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| Features |
| Behind the Laptop - June Commentary from EKN’s David Cole |
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Before I begin this new column by discussing some negatives I’m seeing in the sport, let me begin with some positives. This past weekend was a busy one across North America with many regional and local events being held at race tracks around the country. A new street race was run on Grosse Isle, Michigan, hosted by the Michigan Kart Club. It’s no secret that many Midwest karters love street races, so I hope that this new event will grow into another strong race that will be run annually in front of spectators. Street races can do great things for karting. Also, the road racers were in action as the KART Mid America Road Race Series visited the Lake Garnett course this weekend, always a favorite for the karters in the Plain States. Add in the fact that the West Coast was busy with both the IKF Region 7 and ProKart Challenge running in So-Cal and you’ve got a full plate of competition.
Next weekend is one of my favorites of the year, the Road America Super Nationals, hosted by Badger Kart Club. Not only is it one of the biggest road racing events of the year, gathering roughly 500 drivers, but it’s also held at one of the finest facilities in the country. Watching some of the AMA Superbike racing from Road America on the television this weekend gave us a look some of the improvements made to the course over the off-season, and we’ll touch on these upgrades in our pre-race and post-race coverage of the event.
Now, on to what’s itching at me.
With my job here at EKN, most of my time is spent managing/writing the content in our news sections. The remaining time is spent answering EKN viewer emails and other duties, including moderating the forums. The forums have been a asset for many people, from those interested in getting into karting to providing a venue for those across the country to ‘bench race’ with one another to offering series and clubs with a promotional board to get the word out about their events. Forums and other types of online communication, like the ‘mailing list’ and bulletin boards that were set up in the late 90s, helped me get more up-to-speed to what was going on in the sport across the nation, besides what I read in magazines. The EKN Forum is now an important part of our communication network.
Roughly 10 years later, the Internet is now the preferred way for millions to communicate and forums/bulletin boards are everywhere. However, one problem that I see in our forum, along with many other forums, whether it be motorsports, sports discussion, online gaming, etc., is the negative posting. When someone asks for opinions on something, many people are not shy to bring out the negative in the subject, rather then the positive. A chassis choice, race director’s decision, an organization’s rule, or even the way a driver drives are all subjects that are discussed on EKN that have many negative posts. Those that are negative are quick to point out the negative in a strong and bold statement…and continuously.
I’m not saying posting a negative about a subject is wrong and should be banned - as a great discussion starts with both sides of the opinion stating facts. It gives the chance for those who do not know much about the subject to understand more about the issue or subject before they begin to form their own opinion. But when people are going back and forth with the ‘mine is better than yours’ attitude, it’s just not worth reading or good for the sport. A good ‘negative’ post is one that states a well thought-out opinion, is to the point and doesn’t ramble on. A bad ‘negative’ post has the ‘mine is better than yours’ attitude.
When I’m at the track, I hear from many people telling me that they read the threads but try to stay away from posting. I can understand certain reasons why some would take that approach, but I would like to see more who don’t post to get in and state their opinions. There are many respected and knowledgeable people in the industry that do post already, but I’d like to see more join in the fun.
So, when you hit that reply button, just remember to think about what your saying before clicking the submit button for everyone to read.
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