# Strava: trolling for Kudos?



## jefmcg (18 May 2015)

I joined an international group on strava a month ago, since then I have been getting the occasional multiple weird kudos from people I don't know, a long way away for rides without merit. Most recently 3 kudos from a Korean (whose name is rendered in Hangul) for 3 random rides. Previously several from a californian. 

I was a bit mystified at first, but then realised that while I had a total of around 200 kudos, they both had more than 20,000. So I assume it's a thing: you scatter kudos widely about, and wait for strangers to return the favour by giving you Kudos. Very strange. Much weirder than accumulating friends on facebook.

I left the group, so I expect this will stop now.


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## Rob3rt (18 May 2015)

Are you saying that you are not the sort of person that engages in mutual back patting?

If so, I offer you a kudos point...


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## Sittingduck (18 May 2015)

This kind of kudos hungry rider is needy, in the extreme. I sometimes get kudos from people like that but never return the favour. Only ever provide it on a ride that is worthy!

AND I actually know the rider...


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## potsy (18 May 2015)

There are some very strange people on Strava


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## winjim (18 May 2015)

I'm giving your post a "like"


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## fossyant (18 May 2015)

potsy said:


> There are some very strange people on Strava



Have we heard from Daryl in ages?


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## Crackle (18 May 2015)

I just quietly ditch the weirdos, like Potsy, from following me.


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## Yellow Saddle (18 May 2015)

Kudos to you for leaving them. Consider the brave move your own personal KOM.


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## Dogtrousers (18 May 2015)

What's a kudo?


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## potsy (18 May 2015)

fossyant said:


> Have we heard from D***l in ages?


No idea who you mean


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## NormanD (18 May 2015)

Dogtrousers said:


> What's a kudo?


A dyslexic martial artist maybe.


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## Yellow Saddle (18 May 2015)

Dogtrousers said:


> What's a kudo?


A type of African antelope.


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## winjim (18 May 2015)

Hey, it works!


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## Pat "5mph" (18 May 2015)

Does Strava not work like that?
Sort of cycle chat likes? TMN to @winjim 
Personally, I give kudos to any ride that comes on my Strava feed.
Because I don't log on very often there could be pages of it, so will kudos just the first couple.
I don't ever check who is giving me kudos and most of my followers I wouldn't know face to face 
Don't even know who some folk on my FB are, if it says "bike" or "my work place" I always accept the connections!


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## potsy (18 May 2015)

Pat "5mph" said:


> Does Strava not work like that?
> Sort of cycle chat likes? TMN to @winjim
> Personally, I give kudos to any ride that comes on my Strava feed.
> Because I don't log on very often there could be pages of it, so will kudos just the first couple.
> ...


Strava Tart!!!


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## Mugshot (26 May 2015)

I've had a couple pop up on mine recently, one is in Seoul another in Bristol and another is in the US somewhere. Whilst I am full agreement with them that my commute
is worthy of kudos it does seem odd for people, particularly ones from other countries, to randomly start giving them to you.


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## jefmcg (26 May 2015)

Mugshot said:


> one is in Seoul


Bet it's the same guy. He's got several thousand more kudos since I first clicked on his page - gone from 70 something thousand to 82,000


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## Mugshot (26 May 2015)

jefmcg said:


> Bet it's the same guy. He's got several thousand more kudos since I first clicked on his page - gone from 70 something thousand to 82,000


That's the fella!! It'll be from the HAMR group I expect, is that the one you were a member of?


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## rowdin (26 May 2015)

I've had 10+ kudos from him, the only groups I'm in is cycle chat and the umca highest annual mile record. Haven't given him a kudos back yet, think i'll make him work for it.


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## hopless500 (26 May 2015)

potsy said:


> There are some very strange people on Strava


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## hopless500 (26 May 2015)

potsy said:


> Strava Tart!!!


You're practically the only person I get kudos from 
please continue


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## jefmcg (5 Jun 2015)

Mugshot said:


> That's the fella!! It'll be from the HAMR group I expect, is that the one you were a member of?


Yup, it was the HAMR group. 

I've left that, but i got 2 more today. Two from someone in the PBP group (now I've left that, too ) and another from someone who isn't in any groups. They are both from Brazil, so maybe there is an inscrutable connection there?


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## hopless500 (9 Jun 2015)

hopless500 said:


> You're practically the only person I get kudos from
> please continue


Oh. Just realised that reply has attached itself to the wrong person. It was meant to be a reply to @Pat "5mph" . 
Don't want Spotty following me


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## Brightski (9 Jun 2015)

Never got kudos from peeps I don't know before..


