Message Board Proposals

Wow, I must be the only one here that doesn?t see a need for registration.

Say it loud; I?m anon and I?m proud. I probably use about 4 handles on a rotating basis: one indicating my collegiate level, one event-specific, one related to other personal factors, etc. None are hugely different ?personalities,? but I change based upon the relevance to the subject of the thread. So what? The key is personal responsibility - you never see me bashing individuals, ripping schools/states/regions except in the most light-hearted of ways, personal attacks, or snobbery towards others based on their PRs, philosophies, etc.

Various catmans, ah come to be a pains, and Wherein theWorld isJasonSanDiegos are frequently annoying and pointless, but I just learn to skip their posts. Personal taste. The strange ones who spend time calling attention to themselves all invariably post over and over under the same handles anyway.

Don?t see any changes needed, but it?s the BroJo?s board. Their decision.

Summing it up so far.

It looks like most people are in favor of some sort of required registration where an e-mail address is required. I think this will introduce a higher level of accountability, but at the same time it won?t stifle the sharing of opinions. And as I mentioned earlier, only display a user?s e-mail address if authorized to do so.

The issue of forum moderation is not agreed upon, and personally I think that if a registration is required there won?t be a great need for moderators. Only in the most extreme cases (racism, threats etc) should Wejo/Rojo delete threads and/or ban users. One of the best features of this site is the frankness of many of the posters, so let?s not get rid of that!

Most people seem to be against multiple forums. It seems to me that it is far better to have one very active forum than 5 sparingly used ones. A few locked threads on certain running related topics is a great idea. It won?t detract much from the rest of the board, and it is an easy way of keeping it all in one forum.

How about just making it a habit to name Off Topic post by OT? For example; ?OT: How to pick up hot chicks and humiliate yourself at the same time.? The burden of this will be on the original poster, but it is an easy way to identify posts that are not running related. This is how it is done by many community boards all over the net.

My 2 cents???..

I appreciate the BroJos efforts on getting this board up and maintaining it for so long. They've given it just enough censorship and sponsorship to keep it from tanking like TnF Media did. I've come to appreciate the different styles even if what some people say just flat out amazes me or pisses me off. In either event, they all make me think. I like Ah come to help's content and style-even though it was an acquired because he has a very valid point to make. I've been saying that same thing for a long time and so have many of the high school coaches that I talk to every week-that the system is rotten but it's the only show in town right now. Plus, it does afford kids who couldn't possibly afford professional coaching an exposure to the sport.

I like registration that not only reveals a valid email address.

I get frustrated when I don't see posts from Malmo, JK, Bob Hodge, Ah, idealist etc because that is where I learn or relearn so valuable info. But, I also appreciate the entertainment value of the posts that humorously point out the common elements of the sport that we all can relate to-even if it's the finer points of impressing the opposite sex. I could do without the gossipy airing out of dirty laundry stuff that should be confined to a road run or the locker room, but I would think that my choice to not read it should cover that.

I don't envy Wejo and Rojo because no matter what you do you'll catch some crap for it, but I would encourage you to keep it going. As many have pointed out, everyone and their brother (no pun intended) reads this board and that makes for some good conversations at coaches meetings all around the country. Thanks for the effort!!

I agree with you Clay with the exception of e-mail address visibility. I have received some candid responses from other Let's Run viewers through mine and it really is not an issue. I like the visibility since it discourages flaming and other offensive crap. Bottom line: write something stupid and offensive, find 200 angry e-mails in your in-box.

I think moderating can work, if the rules are clear. For example, the only rule for the message board could be that the posts must be related to running. So, some dude posting that some other dude is gay/stupid/racist would be deleted. Then you could have the separate "anything goes" forum where people can post about anything they want. The moderator would do his best to remind everyone that the main forum is for running-related topics.

The surest way to kill off any message board is to require registration. There are many valid reasons why a person would want to protect their identity. Let's face it, the majority of us visit this message board to "kill off" a slow hour at the office. Part of the fun of that activity is to sift through the mindless drivel to find posts and commentaries of substance and interest. Forcing people to register or to limit posts would drastically reduce the number of posts on the board. If the intent of doing so is to make this a board that only pertains to training, results, advice, etc. then enact those policies. Otherwise, my suggestion would be to leave well enough alone. If one does not like a post, they can simply go to the next one.

We live in an anal retentive culture when it comes to race issues. If Rojo hadn't helped in some way getting the african woman to a WR--Wejo would have been denounced by most posters long ago. I think the point dyestat was trying to make wasn't a racial issue at all--but was a drug issue. People know that high school athletes from Texans are taking steroids like it was candy. But the focus on racism--whether it exist or not--is ludicrous. I even started a thread claiming Wejo was racist and his brother was not just to show how ludicous the race issue has become EVERYWHERE! So, idiots not being satisfied that Wejo isn't racist enough come on this board making a big issue about dyestat being racist where they clearly were not. If I were to make one rule here I would ban anyone using the race issue as a platform to deride others--and not the tongue in cheek ones that I put up. There is NOTHING wrong with blacks being proud to be blacks or whites being proud to be whites. There is something wrong with people saying that we have to like something that we don't. Those decrying racism the most have three fingers pointed back at them in every single case. When I was going to college a group of blacks were found setting out pamphlets of the KKK and one guy threw in and busted his living room dorm window with a chuck of cement that had a swastika inscribed on it--and he was jewish. Nuff said!

catman,

First of all, don't age me too quickly. I'm only 36, NOT 40.

