CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
closedOur work BUG has recently moved from a forum based platform to a FB style one.
Some observations from it are that it is good for adding for eye-catching pictures and getting initial attention but I mourn the loss of decent threads especially when discussing long term issues e.g. infrastructure.
“Some observations from it are that it is good for adding for eye-catching pictures and getting initial attention but I mourn the loss of decent threads especially when discussing long term issues e.g. infrastructure.”
Which highlights two different (and legitimate) ways of using forums/social networking.
From first post -
“
As mentioned, bbPress is a forum software, while BuddyPress is a social networking plugin.
1. Forums provide you with a platform to receive comments, set up topics for discussion. If this sounds like something you need, bbPress is the plugin for you.
2. However, if your requirement, is to have a platform, where users can create groups, exchange messages, then BuddyPress is the plugin you need. BuddyPress provides advanced communication tools for user groups.
“
What was CCE for? What was the aim? Has it been accomplished?
For me CCE is a virtual village or salon. It's like a cafe you can drop into any time where everyone has some interest in bicycles and bicycling and a sense of local community that stops unpleasantness without hindering disagreement. It's also highly tolerant of eccentricity.
I suspect it's one of the best cycling campaign tools ever created.
I can see a need for CityCyclingScotland. Mumsnet is reputed to be politically very powerful. If we could tap into a fraction of that power we'd be laughing.
“What was CCE for?”
Almost a good question, I can’t remember if it was precisely asked 10 years ago.
I’m sure there were a few emails (do I want to look at the MacBook I was using at the time??)
There was definitely a meeting, in a café, between me and WC.
“What was the aim?”
I suppose (genuinely) to provide a forum about cycling and Edinburgh that people would want to use (unlike others that hadn’t worked).
The good thing was that there was a list of people who already appreciated/subscribed to the excellent/quirky/much missed .citycycling.
So, people who liked reading (and writing) about stuff (directly or tangentially related to ‘cycling’) - including the sort of people who might have more than one bike - not all of them ‘normal’ (bikes not people...)
“Has it been accomplished?”
How can I say no?!!
I think it was accomplished after not many months, and then became a THING.
“I suspect it's one of the best cycling campaign tools ever created.”
Hard to analyse that. It attracted a few people who were already campaigning and others who became involved in campaigning - particularly via PoP.
CCE didn’t start PoP, it mentioned Dave Brennan’s embryonic idea. (An idea from Glasgow that might not have been mentioned in politer parts of Ed).
Then it kinda took off with people saying ‘what a good idea, how can I help’. It needed another non-resident, Sally, to make it really happen.
Perhaps the most important part was that many (and more) of those saying they might help DID.
Anyone who says ‘I just did a bit of marshalling on the day’ is undervaluing the importance they played in something quite special and influential.
“I can see a need for CityCyclingScotland”
That’s good, do you need any advice?
“Mumsnet is reputed to be politically very powerful. If we could tap into a fraction of that power we'd be laughing.”
Yes/no/maybe.
Perhaps there are people reading this who might think ‘once we have saved CCE, what else could be done?’
Campaigning is vital, complex, frustrating and needs determination and inspiration.
Whether that is the unparalleled work of Spokes or small flash mobs that create human cycle lanes it’s mostly worthwhile.
Technical issues aside, maybe there are things that can be done to make CCE more valuable for another decade without losing people or a sense of mystery.
I've seen and participated in lots of forums, and I've observed many organisations (and been paid professionally for mentoring/advice/mediation/development/etc). With that background my comments are:
On that basis...
The difficulties in adding images may be partly what keeps things like they are - even though it's irritated most of us, we(you who run things) should be a little cautious of making it too easy to add images.
The need to email to join seems inconvenient, but is probably one of those human elements which keeps things as they are, and I think should stay if possible.
The historical stuff isn't just there for reference, it sets the tone. The confining of 'bad driver' stories to one thread is, for example, utter genius - and defines the forum.
*IF* it is true that the forum is suffering from a lack of young blood, then perhaps the first step should be to recruit and welcome, not to mess with technology. It seems one of the most lively forums I know on the internet though - so I'm not convinced this is an issue (any more than in any other context).
I've seen few forums where categorising posts has much significance - there's always the 'main' area - and like others I simply rely on looking at what's current. That's the essence of most current social media - however the ability to search for and bring back to current any old thread seems essential/definitive.
And... if it ain't broke... as they say (which is isn't)...
(But if there isn't one there should be a backup...)
As someone who knows nothing about the technicalities it's fine for me as it is, except for having to scroll through a topic to reach the latest post. Can we get the latest at the top? And the "Themes" don't seem to lead anywhere.
I've been online long enough to prefer forums to fb groups.
i'm currently in another group on ProBoards, which has a similarly simple structure but a few more bells and whistles. it supports 'likes' and emojis, but these are rarely used because we are middle-aged gits. it is accessible in a mobile app form, which includes a 'voice typing' feature.
i like 'likes' because sometimes i just want to say that i really agree with something that's been said, but it doesn't seem worth a full post.
@blueth - if you're coming in from the front page, and you click on the 'latest post' link (e.g. the one that says '20 minutes' (or whatever) it takes you straight to the latest post
I'd also like to add to the 'if it ain't broke' chorus - there are a few tweaks that would be nice to have but none of them nice enough to necessarily risk upgrading for.
“Option 3
Pull the plug at 10th Birthday Party.”
This option is firmly off the table and will not be part of any negotiations.
The 10th anniversary WILL be before the next scheduled Brexit Day.
27th is Sunday
25th is PY
So, 3 day party??
