What makes road.cc toxic?

Aww. I'm late to the badger bait group can we go fox hunting instead?

I do think there is a little bit of truth in all sides mentioned throughout this thread (the bits I could be bothered to read).  I don't think road.cc is toxic however I believe that of the 100/200 regular voices being heard a small minority are more often singled out. Just remember not to feed the trolls, unless you enjoy it.

My take on any rise in anger recently is that it stems from people's feelings of general discombobulation being amplified by their own sense of uncertainty with the world.

Every month we seem to be bombarded by media telling us to support another righteous cause, another political fuckwit to lambast to the point where there really are no sensible political voices being heard, another global doom alert, terrorists, pandemics..  as I consider this I 1) consider the reflection of my own current feeling 2) lament the dumbing down of the mass media for adding to all of this by acting not as an authoritive voice, but a more biased, spineless voice. 

There are two haters (we all know who they are) who constantly post provocative, contrary statements to create a 'storm'. Like yesterday's comment about the SUV driving into protestors in NYC as having the 'right' to use the road and the right of way or BJ commenting in a rude tone how everyone in London is rude. Just ignore them. It can be that simple. 

It's true that they rarely (ever?) comment on bike clothes, cargo bikes, cleats, equipment, tyres etc. Cos there is no controversy there (and probably because they don't ride cycles) and no opportunity to wind up others. If the article is about infrastructure, helmets, close pass - you can bet that he / she / it will pop up with a juvenile attempt to cause offence. 

I found the roundabout discussion troubling. Usually we have found ways to say "the cyclist could have done better" or "actually that wasn't all that bad" or "I can see that being difficult for all". Without rehashing the zillions of posts on that topic, I thought all parties were wrong and yet all deserved some sympathy. Those nuances were lost. We have become polarised just like American politics.

Why has this happened? I do think it's recent and it is due to repeated postings with a pro-motorist, right-of-centre slant. That viewpoint has about 90% of the dead tree press and a good proportion of electronic media firmly on its side. This site is pretty much the only voice of the road cyclist and we do need to protect that. I am not in favour of the "safe spaces" idea that has arisen in universities. We should consider and hear the other side of the debate, and not remain in bubbles - despite temptation to use scripts to exclude some contributors, and confirmation from one of those prolific posters that they do the same.

But it is very difficult to stay calm that when some contributors take only one line, repeatedly and stridently. They never seem to comment on kit, or help those with technical questions, or offer encouragement. They just predictably pop up with at best, spin on behalf of the dangerous majority. LTN opposition, compulsory helmets, registration, insurance, all the topics calculated to push a lot of buttons. It is difficult not to see them as interlopers from Planet Car. As hawkinspeter says, there are trigger words. Hard to see a point being made or anyone being persuaded to question their ideas; easy to see a rise being encouraged.

I usually disagree with eburtthebike* on helmets, but eburt has other things to say, which I read and value. I do not see that very much from the two accounts that are causing such angst. I have tried very hard not to rise to the bait of their postings, and often failed. I have agreed with both, very rarely - but I'm always going to comment when I do, because that's only fair.

So I challenge both - you know who you are. Take a month, build up a track record of positive posting. Show this community that you have help to offer but stay off your favourite controversies. Give opinions on cleats, wheel truing, Julian Alaphillipe, Hardknott vs the Bealach, etc. You may even find an appreciative audience. Otherwise I think you'll find the oxygen of readership in short supply, whether by filters, or simply avoiding your posts.

*Just an example - someone who I'm sure will not mind my use of their name, who has trenchant views. I apologise if eburt is in any way affronted by this.

has Road.CC stopped beating its wife? 

smoking and cars are two things I feel strongly about - smoking continues, despite a litany of health risks, expense and scruffy doorways - the advantage seems quite tiny.  (I'm always surprised by the level of compliance there is with the indoor smoking ban.) 

With cars, at least there is a benefit to the user, but otherwise it's a heap of collective disadvantages, which has now been around long enough on such a scale that no-one can see, or wants to see, that it's a problem, or that things don't have to be this way and it could be different.

Cycling is all advantages on a staggering exponential scale and the only disadvantages are punctures and SPDs that don't unclip at the vital moment.  

So it really grinds my 10s gears to read on here, here, my safe space in which to say "aren't cars /drivers terrible?" Things like "cars are great, more cars" and "you should get out the way of cars", "drivers' lives matter", etc. 

Arseholes ride bikes too.

There is a significant element of 'group think' on this forum.

Challenge the group think and you get abuse and hostility.

It seems to me that personal abuse directed at people who have the 'wrong' opinions is tolerated by the moderators, this encourages routine use of abusive language by some posters.

Certain posters will regularly call others scum, vermin or Brex-tards (etymology of that isn't exactly PC) but I've never seen them get so much as a warning.

As for our two accused trolls, SocratiCyclist is deliberately provocative and usually completely divorced from reality but at least remains civil.

I don't really think Booj is a troll at all, he has a bizarre hatred of TT but otherwise seems no less contrary than a lot of other posters.

I've mentioned it before but if road.cc were interested in detoxifying the site then dropping the politics from their own articles would be a very good start.

Click bait titles and winding up readership with close passes and stoking it with anti cycling twitter screenshots = angry comments

in my opinion 

also Britney Spears 

I can change, guys

You're right.  I'd not really thought about it too much until a couple of weeks ago when I thought seriously about unsubscribing - not through a comment directed at me, but the general tone of some of the comment sections. 

I've always used my own name when registering on forums and making comments on threads - that way I'm less inclined to get into slanging matches or directing abuse at others! 

It's a problem that dates back at least as far as CB radio.

When I see certain names have posted this comes to mind. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyophYBP_w4

2 posters.
Otherwise the vast majority are civilised disagreements.

Have you seen the rest of the internet?