The decline of MFP

stormsusmc

Welcome to the internet....

Sarauk2sf

I do see some of that.

What I see more of is people sharing information and bouncing ideas off of each other.

These boards have taught me alot and I've also had quite a few laughs on them as well.

I choose to focus on the positive.

Well said.

Faye_Anderson

Thank you! I feel the same way! I'm afraid to post on the community because of that. I mean, I posted a recipe the other day and several people made fun of it.

No-one "made fun" of your recipe post, I've just read it

Mcgrawhaha

its childish, and i feel like, if an adult is going to act so silly on a forum that was intended to help and support weight loss and a healthy lifestyle, then they are only making themself look stupid! doesnt affect me a bit

deanadimples

Nobody likes a whiner.

I could care less about people being rude to me. Water off a ducks back.

But I feel bad for those that are affected by people with fake problems for pure laughs. Not everyone here is equipped to handle being the butt of jokes. Maybe one of those that are sensitive will see this and realize that some of us are here to help.

infamousmk

So what I'm hearing is that being fat is akin to being a horrible person? That's neat. Glad we cleared that up....

devil_in_a_blue_dress

I was once issued a "warning" from a MFP moderator because I suggested that somebody who was taunting overweight people should "look in the mirror" because that was a personal attack.

I stopped using the service for a while and still kind of hate there isn't anything better.

3dogsrunning

Congrats. You've got the abs or you bought the bikini. Doesn't mean you're an attractive person.

QFT

What does QFT mean?

Quit f*cking trolling

LOL, seriously? I always thought it was quote for truth. Whoops.

dalgal26

Well said! :flowerforyou:

MireyGal76

Reading some of the responses now I see why so many topics get reported.

I'm curious which responses were ones that would trigger that sentiment? Not trying to be confrontational here, but I don't see much in the way of report-ability, with the exception of the ones relating to the inner fat person, or "you may have abs but you suck and your pictures are fake" statement.

PS... these are my pics.

Iron_Duchess

Dear Posters,

I know that there are voices in a community that are not heard by everyone, and because I hear the sentiment expressed in this topic on a regular basis from a great number of members who are too intimidated or afraid to post… I wanted to thank the OP for addressing this issue.

I encourage everyone who participates in our message boards to remember the purpose for our community is to provide people with a supportive, friendly, fun place to share a common desire to lead healthier lives.

I respectfully ask that our community keep in mind our first guideline, "do not attack, mock, or otherwise insult others. You can respectfully disagree with the message or topic, but you cannot attack the messenger." As well as our second guideline which requests that people please either contribute politely and constructively to a topic, or move on without posting. I also want to remind people to please not take matters into your own hands – instead, use the Report Post link to report an attack and we will be happy to handle the situation for you.

Last but not least, please also remember the ignore feature is a great way to ignore posts from members you don't want to see.

Thanks to all of our members, who every day, participate constructively in our community. There is a lot of wisdom and experience here and I hope also a lot of kindness, understanding, and support.

Respectfully,
Olivia
MyFitnessPal Community Manager

I've been around here since 2011. I loved the information, support and the friends I've made. You'd have the occasional argument about HCG or "starvation" mode but it seem things have decline more than "opinions".

I recently came cross a post from someone looking for support. After so many pages they finally fessed up they just posted to get a rise out of people. But not before making some laughs at the expense of those that genuinely tried to help this person and the advice they have based on their own struggles.

It just appauls me. This site is FULL of people dealing with security issues and struggles and the thought that a few who already have achieved their goals and have six pack and bikini pics are now using others for pure sport. Many people here come here because they DON'T know what's what or have answers. Some people stay motivated by helping others and some want to use that for their own ego boost. Congrats. You've got the abs or you bought the bikini. Doesn't mean you're an attractive person.

I am not reporting this person however I don't think this is the ideal thread since

1) Its one side of the story
2) SHE is the one that is mean...

Exactly. I find many times if I go through people's posts after they respond in threads like this, I find the exact same thing they claim they're against.

If you don't like someone, use the ignore function.

