#!markdown
Cam, apologizing was the right thing to do, a full and official retraction of
the original article may be warranted.
This is a good time for reflection, by NSMB.COM and users of the site. Are we
a major part of the problem by writing and posting articles, allowing a free-
for-all discussion board and being too sensitive?
This situation reflects the nearly consequence-free nature of online
reporting. Mainstream media would never have reported only one side of the
story, especially withholding one key fact (the bite) that made their side
look bad.
Unfortunately this whole incident dirties the reputation of NSMB.COM, it makes
us look like the evil trail threats that we are.
Maybe it's time for an official outreach by the mountain bikers to the hiking
community. Have an open house somewhere, answer questions, hear concerns,
legitimately understand their position. The attitude some bikers have towards
Espresso is horrible, "we built it, so it's our trail" sort of attitude. We
built a public trail on public land, if hikers want to use it, we have to suck
it up and accept that it is for the public, not just mountain bikers.
Every time I see hikers I say hi, try to be polite. My worry is that the one
time I am not it will end up being the mayor's mother, a reporter's
grandmother or someone else that could cause us real grief.
This incident really worries me about the blow-back on the mtb'ing community.
Quite frankly, this incident and how we have reacted to it embaresses me as a
mountain biker.
Feb. 2, 2015, 9:41 a.m. - MAS
#!markdown Cam, apologizing was the right thing to do, a full and official retraction of the original article may be warranted. This is a good time for reflection, by NSMB.COM and users of the site. Are we a major part of the problem by writing and posting articles, allowing a free- for-all discussion board and being too sensitive? This situation reflects the nearly consequence-free nature of online reporting. Mainstream media would never have reported only one side of the story, especially withholding one key fact (the bite) that made their side look bad. Unfortunately this whole incident dirties the reputation of NSMB.COM, it makes us look like the evil trail threats that we are. Maybe it's time for an official outreach by the mountain bikers to the hiking community. Have an open house somewhere, answer questions, hear concerns, legitimately understand their position. The attitude some bikers have towards Espresso is horrible, "we built it, so it's our trail" sort of attitude. We built a public trail on public land, if hikers want to use it, we have to suck it up and accept that it is for the public, not just mountain bikers. Every time I see hikers I say hi, try to be polite. My worry is that the one time I am not it will end up being the mayor's mother, a reporter's grandmother or someone else that could cause us real grief. This incident really worries me about the blow-back on the mtb'ing community. Quite frankly, this incident and how we have reacted to it embaresses me as a mountain biker.