Should there be a Lance Armstrong sub-forum?

[B.Rasmussen]

It's bad enough with the sticky thread. A better solution might have been to allow the topics to flow and just close down or merge the "LA scratched his ball" threads.

A sub-forum will make it an even bigger mess because many discussions will be done in 2 forums instead of one (or 3 as some end up in the clinic as well). As much as I wish the guy would go away I prefer to live with the many threads about him compared to a broken forum. A solution could be to not respond to some of the stupid **** about him and let some of the posts go to the great page 30 in the sky.

 

[ravens]

...allow the topics to flow and just close down or merge the "LA scratched his ball" threads.

A sub-forum will make it an even bigger mess because many discussions will be done in 2 forums instead of one (or 3 as some end up in the clinic as well). As much as I wish the guy would go away I prefer to live with the many threads about him compared to a broken forum. A solution could be to not respond to some of the stupid **** about him and let some of the posts go to the great page 30 in the sky.

LOL

I want to create a groundswell for my idea. Each post about Lance must be accompanied by a new babes on bike photo. At least we could get some reward for the broken record of the never ending arguments.

besides, my next door neighbor is smoking hot and she has an old specialized rockhopper. I need to create an excuse to take photos of her.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

When will everybody stop living in the past, and learn that this man isn't more than every other top 100 rider for the moment. Should we make sub-forums for Contador? Cavendish? Schleck? Cancellara? Boonen?...

If eddy merckx would have a come-back, maybe that would be worth a sub-forum

edit: what they do in some football (some nitwits call it soccer)-forums: 1 subforum for the players, with every player his own thread. So maybe we could make this sub-forum about races, and make an other one about riders?

The only factor that should determine whether a given topic should have a sub-forum is volume of threads and posts about that topic.

A subjective opinion about whether a particular topic "deserves" a sub-forum, or "would be a worth a sub-forum", is irrelevant.

Try to be objective about this. The only objective criteria available for making a sub-forum creation decision is thread and post counts.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

It's bad enough with the sticky thread. A better solution might have been to allow the topics to flow and just close down or merge the "LA scratched his ball" threads.

A sub-forum will make it an even bigger mess because many discussions will be done in 2 forums instead of one (or 3 as some end up in the clinic as well). As much as I wish the guy would go away I prefer to live with the many threads about him compared to a broken forum. A solution could be to not respond to some of the stupid **** about him and let some of the posts go to the great page 30 in the sky.

Thread merging is fine when the threads in question are discussing the same topic.

But just because Lance Armstrong is a major "player" in a given topic does not make that topic the same as any other topic in which Lane Armstrong also is a major "player". Every thread that has LA in the title should not be merged with every other such thread.

The idea here is not to put every thread that mentions LA in the separate sub-forum, but to put every thread that is mostly about LA in the separate sub-forum, so that those who want to avoid talking about him can do so much more than they can now.

 

[LugHugger]

Because he is more then every other top 100 rider, just as Tiger Wood WAS more then every other top 100 golfer, and Roger Federer was more then every other top 100 tennis player, Michael Phelps is more then just every swimmer. The guy is the biggest thing our sport has by far. Just look at race attendance figures and TV viewing when Lance races and does not race. Sure the difference might not be hardcore cycling fans but sponsors and organizers don't seem to care. There is a reason he gets 6 and 7 figure behind the scenes entry prizes just to so up because he single handedly triples attendance figures at races. Look at the Tour of the Gila. Before last year I have never heard of it.

This may be true for attendances at smaller events but is categorically incorrect for the historic milestone events. Perhaps there could be a hidden sub-folder for US IP addresses and leave the rest of us to discuss meaningful events in the sport

 

[B.Rasmussen]

Thread merging is fine when the threads in question are discussing the same topic.

But just because Lance Armstrong is a major "player" in a given topic does not make that topic the same as any other topic in which Lane Armstrong also is a major "player". Every thread that has LA in the title should not be merged with every other such thread.

The idea here is not to put every thread that mentions LA in the separate sub-forum, but to put every thread that is mostly about LA in the separate sub-forum, so that those who want to avoid talking about him can do so much more than they can now.

Of course you can only merge threads when it makes sense. As for avoiding LA topics, that can already be done to the same extent that a sub-forum will provide. Just don't click on those topics with titles like "Lance's chamois cream tastes like nectar" and "Lance made Satan look like a sissy again". He will be present in the usual threads about racing, sub-forum or not.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

Of course you can only merge threads when it makes sense. As for avoiding LA topics, that can already be done to the same extent that a sub-forum will provide. Just don't click on those topics with titles like "Lance's chamois cream tastes like nectar" and "Lance made Satan look like a sissy again". He will be present in the usual threads about racing, sub-forum or not.

Yes, but if those LA threads are in a sub-forum then they won't be dominating the top of the list of threads in this forum, and will not be prematurely pushing other topics to later pages.

 

[B.Rasmussen]

Yes, but if those LA threads are in a sub-forum then they won't be dominating the top of the list of threads in this forum, and will not be prematurely pushing other topics to later pages.

I guess it's up to us members to keep the relevant topics on page 1. Although I know it's hard to compete with some of the main posters in the Lance threads.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

I guess it's up to us members to keep the relevant topics on page 1. Although I know it's hard to compete with some of the main posters in the Lance threads.

Leaving it "up to us members to keep the relevant topics on page 1" has not been working in the off-season, and will only get worse as the season progresses, especially when we get to July.

That's why I made the suggestion to create a sub-forum.

 

[Anonymous]

Leaving it "up to us members to keep the relevant topics on page 1" has not been working in the off-season, and will only get worse as the season progresses, especially when we get to July.

