[dfgasdgsd]

This was such a sad story - everything I read at the time said Dr Meza was a charitable, successful member of the community in LA (running coach, founded programs towards Latino students, etc.).

The LetsRun forum is such a wild place - it's a really strange mix of great running news discussion, 4-chan / bodybuilding.com conspiracy theories, and (IMO) a lot of teenage / college male runners who have a lot of angst, and something to prove because they are in an unpopular sport. Moderators/owners (rojo / pojo? or something) don't do anything / actively encourage this.

[AdamJMarsh]

Bodybuilding.com misc & 4chan are super toxic communities.

I look back at my teenage years and realised how hazardous they are to mental health. My curiousity & engagement on those communities was limited to infrequent lurking.

I now understand why alt-right/q anon movement popped up so quickly.

A big issue with these boards is that the ownership can't overmod because these communities are a big drawcard, even if they're financial negatives.

[eternityforest]

It's always fun to see someone use the word "chit" for shit, and think "Oh hey that copypasta leaked out of bodybuilding".

These forums seem to collect the most problematic people from every political group and subculture, put them all together, and then teach them their own unique manosphere philosophy that is currently one of my least favorite things about all of mankind.

It's some kind of primitivist thought combined with a screenshot of a Nietzsche quote about strength and power, some pretentious militant atheism, a bit of eugenics, a lot of intelligence-worshipping, and a heavy dose of still believing in cringe culture.

Way bigger than just alt right, there seems to be a variant for every affiliation. It's almost mainstream.

[Lascaille]

>Bodybuilding.com misc & 4chan are super toxic communities.

They're places that provide access to actual human beings though. So many other online communities - especially ones with wide readership - are astroturfed into oblivion.

My take on it is that having to deal mentally with lunatics howling at the moon and screaming about the upcoming Great Replacement is the price you pay for access to actual opinions. That screaming horde is what keeps the astroturfers and consent manufacturers out.

[coolso]

> Bodybuilding.com misc & 4chan are super toxic communities.

There’s that word. The world is super “toxic”. The aforementioned sites allow people to speak freely, which can result in negativity, but they’re also bastions of freedom and creativity and everyone’s thoughts being equally visible.

One can easily argue that that’s far less toxic than Reddit’s style of everyone being the church mom that silences and admonishes everyone that says something “problematic” or what the congregation considers unacceptable. Where’s the fun in that?

There’s definitely a certain group of people who hate not being able to silence others, since if they can’t silence and censor their opponents, their arguments don’t really hold up.

[Ansil849]

> Bodybuilding.com misc & 4chan are super toxic communities.

Yes, but so are Facebook and Twitter.

[mgv11]

Yeah Letsrun forum is really infamous in the running communities. The main reason for it that anonymous comments are allowed.