I find it interesting to know that this discussion, in some form, has been going on practically since the bicycle was invented. Arguments about the right way to ride, in the style of Euraudax (fixed pace with the group staying together) vs Randonneuring (allure libre or free pace), are over a hundred years old. The Audax Club Parisien (ACP), one of the oldest cycling clubs in the world, had an acrimonious split in 1920 on just that topic, and only just recently do the resulting two organizations get along.
But maybe we'll get it all sorted out in this thread