Writing a paper about letsrun message board community

Conundrum wrote:

I also think that many people may reinvent themselves and create a persona reflective of either an ego-ideal or a negative alter ego.

I think some people may even have multiple different personae. Like Fernando Pessoa or Soren Kierkegaard.

a common complaint by younger males

not

longer males, LOL

waste of space wrote:

Biggest waste of talent is LetsRun.com. No other community is full of as many with 150+ IQ's, six-figure salaries, and 14:xx 5Ks (a great athletic accomplishment) who still manage to be absolute LOSERS in everyday life. Every time xfitguy says women don't want runners, I'm convinced he's right - not because they find their bodies unattractive, but because who would want to spend time with the delusional men-children of LetsRun? NO ONE, that's who.

This was a seriously awesome post that seemed to go unnoticed.

Insight guy, you may want to read this thread a little more carefully...Screen names aren't always who they pretend to be.

And rest at ease, I'm in great health...possibly due to a consistent, yet sensible running routine.

At a recent check-up my doc commented that I'm "extremely high-functioning" for my age...

No reason for me to read the entire thread. I'll leave it to you read it all.

I love the anonymous aspect of sites like Letsrun and Reddit. You get someone's true opinion on a subject rather than a site like Facebook where it's just a circlejerk and everyone pats each other on the back. How many pictures of girls looking like drag-queens thinking they're hot have you seen on facebook? How many likes and "wow, you look gorgeous!" comments do those very same pictures have? If those girls post their pictures, bad tattoos, and senseless status updates on an anonymous site, it would either get ripped to shreds or completely ignored. That's why I love letsrun, reddit, etc. I'd rather get true opinions than a pat on the back for nothing.

I'd like to read your paper when you're done so that we can all give our true opinions on your paper, btw. haha

Just curious...Is English a second language for you, or are you perhaps posting under the influence?

a great example of the positive thing that brought all of us here (getting better at running) is the eddy lee quest for sub 4 1500. I think it speaks to the common motivation of the people who post here (even if some like me are past the point of actually running faster). Dreams can become reality, and as ridiculous as it sounds, I think that\'s a huge, overlooked thing that brings people here.

Second the call to post your paper when you are done.

You can talk about how people make shit up online (IQ, income, 5k PR), and also about how you should never take anyone seriously because they might turn out to be as awkward as Hardloper, jamin, or txRUNNERgirl in real life.

All I have say is... wrote:

Conundrum wrote:

I think there is truth and honesty on this board. It often consists of the underbelly of raw emotions and biases and thoughts unfettered by social expectancies. Things people want to say but couldn't in a real social settings.

I also think that many people may reinvent themselves and create a persona reflective of either an ego-ideal or a negative alter ego. (Not me of course but others)

Well said.

I think here (and other places) people say a lot of things they entertain as possibly or partially true, but haven't yet committed to it. When you say something anonymously, you don't have to own it. Reputation matters and it functions very differently online than in real life.

I also think there's a potential to think you are getting unfiltered reality or the "real beliefs" of many people when you are not. For example, a lot of the really vile racism/misogyny that has been popping up here a lot lately (and has periodically in the past) is a result of a small number of very loud, persistent people. But they post so much, and under so many different handles, it's easy to think that fringe racist beliefs are the norm when they aren't.

The moderator situation is interesting too. It's kind of like being a cop or politician. People don't see what gets cleaned up, but only what doesn't.

Also, here's a fun fact providing some insights on community standards and shared understandings of what is appropriate: 30 posts from this thread have been reported since it started. Some of those posts are gone, some are not.

800 dude wrote:

insight, man, insight wrote:

Fans bashing other teams, and often their own for underperforming/losing, is common in all sports. Some runners seem to expect these boards to be a hug-fest. That is not realistic.

That's not what I mean. I mean the bashing of runners in general, as a group. The whole, "runners are skinny loser weaklings who never get girlfriends" thing.

Very interesting response, psychologically. Tells me what I need to know about you. Thanks.

