Why are the LetsRun forums so toxic?

I love it..there are things I don't agree with but I let it go, b/c I know the advice here is more than worth it.

Corporate America is so sterilized and PC and you have to tiptoe around everything and everyone at work for fear of HR--this is a nice place to unwind and be yourself (within reason).

I don't agree with the body shaming of women, but everything else here is reasonably solid.

I agree people can be mean, but it's a tough world and winners write the history books!

Rojo has something good going here, and as long as the ad dollars keep coming, this site will remain the best on the Internet.

Reddit/r/AdvancedRunning is good but just a step below this one.

a little defensive? hmmm .. can only guess who this is coming from?

I like polite places? The saddest part of our culture is the downward spiral of humanity. I think a lot of us crave civility and kindness. Obviously, you and your world view is "writing history". I'm sure after you are finished bashing people on letsrun you get into your car and rage there too. After, if your feeling really evil maybe you could rage on your wife and kids, neighbors, classmates? Just keep raging, that is the one thing your decent at.

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?

Why are people so nasty?

We all have choice over every second of our day. We can choose how we act or respond in any instance.

Our choices are what we are responsible for.

We can troll, mock and laugh. We can not.

We all choose how we want to behave and must deal with the consequences.

Generally speaking, civility goes a long way. Generally.

This forum is The best!

Can we talk about how teachers are always complaining about being underpaid?

Or how all women get fat at age 30?

The people saying there is nothing toxic on this site are turning a blind eye. I am generally not very active on this site but I've come across a relevant thread every now and then in my running career. I just decided to take a closer look a few days ago and in that timeframe alone I've found alarming threads calling all women crazy and overly sensitive complainers. There was one asking why women over 30 get fat so easily.

Just because it's worse on 4chan doesn't mean things are all good here. It's sad that people are reverting to the "what, you can't take it?" argument. My ability to take it or not doesn't make what you're saying less shitty.

Runners4Trump wrote:

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.

How's this, from yesterday?

I'll go with religious extremism, homophobia, misogyny, poisonous political posturing and, well, just plain insanity.

Wuhan-400

1 day ago 03/08/2020 3:31am CDT re: your leader is not afraid

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Because Democrats have brought down the wrath of God with legalized baby murder of millions every year, celebration of sodomy, brainwashing of children as four into sodomy and gaslighting them into believing they're the opposite sex, destroyed the American family with institutionalized legal sexism against men in education/employment, civil/divorce court, while establishing a welfare state that encouraged women to breed countless children with random men (who they mustn't marry or live with), etc, etc.

When the Pence/Trump say don't panic, that's code for it is time to prep.

Anyone that uses the term “toxic” is soft.

a foreigner wrote:

Runners4Trump wrote:

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

That's hilarious.

How's this, from yesterday?

I'll go with religious extremism, homophobia, misogyny, poisonous political posturing and, well, just plain insanity.

Wuhan-400

1 day ago 03/08/2020 3:31am CDT re: your leader is not afraid

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Because Democrats have brought down the wrath of God with legalized baby murder of millions every year, celebration of sodomy, brainwashing of children as four into sodomy and gaslighting them into believing they're the opposite sex, destroyed the American family with institutionalized legal sexism against men in education/employment, civil/divorce court, while establishing a welfare state that encouraged women to breed countless children with random men (who they mustn't marry or live with), etc, etc.

When the Pence/Trump say don't panic, that's code for it is time to prep.

Credit where it's due - I reported this, it was deleted. Good job!

a foreigner wrote:

a foreigner wrote:

How's this, from yesterday?

I'll go with religious extremism, homophobia, misogyny, poisonous political posturing and, well, just plain insanity.

Wuhan-400

1 day ago 03/08/2020 3:31am CDT re: your leader is not afraid

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Because Democrats have brought down the wrath of God with legalized baby murder of millions every year, celebration of sodomy, brainwashing of children as four into sodomy and gaslighting them into believing they're the opposite sex, destroyed the American family with institutionalized legal sexism against men in education/employment, civil/divorce court, while establishing a welfare state that encouraged women to breed countless children with random men (who they mustn't marry or live with), etc, etc.

When the Pence/Trump say don't panic, that's code for it is time to prep.

Credit where it's due - I reported this, it was deleted. Good job!

Good job, man. Except for that 'wrath of God' thing, that post was TRUTH.

Nice to know that being a high school xc coach doesn't make you a stand up guy? God help the kids under your leadership

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?

