Does anyone else want to beat to hell some people on this board

This place has always been like that. Fortunately there is some good discussion in there as well, if you're willing to look for it and ignore the trolls.

Jim2 wrote:

I always thought runners were different.

I love when people say that. no matter what discipline in life you'll always hear someone say, "I thought WE were different."

news flash: runners are people. some of them are nice, some are assholes. that's how the world works.

It isn't that you suck if you run slower than "x" time....it is that your time sucks. People need to get it straight; I agree with you.

Yeah, I know that feeling. Fortunately, the jerks usually end up hanging themselves before you get around to it yourself. Here's an example. magpie, who had fun fighting with high school kids on rw, was a jerk on merv, seemed like an OK guy here, gets exposed for misleading everyone about his pr's....bet he's huddled in bed right now crying about that one. HA! I spent a whole weekend laughing my ass off....respectfully yours,

never was.

Jim2, I think you make some good points. The Internet has allowed people to get away with things that they would not likely do face-to-face.

Just this weekend at a race I was reminded how nice fellow runners can be. Everyone was smiling, clapping for the finishers, and making new friends. Running creates a strong bond between people. People understand what it takes to run well and therefore have more respect for each other. This is how it ought to be on the boards as well. People ought to be serving up congrats to the Jasons and others whose hard work pays off.

I have a suggestion, Letsrun should throw an all comers party in a specified location at a certain time...Everyone in attendance must wear a name tag w/ the alias used on the message boards and then we can really let the dust settle

This last weekend I went to watch Roy Griak and the USA marathon championships with a bunch of guys that I ran against in college. We had a great time. Running is a very cool thing that is easy to share with other runners. But I agree, man, there are some jerk asses, and a lot of the post on this board. "If assholes could fly, this place would be busier than at O'hare"

I agree with this thread, but I wonder if any of you have much experience in other running forums? I've gone on the IAAF site a few times and have noticed none of the immature crap that goes on here. A lot of the poster's are European and I wonder if that makes them more polite and focused, or do the IAAF webmasters simply keep a tighter watch over their boards?

Just wondering...

Monty

P.S. I do find it a bit odd that despite using the IAAF, I keep returning to this board...

If you've ever read Alton (Al) Federer's writings, then you might have read the following from his piece entitled "Anatomy of an Internet Troll"

Their Actions:

- They use abusive and sophomoric language

- They belittle people about the topic of discussion without giving credible evidence that they excel at the activity

- They give the impression that they excel at the activity of discussion without giving specific examples

- They only want to irritate and provoke

- Usually they have the appearance of winning arguments because they are relentless and simply outlast other posters

Their Personality Traits:

- Usually less than 30 years of age

- Male

- White

- Below average performer in school and/or work

- Less than stellar performer in the activity being discussed

- Loners with few friends

- Poor relationships with other people

- Sexually frustrated or inept

- Not attractive to the opposite sex

- They post as they do not because they want to make a valid point, but only because they want to bother other people.

Federer's final thoughts - "There is no other way to put it than to say that internet trolls are among the lowest form of human. They troll to make people mad. They troll to make their lives seem meaningful when in reality they are having trouble finding meaning in their lives. They exault whenever anyone talks about them, good or bad, because at least someone is talking about them. A person cannot win an argument with a troll because the winning comes from the continued posting back to them. That is what they are after. They are not looking for you to tell them that they had a good point and that they are right. If you did that, they would move on to the next person and try to provoke them. Internet trolls are sad, hateful people. How horrible it must be to have the life of one of them."

- Anatomy of an Internet Troll 2001

This last post expressed well a sentiment I have held for a while. It's not that we should be ticked at a troll (let's say Mr. Bush), we should feel sorry for them and seek after ways that we may be able to help.

Trolls are so heavily cloaked in anonymity that the only way we can possibly help them is to resist the temptation to respond to/refute their ignorant ramblings. Can you imagine the frustration of one of these guys sitting in front of his monitor, not getting a response from ANYONE to an intentionally inflammatory post? Aaaaargh! He would go nuts! So lets do it, and do it often. Resist the urge to retaliate when a post is blatantly provocative! Just ignore them and they'll go away on their own. The more welcoming we are as hosts to these parasites, the longer they will thrive...

I dunno, I guess I'd prefer to in a message board with a hand full of trolls vs a message board with only politically correct self-righteous holier-than-jesus ass kissers.

Don't feed the Trolls!

Amazing,

So much energy wasted by the holier than thou crowd on trolls (who are, according to this crowd, not worth anyone's time).

Are Janice and I the only ones who see the irony here.

Joe (living under the bridge) Black

Well, to use Janice's word (or a form of the word), it's all about preference. Some folks are able to take a joke just fine, but there comes a point when people are just being piss ants and it just aint funny. That's the arena you chance entering when you use a message board. You're right, the irony is pretty rich.

I'm not so sure it's a case of holier than thou, but rather a case of just not being up for the exchange. Shouldn't everyone have the option to not play the game? It aint nothing but a thing-I agree there.

That Will be funny ohhhh so you are....Smack!