[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
Okay guys, I heard what a mess of a thread occurred earlier today (Wed) from my conversations with Skynett and about how I’ve been feeling that the overall quality and especially the reputation of this site have dropped quite a bit. So let me just make a couple of statements here, and then leave it at that.
First, I have been on this site for over a decade. In that time, I’ve always had a certain image in my mind of what it represented to me. Yes, the forums themselves are the product of many many contributors, but overall, this site filled a certain role for me. I had one online site I would go to for my ‘fluff’ pieces on the latest celebrity to get into shape, one site I would go to in order to get results and discussions on the latest contests, and then I had T-Nation, the site where I could engage in intelligent discussion with serious trainers from different backgrounds and with their own opinions.
As I progressed in my own development, and was given a couple of ‘thank you perks’ by the higher ups for (as they put it) mentoring the newbs and more inexperienced T-folks, I was truly proud to be associated with the site. I puffed out my chest wearing either my Biotest or Testosterone T-shirts at contests, in a few of my training videos, heck, at any opportunity.
Well, in the last couple of years, I’ve started taking notice of just how this site is regarded elsewhere, on the internet, as well as among the other competitors in the sport. To be completely honest, I wasn’t really happy with what I heard. Now, I’m not going to get into particulars of why I feel things have taken a dip, but I will say that I’d love nothing more than for things to improve. I’ve written in many threads before that there are a serious number of people currently on here that are not only highly intelligent, but have educational credentials and real world accomplishments that allow for some truly high end discussions and sharing of information.
For the record, my issues were that as a WNBF Pro, as well as a coach, I try to keep an eye on my reputation. I’ve had videos and articles about me on several different sites as well as in magazines. I’ve even been offered monthly columns elsewhere. What I didn’t realize when I started out, was that as a successful competitor I have essentially become my own product. With all the BS flying around here lately, it made me realize that it was probably not the best place for my product to be associated with. Hopefully we can take steps to remedy this.
I had no intention of bringing more ‘drama’, or making a scene instead of just hitting the ignore button on certain posters. That really does nothing to address problems, it just hides them. All I can do at the end of the day is worry about me. If my considering taking a leave is enough to get some people’s panties in a bunch, so be it. If other people don’t care, just as well. Personally, I’d rather hope that we can get back to the days when TN was regarded as the place where the smart gym rats hung out. A site that I honestly cared about sporting their logos on my chest when I walked into the gym each afternoon to test my mettle.
S[/quote]
You’re a good guy Stu. I quite frankly do not care what peoples impression is of T-Nation. I like it here. I have good conversations here and I have met good people here, so that’s all that matters to me.
Training wise, this industry moves slowly. It’s hard to be cutting edge at all moments, but historically this site has been the most cutting edge and has made me rethink my training over and over again.
I quite frankly don’t care if anybody agrees or not, but between Waterbury and Poloquin, nobody has been more revolutionary with regards to training than those guys. I have learned several things. Hard doesn’t equal effective. Do what works, leave the rest out. There is a fine line between forcing adaptation and causing your physiology to shut down. Lifting more will always be better than lifting less for reps. Cardio is a high effort low result methodology, etc.
All that I learned here, way before anybody else caught on.
There are only a couple of things that hairlip me about this site. The name change. I much prefer ‘testosterone.net’ to ‘T-Nation’. And the stoned silence with regards to what happened to PM’s. I quite frankly don’t understand the latter, with no explanation.
Anyway, I always welcome your insight. Your successes make you a valuable resource, because while some claim to know what they are talking about, you compete at a high level with success and it’s clear you know what you are talking about.