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## Wafer (9 Jun 2015)

Is it what rude non waving roadies do instead?


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## Brightski (9 Jun 2015)

Wafer said:


> Is it what rude non waving roadies do instead?


Too Pro to wave


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## jarlrmai (9 Jun 2015)

I've got one of those Garmin Wave Notifiers, it hooks into Strava and lets me know when another rider is near then give's me their number of KoM's and avg speed/distance thus I can choose whether to wave or not and if so how much effort to give it.

Only cost £799.


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## Pat "5mph" (9 Jun 2015)

hopless500 said:


> Oh. Just realised that reply has attached itself to the wrong person. It was meant to be a reply to @Pat "5mph" .
> Don't want Spotty following me


I knew you meant me


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## Pat "5mph" (9 Jun 2015)

jarlrmai said:


> Only cost £799


Surely you mean 79p.?


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## Supersuperleeds (9 Jun 2015)

Wish I hadn't seen this thread, I've been getting kudos from all around the world and I've been thinking how brilliant I am that all these people are impressed with my amazing bike riding skills.


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## jefmcg (15 Feb 2016)

jefmcg said:


> They are both from Brazil, so maybe there is an inscrutable connection there?


What is it with Brazilians? I just got another follow request by a stranger in a remote country. Mind you, this one came with a tops-off selfie. 






(it's not trolling for ladies, because though I am female in my profile, I don't have a photo and most of these requests come from Spanish and Portuguese speaking nations, where my given name is masculine.)


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## Crackle (15 Feb 2016)

Arthur Lima, that's a great name. Only Papa Zulu would better it.


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## winjim (15 Feb 2016)

I still get the odd follow request from strangers, despite not having logged any rides since last April!


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## summerdays (15 Feb 2016)

I also occasionally get people wanting to follow me from abroad.... My rides are mostly commutes why would someone on the other side of the world want to see that other than hoping I will follow them back?


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## Stephenite (15 Feb 2016)

jefmcg said:


> What is it with Brazilians? I just got another follow request by a stranger in a remote country. Mind you, this one came with a tops-off selfie.
> View attachment 119067
> 
> 
> (it's not trolling for ladies, because though I am female in my profile, I don't have a photo and most of these requests come from Spanish and Portuguese speaking nations, where my given name is masculine.)


In which languages is Jeff a feminine name?


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## DWiggy (15 Feb 2016)

I get random Kudos from strangers in Strava? very strange....but loving the love


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## jonny jeez (15 Feb 2016)

jefmcg said:


> I joined an international group on strava a month ago, since then I have been getting the occasional multiple weird kudos from people I don't know, a long way away for rides without merit. Most recently 3 kudos from a Korean (whose name is rendered in Hangul) for 3 random rides. Previously several from a californian.
> 
> I was a bit mystified at first, but then realised that while I had a total of around 200 kudos, they both had more than 20,000. So I assume it's a thing: you scatter kudos widely about, and wait for strangers to return the favour by giving you Kudos. Very strange. Much weirder than accumulating friends on facebook.
> 
> I left the group, so I expect this will stop now.


Yebbut, how is this activity trolling? 

Or did you mean to type trawling?


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## jonny jeez (15 Feb 2016)

jarlrmai said:


> I've got one of those Garmin Wave Notifiers, it hooks into Strava and lets me know when another rider is near then give's me their number of KoM's and avg speed/distance thus I can choose whether to wave or not and if so how much effort to give it.
> 
> Only cost £799.


Comes free with the iphone 7s


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## jefmcg (15 Feb 2016)

jonny jeez said:


> Yebbut, how is this activity trolling?
> 
> Or did you mean to type trawling?


Um, as in dragging a bait around hoping someone takes a bite ...

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/troll?q=trolling#troll-2__12


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## jefmcg (25 Aug 2016)

This has started for me again. First I got a whole bunch of kudos for every ride (I think) I did last week, from a stranger in the Netherlands and today I got one from the delightfully named Carla Ferrari for a random, slow, unremarkable commute between Waterloo and Canary Wharf on my folder in *2012!*


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## steverob (25 Aug 2016)

Think I've only ever got two or three random kudoses (that's the plural I'm going with anyway) from people in far flung lands that I don't know, but then as I rarely get more than about 3 kudoses on a ride anyway, that's plenty enough for me! But like others on here, when I have got a random one, it always seems to be on the least interesting ride I've done that week - forget that 70+ mile, multiple categorised hills at a high average speed ride; give me kudos on the 3 mile pootle to and from the shops instead!


