Community Welfare and Anti-Harassment Update [April 2021]

This needs a full solution…which takes development effort. It feels like Zwift don’t want to invest properly in the game to make it safe and fair.

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There is a fine line between the two. In my experience on zwift that line is crossed more often than not.

how does putting out raw watt pace work? at 107Kg i’m putting a lot more power out ( especially on hills ) than those that are lighter ( my ftp is also higher) to keep to the same speed.
When I join a group ride the advertised W/Kg tells me all I need to know of how hard or easy a ride will be.
In a race I like to look at the results to see how I did agains those of a similar build.

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You would need to take in account a combination of both due to varied rider weight, as you also recognize. Heavier riders travel faster on the flats for the same WKG. One way to do this is to consider the advertised WKG in combination with the ride leaders’ (or average pack) weight. As a lighter rider I know I typically need to add around 0.2-0.3 WKG to any advertised pace, but this will differ for each rider. Weight can be used, but if this were to disappear (or be discouraged) then a WKG/W pace advertisement could fulfill a similar role. What I was thinking of was something along the lines of:

“Welcome to endurance ride [insert name]. The ride leader will travel at a consistent pace of 2.5 WKG/200W on the flats and ~3.2WKG/250W on notable inclines”.

A rider can then decide for him/herself if that pace sounds sustainable and if it meets the intended training target. A 100kg rider would typically put out slightly lower WKG on the flats, while a lighter rider puts out slightly more. On inclines everyone would probably put out pretty similar WKG figures.

at 3.2WKg id be putting out nearly 350 Watts, well above my ftp, I hope it would be a short “hill”. !

As a heavy ride leader I use the range 2.0-2.5w/kg so knowing I am on the other side of the scale I will keep flat roads below 2.0 and also look at the w/kg of the riders around me, most of them should be between these limits. On climbs I will be to the upper limit knowing that the light riders will fly up the hill.

I think there need to be more ride leader education.

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I think cat herders tell jokes about cyclists on organized rides.

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I guess in the interim the weight column could still be removed from the columns displayed by default. It is not what you’d use to check for irregularities regarding specific riders anyway. Also, remove the red number highlights for the highest and lowest values for the weight column while you’re at it.

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I’m inevitably one of the taller and heavier riders at any given time on Zwift, and couldn’t care less about my height/weight being shown. It just makes me want to get back into pre-pandemic shape that much faster, and gets me excited to think about how much my w/kg will improve while comparing to other riders.

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ok, thanks great job

Is that the problem !!! people thinking they have a weight “problem” !

I’m also tall and heavy, at 65 thats not going to change much, but I like looking at the results to see how I do against others of a similar age, weight and height.

I’d wager very few… Just zwift trying to be “woke”

Nothing wrong with the intention of being decent to people.

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I’ve observed and reported bad behavior. Is there a way to follow up and find out what (if any) action Zwift has taken? The offending individual was reported by at least 2 of us on a ride back on May 4. Would be nice to know if you’re actually taking action or…?

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No, they keep that confidential, only the person who was reported will know if action was taken.

Sorry you had to close the other post about team PETA-Z, @shooj. Just wanted to let you know that we are at your disposal to help clarify Estefanía’s claims.
We try our best to contribute to make Zwift a more engaging experience for everyone and would never condone any type of harassment. We actually think we may know where this is coming from and if you or anyone at Zwift needs any more details to help sort this out, feel free to contact me.
Ride on!

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@T_Luizao
Thanks for stepping in to proactively assist! We very much appreciate it.

A few of thoughts.

First, this was announced some time ago.

Second, we in the HERD have reports of inappropriate weight-based comments, thankfully on other rides, but they’re still there. I’m sorry, race community, but most zwifting is in group and free rides.

Third, Zwift’s failings in race enforcement are well known. We’ve (me too) just used weight for vigilante action against sandbaggers. This isn’t really about transparency: it’s about an anti-edoping, anti-cheating regime that actually works. I don’t think we’d be having this part of the discussion if there were one.

If something like Category Enforcement or AUTOCAT works, good on Zwift. But, like the UI upgrade, it’s always coming Zoon®.

Now, a question: Should Zwift consider separating racing into - how shall I put this - mental intensity levels? Let the blood-and-guts, bulging eyeball, take no prisoners crowd have their level as an opt-in. Let the Zwift equivalent of town-line racers have separate series.

As a 73 year-old, confirmed D racer and Zone 2 ride leader all this rage and frustration concerns me.

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Thought you might like to see what the team’s working on for Competition improvement.

What do you mean you used weight for vigilante action? What did you do to your weight? Just to clarify.

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