Forum rules (and FAQ)

[BikeGremlin]

You are reading the English version - an alternative version in Serbocroatian (verzija na srpskohrvatskom).

Registration​

• You can register directly using your Gmail (or GitHub) account, or by using your e-mail and adding a password. Don't use a temporary ("throwaway") email - we block such accounts. Likewise:
  Accounts registered using temporary, disposable, plus or catchall emails will be rejected without notice.
  We don't send spam, nor do we disclose member emails publicly, but we must be able to email you in case of something important (no, we don't mean any spammy newsletters or similar).
  If nothing else, you'll need the real email for resetting your password in case you forget it.
  A longer explanation:
  Why we don't accept user registrations using temporary emails

Briefly put:​

• Use the forum search before posting a question.
• Written communication does not convey facial expressions.
  When reading comments and replies, assume they are well-intentioned and aimed at helping you (if anything is questionable/problematic, there is a "Report" button at the bottom of each post to report the comment to a moderator).
• Be kind and polite.
  If in doubt, take a step back, read what you wrote and, before you post it, think: "Is the person who just wrote this being a dick?"

General forum rules for posting​

• Please try to open a separate topic for each question/comment - and use the forum section/category that best matches your question.
• Quote a post you are replying to - even if your reply is "right after." Sometimes another reply could be posted before you hit "Post reply", and sometimes forum makes a page break after an X number of posts. So, quoting helps avoid any confusion as to who you are replying to.
• Ideally, when quoting, try to remove the irrelevant part of the quoted post (unless it's a relatively short post).
• Use English.
  Except in the Yugoslav-Serbocroatian forum section.

Etiquette forum rules in plain English​

• Don't post stuff you might wish to edit or delete later on.
  Deleting stuff later on can break the forum's functioning or make it impossible to follow conversations. You can make an anonymous nick, and no one forces you to disclose any of your personal data, but don't go crying to admins to delete your personal stuff that you, yourself wrote and published on this forum.
• No illegal or pornographic stuff.
  There are places for that, but BG forum isn't one of them.
• Don't post other people's private stuff.
  Also known as "doxing."
• Affiliate links must be marked as such.
  It is OK to put affiliate links, even in your signatures, but mark them clearly as such.
• Spaming gets you banned.
  Anything that remotely smells like SPAM will be deleted & its poster banned.

Technical legaleze stuff:​

The providers ("we", "us", "our") of the service provided by this web site ("Service") are not responsible for any user-generated content and accounts. Content submitted express the views of their author only.

This Service is only available to users who are at least 13 years old. If you are younger than this, please do not register for this Service. If you register for this Service, you represent that you are this age or older.

All content you submit, upload, or otherwise make available to the Service ("Content") may be reviewed by staff members. All Content you submit or upload may be sent to third-party verification services (including, but not limited to, spam prevention services). Do not submit any Content that you consider to be private or confidential.

You agree to not use the Service to submit or link to any Content which is defamatory, abusive, hateful, threatening, spam or spam-like, likely to offend, contains adult or objectionable content, contains personal information of others, risks copyright infringement, encourages unlawful activity, or otherwise violates any laws. You are entirely responsible for the content of, and any harm resulting from, that Content or your conduct.

We may remove or modify any Content submitted at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice. Requests for Content to be removed or modified will be undertaken only at our discretion. We may terminate your access to all or any part of the Service at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice.

You are granting us with a non-exclusive, permanent, irrevocable, unlimited license to use, publish, or re-publish your Content in connection with the Service. You retain copyright over the Content.

Note on privacy and GDPR​

This forum is operated from Serbia, hosted in the US, and not targeted at EU residents. It is not subject to the GDPR.
If you register and post here, you accept that basic account data is stored and that posts are retained indefinitely to preserve discussion context. Don't post anything you'll later want deleted - that's on you.
GDPR discussed in more detail: GDPR vs. Common Sense

These terms may be changed at any time without notice.

