Why are the LetsRun forums so toxic?

I'm a woman and I have read the forums for 10+ years and I am starting to think I have to give it up. The articles on the front page are much better, but the forums are full of shaming women's bodies (and teenage girls' bodies), transphobia, racism, and shitposting. Relying on a reactive system where you only take posts down when they are flagged is not effective. There needs to be proactive moderation of threads to ensure community standards are being upheld. That being said, the standards around this community seem to have no problem with all the things i just listed, so maybe that is the bigger problem.

Abeneziel wrote:

So many people complaining and yet they are still there.

They enjoy the forums or are they expecting the silent majority who enjoys the site to carve into their vocal minority demands? It won't happen.

Letsrun, love it or leave it.

I've stayed away for months @ a time due to nonsense that appears here. Enjoy the forums when I look in? I cherry-pick posts that interest me. I make no demands. Asking for real names vs anonymity has fallen on deaf ears. That says a LOT about who makes the decisions on LR. Leave it? Easy enough but I find the occasional post worthy & the newsfeed is pretty good, usually.

Without saying so clear you favor anonymity which leads to the garbage that fills so much of the forum. It's not that hard to contribute worthwhile replies and/or to generate posts.

I mostly agree. There are certainly a lot of mean-spirited posters on here, and I don't think the mods do too good of a job at removing these types of posts. I always get a laugh whenever I see someone calling this website far right though. Look at the Trump thread alone - 99% of the posts are from two (likely one) conservatives with 6 left-leaning posters. I think the rest of the web has become such an echo chamber for leftist thoughts that left wing posters can't handle the differences in opinion that they see on here.

livinkingstons wrote:

I come from a running family, so I grew up spending time around my local running community at road races and club events. I have always found that runners, on average, are kinder and more intelligent than most other hobby groups.

So why are the discussion forums on the largest competitive running website so ridiculously toxic? Every thread is filled with hateful, cynical rhetoric, and I honestly can't think of a worse place on the internet. Does anyone have some insight?

I really don't think the forums are all that toxic...sure some people post silly things or troll, but it's the internet for God's sake, what did you expect?

People really need to temper their expectations when it comes to a goofy, fun site about running. It's not a church group.

I've found if you earnestly seek advice and/or feedback, you will get both from sincere people who want to help you achieve your goals.

I'm relatively new to the site so I have a fresh set of eyes.

Oh yes there is a more toxic forum on the internet! That place is none other than........

www.bellgab.com

Liberace! wrote:

Oh yes there is a more toxic forum on the internet! That place is none other than........

www.bellgab.com

Solid reasoning. Racism and sexism on Letsrun isn't a problem as long as you can point to at least one place that is worse.

Yet it didn't provide a single example of a post that is currently up that should be deleted....

"this is the end . wrote:

Trans people are disgusting and mentally deranged. This is common sense and has been the accepted viewpoint of all societies since the beginning of time."

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" 1 month ago 01/20/2020 1:50pm CST re: look at the wrists

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lol so right, that's not a legit woman right there, that's a tranny or a Semen !! "

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" 5 months ago 10/01/2019 3:20pm CDT re: ex-runner

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ex-runner wrote:

Does the banning of Salazar simply put the proverbial cherry atop the disaster the IAAF has had this year?

Dropping of the 5000m from the Diamond League is met by public outcry.

Banning of Caster Semenya draws widespread criticism in mainstream media and social media.

Their public profile has taken quite a beating. No wonder they are rebranding as 'World Athletics'.

Public outrcry? The public doesn't even know what the 5000m is.

A highly organized tranny Twitchmob harassed individuals like Paula Radcliffe who care about women being able to compete against other women in sport."

OR

"

10 months ago 04/30/2019 6:58pm CDT

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LMAOO wrote:

Running Club Expert wrote:

... I'm sorry?

Um what is there not to understand? You are smugly, heavily criticizing a hobby that 0.00001 percent of the population partakes in and which has 0 endorsements and money. I run ultras for fun and don't do so to gloat in any capacity. I certainly do not post on facebook or wear a camleback or have a beard. If anything, I'd argue that well over 80 percent of ultra runners are highly educated wealthy folks who are driven in life and not fat slow people making an excuse not to run an elite 5k.

It's like youre criticizing beer softball leagues for making fun of professional baseball players lol. Camille only asserted that ultra running 100 miles in not the same sport as a flat road marathon where the winner can make millions. They are 2 different sports. You are drawing horrible conspiracy theories for 0 reason. I can only conclude u are a huge faggott or a 4chan troll."

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1 year ago 11/19/2018 1:38pm CST re: New Age Beardy

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New Age Beardy wrote:

OkoKoko wrote:

New Age Beardy wrote:

youroueiqwoei wrote:

New Age Beardy wrote:

What I don't understand is this weird conflation of trail and Ultra "running".

I love trail / hill running, pushing through tough ascents to summits and the thrill of doing fast, technical descents when you feel so alive because you have to be so alert to what's coming next.

But I don't get why this seems so often to be tied into ultra "running" for which I have 0% respect. There's a huge difference between respecting the challenges of trail running and not respecting a discipline which only exists to massage the ego of sub-standard marathon runners.

As if marathon runner dont have an ego. You are the biggest faggott ever."