Periwinkle (the original) wrote:

Just curious...Is English a second language for you, or are you perhaps posting under the influence?[/quote]

My favorite, unique thing about LR is the insults/jibes that only make sense to an ingroup. I remember distinctly some thread in which someone was talking kind of pompously about their training. Another poster wrote: "Congrats, did you finally break 40 in the 10k?" And the poster responded something like "No I"m sub 32..." What's great here is that most people in the world will NEVER run under 40 in the 10, and your average joe who knows anything about racing is going to consider that a pretty fast time. But here, the community is so insular that it gets turned into a putdown.

That's how cultural bonds happen.

erik wrote:

I also think there's a potential to think you are getting unfiltered reality or the "real beliefs" of many people when you are not. For example, a lot of the really vile racism/misogyny that has been popping up here a lot lately (and has periodically in the past) is a result of a small number of very loud, persistent people. But they post so much, and under so many different handles, it's easy to think that fringe racist beliefs are the norm when they aren't.

Those that know the least know it the loudest.

Writing a Paper wrote:

So our class has to write a paper about the "virtual community", and basically how it is a different social experience blah blah blah blah blah

Just cite me correctly.

see again wrote:

way more people on this board complain about racism/sexism than actually post it

Um...pretty sure that's a good thing, guy.

Thank you everyone for your insight. One of the main concepts that has been mentioned that I was interested in discussing was the hostile manner in which some people approach each other in heated conversations here. Also, I have brought up the Kate Van Buskirk thread and the general sexism that she complained about. The responses that she evoked provided some great material. Personally, being from a university not too far from Duke I think she is overreacting in regards to our general college community by conveying the notion that it is incredibly sexist and misogynistic.

In response to someone earlier, this is an anthropology class. It is due tomorrow, but here is what I have:

For my second cultural observation I decided to write on something I experience every day. That is the sports online message boards and forums at Letsrun.com. I have grown up running track for over a decade now, and I have always been an avid fan of the sport. On Letsrun they discuss meets of any level from high school to the elite ranks. They will discuss a meet I competed in when I was high school, the Footlocker National cross country championships, and they will discuss a race of international significance, The New York City Marathon. But the point of emphasis is that they are able to take interest in all levels of the sport, and all ages of competition. Like many other athletes and fans of my generation, I frequent the message boards of my sport and enjoy catching the new happenings in the community of my sport before the news goes mainstream. It is enjoyable to read the debates about the rankings or disputes over the latest news in regard to a new drug bust. For example, even though Lance Armstrong is a cyclist, he is discussed frequently on running message boards because it is also an endurance sport. Following the Lance Armstrong story, along with stories of track athletes who have been associated with performance enhancing drug use is always interesting and makes for heated conversations between fans and those who want the athlete banned from the sport. Not only do the message boards that I read discuss performances and illegal drug use, but also they discuss almost any topic related to the community of running and track and field. Due to the vast amount of subjects discussed in these running message boards, and the heated debates they many times cause, I am able to discuss topics in this paper that pertain to society as a whole, and not just the running community.

The first topic that I would like to discuss that pertains not only directly to this paper, but also directly to our class in general is the sexist nature that is seen on the Letsrun.com message boards. Letsrun.com is the primary and central website for running and track and field news, and attracts people from across the world of different races, ages, and sexes who participate in the message board conversation. Many people in sports address males as the true athletes, and more importantly the more relevant source for news and attention. This is evidenced in these message boards, as the majority of topics discussed in these message boards are topics of male performance, with very little reference to female activity. Recently though, a female track athlete who just graduated from Duke University was quoted as the quote of the day when she said “By the end of my time at Duke, I thought that if I saw one more poster for an on-campus frat party with a “pimps and hoes” or “bosses and slutty secretaries” theme, I would lose my mind." This quote that was linked to an interview with the girl ignited a response on the message boards, and led to a heated debate about the current culture present on most college campuses. The majority of people disagreed with the girl, and scrutinized her saying she was being overly sensitive to the culture surrounding her. One message board poster said in regards to the girl who was quoted “I don't know. Every time I'm on Duke's campus, the only people who really seem to be in your face is the LGBT group. Duke seems to cater to every minority group, LGBT, not to mention the majority of the courses have the "race, sex gender" theme.

