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2008-06-11 12:28 PM
in reply to: #1459904

Subject: ...
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2008-06-11 12:30 PM
in reply to: #1459819

Champion
5868
50005001001001002525
Urbandale, IA
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
marmadaddy - 2008-06-11 11:59 AM

pitt83 - 2008-06-11 12:38 PM Serious suggestions to the moderators: Instead of the sticky at the top of a section, can we somehow make an FAQ or check here first board where things like ths get moved to? It is always good to gain fresh perspective by repeating and yes, people want some indivdualized response sometimes. But some threads indeed are repeated and an FAQ might actually solve some problems. My $0.02

I've posted versions of the following a few times to explain why there isn't a FAQ or "Check Here First" forum. 

Phooey. It's a forum, not an article repository. The question asked isn't "How do people who were here 3 years ago count laps?". It's "How do YOU count laps". There's a big difference.

For every person who actually posts the question on the forum, there are probably 10 or 20 reading the first page of the forum at that moment who are looking for the same information. And sometimes they're not just looking for a way to count laps. Sometimes they're looking for a bit of community around this small, odd sport of ours.

When starting something like triathlon, it's a big mental boost to know that there are people out there who are at this moment in the exact same position as you, with the same questions. Knowing that there were people like you isn't the same. There's a world of difference between "come sit in the circle" vs. "go look in the library".

The Forum Search feature is useful. (I used it to find the first version of this post from early 2006 when the subject was creating an FAQ.) For people who want to look for questions asked previously, it's great. But our forums are the gathering place for a community, and one of the things communities are very good for is passing on information to new people on a person to person basis.

From a practical standpoint I'd hate to see people gather the courage to ask a question only to be told to do a search. How are they to know what constitutes an ok question? How many times can something be asked before it's no longer ok? Following the logic of "that's been asked already" you eventually end up with a situation where you only get a small set of cranky old coots arguing over the aero characteristics of the newest ultra-light carbon bottle holder.

Beginners and new folks: there are no stupid questions, no questions that are not ok, no questions that have been asked too much already. Wondering about something related to triathlon? Ask away. That's what we're here for.

 And I've recently starting keeping track of my swim laps by counting down rather than up. I find that I'm much less likely to lose count that way. Wink

I agree completely.  The name of the site is Beginner Triathlete and the only reason I found the place was because of the name.  I looked in and I saw a bunch of questions that I wondered about already on the Tri-Talk board.  Would I have joined had I seen numerous FAQ and messages saying - you need to look that up in the FAQ library?  Probably not.  If I have to say the same thing over 20 times - so what - kind of like giving back - isn't it?

2008-06-11 12:32 PM
in reply to: #1459932

Sensei
Sin City
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads

What I find interesting about this thread, is a lot of the suggestions for "most repeated threads" don't even come up in my head.  I can't barely recall even a couple occurances of some of these that are listed as most repeated.

I wonder if it's what our eye is drawn to or when we are on BT?

Interesting....

2008-06-11 12:34 PM
in reply to: #1459939

Sensei
Sin City
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads

It just occured to me - the most repeated is the "today's date" thread that starts everymorning to discuss everyone's workout of the day.

One a day for the last 18 months (or longer, I have only been on BT for that long).  That's a lot of posts.

"who's racing this week" is probably up there since it happens one a week.

2008-06-11 12:35 PM
in reply to: #1459939

Melon Presser
52116
50005000500050005000500050005000500050002000100
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
Aikidoman - 2008-06-11 11:32 AM

What I find interesting about this thread, is a lot of the suggestions for "most repeated threads" don't even come up in my head.  I can't barely recall even a couple occurances of some of these that are listed as most repeated.

I wonder if it's what our eye is drawn to or when we are on BT?

Interesting....

Just .02, I dig what marmadaddy posted. I like the "most repeated BT threads" thread because it's funny and sweet and warm ... and because I used to post the million dollar questions, too.

Many thanks for the awesome BTers who responded anyway.

2008-06-11 1:02 PM
in reply to: #1459874

Champion
5575
5000500252525
Butler
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
Aikidoman - 2008-06-11 12:15 PM

Come on peeps.  Can't believe it was not mentioned (marma kind of did it)

"how do you count laps"

Honorable mention goes to "bike crash in Mexico" after about 20 new threads.....

