The Locker Room

Ivo Flipse

00:25

0

Lately I've been getting more worried about the scope of our site. First there's the problem with medical and general health questions popping up regularly and second the balance between Fitness and Nutrition. The first problem was covered in several other Meta questions: What should Main (F&a...

VPeric

06:44

@Ivo really glad you asked that question, lets see where it leads us

Eimantas

12:38

Hello everyone! When can I expect Ivo to drop in? I'd like to contribute to blog writing in here regarding self improvement with daily blogposts.

user11126

Did you leave an answer on the meta?

user11126

8

Q: Do you want to blog about becoming fit and working out?

We're actively looking for users who want to write blog posts! I'm looking for help from users who want to help breath life into a Fitness.SE blog! On Super User we got officially blessed by Jeff and I honestly believe that Gaming should be able to deserve one as well. On Super User we mainly ...

discussion featured top-7 blog

Eimantas

quoting final accepted answer: "So anyone who's interested in writing an occasional blog post, just drop into our chatroom!"

I believe answers were pre-launch thing. Were they not?

user11126

Doh... I think you're correct. I've been out of touch with this. Ivo is usually around anyway.

user11126

You could just prefix your message to him using the @IvoFlipse. I'm sure he'll see it that way.

user11126

12:43

whoo... magic...

Ivo Flipse

Hellow :-)

@Eimantas You've come to the right address

Eimantas

Speak of the devil .)

@IvoFlipse I'd like to do the blogging thing

Ivo Flipse

@Eimantas You've got mail

Eimantas

um.. that was a statement?

Ivo Flipse

I'm not 100% sure whether daily blog posts are a great idea, but I do like the idea of self-improvement posts

Eimantas

12:46

oh, win

Ivo Flipse

@Eimantas I created you an account, which should mail you with the details :)

Eimantas

well, that's odd

I got the confirmation with password'n'stuff

but the page title says "Page not found"

Ivo Flipse

I see your account is activated though :\

Eimantas

I just did

I'm already in

Ivo Flipse

try: fitness.blogoverflow.com/wp-login

ah nvm then

Eimantas

12:48

404 on that link you gave me

Ivo Flipse

I would suggest first making a draft and discuss it with others (else Rebecca is going to kick my butt), though at least I'm in here most of my waking time, so there shouldn't be much of a delay

Eimantas

Which time zone are you at?

I'm at +0200

now probably it's +0300

Ivo Flipse

I'm in +1, so we're close to each other

btw I'm sorry to inform you that I actually think your hot drinks question should be closed

Eimantas

no problems at all .)

btw is fitness blog affiliated with stackexchange network?

Ivo Flipse

@Eimantas yes, but it won't get official until we can prove to provide a steady stream of blogs

given that I managed to get the SU and Gaming blog up to that status, I'm not so worried about my little pet here doing the same

hi @ThomasMcDonald

note that I 'managed' it, I had a lot of help from fellow users in actually pulling it off :)

That helped

user30

12:57

~~morning~~ early afternoon

user30

how many shirts did you get sent out in the end?

Eimantas

lol, will that be same for fitness?

Ivo Flipse

@ThomasMcDonald I think 15 or so

@Eimantas well, when we get a bit larger, yes

@ThomasMcDonald darn I should have included you :O

user30

haha, it doesn't matter, I don't think I'd wear it

Ivo Flipse

it doesn't have that text though ;P

@Eimantas as soon as you have a draft, simply post a link in here and we'll all have a look at it

user11126

13:04

hey @IvoFlipse have there been any questions on the effects of "not eating" and why no one should ever do it?

user11126

i want to know what biologically happens to your body but in no way do i want to promote something so negative and unhealthy like that

Ivo Flipse

@MattChan define not eating, how do you consume nutritions then?

user11126

an entire lack of food.... basically starvation

Ivo Flipse

ask the doctors in Africa

though with that new meta question of mine, I wonder how you would need to formulate it to get it to be on-topic

user11126

i was hoping for something like this:

user11126

13:07

6

Q: What are the biological processes behind the sensation of "being hungry"?