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## Starchivore (25 Aug 2016)




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## winjim (25 Aug 2016)

winjim said:


> View attachment 89167
> 
> 
> Hey, it works!


It really does!


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## Apollonius (25 Aug 2016)

Only been on Strava for about a year, and only recently discovered how to award Kudos. (Greek, so maybe the plural is Kudoces???) (Maybe not!). It does seem a bit random. I am puzzled by people I have never met rewarding me (if that is what it is) for a routine ride to a fitness class I do every week. Busting through the twelve mile an hour barrier is, of course, a different matter. There is a Cycle Chat group? Can I join?


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## Ihatehills (25 Aug 2016)

I received a random kudos for a 2.8 mile commute last week, I think it was a cc'er and I also get one from a guy every time I ride over 30 miles. it says on his profile " I only give kudos on rides over 30 miles " and he sticks to this religiously, 30.3 miles, kudos, 29.8 no. Chance. How does he know ? Seems like a lot of effort to me.


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## Louch (25 Aug 2016)

Yeah I get kudos from him too. I only kudos rides over 10 miles, anything less and it's not really going cycling to me


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## Starchivore (25 Aug 2016)

Ihatehills said:


> I received a random kudos for a 2.8 mile commute last week, I think it was a cc'er and I also get one from a guy every time I ride over 30 miles. it says on his profile " I only give kudos on rides over 30 miles " and he sticks to this religiously, 30.3 miles, kudos, 29.8 no. Chance. How does he know ? Seems like a lot of effort to me.


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## Mile195 (25 Aug 2016)

While on the topic, is it weird to follow people you don't know anyway, or not? I can't decide.

I've only recently got into Strava, and have started following a couple of people that seem to do a similar route at a similar sort of speed to me on my commutes. Thought it might be quite motivational for bettering PB's on some segments. But that said, I did "um and ah" a bit before requesting to follow my first complete stranger.


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## potsy (25 Aug 2016)

Mile195 said:


> While on the topic, is it weird to follow people you don't know anyway, or not?


It is to me, I treat it like FB and only have people on there that I have actually met these days.
I did have a few cc'ers that I had not met but they are now deleted


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## Mile195 (25 Aug 2016)

potsy said:


> It is to me, I treat it like FB and only have people on there that I have actually met these days.
> I did have a few cc'ers that I had not met but they are now deleted


I started off thinking like that, but then I realised that given that no-one I know cycles the same segments as me, it makes strava pretty pointless from an "upping your own game" point of view without some local connections.

I'm also finding it interesting to see how people's times compare on certain segments on the same days. When I'm having a good day, it's interesting to know if everyone else is. If so, you could blame the temperature and a tailwind. If they're not then I guess it's an indicator that you're just on better form than usual yourself. When you're following people you can see if they set a load of PB's on the same segments as you that day.

I figure that I have privacy zones set, and people that don't want to be followed could easily make their activities private so I guess it's alright. Even so, I still feel like I'm crossing some awkward social boundary when I add the odd random!


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## smutchin (25 Aug 2016)

There's a guy in my club who I've never met in real life but because I'm a member of the club Strava group, he gives me kudos on literally every single activity I post. I had to laugh the other day when he even gave me kudos on a phantom ride - must have accidentally started my Garmin and recorded a ride of around 2 seconds and zero distance. 

I've also had some very 'interesting' follow requests from fellow Strava users who, judging by their profile pics (which usually don't leave much to the imagination), are extremely attractive young ladies. Nice to know I've still got it. (In case you're wondering, I ignore them - the account usually gets suspended pretty quickly anyway. I don't find online profile pics a very reliable guide to what a person is like. I mean, look at me - I'm not even Welsh!)


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## Mile195 (25 Aug 2016)

Well, I probably wouldn't give you kudos on the 2 second ride... but (and following the link in your signature), I might have considered giving you a thumbs up on your "biggest ride" of 387 miles!...

Don't worry though - I'm not going to try and add you... now I know you're not Welsh, that's totally killed it for me...!


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## tallliman (25 Aug 2016)

Apollonius said:


> Only been on Strava for about a year, and only recently discovered how to award Kudos. (Greek, so maybe the plural is Kudoces???) (Maybe not!). It does seem a bit random. I am puzzled by people I have never met rewarding me (if that is what it is) for a routine ride to a fitness class I do every week. Busting through the twelve mile an hour barrier is, of course, a different matter. There is a Cycle Chat group? Can I join?



https://www.strava.com/clubs/cyclechat


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## toffee (25 Aug 2016)

Ihatehills said:


> I received a random kudos for a 2.8 mile commute last week, I think it was a cc'er and I also get one from a guy every time I ride over 30 miles. it says on his profile " I only give kudos on rides over 30 miles " and he sticks to this religiously, 30.3 miles, kudos, 29.8 no. Chance. How does he know ? Seems like a lot of effort to me.



