dinoiii
December 23rd, 2005, 11:07 AM
Dinoiii’s Rant III:
On Bodybuilding Forums
On the Origin of Posting...
I was watching television a while back sitting at a friend’s house on an extremely comfortable sofa and there’s a commercial that comes on. The commercial features a little man sitting on a log in front of a fake backdrop. And this little man’s pouring his heart out to anyone who owns a credit card.
So, he’s spreading his message and it hit me like a bolt of lightning. Because I couldn’t fathom who may actually buy into his message the way it was being preached, I thought I may have been able to help – so I decided to help spread his message. The best thing I could think of was telling the boys at the DA forum of course.
The genesis of why someone would post on bodybuilding forums, while it doesn’t surround such a story, I hope – likely does stem from somewhere. We can throw out numerous postulates and try to come up with the rationale for everyone. Is it vested interest? Is it pure desire to see others succeed based on your own prior success story (could such altruistic behavior actually exist)?
I suppose you were expecting another rationale as to why someone may post here. I’ve got none really, but we all remain drawn here. While others dissect whose forum “sucks the mostest,” there are likely good rules of thumb to follow.
Differing Opinions
In our media-intensive culture it is not difficult to find differing opinions. Thousands of newspapers and magazines and dozens of radio and television talk shows resound with differing points of view. Online bodybuilding forums are no different. The difficulty lies in deciding which opinion to agree with and which “experts” seem the most credible. The more inundated we become with differing opinions and claims, the more essential it is to hone critical reading and thinking skills to evaluate these ideas. One thing I have actually found quite interesting is that certain “experts” from various companies, opposing forums (mind you, of which all post on forums themselves) down reputability of other individual posters. I can only assume this to be a feeble attempt to somehow lend credibility to their own statements no matter how unfounded their claims (did I mention that they themselves post on these forums).
How to address this conundrum appropriately in this rant is my intended purpose. The varied opinions contained in each thread examine many different aspects of a single issue. While examining these conveniently edited opposing views, readers can develop the ability to compare and contrast authors’ credibility, facts, argumentation styles, use of persuasive techniques, and other stylistic tools. We all have ‘em! It is this higher-level thinking and reading skills so essential in an industry of diverse and contradictory opinions.
Well you may be thinking, no foolin’ and yet these basic thoughts often somehow get lost. We are all challenged to question our own strongly held opinions and assumptions. Most people in the bodybuilding community form the opinions on the basis of what may have worked for them in the past, peer pressure (exhibited through the bully mentality on many forums), and personal, cultural, or professional bias (supplement company owners cannot, unfortunately, disagree here).
By reading carefully balanced opposing views, readers of these threads MUST directly confront new ideas as well as the opinions of those with whom they may disagree. This is NOT to simplistically argue that everyone who reads these opposing views will – or should – change his or her opinion. Instead, I would hope it to enhance readers’ depth of understanding of their own views by encouraging confrontation with opposing ideas (I have often expressed this to be the intent of “forums” anyway right?). Careful examination of others’ views can lead to the readers’ understanding of the logical inconsistencies in their own opinions, perspective on why they hold an opinion, and the consideration of the possibility that their opinion requires further evaluation. Hey, I think I just answered my own opening question – why it is that I come back daily.
Evaluation of Other Opinions
To ensure that this type of examination occurs, the wonder of forums and a reason (for me at least) for stopping in daily is that you get ALL sorts of opinions. Prominent spokespeople on different sides of each issue as well as well-known professionals from many disciplines challenge the reader. An additional goal I think is to provide a forum for other, less known, or even unpopular viewpoints.
Pardon my search for examples, this is the best I could come up with on short notice. The opinion of an ordinary person (a layperson, if you will – as I am often reminded) who has to make the decision to cut off life support from a terminally ill relative may be just as valuable, if NOT more valuable, and provide just as much insight as a medical ethicist’s professional opinion.
It is a good idea to respect other’s opinions – even when not enhanced by professional credibility. It is only by reading or listening to and objectively evaluating others’ ideas that one can determine whether they are worthy of consideration. The inclusion of all viewpoints additionally encourages potential objective evaluation of an author’s credentials and bias. This evaluation will illuminate the author’s reasons for taking a particular stance on an issue and will aid in the readers’ evaluation of the author’s ideas.
It would be my hope that when the dust settles, you come out with a deeper understanding of the issues debated and an appreciation of the complexity of even seemingly simple issues when good and honest people disagree. This awareness is particularly important in a supposed democratic society such as ours, in which people enter into PUBLIC debate to determine the common good. Those with whom one disagrees should not be regarded as enemies but rather as people whose views deserve careful examination and may shed light on one’s own.
Thomas Jefferson once said that “difference of opinion leads to inquiry, and injury to truth.” Jefferson, a broadly educated man, argued that “if a nation expects to be ignorant and free...it expects what never was and never will be.” As individuals and a nation, it is imperative that we consider the opinions of others and examine them with skill and discernment. I hope opposing viewpoints on these forums, if not only here at Discount Anabolics, will help readers achieve this goal.
