Tim Bennet.
Entirely Average Member
- Location
- S of Kendal
Says the man who owns a Colnago.
But only because he can't afford a custom Merckx like mine.
How do we improve the quality of debate on this site?
- Thread starter Gentleman Cyclist
- Start date
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Says the man who owns a Colnago.
But only because he can't afford a custom Merckx like mine.
Fab Foodie
hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
- Location
- Kirton, Devon.
Yeah, that's my thing....
Ravenbait
Someone's imaginary friend
- Location
- The Seventh Level of Hell
And I rest mine.
I note from your profile that you were last active on the site nearly a whole hour after your mercifully concise enflouncement, so I'm going to fall back on years of internet enflouncement experience and guess that you're one of those who sneaks back on when he thinks no one is watching to see if anyone has arrived to berate the horrible meanies who were so despicable towards him, thus boosting his ego and convincing himself he happened to fall foul of the bad 'uns.
There's a certain sort of person who jumps into a forum full of the sense of his own magnificence, only to discover that the primary reaction to such an action is "Who the hell are you?" and who then succeeds in digging an even bigger hole by declaring that it's everyone else's fault for not being more tolerant.
The correct response to such a take-down is not, in fact, to say "See? I was right, you are all intolerant, homicidal misanthropes and I deserve better" (unless the forum is for intolerant, homicidal misanthropes, at which point all bets are off) but to reconsider one's own approach and contemplate hanging around and being more humble, more self-effacing, polite, amiable and friendly. By this I mean finding out what other people think rather than haranguing them with one's own opinions.
An apology for being a bit of a tosser wouldn't be unwelcome, either.
We are not the Borg. We do not operate expecting homogeneity of opinion, thank goodness. No forum does (except, you know, the Borg forum, if they have one). The world would be insanely boring if we all agreed on everything. But please, please, please understand that if you are going to cross-post an entire essay people need a reason to do more than dimiss it with a brief TL;DR.
Also, no one is going to miss you if you've given us nothing to miss.
Pull up a stool, get to know us. Let us get to know you. Get a round in. If all you want is an appreciative audience who won't criticise or complain, however, I can recommend plush. I have never known my plush raven to suggest I might be talking out of my arse, although he does eyeball me in an exasperated fashion sometimes.
Sam
Flying_Monkey
Recyclist
- Location
- Odawa
Well said, Sam.
I was away for a week and managed to miss the so-far brief tenure of 'Gentleman Cyclist'. It seems to me that he misses one of the main points necessary for humorous intervention - and he clearly considers himself to be something of a comedian, or at least an ironist - which is: being funny. You can be incredibly rude and funny (see our own telesonic99 as a great example), but without the 'and funny', well, we can all see what you're left with.
I was away for a week and managed to miss the so-far brief tenure of 'Gentleman Cyclist'. It seems to me that he misses one of the main points necessary for humorous intervention - and he clearly considers himself to be something of a comedian, or at least an ironist - which is: being funny. You can be incredibly rude and funny (see our own telesonic99 as a great example), but without the 'and funny', well, we can all see what you're left with.
Ravenbait
Someone's imaginary friend
- Location
- The Seventh Level of Hell
Of course, it is possible that it was some strange literary experiment. An adventure in applying whimsical prose to the practicalities of urban transport planning using non-standard sentence structure and imitation dialectic. Sort of Oscar Wilde ghost writing for James Joyce.
Sadly there was an insufficiency of either handbags or flatulence.
Sam
Sadly there was an insufficiency of either handbags or flatulence.
Sam
Flying_Monkey
Recyclist
- Location
- Odawa
On the other hand, one could remark that this is the kind of thing that happens when The Chap ethos gets taken up by people who don't have their own tailor... calling oneself a 'gentleman', wearing some cheap tweed and riding a Pashley does not make one an arbiter of cycling style.
One needs standards, and 'Gentleman Cyclist' is clearly a bounder of the first water.
One needs standards, and 'Gentleman Cyclist' is clearly a bounder of the first water.
@GC, on the assumption that you are still reading this, I feel I might make an observation or two.
I just went and read a couple of your blog posts. You know what? I liked them. I enjoyed the flowery language; the wordplay; the imagery. I even enjoyed your pseudo-Victorian outlook.