I'm trying to work out if there is a particular diet or habits around eating that would minimize the sensation of "being hungry". Is "being hungry" a psychological sensation determined simply by the habit of eating at specific times during the day? Are there any observable biological processes a...

weight-loss eating-habits hunger

user11126

but considering that my question takes it further... and to a place that is... probably not a good place... i'm hesitant

user11126

i think your new meta question is merited anyway

Ivo Flipse

On SU we have a policy that prohibits questions about doing 'harmful' stuff to your computer, simply because that's not what we're for

I guess the same applies to Fitness

if we start explaining what happens when don't eat enough, some might take it as an excuse to cut out a few meals extra, because it doesn't apply to them 'yet'

anyway, I'm going to lead by example and do some healthy grocery shopping

user11126

makes sense, thanks for the input

Eimantas

'k, gotta run

ttyl, peeps!

Ivo Flipse

16:24

hi @Greg I was trying to @-message you, but there's too many Gregs

Greg

Hey, how goes?

Yeah, I've been noticing I'm not the only one... I guess I can't copyright my name

Ivo Flipse

Hehe, you can try ;-)

Greg

So hard to draw a clear definition - we either leave out good material or we let in some spurious topics

Ivo Flipse

Its a difficult situation, we could 'limit' the questions to questions about actually performing the exercise, so we don't have to start answering questions about shin-protectors in soccer or helmets in football

but that would mean the questions about running shoes and dumbbells are off too

Greg

Right

Ivo Flipse

16:28

If the site would be locked down to just a few branches of sports, we would start to compete among SE sites (if others ever launch), which I think is rubbish until we hit the size of Super User

Greg

Well two "meta" questions we have to consider are what the level of "experts" is that we want and whether we are willing to accept limited traffic to a more restrictive site.

Yes, agree that we don't want a bunch of similarly-scoped struggling SE sites

Ivo Flipse

Besides, you would get a question about running shoes on Soccer.SE, Running.SE and Tennis.SE

Greg

What would happen is that all those would start, go through beta, struggle, and eventually be killed or merged back together

Ivo Flipse

@Greg I can live with our expertise on Nutrition being mostly 'experience' based, as long as its related to exercise

I'm sure we can crowd source the validity when enough users with similar experiences are around

but when it would be about food allergies, well I think its no longer safe to assume we have the experience and knowledge to answer those questions

Greg

I agree with that

Ivo Flipse

16:31

or like those about lunulae

we all just start Googling our way to an answer, echoing the weird sites that advocate using product X or diet Y

Greg

So I think activities, both physical and nutritional, that address strength, endurance, and flexibility are core topics that should fit under any scope.

Ivo Flipse

But that doesn't change the fact that answering questions, like the one about skating are more difficult

Greg

The question is where to allow flexibility in that, in order to drive up site volume

Ivo Flipse

Now I have skated often enough, but I suck at braking myself. Any skate coach would probably cry when they read my answer

@Greg I always thought Fitness was meant as a generic term to describe anything exercise related

Sadly all the Area51 questions got deleted when they removed the old proposals

Greg

Right, but that's one of the issues with one of your concerns on the meta post - we don't have nutritionists, but we don't have skating coaches either.

@IvoF

bleh

Ivo Flipse

16:35

@Greg No, but that's why I think its important to at least have some experience in that area

Greg

Yeah, but I don't think Area51 is that important any more - the site is to be defined by those who use it, not those who proposed it

The guy who proposed it isn't even a member of the site AFAIK

Ivo Flipse

when the nutrition questions are limited to how they influence you getting/being fit, there's a good chance some of us have been in similar situations

Greg

Agreed

Ivo Flipse

@Greg I just wanted to point to Roberts discussion about the term Fitness

I wanted to call it something like Sports & Exercise (Physiology) I believe

but they made it more generic and added Nutrition to boot

Greg

Got a link handy?