I come to this board mainly because of the open hostility and nastiness. It syncs well with my natural personality . I don't suffer fools lightly and it's cathartic being around others like myself. So, onward and upward with the toxicity folks. Please, don't hold back.

I started coming here the day this place launched. Hard to believe it’s been 20 years(maybe longer?). It was the dot com boom, y2k era back then. US distance running was just coming out of the 90s drought and the internet and sharing training information was about to have a huge effect on the major breakthroughs about to happen in the 00s(starting with the Big 3).

Correct me if I’m wrong but I wasn’t this site somewhat of a goof on tnfmedia.net? I seem to remember Rojo trolling over there and starting letsrun for the more immature distance crowd.

I’ve stuck around because this place reminds me of the discussions I would have with my teammates out on runs. Also the ease of posting, no registration required. I can fire off any random thought under any username and if it’s interesting or immature enough it will get some bits. Getting a response from the Brojos or someone quoting your post with a lol are the highest compliments.

I don’t run anywhere close to the amount or speed I used to but getting out of my moms basement for the occasional hobby jog feels good and I think I have a new appreciation for my modest athletic feats.

livinkingstons wrote:

I come from a running family, so I grew up spending time around my local running community at road races and club events. I have always found that runners, on average, are kinder and more intelligent than most other hobby groups.

So why are the discussion forums on the largest competitive running website so ridiculously toxic? Every thread is filled with hateful, cynical rhetoric, and I honestly can't think of a worse place on the internet. Does anyone have some insight?

Honestly, because the owners are delusional azzhats.

Be honest please wrote:

There is nothing toxic on Letsrun.

It's a welcoming forum with non politically correct discussions and languages, people who make jokes, brag, argue, talk about training, results, and other topics all in a good atmosphere.

It's not bland and boring like most of online forums so it is very good.

What a delusional post... You clearly are nowhere near sane.

Again, you're fooking delusional. Absolutely delusional.

sub90-dude wrote:

This is exactly why I like Letsrun, none of this faux niceness on other running forums where god forbid you ever criticise anyone. Seems real.

Exactly. We don't want 'Planet Fitness' of running forums. This is the only running forum that is worth reading, for fun and actual informational posts. I like pretty much everything about it including and especially the old school look and feel.

800 dude wrote:

Incidentally, one thing I don't see AT ALL is that LR is a right wing site. I don't think I see any threads where political issues come up and there isn't a range of views on display. And just based on demographics, I think it would be pretty surprising if the user base doesn't lean left.

The LetsRun community proudly endorsed Trump in 2016 and we will do so again this year.

Liberal and slow runners can go to RunnersWorld or Reddit, for fast and conservative athletes this website is the place to go.

Webbasedreading wrote:

Yet it didn't provide a single example of a post that is currently up that should be deleted....

10 months ago 04/30/2019 6:58pm CDT

Wow, so you had to go back for 10 months to find a doubtful post.

That's hilarious.

informational wrote:

livinkingstons wrote:

I come from a running family, so I grew up spending time around my local running community at road races and club events. I have always found that runners, on average, are kinder and more intelligent than most other hobby groups.

So why are the discussion forums on the largest competitive running website so ridiculously toxic? Every thread is filled with hateful, cynical rhetoric, and I honestly can't think of a worse place on the internet. Does anyone have some insight?

Honestly, because the owners are delusional azzhats.

Has Rojo jumped the shark?

I bet the guys who started letsrun are another example of the Mark Zuckerburgs of the world. Didn't Zuckerburg steal FB from the Winklevoss brothers in an effort to get back (socially humiliate) a girl that wouldn't date him? How many teen suicides has FB caused? There is a lot of money in the business of hate. I love how Zuckerburg now tries to be some sort of philanthropist when underneath it all he's scum... Just like letsrun dudes. I think someone should start a competitor to letsrun. One in which people can't use aliases and they are held accountable to their posts. Let the people who like to hide behind "humor and sarcasm" cannibalize each other while the people who want valid discussions on all things running without the vulgarity and disgust that permeates the entire letsrun site can enjoy a mature exchange of ideas

peoplearesoooomean wrote:

I bet the guys who started letsrun are another example of the Mark Zuckerburgs of the world. Didn't Zuckerburg steal FB from the Winklevoss brothers in an effort to get back (socially humiliate) a girl that wouldn't date him? How many teen suicides has FB caused? There is a lot of money in the business of hate. I love how Zuckerburg now tries to be some sort of philanthropist when underneath it all he's scum... Just like letsrun dudes. I think someone should start a competitor to letsrun. One in which people can't use aliases and they are held accountable to their posts. Let the people who like to hide behind "humor and sarcasm" cannibalize each other while the people who want valid discussions on all things running without the vulgarity and disgust that permeates the entire letsrun site can enjoy a mature exchange of ideas

Let's do it.

You would leave that other new forum pretty quicky. For one reason: wasteland. Nobody like boring and polite places.

That's the reason why Letsrun reign supreme as the top running forum in the world and why every other running forum is a wasteland or a newb fest.

You are fuming inside, knowing that you are powerless to stop people from staying here and discussing what they want and how they want. The little dictator in yourself is crying.

Yes runners are generally a good group of human beings but anyone hiding behind a keyboard can get a little wild and out of control. The worst you see here is probably a lot better than some unintelligible losers on another mesaage board such as reddit or on facebook comments for a public page.