Attack of the Newbies

mrb_9110
mrb_9110 Posts: 189 Member
edited November 10 in Health and Weight Loss
DISCLAIMER: I am not knocking anyone who is new to MFP nor do I think I am any better because I've been a member longer! I am NOT suggesting new members stop posting on forums either.

RANT: Doesn't it annoy anyone else when new members (around 3 months or less) get on the forums and start basically heckling people, telling them they are flat out wrong or stupid or uneducated based on "something they read" on another forum.

Or when they suddenly become an "expert" at losing weight, defining starvation mode, exercise cals (eating back or not), how often to train......the list goes on.

I know when I first started MFP, I didn't want to claim I knew anything about anything! I mostly read the forums, USED THE SEARCH FUNCTION if I didn't know what was being discussed, and rarely put my piece in.

I am amazed at what some people will say to people who have been at this for 1 year+ and have actually gathered some knowledge about health, fitness, muscle-building, nutrition, etc.

END RANT.
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Replies

  • 2hungariangirls
    2hungariangirls Posts: 220
    I agree with you to a point. Just because someone just found & joined MFP doesn't mean that they are new to fitness or nutrition. They may have expertise and advice that is way beyond just being a member of a forum for over a year.
  • IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym
    IpuffyheartHeelsinthegym Posts: 5,573 Member
    some people may have started over fresh, therefore not really a newby after all. I know I did, therefore I lost my original start date. Not that that is an excuse for why people act the way they do, but maybe they do know stuff? Or, once an asshat....?
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
    DISCLAIMER: I am not knocking anyone who is new to MFP nor do I think I am any better because I've been a member longer! I am NOT suggesting new members stop posting on forums either.

    RANT: Doesn't it annoy anyone else when new members (around 3 months or less) get on the forums and start basically heckling people, telling them they are flat out wrong or stupid or uneducated based on "something they read" on another forum.

    Or when they suddenly become an "expert" at losing weight, defining starvation mode, exercise cals (eating back or not), how often to train......the list goes on.

    I know when I first started MFP, I didn't want to claim I knew anything about anything! I mostly read the forums, USED THE SEARCH FUNCTION if I didn't know what was being discussed, and rarely put my piece in.

    I am amazed at what some people will say to people who have been at this for 1 year+ and have actually gathered some knowledge about health, fitness, muscle-building, nutrition, etc.

    END RANT.

    I've been here for nearly a year and find that it's not just newbs who tout poor advice as fact.
  • 2hungariangirls
    2hungariangirls Posts: 220
    I will add that not using the SEARCH button (located by the Settings button above for those that don't know where to find it) as to "whether to eat or not eat exercise calories" is the MOST ANNOYING!
  • seoid
    seoid Posts: 151
    )))newbies(((
  • I1ahunt
    I1ahunt Posts: 72
    I agree with you to a point. Just because someone just found & joined MFP doesn't mean that they are new to fitness or nutrition. They may expertise and advice that is way beyong being a member of a forum for over a year.

    That
  • scapez
    scapez Posts: 2,018 Member
    Human nature. I don't loose sleep over it.

    Nor do I lose sleep over it.

    :flowerforyou:
  • ishallnotwant
    ishallnotwant Posts: 1,210 Member
    I agree with you to a point. Just because someone just found & joined MFP doesn't mean that they are new to fitness or nutrition. They may expertise and advice that is way beyond just being a member of a forum for over a year.

    I agree.
  • Carolyn_79
    Carolyn_79 Posts: 935 Member
    I guess it depends how often you're on the site. You could belong for a year and seldom log on or read anything or you can be new and spend hours on the site daily taking in info etc.... I understand what you're saying though. As a new member, I would feel weird giving advice to someone who has been on here for a while unless it was something I had direct experience with.
  • toritater
    toritater Posts: 6 Member
    There are probably some "newbie" people who do know better. I see some people on here who think juice is considered a fruit. Stuff like that. Just because a person has been here for 3+ months doesn't mean it's a bad idea to let them know juice is not a good idea when you're dieting and eating an apple, strawberries, etc is probably a better idea.

    My own rant: I can't stand the term "newbies". I've been using the Internet for 17 years now. I built my own website when I was 17 years old (13 years ago) and had to code it in Notepad using HTML. So...I guess that makes most everyone I talk to on the Internet a "newbie" or "n00b"?