There are some tiresome themes you'll find on here, but overall, I enjoy LRC. Been reading threads going back to the mid to late 2000s, posting more and chiming in with conversations the last couple years.

I played football and basketball growing up predominately, running was always there though. The trash talk in both sports was so ingrained into the sport that some the "fragile" attitudes you can find in running or more so voicing their opinions online is definitely one example of eye openers to how easily triggered some are.

I will say, DNF'ing in a race unless for a medical emergency or structural injury by a pro because it wasn't your day would never fly in most sports. There would be no kudos or "great job, next time" comments, you'd be laughed off the field and labeled, "weak."

So in some ways, running can much more supportive than other sports. Even these blogs, believe it or not.

a foreigner wrote:

a foreigner wrote:

How's this, from yesterday?

I'll go with religious extremism, homophobia, misogyny, poisonous political posturing and, well, just plain insanity.

Wuhan-400

1 day ago 03/08/2020 3:31am CDT re: your leader is not afraid

Reply

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Because Democrats have brought down the wrath of God with legalized baby murder of millions every year, celebration of sodomy, brainwashing of children as four into sodomy and gaslighting them into believing they're the opposite sex, destroyed the American family with institutionalized legal sexism against men in education/employment, civil/divorce court, while establishing a welfare state that encouraged women to breed countless children with random men (who they mustn't marry or live with), etc, etc.

When the Pence/Trump say don't panic, that's code for it is time to prep.

Credit where it's due - I reported this, it was deleted. Good job!

So you were triggered so much by this post that you felt you need to hit the report button.

But is there anything factually wrong in that post?

I am going to post under an anonymous name for ironic effect.

I agree with the fact that some posts are harsh, and some ill-intentioned(or to have to do with harassment and shaming). However, I have found these boards to be very helpful to me, whether I am getting off an injury, or need some constructive criticism for my most recent workout; I know that I will be able to come onto these boards and at least one person will be able to help me(perhaps after a few bumps).

I am pretty sad that there are so many trolls off on this site, but that is the flaw in anonymity. I will say that when I first joined this site I too was harassing people and ruining threads and the thought that occurred in my mind was: "these guys have quality threads that have now been destroyed; they won't even know who to blame!", soon I grew out of that habit though. If you need help yourself and someone else destroys your thread then you will be regretful that you have done that in the first place.

What I am trying to say is that if you simply ignore the troll threads, they will not affect you. You obviously know that they are troll posts, so use the report function on the upper right of your desired post. Another solution I have found is that if you keep only on the running forums(it is called Letsrun) and help support other people. For the people who know me know that I am trying to be helpful and supportive to other people on this forum, if we can amplify that effort then we can get effective, easy answers on this site for future questions.

A change that the mods can make is (and I know other people have suggested this) a account only section, obviously you will get quite a few people who will still have troll posts, but they will be more effectively weeded out due to committed people on this new forum. The mods could more effectively, proactively search through the threads on this new section and fix things without people reporting them. I really hope that the people who read this will take note of this and that it will make a more constructive atmosphere for Letsrun!

-EGF ;P

I don’t spread anything here that is toxic. But I will respond in jester certain threads to amuse myself and maybe amuse others (idk If I ever do but I don’t really care).

Honestly it's true.

Quick side note before I start: Let me be clear though, I think LetsRun sucks, I think the Brojos are trash, and this place is full of trolls.

But I keep coming back.

Because sometimes, you'll find good running content here from people with a lot of experience in different facets, from racing, to coaching, to gear, etc. And yes, you get honest brutal feedback sometimes. You don't get that on a vanilla forum where everyone is well behaved.

Take reddit r/running for example. Everyone there is supportive and positive, you need an account to post, it's actually over moderated, it's basically the opposite of LetsRun. And guess what, it's completely mindnumbing to go on there. I can't take the same "what shoes do I wear" followed by "go to a running specialty shop they'll fit you in stability shoes because they know everything!" posts.

I can't take the same "I just finished my first mile in under an hour" posts with everyone going nuts like it's the best thing ever.

"Another running gave me a high five today and it motivated me to finish even though I was upset about this guy catcalling me from his car!"

"Hey I need some advice, my knees and ankles are killing me, what kind of insoles to I get, I just signed up for my first marathon next month but I haven't run since college (I graduated in 2005)"

I get it, beginners need a place go for support, but it's so bland and boring. I hate Letsrun, but at least it's more entertaining than that.

Runners4Trump wrote:

So you were triggered so much by this post that you felt you need to hit the report button.

But is there anything factually wrong in that post?

Well for one, there is no God.