The Dinner Table--RA vs. (and? or? with?) CR (Read 1880 times)

can we have dessert now?!

OK. I'm Scout.

I haven't posted here much, but I've been using the log since I started running again in April. It looks like RA is becoming the melting pot of the online running world. There will probably be some growing pains but I bet the new folks from CR will blend nicely with the old skool RA members. I even took Nick's advice today and STFD during my run.

Pumpkin Pie?

Jeff - Thanks for starting this thread. What a great idea! The thing that I am most afraid of with this large influx of people from CR is that our message boards will get mean or nasty. I'm not trying to say that the PEOPLE from CR are mean and nasty. But there WAS a bit of a culture of trolling and sometimes flaming there that I didn't enjoy at all when I was a CR member. I also am very concerned about an "us" vs "them" mentality. Whether you've been here 3 years or 3 days, you are here now, and every RA member is just that: an RA member. And what makes RA special is the friendliness and support of the community. Each RA member, new and old, is equally responsible for keeping our message boards friendly and supportive. As an RA member, I pledge to do my best to keep this atmosphere a pleasant one. I ask y'all to do the same. Can I have some turkey? I likes me some dark meat, especially drumstick...

*buuuuurrrrrp*...oh, excuse me! I'm going to run out for some pepto-bismol, anyone need anything? Lynn B

Thanks everybody for coming to dinner--particularly the refugees who have posted. Great stuff all around. Just thought I'd say a couple of things about what I like so as not to have done all the asking with contributing something--most of this stuff has already been mentioned. The major thing I appreciate about the boards here is that running isn't an object of debate. It's what we do. There is a pretty solid recognition of the fact that folks are going to do it in different ways for different purposes. That fact isn't up for dispute. Not that we don't disagree. We do, and often, but in the end we've pretty much figured out from living in message board land that message boards don't change people's opinions unless folks are looking for a new way to think. And if they are looking for a new way to think, then the best way to introduce your way of thinking is not with a baseball bat, but with the recognition that none of us has had all the experience or the final answer. The difference between suggesting and telling is an important one for us. What else? I go over to Letsrun all the time--there's plenty of space for flaming and trolling in the virtual world, and there ain't nothing wrong with it as far as I'm concerned. But it's nice to have other sorts of spaces, too, for those rare moments when you don't feel like rehashing--yet again--the difference between running and jogging, the relative merits of walk breaks, or whether or not an ipod is an appropriate accoutrement for running. I also like the publicity of the log. I think it puts the advice that is given into context. You can see what kind of runner you're talking with and make some sort of judgment about how their advice comes out of their experience. I think that's the secret to whatever sort of civility we've got here. Enough! or Too Much! Welcome again.

Jeff, are you telling me what to do?!?