Motorcycle Forum / General / Motorcycles / June 2008

I still don't get it.  Apparently, you think that if you dissed
the MSF, that Tim would take that as a personal affront.  Why?

As I said, my understanding is that there is no love lost between
Tim and the MSF, but you seem to think that is not the case.

Bryan,

As you may be aware, Tim and I seldom see eye to eye, but I cannot recall
him ever "boasting" about having been an MSF instructor, any more than I can
recall you "boasting" about your work with computers. Yes, both of you have
mentioned those facts when they legitimately bear on the subjects at hand,
but in both cases that's simply a matter of bringing your personal expertise
to bear in backing your online opinions. As such, it's not "boasting" in
either party's case; simply a bald statement of having been there, done
that, and wrung out the tee-shirt afterwards.

One of the advantages (and yes, there are a few) of newsgroups is that it
gives you a chance to learn from people who have expertise in fields that
you have never encountered, and so long as people don't begin their posts
with "Hi! My name is so-on-and-so-forth and I'm better than *ANYBODY* at
(insert subject of your choice)" I don't see a problem with them using their
legitimate backgrounds as a big club with which to whack the folks who don't
know what they're talking about.

I, for instance, have never taught an MSF class, or, for that matter, taken
one. So you'll seldom see me posting on the subject except to say that I
think they're a good idea.
I *was*, on the other hand, a track instructor at the late-lamented L.A.
MSF's track days, and when someone makes an outrageous claim such as (just
picking one out of the hat here...) stating that motorcycles steer via
leaning, and that you don't need to learn how to countersteer until you've
already been riding for a few years, I've not been reticent about stating my
qualifications for telling them why I think they're nuts.

Boasting, in my mind, is bragging about how good you are at something
*without provocation*. But if we're to call it bragging whenever someone
states their bona-fides as qualifications for their opinions, then we're
left in a situation where everyone's opinion is just as good as anyone
else's. And while that may be a worthwhile goal in the minds of some
psychologists, it sheds no light on reality.

Fact is, some of us *are* experts in some fields, and I'd much rather see
posters sharing their specialized knowledge with us rather than saying to
themselves, "Gee, maybe I shouldn't mention my PhD in nuclear physics even
though the subject is nuclear waste. Bryan might think I was boasting..."

(Okay. I'm exaggerating for effect. But you get the point.)

I don't recall boasting about my life long experience as an MSF
instructor.   Perhaps you can refresh my memory on that.  Like, maybe
with a cite?

Not a request for a flamewar, either, but I would rather like to see a
bit of decorum when people are talking about me.