And, while I don't find you the irritant that others do, you haven't show the maturity level and reasonableness to make my list of proposed moderators. Not indended as a slam on you, but you brought it up. There are others on this board who are more accomplished runners than the four I suggested for moderators, but in my opinion, the four I mentioned have the best overall qualities to make good moderators.

But I'm just a yahoo with an opinion.

I thought the limit on posts might be good because it seems like many threads are just a personal discussion between 2 or 3 people with everyone else filling in every once in a while.

Also to reduce the clutter. I just looked up the top posters for the past month. Malmo was in the top 15 and Hodgie in the top 30. But a lot of people don't see these posts because *** and *** are posting back and forth 20 times. And many of these people who are the same people I banned previously but when they ban is over they decide to come up with a new id name perhaps so I'll give them more slack (they shall remain anonymous for now). Or they are posting under 2 names at once and a lot of threads.

There's nothing wrong with posting, but these boards weren't designed for 3 or 4 people to dominate them.

Wejo-

No matter what you do, 3 or 4 people will always dominate your message board. This is human nature. A message board is no different than talk radio. People tune in to talk radio to hear what the host and his 3-4 loyal callers have to say on any given day. People come to your board to read what you and your brother (the hosts) and your loyal posters have to say (Willy, Portland Rnner, Jason, Malmo, etc.) Anybody at anytime has the right to start their own post. I believe that you should leave the system be. However, it's your website- and you are definitely entitled to do what you want with it. Thanks for your efforts.

My only reason not to show a user?s e-mail is that it may be used for spam. There are ?spam bots? that crawl the web and farm e-mail addresses from websites such as this one. If you only have one main e-mail address that is actually something you may want to protect from unsolicited e-mails. I have seen the e-mail harvesting programs in action and you really don?t want to get one those mailing lists (unless you want some pretty raunchy stuff in your inbox every day????????..Jason??) Just ask anyone that has a hotmail address. I still give out my e-mail address in this forum, but since I run my own e-mail server I can change my address or block any e-mails I don?t want.

I think the board is great how it is. I like the frequent posters. I believe they give the board personality. It's quite easy to ignore the posts that are either off topic or just posted by someone out trolling.

I'm against censorship of any kind.

JEH wrote:

Oldguy, you don't like the locked thread(s) idea? How would it affect the free-wheelingness? If you don't like it OK, I still like what you've got to say just about every time (save this time). 3 or 4 votes on this thread to 1 then.

I may simply misunderstand the concept. I would think that a "locked thread" on, for example, training would quickly become a cumbersome string of hundreds of comments about various aspects of training. To me, the idea of locked threads sounds like a variation on the idea of multiple forums, but without the greater flexibility that multiple forums would provide. (I don't mean to suggest that I'm in favor of multiple forums, however.)

Wejo,

I have sent an e-mail to you to the

suggestions@letsrun.com

address. I'd love a response if you have the time and inclination.

Thanks.

It's amazing how much you and I agree. Well, put runnergrl! Flagpole Willy all of your condenscending remarks to me I consider as a compliment. I think it is great how many times you stick your foot in your mouth and don't even realize it. JEH is a good choice for moderator is he? He would just start banning over half the posters--just like you would, I guess. The Gestapo had nothing over you two.

Runnergrl,

Easier said than done. The problem as of late is that good threads are being hijacked by trolls. If someone starts a thread entitled "What XC Chick You Would Make a Porno With?", I can avoid this. What I object to is a good thread like, "Congrats to John Weldon on his AR 10,000! How does he train?" degenerating into:

"He's a jerk"

"And, he's doping big time"

"No he's not"

"Stop defending him fag!"

"You're an a-hole"

"The mirror gives pleasure to those..."

"Does Geb read Dr. Suess books?

"Geb is a puny runt of a man...hahaha"

"I hear he did that chick from Boulder"

"Scrawny boys don't get laid...hahaha"

"Can we talk about his training?"

"Why? You suck and you'll never be any good"

"Coe never trained like that"

"Coe wasn't a 10K guy you moron!"

"Stop riding Weldon's jock you f***ing no talent geezer!"

After weeding through dozens of posts like this, you MIGHT find a good post. In a sense, you are forced to scan the trash to find that possible bit of treasure.

catman,

Nothing condescending about my remarks to you. You asked me why you weren't on my list, so I told you. I've already told you that I believe you to have a very good command of the English language, so I am at least giving you a compliment on your intelligence there.

And actually, no, I wouldn't ban people all over the place if I were a moderator, and I know that JEH wouldn't either. In fact, I wouldn't even ban you catman, unless you did something other than what you have been doing.

I would warn first and then ban. Anyone making personal threats would be immediately banned, and perhaps for a very long time. Porn stuff would not be allowed, but I would warn the poster first and then ban if they did it again. I also wouldn't allow the "F*** YOU" stuff that occurs many times and would ban for that. That's not necessary. We as humans have access to language and debating skills that doesn't have to include that.

Other than that, let it fly.

Flagpole,

You're a sissy.

Wttbb,

Ok then.