change BT name (Page 2)

I think the name fits the site and the goals of the owners perfectly. This site is meant to cater to beginners, hence the name, hence the rule against telling people to use the search. Yes it does create multiple threads about the same subject, but it always seems there is at least 1 or 2 people getting something out of the discussion. As a more advanced athlete you just have to monitor your time in TriTalk. Sometimes seeing the 15th thread about road vs. tri bike for the month can be annoying as all get out. Other times it seems like no big deal to weigh in on the subject. I tend to come and go in Tri Talk myself.

As to Kathy and Fred's points about the redesign and such. I used to use BT exclusively to track workouts, that has changed this year and now I use Strava, mainly due to the automatic uploading I can do to Strava with my Suunto Ambit vs. manually entering everything in here. Also the social and competitive aspect on Strava is fun and not something I get here.

My only gripe with BT is the mentor groups. I think it was a decent idea but the unintended consequences were vast and are destroying the site. CoJ and Tri Talk are mere shadows of their former selves. Anytime the subject comes up you have people say "oh yeah, I only check in with my mentor group, we had all sorts of great discussions this week". Bully for them but it does no good for people who are not in their group or in any group at all. You would think for a beginner site it would be best for everyone to be hanging out in the same place so newbs can rub elbows with all levels of experience. Instead you have a ghost town for a Tri Talk with most people with any experience at all hanging out in a closed off mentor group. So newbs either have to enjoy ghost town enough to find stick around and find a mentor group or they can go into the wolf den at ST.

I never visited ST in the past, but I have quite a bit this year, mostly due to more traffic, discussions and people in the room. I am not, nor will I be in a mentor group here. 

I know it would be an unpopular move, especially at first... there would be a lot of griping. But I think for the overall health and the best interest for the future of BT, the admins should phase out the mentor groups and put everyone back in the same room instead of the nice cliquey comfort zones everyone has now.

I'm not a karate person, but this was related to me some years ago...

When a person receives their black belt in karate, the use that belt in all their training. Whatever other belts they receive from tournaments, they still use that original black belt. Over time, it fades. And fades... Eventually becoming white again -- the color of the beginner.

With every question that is answered, there are more and deeper questions that emerge. And with each of those questions, we are again a beginner.

May I always be a beginner.

I'm a relative newbie and I have to say that I really appreciate the mentor group I'm in.  Our members range from people with tons of experience to people like me just starting out.  I sometimes feel more comfortable posting my questions there than I do in Tri Talk because (a) I don't get a jillion responses, and (b) people there know a little more about me so the answers are more relevant to where I'm at.  Even if you're not in a mentor group, anybody can read through the threads and benefit from the wisdom there.  Yeah, it might take a little more searching, but it's still possible.  Also, being in the mentor group gives me more confidence to post in Tri Talk.  Then again, I tend to be a Chatty Cathy, so maybe it's just me.  I personally find ST interesting but really intimidating.  Maybe someday I'll head over there but for now I'm staying here.

You have a very valid point.  But at the same time I also don't think that the declining traffic in TT is such a bad thing either.  When TT was much more active, the BS rate was a lot higher.  Legitimate threads with honest SBR questions would get pushed to the second page within hours because everyone kept posting in the pee in the pool or doping threads.  You look at TT now and there are a lot less posts, but at least the relevant SBR questions have a better chance of staying on the first page and getting a few real responses.  Honestly, most questions don't need 15 responses to them anyway and from what I can tell recently, pretty much every question that gets asked gets a decent answer.

Lastly, I actually think the mentor groups saved a lot of good members from leaving completely because of how ridiculous TT was getting.  It seemed like everyone was just trying to pick a fight.  I still remember Shane being called an arrogant know it all...LMAO.  While Shane is more level headed than most people, I can see why others decided to leave TT and just focus on mentor groups as their way of still contributing to the site.

I suppose if you look at the site mainly as an information source then perhaps TT is better now. I used it as an information source at first but it quickly became more of a community thing. Once I got the basics of triathlon down I spent a lot of time in CoJ or in TT in the more in depth threads. I guess I just preferred things when it was one big community, not a bunch of splinter cell mentor groups.

Feels like hanging out in the hallway at school when everyone is in separate classes. It can still be fun, but there are only so many times I can read Left Brain say he "doesn't care" "whats the big deal" "I do it this way and everyone else is wrong" "my kid is faster than your kid" etc. Need more people in the hallway to help beat him back a bit!

:P LB

Mentor groups...........hahahahaha!!!  NO!

That's right! To hell with the opinions of long time paying members. That's why i'm no longer one of them.

So....you paid to have an opinion?  You know, those are free.

His was a gold plated opinion. 

Yours is more of the armpit/ar$ehole variety...

bwaaaaaaaaaahahaha!!  Yeah, there is THAT. 

I think that site is called slowtwitch

I don't feel excluded, I don't have a sense that I am missing out. Just sharing an opinion that I think the BT community would be better off if we all swam in the same pool.

Just an example from today. I have never looked at the mentor group threads so I did today. I checked out Yanti's group cuz her name is familiar. Absolutely nothing against her group, but the last 2-3 pages were about GPS watches and which brand/model people prefer. There was some good discussion and some good input from various people on various watches. That could have benefited the whole community if it were posted in TT, there could have been even more info shared by others, and it would be beneficial for future athletes in that a thread titled "Which GPS Watch Should I Buy" is much easier to find in search than a 3 page convo within a 99 page mentor thread. 

Anyway, not my call, just an opinion. I am signing up on ST and will jump into some convos there, will still hang out here as well for the 3-4 threads per week that anyone actually participates in.