The Decline of the BT community (Page 4)

Shortened this one down to another aspect of the anonymous, in that this is a beginner site and there are many who are quite nervous to post things to an open forum. That anonymity can help them feel not so exposed to the world. I'm only posting this to provide another viewpoint so that a more complete picture can be seen, not to take a stance. And from this am wondering what kind of ideas there are that can both help to limit the more anonymous flaming/troll type posting while still being inviting to the more shy types. Wouldn't want to solve one problem while creating another, so to speak.

My dog thinks I'm the person who makes it so she can retrieve dead birds.........just saying.  

I like Switch's post, and I like this site.  I see LOTS of posts from folks who are thanking this board, it's members, and the informational threads for the help they provide.  Isn't that the point?  The truth is, if you've been around awhile, there's probably not much more to discuss about triathlon.....so it's easy to start whining about "what used to be" or the "style" of other posters.  That's not a knock on anyone, it's pretty natural for these type of boards.

My bet is that the overwhelming majority of folks who just come on this site find it to be a great resource, like I did and still do.  The rest has to be taken with a grain of salt and a bit of a thick skin.....and if not, then maybe don't look a those threads.....your disposition may improve.

I've got more thoughts, as usual, but I'm 7 hours into a kid's swim meet and my brain is melting from chlorine gas.

I believe he decided to just use training peaks and leave this site entirely.  He had a lot to offer, yes some rough posts....but a lot to offer.

I was only here for about 6 months before Bryan got banned.....and yeah, he was very helpful.  We traded a few PM's and he had no problem going out of his way to answer a question or shoot me a discount for zoot shoes, etc.

That being said......he got banned, and that's that.  The folks who run the board get to make those decisions, and you can either leave, whine about it, or get over it.  If one person makes a board then the board isn't worth a damn anyway.....and this one certainly is. I don't lament the "passing" of anyone....people move on or leave for a variety of reasons.....especially on a board attached to a sport that has a pretty short shelf life for most folks.

I don't know who got their panties in a bunch over Bryan's posts and I don't care, it's none of my business....but knowing how these things go, I'd venture a guess whoever is responsible isn't around much anymore.....so goes the way of whiners.

And back to the original post.....yeah Fred, the mobile features on this board are aggravating......but I don't know what's out there anymore as a fix/feature.  In fact, back when dinosaurs roamed the webs and I ran a board we didn't have to worry about mobile features for our flip phones.

My $.02 on the matter...

• The site upgrade a few months ago really did a number on the site traffic and it has not bounced back.  Not sure why but it did.
• I know someone will counter with some biased USAT numbers that say otherwise but my observation is that new triathletes are less in numbers now than a few years ago.  This is BeginnerTriathlete.com after all.  Less beginners = less traffic.
• I live in the Houston area which is the 4th largest city in the country and has a thriving tri scene.  Any race not named Ironman has struggled in the last year or two.  Local races that sold out a year or two ago were at 50% this year.  This trend is happening nationwide.  WTC/Ironman races are still going gangbusters.  Short course races are struggling.
• There are some very good posters on this board who provide some awesome information.  Unfortunately, BT became a place for folks who got bitten by the triathlon bug and went out and got a USAT Level I coaching certification at the time USAT was seemingly handing them out at on every street corner. This lead to people who basically shouldn't be providing coaching advice providing coaching advice.  So a newbie triathlete comes to BT and asks a question.  They see someone with "USAT Certified Coach" in their signature line provide some advice and the newbie triathlete takes that at gospel.  The advice was often horrible and borderline negligent.  There's an awful lot of bad advice dispensed on this site that becomes a punch line on other sites (most notably ST).  Therefore, BT is viewed as such.  If a "coach" dispensed that advice on ST they would be taken to the woodshed.
• To riff off my previous point... the kumbaya & can't criticize attitude of this place can be very off-putting.  Name calling and typing obscenities aren't necessary but a blunt and direct conversation is fresh and welcome in my opinion.  This site is often intolerable of direct and pointed civil conversations.  The level of hand holding and coddling on this site can be extreme.  How many times have we read topics like "I DNF'd my 5th attempt at the Ironman distance" and everyone tells them great job and you'll get it next time.  They need to hear realistic advice like maybe Ironman isn't for you or you need to drastically change your training or you need to get rid of that coach or whatever.

I saw Bryan' name mentioned and I was on here a bit before he was banned. He did bring a lot of knowledge to the site. Also, what ever happened to Tom Demerly? You could always count on him to post something different. Now, a lot of the threads seem to rehash the same topics.

i must be totally missing something here...i've been on BT for 4 years ish and to me i get the same as i always have gotten out of it.  where i live there is very little tri-community, so i get ALL of my tri friends, racing buddies, and commiserating in pain from this site.  i have made actual friends and virtual friends here and continue to do so.  i have learned a lot....mostly from lurking around the IM forums...and get entertained plenty during occasional boring stretches at work.  i have no desire to ever win or be a hardcore triathlete, but still pick up useful tips here and there.  i also love the nutrition and injury forums for information.  maybe it's stretched too thin or too hard to navigate, but i still love this site and don't feel the decline at all.  i like it here.  i can't really be the only one??

I ask almost all my questions in the mentor group group these days.  Why?  Because I happen to be part of a group full of knowlegeable, experienced people who have a wealth of solid information.  I read and comment on others posts in TT.  But there is a massive difference in the value of the responses, because in a lot of cases people will ask - "what should I do in this situation"...., to which you will get the reply - "I do this....or, last year I did this"....The problem with these attempted helpful responses is that they can be utterly and completely incorrect.  Beginners helping beginners is not a good thing for more technically based questions, because they don't have the experience or the knowledge to answer accurately. 

Someone posted earlier that they don't like high-almighty coaches/experienced individuals preaching to evevryone else.  IMO, we need more of that, cause otherwise it's a case of the blind leading the blind.  You need to be able to have civil conversations, but people also need the ability to simply say - sorry, but you have that a$$ backwards and you're wrong.  Unfortunately, people get very upset and feel they are being attacked at that point.  Thus goes the cycle, and eventually a lot of very good posters go and post elsewhere, cause it's not worth the effort.

I've been on BT for a long time, and I check in here first before going to ST, and many days I don't go to ST, but IMO, TT needs to be revitalised.  Get rid of a lot of posts that belong in COJ, focus on Tri related topics, and I really like the idea of posters rating other posters.  It's a quick way of knowing what the rest of the community thinks about an individual and the value of their input. 

The last part boils down to human nature, and I don't know how you change this.  People need to accept that they don't know as much as they think they do, and need to be able to further accept that others may call them out on this fact, or correct them a little more bluntly then they are used.  I've personally found myself typing a response in a thread, re-reading it, and deciding not to post - because I didn't think it had enough value or helpful information.  I've also been told I was wrong with other "knowledge" I tried to impart - which is great, because I come to BT to hopefully learn something new everyday.

If people only spend time in the mentor groups, and all of the "good" information is put out there, how is that good for the site overall?  I woulde think they actually detract from the overall health of a site like this.

the mentor groups may be my least favorite part of the site.  every time they open the groups, i go through to find a group that is a fit for me, and they are all FULL before i have a chance to try them out.  i've never been able to actually JOIN one.  how is that good for beginners???