Kate always loved attention. Always desperate to have people looking at her. Whether it was shaving her head, dying her hair some outrageous color, or displaying complete intolerance for any opinion other than her liberal worldview, this latest quote isn't surprising. She is your typical women's studies, man hating feminist (Letsrun.com December 1, 2013).” This person clearly takes a personal stab at the girl featured in the article, and at girls in general that take offense to some of the social settings at many college campuses. This shows how people who are able to be noticed due to their athletic prowess can sometimes convey a message of their very strong views. Clearly this Duke athlete feels very strongly about what she believes to a highly sexist community at Duke University. Like many heated topics of debate, not every response is going to be in favor of her views, but she accomplished what she wanted. That is that she wanted to bring attention to what she views as a serious issue present in the community at Duke, and at many universities in our country.

The next aspect I believe to be a key point in the discussion of these message boards is the manner in which people speak to or respond to each other when addressing a topic of discussion that they do not agree with. Due to the ability to speak in anonymity because people can design usernames in which their real identity is not shown it is easy for people to speak in a manner in which they would not speak in person. This is seen not only in a website such as Letsrun.com, in which the discussion is fueled around related topics for the most part, but also in other sports discussions or websites. There was an article featured in The Wall Street Journal that was posted on the front page of Letsrun.com, in which the author made a personal stab at the general distance running community. In response to this article many people struck back with comments in retaliation. The author was Chad Stafko, and he wrote the article in a manner that was very aggressive towards runners. The title of the article was “OK, you’re a runner. Get over it.” The title itself was demeaning toward the general running community, but the article was written in a manner that led to a strong response. Stafko wrote in his article “Or these runners, when they're not running, can go shopping—at a running store. There's one such store less than 15 miles, or better said, just a bit over a half-marathon, from my house. It sells only running equipment and apparel. The store has been in business several years, so apparently it is making money.” In this he implies that runners’ lives solely exist around running, and that they have no other dimension to their lives. In response to this article one person commented on the Wall Street Journal website saying “This article is idiotic. The WSJ should be ashamed for having published this gibberish. In a nation plagued by obesity, outrageous health care costs, and a rise of early onset diabetes, I can't imagine why a writer would choose to rag on those who actually take care of themselves. Yes, runners brag and talk about running, so do sports fans, it's cultish, it's what keeps us in it. For many people, a marathon is a huge accomplishment and one earned only after a complete retooling of their physical condition. These people should be applauded and I smile when they brag, I'm happy for them. This profoundly stupid article just highlights yet another problem facing the country - ignorance and the absence of integrity in most American media outlets. Opinion or not, this article conveys the wrong message and endorses an already prevalent, albeit inexplicable, animosity toward runners. Kevin Helliker's retort should be published on the front page of the WSJ as an apology for Stafko's vitriol. Oh...btw....just ran a half marathon in 1:25. I'm stoked and you, Chad Stafko, can go $%#@ yourself. November 17, 2013

www.online.wsj.com

” That quote is a pivotal example of how people can release their anger towards others via the protection of their identity through the use of a username on a website. Without the use of media outlets, and the ability to comment on others through the security of someone’s computer, this hostility would not be nearly as prominent.

In conclusion to this paper, Letsrun.com is a very unique place in which it can be a place of hostility but also still maintains some redeeming aspects. With some of the sexist and hurtful comments posted under the shield of an anonymous identity there are also comments of support for people in pursuit of their goals and dreams. Whether it is someone who is struggling with their ability to get healthy, or someone who is attempting to make the Olympic Trials qualifying standard in the marathon, there is a place for every runner or fan of the sport on the message boards at Letsrun.com.

Might I recommend you change your conclusion to something along the line of :

In conclusion, the LRC message board can be best characterized as a intellect-barren wasteland comprised almost entirely of moral degenerates who loudly proclaim their hatred of women and people of other races. I strongly recommend shielding impressionable youth from the vitriol espoused on this site.