Endurance.Net Ridecamp Archives

Bruce said:

> There is a difference between asking questions aimed at becoming 
better informed, such as, "How does the present point system work?", or 
"How and why did the present point system evolve to what it is today?" 
versus questions from relative beginners that ask, "Why can't we have 
more points and privileges than there already are?" The former questions 
seek to understand, while the latter question implies no interest in why 
things work the way they do, but rather an interest in how to change 
them to suit certain member's preferences.

That's fine, but how do you expect people to learn when they're just told to
buzz off? I'd been on this forum for a couple of years before Heidi Smith
explained exactly those things. How we got here is important to understand.

You might also want to consider that there are some people who aren't
beginners any more who think change might be positive. Heidi's a far cry
from a beginner, and she supports BC's for LD. We've only very recently made
the change to record placings correctly for LD. I'm not a beginner, though I
may only have about 1/3 the miles you do, I've still been doing this for a
while. I don't take the positions I take out of ignorance, or because I'm a
beginner, or a whiner. I take these positions because I think it's the right
thing for the sport.

I like the poster in the hall at work - shows the running of the bulls (I
think 7 got hurt today). The caption is "TRADITION. Just because it's always
been done that way doesn't mean it isn't really stupid." Sometimes there's
good reasons to keep doing something, sometimes not.

> Many of us "old timers" 
remember and understand why things work as they do ( and have for a long 
time) and we also understand that time and experience help to make that 
reasoning clear. If some people respond with some exasperation, it may 
be because, like many topics on RC, this one comes up cyclically with 
newcomers questions aimed early on at finding ways to change our award 
system to suit them before trying to work within it and understand it 
fully first.

The way I look at it, if something keeps coming up, then it must be a
problem. Otherwise, people would quit worrying about it. And let's face it -
this has to be one of the grumpiest forums on the Internet. Good thing a
real ride camp isn't even 1/2 this grumpy.

And even though I've seen this same topic come up over and over in the last
8-9 years I've been on this mailing list, I still learn from listening to
people, especially the ones I don't agree with. I could dismiss some of them
as older folks who are out of touch with endurance as it is now, but that
would be rude, and it would mean I would quit listening, and even more
importantly, quit learning. Same thing goes for the newbies. You could
dismiss them as whiners, people who want recognition, or just plain
ignorant. But that would mean you weren't listening, and you wouldn't be
learning how we appear to someone new. Fresh eyes on a problem can often be
very valuable.

> Creative ideas come from everywhere, incuding newcomers. But a lot of 
creativity and "field testing" has already gone onto our current system, 
and though endurance riding is much more about personal satisfaction and 
goals setting, our awards system is not designed to be exclusionary. 

I design a lot of things people use, and it usually doesn't matter what was
meant. It matters how it works for them.




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