Yes its true, we evil buggers pulled an april fools double yesterday. The name has changed and its here to stay. Why did we change it? Well I'll try to explain.
When Farkin was originally started, it was never meant to be anything major. Just a small fan website with a quirky name. In fact, the domain name was just one I had lying around. I figured while I sorted out a proper name I'd just use that one.
The problem with running a website named Farkin.
- Recommending the site to riders parents
- Recommending the site to people younger than 18.
- Employing a strict code of conduct (language etc) on a forum with the farkin name.
- Getting advertisers to jump on board.
- Having bikes shops refreign from recommending the site to customers from fear of giving the wrong idea.
- Recommending the site to people on trails without coming across as some creep.
- Wearing a farkin t-shirt in certain situation/locations.
- Workplace and school internet filters (not that you should be slacking off on this website at school, work is fine).
- When seeking legal trail access, providing the farkin website as proof of its popularity. It doesn't really work.
The list could go on forever, but those are the main points. The goal here is to move forward. Sure Farkin is already the largest mountain biking website in Australia, but it could be bigger and accomodate more types people. We would like to be taken a little more seriously. Don't get me wrong, I love the farkin name, hell if anyone is attached to the name it is me (maybe I should post a big rant). It says alot about the sport in general and its laid back approach, but at the end of the day the decision is about moving foward and this is (we think) the way to do it. We have a reputation for being a bunch of snotty nosed kids that think we rule the roost, ignoring the fact that we have built a community here that is the envy of most other mountain bike forum based communities. Hell I'm sure a few people have even learnt a few literacy tips here.
How did rotorburn come about? Rotorburn is the trading name of my business because I couldn't get farkin accepted. Rotorburn wasn't always going to be the replacement name for Farkin. We mods deliberated for some time over what we'd change to. We tossed around variations of austrailian mountain biking, and other mountain bike terms. In the end we did a whole big loop and landed back on rotorburn. While it doesnt have the shock factor that farkin has, its quirky in its own way and is a term that most mountain bikers have come across at one point. And when you do have to explain what it is to someone you dont have to cringe or feel guilty. I feel it kinda rolls off the tounge quite well, and will look good on t-shirts. The colour scheme/logo is far from final. The logo is the first draft Shane Cresser gave me a year ago. To make the april fools gag work I had to whip something up at 11pm on the 31st.
So there you have it, our side of the story. I know change is a bit of a problem for a lot of you, but we'd really appreciate it if you guys stuck by us on this one. It's not just a way forward for the site, its a step forward for Australian mountain biking in general showing people that we are serious about this sport of ours.
When Farkin was originally started, it was never meant to be anything major. Just a small fan website with a quirky name. In fact, the domain name was just one I had lying around. I figured while I sorted out a proper name I'd just use that one.
The problem with running a website named Farkin.
- Recommending the site to riders parents
- Recommending the site to people younger than 18.
- Employing a strict code of conduct (language etc) on a forum with the farkin name.
- Getting advertisers to jump on board.
- Having bikes shops refreign from recommending the site to customers from fear of giving the wrong idea.
- Recommending the site to people on trails without coming across as some creep.
- Wearing a farkin t-shirt in certain situation/locations.
- Workplace and school internet filters (not that you should be slacking off on this website at school, work is fine).
- When seeking legal trail access, providing the farkin website as proof of its popularity. It doesn't really work.
The list could go on forever, but those are the main points. The goal here is to move forward. Sure Farkin is already the largest mountain biking website in Australia, but it could be bigger and accomodate more types people. We would like to be taken a little more seriously. Don't get me wrong, I love the farkin name, hell if anyone is attached to the name it is me (maybe I should post a big rant). It says alot about the sport in general and its laid back approach, but at the end of the day the decision is about moving foward and this is (we think) the way to do it. We have a reputation for being a bunch of snotty nosed kids that think we rule the roost, ignoring the fact that we have built a community here that is the envy of most other mountain bike forum based communities. Hell I'm sure a few people have even learnt a few literacy tips here.
How did rotorburn come about? Rotorburn is the trading name of my business because I couldn't get farkin accepted. Rotorburn wasn't always going to be the replacement name for Farkin. We mods deliberated for some time over what we'd change to. We tossed around variations of austrailian mountain biking, and other mountain bike terms. In the end we did a whole big loop and landed back on rotorburn. While it doesnt have the shock factor that farkin has, its quirky in its own way and is a term that most mountain bikers have come across at one point. And when you do have to explain what it is to someone you dont have to cringe or feel guilty. I feel it kinda rolls off the tounge quite well, and will look good on t-shirts. The colour scheme/logo is far from final. The logo is the first draft Shane Cresser gave me a year ago. To make the april fools gag work I had to whip something up at 11pm on the 31st.
So there you have it, our side of the story. I know change is a bit of a problem for a lot of you, but we'd really appreciate it if you guys stuck by us on this one. It's not just a way forward for the site, its a step forward for Australian mountain biking in general showing people that we are serious about this sport of ours.
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