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Is your equipment helping or hindering your Fore/Aft balance?

Tricia

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So why do professionals in the ski industry, those who know a ton about boots or technique or skis or whatever, post their expert-level information and their experience-based perspectives freely in an online forum?

Is it just to drum up additional business? Do people care if that's a reason?

If these professionals don't post, then the technical discussion portions of this forum might devolve into conversations full of suppositions made by those with lesser knowledge. The value of the discussions would drop precipitously.
I believe that there are a few reasons for pros to participate
To educate the people who are also participating on the site
To gain insights about what skiers are thinking
To glean informatoin from other pros who may also be participating

This goes for ski instructors, boot pros, racers and a variety of other pros in the industry.

Up until the past few days we felt that SkiTalk was nurturing a welcoming space for pros to particpate without being put in a hard spot. But now....??

I think we can do better.
 

Seldomski

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So why do professionals in the ski industry, those who know a ton about boots or technique or skis or whatever, post their expert-level information and their experience-based perspectives freely in an online forum?

Is it just to drum up additional business? Do people care if that's a reason?
Getting exposure/business is one reason. Another that I think is more common is some are just drawn to teaching and honing their craft however they can. Having variety in the participants is valuable for everyone.

Anonymity has pros and cons depending on the site specifics. For an open forum where you don't need to register to read content, anonymity is best IMO -- stuff posted on the internet can theoretically last forever and you never know who could exploit it for whatever purpose.
 

dbostedo

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Good to hear.


Okay, so why are you posting, then? In any event, posting as your "real life self" isn't all about what's in it for you; it's about helping to create an experience where everyone on the board can make informed decisions about how to read content, based on context. Sure, sometimes content is clearly valuable or clearly junk even without any context. (Photos often fall into this category.) But more often the poster's background is extremely helpful to know.




Can you see how the two statements above conflict with each other? Liquid Feet's point (and mine) is that we are going to listen to your "wisdom" in a different way if we know you are, say, Bob Gleason than if all we know is that some other people on the board with special hall passes claim that you are "somebody," but can't actually tell us who. The whole thing smacks of junior high to me. After all, we are not talking missile silos and launch codes here; we are talking about freaking feet. :rolleyes:
Not only addressing you here, Tony, but it's a good place to jump in with my moderator hat on.

Whether or not people post under their real name or not can have a lot of factors and reasons behind it. And not all of them are things that can/should be shared. I understand the sentiment, really I do. Like most things online, it can be hard to figure out how much trust/faith/merit someone has, particularly when mostly anonymous online. But it's not something we need to "poke" people for, or pry into. Thanks everyone.
 

Tricia

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Another that I think is more common is some are just drawn to teaching and honing their craft however they can. Having variety in the participants is valuable for everyone.
:micdrop:
 

Chris V.

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So why do professionals in the ski industry, those who know a ton about boots or technique or skis or whatever, post their expert-level information and their experience-based perspectives freely in an online forum?
Because they're professionals. Because they value advancing their profession through exchanging ideas with others who are knowledgable, and raising the level of knowledge of those who are less knowledgable.

Let's all acknowledge the good motivations of those posting here. It will sometimes happen that even a person I greatly respect will say something I think is dumb. That's not a good reason for me to call the person out. I might turn out to be wrong. Or maybe the person was in the process of gaining a higher understanding, or expressed an idea badly
 

Chris V.

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You see the words pronation and supination tossed about a lot. Pronation in particular, seems to get demonized. It is probably worth pointing out that pronation and supination are normal desirable functions of the foot and ankle.
Good thought here. Broadly, I expect one could say that every movement of any muscle or joint has its place. They've all evolved to work together. Possibly in an individual one movement will have become overemphasized or is happening too strongly at the wrong time, or due to individual anatomy needs to be accommodated with equipment adjustments. But we shouldn't be looking to eliminate any natural movement.
 
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bud heishman

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Since the ski topic is titled "Ski School"?....

Also since we are coming clean here, my reason for being here is I enjoy helping people find their best performances and discussing skiing. I don't expect my participation to net me more business or inflate my ego. I just really enjoy talking about skiing technique and equipment's role in performance. I also find tidbits of valuable perspectives from others on here as it becomes evident who has a clue and who doesn't. As a participant in skiing forums since the days of Epicski, I have met and skied with many very talented instructors and coaches from around the Country. Guys like Roger Kane "Arcmeister", Bob Barnes, Ric Reiter "Vailsnowpro", Chris Geib, Rick Snellman and others. Unfortunately, these guys don't post any longer. It's a shame as I always looked forward to reading their posts of wisdom and our discussions. I know some just got too frustrated with attacks or argumentative posts. Either good people are made to feel welcome or they are chased away....your choice.
 