If you find something incredibly cruel or mean, report it.

If you just don't like that someone doesn't agree with you, get over it.

I also love the "bikinis and abs" comment because....a lot of the people I see being accused of being mean..yes that is their real photo and yes they once were fat. Also, they try to help people realize the best ways to get healthy and avoid fad diets and crash diets...but many times..people do not want to be told they're wrong or want to be coddled. It's a two way street. Never forget that.

^^^ This^^^

BurtHuttz

This thread and threads like it are horribly divisive and I wish they would stop. They don't solve things and just provoke fights.

Cliffslosinit

My feelings are hurt

taunto

I would be the first to admit that there are genuinely people on MFP who come here pissed off at something and take it out on strangers. They are rude without reason etc etc.

However, I have also learned that, that is about only 5% of the time. The other 95% time its just somebody who

1) The wrong way. Basically a misunderstanding
2) Over sensitive or have some cultural difference so caused a difference in opinion (which is apparently not allowed in our society nowadays)
3) Somebody disagreed with them . Seriously, this is the major one! So many people come here expecting a certain answer and when they don't get it, they think others are being mean to them...
4) People come to a support site expecting to be supported. No matter what. Many people think just because this is a support site its going to support them through any bat-sh** crazy stuff. An example is the pro-Anorexics. I have seen many threads where they come here making posts (similar to this) and asking others to respect their decision. They think its mean that others aren't supporting their ED (Not recovery from it mind you).

KittieLea

I bet this post takes care of all the nay sayers and bullies out there. Good job! YOU'VE WON THE INTERNET!

Markguns

Thus is the side effect of mass communication and anonymity.... sadly it's not unique to MFP

oregonzoo

Ok. I have to say this. HOW do some people on here who cry about "mean people" even function in society?

If a fake question posted by an MFP person really gets under somebodys skin that much, perhaps those people aren't really equipped for the real world.

Sometimes people are going to make jokes. And sometimes people might not give you the answers you want to hear.
Just because we're all here to stay in shape/lose weight/ track calories does NOT mean we all have to be best buddies and have trust fall exercises.

Timshel_

I've been around here since 2011. I loved the information, support and the friends I've made. You'd have the occasional argument about HCG or "starvation" mode but it seem things have decline more than "opinions".

I recently came cross a post from someone looking for support. After so many pages they finally fessed up they just posted to get a rise out of people. But not before making some laughs at the expense of those that genuinely tried to help this person and the advice they have based on their own struggles.

It just appauls me. This site is FULL of people dealing with security issues and struggles and the thought that a few who already have achieved their goals and have six pack and bikini pics are now using others for pure sport. Many people here come here because they DON'T know what's what or have answers. Some people stay motivated by helping others and some want to use that for their own ego boost. Congrats. You've got the abs or you bought the bikini. Doesn't mean you're an attractive person.

You've almost hit that 2 year mark for social media where you experience a bit of burn-out for a website. It's like the honeymoon phase.

People come here and the experience is new and exciting for the first several months. They love the help and enjoy helping. They tend to gloss over the negative comments and clique behavior. As that person spends more time though, the negativity becomes more appearant and the cliques more annoying (even though they themselves have become part of it). Itends up eating at them and they look for something to recatpure their interest like when it was a new. So goes the cycle.

That said, as places grow in popularity, sites also tend to become more innundated with trolls and people who seek attention through shock or crass behavior. More people to be an *kitten* to, the better.

So be it. There are always two choices though - stay or leave. Just realize that everything you've gone through here - the good and bad - will happen again somewhere else. It is just as easy to block users, ignore negativity and attention *kitten*, and focus on the loads of good folks here with a true purpose.

Cheers.

lizlkbg

ANNNND...I'm pretty sure that those are NOT pictures of the actual "mean" posters, in some cases. They just use them to make it seem like they should be listened to because, look, abs.

I do think there are a lot of people on here with very little to live for except trolling...but by far the majority are good people getting and giving help.

So, yeah, I think of the trolls the way I think of panhandlers or cat-callers. Slightly annoying, wish they weren't there, but really no major effect on my day.

