I, for one, appreciate your diligence on the matter of relevance. Although I mostly lurk here, I am occasionally miffed by seeing references to things that are so very thinly "Rivendell" that they are abusing the definition. Submitting photos or narrative about a bike that has a Brooks saddle, but in no other way has anything to do with Rivendell, is pretty obviously just taking advantage of the group's good nature. Such "related" photos should be posted and linked to Retrogrouch on Flickr, but not on the RBW sites. I think many, if not most, of us check those other sites and should keep the RBW group focused on its original mission. I really don't want to start seeing links to photos of an old Sears Free Spirit with a tweed handlebar bad considered as appropriate for the group...
My Two Cents, and welcome to them - (Redding) Dave ----- Original Message ----- From: CycloFiend To: rbw group Sent: Tuesday, October 06, 2009 9:05 AM Subject: [RBW] Requests and Thoughts on "FS" postings Hey all - Just as a reminder on FS listings - - Please indicate whether or not a listing is yours. (I realize it's a given if you are specifically listing items -- I'm referring to links to auctions and CL postings). - If the listing is not yours, let us know if you just came across it or if you have relation to or knowledge of the seller. - Use one of the url shortening widget-sites (tinyurl.com, bit.ly, etc.) to create a short, non-breaking link in your post. These are bone-simple, free online resources and makes it much easier for others to follow the link you have shared. - Please do not attach images to your email. Post them online at one of the photo sharing sites provide a link (yep, a "short" link if applicable) to the image. Note also that some of the online sharing sites specifically prohibit "for sale" listings. - If you are interested in buying the item, please respond directly to the seller - not to the list. Note that the default "Reply" is to the general list, so you will need to change that before you email/reply. A couple other thoughts: Our list has grown to over 1,100 members in this year. That means that we have become a "targetable demographic" - i.e. a nice chunk of folks interested in quality bicycles and related gear. It seems that there have been more "general" items listed for sale here of late - stuff that isn't particularly Rivendellesque. A couple of times in the past weeks, when these have come from new, moderated members, I've requested that they be more Riv-specific in their offerings. Neither of those people either relisted their items or responded to my direct email. That's neither good nor bad in my book, but it does suggest that some people see us as a another bike-related list to sell stuff to. Again, I don't think it a big problem, but it has made me think a little about the group and it's place in the scheme of things. I'll be honest, I'm pretty protective about our group. It's grown to a decent size and yet has managed to retain a respectful and personal tone. Thanks to everyone for that. One general idea I've decided to formalize is this - FS or Auction listings don't count in terms of making one "non-moderated". In the past, I've passed new members through with a single posting - as long as they demonstrated that they aren't the autobot spammers that hang out in the alleyways of the internet. But, now, if an individual's first post(s) are "For Sale" items, they'll remain moderated until they start sharing in the general conversation. This will remain largely invisible to the group at large, of course. But, I think it will prevent me from having to chase folks down, tug at their sleeve and say, "dude, all you're doing is listing stuff for sale..." Thanks to everyone for their contributions, - Jim / List Admin -- Jim Edgar cyclofi...@earthlink.net --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
