NS Forum - give it a pass

[mahatma]

A few days ago I dropped by the NS forum just to check it out and I have to say I don’t get it. I found very little value. 75% of all threads are nothing more than argument starters and of the threads that begin as something of value almost immediately degenerate into mudslinging and childish posturing. Everyone seemed to take pride in behaving like low brow trash. Pure Romper Room. No "community", no vibe. Give it a pass.

[tyberesk]

Originally posted by mahatma
A few days ago I dropped by the NS forum just to check it out and I have to say I don’t get it. I found very little value. 75% of all threads are nothing more than argument starters and of the threads that begin as something of value almost immediately degenerate into mudslinging and childish posturing. Everyone seemed to take pride in behaving like low brow trash. Pure Romper Room. No "community", no vibe. Give it a pass. ]

but 25 percent of the stuff on there is good....i enjoy watching the vids/edits and reading on how some ppl do their tricks, and to see what tricks ppl are struggling with. There are alot of good threads on there, although there is alot of immature members who hide behind the safety of their computer.

That being said....i assume if SBOL ever got to that size, the same exact thing would occur(Until greco would ban them all)...i assume that NS wasnt always like that....but as twintip skiing grew it kinda got out of control.

NS is alright.

[weatherman]

i agree with ty the threads that are good are awesome, and they have some great info if ya use the search.

[mahatma]

I also agree with Ty. I spent an honest amount of time at the site and there are indeed some things of value. I just thought there would be much more. Actually, I guess I was looking for it to SBOL but for NS. Whatever - I could go on for 15 minutes. It is pretty obvious that the SBOL forum while smaller than the NS site still has a very real cross-section of individuals, skillsets, etc. but after I spend time here I don't feel embarrased or glad my children were not in the room. My opinion stands. Quality of posts and apparent quality of individuals at NS forum = marginal.

[mahatma]

I feel the need to amend my last post to a degree. Clearly, I do not know nor have I ever knowingly met any of the guys/gals from the NS forum so was not and am not passing absolute judgement on the type of people they are. I was speaking strictly to the postings. Our actions matter and forum postings are actions. In the time of spent here at SBOL I've seen a very real cross-section of people. From the birthday postings alone I seen people ranging in age from 17 to 69. Everyone here carries themselves with a certain dignity. It's not that often that I as a 41 year old father of 3 feels comfortable around people 25+ years my junior or senior. That happens here for me all the time. That level of comfort I mean. To my way of thinking, that speaks directly to the way everyone conciously decides to carry themselves. While certainly judgemental to a degree, based on my one visit to that forum I just do not see myself ever strapping on a set of twin tip skis. Who we choose to spend out time with reflects on us. I do not want to create any negativeness or somehow place myself apart. I'm just saying that what I seen out there was impossible to justify in my eyes. I do not believe it reflects on the size of the forum or the lack of moderator proactivity. It reflects on the individuals and the group as a whole for allowing thread after thread to be filled with vulgarity, personal attacks, abuses and an overall degenerative tone.

[weatherman]

well said man,

and i didn't mean to be argumentative I know the folks on that forum can be total jackasses alot of the time lol

[mahatma]

Man, I'm going to start watching what I type. My mother would smack my hands with a ruler if she read this stuff. Misspellings, overruns, mid-sentence tense changes - and oh my god - did I dangle my participle? I was taught at a very young age to never publicly dangle my participle. Sorry mom. You raised me better.

[Flying-Kiwi]

A brilliant point and/opinon

[Manlenium]

Originally posted by tyberesk
]

but 25 percent of the stuff on there is good....i enjoy watching the vids/edits and reading on how some ppl do their tricks, and to see what tricks ppl are struggling with. There are alot of good threads on there, although there is alot of immature members who hide behind the safety of their computer.

That being said....i assume if SBOL ever got to that size, the same exact thing would occur(Until greco would ban them all)...i assume that NS wasnt always like that....but as twintip skiing grew it kinda got out of control.

NS is alright.

I agree. I dont mind watching some of the ski videos. But like the top post says its whiners and complainers. Lots of skiboard bashing in there. I would like to see them ride skiboards and land the same tricks. You dont have the safety length of skis to squat when you land wanky. Precison is key to skiboarding.

Some of my fav one liners: "Short skis are for kids and gays" "for beginners" "need to learn how to ride real skis" and many more along that line.

I agree with some points like a sub 100 is not the best for powder. But skiboarding is advancing the width and length to meet the requirements of the backcountry. Ow well who can fight politics.:D

[bloodshot]

Yeah, when I first went on NS I was put off by all the hate, but if you look past the dumb comments it's a great site for freeskiing. IMO having a large member base does play a role in the kinds of posts you see. Also, since twintips are growing so quickly, young kids are being introduced to the sport and site. When you put them all together, a lot of immaturity happens. I do find some of the stuff funny, and there are "insider" jokes and epic moments that have been had on that forum.

I also believe it very much has a community feel to it, especially outside of the internet world. A lot of people don't take the internet seriously. Most skiers in the parks know of NS and it's the first thing I ask when I see one. It's basically the core of newschool skiing since it began so early on in the sport. The companies and pros look to the site for feedback and there's all of the live event coverages/media/news that happen in the ski world. Usually the NS community is the first to hear a certain news topic before its even officially announced.

There is no site like NS to be found anywhere. Even snowboarders have taken advantage of it and found a place in NS, albeit very small in numbers.

I'm biased though... and this is coming from someone who's 16 and probably considered one of those kids.

[Manlenium]

I have never seen it as an age thing. As long as there is intelligent or useful information shared. There is just a populus on there that bashes everything that isnt skiing, until some of their own do it ...then its cool (Like the No pole movement) As the ski gets wider/shorter and the poles become less they are more skiiboarders then they know. There is no point in useless bickering over nothing.

They also dont know that half the skiis they use came from the original sub 100 design. Twintwips roots are from skiboards. they think what they are doing is "newschool"

[bloodshot]

I agree that there are probably a lot of sheep. Kids who follow trends, eg. Oakley stuff and aren't open minded to other things, eg. tight pants. For the most part though, it's just all talk, since you go on a forum to burn time, but in real life for the most part it seems like people don't care enough to say stuff.

I think the whole acceptance of no poles was realizing that it's possible to look smooth and stylish w/o 'em by watching what some pros have accomplished. They were able to show some sick riding without looking impaired. People still have opinions on whether a certain skier looks better w/ or w/o poles, so it still depends on their style.