Kiss of life?

[Charmian]

Well pointed out

I didn't notice it, as it hasn't had a post since 2009 and isn't a sticky thread, and I can never seem to get the search facility to work as I want it to (I can never find what I'm searching for with it)

I did look through the thread, and I didn't see EOD or LK and other such terms, so I think the point I raised is still valid

Are you an FRA member? LK is explained in the annual Handbook.

[Marco]

You've missed the point, again

Part of my point is that to an outsider, there is no indication of who anyone is, how old they are or where they are based. It would be far more welcoming to potential new members of the forum, if all contributors were open about their identity. Many of the 20,843 members of the FRUK FB group are not fell runners and it would be great to make this forum a go-to place for folk who genuinely want to learn about the sport.

If you read your own post from 2 days ago, you will note that you said you wanted to be "more welcoming to potential new members", and went on to say "Many of the 20,843 members of the FRUK FB group are not fell runners"

Furthermore, if you'd read my post from yesterday you would know that I understand what LK means.

If you could take the trouble to read peoples posts before you reply it would be a lot more constructive

[noel]

Your main point being that instead of making the forum more inclusive, mandating people to share their real name might make it less inclusive?

How would you (and others) feel if the moderators knew people's real names (as part of the registration process), but people could still keep their identity secret if they wanted to?

I realise as I'm a moderator that sounds a bit creepy.

[noel]

Or perhaps that should read "the moderators could find out people's real names if needed".

It would be a bit weird if I knew everyone's real names, but others in the same conversation didn't.

[Fellbeast]

I think there is an even bigger group of people, that we haven't mentioned, who may be unhappy to identify themselves: women. In view of the number who have received harassment, threats and worse, I can see good grounds for some of them not wishing to reveal their identity.

'Politely encouraged' is not a bad idea, but compulsion is

Are you sure that’s just not you mansplaining what women think? You know, I’m thinking that an actual woman might have a better handle on it, like all those women already on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter (but not on here) and already posting about fell, trail and ultra running using very often their real names

[Travs]

There's a lot of great points on this thread... probably the busiest thread for quite a while...

The concern for me though...

If you put aside the fantastic archive of info that this place is...

If there's 20000 people on the facebook group, 8000 in the FRA and (at an optimistic guess) 30 people who post here regularly or semi-regularly.... there's a fair chance the powers that be will decide its just not worth the hassle and close it down.

This would undoubtedly be a terrible thing... we should do all we can to keep the forum busy... post up any up-to-the-minute info re races etc, and if its in our power, encourage others to use the forum, particularly RO's etc to share info on here...

A great example was during the various lockdowns, when race cancellations and re-schedulings were posted up in here on the "Another victim" thread, and that thread was often way more up-to-date than the (excellent) race pages on the FRA website itself.

[Travs]

Are you sure that’s just not you mansplaining what women think? You know, I’m thinking that an actual woman and might have a better handle on it, you know like all those women already on Facebook and Instagram and Twitter (but not on here) and already posting about fell, trail and ultra running

On the other hand, Marco is to my knowledge the only mixed race guy on here, has voiced his concerns over having to identify himself, and seems to have been largely ignored.

[Fellbeast]

Haha I have actual real experience taking straight on and questioning properly racist comments made on here (and even taking flack for doing so), when everyone else seemed to be covering their eyes to it. For sure I can understand Marco in the light of all that

[Charmian]

There's a lot of great points on this thread... probably the busiest thread for quite a while...

The concern for me though...

If you put aside the fantastic archive of info that this place is...

If there's 20000 people on the facebook group, 8000 in the FRA and (at an optimistic guess) 30 people who post here regularly or semi-regularly.... there's a fair chance the powers that be will decide its just not worth the hassle and close it down.

This would undoubtedly be a terrible thing... we should do all we can to keep the forum busy... post up any up-to-the-minute info re races etc, and if its in our power, encourage others to use the forum, particularly RO's etc to share info on here...

A great example was during the various lockdowns, when race cancellations and re-schedulings were posted up in here on the "Another victim" thread, and that thread was often way more up-to-date than the (excellent) race pages on the FRA website itself.

You make some great points Trav - thank you. I am open to maintaining the Forum going forward but I will need convincing that it does have a future and not just a glorious past. I currently have one volunteer from this group, willing to help us and there are some who seem to be determined to misconstrue my comments. If the FRA are to invest hard currency, then should we not expect members of this forum to also be members of the FRA?

If there are genuine concerns about abuse then tell me about it on [email protected] as it goes without saying that abuse should not be tolerated on this forum. I stand behind my earlier comment that the best way to increase diversity within the sport is to celebrate participation of those who have already found and enjoy fell running and Adnan Khan is a great example. The sport is welcoming to all and should be promoted as such and great sources of information and advice are those on this Forum and the clubs they run for but if we don't know who they are, then they don't appear approachable.

So, if you have a vested interest in the future of the FRA Forum then get in touch with me.
I don't bite and if I misunderstand something then explain it to me.

[Hank]

I've been on the forum for years and seen it go through various periods of activity/inactivity. I think it's main problem at the moment is a lack of frequent, regular posters. For a forum to be successful it needs 'content' that isn't static like the vast majority of threads on here. It's a bit chicken and egg though i.e. you need more folk participating to encourage others to join.

Like a lot of people here I'm not on Facebook, but it serves a purpose and clearly a lot of people are opting to use it. And whether you like what's being posted there or not, it looks like it's at least lively and worth checking in on regularly if you're looking for new posts.

I could well imagine this place isn't particularly welcoming for newcomers. I agree that newcomers would be welcomed if they posted, but I doubt many get that far. The current small number of posters creates an impression of everyone knowing each other and some of the older, contentious threads (which also tend to have been the most active) aren't a great advert. I certainly know a couple of people in real life who have drifted away from the forum because of some of the prevailing opinions on here and how they're expressed. Even in this (generally positive) thread the tone of some posts has shifted pretty quickly to unnecessarily aggro.

Re. anonymity, I reckon the idea of encouraging people to use real names and avatars is the way to go. I think generally it makes for healthier, more accountable exchanges, but there will be some people who, for professional or personal reasons, aren't comfortable sharing their name and that should be respected.

And yeah, a new look and some slicker functionality wouldn't hurt.

Here endeth my two pence worth.