In my short time as a member, I have discovered an amazing cycle at sb.ws Oregon forums....

spring to summer:

we have a huge influx of members,
invariably they talk about the same stuff over and over again (reference the topics at the end of this article provided by BGSDKS and others)
new and existing members crash
they say that there are too many crashes (compared to?)
they either leave because they think riding is dangerous or realize that riding motorcycles is fun, learn something and stay
cliques develop (natural group progression it happens everywhere you look folks, we don’t all get along, but there are groups of us that do)
we go on some great and occasionally not so great rides

winter comes:

people either post because they are bored (see post whores) or forget about the board entirely
people that have stayed on through the winter find reasons to argue about everything non motorcycle related because they cant ride, usually people get ticked off and vows never to come back to the site (come on people, its just an internet forum)
a few of us play a few games of broomball and try to ignore the crap

early spring comes:

those of us that have been dying to ride all winter are now posting about our short little rides that we got to take, how the roads were and how excited we are for track days to start up and a bit of warmer weather for longer rides

spring comes around:

those new members that joined last spring, that haven’t totally been burned by flaming, stick around and usually are decent contributing members and either post lots of good information, or sit back and watch the carnage as entertainment

some of the people who vowed to never post again magically reappear
the weather gets warmer, the new members start flooding in, a flurry of new riders on even newer bikes, all ready to do the same thing over again

It hasn’t changed, it never will... we have had the debates on everything under the sun, people are no longer friends because of these debates, but what it comes down to is that here at the sb.ws Oregon forum, you will find some great knowledge, some even greater people, and a great place to learn... occasionally a great photo chops here and there...

I love sb.ws for everything, but i have learned what is important here and what isn’t, so I post according to what I want to get out of it, i try my best to filter the useless and the post whoring, sometimes your best defense is the ignore button.

For humorous reference I am including the list of topics provided by BGSDKS that prompted my original article:

As a veteran member of the board, I thought I'd help the newbies out by listing the topics we've all seen before, and that are basically useless. Feel free to refer to this thread prior to posting - it'll help cut down on bandwidth.

1. Which oil is best
(no sense in posting; you're going to get 600 different answers.)

2. Which tires are best
(see "which oil is best”)

3. "I saw a guy that did a stunt in an urban area…"
(22 page thread to follow about whether it's right or wrong to stunt will follow, with no resolution)

4. "I saw a guy riding with/without proper gear, and I think that person's a squid”
(12 page thread to follow; “define a squid” or, "that's their choice". Again, no resolution)

5. "My religion is great, you’re all going to hell”
(what’s new? Find something original to talk about. This argument has been around since before the BC/AD changeover.)

6. "The other day, an SUV, cell talkin', soccer mom..."
(you mean like the one your wife drives, but since you’re bangin’ her, it’s ok)

7. "I got a ticket for doing something illegal, and want to know how to get out of it."
(5 page thread to follow; 'be a man and just pay", or "get a lawyer and fight it.")

8. "Cops suck because…"
(There’s about a dozen of them on the board. Pissing them off is a really good idea, especially when you’re asking for advice about getting out of a ticket)

9. "EDR didn't coddle me, so I'm going to rant and rave for a while".
(9 page thread to follow; "EDR rocks" vs "you suck". Here’s the cliff notes: they do great work, but between the five of them, they still don’t have one persons social skills. Get over it.)

10. "My Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki will kick the crap out of your Honda/Yamaha/Suzuki/Kawasaki".
(3 page thread to follow about how it's not the bike, it's the rider, except for Meterpig. Meter, are you listening? It is the bike!)

11. "Any motorcycle shops around here that sell ________?"
(Yes, there are. Look in the links thread, or the yellow pages. That's what they're there for.)

12. "The neo-liberal/left wing conservative/limp wristed treehuggers have done something else stupid..."
(Duh. They're politicians. They're expected to be stupid.)

13. "I'm looking to buy/sell a gun; who else carries?"
(If I get one big enough that shoots a billion rounds a minute, I could probably take out one them thar neo-liberal/left wing conservative/limp wristed treehuggers)

14. “I’m new here, but I’m going to make my first post a testerone induced, smack filled post that will impress everyone with my mad riding skilz”
(STFU. Nobody cares, except the punk ass b*tch you ride with that introduced you to this site, and even she can kick your ass at the track on a 125)

15. “Illegal aliens shouldn’t….”
(‘cause you’ve got room to talk. Unless your parents are full blooded Indians, your whole family was ‘illegal’ at some point in time.

16. "I crashed (or 'my buddy crashed'), but I'm ok (or not)."
(15 page thread to follow; "that sucks, hope you're ok" vs. "that's what you get for stunting on the street". See item #3)

17. " Hello [insert new girls name here]. Welcome to the board."
(Oh look - breasts!! 35 page thread to follow from the leg humping contingency, followed by a 7 page thread about how not all guys are leg humpers, followed by a 5 page thread about how girls are all psycho, followed by a response from icon; "duh".

18. "Gay..."
(as long as it's not a personal attack, feel free to post. However, there's nothing you're going to post that hasn't already been said, so there goes your "oh look how original and controversial I am", idea. In the closet, out of the closet, married, unionized, well dressed, able to decorate, or just plain looking fabulous, there's no discussion here that will prevail. If they ride sportbikes, they can be in this forum - even if it is a pink one, with silver flames...)

19. "I'm new to riding, and was wondering what would be the best bike to learn on"
(3 people will respond with 'go get the new Kawasaki R1 Turbo RR with nitrous'. Ignore them, they're idiots. There will be several people that will tell you to go get a 250, and then just as many telling you that that's a good idea if you want to get tired of it in two weeks. The rest of the posts will either be "you should buy an SV650, or a Ninja 500 ex", and they happen to have one, or know someone that has one for sale. Just stick with that, and forget about posting.