https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDUhINW3SPs
edit: holy crap reddit still doesn't have thumbnailing for youtube vids lmao, it's "A Tale as Old as Time"

Honestly I think the abuse of power should not be tolerated. We need to demand a new moderator team for this subreddit.

You have shown very clearly that this small amount of power is too much for you to handle.

I also joined. I lived in Cambridge for 30 years. Moved outside of the city a year ago, but still work here. I am disgusted by the behavior of the Moderator.

> What's the point of infrastructure if the cyclist is still in the street and not the bike lane? Going the wrong way no less.

Because bikes are legally allowed to use the street, bike paths, bike lanes and the sidewalk (^(outside of business districts and if the local City has no further restrictions)). This gives flexibility depending on the rider's ability. Slower speed riders can use the sidewalk and bike paths. Average speed riders can use bike lanes. Faster riders can use the street, which is good for those with ebikes capable of 20+ mph.

> And let's not get started on the ones that still need to ride on the sidewalks of the Mass Ave bridge. My problem as a pedestrian is 90% bikes. I swear cyclists are getting more cult-like by the day. > >

This wouldn't be such an issue if MassDOT and DCR actually built proper cycling infrastructure on the Boston side of the river. The Cambridge side has access to the bike lanes on both sides of the roadway, but on the Boston side it's only accessible from the sidewalk. It's like complaining about traffic down a side street when the City hasn't fixed key intersections (looking at you Medford Sq area) - what do you expect will happen? People will take the easiest path possible.

> But let the circle jerk of up/down votes to continue. You're all saving the planet through your harnessing of smugness as a future energy reserve.

HELL YEAH. 🤡 It's a renewable energy too punk. 🤪

Don’t let members of the DSA bully you or the way you moderate. They’ve grown accustomed to having the loudest voice in online local forums.

For the next cyclist who does use the bike lane.

Also, bike lanes are part of the street, there should not be a wrong way for cycling, and riding on the sidewalk is a personal choice.

I'm sorry you experience cycling behavior that you find dangerous. But that does not excuse your collective blame and other logical fallacies.

I’m downvoting you not because I disagree but because I think you’re here in bad faith. There are people that are unfamiliar with the bike infrastructure, or that are just inconsiderate, but they’re not the majority. The bike lanes are used, and quite a bit, it’s just not as memorable to see people doing what they’re supposed to do.

When I see someone in a car doing something inconsiderate or dumb, I don’t want to take cars away from everyone, I just want to change the infrastructure to minimize the impact of inconsiderate or distracted drivers.

As a pedestrian, I also don’t like when people on bikes fly through without stopping for me. But I don’t think that denying safe bike infrastructure is an appropriate response to that. Mostly I would think it would make it worse.

I'm not trying to be argumentative here, but it's worrisome that you're continuing to remove cycling related posts. Are you also banning the people who make them?

Seriously, asking for recommendations about where to ride a bike in Cambridge is not a hostile post or an attack.

What's the point of infrastructure if the cyclist is still in the street and not the bike lane? Going the wrong way no less. And let's not get started on the ones that still need to ride on the sidewalks of the Mass Ave bridge. My problem as a pedestrian is 90% bikes. I swear cyclists are getting more cult-like by the day.

But let the circle jerk of up/down votes to continue. You're all saving the planet through your harnessing of smugness as a future energy reserve.

Good ideas. Thanks for sharing them.

Add additional moderators.

Unban any accounts that were removed (but didn't violate say, the reddit code of conduct).

Realize that moderators have a responsibility above and beyond that of a normal user and consider using alt accounts if you have to post about personal issues into the future (if it's something contentious at least, I'm not trying to chase you off, please don't think I'm insinuating you shouldn't post at all)

This isn’t a useful critique

That is inattentive, but I’m not sure what that has to do with bike infrastructure. Safe infrastructure shouldn’t be used as a pawn to reward good behavior or punish bad behavior, safe infrastructure should be a given so that all of our neighbors can travel safely.

You can't even spell diminish right in this statement, lol.

