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 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.
When someone gets behind the wheel of a car...
I think most LR trolls are normal people who use the anonymity for fun, venting, letting off steam, etc., and only a few are actually horrible people. People behave differently online. There are quite a few jealous, insecure non-runners on here as well.
Because of anonymous posts and unregisted users.
The best forum i know is where people use real bames.
bogsnobend wrote:
Because of anonymous posts and unregisted users.
The best forum i know is where people use real bames.
What is the "best forum you know"?
I would bet that the atmosphere of this forum would be boring, unfun, and in the end as interesting as watching the paint dry. Or it is a wasteland?
Nothing toxic about the letsrun forum.
Just some tough love.
Paraglidingforum.com
There are advantages to using real names. People are more civil and can actual organise and meet in real life for some flying.
bogsnobend wrote:
Paraglidingforum.com
There are advantages to using real names. People are more civil and can actual organise and meet in real life for some flying.
People using pseudonyms and there are not many active users it seems.
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.
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.
I come here for a breadth of opinions and to better understand American society. And because I'm a hobbyjogger but feel I never fulfilled my potential with running, so it's good to see what really committed people can do.
There's lots of good stuff but this^ post shows the problem. As long as you're part of the herd - typically I would imagine, male, white, middle-class, right-leaning, probably sexually frustrated - it's all good fun and just jokes.
For anyone else here, I would image that there's a lot of racist, misogynist, offensive stuff that you either have to try to ignore or take on and end up in silly internet arguments.
a foreigner wrote:
There's lots of good stuff but this^ post shows the problem. As long as you're part of the herd - typically I would imagine, male, white, middle-class, right-leaning, probably sexually frustrated - it's all good fun and just jokes.
For anyone else here, I would image that there's a lot of racist, misogynist, offensive stuff that you either have to try to ignore or take on and end up in silly internet arguments.
I seriously don't understand this bit.
How would non white, rich, poor, left leaning, married people get offended on this board? There is nothing racist about this forum this is nonsense, and the political discussions are quite diverse. There are even vegans and anti vegans.
The only part where you may have a small point is about the women, but this is a mainly male forum, like most of forum who talk about sport, and wherever you have a big majority of males, then you have male jokes, some "bro atmosphere" but this is not agressive and quite lighthearted.
Spoken with unacknowledged privilege. I've had to regularly submit antisemitic threads and posts to the mods. There are ongoing problems with comments about women (i.e. Mary Cain's body, Jordon Hasay's body, any woman runner's body- see thread today about Sara Hall, who did nothing more than not qualify and run a bad race). Fat shaming is common. Left v. right fights are daily, mainly egged on by either rojo or his doppleganger the430miler or bartholemew_maxwell. It is an embarrassment that can at time become a nightmare- marathon runner suicide, anyone?
1) you aren’t reading very many threads if you think they’re all filled with toxic behavior and trash. That’s far from true.
2) if you can’t think of a worse place on the internet then you are so terribly naive that I don’t have words for you.
Spasja wrote:
Spoken with unacknowledged privilege. I've had to regularly submit antisemitic threads and posts to the mods. There are ongoing problems with comments about women (i.e. Mary Cain's body, Jordon Hasay's body, any woman runner's body- see thread today about Sara Hall, who did nothing more than not qualify and run a bad race). Fat shaming is common. Left v. right fights are daily, mainly egged on by either rojo or his doppleganger the430miler or bartholemew_maxwell. It is an embarrassment that can at time become a nightmare- marathon runner suicide, anyone?
Great points! Too bad they will be ignored
Spasja wrote:
Spoken with unacknowledged privilege. I've had to regularly submit antisemitic threads and posts to the mods. There are ongoing problems with comments about women (i.e. Mary Cain's body, Jordon Hasay's body, any woman runner's body- see thread today about Sara Hall, who did nothing more than not qualify and run a bad race). Fat shaming is common. Left v. right fights are daily, mainly egged on by either rojo or his doppleganger the430miler or bartholemew_maxwell. It is an embarrassment that can at time become a nightmare- marathon runner suicide, anyone?
I never read anything antisemitic here. Anyway, if you are easily offended, this place is not made for you. The brag/joke/light spirit is what make this forum interesting. The debates and light fights are creating discussions and interest.
At one point you will have to realize that not everybody like bland/politically correct discussions and that there can be forum where the tone is different. If this is not for you, don't complain, just go elsewhere, it's better for you.
cuz we're a bunch of a$$holes.
Be honest please wrote:
I seriously don't understand this bit.
How would non white, rich, poor, left leaning, married people get offended on this board? There is nothing racist about this forum this is nonsense, and the political discussions are quite diverse. There are even vegans and anti vegans.
The only part where you may have a small point is about the women, but this is a mainly male forum, like most of forum who talk about sport, and wherever you have a big majority of males, then you have male jokes, some "bro atmosphere" but this is not agressive and quite lighthearted.
Really? There's thinly veiled racism all the time - African (origin) runners, Chinese peoples' shopping habits, immigrants of all races, people from Arabic countries.
Also see Islamophobia all the time, and very little political debate - just ad-hominem insults - "snowflake".
And it's ok to be misogynistic because this is a place mainly populated by men? "Cheer up babe, I'm only being lighthearted" - we also seem to lack any empathy. What's your view on #metoo?
bogsnobend wrote:
Because of anonymous posts and unregisted users.
The best forum i know is where people use real bames.
It's the argument that matters, not who writes it.
Which of course is the point. For too many people, it is not the argument. So long as they can hide behind a screen name they are free to be absolute asshats on the forum. no argument, to be made, just crap to be thrown out, as has already happened on this thread.
Be honest please wrote:
bogsnobend wrote:
Because of anonymous posts and unregisted users.
The best forum i know is where people use real bames.
What is the "best forum you know"?
I would bet that the atmosphere of this forum would be boring, unfun, and in the end as interesting as watching the paint dry. Or it is a wasteland?
It might be entertaining to you, but it is ridiculously rude and childish.
As said, it's because it's more than anonymous; usernames are disposal, so people don't care what they say at all.