What Is Wrong With OLC?

On Tuesday, January 31, 2017 at 9:09:21 PM UTC-8, Sean Fidler wrote:
I'm not sure why I'm being included in this conversation again and again. You boys are never going to convince me that OLC is meaningful or cool. It's not. But knock yourselves out trying. Keep focusing on uploading free distance flights. Keep morphin US contest tasking (global laughing stock) into the same boring non-sport. Clearly, many here are highly sensitive and even personally offended by my criticisms of OLC. Not my intention not my problem. I simply think OLC is bad for soaring. It's creating bad pilots who complain unless they are free to only follow the best clouds all afternoon.

OLC has, IMO, has created some very poor attitudes about what soaring is as a sport

This thread is aptly titled "What's wrong with OLC." Yes, I know this was in regards to account issues. Perhaps a better title could be "What's the value of a soaring website that pretends to score completely unrelatable free distance cross country glider flights worldwide and why do people actually care about this?"

How OLC became one of the most popular websites in soaring is curious to me. I find its content (scoring) to be very low quality (random follow best clouds flying). It feels
like the lowest common denominator. We should be challenging ourselves more. Not just flying OLC. For me, and many others, OLC is so boring. It feels like a wasted opportunity to do something useful and challenging with a soaring day. It borders on being completely useless. This remains my opinion.

Sorry if this upsets you, but I feel we should try and get more out of cross country flying at least some significant portion of our flights. OLC lowers the common denominator.

Here is a little comedy relief. OLC is like shopping at the gap for all your clothes. Remember the movie "Crazy, Stupid Love?" Take a deep breath and watch this clip: https://youtu.be/-KsoPAXS0ME

Be better than than OLC. BE BETTER THAN THE GAP! There is so much more to soaring Than following the easiest possible path.

Sean

"why do people actually care about this?" I for one don't. But you are taking one narrow aspect of soaring and raising it above all others. I don't much care about the results in the WGC either. What you are saying is kind of like saying, "if you don't play football with an oblong ball, it's not football." When to most of the world it is. If popularity is the gage, OLC is the answer, not Grand Prix, not WGC. They are very different, sure, but is one a better way to spend your afternoon than the other? I say we do this for fun, not money, so whatever turns your prop. One could as easily criticize WGC tasking as reality TV - made up artificial tasks with no purpose. Do what you want. Don't criticize others for doing what they want. If you have the magic formula that will attract tens of thousands of participants, by all means, organize it. Whining does not accomplish that.