My participation in these forums has been declining steadily, and will likely continue to do so. Please, just don't give LD credit for it. I've been active on this site for 10 years. After 10 years of my urging the management to write a climbing FAQ there is still no climbing FAQ. Hence the forums continue to be dominated by n00bs asking the same questions now that they were 10 years ago. Answering the same questions over and over again for a decade is enough. I'm sure I will continue to participate in the rare thread that covers new and interesting ground. I leave the remaining 99% of the topics to the the next generation of climbers who were me 10 years ago.

In the avoiding dynos thread, jt512 wrote this:

Although, I don't usually agree with his approach, I agree with this sentiment. I have only been on for 6 years but recently have gotten quite bored with rc.com. It's become more of a social forum of post count whores and drawn-out, idiotic jokes (i.e. PANCAKES).

I have tried to spice things up with some thoughtful posts over the years (sometimes bordering on trolling), but with the exception of a few posters, I am not getting much help. Jay is not the first longtime poster to express his disgust with this site and probably won't be the last. Now, a few of you may say good riddance, but i disagree. Although his approach leaves something to be desired, his content always has substance.

I check rc.com almost every day and have not seen any post worth posting to in weeks. What I have seen is a lot of incoherent drivel.

Although I can put up with the constant n00b questions, because quite frankly we are constantly getting new posters, but what happened to quality climbing posts?

Josh

You think it is bad for the long time members of the forum. Try being a noob here. Although I don't post much, it does take a good amount of time to sort through the drivel from the good information. In other words the signal to noise ratio is rather low. With the sport of flaming the noob that is common here and giving out dumb advice as a joke to those in the know, its a wonder why long time posters come to this same conclusion.

I agree that it seems this place is more of a social forum in the context of rock climbing. Perhaps better moderation of the posts would help the overall feel of the site.

Cheers

This is another problem that a FAQ could alleviate. People regularly tell new posters to do a search (me included). Do you know what you get when you do a search? Lots of similar topics, with respondents telling new people to do a search. Sorting through relevant topics for actual information can be a chore, and sorting the wheat from the chaff once you find actual discussion is another.

With a FAQ, there's the opportunity to provide widely agreed-upon information where it's easy to find. Instead of yelling, "Do a search, n00b," we could say, "Check the FAQ, n00b!" Still, new users will act like new users.

The other problem is that searches are not sortable it's basically going on just the search term alone and you get shit from 8 years ago right next to 2 years ago. a search for "best small cam" could put you in threads with TCU's Aliens.. master cams C 3's who knows . Best bouldering shoe in the past 5 years has changed like crazy.. and belay devices

opposed to how BikeForums has theirs set up.. with menus and choices.. including which forums you want to search.. by date, by relevance, etc
[image]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v115/Socjake/Random/Picture2.png?t=1232394663[/image]

Its my understanding that Jay is working with HQ to revamp the search function. I'd find the link to where he talked about it but I'm too lazy.

Lazy people are whats wrong with this site!!

I gotta say I'm surprised somebody finally said it. The lack of interesting posts and the abundance of "am I injured threads" is just annoying.

Although his approach leaves something to be desired, his content always has substance.

I gotta say I'm surprised somebody finally said it. The lack of interesting posts and the abundance of "am I injured threads" is just annoying.

In the avoiding dynos thread, jt512 wrote this:

Although, I don't usually agree with his approach, I agree with this sentiment. I have only been on for 6 years but recently have gotten quite bored with rc.com. It's become more of a social forum of post count whores and drawn-out, idiotic jokes (i.e. PANCAKES).

I have tried to spice things up with some thoughtful posts over the years (sometimes bordering on trolling), but with the exception of a few posters, I am not getting much help. Jay is not the first longtime poster to express his disgust with this site and probably won't be the last. Now, a few of you may say good riddance, but i disagree. Although his approach leaves something to be desired, his content always has substance.

I check rc.com almost every day and have not seen any post worth posting to in weeks. What I have seen is a lot of incoherent drivel.

Although I can put up with the constant n00b questions, because quite frankly we are constantly getting new posters, but what happened to quality climbing posts?

Josh

As you may have guessed, the injury threads are a big part of why I come here. I try to be helpful, sometimes I'm even successful. At least theose types of threads tend to stay isolated in A&I, so you can easily avoid them if desired.

and here is a case (onceahardman) where a seemingly cool guy uses his free time to try and help others and ends up getting called an asshole by some n00b who (relatively speaking) has no clue what they are talking about!!!

I think a large part of the problem comes from the simple fact that a person can only have the same discussion a certain number of times before interest is lost. I mean how many times can a person ponder how a given rope characteristic will effect peak impact forces if the rope is clipped to an aged piton with a nylon sling and the belayer lets 7 inches of rope slip while simultaneously farting, all of which takes place 7,000 feet above sea level?? Seriously though, its like reading the same book multiple times, its nice to do but you gotta let a few years go by before revisiting it. Unfortunately for some people 10 years has gone by and the book has been read 5 times and its just not interesting anymore.


Unless the discussion is about new gear hitting the market, a new FA or a subjective experience like what happened to a certain person at a certain crag, then it's all been said before. Then when the newer users start up a conversation that is new and interesting to them, the old guard comes in and lays the facts down or provides a link to the answers and the discussion wanes.

I spend a bit of time reading parts of the archive though, so I'm not as bothered by the lack of thoughtful conversation as others may be.

...
I check rc.com almost every day and have not seen any post worth posting to in weeks. What I have seen is a lot of incoherent drivel.

Although I can put up with the constant n00b questions, because quite frankly we are constantly getting new posters, but what happened to quality climbing posts?

I've seen this before on other forums.
It's a phase.

Frankly if you are concerned about the quality of the content, the only solution is to lead by example and increase the signal... the noise is environment and needs to be drowned out rather than filtered.

And just so I can't be accused of posting real content...."pancakes".

1. this is a free website on the world wide web. if you want exclusivity, find a private site, or create your own. the wheat will then be separated from the chaff. (sorry J_ung)

2. everything cycles, even the daily availability of interesting topics.

3. often it is the way the question is asked or the apparant lack of fundamental knowledge that generates a STFU n00b! comment. had you done a search you would see ive posted this before.

4. PM someone who gave an honest reply, they'll probably be willing to help.

5. is it that hard to read over some nonsense posts to get to what you want to find out?

You think it is bad for the long time members of the forum. Try being a noob here. Although I don't post much, it does take a good amount of time to sort through the drivel from the good information. In other words the signal to noise ratio is rather low. With the sport of flaming the noob that is common here and giving out dumb advice as a joke to those in the know, a wonder why long time posters come to this same conclusion

you and your kind are definitely whats wrong with this site. just look at how you are ruining this thread!