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Off-Topic Why Does This Forum Work?

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WhatWouldHulkDo

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Many years ago, I tried being a member of a politics discussion forum. I honestly love to argue, when it's a real, reasoned argument. But I just couldn't take there, because it was populated by the worst people in the world. Or at least, people who might have been rational, thinking adults in the real world but liked to act like the worst people in the world from behind the safety of a keyboard. Today, on a whim, I went to go read that forum a little for the first time in years... and it only took about 5 minutes of reading to completely lose faith in humanity again.

So... what is it about this forum that makes it work?

Part of it is simple population. Self-improvement simply doesn't draw the same sheer numbers of people, unfortunately - particularly when there's no easy answers. But on the plus side, less people = less monsters. And a smaller population is far easier for our much-appreciated moderators to keep control of.

I want to believe that the biggest reason is that most folks on here aren't here because they want to be the "best", in spite of some of our competitive natures. We're here because we want to be the best version of ourselves. And the best version of ourselves generally is usually thoughtful, reflective and supportive.

And, of course, the subject matter is simply less charged. Countries don't go to war over the best way to work up to a pistol squat. Many people don't seem to be able to be their best selves and be passionate about a topic at the same... are our best self necessarily dispassionate?

I just feel like, if someone could find a way to put the vibe here into virus, and infect the rest of the internet with it... that'd be Nobel Prize stuff.

Now I'm gonna go swing some kettlebells to restore my faith in humanity.
 
In my view it comes down to the fact that the people on this forum tend to be serious about the subject matter - they actually want to be strong or muscly or fast etc, not just to virtue signal on those subjects. And related to that is the expectation to back up what you say with evidence or at least be upfront if what you're saying is based on your own experience/feelings and nothing more
 
Considering the large variaty of countries we are all from its an even greater achievement, dont you think?

I believe that everyone in this forum seeks self-improvement (as @LukeV above said some wants to be stronger, some muscler, some faster) but even if we do want this it is clear to me that our greatest enemy is ourselves not the others, so when you enter the forum you either ask searching for advice or reply to give an advice or an opinion, but we either consider the other users teachers or students, leaving aside some toxic or non productive behaviour.

This forum, at least for me, feels more like a Dojo you are here to listen, learn, repeat and share, its our "Place of the way".
 
Here we have a common goal, which matters most.
Me and my former coach, when started to discuss politics, quickly arrived to absolute disaster, so different opinions. Despite the fact, we made a gentleman's agreement not to talk about it ever, because we have something bigger. To quote, it was "F@k politics, sport is more important". That's pretty much sums up the cause.
 

-S-
 
While we are all on similar paths another thing that I see here over other forums is a higher level of maturity. While there are a few people in their twenties the majority of us are older in age. We're here to learn from each other and support each other. While there are a lot of men here there are plenty of ladies here moving forward with attaining their goals and in a lot of cases kicking our a$$, which is great. I log in everyday looking to not just to log my training but to keep in contact with people from all over the world, all working to attain the same goal as the rest of us.
 
Of the many wonderful aspects of this forum, one I like that stands out to me is that; whilst our ‘goal’ of improvement is pretty common our individual goals are at times vastly different from one another. From around the globe we have powerlifters, oly lifters, GS, bodybuilding, body weight specialists, strongmen, martial artists, climbers, surfers, cyclists, runners, hunters, folks trying to lose weight, folks trying to gain weight, folks battling some health issues, folks staying ahead of the game to help protect us and our loved ones..., the list goes on and on. (I have a lot of this compiled)

Yet for all of these differences...all of these different goals and aspirations all are treated for the most part like brothers and sisters and partners in our journey.
 
I'd like to echo everything said above.

I think that there's an army of people like myself who also come here daily to read and learn from all of you folks while rarely commenting ourselves. For me it's because I feel I don't have enough experience to provide advice and I'm not as thoughtful or as good with words as all of you. I could definitely participate more but I'd likely just be saying "I'd like to echo everything said above" over and over again. Ain't nobody got time for that. Any questions that I have seem to have been answered already somewhere in the forum.

Seriously though this community is fantastic and thanks to all the heavy hitters and everybody else for contributing. I've learned so much from all of you.
 
So many pieces taken from so many logs I can put together to complete my own puzzle.
Finding knowledge, advice, inspiration and support, sharing experiences.
Seeing others progressing.
Being a tiny part of a community where respect is important.
 
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Internet discussion forum (noun) - A means of complaining about other people by typing
Social media (noun) - A means of complaining about people in which you hope to get social approval indicators (I.e. Likes) from everyone that you are not complaining about
Twitter (noun) - A means by which people act like twits in hopes of receiving social approval indicators.
Online community (noun) - A means of avoiding other people.

The Strong First forums often have a bit of philosophical bent to them: people trying to push back the limitations that they can push back, accepting the limitations they cannot push back, and sharing there findings with a minimum of sarcasm/ridicule.
 
@WhatWouldHulkDo, thank you for your post.

I want to believe that the biggest reason is that most folks on here aren't here because they want to be the "best", in spite of some of our competitive natures. We're here because we want to be the best version of ourselves. And the best version of ourselves generally is usually thoughtful, reflective and supportive.
I like this!

Countries don't go to war over the best way to work up to a pistol squat.
I guess you haven't visited Reddit lately. :)

Many people don't seem to be able to be their best selves and be passionate about a topic at the same... are our best self necessarily dispassionate?
I'll respectfully disagree here. Passion doesn't mean a lack of self-control. Passion and maturity aren't mutually exclusive.

To be the best version of one's self should be everyone's mission in life. All good that the world lacks would follow.

-S-
 
"Ideas do not leave their source." I guess people on here try to be adults in the best sense and this can be traced back to the chief, Pavel. His ethos and intentions ripple through his works and also through this forum. And we, as a community, feel attracted to it, and try to live up to it.

That is at least one possible interpretation.

BTW: I used to be part of a Ukulele forum and people there were really relaxed, nerdy, and fun :D
 
"Ideas do not leave their source." I guess people on here try to be adults in the best sense and this can be traced back to the chief, Pavel. His ethos and intentions ripple through his works and also through this forum. And we, as a community, feel attracted to it, and try to live up to it.
This.

-S-
 
There are plenty of people that I consider pretty much my friends these days and we have great community here... I highly suggest that people should start keeping their training logs here.
There is another great sub-community.
@Steve Freides also does great work to keep discussions in check.

And when someone new is seeking advice it's always great to notice that many of the most respected members of this community offer their advice for free... Like @Brett Jones @Pavel Macek @Anna C
And bit less known whealth of knowledge, The Arctic Beast @Antti and for endurace related topics there is only one, the chosen one @offwidth
 
I got nothing to say.
 
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