That's why I made the suggestion to create a sub-forum.

What might be better is get a couple more member mods beyond alpe to keep the place tidy..

 

[Ninety5rpm]

What might be better is get a couple more member mods beyond alpe to keep the place tidy..

While there are certainly some arguably pointless threads that need cleaning up, the only way to keep the place tidy is to merge all LA threads into one LA sticky thread, whether they are pointless or not, which is not appropriate or helpful for all the LA threads that are not pointless. I realize killing LA discussions, pointless or not, is the goal for some, but that's hardly reasonable basis for merging all those threads.

Creating a sub-forum would allow the forum to stay tidy with much less admin intervention and with less disruption to reasonable discussions.

 

[Hugh Januss]

LOL

I want to create a groundswell for my idea. Each post about Lance must be accompanied by a new babes on bike photo. At least we could get some reward for the broken record of the never ending arguments.

besides, my next door neighbor is smoking hot and she has an old specialized rockhopper. I need to create an excuse to take photos of her.

If she's hot, has a bike, and will let you take pics.......what more excuse do you need?

 

[Hugh Januss]

Am I the only one who finds making the official Lance thread a "sticky" redundant? Who is afraid that it will drop off page one if not stickied (is that even a word)?

 

[Mellow Velo]

Am I the only one who finds making the official Lance thread a "sticky" redundant? Who is afraid that it will drop off page one if not stickied (is that even a word)?

I find the thread redundant. A total mess of views about nothing specific,
but, whatever takes your fancy.
A troll's paradise, but without the trolls.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Who is voting no on this?

Set it up, treat it like the clinic and have an omerta everywhere else. Problem solved.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

Am I the only one who finds making the official Lance thread a "sticky" redundant? Who is afraid that it will drop off page one if not stickied (is that even a word)?

Even if it drops to being only half-way down it's more likely to be overlooked than if it's at the top as a sticky.

The idea is to make the sticky thread more likely to be noticed to prevent the creation of other LA-related threads, as if all LA-related discussion should be in one thread. It's a flawed assumption.

I regret making the poll anonymous because I suspect ballot stuffing by sockpuppets.

Can admins see who voted and how many are legit regular users and how many are from newly created accounts?

 

[Ninety5rpm]

I find the thread redundant. A total mess of views about nothing specific,
but, whatever takes your fancy.
A troll's paradise, but without the trolls.

Exactly. The general LA sticky is too general.

Who is voting no on this?

Set it up, treat it like the clinic and have an omerta everywhere else. Problem solved.

I agree. There seems to be a suspicious disparity between the voting and the actual commentary. Can an admin check it out?

 

[Anonymous]

Exactly. The general LA sticky is too general.


I agree. There seems to be a suspicious disparity between the voting and the actual commentary. Can an admin check it out?

its like anything, those in favour tend to argue more strongly..

when you create a poll you can set it so that peoples votes are displayed..

 

[Ninety5rpm]

its like anything, those in favour tend to argue more strongly..

Maybe. I'd like an admin to confirm that the votes (either "yes" or "no") are not dominated by votes from suspicious (new) accounts.

when you create a poll you can set it so that peoples votes are displayed..

Yes, I know. It's why I said above I regretted not using that option.

 

[B.Rasmussen]

Exactly. The general LA sticky is too general.


I agree. There seems to be a suspicious disparity between the voting and the actual commentary. Can an admin check it out?

I think you might want to count those commenting again. The difference is not big. I know this comes as a shock to you, but some of us just think it's a bad idea.

 

[Anonymous]

I think you might want to count those commenting again. The difference is not big. I know this comes as a shock to you, but some of us just think it's a bad idea.

To be honest, unless a poll hits 70%+ at least i dont think things should count....

To add confusion i said no becuase i dont beleive armstrong should dominate this place, but i voted yes...

Dont ask why, i dont know..

 

[Ninety5rpm]

I think you might want to count those commenting again. The difference is not big. I know this comes as a shock to you, but some of us just think it's a bad idea.

It would not be a shock. I am suspicious, however.

The reasons against a sub-forum, at least those shared so far, seem like specious rationalizations to me. For example, the reasons you cited --"[avoiding LA topics] can already be done to the same extent that a sub-forum will provide", and "it's up to us members to keep the relevant topics on page 1" -- don't hold up under scrutiny:

Yes, but if those LA threads are in a sub-forum then they won't be dominating the top of the list of threads in this forum, and will not be prematurely pushing other topics to later pages.

Leaving it "up to us members to keep the relevant topics on page 1" has not been working in the off-season, and will only get worse as the season progresses, especially when we get to July.

So what's the real reason?

 

[B.Rasmussen]

It would not be a shock. I am suspicious, however.

The reasons against a sub-forum, at least those shared so far, seem like specious rationalizations to me. For example, the reasons you cited --"[avoiding LA topics] can already be done to the same extent that a sub-forum will provide", and "it's up to us members to keep the relevant topics on page 1" -- don't hold up under scrutiny:





So what's the real reason?

So now my reasons are suspect because you don't agree with with them? I think our conversation ends here.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

To be honest, unless a poll hits 70%+ at least i dont think things should count....

To add confusion i said no becuase i dont beleive armstrong should dominate this place, but i voted yes...

Dont ask why, i dont know..

If by "this place" you meant "this forum including any sub-forums", then I don't see how whether or not we have an LA sub-forum affects whether LA dominates this place.

But, if by "this place" you meant "this forum not including sub-forums", then having an LA sub-forum would mean LA topics would be much less likely to dominate "this place".

 

[poupou]

If a Lance subforum must exist it should be in Clinic with all doping affairs.