    ;)
  • fakeplastictree
    fakeplastictree Posts: 836 Member
    I like that movie. Wait... I'm thinking of "Newsies" never mind.
  • JenAiMarres
    JenAiMarres Posts: 743 Member
    I would never heckle anyone EVER. however my join date says I am a newbie, but I have been an actual memebr for a year and a half..I had to delete and re-join due to personal reasons...
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Misinformation. It's the lifeblood of the MFP forum.
  • AmandaBroun
    AmandaBroun Posts: 126
    I'm not a doctor, but I did join an online forum last year...
  • kristina815
    kristina815 Posts: 29
    I'm sorry, I've never felt that way. A forum is a place to share ideas, whether you agree with definitions or tips is really up to you. If someone has an incorrect piece of information, chances are the discrepancy will be pointed out and a debate about the topic will be had until some kind of agreement can be found. I don't believe it is new people that are to blame as much as it is uninformed people.... a group that I believe you just made yourself apart of.
  • stephabef
    stephabef Posts: 936 Member
    That's fair, but I don't necessarily think people who have been on here for 1 year or more are automatically wiser, either. We all have different backgrounds and experiences, so everything we write on here is based on experience or opinion. Very few people on here are nutritionists/trainers/in the medical field, and even then I take everything I read with a grain of salt.
  • mrb_9110
    mrb_9110 Posts: 189 Member
    I agree with you to a point. Just because someone just found & joined MFP doesn't mean that they are new to fitness or nutrition. They may expertise and advice that is way beyond just being a member of a forum for over a year.
    That is a good point that I hadn't really thought of, I just crack up when people say, "Well I joined two weeks ago and I'm doing X diet and I've already lost 7 lbs!" I'm like really? Cause that was probably mostly water weight, not proof your diet works.
    I've been here for nearly a year and find that it's not just newbs who tout poor advice as fact.
    I've seen this a lot too. People in general can be rude and spout off whatever they think is right, new or not.
  • DaughterOfTheMostHighKing
    DaughterOfTheMostHighKing Posts: 1,436 Member
    I am a newbie... at one point or another we all were... I think it depends on where each person is coming from that determines their responses. Some people are natural "know-it-alls" and they've always had a drive to share all they know with the world. :) patience and time can/may help them... :) God bless! You guys are doing great!
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
    you-must-be-new-here-willy-wonka.jpg?1322247093
  • infamousmk
    infamousmk Posts: 6,033 Member
    "I'm not knocking newbies..." [but let me go on to knock newbies]....


    tumblr_l6a6glXMBh1qd0quuo1_1280.png
  • mrsdizzyd84
    mrsdizzyd84 Posts: 422 Member
    You assume that people don't have experience with this stuff before they join MFP.

    I, for instance, have been counting calories since about 2004, yet I only joined here in November 2011. In addition, I haven't been overweight my whole life. I've played sports and so on for much of my life up to the last 5-7 years. In other words, you can't judge a person's level of expertise/knowledge base just by looking at the date they joined MFP.
  • kebab69
    kebab69 Posts: 6
    I actually don't use the MFP forums they make me angry, mainly comments like this one. Who are you to assume you know how much someone else knows, people are entitled to their own ideas based on what they have read it's there for your information if you choose to ignore it thats your right. People post on forums because they want help advice or ideas others supply them. Get of your high horse love. You should be welcoming newbies if you have issue with something they say quiz it don't slag them of for it, you might learn something new :huh:
  • bigredhearts
    bigredhearts Posts: 428
    i see your point however, i must say that this goes for ALL members, there are very few who even have enough education to give advice, and with hundreds of "drs, trainers, health gurus" saying different things who knows who to believe. just do the best you can, learn the most you can, be healthy and smart, and do what works best for you. i say offer the advice, but dont act like a know it all who is in scrunity of all methods and weight loss information that doesnt specifically fit the one you follow. ps, dont act like the newbies asking questions gets on your nerves. its YOUR choice to view the forums and its content. At one point, what you think you know, all stemmed from a question or search for knowledge.
  • invisibubble
    invisibubble Posts: 662 Member
    I agree with you to a point. Just because someone just found & joined MFP doesn't mean that they are new to fitness or nutrition. They may have expertise and advice that is way beyond just being a member of a forum for over a year.

