[RC] What has become of Ridecamp? (1 of 2) - Nick Warhol
What has become of Ridecamp?How many of you remember what Ridecamp is for?How
many of you were around when it started?I can tell you- there were twelve.It used to be called Endurance(at)Moscow.com.
Twelve people who met on line.Twelve people who started sending emails back
and forth about endurance.The internet
brought us together in a way that previously was not possible.We were suddenly one group across the country
with a common purpose- to talk about our passion: endurance riding. This was so good, so valuable, and so much fun
we wanted it to grow.We started with a
booth at the AERC convention with a computer to demo the new internet web
site.We gave away AOL membership discs
and written instructions to people who were interested.Most
people walked by and thought “This will never catch on.”Boy,
were they ever wrong. It did catch on,
and in a big way.Soon we had 50 members,
then our first person in Europe.That was such a big deal!Newbies would sign on and start asking questions.They were thrilled at the wealth of
information that was available to them, and everyone was happy to reply with
advice, information, and good cheer.It
was a big group of friends!I have met a
lot of people over the years on the internet, some I consider very close friends.Everyone was so positive.We shared ideas, ride stories, advice, even recipes.I couldn’t
wait to get on line and see who I could talk to.Where did we go wrong?I remember reading the first nasty post
several years ago- someone yelled at someone for making a statement that was in
fact true.The offending person was
indignant- they were not a big enough person to admit they had made a
mistake.It turns out that person wasn’t
even a member of the AERC. I remember
exactly what Steph said: “Come on, let’s keep the list civilized.There’s no value to anyone when you
post like this.”Read that
statement again.It is the gospel of the
internet.There is no value to anyone
when people post like this.But unfortunately
we are dealing with human nature here.There are some people who just can’t leave it alone.No matter what anyone says, or tries to do, some
people feel the need to argue and be combative.And it’s not just the first person who says something nasty, it’s
everyone who instantly responds and contributes to the landslide of negativity.
It causes a downward spiral that can’t
be undone. (cont)
