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This forum and surviving

This forum only survives because of the 220 magazine

Without the magazine this forum would implode


True or false ??

Discuss

Comments

  • andissandiss Posts: 82
    True

    Nothing happens on this forum as its as pointless as the mag.


    :roll:
  • I would just like to say as someone who has returned to triathlon after a long break my first instinct was to go out and buy a copy of 220 magazine. For interest as a previous owner of one of the country's first ever triathlon based retail outlets and a sponsor of local clubs and helping to run and support triathlon races, I believe from memory that I was one of the few advertisers in the first ever 220 issue in this country.

    I was pleased to find out that there was a forum to which I could turn to for advice, and when I felt confident to try and support others.

    The strength of any forum is the contributions and interest shown by others. I for one check the forum about twice a day between training sessions and have always tried to be constructive and helpful of any post submitted.

    I am aware that there is also another forum which has developed alongside this one (BCTT), but in all honesty I was an active contributor to this forum for a number of months before i became aware of it as a result of a post questioning why it was not working. At no point did anyone from BCTT point out about this or invite me across, which I think says a lot! If you think this forum is crap and a waste of your time, quite simply keep away from it. If it grows it grows, if it dies it dies, but for many people like myself it might be the first port of call and as such remain important. I for one will try to make a positive contribution to this forum in the future as i feel it serves a purpose.

    If there is a problem with a lot of the posts and replies on here it is that they are often not very objective and tend to be a bit self indulgent. As such there seems to be very little discussion regarding triathlon from an holistic perspective. It has left me feeling that a lot of people in the 'sport' or is it a 'lifestyle' are simply in it for themselves, but I may be wrong, if I am my appologies.
  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    Are we talking Chicken and egg here,
    people arrive here either via an engine search or have picked up the mag,suppose people could have suggested the forum as well.

    As it is magazine based,and as far as I am concerned 220 is the magazine that the others TW and T+ base themselves on,both the others are piggy backing on other magazines be it running or cycling.

    So there has been a downturn in respondents to threads,people come and go,most stay for a short while get the info they want and wander off,it is you might say,'an initial port of call',for budding triathletes,

    as it is,then the threads do get repititve,so people get bored,but that is the nature of the beast.
    Any similarity between the downturn in new folk and the downturn in the economy,expenses going elsewhere.

    Of course it is dependant on the Magazine,advertisements supporting IT etc.

    If people are unhappy then as it is a free forum,you don't have to stay if you don't want.The difference between this and others such as the aforementioned club is just that,this is not a club,(although it was suggested to the mag management that they could have one),so you don't get the banter,that you get on Tritalk,pirates forum blah blah.

    the only downside is the spamming,which happens on most OPEN easy to access forums.

    I like to think that it is less clique' than other forums in the tri world.
  • Great post

    One glaring error though it's BCTTT
  • Appologies to members of the BCTTT for missing off a T.

    In reply to the comments I can see that there might well be a transient population which use this forum, but the same could be said of any 'open' forum yet others develop without having to turn into a 'club'.

    What I feel is very disapointing is that there seems to be a lack of desire to support this place as an in depth resource for the British triathlon community, as a result I spend more time reading and contributing to Slowtwitch. I am also of the generation of its founders and like them was involved in design and development in the sport quite some time ago. I do feel there is a real reason behind this and that goes back to my comment on Sport vs Lifestyle.

    I personaly am finding, and please feel free to come back and shoot me down on this one, that is the point of an open forum, very little of the sport I left around these days. In similar ways as to the growth in sportive riding we are seeing the sport manifest itself into a lifestyle choice/statement. Personally I find this difficult to relate to, I am fortunate in that a good number of my bike training loops cover the same ground as acclaimed sportives in my area. I would never think of paying for the right to ride these roads in an event, rather I enjoy them for the sake of what they are prefferably on quiet days 12 months of the year. To turn up hand over your cash ride the route expecting marshalls to point you in the right direction and then leve with a medal and T-shirt for me misses the point and is a mercenary act.

    We are seeing the pressures of lifestyle starting to bear down on the sport of triathlon, with the cancellation at late notice of events around the globe, the bubble will burst as something else becomes trendy, and the comercial interests will vanish when there isn't a quick buck to be made. This should not be the case with a sport in that it should be self sustaining. You can ask questions of ourselves when was the last time we volountarily helped put on a race? And this is where I see a problem with 'forum clubs'. Do they put on events, do they support youth development, are they prepared to go out and work with newcomers to the sport in getting them going? It is easy to hide behind a name on a message board and be whatever you want to be, I do, it is harder to be a member of a local club and constantly take and not give anything back without being labled as a parasite.

