Welcome to Internet BOB! Last revised: July 9, 1995. Q: What is BOB? A: BOB is the Bridgestone Owner's Bunch, and this is the internet edition of it. This is a mailing list, not a newsletter, and has no connection with the real Bridgestone-sponsored BOB except in name and in spirit. As such, it's not meant to substitute for rec.bicycles.*, and in fact, is not envisioned to be a high volume mailing list at all. After all, we already have rec.bicycles and all the rest. Quality over quantity and all that. There might only be 5 messages a week, but all 5 should be worth reading (and re-reading). Now that Bridgestone is defunct, and the real BOB is no more, Rivendell Bicycle Works will take its place as the "official" BOB newsletter. Q: Do I have to own a Bridgestone to join? A: No you don't. You don't even have to be a retro-grouch. You just have to have an appreciation for the beauty of bicycles and bicycle riding, not be a chaser of technology, and have a love of bicycling history. Of course, if you own a Bridgestone and are a member of the "real" BOB, then it will help give you a context to build on, since many of the members of this list will be Bona-fide BOBs. Q: How do I join internet BOB? A: Send mail to internet-bob-request@netcom.com Q: Is there a membership fee? A: No. Q: What do we talk about? A: Bicycles. Cool stuff. Nostalgia. Poems. Opinion pieces. Riding. Most of all about riding. Q: Are there any rules? A: Yes. You can get thrown out of BOB by me (the moderator) for violating any of the tenets of being a BOB. The intention of these rules is to provide a nice comfy atmosphere in which to talk about what *you* like. Remember: this is a mailing list, so whenever you say something, please try to make it worth everyone else's while to read it --- if it's a general question of no interest to BOBs (say, "how to train for a century"), post it on rec.bicycles or wherever. When you have comments but nothing to contribute to the mailing list, take it to person-to-person e-mail. Please don't follow-up to a message without thinking. Such knee-jerk responses are typical of non-BOBs, and will not be looked upon kindly. There's no need to announce your approval of some article to the entire group --- sending it directly to the author is more personal, don't you think? Similarly, if there's some minor point you wish to make, it might be nicer to send it to the original author so he or she can collect all the responses and mail them all at once to the mailing list, together with his replies. Since BOBs are such nice guys, there will be no flames on this mailing list. TAKE YOUR FLAMES TO E-MAIL MANO-O-MANO OR WOMANO-O-WOMANO OR WOMANO-O-MANO OR WHATEVER. (This is a joke! Mano a mano means "hand to hand") Flamers get taken off this list, with no appeal. Polite, well thought out disagreements are of course allowed. This "no flames" rule applies only to flames on individuals (but you should feel free to say things like "Bob Sr. had it all wrong --- he did not consider the following..."). Flames on Shimano or any other bicycle or component manufacturer, including Bridgestone, are more than welcome. Such flames should be written as well as possible, and if they're funny and opinionated, that's fine too. After all, BOBs are often opinionated. A tongue-in-cheek style can often be used to good effect. Read any issue of the BOB Gazette to see what's considered good. Write with enthusiasm. When following up to a message, DON'T over-quote. You should aim to have about 10 times more new text in your message than quotes. That means for every line you quote from a previous message, you'd better have 10 lines of new, interesting-to-read material. If you don't have that, it's better to send your message to the originator of the message. (see above) Help make internet BOB a high quality, if low volume, mailing list. Once again, remember that there aren't really any hard and fast rules, but the spirit of this mailing list is the spirit of Bridgestone's own BOB: an appreciation of the bicycle as tool and carefully crafted piece of functional art. An appreciation of the functionality of a bicycle and its value as a mode of transportation. And that bikes are just plain fun. Q: I like the kind of writing in the Bridgestone Catalog and in the BOB Gazette, what else should I read? A: Well, you should read the kind of writing you like to read. But since you're a BOB, you will most likely enjoy at least some of the following: - Tales from the Bike Shop, by Maynard Hershon. - Maynard's columns in a VeloNews and California Bicyclist. - The non-training parts of Phinney and Carpenter's "Training for Cycling". (I'm serious! There's a lot of good 'ol non-training fun stuff there.) - The chapter on cycling in the mountains in John Forester's "Effective Cycling". Q: Hi, my name is Bob Framebuilder, and I'd like to give a discount to all BOBs buying my custom frames. A: Here are the guidelines for commercial solicitations on the net: - if you recommend a product, that's fine, especially if you're responding to someone else's query. - however, if you have any relation to the company or person making the product, or if you stand to gain from any purchase of the product, you must make it clear that your judgement and opinion is suspect - finally, if you wish to advertise on internet-bob, or post a catalog of your own product or what not, you should strive to match the high standards of the now defunct Bridgestone Bicycles (USA) Catalog. In other words, you should write a BOB article(s) that happens to contain information about your product. Said product had better be unique and of interest to BOBs! You may not make such postings too frequently, or you risk being removed from the BOB mailing list. (How frequent is too frequent? More than once a month is right out --- I don't want this list used for weekly or monthly "specials". Once a year is probably safe) Each such posting had better be unique. - if an internet-bob member objects to a piece of advertising he or she should complain to the poster and me, but not to the entire mailing list. (No flame wars on this list, please) - if you have any questions as to whether an article you've written would qualify (or be viewed as advertisement), feel free to send me the posting in private, and I will tell you whether it is acceptable. Q: How do I get off this mailing list? A: By being obnoxious and displaying non-BOBness. Or you can send mail to piaw@pure.com, or internet-bob-request@netcom.com. You can sign up for this mailing list the same way, of course, provided you fulfill one of the conditions stipulated above. Q: How do I send mail to the mailing list? A: Send mail to internet-bob@netcom.com. Q: How do I get onto the real BOB? A: Write down your name, address, and other particulars you might deem necessary (like what you hope to get out of BOB) and send it to: Rivendell Bicycle Works 1547 Palos Verde #402 Walnut Creek, CA 94596 Phone: 510-933-7304 Fax: 510-933-7305 rivbici@aol.com It's $20 for a Rivendell membership. Tell them that internet BOB sent you. Q: Is there a BOB Home Page? A: The closest to that is the Rivendell Home Page, http://www.best.com/~bikiebob/rivendell. You can also try mine, http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~piaw Q: Who's the moderator of this list? A: Me. Piaw Na. BOB #49. piaw@pure.com, http://www.csua.berkeley.edu/~piaw Q: Is Internet BOB archived anywhere? A: Yes. Available through anonymous ftp to ftp.csua.berkeley.edu, in ~ftp/pub/bob. (Or try 128.32.43.51) "BOBs don't lie." --- BOB Gazette, #5.