 

I don't mind though.  I can recycle the same piece of knowledge over and over again and appear brilliant again and again...

??? I actually mentioned both of those in my initial question!! I agree repearting is no big deal and some people just might not see the search feature.  I really don't care about answering questions over again because sometimes it is just easier to ask the question yourself than read throughth a 20 page thread.  I was just curious what other's thought of as most repeated.

 



2008-06-11 1:05 PM
in reply to: #1460025

Sensei
Sin City
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
kproudfoot - 2008-06-11 11:02 AM
Aikidoman - 2008-06-11 12:15 PM

Come on peeps.  Can't believe it was not mentioned (marma kind of did it)

"how do you count laps"

Honorable mention goes to "bike crash in Mexico" after about 20 new threads.....

 

I don't mind though.  I can recycle the same piece of knowledge over and over again and appear brilliant again and again...

??? I actually mentioned both of those in my initial question!! I agree repearting is no big deal and some people just might not see the search feature.  I really don't care about answering questions over again because sometimes it is just easier to ask the question yourself than read throughth a 20 page thread.  I was just curious what other's thought of as most repeated.

 

noticed that when I went back.  I just read the responses.  Too late to edit.... my bad.

2008-06-11 1:13 PM
in reply to: #1460037

Champion
5575
5000500252525
Butler
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
Aikidoman - 2008-06-11 1:05 PM
kproudfoot - 2008-06-11 11:02 AM
Aikidoman - 2008-06-11 12:15 PM

Come on peeps.  Can't believe it was not mentioned (marma kind of did it)

"how do you count laps"

Honorable mention goes to "bike crash in Mexico" after about 20 new threads.....

 

I don't mind though.  I can recycle the same piece of knowledge over and over again and appear brilliant again and again...

??? I actually mentioned both of those in my initial question!! I agree repearting is no big deal and some people just might not see the search feature.  I really don't care about answering questions over again because sometimes it is just easier to ask the question yourself than read throughth a 20 page thread.  I was just curious what other's thought of as most repeated.

 

noticed that when I went back.  I just read the responses.  Too late to edit.... my bad.

No biggie.  I was just messing around.  Guess I should have made my response red.
2008-06-11 1:23 PM
in reply to: #1459881

Champion
8540
50002000100050025
the colony texas
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
KenD - 2008-06-11 12:17 PM

Threads we wish were repeated more....

BT Girls of 2008 (or just added to)

 

x like a billion or so

2008-06-11 1:27 PM
in reply to: #1459688

Pro
4456
200020001001001001002525
Eureka, Ca
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads

I'm also a member of a geeky related site (computer game related) and what they did is create a wiki site with all the common information that people always needed or asked.  So if anyone asked the questions they were just directed to the Wiki.

 

2008-06-11 1:32 PM
in reply to: #1460106

Master
1327
100010010010025
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads

x 1 billion what Marma said.  I like reading new responses to repeated threads.  Sometimes it's easier to ask a point blank question rather than sift through hundreds of search threads. 

I think the welcoming nature of this site shows itself with the enthusiasm of so many of its members.  I've met tons of cool folks in the brief time I've been logging here.

If a thread is titled "Which wetsuit to buy" and you've seen it a thousand times, don't click on it!  The end.  Why should it bother you?



Edited by travljini 2008-06-11 1:33 PM


2008-06-11 2:45 PM
in reply to: #1459688

Master
1895
1000500100100100252525
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads

"Should I learn to breathe bi-laterally?"

and...

"Is it important that I learn how to flip-turn?"

 

.....and those discussions always get pretty heated!

2008-06-11 2:55 PM
in reply to: #1459688

Champion
5117
5000100
Brandon, MS
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
2008-06-11 3:06 PM
in reply to: #1459688

Master
1696
1000500100252525
Surprise, Arizona
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads

Also, with every iteration of one of these threads, newer members get an opportunity to share their experiences with the OP.  With every iteration, there are new and creative responses that I hadn't seen before.  Products are also in a constant state of flux - a response to the 'what bike should I buy on a $500 budget?' will likely be a lot different in 2008 than it was in 2006.  

 And what marmadaddy said...

