Joined
·
2,984 Posts
listen here cool cats,
so we have all been plucked from one safe envieronment and dumped into another that is unfamiliar and in some ways challenging. it's kinda like first day back at school or moving to a new neighbourhood.
nothing is as it always was. uncertainty and hurdles need to be approached. it's never as easy as staying with the old. if we are honest it's always easier to hide under our mothers skirts than to step out and venture beyond earshot and sight ... but that is admittedly what makes it enticing.
truth be told my eyes hurt when i look at the new style of forum. i kinda think that the whole world has been bought by some spotty teenage kid who owns the AOL empire and knows no better. avatars, kitschy icons, distracting format styles, and text look so tacky compared to the elegance and fluidity of what we were using on the old forum. many have expressed in vain how sweet it was to follow threads and pick up on favorite quick quips, favored posters and thread mutations on the old way. as i write it appears there ain't a lot we can do to reverse the steps taken.
Gregg and Co. have thought about all of this longer than any of us here who breeze in and out have. it is their interest and occupation and liability. they group together like minds on and inexpensive medium and make it engaging enough for us to want to return. a small percentage may stray from what us "amateurs" muse over and click onto paid advertisers, confirm purchasing decisions of related content that were being mused over or maybe even driven some "bikelust" which altogether is doing the industry as a whole some good (if not ebay). not for one minute have Gregg and Co. thought of making changes to what was unless there was some benefit to themselves and perhaps even us. maybe the reality was that the "old" was high maintenance, or unstable, or economicaly unfeasable. maybe it wasn't capable of moving into future projects or plans or liable to be outdated. also, keep in mind that most new people that stumble accross roadbikeREVIEW.com will check out and click on many other site features before getting hooked into the forums that we all feel an inalienable right to enjoy - but - conversly the forums may have little or no economic value compared to things like reviews, product info, sponsored icons and flashing logo's etc etc.
how many of us really open our pockets to fund what we all need as much as our coffee, Charmin double ply toilet paper, or HBO. our "old" forum made our day, inspired us to beauty and comfort, represented a place where we finally felt comfortable amongst like minds rather than freaks who fetishize bicycles, and in many ways opened us up to each other in ways that were so special and heartwarming that if we really thought about it, truly was both communal and brotherly. we laughed plenty, shared pain, tried to occupy our boredom, pushed each other to be better (spend more?), and even used each other to cope with what ails us. we lost some we knew, watched others we hated come good and even figured out that campy is better than shimano (i knew all along). maybe i speak for myself but when i think of all that i have gained from this forum and all of you who attended, then relate that to how little it cost me (exactly $0.00c) divided by how bewilderingly important it was to be here, listen in and occasionally throw some words of bait/opinion/madness in the mix i would be a hipocrit and and ingrate to complain or to wish to refrain. im a free-rider and i am happy. for real dudes, i am both proud to have kinda know you and been known by you. i have also made some real friends and i have read things posted by some of you that i will never meet that have been not only been profound but have had positive effect on how i view things oustide of just riding a bike.
the new setup will take us a while to figure out, we may lose some, but ultimately its the posters who count and not the format. shakespeare could write his words with a spraycan on a subway car but the content, with its meliflous beauty and abject ponderances, will always remain not only art but the thing that makes us human and above our daily trivial diversions. this new format doesn't mean forever, it isnt incapable of adapting or moving to a utopian direction for dream postings, and may take some before we figure out it's riches and benefits over the old. im not a fan of new either - heck i have half as many gears as most of you chumps, and even shift them manually. ultimately, whatever happens if these forums are important to the future of RBR.com and they aint working or attracting enough peep's then the old will be with us or a better new version will replace it.
i dont ask much from you cats but i will ask this - embrace what we have and have faith. without us it doesn't happen. let's post, help each other out, show patience and let's give it a try. i live in NYC and each night i go out i truly believe im gonna get laid. it may not always happen but if i dont convict to my beliefs then i aint never gonna go out and will never get laid. between me and you i do pretty well and dont give it much more thought other than i'd rather try than reflect for not trying. nobody got anything without trying - us cyclists should know this.
if i din't see mssrs. haiku and hickey step up to the plate with a more active role i would have sat back and judged more like some have - the fact they have not only adds to the integrity and commitment of our recent changes but shows great promise. if our best pave the way then we cant do much but have faith and follow suit as we have only to gain and plenty to lose if we really stop and think about it. there are so many people who are in my life, are close and i have know for quite sometime yet some of you quacks on this board
in some odd way influence me more and perhaps even know me better. we are all addicts of a good thing, and if some of you have forgotten i'll remind you - ALL CYCLISTS ARE FAMILY.
i have been absent from the board for a while doing some cool but very involving things, hopefully to the benefit of more than just myself. i didnt seek so but fate doesnt ask and my heart is true and things are meant to be. in strange ways and in difficult times when i was far far away from a computer i sometimes thought of the things written and the people writing - it would be a shame to let a good thing down. OK?
so what if a good portion of my braincells are inhibited by tequila as i happen to be writing all this but tomorrow i hope to wake and find the good old friday postings that we know and love and all that matters and is right about this place. plenty saucy chicks on bikes, podium girls galore and the definative solution to removing bacon strips or skid marks from bike chamois linings. Ladies and Gentlemen, let the games begin ;-)
i love you all (well ... some more than others)
ciao
****POSTCRIPT *****
(spirito was then heard to koo to the hot chick he had only met hours before, now seductively beckoning him (use your imagination) from his stylish, well used, purpose built, yet understated loveseat that subtly indicates his jetset lifestyle accross the room from his computer "yeah baby, im comming - i just gotta send this email off to an important client overseas and im all yours". )
so we have all been plucked from one safe envieronment and dumped into another that is unfamiliar and in some ways challenging. it's kinda like first day back at school or moving to a new neighbourhood.