I will live to rant again...
D_
On Bodybuilding Forums
On the Origin of Posting...
I was watching television a while back sitting at a friend’s house on an extremely comfortable sofa and there’s a commercial that comes on. The commercial features a little man sitting on a log in front of a fake backdrop. And this little man’s pouring his heart out to anyone who owns a credit card.
So, he’s spreading his message and it hit me like a bolt of lightning. Because I couldn’t fathom who may actually buy into his message the way it was being preached, I thought I may have been able to help – so I decided to help spread his message. The best thing I could think of was telling the boys at the DA forum of course.
The genesis of why someone would post on bodybuilding forums, while it doesn’t surround such a story, I hope – likely does stem from somewhere. We can throw out numerous postulates and try to come up with the rationale for everyone. Is it vested interest? Is it pure desire to see others succeed based on your own prior success story (could such altruistic behavior actually exist)?
I suppose you were expecting another rationale as to why someone may post here. I’ve got none really, but we all remain drawn here. While others dissect whose forum “sucks the mostest,” there are likely good rules of thumb to follow.
Differing Opinions
In our media-intensive culture it is not difficult to find differing opinions. Thousands of newspapers and magazines and dozens of radio and television talk shows resound with differing points of view. Online bodybuilding forums are no different. The difficulty lies in deciding which opinion to agree with and which “experts” seem the most credible. The more inundated we become with differing opinions and claims, the more essential it is to hone critical reading and thinking skills to evaluate these ideas. One thing I have actually found quite interesting is that certain “experts” from various companies, opposing forums (mind you, of which all post on forums themselves) down reputability of other individual posters. I can only assume this to be a feeble attempt to somehow lend credibility to their own statements no matter how unfounded their claims (did I mention that they themselves post on these forums).
How to address this conundrum appropriately in this rant is my intended purpose. The varied opinions contained in each thread examine many different aspects of a single issue. While examining these conveniently edited opposing views, readers can develop the ability to compare and contrast authors’ credibility, facts, argumentation styles, use of persuasive techniques, and other stylistic tools. We all have ‘em! It is this higher-level thinking and reading skills so essential in an industry of diverse and contradictory opinions.
Well you may be thinking, no foolin’ and yet these basic thoughts often somehow get lost. We are all challenged to question our own strongly held opinions and assumptions. Most people in the bodybuilding community form the opinions on the basis of what may have worked for them in the past, peer pressure (exhibited through the bully mentality on many forums), and personal, cultural, or professional bias (supplement company owners cannot, unfortunately, disagree here).
By reading carefully balanced opposing views, readers of these threads MUST directly confront new ideas as well as the opinions of those with whom they may disagree. This is NOT to simplistically argue that everyone who reads these opposing views will – or should – change his or her opinion. Instead, I would hope it to enhance readers’ depth of understanding of their own views by encouraging confrontation with opposing ideas (I have often expressed this to be the intent of “forums” anyway right?). Careful examination of others’ views can lead to the readers’ understanding of the logical inconsistencies in their own opinions, perspective on why they hold an opinion, and the consideration of the possibility that their opinion requires further evaluation. Hey, I think I just answered my own opening question – why it is that I come back daily.
Evaluation of Other Opinions
To ensure that this type of examination occurs, the wonder of forums and a reason (for me at least) for stopping in daily is that you get ALL sorts of opinions. Prominent spokespeople on different sides of each issue as well as well-known professionals from many disciplines challenge the reader. An additional goal I think is to provide a forum for other, less known, or even unpopular viewpoints.
Pardon my search for examples, this is the best I could come up with on short notice. The opinion of an ordinary person (a layperson, if you will – as I am often reminded) who has to make the decision to cut off life support from a terminally ill relative may be just as valuable, if NOT more valuable, and provide just as much insight as a medical ethicist’s professional opinion.
It is a good idea to respect other’s opinions – even when not enhanced by professional credibility. It is only by reading or listening to and objectively evaluating others’ ideas that one can determine whether they are worthy of consideration. The inclusion of all viewpoints additionally encourages potential objective evaluation of an author’s credentials and bias. This evaluation will illuminate the author’s reasons for taking a particular stance on an issue and will aid in the readers’ evaluation of the author’s ideas.
It would be my hope that when the dust settles, you come out with a deeper understanding of the issues debated and an appreciation of the complexity of even seemingly simple issues when good and honest people disagree. This awareness is particularly important in a supposed democratic society such as ours, in which people enter into PUBLIC debate to determine the common good. Those with whom one disagrees should not be regarded as enemies but rather as people whose views deserve careful examination and may shed light on one’s own.
Thomas Jefferson once said that “difference of opinion leads to inquiry, and injury to truth.” Jefferson, a broadly educated man, argued that “if a nation expects to be ignorant and free...it expects what never was and never will be.” As individuals and a nation, it is imperative that we consider the opinions of others and examine them with skill and discernment. I hope opposing viewpoints on these forums, if not only here at Discount Anabolics, will help readers achieve this goal.
I will live to rant again...
D_