Hey Chainlink, know what I think is lame?

When a website that claims to be promoting local cycling in the city of Chicago has a banner ad for a site which is one of the many internet discount outlets that make it hard for local bike shops.

Way to go Chainlink, bravo. Is the advertising dollar worth making things harder on the local shops here in Chicago?

Is this site about serving the local community or is it about being a profit center for it's owner?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Adam "Cezar" Jenkins on January 4, 2012 at 2:50am

I'm talking about the donate button right under the ads.

Dan Korn said:

Well, it's buried in the "Behind the Scenes" menu. I don't routinely go poking around in all the menu links to see what's there. If something is really important, like the site needs donations in order to function, I would think that would be a bit more up-front, like the ads are.

Adam "Cezar" Jenkins said:

It's been on the front page for a while now. To the right. I think it's on every page.

Dan Korn said:

Steel Driver said:

Dan Korn, you've just been unaware, very easily rectified.

http://www.thechainlink.org/page/support-the-chainlink

Many users have probably been unaware they can support Chainlink directly!

You're right, I never knew that page existed. There should be a link to it from somewhere obvious, like the main page. That might elicit more donations, which may lessen the need for ads.

And I could be wrong again, but it looks like the particular ad which precipitated this thread is no longer visible.

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Permalink Reply by Michael J Blane on January 4, 2012 at 3:21am

Haha, or <command> Q if you're using a Mac.

Brendan said:

Alt + F4 should do it.

h' said:

Does anyone know what I have to click to see the current score?

Matty Matt Matteo said:

+1

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Permalink Reply by Michael J Blane on January 4, 2012 at 3:27am

Hmmm, I always thought that Chainlink was a forum of bicyclists; Not a professional, retailers' forum.

The ads pay for the forum so the rest of us don't have to.

As bicyclists, isn't it best for us to be well informed and aware of all of the products available; no matter where the products are?

I prefer LBS, but if I can get a product not available nearby, I'll web it.

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Permalink Reply by kevin womac on January 4, 2012 at 5:54am

I'm not trying to steal free advert space, but we at Boulevard Bikes sell quite a few dyno-hub systems every year. and sell Spanninga and Busch+Mueller and Supernova and Schmidt.

James BlackHeron said:

I also have to agree with this. Another shop I really like is Peter White Cycles -They have a great page on Bicycle Lighting Systems and carry stuff that you really can't find anywhere else in the USA like the Spaninnga Lights.

I guarantee that if you go into an LBS they will steer you solely to the products they have on the shelf and poo-poo any other options. Seriously, I don't really think there are ANY LBS's out there pushing dyno-hub systems much less carry many decent dyno systems or components. This alone is one of the many reasons I prefer buying stuff online because the LBS's in Chicago do not really cater to such things. Is it because there isn't much demand or because they just don't supply anything -chicken or egg?

Duppie said:

You make it sound as if online retailers are by definition evil and only exist to screw you out of your hard earned money and forget that some of these online retailers are run by passionate individuals.

Ever talked to Wayne @ TheTouringStore.Com? How about the guys at Dinotte Lighting? Most LBS in the Chcago area can only dream of providing that level of excellence in their service (pre- and post-sales) that these guys consistently deliver.

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Permalink Reply by Michael J Blane on January 4, 2012 at 6:34am

I think of it as a bicyclist's forum because of the usernames. I see personal names, not shop names. That's not misinformation, it's my opinion.

I probably should have said: "The ads pay for the forum so that all of don't have to." And, thank you for contributing.

In this thread, I read the first two pages, the last two pages and skimmed the in-between.

I've been reading the site for more than a year and am reasonably familiar with how it works. I'm not the most prolific poster so you may not have noticed me here.

If my opinion and poor choice of phrase constitute misinformation, I'm sorry if I've chaffed your mellow.

h' said:

Michael J Blane said:

Hmmm, I always thought that Chainlink was a forum of bicyclists; Not a professional, retailers' forum.

Not sure what sort of personal journey led you to this assessment.

"An Online Chicago Bicycling Community" implies to me that it's a resource for the entire Chicago bike community.

The ads pay for the forum so the rest of us don't have to.

The rest of us do pay, as we're inclined to. You could pay too if you like.

I realize this thread has probably gotten too long to bother reading before responding, but it would be really helpful to spend a moment familiarizing yourself with the site in general before offering up misinformation like this.

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Permalink Reply by Liz on January 4, 2012 at 6:55am

I don't really understand what this thread is trying to accomplish. julie gives preferential treatment to lbs advertisers. that is not enough to fund the website so she selects other appropriate bike shop ads as well.

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Permalink Reply by DaToSSuPKiNG on January 4, 2012 at 7:50am

I don't get it!

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Permalink Reply by Adam Sterling on January 4, 2012 at 8:02am

Yeah.

I have been into almost every bike shop I see on the sidebar ads, and have purchased things from most of them. Doug, your blunt object of an opinion is simply ridiculous, esp. when you post so often on the site, use it to promote your shop from time to time, yet feel so free in not donating anything to a site that has clearly benefited you. Simply ridiculous. I wonder how long it takes you to get all your opinions through the door when you come home from work.

Brendan said:

Dug, you can't even pitch in a few dollars with a one time donation to this site that you spend so much time on and benefit in various ways from, yet you have no problem haranguing others about bailing out their local bike shop when it doesn't make sense for them to do so?