. When scanning the question, focus on finding a couple of keywords and then rewrite the question in your head to match your knowledge and then answer that question. Remember, the most important thing is that your valuable insights are released into the world.
3. If a non-big hitter reads the actual question and points out that your answer doesn't really have anything to do with the question just say, 'Nothing I've posted is wrong.' Try to be as condescending as possible. All non-big hitters secretly want to be big hitters and knocking them down is essential for the forum hierarchy.
4. If a big hitter answers you, they will probably not even mention the question and will instead reference the other argument you are currently having across six separate threads at the same time. You are now having the argument across seven threads.
For example:
Naive questioner: 'Does anyone know if soda blasting is a good method of stripping paint off bike frames?"
Big hitter 1 (you): "Caustic soda is a terrible idea. For one thing if your frame is aluminum then say goodbye to your frame. Even if it's not it's still an incredibly nasty substance that should only be used with professional grade PPE that I'm certain you don't possess in your little garage.
Terrible idea i can't believe anyone in their right mind would even consider."
Big hitter 2 (your enemy): "Professional grade PPE?!! Really?!!! Coming from someone who doesn't even wear a helmet..."
Six pages, three flounces and a ban.
Bonus information: Any bike related chat will eventually become a helmet debate or a wheel size debate given enough time. You should always be prepared with your talking points and references in order to defend your choices and, more importantly, prove that others' choices are wrong.
The not even reading the first post is classic
Case in the point the new chainset post. You’ve probably got a SRAM sx chainset. No that’s not what’s in the OP
Dammit, I forgot to mention the rule (not a guideline) that all mechanic related threads are required to have at least one post where the OP is told 'You must have installed it wrong.'
This rule is optional on non-mechanic related threads but still recommended.
At the point in a long contentious thread, when the first person declares "I'm an engineer"... is that the effective end of that thread, or just the beginning?
How about reading an early reply that was blatantly goong to get challenged then skimping to page 50 to reply as if it hadn't been addressed in the meantime
When asking any non-bike questions, if you want serious replies make sure you add track World to the title after the subject matter:
Outdoor Pizza Oventrack World for example.
If for some reason that doesn't work replace with du jour.
---
When replying to any questions asking about something specific, always recommend what you have.
However, if you don't have any experience with said item/product/service then whatever OP is asking about is rubbish anyway and they shouldn't bother.
At the point in a long contentious thread, when the first person declares "I'm an engineer"... is that the effective end of that thread, or just the beginning?
There os the other side to that aswell. The "oh ten people who clearly know what they are talking about, but i will weigh in with my armchair expertise and totally denounce it all"
I do happen to be an engineer as it goes...
Generally I find the boss move is to say, "As an senior project manager with over 20 years experience with some of the largest engineering infrastructure projects IT systems, in my humble opinion Magura brakes are superior to anything Shimano has to offer."
If i had my time again i’d have asked for suggestions for “bingotrackworld”