nothing is as it always was. uncertainty and hurdles need to be approached. it's never as easy as staying with the old. if we are honest it's always easier to hide under our mothers skirts than to step out and venture beyond earshot and sight ... but that is admittedly what makes it enticing.
truth be told my eyes hurt when i look at the new style of forum. i kinda think that the whole world has been bought by some spotty teenage kid who owns the AOL empire and knows no better. avatars, kitschy icons, distracting format styles, and text look so tacky compared to the elegance and fluidity of what we were using on the old forum. many have expressed in vain how sweet it was to follow threads and pick up on favorite quick quips, favored posters and thread mutations on the old way. as i write it appears there ain't a lot we can do to reverse the steps taken.
Gregg and Co. have thought about all of this longer than any of us here who breeze in and out have. it is their interest and occupation and liability. they group together like minds on and inexpensive medium and make it engaging enough for us to want to return. a small percentage may stray from what us "amateurs" muse over and click onto paid advertisers, confirm purchasing decisions of related content that were being mused over or maybe even driven some "bikelust" which altogether is doing the industry as a whole some good (if not ebay). not for one minute have Gregg and Co. thought of making changes to what was unless there was some benefit to themselves and perhaps even us. maybe the reality was that the "old" was high maintenance, or unstable, or economicaly unfeasable. maybe it wasn't capable of moving into future projects or plans or liable to be outdated. also, keep in mind that most new people that stumble accross roadbikeREVIEW.com will check out and click on many other site features before getting hooked into the forums that we all feel an inalienable right to enjoy - but - conversly the forums may have little or no economic value compared to things like reviews, product info, sponsored icons and flashing logo's etc etc.
how many of us really open our pockets to fund what we all need as much as our coffee, Charmin double ply toilet paper, or HBO. our "old" forum made our day, inspired us to beauty and comfort, represented a place where we finally felt comfortable amongst like minds rather than freaks who fetishize bicycles, and in many ways opened us up to each other in ways that were so special and heartwarming that if we really thought about it, truly was both communal and brotherly. we laughed plenty, shared pain, tried to occupy our boredom, pushed each other to be better (spend more?), and even used each other to cope with what ails us. we lost some we knew, watched others we hated come good and even figured out that campy is better than shimano (i knew all along). maybe i speak for myself but when i think of all that i have gained from this forum and all of you who attended, then relate that to how little it cost me (exactly $0.00c) divided by how bewilderingly important it was to be here, listen in and occasionally throw some words of bait/opinion/madness in the mix i would be a hipocrit and and ingrate to complain or to wish to refrain. im a free-rider and i am happy. for real dudes, i am both proud to have kinda know you and been known by you. i have also made some real friends and i have read things posted by some of you that i will never meet that have been not only been profound but have had positive effect on how i view things oustide of just riding a bike.
the new setup will take us a while to figure out, we may lose some, but ultimately its the posters who count and not the format. shakespeare could write his words with a spraycan on a subway car but the content, with its meliflous beauty and abject ponderances, will always remain not only art but the thing that makes us human and above our daily trivial diversions. this new format doesn't mean forever, it isnt incapable of adapting or moving to a utopian direction for dream postings, and may take some before we figure out it's riches and benefits over the old. im not a fan of new either - heck i have half as many gears as most of you chumps, and even shift them manually. ultimately, whatever happens if these forums are important to the future of RBR.com and they aint working or attracting enough peep's then the old will be with us or a better new version will replace it.
i dont ask much from you cats but i will ask this - embrace what we have and have faith. without us it doesn't happen. let's post, help each other out, show patience and let's give it a try. i live in NYC and each night i go out i truly believe im gonna get laid. it may not always happen but if i dont convict to my beliefs then i aint never gonna go out and will never get laid. between me and you i do pretty well and dont give it much more thought other than i'd rather try than reflect for not trying. nobody got anything without trying - us cyclists should know this.
if i din't see mssrs. haiku and hickey step up to the plate with a more active role i would have sat back and judged more like some have - the fact they have not only adds to the integrity and commitment of our recent changes but shows great promise. if our best pave the way then we cant do much but have faith and follow suit as we have only to gain and plenty to lose if we really stop and think about it. there are so many people who are in my life, are close and i have know for quite sometime yet some of you quacks on this board
in some odd way influence me more and perhaps even know me better. we are all addicts of a good thing, and if some of you have forgotten i'll remind you - ALL CYCLISTS ARE FAMILY.
i have been absent from the board for a while doing some cool but very involving things, hopefully to the benefit of more than just myself. i didnt seek so but fate doesnt ask and my heart is true and things are meant to be. in strange ways and in difficult times when i was far far away from a computer i sometimes thought of the things written and the people writing - it would be a shame to let a good thing down. OK?
so what if a good portion of my braincells are inhibited by tequila as i happen to be writing all this but tomorrow i hope to wake and find the good old friday postings that we know and love and all that matters and is right about this place. plenty saucy chicks on bikes, podium girls galore and the definative solution to removing bacon strips or skid marks from bike chamois linings. Ladies and Gentlemen, let the games begin ;-)
i love you all (well ... some more than others)
ciao
****POSTCRIPT *****
(spirito was then heard to koo to the hot chick he had only met hours before, now seductively beckoning him (use your imagination) from his stylish, well used, purpose built, yet understated loveseat that subtly indicates his jetset lifestyle accross the room from his computer "yeah baby, im comming - i just gotta send this email off to an important client overseas and im all yours". )
