PMing for Advice

[BendtheBar]

Beginning lifters:

We want to help. The best way for you to receive help is to ask questions on the open forum. Have a thousand questions? No problem! Start 1000 threads. We're glad to have you here, and welcome ALL your questions.

I also want to ask that you do not PM advanced/seasoned lifters for advice without them asking you to do so. This places a burden on the lifter, and as one question often leads to 10, can place the lifter in an awkward position where they want to help but don't have time.

Understand that PMing for advice is like asking for free personal training. When you ask on the open forum, those that have time to respond, will. When you PM for advice, you are asking a lifter to make time for you. This can easily be abused.

Please honor the MAB code and keep training questions on the forum.

Understand that this is not a hard and fast rule. We understand that you will make friends at MAB, and they may welcome questions. We do not want to discourage conversations among friends.

The goal here is to prevent high exposure competitive powerlifters and bodybuilders from getting hammered with questions. Please respect their time, and keep conversations on the open forum. They will respond when, and if they can.

This also goes for Facebook and other social outlets. If you find an athlete via MAB, and then hook up on Facebook, please keep the same standards.

When you post questions on the forum, everyone wins. Ultimately the thread titles are picked up by Google, bring in more traffic, and working to build a healthy, growing community.

To the advanced lifters/sponsored athletes/etc. - if you feel like someone is being relentless in asking for advice via PM, please contact a moderator.

[rippednmichigan]

Fantastic post Steve, I personally have spent countless hours reading, researching and asking questions myself. It makes things a lot easier if there is already a thread started where questions have been asked and answered. It has stopped me from PMing people many times. And not to mention when you receive a PM, you receive an email stating you have a PM. PM's are a great way to get a hold of another member, but we all need to realize when it's necessary. If your comment or question seems a bit personal feel free to PM the person that the comment or question is intended for, if not let's keep it on the open forum.

[glwanabe]

MAB has a HUGE amount of information already stored all over the site. The forum is only one part of the site. Search the site, and you can usually find an answer somewhere to what you are thinking about asking.

Link the article or thread you are talking about as well. Just because a thread may be old does not mean it is not still relevent. Bring old threads back to the front, to reopen the discussion. There is very little that has at some point not been discussed.

Often times it is these older threads that can be the most informative.

[CoopDawg]

Hope this isnt pertaining directly to me for shoutboxing so much lol, great post btw

[Rich Knapp]

Great post BTB.
I know myself as you (BTB), do so many things off the forum. I am more than happy to help out and answer Q?'s. as I have time.
I spend many hours a day just on my own detail's and tracking. Then I go to my logs, then sponsor work, then web in general. After all this I finally get personal time for Q?'s.
For guys like Fransisco, my self and other well known and sponsored Competitive lifters it isn't all hit the gym and then free time. We as like you (BTB) have many many obligations to fill each day.
We all are here to help out gladly as time in our day allows.

And yes please post in a open thread on here. BUT first use the "Search" option, maybe the Q? has been asked already, OR its in the site already. Yep theres a lot more here than just the forum.
Some one else may have the same Q as you, posting a thread would help them get there answer also. 1. Q? may answer 50 Q?'s. PLUS then it is here for the next guy maybe a few months down the road.

[Rich Knapp]

Originally Posted by CoopDawg

Hope this isnt pertaining directly to me for shoutboxing so much lol, great post btw

Shoot box isn't bad for some Q?'s BUT after a few hours the Q & A are gone. So then the next person askes again and so on and so on. In a thread it is there to stay and for all peoples referance.

Shoot box is great for general jabber. Q & A are better in threads. IMO. Plus give everyone more time to get to them or answer.

[nighttrain]

excellent post fellas!!!

[CoopDawg]

Originally Posted by Rich Knapp

Shoot box isn't bad for some Q?'s BUT after a few hours the Q & A are gone. So then the next person askes again and so on and so on. In a thread it is there to stay and for all peoples referance.

Shoot box is great for general jabber. Q & A are better in threads. IMO. Plus give everyone more time to get to them or answer.

I agree rich