I have been getting kudos from this guy all week as I have been crossing the country. Who spends their time searching out these rides

Derek


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## vickster (25 Aug 2016)

potsy said:


> It is to me, I treat it like FB and only have people on there that I have actually met these days.
> I did have a few cc'ers that I had not met but they are now deleted


You use Strava? To measure walks from sofa to fridge as it's not like you ride your bikes by all accounts


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## Garry A (25 Aug 2016)

I usually look at strava flyby and give kudos to people I passed that have done an impressive trip. It helps if they seem happy and say hello or wave/nod. I feel bad about following them as I don't want to seem like a crazy stalker.


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## vickster (25 Aug 2016)

toffee said:


> I have been getting kudos from this guy all week as I have been crossing the country. Who spends their time searching out these rides
> 
> Derek


Sad folk who haven't discovered the enormous waster of time that is CycleChat?


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## Pat "5mph" (25 Aug 2016)

vickster said:


> You use Strava? To measure walks from sofa to fridge as it's not like you ride your bikes by all accounts


  well said, maybe we can spur some action into Chubby Cat!
I give Kudos to everyone that appears in my feed, and never ever check on who gave me them.
As I log into Strava only once in a while, the rides that appear in my first two pages of feed will get Kidos, then I lose interest.
Sometimes I will click on rides linked on here and give Kudos.
I don't have to log into Strava to add the rides to MCL, because I use @jefmcg 's excellent app that does it all.


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## jefmcg (29 Aug 2016)

Another 8 today from the mysterious Nederlander. Weird, I don't know him (my surname is just "M" on strava, and I don't have a avatar, so the only people who know who I am on strava is ones I have befriended). But 8 more random likes today


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## HarryTheDog (29 Aug 2016)

@jefmcg same bloke gave me kudos on friday, he now has 3390 followers, he had 2498 on friday . ( I did not follow him) . Maybe he wants to collect followers, wierdo


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## smutchin (29 Aug 2016)

Same chap gave me kudos yesterday too. 

Of course, I did actually deserve it


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## Jenkins (29 Aug 2016)

Ihatehills said:


> ...and I also get one from a guy every time I ride over 30 miles. it says on his profile " I only give kudos on rides over 30 miles " and he sticks to this religiously, 30.3 miles, kudos, 29.8 no. Chance. How does he know ? Seems like a lot of effort to me.



Strava user "Pete T"? I get the same.


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## smutchin (29 Aug 2016)

Jenkins said:


> Strava user "Pete T"? I get the same.



I get kudos from him too. He's on the CC Strava group but I don't know if he's an active member of the forum. 

There are a few people who follow me on Strava who I assume I "know" through either here or yacf, but I can't always tally up forum names with real life identities.


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## Dave 123 (29 Aug 2016)

Pete T gives me kudos too. He's easily impressed.


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## nickyboy (29 Aug 2016)

Dave 123 said:


> Pete T gives me kudos too. He's easily impressed.



He gave me kudos too, but then I am seriously good

I'll give kudos to people I follow, it's just a nice thing to do to recognise their effort. I'll pop a little comment on too if it's a special effort. I'll also kudos someone I have a chat with on a ride that I can find via flyby but that's bordering on creepy I think


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## Dave 123 (29 Aug 2016)

nickyboy said:


> He gave me kudos too, but then I am seriously good
> 
> I'll give kudos to people I follow, it's just a nice thing to do to recognise their effort. I'll pop a little comment on too if it's a special effort. I'll also kudos someone I have a chat with on a ride that I can find via flyby but that's bordering on creepy I think




Flyby stalking..... That's when you know you've taken it too far. (Guilty your honour)


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## Mugshot (8 Sep 2016)

I've picked up a few new ones in the last couple of days, Moldova, Taiwan and India. International superstar me


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## jefmcg (30 Sep 2017)

Quickly reviving this thread again, Today I got a ping from strava telling me I had a comment from a 2015 ride. This was it ...









Edit: For the record, unfortunate rabbit lives in New Joisey.


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## Brandane (30 Sep 2017)

Here is the easiest way to prevent random nobbers (and even non-random nobbers) from being able to see your activities on Strava, and therefore unable to give you pointless "kudos". Go to settings; then privacy; then check the "private activities" box as below:


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