John’s Ramblings

As one who is interested in local cycling information, I scan the message boards of the local bike club regularly. Cascade Bicycle Club hosts message board forums in order to promote cycling, inform folks of upcoming important events, and even to post for bicycle related things to buy and sell.

As is often the case on internet fora, there are those that seem to thrive on controversy, baiting, or just plain kicking a dead horse. For this reason, I’ve developed a methodology for scanning the postings for the critical information that I want:

1.) Only read certain Forum Categories, and only to a certain extent. The Cascade boards are divided into the following categories:

• Bike Talk (General Interest)-I will scan this category for topics that I think will prove useful, such as “New Trail Opening” or “Cyclist shot at”. Once I open the topic, I will scan through the entries to glean the necessary information. If a post or topic is requesting information that I think I add substance to, I will respond. If the topic has anything to do with bike lanes, the validity of multi-use trails, helmet laws, and stop signs, I’ll skip it. It is in these topics that the trolls will find their prey for argument and bloviating. Am I missing some good information? Perhaps. Am I missing a lot of spewing bile? Absolutely.
• Government and Policy – I will scan the topics in this category for information that is pertinent to the South King County area where I spend most of my time, and where I actually have a vote.
• Bike Commuting – Although I do not commute, I will scan this category for information about road and trail detours. If there are questions about how to get from point “A” to point “B”, and I actually know a route, I will respond.
• Cascade Rides and Events – This board sees a lot of activity around the major Cascade events (like Seattle-to-Portland), and at other times sees almost no activity at all. I will scan this category for new postings, but I do not contribute unless there is a specific question that I think I can answer succinctly. Given that so many other participants in the message boards have the answers, the question usually has several responses already.
• Cycling Classifieds - I never read this category. Caveat Emptor, and all that.

2.) Get to know the regular posters, and figure out who posts worthwhile information. There are a few folks that continue to play the same old song, no matter what the topic at hand is. For example, if someone asks a question about what blinking tail light works best, at least one person can be counted on to turn the topic into a debate on helmet laws or the inherent danger of bike lanes. Give it a rest, folks.

3.) Short message threads often hold the best information. If a thread is more than one page long, you can bet that much of the information contained therein is debate, hyperbole, and off-topic nonsense.

I would not propose that the message boards be censored more than they already are (I believe that posts that are offensive or contain personal attacks are not allowed). Free speech is important. I choose to apply my own “filtering” in order to glean the most pertinent information in the shortest amount of time. Again, I may miss something important once in a while, but I do not think it’s that much different that how we all read the newspaper. You aren’t reading that thing cover-to-cover, are you?

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