General Discussion, AGAIN?

jtischauser · Feb 9, 2011

Guys,

We continue to be bombarded by requests for a non firearms related General Discussion section. With the troubles that the other site is having you can see why. I personally am torn with the decision to add one or not. I definitely want to grow membership but we started this forum to get back to the guns and that goes against that principle.

Brandon and I have been brainstorming ideas as to how to add a GD and not disrupt the great gun talk that we have going on now. So my question for you is why don't you want the GD forum added?

Personally when I go to the other sight to look for interesting gun threads or classifieds I hit the "New Posts" or "View New Content" button. On the other site clicking that button that brings up all the GD stuff and the actual firearms related talk is hidden in between or 5 pages back. So I never find what I am looking for and leave.

I am curious how many of you do that same thing? If you have the same issue with the GD section filling the "New Posts" search if we could keep the GD chatter out of the "View New Content" area could we please everyone???

ChrisC · Feb 9, 2011

i don't normally go to the other site anymore. I hardly ever look at the GD forum. I look at the upcoming matches and sometimes the classifieds. then I go to BE and check out the revo page, then I check here. I also go to a few other sites and lurk, but only look at shooting related material.

I still vote HELL NO on GD.

ExSniper · Feb 9, 2011

If the discussion does not fit in one of the current categories, then it is not for a gun forum. If you just want to visit, go to Facebook.

Mitch Rapp · Feb 9, 2011

ExSniper said:
If the discussion does not fit in one of the current categories, then it is not for a gun forum. If you just want to visit, go to Facebook.

Best post ever!

samuelshoun · Feb 9, 2011

Jesse,

General discussion leads to two problem topics in my opinion: politics (non-firearms related) and religion. These discussions become inflamed quickly and the effect of these inflamed discussions carries over to the rest of the forum.

I feel confident that OSA's general discussion has alienated many firearms enthusiasts (or potential enthusiasts) whose political sensibilities have been offended by content in the GD. This is very unfortunate for shooting sports. What's more unfortunate is I have had the displeasure of reporting several instances of outright hate-speech over there, which was always promptly removed, but nonetheless did a huge disservice to our common interest in firearms rights, sports, etc during the time it was up.

I hope I don't offend anyone here by saying this. I think everyone here is great, and the discussion has all been civil and intelligent. But as membership continues to grow (and I'm sorry for this cynicism), some a-holes will show up. I think it's best if we keep the discussion to what we all have in common (firearms). I think General discussion is what ruined OSA, and I hope it doesn't ruin BS too.

gnnrsm8 · Feb 9, 2011

i vote with exsniper... i dont come here to BS about the weather.

foghorn918 · Feb 9, 2011

General Discussion area is the very last place I go on the other sites. While I have posted there and also gleaned some non gun info from it, I don't think I need it here at BS. I like BS the way it is. If I want the GD, I will go there.

bsdubois00 · Feb 9, 2011

Were going to try this as a trial to please those members that have asked for it. Since we started we have tried to give the members what they want and we think we found a great solution for the General Discussion request that always comes up. We have created a special group that all you have to do is request to be part of and you will have access to the general discussion area. For those members that are here for the gun talk - nothing changes - for those that are here for the gun talk but want a place to BS a tad also - we will try this out to see how it works.

http://www.boomershooter.com/forums/index.php?/forum-71/announcement-8-view-non-firearm-general-discussion/

Click the above link for more info

KillShot · Feb 9, 2011

B.S. DuBois said:
Were going to try this as a trial to please those members that have asked for it. Since we started we have tried to give the members what they want and we think we found a great solution for the General Discussion request that always comes up. We have created a special group that all you have to do is request to be part of and you will have access to the general discussion area. For those members that are here for the gun talk - nothing changes - for those that are here for the gun talk but want a place to BS a tad also - we will try this out to see how it works.

http://www.boomersho...ral-discussion/

Click the above link for more info

Great idea, DuBois. That will allow a place for those who want to shoot the elephant dung without those who don't want it, not having to see it.

csiedmond1 · Feb 9, 2011

foghorn918 said:
General Discussion area is the very last place I go on the other sites. While I have posted there and also gleaned some non gun info from it, I don't think I need it here at BS. I like BS the way it is. If I want the GD, I will go there.

ExSniper said:
If the discussion does not fit in one of the current categories, then it is not for a gun forum. If you just want to visit, go to Facebook.

I agree!!! Keep B.S. bs free...

Slammer · Feb 9, 2011

The only reason I like the BS area is for things like discussion a place to find a good plumber or where you got your car fixed. The stupid polls and stuff about big foot are useless.

KillShot · Feb 9, 2011

Slammer said:
The only reason I like the BS area is for things like discussion a place to find a good plumber or hwere you got your car fixed. The stupid polls and stuff about big foot are useless.

