[rant] What is up with other gun forums lately?

[SwoopSJ]

This is the first and probably only forum I will ever join because of the reasons mentioned previously by other members.  The majority of posters (save a couple, you know who you are  ) are well informed and mannered unless the very lack of manners is required to bring a little smile to our collective faces.  Thanks everyone for making this the absolute best site, gun related or not, on the internet. 

Swoop

[unique]

We certainly owe Marshal and M'ette our thanks for creating a great forum, but we also shouldn't forget to thank the "regulars", the people who post the most, because they really help create and maintain the tone of the forum.  They are the one's who allow the rest of us in, and make us feel at home.
It's interesting to note the difference between how we "talk" in an email or post and how we talk in person.  I think when we loose eye contact we loose an important feedback that moderates our communication.
People in business are constantly cautioned to think before they hit the send key as if the problem stated with email.  Actually it's been around since writing began.  For those of us old enough to remember memos, you could get yourself in a lot of trouble "firing off" a memo without thinking (BTDT). 
We should all remember that a post or email is a lot like a bullet, once you send it, you can't take it back.  Don't kid yourself, an email or post can do a lot of damage.

[Pathfinder]

I lurk on a handful of other forums (fora - sorry, state Latin scholar here) but mostly because I need something, like on the Marlin forum to find out what I can do to the 50-something year old lever action I just bought. AR - same, how do I do this or that and then gone.

So, I have no clue what fora you are mentioning.

But that's OK, I like this one - a lot. Great people like Ksail said, good information and discussion, and basic respect from and to everyone - unless you make a pest of yourself, then it's open season, but only on that thread.

Great job everyone, and Marshal and M'ette for being so cool as well.

[tumblebug]

 best lurker's anywhere bar none...

[blackwolfe]

I found this forum through the Michael Bane Blog.  I don't remember how I found MB's blog, (big Ruger fan, so probably a Ruger subject link) but it is the only blog I try to read regularly.   I check some other forums related to shooting that interest me and I noticed that at least one owner seems to like to throw his weight around and knows everthing.   Other shooting related forums  seem to have lots of members and whiners that post a lot of opinions  but are short on helpful, factual information.  This forum is mostly civil except you guys picking on TAB all the time.  I post some on this forum, and less on others, but mostly just lurk trying to learn.  This seems to be a good family here, supportive of others, especially when the chips are down.  The first in depth reading of this forum I did was the Down Range Cafe section especially the classic joke thread.  I think there were around 50 pages when I found it and went back to the beginning to read them all.  After that I knew I found a home with all the sick puppies hear and the warpped since of humor.  M'ette you bring a smile to my face.

[Sponsor]

[addict]

Have not noticed a problem at rimfirecentral.com. Very family friendly nice site with the same flavor as DRTV but with huge traffic. I blow an hour a day there. Occasionally FA threads will get locked but they look like BATF fishing expeditions. Akforum.net has a strict policy of no political posts and they lock a thread every day or two because people don't know the rules. They dont delete them though. Never noticed a problem on czforum.com but is gets little traffic.
Not sure what forums you are frequenting but if they are a little heavy handed, just stop hitting the site. Its a free country!
Addict

[Teresa Heilevang]

Hey everyone.. I appreciate all the good stuff you are saying.

I pretty much 'type' like I 'talk'.. so when you meet me.. you get what you see..

Kinda simple minded.. kinda not..
 kinda a wild ass...kinda not..
kinda ........oh never mind..
 you get my meaning.

Thanks again.. I think you all are just the best.. like unique said.. YOU ..EVERYONE of YOU is why this forum is a great place.
So gather round.. and I'll give everyone a hug.. maybe a kiss.. yeaahhhhh  or maybe both ..
What??
okay okay okay Marshal..  just a hug!

 Jeese.. what a killjoy..

[Ron J]

Kinda like … I can’t believe you are a grandmother.  Marshall … you are a lucky man!

I joined Downrange per Michael’s post on the “Tactical Lever Gun”.   His post caught my attention and interest since I am a big believer that a lever gun can perform well for the majority of any “tactical” situation(s) or actual “tactical needs” that may occur in our zip codes. 

From this, I then got hooked reading some really great commentary by some really great folks that post here.  My two cents, the people that have posted here are very good people … folks you would want to shoot with and break bread with.   The quality of the posts and the folks running this forum are indeed, very special.

In contrast, the other forums tend to have a lot of bitchy folks sniping at one another for sport.  To this, one striking difference that you will notice about the other forums is the number of “locked” posts. 

God bless.  RJ

[tombogan03884]

Well, I cannot comment specifically about other forums, they all have a different approaches when it comes to rules and moderation guidelines.

Deleting posts can also be a server and space issue. Big forums with lots of traffic and lots of posts in the database, can slow the forums down if the server is not up for the task.

Marshal'ette and I have been running forums for years. I started doing it 13 years ago.

Our job is to be the hosts, but sometimes you have to be the middleman between members who simply can't go along and are not able to agree to disagree and move on. On the Internet, this can be irritating and noisy for other members even when you have the option of completely ignoring it.

Forums are also a playground for people who can play out a different personality, which means he or she is not the same person you get to know face to face. A few change their attitude completely when they have a keyboard and a screen as a communication tool. I have personally met people on the road that I have known for years through the Internet, emails and forums. Some are exactly the way I pictured them, others..... well... they aren't. 

I know a lot of people on this forum communicate outside the forum boundaries and have become good friends. This type of combined communication helps create a more human forum environment and not just a cold cyberspace with no body language and no chemistry.

Our job is to give some friendly advice when needed if things turn bad, but for the most part it is about taking care of members as if they were guests in our home. At least, that is the way we look at it.

Bottom line is that we as hosts can be just that - but without a bunch of members like we are so fortunate to have here, the DRTV forum will just be another cold place in cyberspace.

Thanks.