Ivo Flipse

16:37

nope, it got deleted :(

can't even read it on my own profile :\

amazon.com/Physiology-Sport-Exercise-3rd-Jack-Wilmore/dp/…

Greg

Well there are linked problems here. First we have to come to a final agreement what the scope should be, then we come up with a name and FAQ material that communicates that scope well.

Ivo Flipse

I basically summed up that everything covered in this book would be a good scope

Greg

That's actually a very good summation of proper scope, I think, but leaves something to be desired from one-word.se.com marketability. :-)

Ivo Flipse

@Greg well that was my point, the book can be applied to pretty much anything sports related

Greg

Yes, applied, but it's not going to cover specifics of braking on skates or dunking a basketball, etc.

Building up the leg and ankle strength to do a proper brake would be on-topic.

Ivo Flipse

16:40

@Greg well I'd also think the book would be too scientific for most of our users

Greg

Sure, but we're not asking them to read the book. The desire on the site seems to be for people who are willing/able to read the science to put it in layman's terms and cite the science behind it.

Ivo Flipse

@Greg Grace Note is mailing me the contents of my Area51 answer, just to see what I said back then

Greg

@IvoFlipse Anyway, if we can restrict the scope of questions to having generally applicability across sports (i.e. no nutrition skeptics questions and no sport-specific techniques) then I think we're at a good place and just need a name that fits.

k

Ivo Flipse

@Greg I don't mind Fitness per se, but it should be clear that its not the softy term for ladies talking about how fit they are after Yoga

Greg

But there is always gray area. Is learning advanced nuances of deadlift technique appropriate, if they most apply to powerlifters (a sport)?

Ivo Flipse

16:45

brb, I need to dine (how appropriate)

Greg

@IvoFlipse Completely agree with that!

All right, ttyl

Ivo Flipse

@Greg I think questions regarding technique could be on-topic, but we'd need to figure out how to handle the 'lack of expert' aspect

I mean I can calculate what the best technique for a deadlift would be ;-)

Greg

@IvoFlipse It'd be like everything else here - secondhand experts. We cite a book by Pavel or Rippetoe.

Ivo Flipse

@Greg you've got mail :)

Greg

@IvoFlipse Yeah, I see that. Better than working! :-)

@IvoFlipse That's really a good list! I'd be happy to have this as the basis for the FAQ.

IMO, nutrition plays a bigger role in these items than the wording might suggest to someone less familiar with the science behind it, but I think that if nutrition is part of the right answer it will trickle up. It will certainly cut down on the obviously off-topic nutrition questions.

Basically, we want to reduce nutrition questions but should be fine with nutrition answers, if they are correct.

So the terms Wellness, Nutrition, Sports, Health all have negative implications for the questions we might get.

Fitness still feels like the closest we're going to get in one word. Exercise could be ok, but seems a little too limiting.

Ivo Flipse

17:06

@Greg Well Fitness is fine, but then it should be really clear 'how' this all fits in the grand scheme of things

Greg

I think we copy/paste your list right into the FAQ

Ivo Flipse

and that Nutrition is allowed should be obvious from the questions on the site and the FAQ, it doesn't need to be in the title

@Greg feel free to propose that as an answer on that Meta question ;-)

Greg

@IvoFlipse All right. I'll be sure to cite my source. ;-)

Ivo Flipse

Though I do see Training for Sport covers things like using the right technique, for when you are not familiar with it

nice loophole :)

Greg

Did that list come verbatim from the book, or did you paraphrase the bullet points?

Ivo Flipse

17:10

That's the index of the book

Greg

It could be a little "weird" if we copied the book's index word-for-word, however appropriate it might be

Ivo Flipse

Btw we should bookmark this conversation and put it in the comments of your answer

@Greg well we can paraphrase it off course

for example by adding 'example' questions

brb

Greg

Agreed, but it is really good just the way it is!

Ivo Flipse

17:29

Site's scope discussion

1 hour ago, 47 minutes total – 81 messages, 2 users, 0 stars

Bookmarked 41 secs ago by Ivo Flipse

Site's scope discussion

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