Huh. Well, I have to be honest, I did not see that coming at all. It never once occurred to me that someone could potentially be offended by the forum's name.

First of all, I want to say that as adriaanm said, we can certainly talk about these things and ask these questions if it is on the minds of the community, and there's only one person that can address this and that would be me, so I'll try my best to communicate fully, clearly, and honestly.

I came up with the name "Chinertown" myself while researching my first chiner build. Users on other forums had already coined the term "chiner" as a play on words combining 29er bikes and Chinese carbon bikes. I just took it one step further and combined "chiner" with "Chinatown". There was never any negative racial element to it whatsoever. In fact, I think if you look at the functionality of the forum then it would be hard to argue otherwise. The forum facilitates commerce with China and other Asian countries. It directly benefits Asian entrepreneurs. I realize that could be separated out from the meaning of the name, but I do think it's something to factor into the equation.

I'll also say that in regards to the responses that were interpreted as "you're wrong, get out of here" that I don't really think they mean for you specifically to get out of here and those very same users would likely help you out in any way that they could if you asked. I can empathize with where they are coming from just as I can empathize with where you are coming from. It just seems like everything gets so politicized these days and getting online and being a part of a community that you share like interests with can be an escape from that. So when it creeps in people may have a tendency to want to push it out. That said, we should definitely be able to talk about these things.

I try to keep a very "libertarian" approach to the forum and never want anyone here to feel as though the conversation is being censored, controlled, or directed in ways suited to the ideals or goals of one or a group of individuals. I've been a member of forums that I really enjoyed that went south for those reasons and it's always such a bummer when that happens. If you notice, you can edit your posts for an indefinite amount of time. If you want to come back 5 years later and either delete or edit your posts, you're free to do so. Most forums don't allow that as it leaves room for spam and it's also not good for Google rankings. Say someone starts a thread and makes a long post with the right keywords and that topic starts showing up in Google and bringing traffic to the forum.. and that person decides to come back a year later and edit the post and possibly removes the specific keywords. Well, that would likely mean that post would lose its spot in the Google rankings, and forum growth would take a small hit. We leave editing control to you so that each community member can keep control of their own words and never cedes it fully to the forum. I say that to illustrate that it's important to me that users feel comfortable in saying and discussing whatever they choose so long as (like it says in the very description of this board) it isn't derogatory or offensive. You were neither, and you were thoughtful and respectful, so thanks for that, and please do feel free to discuss what you think is important, but also understand that others are free to tell you if they don't like it. It goes both ways.

Lastly, and I say this with respect, but the name will absolutely not be changed. Not only would that be a technical nightmare (this is a 7-year-old .com domain name and that has value in various ways) but it would also be against community ideals IMO. Just as you are free to do and say as you wish so long as you are respectful and have good intent... so am I. I know for a fact there are no negative racial implications to the forum name whatsoever and therefore it would be wrong to change it based on others' incorrect interpretations.

Now.. I'll be honest, if someone does find it offensive... that does bother me and kinda hurts my feelings a bit as I would never want to offend people in that way. I love people, I love the internet, and I love online communities, and I'm also somewhat of a people pleaser so I really hope that if anyone has that initial first impression, that they will keep an open mind and judge the forum, myself, and the community for their actions.

I hope that sheds some light on things for you or anyone else that may question this. If you are going to be part of an online community, I think you have every right to question the integrity of those involved. I hope you'll stick around and please feel free to hit me up if you need anything.

Cheers,
Sitar_Ned

The bike is pre-assembled but wheels will be discharged in another carton, totally 2 cartons.

Sounds great, you'll have to post a picture!