I can’t take it anymore. I’ve been out of the gym for many years and just got back into lifting. Like many others I have many questions and I have turned my questions to the T-mag forum because the answers are usually solid, accurate, to the point and effective. BUT-- Far too often some quick mouthed impatient responder tells the person asking the question, in a bothered tone, that their “idiotic” question could have been answered by a search or they should do some homework first before coming to the forum. What is wrong with you people? I would guess that you may have taken supplements, or have looked for advice youselves–why–so you could acheive your goal quickly and effectively. The questions we ask are motivated by the same thing as your supplementation: a desire to get the results we want as quickly as possible. Interacting with knowledgeable people is quicker than searching and usually leads to more efficient, focused searches. Please, in the future if you think a question is stupid, or you don’t want to be bothered with it simply don’t post a response and if you’re still angry go kick your dog. You’re responses are turning people away from participating in a great exchange of info. If you were so lucky to be born with 5% body fat and an immense, continuing growth sprut since then, God bless you, the rest of have to work at it and we want info, quick practiced effective info and the T-mag forum is the place to get it! I commend people like Bill Roberts who clearly not the first time, wrote a complete answer to a question regarding solutions for acne. His patience and willingnes to answer the question will keep people coming back. Isn’t that what the forum is, a place to echange ideas?
Keep it check and let people who need it get the info they want.
(no dogs were injured in the typing of this post and the encouragement to kick a dog is written totally in the contex of type written exchanges and is not a suggestion to be tried on a real animal)
If you disagree, read the rules of the forum before you post.
Oh plain and simple…as I have previously posted under a different thread, if you use the search engine first you wil probably get a MUCH more complete and knowlegeable answer. T-mag in MY opinion, isn’t meant for the “common newbie” or “sheep” or else half the crew of T-mag would have stayed with MM2000 where they started. T-mag was designed for the person who has been lifting for a while and knows the basics. Also the common T-mag reader is SMART ENOUGH TO USE THE FRIGGIN SEARCH ENGINE. Honestly, I am REALLY not trying to be a dick, but why did people like Bill and Brock and TC, and Tim put a LOT of hard work and research into their articles if we were just gonna ignore them and post anyway? That defeats the entire idea of a searchable online mag bro…why not just let them relax…quit writing articles and doing research, and just answer the forum…I am sure it would be a lot easier for them!!! Instead they do a LOT of research, talk to a LOT of people and try a LOT of things so we can benifit from their experience. To me it is only a sign of respect to them to search first. It is kinda like asking the teacher a question that was covered in last weeks class…they may answer it politely, however deep inside they are asking…why wasn’t he paying attention last week…or why didn’t he read what we have already gone over?? Just my opinion dude!
I totally understand where BOTH of you guys are coming from. However, I think whopper is overlooking something. Not to start an argument or anything, BUT, I believe that alot of guys/gals post questions on this board in order to feel that they are participating, to feel heard and to interact! Dude, these kind of internet boards are very addicting, and if all we had to do was search on this site, or go to a medical library to find the answer (which is possible), then this forum may as well not exist! People like John Berardi, C.Shugart, TC, etc. don’t have to answer anything, but do, I suspect, because: 1. T-mag/Biotest is a business. The only way for a business to thrive and grow is to attract new customers in new and innovative ways. 2. By answering questions, they refresh their memories and keep ‘on their feet’ so to speak. It’s a way of interacting. Now, for someone who has been participating on this board for a while, it may feel ‘irritating’ when someone comes along and asks something like, “If I do 500 situps, will it help me lose my beer belly?” In that case, just don’t respond if it irritates you! Sometimes, the questions are so fundamental that you want to laugh your ass off, or just cry. What are you gonna do? Post a banner on this site that reads, “If you’re a newbie, please don’t enter this forum! For serious, intelligent, well read weight lifters only! Fuck off!”? If someone posts a question that’s been asked before, and you don’t feel like answering it again, just say, “Hey, do a search on ------.” Geeze, it’s not like we’re doing Nobel Prize winning work here…we’re just interacting; it’s informative, it’s helpful and quick, and best of all, it’s fun! My two cents.
Yes, yes, there are always two sides to the ol’ coin, eh? Anyway, Mac Daddy Maclar, you paraphrased things very nicely. And I too see both sides of the story. I can just see a newbie hitting the forum for the first time, creaming his draws and just posting the first thing that comes to his mind: How do I get huge and lose fat all at the same wonderful time or something similar that we often see.
Now, as a regular, we see some of the same posts very often that we repeatedly respond to or the answer lies in the Online Mag (a lot of them do). So we can ignore the poster, be polite and say search such and such, or have a lil' fun with the *newbie* and hassle 'em. I really give Shoogs a bunch of credit because he seems to answer a lot of the questionable posts.
What really bothers me is when we do get one of these posts that we could just torch or is totally idiotic and some of the guys post some decent answers and/or give specifics where to search. But when the original poster never returns to reply or thank the peeps for the responses, that's what pisses me off.
Mac…I do see your point. I guess for me I come to T-mag to get away from the same old shit I could get from FLEX, Muscle and Fitness, or any of the other mainstream fitness mags. When I see a silly ass post it upsets me. T-mag was designed to be “hardcore” but I will consider your point the next time I see a silly post. I guess I feel it is my job to “educate” the newbie (with a little jab as well I guess) on the wealth of info that T-mag has. For me, I read every article on the previous issues before I ever even found the forum…so I guess I got lucky…your right, you cannot expect everyone to have the same luck. Peace!