    If 220 has got poorer over the years, and I for one think it has, it is only because it is a reflection of the sport it mirrors.

    Yes this forum is weak at times, I remember putting up a post about what legacy are we trying to create within the sport in this country for the future, knowing as we do we should have considerable medal sucess at the Olympics. Once it had over 100 views with no replies, I kind of felt like giving up, when the active post was how do I get an ironman sticker off my helmet. I suspect this highlights a case of wrong time, or wrong audience.

    At the end of the day we decide what we want to get out of triathlon and we package a number of elements together around that choice. If you choose to include this forum in your personal package then that is your choice. As such there should always be room for different attitudes, and we should respect this fact. I do find it disapointing that given the success of our top British professionals there is not a forum which reflect this 'sport' element which is exemplified by the high quality age groupers this country also produces, in contrast I tend to find the British persona to be far more self deprecating as opposed to having confidence in where it actualy stands.
  • ZacniciZacnici Posts: 1,385
    This forum was my first foray into triathlon forums, I have learnt a great deal and over the years got to know many forumites. I know many have migrated to the 'other' forum (myself included) but still have an interest here because of the friendly of the friendly atmosphere and wide breadth of knowledge, nobody loses patience if the same question gets asked and snaps back 'search!' So Forum 220 long may you live.

    As for the mag, sorry don't read it as having spent a horrendous amount on tri over the last 2 years I am skint and having to cut down on non essentials i.e. non tri stuff and even some tri stuff
  • I have to agree with zacnici. When triathlon was first suggested to me I stumbled across the 220 forum and magazine and have found them to be a great help in working out my arse from my elbow at some points.

    However, there are times when there is a stagnation on fresh information with ironman sticker removal taking precedence. But on the other hand its nice to have innocuous subjects discussed as well.

    Lancsrider, I'm just as guilty as everyone when it comes to reading and not posting as this is actually my first post despite being registered for a while now

    Having not really looked at these forums yet I'm tempted to check them out as you can never have too much info but as always I'll keep on coming back to this forum.
  • BlinkybazBlinkybaz Posts: 1,144
    I have been an active member of this forum for around 3 years now and have notched up over a thousand posts. I do find this foum to be a bit slow now and the discussiuons are not quite to level they used to be. No offense meant.

    However it is due to most of the the old hard core posters moving across to another forum that has been been mentioned. I did not migrate across to the other place for around 8 months but in the end info and interest are king (along with comfort of course.)

    Is this foum only alive because of the mag? I believe yes is the correct answer but there is still a pulse so why cant it be the place it was again? This would take a huge influx's of memebres and the BCTTT massive using both.

    But why should the BCTTT massive get this fourm back to what it was when they have their own quity forum which is always getting new posts and never stands still!!! www.bcttt.com worth a look.
  • ZacniciZacnici Posts: 1,385
    Forgot to add, what also p###d a lot of people off was the SPAM That made a lot of people jump to the 'other' forum.

    Every day along with several of the hard care were opening up first thing in the morning and report all the spam postings, thankfully it has calmed down now.
  • jonEjonE Posts: 1,113
    Sport versus Lifestyle

    pretty much sums it up.
    And the evidence is there in the results,
    Times for races in general have not dropped greatly and more relavently is that the number of people achieving good race times have dropped proportionally,good example being the number of UK runners achieving sub 2hr 45m(or 3hr)marathon times.
    Triathlon times,excluding the pros at the top end of the spectrum,have not dropped significantly despite the advances in technology,maybe buying success is easier than working for it.

    Regarding the comment about names on forums being faceless not putting things back into the sport,I cannot speak for other internet clubs but the BCTTT has a large proportion of its members as members of their local club as well,it is often the second club for some,and it does provide support for a number of people to compete in triathlon by helping subsidise them in some way.They do assist in marshalling duties at races,such as Chase Race events,IM Wales to name but a couple.
  • shadowone1shadowone1 Posts: 1,408
    The forum will survive, it will pick back up again but I don't agree with Lancsrider on the issue of bcttt. No-one needs to invite you, you go there yourself and join if you want, its not some mass cult where you are tricked into joining.

    I still post on here, will continue to do with the vain hope that it does pick up again.

    However 220 could do more to promote the forum in its mag - or even actually contribute on here, rather than some random crap question - where they then print in the mag for which we pay to read....
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