I think member "themutiny" has left the forum after 4 years a member, judging from his final comment. I have met him and know him by name but obviously can't answer for him in detail. However, to some small degree I'm sure he is expressing a dislike for the way this forum has gone over the last year or two, a dislike shared by many including to some extent me. The change in nature has resulted in the absence of most of the original membership of the first four years of this forums six year life.
This current thread by johnc is another reflection of the same sentiment.
The Electric Bicycles forum used to be an alternative to Endless Sphere, in being informal, light on technical content and more biased to consumer e-bikes, with suppliers playing a full and helpful part as some still do.
Now it's becoming ever more dominated by projects and technical discussion, often very deep in nature, currently half of the threads in this page of this forum being either tech or project ones, making it look increasingly like another ES. The presence of suppliers posting that so many of the earlier membership appreciated has been harshly criticised by some of the tech biased members, illustrating another difference in viewpoint.
The great majority of people are not technically minded and the same will be true of those who buy e-bikes. When they have a query they mostly appreciate a simple approximating answer which gives them sufficient understanding. What they often don't like is a highly technical, very detailed and precise answer which just adds more to what they struggle to comprehend.
Have a look
at this link to understand the difference. Here OldBob asks a simple question to which he has three answers. No criticism of those concerned since I know they are being helpful, but the first two answers included far more then was necessary. Then I answered the question, simply.
Unfortunately I can often no longer give the simple answers that are best for most, since of necessity they often include omissions or very minor inaccuracies, leading to them being commented on with highly detailed additions and/or corrections. Those of a technical bent should be aware that many, probably the majority of the public, don't appreciate this complexity, and the genuine helpfulness they intend is often not appreciated. No-one likes to be "put down", but the highly technical answer can be viewed in this light by those made to feel in some way inferior by the superiority implicit in such complex answers, especially when the answers contain an implied criticism of the question or other answers. If you've ever seen Dr Sheldon Cooper (played brilliantly by Jim Cooper) in "The Big Bang Theory", you'll appreciate how such answers can be
not appreciated. A little psychology in place of some of the technical knowledge is necessary for an answer to fit what's wanted by many inquirers.
None of what I've said here is a criticism since this isn't my forum and it must go the way that it's current active membership swings it towards. It's just an explanation of the differences and an expression of regret shared by many over the trend.
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