Here's what I think about Elitefitness (and it's downfall)

[Outtlaw]

Here's what I think about Elitefitness (and it's decline)

For those of you who know me, you already know I dont waste my time in board politics and things of that nature. I stay true to my love of bodybuilding and fitness and let other people worry about everything else. But after the things that have been brought to light over the last few months (especially the last day or so) I feel it's time for me to speak up.

Honestly, I think this board has started to turn towards the C&C crowd (and even turn into a C&C board). I think people would agree with me when I say that the anabolic, diet, and training forums have become 2nd tier to everything else on this site. This site is now all about karma, and bombs, and locked threads, and everything else comes afterwards.

We can start with this whole karma situation. People abused the hell outta that system and made it into what it has become today. I don’t really care about karma. I do think it’s a good idea to recognize people who give good information on post, and in that aspect I think karma is good. However, karma doesn’t mean anything anymore because people buy it, bet it, trade it, give it to their friends for no reason, etc. So there’s no way to tell who is experienced in diet, training, etc. without looking at their post history (which I believe non plats cannot do). I think there needs to be some way to recognize the experienced bros on here, and I don’t think karma is the answer anymore.

Next I have to speak on this COB membership thing. This is another aspect of the board that recently came about that I also feel only benefits the people in places like C&C. Think about it, I don’t really involve myself in the politics and drama on this site. I come here to talk about gear, diet, and training. I try to give advice where I can, and hopefully gain a little more wisdom and knowledge along with everyone else here. What do people like me have to gain by becoming COB??? The answer is nothing, except for a $1000 hole in my bank account.

1) I dont care about being able to drop a superpower bomb, and all that other nonsense. I can probably count the number of times on 1 hand that I've had to bomb somebody since I've been plat. All of these little features that benefit the peeps in C&C and the other forums that have nothing to do with training, I could give a rats ass about.

2) It’s certainly not the recognition… I got the same generic letter that all the other 50 something some odd people got, with my name cut and pasted at the top. If you want to recognize me for the way I’ve helped out on the anabolic and training forums on this site, then send me a REAL letter for a REAL selected group of members (something that cannot be bought) and then explain why you picked me over the other members to be a part of it. I may have to offend somebody, but that COB invite we got was almost insulting.

I’ve been a member here for over 3 yrs now, and despite the other fitness sites I visit I still call this place my home base. But as of recent I’ve watched the steady decline of this site, and as much as it pains me to say it… if things don’t start to turn around soon, I will be finding a new site to call home. This post may offend some people, it may even get deleted for all I know. But this is me telling it like it is, and somebody needs to say it.

 

[skacorica]

I actually agree 100%...Ive been plat for quite a while now, and its to support the site (and use search!), not to drop bombs etc etc.

 

[cranny]

Re: Here's what I think about Elitefitness (and it's decline)

For those of you who know me, you already know I dont waste my time in board politics and things of that nature. I stay true to my love of bodybuilding and fitness and let other people worry about everything else. But after the things that have been brought to light over the last few months (especially the last day or so) I feel it's time for me to speak up.

Honestly, I think this board has started to turn towards the C&C crowd (and even turn into a C&C board). I think people would agree with me when I say that the anabolic, diet, and training forums have become 2nd tier to everything else on this site. This site is now all about karma, and bombs, and locked threads, and everything else comes afterwards.

We can start with this whole karma situation. People abused the hell outta that system and made it into what it has become today. I don’t really care about karma. I do think it’s a good idea to recognize people who give good information on post, and in that aspect I think karma is good. However, karma doesn’t mean anything anymore because people buy it, bet it, trade it, give it to their friends for no reason, etc. So there’s no way to tell who is experienced in diet, training, etc. without looking at their post history (which I believe non plats cannot do). I think there needs to be some way to recognize the experienced bros on here, and I don’t think karma is the answer anymore.

Next I have to speak on this COB membership thing. This is another aspect of the board that recently came about that I also feel only benefits the people in places like C&C. Think about it, I don’t really involve myself in the politics and drama on this site. I come here to talk about gear, diet, and training. I try to give advice where I can, and hopefully gain a little more wisdom and knowledge along with everyone else here. What do people like me have to gain by becoming COB??? The answer is nothing, except for a $1000 hole in my bank account.

1) I dont care about being able to drop a superpower bomb, and all that other nonsense. I can probably count the number of times on 1 hand that I've had to bomb somebody since I've been plat. All of these little features that benefit the peeps in C&C and the other forums that have nothing to do with training, I could give a rats ass about.

2) It’s certainly not the recognition… I got the same generic letter that all the other 50 something some odd people got, with my name cut and pasted at the top. If you want to recognize me for the way I’ve helped out on the anabolic and training forums on this site, then send me a REAL letter for a REAL selected group of members (something that cannot be bought) and then explain why you picked me over the other members to be a part of it. I may have to offend somebody, but that COB invite we got was almost insulting.

