40s+ on the Run - Happy New Year! (Week of 12/30/07) (Read 1379 times)

It's come to my attention that the custom here at RA is to put groups such as ours in the "User Groups" section rather than here on the general, "All About Running" forum. My thoughts on this are: pro: it's poor form not to adopt the already-existing customs con: I like having us in the Running 101 forum since it's like putting out the welcome mat for newbies Anyone else? Arla

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Arla. My only concern with the User Groups is that for someone new to the site, unless you stumble on them yourself or someone tells you, you're not likely to understand them. I joined the Trail Running and Masters Groups, but didn't know about them until I read someone else's post. And it was also only through that post that I understood you had to "join" the group. I know there has been discussion on other threads about listing the User Groups on the home page, or at least providing an explanation of them and how to join. I think Eric curerntly has his hands full transferring logs, but it might not hurt to ask him if he's giving this more thought. I don't want to buck existing customs, but I also think our thread is important enough that we need to ensure visibility. Oh - if we do end up moving to a User Group, it would probably be within the Masters Group, as that group is geared toward runners 40 and over. But that wouldn't eliminate our "almost 40" posters, after all, none of us are "really 40."

I'm easy......well, not really. I'll go with the flow.....but I will say, I never even noticed the "groups" thing until you guys mentioned it. So... if I were just now joining RA, I never would have found our 40's group, at least not for awhile. I think I'll go snoop around. Hey, news flash everyone......I ran today... 4 easy miles @ 11:07 pace. Woot for me! Dallas GlitterTower

Eric is thinking about ways to make the groups more obvious to new users. One thing you can do is "advertise" your groups by listing them in your signature line. I don't do that, but many others do. That makes it easier for folks to find runners with similar interests.

Hi Arla and company, I probably should write up some rules for the forums and groups. Until recently, RA has been growing steadily and the new users learned the etiquettes on their own. This approach is not feasible with so many new users joining in the last several weeks. I try not to interfere with the conversations because I want to promote free exchange of ideas. I do not filter any of the taboo words, but I hope that everyone will keep them to a bare minimum in the public forums. As for topics, please keep in mind that there are minors on this site. Please refrain from saying anything (words or subjects) that are inappropriate for teenagers. There are more leeway when you're conversing in publicly viewable groups since it is up to the administrators of the group to moderate its contents. Private groups have the fewest restrictions but that doesn't mean anything goes in there. This is a community site, please don't do anything that will get it into legal trouble, which means Al Qaeda, pedophiles and other deviants are not allowed. I am not keen on adding new forums to the public boards because having too many forums will make it hard to find the one you're looking for. If a majority of the users feel a new forum is needed, my opinions can be overruled. Back to the topic at hand, I understand the reason for having a group specific weekly thread in Cool Running, it's because their forum structure does not allow subforums or user groups. Since I rarely interfere in the forums, the RA users came up with their own guidelines regarding this issue. Correct me if I'm wrong, many feel that the public forums is a place for everyone. These are the categories that every runner can participate in. It is ok to have threads that are specific to a group of users, but if these threads consistantly involve the same group of users, then it is better to create a group for this purpose. The advantage of a group is that you have your own private forum that is free of outside distractions. Every thread is relevant to you instead of having to search for the group specific thread in the public forums. You get to moderate the contents instead of me. In terms of making the group visible, it is up to the members to promote their group. Many users have taken the route of adding a link to their group in their signatures, which is quite effective as far as I can tell. Since you've only been here briefly, it'll take a while before you feel at home. If creating weekly threads in the public forums makes you feel at home, then do that. If you haven't completely settled in yet and want to be adventurous, then experiment a little and find what works for you. Remember, you are part of our community, so you get to contribute to our customs. eric

I vote for a "40's on the Run" thread each week in the Master's group. And Eric, just so you know, we didn't start the stripper names until we came over to RA. I don't really know what posessed us. Maybe it was the stress of the whole Cool Running debacle. But dang, it's kinda fun. I sent it to my mother this afternoon, and she loved it! Sincerely, Sugar Amberthighs

Thanks for the awesome explanation Eric! We just want to do what's best for the site.As a fellow geek,does it matter(system resource-wise) whether we have an ongoing thread rather than starting a new one each week?

I am not keen on adding new forums to the public boards because having too many forums will make it hard to find the one you're looking for.

Just take a look at the main page of the RW forums to see that mess (and what would become of the clean, elegant layout of RA if every interest group had it's own subcategory on the main page)...I think it covers at least 4 full screen scrolls on my monitor. Terrible. There is a subforum for every possible permutation that has even the slightest relationship with running. I like that I can see RA's main forum categories pretty much entirely on a single screen. The more specific areas I access through the Groups, which is perfect. k

Alright, I'm in. Whaddaya say we start the "40s on the run" thread in the master's forum on Sunday or Monday (whenever we usually start the weekly thread)? Arla (trying to insert an ad)