CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!

CCG?

(48 posts)
  • Started 12 years ago by Darkerside
  • Latest reply from recombodna

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12

  1. Darkerside
    Member

    Seperate this out to avoid dragging down the bike breakfast thread over here.

    A variety of points (apologies for liberal paraphrasing):

    • POP was exceptionally successful, and CCE seems to have helped in a significant way{/*]
    • POP called for change across Scotland, not just Edinburgh. Without activity in the major cities, this is unlikely to happen
    • Glasgow cycle campaigning appears to be in a lull at the moment. I've not heard anything, and I'm on the roads frequently. GFGSS is active. Critical Mass is poorly thought of (from what I've heard, although biased viewpoint)
    • Would a cityCyclingGlasgow forum help? I don't think we have enough cyclists to make it work, and those that would be interested may already be on CCE, and therefore unlikely to move across. Are Glasgow/Edinburgh (uniquely?) close enough to use a single forum? Would rebranding CCE damage what CCE is?


    And probably some other stuff!

    Another question from the last thread - who are the Glasgow folk on here? (I'm one)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  2. The Boy
    Member

    CityCyclingScotland with sub-fora for major cities?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  3. Smudge
    Member

    +1 for "The Boy"'s suggestion

    Posted 12 years ago #

  4. spytfyre
    Member

    As The Boy says - one big forum site where you can post something for all Scotland but with sub folders for the cities.
    Would be nice to use something like the proboards system with a (slightly) more robust interface and spam filter

    Posted 12 years ago #

  5. Darkerside
    Member

    I also think that would work best for all the other cities as you'd get CCE's membership and clout for free. However it might damage what CCE is, and a loss of influence in the capital would affect everyone else.

    http://www.lfgss.com have a very nice structure that seems to work well for the large area it covers, but also have a dedicated admin in Velocio and some fairly high running costs.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  6. chdot
    Admin

    "but also have a dedicated admin in Velocio and some fairly high running costs"

    CCE is staying CCE.

    Anyone can post anything already.

    It would be useful, to all, if there was some threads about 'what's happening in Glasgow'.

    Partly because of CCE there seems to be a bit of organising going on around Falkirk, Fife, Dundee and East Lothian.

    CCE will continue to encourage anyone doing anything to encourage more people to cycle more.

    There is scope here for a new page (tab at top) with links to more cycle related groups/sites in Scotland.

    Suggestions please.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  7. Darkerside
    Member

    Apologies chdot - that wasn't meant to read as a criticism of your administration!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  8. chdot
    Admin

    "Apologies chdot - that wasn't meant to read as a criticism of your administration!"

    No, I didn't see it as such.

    Just reinforcing fact that there is a certain amount of admin/control that won't necessarily 'scale -up' easily (or willingly, by me..)

    Also "some fairly high running costs" - why?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  9. Min
    Member

    "CCE is staying CCE."

    Good.

    It is hard to say whether a Glasgow board would take off. I guess the only way to find out would be to try it. I cycled in Glasgow for years and would be happy to join for a start and help make the place look populated. You can get a free forum to start with then you wouldn't be losing anything if it didn't go anywhere.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  10. chdot
    Admin

    "

    "CCE is staying CCE."

    Good.

    "

    Good

    "I cycled in Glasgow for years"

    Further confessions of Min...

    Posted 12 years ago #

  11. crowriver
    Member

    I worked in Glasgow once upon a time. Glasgow is bigger, but with a lower incidence of cycling. Car and public transport much more dominant modes in the city. Great big motorways cut the place into pieces. That makes the cycling culture in Glasgow a bit different. Maybe more fragmented?

    GFGSS seems to be a success, but for a specific subset of riders. No doubt there are MTBers, Roadies, BMXers, etc. with their own fora. There are certainly Glasgow folk on YACF, CTC Forum, etc.

    The Citycling 'brand' / meme is different again, as it started off about urban/commuter/utility cycling primarily. Would something similar work in Glasgow? Hard to say unless/until it is tried.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  12. Baldcyclist
    Member

    I like the thought of CCE staying as it is (and it should, it's good!), but, I also like the idea of 'CCS'.

    If there were other boards set up in other parts of the country, these should be managed locally by whoever sets them up.
    However, all of these boards could be linked by a 'CCS' site which would essentially be links to all of the other boards (so very little maintenance).
    Users could either access through the CCS site and look at whatever is happening nationwide that interests them, or they could just go directly to their local/usual site.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  13. wee folding bike
    Member

    I found this web page when I was looking for information on the Clyde tunnel which was partly shut one day when I was going to Govan.

    I never did find out what was happening with the tunnel.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  14. wee folding bike
    Member

    GoBike does have a Facebook page but it's not one of the busiest.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  15. chdot
    Admin

    "

    If there were other boards set up in other parts of the country, these should be managed locally by whoever sets them up.
    However, all of these boards could be linked by a 'CCS' site which would essentially be links to all of the other boards (so very little maintenance).

    "

    Sounds good

    http://citycyclingscotland.wordpress.com

    Posted 12 years ago #

  16. crowriver
    Member

    @chdot, you forgot the link to CCE. :-)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  17. chdot
    Admin

    Work in (slow) progress...