Andy Mink

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Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the pros just left.
I think this would be a loss for not only the site but for members AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO LURK BUT ARE NOT MEMBERS. People who come here for information but don't know who knows what.

We have doctors, attorneys, nurses, contractors, instructors, fitters, chefs, CEOs, and whoever else as members of this site. When they offer their thoughts and expertise FOR FREE and get pummeled by careless, thoughtless comments and leave we all lose something.

In the case of industry professionals, heck yes I want them here. Otherwise I'm talking with people who may know less than me, maybe more. Some folks talk a good game but can't play the game.

I'm not saying we can't have civil discussions however when misquotes, personal attacks, and the like occur, why would anyone, pro or not, hang around?
 

Nancy Hummel

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I think this would be a loss for not only the site but for members AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO LURK BUT ARE NOT MEMBERS. People who come here for information but don't know who knows what.

We have doctors, attorneys, nurses, contractors, instructors, fitters, chefs, CEOs, and whoever else as members of this site. When they offer their thoughts and expertise FOR FREE and get pummeled by careless, thoughtless comments and leave we all lose something.

In the case of industry professionals, heck yes I want them here. Otherwise I'm talking with people who may know less than me, maybe more. Some folks talk a good game but can't play the game.

I'm not saying we can't have civil discussions however when misquotes, personal attacks, and the like occur, why would anyone, pro or not, hang around?

I would not put "misquotes" and "personal attacks" in the same category. Misquotes could be misunderstandings or faulty memory as opposed to personal attacks which have no place here.
 

bbinder

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I think this would be a loss for not only the site but for members AND ALL THE PEOPLE WHO LURK BUT ARE NOT MEMBERS. People who come here for information but don't know who knows what.

We have doctors, attorneys, nurses, contractors, instructors, fitters, chefs, CEOs, and whoever else as members of this site. When they offer their thoughts and expertise FOR FREE and get pummeled by careless, thoughtless comments and leave we all lose something.

In the case of industry professionals, heck yes I want them here. Otherwise I'm talking with people who may know less than me, maybe more. Some folks talk a good game but can't play the game.

I'm not saying we can't have civil discussions however when misquotes, personal attacks, and the like occur, why would anyone, pro or not, hang around?
This more or less summarizes all of my feelings on the subject. I relish reading the opinions, and gathering information from, the pros that are willing to post on this site. But I can certainly understand why many pros don't want to participate. It may be that they have better things to do (gasp!). It may be that they don't wish to get involved in petty discussions. It may be that they need time away from their day job and wish to peruse other sites on the web.

I have seen on various forums where the pros don't get public backlash for their statements. On one site that I frequent, the qualifications of the pros and industry insiders are clearly stated, and I believe that this helps avoid some of the BS. When someone is describing tactics for approaching turn 10 at Watkins Glen and this someone has been a professional race coach for 30 years, it is clear that the weight of this pro's opinion is quite, well, heavy. To be fair: on this particular site, this pro does appear to be available for new clients - a point that several on this site have said is not the case with them.

For myself, when I have presented opinions or advice in areas of personal expertise (e.g., veterinary questions), I have never felt challenged by people on this site (and for that, I thank everyone - goodness knows that Dr Google has arguments against every piece of veterinary knowledge that I possess...)

I maintain that it would be nice to know a poster's qualifications, even if we don't know the person's name. Would it make sense to have (with the individual's permission, of course) a person's qualifications/rank/profession as an addition to his/her avatar or signature?
 

Tricia

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This thread popped up in my feed today and its a prime example of this thread.
 

AmyPJ

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This thread popped up in my feed today and its a prime example of this thread.
It sure is a good example. I can relate so much. I've been watching some of Deb Armstrong's newest videos about conditioning specifically in the realm of proprioception, and think I'll start a thread about them. I've been doing several of the exercises that mimic movements and positions while skiing, and wouldn't you know it, my tibial plateau fracture site gets really angry, which tells me I'm compensating for it while I'm skiing. She discusses in another video fore/aft stuff, too. I don't now if it's an age thing, or her humility and passion, but I really relate to her methods of teaching.
 

MissySki

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It sure is a good example. I can relate so much. I've been watching some of Deb Armstrong's newest videos about conditioning specifically in the realm of proprioception, and think I'll start a thread about them. I've been doing several of the exercises that mimic movements and positions while skiing, and wouldn't you know it, my tibial plateau fracture site gets really angry, which tells me I'm compensating for it while I'm skiing. She discusses in another video fore/aft stuff, too. I don't now if it's an age thing, or her humility and passion, but I really relate to her methods of teaching.

Ohh this sounds great, hope you will start a new post on this and the specific videos you are liking for ski conditioning!
 

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