Are forum experts paid to participate??? - JP Fitness Forums

Q. · 11-09-2006, 03:49 PM

I've been getting Berardi's newsletter since he started his new site. This one came today and I was kind of surprised by something he said:

Anyone who has spent any amount of time browsing public
discussion forums knows that the wild-west anarchy you find on
them quickly grows tiresome, and the signal-to-noise ratio is
so low that without heavy filtering they become almost
unreadable. When everyone is anonymous and anyone can say
anything, things become very inhospitable.

Prior to the opening of precisionnutrition.com, in fact, I
had sworn off posting on public forums. I can't stand watching
good, contributing members get drowned out by anonymous keyboard
jockeys who counter logic and reason with nothing more than an
inexhaustible will to type. I've turned down well-paying offers
to contribute regularly on a number of forums for that reason
alone.

I'm not saying it's a BAD thing but is this the norm (the part about paying people to post)? Is it happening here? Just curious. I don't begrudge anyone from making a living, I just hadn't thought about it that way.

TrainingGirl · 11-09-2006, 03:58 PM

Well damn...I don't get paid for it but I should!

Lost Dog · 11-09-2006, 04:04 PM

When I belonged to the calorieking.com forum, they had two nutritionists, a trainer, etc. paid to work the forums. Everyone knew it, though. Plus, we all paid for the CK service, so it was part of the deal.

Waittz · 11-09-2006, 04:04 PM

he's got a good point though.

kuri · 11-09-2006, 04:18 PM

"inexhaustable will to type"

That's just what I'm looking for so after I finish this modified West Side cutting program I'm gonna start working on that.

ninja · 11-09-2006, 04:27 PM

I have found my calling.

Mahler · 11-09-2006, 05:01 PM

I guess this would explain JB's most notable absence when we did the Scrawny to Brawny forum. It appears we were all "anonymous keyboard
jockeys who counter logic and reason with nothing more than an
inexhaustible will to type."

gregl515 · 11-09-2006, 05:10 PM

Probably forums that are specialized and that you pay for the service hire experts. However, it can be beneficial to contribute. When Lou, Alwyn, Bill, CB, Eric, Mike Robertson, Mike Mejia and other folks who have contributed market books or DVDs we are anxious to purchase them because we respect what we have read in their posts. It can go the other way too. Look what happened when Eric went after John Davies.

Jean-Paul · 11-09-2006, 05:12 PM

Should I take it as a compliment that Berardi occassionally graces our forum then?

In answer to your question, Q, no, our resident experts are not paid. They post here out of pure passion for their craft, and to commune with peers at a watering hole of sorts.

I know what he's talking about... I just hope that we are better than the typical public forum he is refering to. I know that Berardi has had to endure some trolls slamming him on Amazon and such, and that can wear you down when you bust your ass to put out a good product.

There is a "wild west" mentality to public forums... Very anarchic. Rarely do I witness the kind of generosity and kindness that I have seen in our own members though. The typical set-up is that a clique forms and newbs are scared to participate or treated rudely, and I am very proud of the way we treat new members here. A lot of that probably comes from having an established philosophy and concrete forum rules though.

dos · 11-09-2006, 05:12 PM

John does make some valid points though. Folks like Cressy, Cosgrove, Waterbury, Boyle and himself rely on people buying their products, paying for their online training services etc. It really doesn't make good business sense for them to spend a ton of time on forums giving free advice. For someone like myself, it doesn't matter....I make the same $ regardless of feedback, pissing off or luring potential customers etc. I just like to read threads and do some posting in between teams etc. I am also not opposed to the occasional iternet argument or two (but that's just me...). Anyway, my two cents on this matter. One last thing for you guys to think about...a guy like Bill Hartman gives a TON of free advice on this site, I hope everyone appreciates that as he could be making lots of money in the process.

gobbla · 11-09-2006, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mahler

I guess this would explain JB's most notable absence when we did the Scrawny to Brawny forum. It appears we were all "anonymous keyboard
jockeys who counter logic and reason with nothing more than an
inexhaustible will to type."

thank you

there's a couple of trainers that like to take shots at online forums pretty regular. some of which worse than others. when that happens it's a major loss of respect in my eyes. if you want to be a member then that's absolutely terrific and we all appreciate and enjoy the time and effort that you give, especially considering what else you could be doing with your time. if you don't like it or are unwilling to cope with the 2% of people that aren't as respectful as they should be...then don't come\post. it's that easy. when you insult us with one breath and then start pimping your new product that we should buy...feel free to piss off, cause it ain't happening.

*rant over*
sorry for that

Jean-Paul · 11-09-2006, 05:46 PM

Quote:

when you insult us with one breath...

I don't think John was insulting us. He did point out something that I have observed in many forums, although not so often in ours. I don't think he was refering to our forum (although he may have, but I don't take it personally).

Ogedei · 11-09-2006, 05:50 PM

There has been instances of this, the joker that shows up and always wants to try and prove Alwyn wrong on cardio vs HIIT.

I think for the most part the forum isn't like a lot of other forums.

Which is why most of us our here out of preference.

Og.

Q. · 11-09-2006, 05:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dos

One last thing for you guys to think about...a guy like Bill Hartman gives a TON of free advice on this site, I hope everyone appreciates that as he could be making lots of money in the process.

I VERY MUCH appreciate Bill's contribution and I think most people here feel the same way. He's a true jewel without question. Oh, and by the way, YOU have made some major contributions to my fitness knowledge quotient and it is GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

(P.S. I'm not doing DL's much anymore

)

Lisa~ · 11-09-2006, 06:05 PM

I am paid in gratitude from those who benefit from the advice I give. I mean that. Building new friendships with others who share the same passion for fitness is worth the time I spend here.

If JP ever decides he wants to pay me, he can give me a free pass to the Summit!!

diamondpete · 11-09-2006, 06:43 PM

This thread has taken a nice turn, so I will jump on it and add my thanks to all the experts who taken the time to post. What first impressed me when ijoined was that some "famous guys" (but I had never heard of them) actually replied to my posts, then I was even more impressed after I got my newbie butt out of my head and realized who these "famous guys" were and how knowledgeable there are.

We are very fortunate to have such a group of experts who so willling share with us. It is very much appreciated.

sincerely,

Peter

mmMatt · 11-09-2006, 06:43 PM

I cant begin to express the amount of gratitude I have for the folks around here, expert or not, who have helped me improve my life in so many ways.

My hats off to you guys, thank you.