Sure the main forum has people spending 10’s of thousands on bikes but the LR has people who USED to spend 10’s of thousands on bikes and now dumps that money into muni bonds and shit they see on QVC
In no way shape or form was i “competitive” in the thing that shall not be named. But for my first race I had a wet suit that would make a SEAL jealous and a bike made of the same stuff as a fucking SR-71.
What certain people do not understand is that the collective business acumen and experience of the LR far exceeds theirs. There’s a reason the denizens of the LR are on average wealthier than average even accounting for the sunk cost of equipment for silly activities. I’m pretty sure we could manage a fortune 100 company with the grumpy fucks in the LR.
Now consider the senior status of the rich fucks of the LR. People know I did silly things earlier in life and ask for advice. I have none but I send them to ST since I’m here and trust that people won’t be dickheads 24/7.
People can do what they want, but I get frustrated watching people do a dumb thing and not even consider they fucked up when a bunch of experienced folks universally tell them they’re fucking up.
Agreed, but I am far from alone in the LR in that I still spend money on this stuff. Just bought a new road bike last month … from a brand that advertises on ST.
We are a good target audience for all sorts of advertisers. Look at the forum on Cyclingnews.com. Lots of the ads are not cycling related.
“People can do what they want, but I get frustrated watching people do a dumb thing and not even consider they fucked up when a bunch of experienced folks universally tell them they’re fucking up.”
It’s sounds odd to say this, but I miss the ads on the left and right margins. As with the rest of or most of the LR denizens, I don’t actively participate in the sport that shall not be named, but I still follow it. I was reasonably competitive until injuries derailed me. Friends and family in my real world know my background and ask advise on training and gear frequently, I’ve steered some to ST others I’ve been able to steer towards gear I’ve seen advertised here.
I am not sure we all could manage a fortune 500. But yes there are many people here who are successful in a monetary sense. I don’t see how exactly one can monetize the Lavender Room side of things. If somebody paid a lot of money to buy the Lavender Room I am scratching my head.
What is going on here seems much like a local heating and cooling company takeover in my hometown. Two guys bought a fairly successful HVAC outfit. Lots of goodwill in 30 years of decent fair priced work. Maybe 30 employees. They are determined to go big. In a few years they have hundreds of employees who spend much of their time trying to upsell customers on stuff at every maintainence visit. Stories are circulating now of elderly people talked into buying units they didn’t need and are way more than they need. All of which is being used to finance all the borrowed money to make the new company with a call centre and bigger buildings go. But I doubt anybody can convince the new owners the are quickly destroying the businesses reputation. And people are starting to jump ship.
I think it’s more like there was a neighborhood bar where a bunch of old has-beens hug out, shooting the sh!t, discussing things, arguing and fighting but always having a having a great time. The name of the bar was something like ‘‘The Peaceful Tribe’’. Thank you Tom D.
So a new guy buys the bar and he can’t take all that racket, noise and fighting. He decides to make all different rooms so that the has-beens can all hang with people they agree with. One by one the has-beens all decide that the place is no fun any more and they go someplace else.
The bar closes. Another new owner comes in and makes it a strip joint with cheap great hamburgers and they make a fortune!
In their defense, and I am pretty hesitant to give it, the LR ecosystem is pretty static as far as participants. People come, people go, but the numbers stay pretty much the same. If you want to grow it, you have to change something. Think of kitchen nightmares and how Ramsay yells at owners saying they don’t want to alienate their customers, and he asks,“what customers?”
In the past though, the owner of this place went out of his way to dissuade people from coming here. He liked it, but he also made a point of how this was where he put the bad stuff and difficult people. It was the opposite of promoting it.
Instead of subforums, time outs, and shadow bans it would be good to try openness about standards and promoting good behavior and the forum. No one comes here to use the search function to find out how to change a lightbulb, dock an aircraft carrier, or the intricacies of copyright law. They post a thread and the stupidly vast knowledge here has someone who has done it. And then we point out how dumb you are for asking such an easy question and that your mother smells of elderberries
I agree. When I try to make that point over a post about as long as yours is a couple of the local jackwagons pick up on the term “persona” and try to turn it into the entire crux of the post because they are really smart and it’s important they get their 2 cent in for the 10k time.
I feel like the only major accomplishment that has happened with this change - so far, and I reserve the right to change my mind/be persuaded - is that they somehow managed to create unity in the LR. Never thought that was gonna happen.
Well, except that one jackwagon (not you this time, Windy!)…
To this point, I really don’t feel like this room is remotely hostile or intimidating. I feel like that was a reputation the LR earned years ago but doesn’t really apply anymore. You kind of get what you give and most people are polite.
I don’t think anyone would need to be worried about being called dumb for asking a basic question. If we can handle Windy’s diy misadventures with patience, we can handle pretty much anything.
?!” On my end