What do you say to people that haven’t researched anything? Personally, if I’m asking a question or answering one, I’ll research it quickly checking out t-mag, google and other sources. More often than not most of us will flame you, but then point you in to the right direction.
I remember in a thread about the Post Workout drink, a newbie said something like “Ditch the hydrolysate whey and get some Grow!”. What the fuck! I can’t resist the urge when confronted with blatent ignorance. Furtheremore with any of the contributers, they are going to be polite no matter how many times the question has been asked. If they started flaming everyone, T-mag would get a bad rap. Besides if you get flamed don’t take it personally, most flamers aren’t that bad once you get to knoe them.
I just really hate the questions like i train 8 days a week for 3 hours and i cant make gains, what do i do? I know i should be more patient but damn, if you half way read one damn week of Tmag you would now that wasnt the way to go. I hate the questions asked by people who obviously do no research at all. It just really bugs me. Sorry.
whopper–a double with cheese, please–that last post of your’s was good-to-go, bro. That’s the kind of attitude that separates you from the rest of the ironheads. And you’re right, since you are so well-versed with everything that’s been published by T-mag, you can be of superior help to all kinds of T-Peeps, not just newbies. But don’t feel like you’ve got to lend a hand out to everyone…it can get pretty frustrating. And definitely, go the extra mile to poke some fun or jab the newbie It’s all in good fun, bro.
I am glad to read the responses from both pints of view. Thats wahat the forum is about an dexchange of ideas that usually leads to greater knowledge. I can see both sides as well. Fortunately I have yet to be flamed (knock on wood) but I am sure sooner of later it will happen, nmot just to me but to most of us. Every one knows a little than someone else.
I get a chuckle out of ridiculuous questions just like anyone else (training 7 days week for 3 hours why won’t I grow? etc.) And I understand this is a “hardcore” site and forum. But people have to start somewhere. Even the moderators of the forum worte rules and these rules clearly suggest not flaming newbies etc.
Whatever the result, I’m sure no one was seriously injured and every one will be Ok, except perhaps the dogs.
Marc, as you pointed out, this board is moderated to prevent a couple of rotten apples running roughshod over everyone, especially the newbies. I do think that the rude treatment given what is considered a stupid question is unwarranted. Really, it takes more energy to flame someone than to give them quick guidance on what to search for in the past issues. As you said, we all started somewhere, and for many of us, it was working each bodypart for 20 sets. Most of us know better now, but some still are atill coming up to speed. When I see something that I really think is idiotic, I just ignore it.
Timbo bro…thanks for the kudos. I do appreciate them. I think part of the flaming issue is all Biotests fault. If they had not created andro…we wouldnt have these temper issues unless we were juicing…lmao!! Yea…thats it…Biotest made me do it!! LOL!
The funniest thing I’ve seen in this forum is when Hyok had the balls to tell Timbo and Nate Dogg to go jerk eachother off somewhere else. LOL. I whole heartedly agree with Hyok. Although I think these guys are great, shit like that turns this forum into “queer as folk”. Fellow T- Bro’s, this is a Testosterone forum. Kick ass, not for pussies, hardcore, with the occasional joke, the occasional ribbing, and the words of encouragement. We often start with a great thread, and then the thing turns into Wally and the Beaver stroking eachother. I mean, gosh golly gee Beave! I think we need more chat about how our workouts are going, how the Euphoria is coming along, and less “hey snoop daddy puff nate doggie dogg do, your a really great guy, what gym do you work out at in oklahoma, cause I could sure use a wonderful guy like you to spot me!”
strass diggity doggy dope daddy, thats some funny shit. by the way where do you train, you big testosterone god? i could definitely use a spot from you. lol.
Timbo and Strass… You guys said it all. I admit, I’ve nailed a few guys for asking what I thought were basically ignorant and lazy questions only to have them come crying back because I hurt their feelings. However, some of the other posts on this column were right, too. To be honest, it does take a lot less effort sometimes to simply answer someone’s question rather than make a smartass comment at them. But when someone asks something like “What is Tribex?” directly to the t-mag staff, they deserve to get slammed (in my humble opinion). TC and the guys work way too hard to waste their time answering shit like that. (And yes, I understand that it’s not my job to play the hand of God and answer for those guys, so don’t write back explaining that to me). Anyway, that’s my 2 cents for tonight.
My initial reaction to posts that are in the mags is as per whoppers’ but I must say Im swayed by the other points here. I just want to add that we could have an issue with good threads getting bumped prematurely due to limited space. Any thoughts on different formats from other forums that could make things run smoother and encourage more participation (ie not listing all responses on the main page, locking threads, different areas like “the weight room (for getting big)”, “the cardio room (fat loss)” "the post workout bar (off topic) and “the chemist”?? any others?
Think about it this way-a neewbie question may seem obvious to you but dont just snap back at them because I am sure the majority of your questions seem obvious and a waste of time to the T-mag staff but they still answer without the un-helpful bull shit. There is always people smarter then you and more ignorant then you-help the ignorant people because you know you are gonna want help from the smarter people when the time comes.
I like the idea of specific areas, such as weight room, cardio etc. That should focus the topics and responses. It may not stop the flaming but it will focus the exchange of info and make it more efficient! Good call. Marc