I’ll be switching over and slowly reducing my participation here except to encourage others to do the same.

As a community member and city worker, it’s pretty outrageous to see a Moderator who barely does their job show up only to abuse their power arbitrarily while ignoring the immense Moderation backlog.

This is the worst kind of Mod. One that actively does not do their job, arbitrarily changes the rules based on a whim or personal issues, and only shows up to ban and mute for dubious reasons when called out for it or even given constructive criticism.

Like bikes going down a one way street the wrong way while texting with both hands? That's not inattentive though, because it's a cyclist...

Like cycling and bikes and how drivers can be inattentive because there’s always a lot going on while driving, so we need dedicated separate infrastructure for people on bikes to keep them safer and to reduce distractions for drivers.

Like cycling, bikes, and how drivers are basically Hitler?

By "civil" you mean 110% in agreement with cyclists I assume.

My tone is entirely civil when noting that your takeaway from the events of the last twelve hours just sort of demonstrates that you are not fit to be a mod - let alone the only mod in a community without any posted rules or guidelines. Based on what's being written (and quickly deleted) here and elsewhere, people are less upset about their ability to speak on the specific (entirely pertinent) topic of bicycling and more concerned about the idea that one single power-tripping mod believes that they should be allowed to dictate what the community can and cannot discuss and how on the basis of their how their day is going.

You've behaved like something of a petty tyrant. You've made unilateral decisions without first either setting any reasonable/appropriate expectations or guidelines (community rules) or engaging the community for stakeholder feedback before making said decisions. When dissent has been raised in the forum (some of it obnoxious/toxic, most of it perfectly levelheaded and direct), you've responded by simply muting and/or banning members.

It's not about the issue of bikes. It's about the fact that you are not r/CambridgeMA**.** You are a mod. If this sub is meant to be an open and engaging resource for folks in and around Cambridge community to connect with each other about topics relevant to life in the city, it needs to better reflect the input of the actual users and not just be subject to the whims of one single middle-aged guy who may or may not have had a bad encounter with another single person who happened to be riding a bike.

Establish and publish rules and guidelines after allowing stakeholders/members of the community to contribute to their development in a meaningful way.

Add at least 2-3 other mods and consider turning the keys over.

At this point I have no faith in you as a moderator, and believe you view yourself as the "owner" of this sub. In order to allow for healthy discussion, there needs to be accountability through diversity of moderation. Without additional mods here, I'll be sticking to /r/camberville

Also, this exact scenario has played out in discussion forums since the beginning of the internet. Mod institute rule changes based on his or her own personal preferences, gets negative feedback, then offers to listen to the community to make things better without actually changing the rule or apologizing.

The fact of the matter is that street safety is a contentious topic no matter where you go. Vulnerable road users are growing in number and visibility, and are understandably frustrated with the status quo of car dominated planning which makes everything more dangerous for them. Putting a ban on discussing this is not going to help that whatsoever.

If you’re seeing uncivil things happening in the comments, and you think it’s overwhelming to moderate it all alone, that’s a clear sign that you need to expand the moderation team, not that the (very relevant) topic shouldn’t be allowed at all.

Trying not to be hostile: Don’t be a tyrant and promise not to do so in future.

In 2000, Saparmurat Niyazov was advised to quite smoking by his Doctor. Being the president of a dictatorship, he banned smoking outright in the country of Turkmenistan. Don’t be Saparmurat Nayazov - post and let post* in spite of what is happening in your daily life.

*especially something so basic as bicycle themed posts. We’re not talking about neo-nazi how-to literature or legit Kanye quotes. We’re talking bicycles.

I don’t mean this to be a dig, but I do think at least one more active moderator would be a good idea. I sympathize with the reasoning behind the temporary moratorium on bike related posts and I agree that the toxicity surrounding the issue is a problem, but I also sympathize with people who are upset and I think that having a team of moderators make decisions about stuff like that goes over a lot easier. It lends a degree of consensus to what at the moment is not an inherently transparent or democratized decision making process.