Registration is closed

[dkel]

I still vote for a couple of weeks of qualifying before teams are assigned. That way we can get rid of the riff-raff before we have to lug around all of their dead weight for the rest of winter (figuratively speaking, of course).

[peterw_diy]

BAFS has 100,000,000 registrants (expressed in binary). Whee!

[Sunyata]

@dkel 150523 wrote:

I still vote for a couple of weeks of qualifying before teams are assigned. That way we can get rid of the riff-raff before we have to lug around all of their dead weight for the rest of winter (figuratively speaking, of course).

I am going to start team assignments now, but will not formalize it until probably January 5th. This will give me time to ensure that everyone that signed up is going to play and will also give those making name tags for the Happy Hour time to make them.

FYI – I will be checking forum names to make sure those that signed up are actually forum members. (Same with Strava numbers.)
If I can not verify this info, I will send an email. If no response in 48 hours, that person gets booted. So please check your email, folks! (The email will be coming from BAFS(dot)TeamAssignments(at)gmail(dot)com)

Also, there appears to be several individuals that indicated they wanted to be a slacker but have not participated in the past. They will be placed on an actual team.

[Sunyata]

@Sunyata 150567 wrote:

FYI – I will be checking forum names to make sure those that signed up are actually forum members. (Same with Strava numbers.)

If I can not verify this info, I will send an email. If no response in 48 hours, that person gets booted. So please check your email, folks! (The email will be coming from BAFS(dot)TeamAssignments(at)gmail(dot)com)

Wow… There are 38 registrants who registered without a valid forum ID. Several of these are folks that participated last year… :confused:

Because I am nice and like to make things so much harder on myself than they should be… I am going to attempt to dig up forum names for those that played last year. If I still can not verify them, I will send an email and they will have 48 hours to respond.

[Steve O]

@Sunyata 150584 wrote:

Wow… There are 38 registrants who registered without a valid forum ID. Several of these are folks who participated last year… :confused:

Because I am nice and like to make things so much harder on myself than they should be… I am going to attempt to dig up forum names for those who played last year. If I still can not verify them, I will send an email and they will have 48 hours to respond.

If they, in fact, have a valid ID but have never so much as touched the forum, then is that really distinct from having no forum ID?

[cvcalhoun]

@Steve O 150586 wrote:

If they, in fact, have a valid ID but have never so much as touched the forum, then is that really distinct from having no forum ID?

Three reasons:

First, some people regularly read the forum, but haven’t posted yet. We really don’t want to discourage people who don’t talk unless they have something to say.

Second, for many people (including me), Freezing Saddles is a way of recruiting them to the forum, after which they become active participants.

Third, we use the forum for communication about Freezing Saddles. If they aren’t even members, they won’t get those communications.

[Sunyata]

@Steve O 150586 wrote:

If they, in fact, have a valid ID but have never so much as touched the forum, then is that really distinct from having no forum ID?

I have my own opinions about that, but the rules are, they must have a valid Bike Arlington Forum ID. (Although… Looking at the sign up sheet, it does not actually mention the forum by name, just gives links. But most rational people should be able to figure out that if they click that link and do not have a log in, they need to register…)

But anyway, email sent…

So for anyone that missed the registration cut off, please continue to register. There may be a few spots that come available if people do not respond.

[cvcalhoun]

@Sunyata 150589 wrote:

I have my own opinions about that, but the rules are, they must have a valid Bike Arlington Forum ID. (Although… Looking at the sign up sheet, it does not actually mention the forum by name, just gives links. But most rational people should be able to figure out that if they click that link and do not have a log in, they need to register…)

But anyway, email sent…

So for anyone that missed the registration cut off, please continue to register. There may be a few spots that come available if people do not respond.

Well, it does specifically say you must be a member of “the forum” to participate. And requires a forum name. And gives a link to register for the forum. I wouldn’t think it would be that tough.

But as you say, this helps “most rational people.” Not everyone who attempts to register falls into that category. Every time I think I have made the registration form idiot-proof, they develop a better class of idiot.

[Steve O]

@Sunyata 150589 wrote:

I have my own opinions about that, but the rules are, they must have a valid Bike Arlington Forum ID. (Although… Looking at the sign up sheet, it does not actually mention the forum by name, just gives links. But most rational people should be able to figure out that if they click that link and do not have a log in, they need to register…)

Sorry if I wasn’t clear. I was suggesting those who have no affiliation with the forum whatsoever be dropped, not kept. cvc’s point of lurkers but not posters is a fair point, however. This is still one of our challenges, as extensively discussed in the existential thread: how to best use FS to draw people into the community. Thanks for your hard work, Sunyata.

[Sunyata]

@Steve O 150593 wrote:

Sorry if I wasn’t clear. I was suggesting those who have no affiliation with the forum whatsoever be dropped, not kept. cvc’s point of lurkers but not posters is a fair point, however. This is still one of our challenges, as extensively discussed in the existential thread: how to best use FS to draw people into the community. Thanks for your hard work, Sunyata.

Yeah, I figured that is what you meant. I would love for everyone to be an active forum member, but not everyone has a lot to say. Some people do just like to come and read about what is going on and then do their own type of advocacy or what not. And that is fine.

But I like the social aspect of things, which is why there will be awesome social butterfly awards this year! 😎

[Tim Kelley]

@Sunyata 150584 wrote:

Wow… There are 38 registrants who registered without a valid forum ID. Several of these are folks that participated last year… :confused:

If someone registered on the forum last year, but then did not post a single post, they would automatically be removed after 6 months. We get a lot of spam registrations so it’s a way of keeping the forum running smoothly.

[dkel]

@Tim Kelley 150602 wrote:

If someone registered on the forum last year, but then did not post a single post, they would automatically be removed after 6 months. We get a lot of spam registrations so it’s a way of keeping the forum running smoothly.

What if someone registers for freezing saddles, but then does not post a single ride? Can they be automatically removed after, like, three weeks?

[obscurerichard]

I resemble some of the comments regarding forum lurkers – I am hoping to engage more deeply with the local bike community through participating in this event.

[Sunyata]

@Tim Kelley 150602 wrote:

If someone registered on the forum last year, but then did not post a single post, they would automatically be removed after 6 months. We get a lot of spam registrations so it’s a way of keeping the forum running smoothly.

Thanks for the info, Tim. That was really helpful for me, since I know several of the people on my “forum names do not exist” list were participants last year and I vaguely remember making sure everyone had forum names last year, too. YAY! I am not crazy. Or at least THIS does not make me crazy. :rolleyes:

[TwoWheelsDC]

@obscurerichard 150646 wrote:

I resemble some of the comments regarding forum lurkers – I am hoping to engage more deeply with the local bike community through participating in this event.

Pay no mind…the association between the forum and the competition gets looser every year. As a long-time forum member and BAFS participant, I couldn’t care less if BAFS participants actively participate on the forum. The forum makes for a free and convenient communication platform for a contest that–for better or worse–has grown well beyond the number of people that realistically are going to actively post here.

[Author]

Posts