Public apologise to the UK FJ owners club forum

[Alf]

I was convinced that my technical comments were deleted at the UK FJ forum. It seems that there was an horrible misunderstanding from my part, so I would like to offer public apologizes from this tribune

To see the precedents, I have to remit you to my presentation post

http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=3838.msg33048#msg33048

More than a year after. I´ve received this personal message from Richie, FJ UK forum

Hi Alf.

It was brought to my attention recently that you posted a comment in you introduction (listed above) on the USA FJ Forum site refering badly to the UK FJ/FJR forum ( www.fjfjrbiker.co.uk ) and to you being censured and having posts deleted and to us being taken over by the FJ Owners club etc etc.
I find this very disappointing after the help that our members gave when you had trouble with your website hosting. You and your website are held in great estime by the members of the forum and to see it being insulted in this way is annoying.
None of your posts (or any other members posts) are ever deleted and the only time any are is when they are deemed offensive or contravine forum rules on commercial advertising. All 53 posts that you made are still up and running and links to your website are active and used. If anything went missing it was probably after the forum servers crashed in late 2010 when we lost some of the database stuff.
At no time have you ever been censured by either the admin or members of the forum that I am aware of and I couldn't see it happening.
Also, the UK FJ Forum is not owned by the FJ Owners Club and never has been. We obviously have close contacts and interactions, but no financial or business contact.

Your thoughts please.

Richie. (Admin team/moderator www.fjfjrbiker.co.uk )

And my answer

Hola Richie

You have left me sorry astonished. In my discharge (if there is any) I have to say that I was not the only member at this forum that say the same, so I think there must be an horrible misunderstanding in any place, maybe that server crash and a dis-fortunate coincidence

Anyway, I give you all my apologise and I would like your permission to post your mail and my answer with my apologise at the forum in order to solve this unfortunate question (at least partially)

In my discharge, look at my web: I´ve not left to include the UK forum in my links with a strong recommendation

I´m very very sorry

Alf

And the Richie answer

Hello Alf.

I feel that some of the comments mix up the FJ Owners forum with the Owners Club website and that some of the Americans who pass comment about it don't realise that the FJOC website is only a very small part of that club, as they think it is the whole of it and cannot see why they have to pay for information. Membership is for access to ALL the facilities that the club has as it is not a cyber club, like most are (workshop, tours. rallys. phone in help and information, parts shop etc etc).

Regards.

Richie.


So now the only reprobation that I could do is why did Richie delayed so much time? (only joking)

So again, SORRY 

[fintip]

Good of you to post.

I still don't have a good impression of them, though.

I feel that some of the comments mix up the FJ Owners forum with the Owners Club website and that some of the Americans who pass comment about it don't realize that the FJOC website is only a very small part of that club, as they think it is the whole of it and cannot see why they have to pay for information. Membership is for access to ALL the facilities that the club has as it is not a cyber club, like most are (workshop, tours. rallys. phone in help and information, parts shop etc etc).

Do you guys not have workshops here? My last forum had them, several in different parts of the country. Tours and rallies? Looks to me like you guys have those here, too, am I mistaken? As for phone in help, that's more of a quirk they offer than anything. But if someone here would like my number (when I'm in country), I'd be glad to give it to try and help troubleshoot in emergency situations--especially once I've met some of you guys in person. I feel confident some of you would do the same. The only reason I imagine we don't see this more often is that it's a bit... personal? Odd? Too direct? I think it's more a social convention than anything. I think I'd prefer a text-help list, and if someone is available they might call you back.

As for parts shop, we have a parts listing section to this forum, and members frequently offer their parts here before trying to sell them elsewhere at a discount.

What exactly is it that deserves money, then? I mean, if a guy is good at something, he's free to charge at it. Only thing is, this guy has a shop and makes good money. Keeping all of their information closed source, though, is kind of antithetical to the good-karma "let's all just help each other and not really make this about money" attitude that is so wonderful about motorcycle forums. The first forum I found and joined, a forum for old Suzuki GS's (when I was thinking of buying a '79 GS850 that I later changed my mind on), was an incredibly bunch of people. One member went on a ride to South America to draw attention to the issue of world hunger and raise money for various charities. When his engine threw a rod and completely died, the members got together and got a good engine shipped to him from the states. Even though I wasn't a member there for long, I was deeply impressed, and just knowing about them made me want to get the bike even though it wasn't the one for me.

Now THAT'S a club. A "cyber" club? I think that he might have a problem realizing that this isn't just a cyber club and people actually do meet in person here, America is just a bit bigger of a country and so the logistics of that are a bit more difficult here.

Thing is, if something like that happened here--if Alf or someone else believed links were being deleted--I can't imagine anything other than confusion. When it happened there, it made sense, since it is a money-based operation.

Rant over. I don't know the guys there very well, and have no personal experience other than my curt response from Doc, but... Bad impression. I guess they just do things differently in Britain; more a tradition of 'clubs' and 'unions' with the concept of dues built in. Wikipedia was founded by an American; the Brits have the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Anybody else want to tell me something to make me think better of them? They seem like quality mechanics at the shop, anyways, and I'd imagine they do good work for a fair price there. But I have no problem with paying for a mechanic, and love my home mechanic that only works on Jap bikes and specializes in old ones and tip him happily on top of what he charges when I think I should... The problem is withholding information, not services.

[Alf]

Well, in their defence, Doc has made his way of life the FJ dedication, and with good results, because there are a lot of FJs running in Britain. And I can´t see anything wrong with that. It is not mandatory: if I live in Britain I would be a proud FJ club member. In fact, I was member of the club a couple of years, (and I payed) a nosense because I live 6.000 kms away. But only to read then the club bulletins compensated the expense

Look at me: my website is free, I work investing my money in the Financial Markets and each people that I know ask me advice about economical & financial question for free (they say that I´m like a guru...  ), and even I teach martial arts in a gym, like the economic situation is very bad in Spain, I teach a lot of free clases for the gym...

I´m not rich in money, but rich in friends and Karmah. For me is enough, but I would like to have a FJ business too. Only there are few FJs in mainland Spain and less where I live... and clearly I´m not so intelligent to make money 

[fintip]

It'd be nice if they had a 'foreigner' 'membership' option, perhaps, since we're obviously not going to be calling across the pond when we're in a fix anyways... Or at least just make their bulletins a public service. Or at least just the archives, he can even have the last 3 only for paid members and not available to others until later. I don't ask money for the instructional videos I put together, and I can work on bikes today thanks only to the generous amounts of writing--high quality, at length writing--of others who do it just to give back.

I'm sure Doc had people who helped him before he got to where he is, you know?

As for you, I'm not so sure about financial and economic questions from someone who doesn't know how to make money! Jaja. 

[Alf]

As for you, I'm not so sure about financial and economic questions from someone who doesn't know how to make money! Jaja. 

Yes, I say the same to the people, but they insist on 

[nurse]

Please don't tae us all with the same brush fintip.  When I first got my
Fj I looked at joining but paying for a product Which gave me no real details about what i was gonna get for my cash didn't appeal, hence you guys got lumbered with me (sorry bout that). Not all brits are the same!  although we are good at moaning about stuff, oh and queing, its actually an art form and popular pass time over here.

[Alf]

British are good people. I know a lot of them who lives in Tenerife and they are excellent fellows

[fintip]

I by no means meant to suggest something about British people in general, just that (in the way of giving the guy a break, not attacking him) perhaps the culture there is just more used to the idea of pay-for-membership clubs/unions/etc.

[Steve_in_Florida]

Am I missing something over at the UK site?

Are there cool rallies over there?