I imagine that if you had occasionally started a thread such as "Hey chaps, I just wrote a spiffing blog post about how this lady totally flirted with me, hope it's not impertinent of me to post the link" people would probably have responded positively. What has got people's goat rather (and I'm not privy to all of the ins and outs of the case) is that you have pasted the entire ruddy thing and then got yourself worked up and argumentative when asked not to.
We all disagree here from time to time; sometimes you'll find yourself agreeing with someone on one thread, and vehemently arguing with them on another. That's good and healthy.
Spamming the board with your blog, when you could just as easily have posted the link, is not conducive to quality debate.
I just went and read a couple of your blog posts. You know what? I liked them. I enjoyed the flowery language; the wordplay; the imagery. I even enjoyed your pseudo-Victorian outlook.
I imagine that if you had occasionally started a thread such as "Hey chaps, I just wrote a spiffing blog post about how this lady totally flirted with me, hope it's not impertinent of me to post the link" people would probably have responded positively. What has got people's goat rather (and I'm not privy to all of the ins and outs of the case) is that you have pasted the entire ruddy thing and then got yourself worked up and argumentative when asked not to.
We all disagree here from time to time; sometimes you'll find yourself agreeing with someone on one thread, and vehemently arguing with them on another. That's good and healthy.
Spamming the board with your blog, when you could just as easily have posted the link, is not conducive to quality debate.
craigwend
Grimpeur des terrains plats
Heck a four line 'plus one' response, quality or quantity?
Kettle or Pot, on the other hand...
"On the other hand, dialogue cannot exist without humility. The naming of the world, through which men constantly re-create that world, cannot be an act of arrogance. Dialogue, as the encounter of men addressed to the common task of learning and acting, is broken if the parties (or one of them) lack
humility.
How can I dialogue if I always project ignorance onto others and never perceive my own?
How can I dialogue if I regard myself as a case apart from other men--mere 'its' in whom I cannot recognize other 'I''s?
How can I dialogue if I consider myself a member of the in-group of 'pure' men, the owners of truth and knowledge, for whom all non-members are 'these people' or 'the great unwashed'?
How can I dialogue if I start from the premise that naming the world is the task of an elite and that the presence of the people in history is a sign of deterioration, thus to be avoided?
How can I dialogue if I am closed to--and even offended by--the contribution of others?
How can I dialogue if I am afraid of being displaced, the mere possibility causing me torment and weakness?" (pp. 78, 79) Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed
Dayvo
just passin' through
- Location
- 59° 50′ 5.55″ N, 10° 47′ 41.89″ E
Years ago I hodded (carried bricks) for a certain bricklayer.
He played golf and referred to himself as the 'Gentleman Golfer'!
He was a prick, too!
He played golf and referred to himself as the 'Gentleman Golfer'!
He was a prick, too!
excusez moi. Two Colnagos!
Ravenbait
Someone's imaginary friend
- Location
- The Seventh Level of Hell
Reading between the lines on his blog he seems to think he has upset us because he's faster on his Pashley than us roadies on our carbon fibre pocket rockets.
Or something.
I don't know about you lot, but I don't recall anyone making fun of him for his Pashley at all. And since when did we all become roadies? I seem to have missed the memo.
Sam
Or something.
I don't know about you lot, but I don't recall anyone making fun of him for his Pashley at all. And since when did we all become roadies? I seem to have missed the memo.
Sam
exactly. He's in his own little zone.
Tim Bennet.
Entirely Average Member
- Location
- S of Kendal
Pah! Even with inflation, two Colnagos don't equal a Merckx.
Gerry Attrick
Lincolnshire Mountain Rescue Consultant
Colour. The world and this forum needs and uses colour.
I consider it sad that we do not appear to welcome those operating outside the self-imposed norms of CC. GC was not impolite, he was not blasphemous, he was not disrespectful. Some may not have liked his approach or style, but not liking should not mean downright hostility and mocking.
I sincerely hope CC is not becoming the organ of an intolerant minority.
I consider it sad that we do not appear to welcome those operating outside the self-imposed norms of CC. GC was not impolite, he was not blasphemous, he was not disrespectful. Some may not have liked his approach or style, but not liking should not mean downright hostility and mocking.
I sincerely hope CC is not becoming the organ of an intolerant minority.
