This is a forum for unicyclists. Unicyclists come in all shapes and sizes and colours.
When you write something in this forum it might be read by someone on the far side of the world who is from a very different cultural background from your own.
Over the last few years, this forum has kept me going through long periods when injury or a busy life has made it impossible for me to unicycle. It is a friendly place - far friendlier than some similar forums for other activities in which I am involved.
But over the last few days, I have started to find some of the threads in this forum offputting. I have been tempted to log out and not come back. A bit of good natured joshing over politics and religion is one thing, but there has been some deeply offensive stuff posted, particularly in the “racism” thread.
These threads are not just read by young white Americans you know. Some of them are read by middle aged Englishmen, as well as by some of the minorities who have been the target of some of the comments and crude jokes.
We may not all agree on issues of race or politics, but surely we agree that this forum should be a good place for unicyclists to get to know each other. Do we really want it to put off potential unicyclists?
You have freedom of speech. That is not freedom to insult and offend for no good reason. Other people have freedoms too.
I purposly didn’t go in there to start. I think the creater of that thread was not thinking when he created it.
I think a rule of thumb when creating a thread should be something like, “is it something you would bring up with your imediate family to talk about?”
Read the thread. I find it very stupid. I don’t think that kid actually believes what he’s saying though.
To Mikefule: Please stay! You’re probably my favourite poster outside of MR. The forum just wouldn’t be the same without you. Every time I read a post written by you I learn something new.
Yes, Mikefule, by leaving you are only giving in to them.
Although I disagree with a lot of what is posted here about war, race, etc. I just let it roll off my back (or put the poster on ignore). While I wouldn’t do that in a face to face encounter, as you said, you really don’t know who you are dealing with here, whether they are serious or just trying to start something, etc.
I try to keep most of my posts here about unicycling, and just try to ignore the “off” posts. When someone replies, they are just giving them the power they are looking for.
and then they are those posts of mikefule’s (does it still work if i add an 's on the end of your name) one cannot understand.
off to dictionary.com
actually doesn’t matter, i worked out the ‘gist’
I have noticed recently that we have had a few new people post threads with important or valid questions to be only given one reply: “search button!” or “wrong forum”
this person never really posts again.
If i wasn’t busy i would dig up some examples.
I agree that lately the forums haven’t been as nice as they could be.
I don’t know if that’s a new problem. I was looking for unicyclists in my area. It seems about a year or so ago, a local teacher who has several student unicyclists posted a question… There were a couple of unfriendly responses and no real answer to his question. He never posted again.
Thank you Mike for reminding everyone that cares to read that there are real people on the other end of these posts.
I’m sure that there are other places on the internet to run your mouth and maybe even a forum made of like-minded individuals.
I enjoy reading threads and posting replies here and do disagree with some members on specific topics but like most other members here I try to respond to them in an intelligent informed manner. It is nice to be able to have a debate going without someone looking to start an argument.
Your future employers, your future husband/wife, your future kids, your future business associates or clients, all sorts of people. Forums, blogs, social networking sites, and other web sites are being archived and you have to realize they will be data mined. They will figure out ways to link together your various online pseudonyms and make it easy to search past posting history on anyone. What you say online may come back to haunt you.
WARNING: That site is NOT safe for work. I actually recommend not going to it, as it is the scum of the internet that makes Myspace look like an elite member of the intelligencia.
Only if they’re the kinds of buttholes that are creating these problems.
By reading (too much) here in JC, I and others have had a chance to learn more about how Gilby, the forums’ creator, thinks. He’s very much a personal liberties kind of guy, and has resisted imposing most rules and restrictions on forum use. That leaves us with a community of mostly polite, experienced users and a few “baddies,” but always with an increasing number of newbies who break all the traditional rules because they are not enforced.
I have nothing at all against newbies (each of us was one at one time or another). But being a newbie should only go so far as an excuse for some of the constant mistakes forum members make. I’d rather see an enforced “read-only” time, or something similar before new members are allowed to post. This would cut repeat threads way, way down because people would be forced to actually work with the search feature until they found something.
Even a Sticky with forum guidelines in it would be a help.
I’m pretty sure a "read only time is possible with the software that this forum is running on because I went to several different forums and some of them using the same software as gibly is for running this, have a “read-only” Newbie time of about 2 weeks, and you are only allowed to post in a designated section called newbie intros and questions, during that two week time. I have also noticed the large amount of repeat threads and thanks to the search button which I discovered when I was told that a thread I had made before had been made before, I have been able to avoid making a “newbie thread”. I to have turned to this forum as a place of refuge, I guess, you could say, form the everyday life and have noticed the large amount of tension building up is mostly between the strongly opinionated youth of the forum and the wise (or at least wiser, wether we want to admit it or not) older members of the forum. with plenty of arguments amongst the younger generation of posters as well, and I’m starting to sound way older, and dryer than I want to. Anyway, it would definitely be nice if the language and such could be toned down just a notch… and so ends my little speech…
Then please say it in the Test Forum or in JC.
And please check your use of language.
Swearing is something we actively try n discourage on these fora.