2008-06-11 3:07 PM
in reply to: #1460416

Vancouver, BC
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
If there was a simple search box at the top of each forum, the number of duplicated threads would likely decrease dramatically. That being said, I get the impression that the design of having the search box in a hard to find place is done on purpose because they want to have high thread turnover which keeps our A.D.D society happy.
2008-06-11 3:31 PM
in reply to: #1459688

Expert
1258
10001001002525
Marin County, California
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads

As someone else posted, the name of this site is Beginner Triathlete. Emphasis on 'beginner.' As a beginner I have many questions that people who have done many tri's might view as silly, or boring. There are many people on here who have years of experience that us beginners look to for some helpful info.

And in MHO, forums that repeatedly direct folks to 'frequently asked' threads gets pretty stale as the newbies leave,or more likely spend time reading old threads, rather than contributing to an active dialog.

And who then, does that leave to creating active conversation on a 'beginner' site?



2008-06-11 3:41 PM
in reply to: #1459688

Master
1895
1000500100100100252525
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads

I think one of my first questions on this site was: "what the heck is a BRICK?".  lol

Reading a post a few weeks ago...someone asked a question about ITBS.  I thought he was asking about Irritable Bowel Syndrome.  I was wondering how training for a triathlon could cause bowel issues.  (Alas...my good friend Google was able to straighten me out.)

I do agree with everyone here...it makes sense that even some of the more experienced athletes could benefit from new information on old topics.  Although I'm not sure what the OP's intentions were, I still thought it was funny/interesting to see which topics people thought were brought up the most.  I think that's probably all he/she was looking to do...make us smile while typing away in our little cubicles, fantasizing about the next race.

 



Edited by hamiltks10 2008-06-11 3:42 PM
2008-06-11 3:46 PM
in reply to: #1459688

Extreme Veteran
574
5002525
Crossville, TN
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
One more swim question...
2008-06-11 3:48 PM
in reply to: #1459688

Master
2355
20001001001002525
Houston, TX
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
I do think they should make the search forums more obvious... may cut out a few of these repeats.
2008-06-11 3:52 PM
in reply to: #1460654

Elite
3090
20001000252525
Spokane, WA
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
I also really liked marmadaddy's thoughtful response. This is a very cool community and BEGINNERS should always be encouraged to participate--even if it is something that has been asked a bunch.

I totally agree with the point that I don't really care what what posted months or years ago, and I think that telling someone to use the search function is kind of rude.

I don't remember seeing this one yet.....


Q. How do I get faster on the swim, or bike, or run?

A. Swim more. Bike more. Run more. I mean, look at your logs. You're a lazy one, aren't you?
2008-06-11 4:24 PM
in reply to: #1459688

Master
3127
2000100010025
Sunny Southern Cal
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
How about "I did it!!!"  C'mon, doesn't that make you smile and think back to crossing that finish line at your first race?


2008-06-11 4:32 PM
in reply to: #1460745

Champion
8540
50002000100050025
the colony texas
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads

SevenZulu - 2008-06-11 4:24 PM How about "I did it!!!"  C'mon, doesn't that make you smile and think back to crossing that finish line at your first race?

those are the coolest post's too read...

2008-06-11 5:01 PM
in reply to: #1459819

Master
1748
100050010010025
Port Moody, BC
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
marmadaddy - 2008-06-11 9:59 AM

Beginners and new folks: there are no stupid questions, no questions that are not ok, no questions that have been asked too much already. Wondering about something related to triathlon? Ask away. That's what we're here for.

Thanks marmadaddy. Elites and superposters. If you have already responded to an inquiry about a certain thread...ignore it! As someone that has only been around for a year I know that it was daunting to think about posting a question after reading some of the other responses given to others. Some people may not have the limitless time on our hands to surf the web looking for answers or as marmadaddy pointed out, have the community that is availaable here at BT.

So lighten up and try to remember back when you were starting out and give people a break. I for one enjoy trying to help out someone new to the triathlon world as people here helped and continue to help me.

2008-06-11 6:33 PM
in reply to: #1460844

Elite
3090
20001000252525
Spokane, WA
Subject: RE: Most repeated BT Threads
OH, and one more that keeps recurring....

"It really stinks when I poo after working out. Let's discuss"
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