As you know by now, I have a very steadfast protection of HRF. I do not own a dime of its ownership. It's the overall idea that drives my behavior.

I hate mediocrity. I have watched it destroy everything. Whether it's forums, bike clubs, relationships, corporations or sharpening a blade, when you don't care and start "phoning in" your participation, things fall apart. And always for the same reason.

First comes the use of words. Words are powerful. For our purposes we might use the old canard of 'biker.' It is my belief that this does not define what you ride, or where you work, or war stories or "the lifestyle." It is an era of time, much like referring to "the wild west," or "The Depression." Many of folks have lived through similar experiences, but for us it is as comical as calling anyone with shoulder length hair a 'hippie.' And like our whacking off the sleeves of a perfectly good jean jacket, 'hippie' refers to The Haight Improvement Plan, the revitalization of a certain neighborhood in San Francisco in the early 1960s. We simply misuse the word.

In several bike and knife forums, mediocrity came in many forms. One forum owner wasn't interested in motorcycles. He used his forum to childishly rant and rave with his continual fight with the city on how and where he could park his semi-truck. One knife forum sought out and banned several members because a banner advertiser viewed them as business competition. Another forum started by a world adventurer and knife designer used this "world traveler" persona to find every teenage boy who never left his mom's basement. All of these outlets wound up meaningless, and most rife with troll and posers.

When I came to HRF I assumed it was just another bike forum. A place hounded by posers, liars and pedestrian who didn't know a Softail from a Kardashian tail. I figured, hey, it's a nice place to spend a cold Wisconsin winter, and then I'd melt away with the spring thaw. Instead I found guys who actually rode. Frankly, I was shocked such a place would ever exist.

We're on a cusp here fellas. We get spam and new advertisers, some honest, some despoilers. Clearly we have attracted the "lint trap" demographic. BI63 wonders out loud if meeting a handful of real bikers is worth sifting through a boatload of idiots. My thoughts are more global.

When good guys leave a place--any place--we get what is known in business as "the Bozo effect." That is, the guys with talent and experience leave because they are welcomed anywhere. The flotsam who stay have no place else to go. You wind up with a dysfunctional clown car. Think of the condition as noticing your favorite saloon becomes the haunt of a lesbian book club now serving umbrella drinks. Even though you might not have any negative feelings for the newbs, your personal needs are not being met. You pack up and go, even without a conscious thought as to why.

This is a good place. Yeah, we fight amongst ourselves. Duh. Bikers fight. However, this is one of the few places I feel like fighting for. I do not stomp out of forums. For me, I just finding myself signing on less and less, until finally I forget my password. I never want to feel that way here. My advice is to go peruse another bike forum. It won't take long to recognize the posers, the liars who don't own a bike but swear they do, implausible war stories and teenagers who claim they remember the 1960s and demand to be treated as full brothers.

Then come back here. I hope that you feel the same way I do.