I'm more of a reader than a poster so my requirements probably aren't the same as most but the feature I miss most on CCE that other forums I frequent have is the ability to jump to the first unread post in threads. Also, a mobile friendly layout would be nice. Other than those I think things are fine as they are.
The confining of 'bad driver' stories to one thread is, for example, utter genius - and defines the forum.
Deep insight. Lovely, thank you.
CCE lacks personalisation and thats a good thing
avatars and emojis encourage narcissism
same with all that plus one 'like' bizness
we have no real need to chase peer approval
this forum isn't perfect, and neither am i
Origin of PoP -
It started HERE
I’d forgotten it was a simple idea by Magnatom to have a demo in Scotland on the same day as the one in London called for after the death of a Times journalist.
Links to most of the Times’ campaign seem to have since disappeared. Part of it’s manifesto is here (rest now behind paywall).
“And the "Themes" don't seem to lead anywhere.”
Try clicking first word(s) of each one.
@bax - avatars and emojis encourage narcissism
Probably true. Also serve as warning to ignore owners/users of such items!
The stripped back style is good. Perennial themes sometimes need Google for search to reboot.
Are there too many categories? Default is infrastructure? Should be 'cycling news' maybe.
Not sure how impossible it is to re-shuffle what we've got.
@iwrats - said the forum tolerates 'eccentrics'. Is that not a rule 3 matter?
Toleration could be seen as encouragement.
Fintan O'Toole links eccentricity to exceptionalism which is almost as bad as narcissism ;-)
I think these are (almost) the same as our rules!
(Clearly CCEers don’t need things spelled out.)
“
4.1 - Respect While you are of course welcome to disagree with other members, we will not tolerate posts which insult, belittle, bait or otherwise antagonise forum members. This includes posts which disrespectfully label others posters using derogatory and dismissive terms including but not limited to 'fanboys', 'haters' or similar.
4.2 - Profanity We understand that profanity is going to be used but we ask that it's not used excessively and only in forums that are appropriate. We have a language filter in place which should block terms deemed too offensive for use. Constantly evading this filter by masking letters with an asterisk, reversing letter order or substituting numbers for letters will likely result in a warning. If you are cursing in every post or are using curse words directed at other members it will result in a ban.
“
https://forums.digitalspy.com/discussion/2206848/community-guidelines
Some ancient history in that thread there!
The name POP / Pedal on Parliament (I believe) came from an email I sent or at least composed in my head at around 4am in the run up to planning the first Pop.
Quick reminder that if you click on the last post time on the main page under the topics it takes you to the last post in the thread, remembering the last post you read is an excercise for the erm reader.
“Option 3
Pull the plug at 10th Birthday Party.”
Sub option 3 rescind the rules and let chaos in for a day! The rules are like so constricting man.
My own tuppence, I'd say it needs to stay as a forum there is a totally unofficial what's app group for more passing conversations though it does tend towards even more sillyness than an average post.
The history is important, it sets the tone of the forum but I'd not say it needs to be live.
I'm not sure how much the current registration process puts off new users, I know it's required, but we might attract new users if we had a more standard, but still email based, sign up process.
I sometimes wonder if the place can seem a cliquey to random browsers though I can only think of one, stunning, example of when "we" turned away a newbie in short order.
Email to join is a bit of a barrier - was it always like that? I would have thought it would have put me off back in the day when I joined.
@Steveo - which newbie did we turn away? Or are you thinking of the time when the forum had Simon Parker for breakfast?
“Some ancient history in that thread there!”
Can we have more of the inside story sometime?
PoP is a fabulous example of a good idea on top of an existing plan being pushed forward by a random(?) group of people latched onto by an unknown number of (mostly) CCEers who flyered and marshalled.
THEN were joined by an unexpected number of people bringing bikes and (many) young relatives.
Repeated several times.
All on next to no money and many volunteer hours.
Make no mistake attitudes/policies have changed.
The problem now is that it all seems (to some extent) that what PoP demanded has become accepted (apart from local objections to stuff actually being done) BUT, now, things have moved on.
Apart from the paralysing, destructive, Brexit process, there is now the new activism around Climate Chaos - propelled by (apparent) accelerating of the changing climatic evidence (or is it just “weather”??!)
Ok so this is a thread about the future of this forum, with an excursion (justified) into PoP history.
SO, ‘keep it like it is’.
BUT, if - mostly for technical/software reasons - if it becomes a forum with attached website, there is scope for other things -
Perhaps integrating http://cyclefridays.wordpress.com?
Pages for groups in other parts of Scotland?
More direct info/advice on campaigning?
Etc.
“there is a totally unofficial what's app group for more passing conversations“
??
“Email to join is a bit of a barrier - was it always like that?”
No there was a form, but at some stage it got spammed by multiple registrations from China, most were never tried to post anything and when they did it was usually ‘adverts’ for cheap trainers or jewellery.
It got very tedious when it jumped up to about 100 one day.
However that was a few years ago. It may well have suppressed registration but I think internet habits have changed too.
It’s never been about numbers - just quality...
??
+1
which newbie did we turn away
Just Mr Parker, which was frikin hilarious!
“there is a totally unofficial what's app group for more passing conversations“
Iain McR set one up. Dm him to get added, be warned there are days where it makes this place look sensible.
There's a whole novel in The Parker affair. Wooden headphones and the fake niece. Genius.
“Dm him to get added”
Thanks, but...
Enjoy
That’s another thing about CCE, all sorts of spin-offs.
I’m sure there are lots of people still going on rides, meeting in pubs etc. who only met through CCE.
Of all the CCEers I know ‘personally’ about half were pre CCE and the rest because of.
People I would probably would not have met otherwise - and glad I have.
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