I’ve been a member here for over 3 yrs now, and despite the other fitness sites I visit I still call this place my home base. But as of recent I’ve watched the steady decline of this site, and as much as it pains me to say it… if things don’t start to turn around soon, I will be finding a new site to call home. This post may offend some people, it may even get deleted for all I know. But this is me telling it like it is, and somebody needs to say it.

Solid post bro. My sentiments exactly. I've been here a little over a year and have never bombed anyone. Don't really see the point other than trying to get under someones skin. Glad you posted it. This is the type of post that deserves karma if you 're going to give it .

 

[wellbilt]

i gotta agree with ya bro

 

[blut wump]

Well stated, Outlaw. I posted about the Karma explosion and the coming emphasis on C&C last September before it went completely out of hand and the decline into the current situation has come as no surprise.

The site needs to decide where its real business lies. Whether being a bodybuilding, diet and training mega-site or whether the main thrust is selling Karma for the Karma gambling operations.

The training forum is even more straight-laced than the aas forum with regard to bombs and Karma. Pretty much the only time a bomb is dropped in the training forum is when someone from C&C decides it's time to end the layoff and goes over there and pretends he knows about training because of having high K.

On both boards you just have to keep your eyes open to decide who has the knowledge and who is just a wannabe. I've been here around 16 months and that really hasn't changed; it's just that the higher K holders now have millions rather than tens of thousands.

Obviously, I'm as responsible as almost anyone for the inflation but the site offered Karma acquisition as a game. There's even a high-score table in the store.

 

[digger]

You've got some good points there, and George is thinking about all those things. (It's not my place to say much more about that. There will always be more ideas than time or budget to put them into play.)

On the Chairman invitation, I wouldn't be insulted about it. We're all grownups, right? We all get things in the mail that try to stroke us; some of them just work better than others. I'd be more insulted about the C&C peeps who feel they have to point it out to everyone, like they're the only ones who noticed and the rest of us are all stupid or something.

The way I'd approach this is "George wants to tell you a little story, and we'd like for you to suspend your disbelief and enjoy it. Let EF make you feel special for a few minutes." Okay?

 

[thelion2005]

This site is a business with a fitness mission ... That was my understanding and first impression. I reasoned that that was the initial reason people came here and stayed because of the quality of the advice and information.

I still believe that is true and the "guests" who come here have fitness and aas on their mind. Therefore the emphasis should be on that service because that is where the growth is.

I do understand the need for the c&c area. There is much more to life than your wo. There is almost genius in some of the posts and replies I have seen there. However, I have also seen people's lives trashed and held up for comic display, which is much more like AOL Chat rooms than EF.

 

[blut wump]

My early visits to C&C were just to blow off Karma to get rid of the annoying "you must spread..." message.

It's kind of addictive but there's really very little actual conversation there unless there's an outrageous drama going on. The vitriol in some of the dramas is lamentable and I think only a core few really feed on them.

 

[fortunatesun]

I really don't understand why the karma issue takes up some much of our time. OK, some of us have a hobby called Fun With Numbers- it doesn't detract from the real reason we're here. It's just a fun diversion, which was supposedly one of the reasons karma was introduced in the first place. If we want to treat it like some sort of real commodity and strive for an 'economic justice', then my vote is to turn the problem over to the Brain Trust at the Wealth & Enterpreneurship Forum. I'm sure they'd be better at creating the incentive for a K based economy to be more functional.

Also, this C&C vs. Rest of the World issue. To me, all this griping sounds like so much Frat BS. Like many of the people posting here, I come to EF to learn as much as I can, and to share what small amounts of practical knowlege I have. On the other hand, C&C also serves an important function. Being able to vent can be important to many of us who train hard. I agree that some of what goes on there can be childish and over the top, but you know what the climate is like there, so just man up if you want to post there. No one's forcing you to participate. This is an adult oriented forum and all this whining about crowns, bombs, and so forth should be beneath us. Just get on with your life. As to the question of whether people from C&C actually work out, well it IS strange that they'd choose a fitness site to hang out in, but it's contained. A number of them would be posting here anyway, and C&C serves to increase the number of quality threads in other forums.

For all that , I have to agree with Outlaw's position. Much focus has shifted away from what was intended in the first place. I don't know why we're so obsessed with the drama and politics of what goes on via our computer screen, but we are. I agree that we need to have some way to re-emphasize what is important. I would hate for EF to become one of those things whose time has passed.

 

[iHulk]

Outlaw, brotha I'm right there with ya. Just stay true to your goals and the reason why you came here in the first place and none of that other shit matters.