MB Glossary

This has been tried before but it always seems to fall apart because we can't seem to keep it serious or focused. I bring up the idea again because of my recent experience of joining a forum dedicated to radio control model airplanes. I was involved with that hobby for many years but have been away from it for a while and when I started reading on that forum I ran into so many words, acronyms, abbreviations and terms that were a mystery to me. Being familiar with forum usage I tried using their 'Search' and found many references to the term I was looking for but seldom was there a clear definition.

I can easily see where a new member could be overwhelmed by reading our words and seeing references to terms and abbreviations that we use freely but rarely define in clear language.

I envision one thread which would be an alphabetized glossary of the most commonly used words, terms, abbreviations or slang. It would be better if it was a single post that contained only the glossary and no discussion, comments, jokes or arcane references. Just good solid information that a new member could access to gain some understanding of our unique language.

Feel free to offer up your input on this here in this thread and I'll compose a single thread that we will post in either the 'Introduce Yourself' section or here in 'General Discussion'

Any thoughts?

Tom

Getting new members to read almost anything has and will always be a problem. This glossary will, hopefully, get used and linked to when a newbie asks a question by older members. We could name it 'Glossary of Motorized Bicycle Terms'. The thread will be titled in bold font and obvious so maybe it will attract the attention of those who need it.

What I'm asking for is for the members to submit what they feel needs explanation to a new member not familiar with our language. I don't think we need to include every word. I mean, 'handlebar' is pretty obvious. So would pedal, or seat. But try to put yourself into a new builder's shoes and reading terms like, Cylinder Head, or Magneto. Some of them have never worked on an internal combustion engine.

You electric guys help us out here too. Even I see words and terms in the electric threads that I'm not familiar with. We need to address all aspects of our hobby so join in and tell us what you're talking about. Battery terminology is a good example.


Let's start with A and move through the alphabet to Z. I'll do the compiling/alphabetizing and post and occasionally update the thread.

A......

B.....

C.....

and on down.

Tom

Thanks Will, but which forum (sub-forum) would you as a new member prefer to see a glossary in? They are all somewhat specialized so that's why I was thinking it should go in the 'General Discussion' section.

Tom

Good ideas, Leo but this project is bigger than I had first anticipated. I've been working on it most of the day and I'm only into the 'D's.
Adding links, photos, tutorials, etc. might be more than I want to get into.

My goal was to just give simple explanations and/or definitions to many of the specific terms we use in discussion. Anything more than that could probably be found using the 'Search' feature.

I'd like to keep the glossary limited to specifics and not go into the wider spectrums of our hobby.

But I certainly appreciate the suggestions.

Tom