Welcome

[Allan in Portland]

Welcome to the Bicycle Quarterly Reader's Review.

My intention for creating this list is to give readers of Bicycle
Quarterly magazine a place where they can discuss topics found in the
magazine with other similarly interested folks.

It is true there is no shortage of bicycle themed lists and forums on
the internet. Whether you want friends, fellow worshipers, good advice
or bad, the internet has a list for it. I have no desire to duplicate
any of those other lists. If you're like me, you're already subscribed
to at least six of them and have turned off the delivery to your inbox
for all of them years ago. Sure, there are lists that have a lot of BQ
fellow-travelers with some BQ-like discussion, but like a bad cable
company, subscribing to those lists comes with a lot of extra stuff
you don't care about to get the one or two things you do. With the bad
cable company you have to pay cash for the filler and noise, with a
bad list you have to pay in wasted time.

While there is no such thing as a good cable company, I do hope to
have a focused list. Not too focused, that would be boring, but
focused enough that list members feel like they are getting something
useful here they weren't able to get anywhere else. So, while it may
be poor form so early on, let me state a few things that this list is
not:
* FS - You should know, I'm a cheapskate; if I bought something of
yours, you sold it too cheap.
* Ride Reports - I'm glad if you were able to get out for a great
ride, but this helps me how?
* Newbie Help - I'm not an elitist by any means, but one can't be
all things to all people.

And now for a little irony, some posts that seem like they'd be off-
topic, but are on-topic by act of moderator decree:
* WTB - WTB is cool, unless it is Riv paraphernalia. Some people
seem to collect that stuff like it was Beanie Babies.
* Ride Requests - Visiting in-laws across the country and need a
ride suggestion, ask away!
* Humor - Not so much jokes, but anything presented in good humor
is welcome on the list. Dry, self-deprecating humor that most people
are going to take seriously is best.

Finally, this list is not sponsored by Bicycle Quarterly. There is no
corporate party-line. Respectful dissent is welcomed. Science advances
most when people disagree, argue, and figure out a way to test one
idea against another. In that light, I hope that people will feel
encouraged to share their own experiences, especially when they differ
with something found in the magazine. A rollicking back and forth is
indicative of a healthy intellectual environment populated by sharp,
passionate individuals. The alternative, where no one disagrees and no
one argues, usually means at best, no one cares, and at worst, one
person cares: the cult leader.

Thank you for stopping by,
-Allan Folz