I'm assuming this was directed at me since my photos are so gosh darn glorious and godlike,

You are correct, Sir.
And you keep ignoring my friend requests. :sad:

IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym

people with abs and bikinis could be insecure, too... I take offense that WE - those of us with abs and bikinis are the ones or only ones who poke fun at people. That would be a generalized statement. I do not poke fun at others and do try to help to the best of my ability or I stay in the chit chat section and joke, but would never get my "jollies" at someone genuinely looking for help. Ever.

SoViLicious

This site is awesome... I have truly learned so much from my loud mouth know-it-all friends. Most importantly I learned that this is a lifestyle and in life we must have humor, wine, sex, and plenty of bacon!

BrendaLee

MFP is still awesome. The boards have sucked for a long time.

witchy_wife

I don't post quite as much as I used to as I find some of the replies quite off and rude at times. Being able to say things where no one actually knows them and they can hide behind their computer has a tendancy to make for rude comments, and most of the time they wouldn't dare have the nerve to say these things in real life. Try and ignore it. Add friends who you seem to have a similar view to and who seem supportive and chat to them on your home page. That is what I do more of now than posting on the forums.

DexterDarko

Everyone should know by now the internet is filled with people like that. They got nothing better to do, I guess. I honestly don't care, that's the great thing about losing the weight for yourself and not caring what anybody else thinks.

gfedex

The old-vs-new happens on every forum I've ever been a member of. Older members reminisce about how it used to be better, newer members try (often with limited success) to integrate. Some people gain an untouchable status- regardless of whether their behavior is appropriate or not- while others burn bridges early on with no hope for redemption.

lizlkbg

Congrats. You've got the abs or you bought the bikini. Doesn't mean you're an attractive person.

QFT

What does QFT mean?

Quit f*cking trolling

Thanks! Now I don't have to ask my 15 year old

jenniferwren

The funniest think about the people who bash over the internet wouldn't have any courage to say it to your face. Internet bullies can hide behind a computer get their satisfaction all they want, but really, it's a clear sign of weakness.

^this^

__RANDY__

Life isn't fair, people aren't always nice. When you are wrong you need to be told so.

BurtHuttz

Is THIS divisive thread going to be permitted where so many others get shut down for no reason?

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEA!" gets locked but this unnecessary fight is actually encouraged to continue?

The moderator pokes her head in to endorse the message of "successful members versus those just starting out"?

Just shut the forums down, you people don't know the first thing about how to run a community.

Edited to add:
By the way, here's what I spent my whole day doing:
https://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/897611-juicing-cleanse-success-stories
This place is a joke.

ajourney2beme

Congrats. You've got the abs or you bought the bikini. Doesn't mean you're an attractive person.

QFT

What does QFT mean?

Quit f*cking trolling

LOL, seriously? I always thought it was quote for truth. Whoops.

It's letters, it could mean anything I know it as Quote for Truth as well, especially after quoting something (which is probably the case here) but I guess in the right context it could mean the trolling thing. I think sometimes in some forums it's used to quote someone so that the OP can't change what they posted in case of a big debate or something. Possibly Quite Frankly Told could be another way to use it.

I am not bothered by the 'bullies' or 'mean people' on this site. If I write something and I get people who don't contribute constructively I usually just ignore them. I have the choice of going into a thread or not, no one is forcing me to post on something. If I feel strongly about it then I will post but will also prepare if things start getting heated. Most of the time it isn't even worth my time to get involved tbh cause all that would accomplish is breeding more debate and hate. If someone posts something but the thread is out of control and I feel like I could actually contribute to the OP I will send them a message.

I don't think it's fair for anyone to bring up a controversial topic like this trying to 'help' but then you go ahead and attack others about how they are ugly on the inside even if they look good on the outside. You don't know a person by a picture, and you certainly can't know a person from random encounters on a forum. You can't be trying to help the problem by adding to it at the same time. It's kind of like being a person who is all about loving yourself at any size yet turns around putting down skinnier people. It's not helpful and you are just fooling yourself.