Seeking Riding Companion(s) for Journey of a Lifetime

[mstone]

I'm curious why you'd advise against looking for a riding companion on crazyguyonabike...?

Short answer: it's basically one guy's personal blog. People can use it, but if you get on the wrong side of the one guy whose personal blog it is, you're gone. He has a lot of strong opinions on all kinds of things (politics, computers, veganism, whatever) and isn't big on different opinions. Which is all fine, since it's his personal blog, but after a while you start to notice that the community is not as open and vibrant as it might otherwise be. So not specifically when looking for a riding companion, but in general, I'd just suggest people go somewhere else.

[cyclingfool]

Short answer: it's basically one guy's personal blog. People can use it, but if you get on the wrong side of the one guy whose personal blog it is, you're gone. He has a lot of strong opinions on all kinds of things (politics, computers, veganism, whatever) and isn't big on different opinions. Which is all fine, since it's his personal blog, but after a while you start to notice that the community is not as open and vibrant as it might otherwise be. So not specifically when looking for a riding companion, but in general, I'd just suggest people go somewhere else.

Having been a regular on CGOAB at times over the years and seen some people banished from there, I certainly understand why you might raise the concerns yo do about differences of opinion. That said, to call it a personal blog is not a fair characterization. It's a site open to all who wish to post there (paying or non-paying) as long as you play by the rules, which is true of any site. I think he does a pretty good job of setting boundaries and letting people express themselves within those boundaries. The people I've seen shut down on the site deserved it at least nine times out of ten IMHO for being openly (and unnecessarily) confrontational or trolling. And they have always been given multiple fair warnings in the cases I've seen.

I really like the crazyguyonabike site. I've posted a journal there and will again. I've even donated a few bucks once or twice, too, to support the site. The site owner/admin pours a lot of time and energy into it. I think it's a great community resource for those touring cyclists or aspiring touring cyclists who do use it, and I have yet to find anything even close to it in terms of quality or breadth or user-posted content -- between the forums there and more importantly the thousands upon thousands of bike touring journals.

So, to the OP, I personally wouldn't hesitate to post a companion wanted post on crazyguyonabike. I thought mstone was raising some sort of safety concern or something, which he's not. Rather than steer clear of it, I'd say steer straight for it. It's a great site, and I think it could be very helpful to you, both in terms of finding a riding companion(s) and in terms of learning from the collective knowledge and experience of others.

[mstone]

Having been a regular on CGOAB at times over the years and seen some people banished from there, I certainly understand why you might raise the concerns yo do about differences of opinion. That said, to call it a personal blog is not a fair characterization. It's a site open to all who wish to post there (paying or non-paying) as long as you play by the rules, which is true of any site.

Nope, it's a completely fair characterization. There is no process for any actions that Neil takes and no real rules other than "don't annoy Neil". There are some quasi-guidelines, but they don't apply to him (e.g., he can attack somebody he disagrees with, but others need to be civil because those are the rules). Again, there's nothing wrong with that in an absolute sense because it's his personal web site, but it's a very different thing than a site that, for example, has a group of moderators who share responsibility and are somehow accountable for their actions (and most larger forums I'm familiar with have a policy of not acting as a moderator in a thread you're actively engaged in).

I think he does a pretty good job of setting boundaries and letting people express themselves within those boundaries. The people I've seen shut down on the site deserved it at least nine times out of ten IMHO for being openly (and unnecessarily) confrontational or trolling. And they have always been given multiple fair warnings in the cases I've seen.

That was more true in the early days than it's been in the past couple of years. And what about the 10th guy? Too bad, he's doesn't have any right to be on Neil's site anyway, right? Just doesn't seem like the basis for an actual community.

[cyclingfool]

Guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I think the OP has both sides of the coin presented here now when it comes to CGOAB. I haven't been really active on the site for the last couple of years, so I can't speak to how he's running the ship ad of this instant. Maybe things have changed a lot.

That said, even if Neil is less than fair and judicious in his dealings with those he disagrees with, there I'd still a critical mass of touring cyclists there, and for better or for worse, that makes it a good place to advertise for riding companions.

Your criticism of the site, particularly of late has me curious. I'm going to have to delve into the forums and see what's going on there these days. Maybe you're right...