If you do not agree with these terms, please do not register or use the Service. Use of the Service constitutes acceptance of these terms. If you wish to close your account, please contact us.

 

[BikeGremlin]

Moderation Policy and Philosophy
(Published openly – for all members to know and understand)


At BikeGremlin forum, our goal is simple:
To create a space for calm, constructive, and honest exchange of knowledge, experience, and ideas.


Moderators are not here to "police" people in a bureaucratic way, but to protect the spirit of the forum and help maintain a healthy, welcoming atmosphere.

---

Principles Moderators Follow:

• Kindness first. Always approach situations calmly and respectfully — but also with clear eyes.
• Judge behaviour in context. Actions matter, but so does the history and pattern of behaviour behind them.
• Constructive discussion is expected. Barking, constant negativity, passive-aggressive baiting, and bad faith arguing are not tolerated — even if superficially polite.
• Benefit of the doubt is earned, not infinite. A new member gets full benefit of the doubt. A known troublemaker earns closer scrutiny.
• No witch-hunts, no mobs. Moderation decisions are made carefully, based on protecting the community, not popularity contests.
• Use your moral compass and common sense. No rulebook can cover every situation. Fairness and wisdom are expected.
• Consult when needed. In complex or borderline cases, moderators should consult the forum founder (Relja) or other moderators before major actions like banning.
• Transparency is a value. Major moderation actions can be publicly noted if appropriate.

---

Expectations for All Members:

• Be respectful.
• Help make the forum better, not worse.
• Disagree with ideas, not people.
• Stay constructive.

We don’t demand perfection — we expect good faith.

---

Thank you all for being part of this community.


Ride safe!
Relja – BikeGremlin forum founder

 

[BikeGremlin]

The basic idea - i.e why I've built this (and a canned response I copy/paste to people who ask me a question on any social network or messaging platforms):

Hi,

This is a pre-written response I copy and paste - but Gox and I sat down and wrote it together, and I still mean every word.

First of all, I would like to thank you for reaching out to a real person rather than a robot.
My name is Relja – a human being, with all the abilities, but also the limitations, of human capacity – and with a sincere willingness to help you, as well as anyone else interested in this field.

Secondly, I would like to apologise if this complicates matters for you personally. However, based on 15 years of experience (and answering several thousand questions), I have concluded that the greatest benefit for humanity is if I reply exclusively on the BikeGremlin forum.

Please take a moment to search the forum. If you do not find an existing answer, to create an account and post your question. I will gladly reply to you, to the best of my knowledge, with the hope that it will be useful to humanity as a whole.

If needed, instructions on how to do this are available here:

https://www.bikegremlin.net/threads/how-to-register-and-post-a-comment-question-on-bikegremlin-forum.24/

The reasons for this decision are multiple:

- Poor search functionality
Due to deliberately imposed limitations on social networks, even I often cannot find my own answers to previously asked questions.
- Quality of answers and deletion of my posts
Because of social network moderation policies, I am often not allowed to post links to articles and videos where I explain things in more detail.
- Destruction of knowledge
If the person who asked the question deletes their post, or their account is deleted by the platform, all the replies often disappear as well.

I firmly believe that knowledge should be gathered and shared (knowledge is the only "commodity" that grows by being shared), but I also believe that the way it is currently scattered across the Internet is senseless and counterproductive.

As these issues affect me personally, I have written a more detailed explanation here:

https://www.bikegremlin.net/threads/why-i-answer-questions-on-bikegremlin-forum-only.497/

I would like to sincerely thank you for your understanding – and in these times when every second is precious, I truly appreciate the fact that you have taken the time to read this message to the end.
I hope you will also be able to take a few moments to help build and share knowledge:
Your 5 minutes + my 15 minutes = help for an unlimited number of people with similar questions or problems.

Relja BrevityIsNotMyVirtue Novović