    Quite, but I'll add this: Some "new" people have just made another account, even. I've seen enough "veteran" members giving out stupid advice time and time again, also. One's newness to the site determines nothing other than their unfamiliarity to MFP and its' workings. Some people are serially awful at maintaining their figure/fitness/whatever it is they're trying to do, no matter their time spent doing it, here or elsewhere.

    Fact is, a lot of the fitness/diet thing is a very personal thing. What reacts terribly for one will be just the thing for another and all advice is just speculation to some extent anyway, informed or not.

    The stupid know-it-all attitude and bad advice thing goes hand-in-hand not with newbies, with MFP, but with the internet. Sad, but trueness.
  • techigirl78
    techigirl78 Posts: 128 Member
    I posted something just yesterday and a number of users bashed me telling me to get my facts straight and basically saying I need to get educated. However, the information I provided was from my doctor. I thought about responding to their comments, but I come here for support and share things. Not to bash people or think I'm better then others regardless of when they joined or how much weight they have lost or what they currently weigh. I believe the people who did it were not new either. Anyways, it irritated me, but whatever.
  • mrb_9110
    mrb_9110 Posts: 189 Member
    Some people are natural "know-it-alls" and they've always had a drive to share all they know with the world. :) patience and time can/may help them... :)
    ^This is what I was talking about. I guess I should have been more clear, or have known that people were going to misinterpret what I meant in the OP (hence the disclaimer). I'm talking about the know-it-all people who are supporting completely false ideas in the forums, or reiterating well-known and commonly discussed items like they are the first person to have come up with it.
  • ishallnotwant
    ishallnotwant Posts: 1,210 Member
    Some people are natural "know-it-alls" and they've always had a drive to share all they know with the world. :) patience and time can/may help them... :)
    ^This is what I was talking about. I guess I should have been more clear, or have known that people were going to misinterpret what I meant in the OP (hence the disclaimer). I'm talking about the know-it-all people who are supporting completely false ideas in the forums, or reiterating well-known and commonly discussed items like they are the first person to have come up with it.

    Often, the reason for re-iterating said 'well-known and commonly discussed items' is because someone comes on the forums yet again and asks. I think it's nice that some people have the patience to explain stuff over and over again for newbies who may not have been here for the other discussions and don't know about such "common knowledge".
  • mrb_9110
    mrb_9110 Posts: 189 Member
    Okay people, like I said, this was a rant, more to get this frustration of mine off my chest than anything else. Quit taking stuff personally or directing your comments back at me personally. It was a generalization (i.e. not meant to include every member of said group).

    I know that there are people out there who have been at this weight loss thing for a long time, but have just recently joined mfp, or had to create a new account, or people who have been mfp-ers forever and still don't know squat. I just know that IN GENERAL the people who have been on mfp longer GENERALLY offer better, more even-keeled advice than other people, specific to mfp forums. I am not saying anyone who is new is stupid or uneducated or anything else.
  • mrb_9110
    mrb_9110 Posts: 189 Member
    Some people are natural "know-it-alls" and they've always had a drive to share all they know with the world. :) patience and time can/may help them... :)
    ^This is what I was talking about. I guess I should have been more clear, or have known that people were going to misinterpret what I meant in the OP (hence the disclaimer). I'm talking about the know-it-all people who are supporting completely false ideas in the forums, or reiterating well-known and commonly discussed items like they are the first person to have come up with it.

    Often, the reason for re-iterating said 'well-known and commonly discussed items' is because someone comes on the forums yet again and asks. I think it's nice that some people have the patience to explain stuff over and over again for newbies who may not have been here for the other discussions and don't know about such "common knowledge".
    And that would be where the search function comes into play. I'm not the only one this annoys.
  • mznisaelaine
    mznisaelaine Posts: 2,262 Member
    I agree with you to a point. Just because someone just found & joined MFP doesn't mean that they are new to fitness or nutrition. They may have expertise and advice that is way beyond just being a member of a forum for over a year.

    Agreed - It will be a year since I've been on MFP and stil don't know have the stuff everyone else know regarding nutrition/fitness etc.

    Sounds like old regular members of MFP are a little territorial....
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