    I normally make new sites private, but I just liked the WordPress created strapline!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  18. Instography
    Member

    I'd be reluctant to see separate forums. I don't think they'd survive. But I don't think it would hurt CCE at all to quietly drop the E because for as long as the centre of gravity of campaigning etc is around Edinburgh this place will retain its identity and focus.

    It would be a glorious position to have to work out how to accommodate the influx of Glasgow, Fife or Dundee activists clamouring for space to discuss their local concerns but we're not there yet. Not by a long way.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  19. chdot
    Admin

    "don't think it would hurt CCE at all to quietly drop the E"

    CCE - E = CC

    Room for confusion -

    http://citycycling.co.uk

    Posted 12 years ago #

  20. crowriver
    Member

    I think we should give chdot space and respect enough to keep CCE as it is. There's no need to try and graft a Scotland-wide remit onto this forum.

    If there is a need/demand for a forum in Glasgow/elsewhere beyond what exists already, it should be allowed to happen at its own speed and take whatever form it wishes.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  21. crowriver
    Member

    Oh and I also think it's important to distinguish CCE from campaigns like POP*. Spokes is a campaign group, as is Go Bike. CCE may have been a central catalyst for POP happening, but is a separate entity and does not have campaigning as a focus necessarily.**

    I do recall fairly widespread scepticism from forum members about the effectiveness of demos, campaigns, etc. back in January before the protest outside St Andrews House. The fact that the campaign and demo succeeded in persuading ministers to rethink the cuts to active travel perhaps inspired some folk to take things further and get involved with POP. It may well be that such activities carry on and are organised through CCE, but the forum is also a social space, a cycling-specific one (sorry Mikael) and also city-specific to Edinburgh (and environs).

    * - which, lest we forget, was started by a Glasgow cyclist!
    ** - except that anything broadly 'pro-cycling' including CCE can be seen as a campaign to change the status quo of the 'great car economy'/spectacle.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  22. kaputnik
    Moderator

    What Crowriver said.

    CCE as it is has a certain charm and decency about it, perhaps because it is confined largely to a small geography and people either know, or may come to know, the other forum users. The relative peace and harmony of the place is somewhat unique in my experience of forums.

    But ultimately as Chdot says, there's nothign stopping anyone joining in and taking part. Even if there is an E in the forum name. There are many non-Edinburgh regulars (and I'm sure many more passing users), but Edinburgh is nearly always the common denominator bringing them here.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  23. Stepdoh
    Member

    CCE - Yep!

    CCS with specific city chats - Yep, great idea. But, what we have at CCE is a developed and engaged community that is very rare in the world of Forum. The fact we're almost devoid of haterz is an even bigger achievement.

    Think the safety net here is that most of us actually know each other in some sense. Bring it out of the village and it would dilute this significantly.

    Now, thinking about CCW. :)

    Posted 12 years ago #

  24. Stepdoh
    Member

    Och, bloody Kaputnik got there first. DAMN HIM!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  25. Min
    Member

    "I think we should give chdot space and respect enough to keep CCE as it is. "

    Amen.

    Further confessions of Min...

    I've said too much already..

    Posted 12 years ago #

  26. Wilmington's Cow
    Member

    What Crowriver said...

    Specifically on, "I do recall fairly widespread scepticism from forum members about the effectiveness of demos, campaigns, etc. back in January before the protest outside St Andrews House" I was one of those dissenting voices, most of my secpticism coming from where it was aimed at (i.e. not the Parliament, which PoP then solved) but I'll gladly accept that it seemed to have more of an effect than I thought would be possible.

    Always happy to admit I'm wrong (one of the reasons I'm a rubbish EEN commenter), especially if by being wrong it means things turned out better than I'd thought.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  27. Instography
    Member

    "I think we should give chdot space and respect enough to keep CCE as it is."

    Sure. Just piping up. I'm very happy with it as it is and nature will take its course. If CCE becomes the nucleus around which interested people start to cluster, no one will care about the name.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  28. chdot
    Admin

    "no one will care about the name"

    Steady on!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  29. Darkerside
    Member

    Some clarification:

    I agree CCE should stay as it is. Leaving aside all the obvious (and completely valid) points like "it's chdot's" and 'don't break something that works really well', it makes sense to keep a strong community at the seat of government. I know CCE is so much more than a lobbying tool, but it's still a benefit to the entirety of Scotland that it remains active.

    Whilst I know a lot of people use CCE without being in Edinburgh, there's still that block to new members searching for 'cycling+glasgow' and not finding it. Plus if someone were to post up, say, a problem with a road in Glasgow (I tweeted a diesel spill a while back), it would just clog the CCE board up.

    I do think that Glasgow is probably at the point where it might be able to support a 'non-specialist' forum. There's more cyclists (crucially), infrastructure is (kind of) improving, there should be money in the pot to spend if people ask for it with the 5% of transport budget thing. If it flops horribly so be it, but as has kind of been mentioned by others, it might not.

    I can, er, have a look over the weekend? I'm not up to date with forum stuff, but I am moderately techy and, as ever, Google Is My Friend.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  30. Kirst
    Member

    Salt n sauce, salt n vinegar.

    Posted 12 years ago #

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