General: [Sticky] Welcome to the velospace forums!

I'm thinking of a new limit for the forums: maximum of one thread started per day - what do you think?

That sounds good, I like the 1 thread per day, definitly will slow things down and reduce the pety threads. Were definitly coming up with some good stuff here.

Thanks Greg,
James

Posted By: quickfoxdear greg if this message some how reaches you cool if there is anyway to put the red lettering on the sale page that says new users can't sell for 15 days after joining at the top of the page that would be cool other new users might appreciate it i know i would have rather read that memo prior to typing a detailed description rather than after words but anyhow thanks for the velospace

Great suggestion and something I'd overlooked - I will add it to the top of the page for new users

greg, I noticed that you've put a link to the "Want to Buy" thread at the top of the "For Sale" section. Perhaps it would make more sense to change the top page link to "buy/sell", or ""commerce", or "trade", and then eliminate "Want to Buy" as a sticky forum? That helps to distinguish a forum (a public conversation between parties) from an advertisement (a broadcast to a large pool, in the hopes that one party will respond).

If you go that way, then there could be a breakout within Buy/Sell for advertisement by commercial operations (framebuilders, retailers etc.), in a way that members who aren't interested wouldn't have to see them or freak out about the fact that they're mixed with member-to-member ads.

In SF, Craigslist has completely destroyed all competing forms of classified advertising, without completely replacing what they've destroyed. SF Craigslist's ForSale>Bikes regularly dissolves into furious outbursts against bike businesses listing bikes in the general pool, when there's nowhere else for them to post. Giving regular businesses a corralled area here in which to put their listings will also require them to become velospace members, which means they may contribute useful information to the forums.

At any rate, it's better to be in front of the situation before necessity forces a choice.

Posted By: gregGreat suggestion, I'll work on that - and the rules prohibit commercial entities from posting without permission so if you see them on velospace please tag them as spam

Oh yeah; to be sure. But if there were an organized system for granting permission, and an organized/sanctioned venue for that permission to find its expression, I'd wager that there would be some commercial entities willing to pay for it. Maybe even enough to take a big bite out of the cost of running the site.

Don't mind me (eaglerock, the Capitalist Stooge!); I'm just thinking out loud. Feel free to use whatever makes sense. If nuthin' makes sense, feel free to ignore it.

i dont think so but then again i didnt have a new user pm like 5 times in 30 minutes. ask cloud and see what he thinks

Thanks for the suggestions

And the formerly known as "thumbnails" page is now the "photos" page on the top

One last addition, the former "Frame" attribute now includes "Frame / Size / Year" to hopefully get some more information about the bikes people are uploading - thanks to user Rasmus for the great suggestion

A petty, minor beef about the new buy/sell*...

Conceptually, for me, the terminology is reversed. The "buy" link leads to items for sale, while the "sell" link leads to the want-to-buy list. My first instinct (and to date, my 422nd instinct) is to assume that "buy" leads to "I want to buy this stuff", and "sell" leads to "I want to sell this stuff". "Want to Buy"/"Want to Sell" would clarify the categories, but they'd take up more space.

Is this just me?

*greg, thanks for that, BTW.

Thanks for the suggestion, i've heard this from others and I'll figure out how to word it more clearly

Yeah, carbon fiber15. You're a real genius, and everyone else is just a "dumbshit." Grow up.

Posted By: gregHow-hum, 5 day ban for neocelt

Work has been done here!!!

next we should spank him and take his birthday away!!!111!

Is my mind playing tricks on me, or is there a thread that's been de-stickyfied overnight?

Charlie's Freewheel Project?..something like that, I think. It's pretty sad that we can't even remember it.

The Charlie's Freewheels thread was destickied last week, glad to know you guys pay attention!

Posted By: Aaron Ci greg is it possible to have a tab for random junk, similar to the forum, random, buy/sell style tabs at the top of the page so that it i easier for new users to find the beer and kitten calculators. i feel like these are major selling points and should be easily accessible.

See the bottom of the about page:

Here are links to one-off pages on velospace: Six Pack Capacity Calculator, Adorable Kitten Capacity Caculator, Photo Tips, Snapshot of Friends network, RSS & Syndication, Tagging, Tools

is there anyway we can have the at the bottom of the page as well? i hate getting to the end of a long thread then having to scroll all the way back up to push the discussion button again....

i know i could just hit back, but then i dont know if someone has added any new comments etc.

Agreed on all points.

Posted By: suicide_doorsWhat I do is label my wheels, seat, post, etc with something that can't be removed. Mostly I use a Krink oil paint pen or engrave my name in them with this metal pen thing I have. I also slip a piece of paper or a business card up into the seatpost, down into my seat tube, and between my wheel's rim strips and the tubes.

Also take photos of the parts individually, your bike, and its serial number, register it with the local police department, etc. That way, if someone steals your shit, you have a fairly good ownership record. Keep receipts as well.

I know that seems like a lot of work, but it feels really good to press charges when some jerkoff decides to ride your shit around right where he stole it.

Ha, I think I posted that one too.

Posted By: suicide_doorsIf you REALLY want to be safe, mail the photos to yourself registered or certified mail, then don't open them. If the thief tries to play it like you planted your name on his shit, bring out your sealed, dated envelope and see how it tastes.

ThankQuiz Showfor that one. Great, great film.

Well, the thread those two posts originated from dealt with stolen components (wheels, specifically), hence the scratching and photography.

Posted By: jolarHi! I reported about a bug on the website some time ago, and I'm curious about if it have been fixed? The problem was that any photo uploaded deleted a previous one if they happened to have the same name, even if they were uploaded by different users.

That's not a bug; that's a feature. And I'm guessing that your assessment of the issue is incorrect; the new photo doesn't "delete" anything, but if you upload a photo that has the same name as another photo (bike123.jpg, for example), it's a crapshoot as to which one will show up in a listing.

At present, the only way to ensure that your photos will show up is to give them distinctive names. If you're naming your photos "bike.jpg", or if you're leaving the names your camera put on them (IMG0001.JPG, DSC0001.JPG), then you can bet you'll never see them again. Incorporate a description of your bike into the name, or your initials, or the date, or your user name. But don't assume that there will be a magic fix requiring no effort on your part - not any time soon. It hasn't happened in three years, and it isn't going to happen tomorrow.

I suggest you take some responsibility for your own fix. There have been about 20 threads dissecting this issue and the present inability to put in a gimmick technical fix; I've posted with teach-a-man-to-fish solutions several times, and been shouted down each time. I'd search them out for you, but you're a grownup. Go forth and read.

Another poster annoyance:

We've been getting a lot of people posting WANT TO SELL items in the WANT TO BUY thread. In the course of haranguing yet another 15-minute member for doing this, I noticed that while the velospace marketplace includes a prominent link to the WTB sticky thread, the reverse is not the case.

I've been a little squirmy about the interface inconsistencies between Want to Buy and Want to Sell; the former is a discussion thread, while the latter is a separate section. I suspect it would be easier to understand if both were handled the same way: Either make the marketplace into a sticky thread, so Want to Buy and For Sale are right next to each other, or break both Want to Buy and For Sale off as a separate section. I think the latter is more logical, since it entirely separates the commercial stuff from the discussion stuff; but I'd guess that traffic will go down. OTOH, if someone has to hunt for the place to post their item/request, then perhaps they'll read/think before they post. But the way it is now, WTB is right in peoples' faces, while For Sale is not; they post in WTB without thinking about what they're doing, because it's right there...

I mean, I'll go on yelling at transgressors, but I don't know how much good it does.

Yeah, not even smacking them seems to work very well.