Well stated, and I couldn't agree more!

jamie_s_72 · Feb 9, 2011

Well guys I have to admit I am one of those who wanted and asked for the general discussion area. My thought on this is that sometimes I like to get advice from like minded thinkers on questions that don't concern guns. I enjoy being on a gun forum and having the ability to discuss current events or other things. Contrary to the way some of you may think a GD section isn't always about politics or religion. My thought is that sometimes I want to read about something other that guns and this is why I like the GD section. I know the other sight is good for that but every time I go over there I leave pissed off because of their unreliability. Whats wrong with giving members a spot to talk GD. You don't have to go into that section if you don't want to. In business we always have to search for ways to grow or we will become stagnate and eventually die. I think forums are the same way, you have to find ways to keep people interested or you have to be satisfied with mediocrity. If we are satisfied with the way this forum is now then keep it this way. If you want it to grow then you must provide ways for growth to happen

Wall · Feb 9, 2011

On this site, to date, I can't think of a single discussion that has gotten heated or any hurt feelings. Or anyone being an ass about anything. With the influx of new members & the lack of filling in all the info like THIER ACTUAL NAME, this is bound to change. People hiding behind anonimity will say things just to piss the other person off, whether thay actually believe it themselves or not. Now throw GD into that mix & it will quickly become a hornet's nest. Why do people need a "gun forum" to talk about the best recipe for the best lasagna or if you think front wheel drive sux compared to 4wd in the snow? How about swapping recipes for the best competition loads & asking if shooting a glock sux compared to a M&P in the snow?

As far as I know of, nobody has been banned from this site yet. That's due to the lack of heated arguments. I think that will soon change too.

I visit maybe 5% of the threads on OSA (a few of them GD). Because it takes me more time to find 1 I'm interested in than it does to read it.

There's plenty of chatter & goofing that goes on in our threads to make things fun as well as informative. My opinion is, the site is great the way it is. Let's leave all that other stuff to facebook & twitter (which I don't participate in).

Wall · Feb 9, 2011

jamie_s_72 said:
If you want it to grow then you must provide ways for growth to happen

The problem with this is the varying definitions people have of what growth is.

KillShot · Feb 9, 2011

Wall said:
On this site, to date, I can't think of a single discussion that has gotten heated or any hurt feelings. Or anyone being an ass about anything. With the influx of new members & the lack of filling in all the info like THIER ACTUAL NAME, this is bound to change. People hiding behind anonimity will say things just to piss the other person off, whether thay actually believe it themselves or not. Now throw GD into that mix & it will quickly become a hornet's nest. Why do people need a "gun forum" to talk about the best recipe for the best lasagna or if you think front wheel drive sux compared to 4wd in the snow? How about swapping recipes for the best competition loads & asking if shooting a glock sux compared to a M&P in the snow?

As far as I know of, nobody has been banned from this site yet. That's due to the lack of heated arguments. I think that will soon change too.

I visit maybe 5% of the threads on OSA (a few of them GD). Because it takes me more time to find 1 I'm interested in than it does to read it.

There's plenty of chatter & goofing that goes on in our threads to make things fun as well as informative. My opinion is, the site is great the way it is. Let's leave all that other stuff to facebook & twitter (which I don't participate in).

The General "Off-Topic" Discussion forum will be moderated and the guidelines set forth will be adhered to. I am also one of the members who wanted an off-topic discussion but after the poll went in favor of those who don't want the said forum, I accepted that it was a dead issue.

The guidelines set forth are as follows:

Boomer Shooter is first and foremost a firearms forum and community and as such, this off-topic forum is provided to the members as a courtesy for topics other than firearms. Therefore, the administration of this forum reserves the right to remove and/or edit any post or topic that is deemed to be inappropriate in nature.

The following topics WILL NOT be allowed for discussion:

Politics - this includes political jokes or images of any kind.

Religion - you believe what you believe, and let everyone else believe what they choose.

Abortion - it goes without saying that telling someone else what they can or can't do with their body only stirs up trouble.

The following WILL NOT be tolerated for any reason whatsoever:

NO racism of any kind, this includes jokes or images

NO vulgarity of any kind, this includes jokes or images

NO personal attacks (flaming) of any kind

If you have an issue with another member that needs to be resolved, take it to private message. DO NOT involve the rest of the forum into your problems.

Failure to adhere to the fore-stated guidelines can and will be grounds for suspension of your membership.

The administration of this forum and website reserves the right to amend these guidelines at any time, with or without notice.

What I failed to include in that is members should refrain from posting frivolous polls such as what you were talking about, or things such as 'who has the best nachos' or 'do you believe in bigfoot'.

I am not a hard-ass, but I will enforce the guidelines set forth to ensure the forum is user friendly for all who want to participate.

DoctorJJ · Feb 9, 2011

KillShot said:
The General "Off-Topic" Discussion forum will be moderated and the guidelines set forth will be adhered to. I am also one of the members who wanted an off-topic discussion but after the poll went in favor of those who don't want the said forum, I accepted that it was a dead issue.

The guidelines set forth are as follows:

What I failed to include in that is members should refrain from posting frivolous polls such as what you were talking about, or things such as 'who has the best nachos' or 'do you believe in bigfoot'.

I am not a hard-ass, but I will enforce the guidelines set forth to ensure the forum is user friendly for all who want to participate.

Great! In fact, I say you should delete any threads that are deemed ridiculous or stupid. I do like chatting with my firearms friends about topics other than firearms and shooting, but lots of these threads are so stupid it just hurts me.

Rustyzx9 · Feb 9, 2011

Wall said:
On this site, to date, I can't think of a single discussion that has gotten heated or any hurt feelings. Or anyone being an ass about anything. With the influx of new members & the lack of filling in all the info like THIER ACTUAL NAME, this is bound to change. People hiding behind anonimity will say things just to piss the other person off, whether thay actually believe it themselves or not. Now throw GD into that mix & it will quickly become a hornet's nest. Why do people need a "gun forum" to talk about the best recipe for the best lasagna or if you think front wheel drive sux compared to 4wd in the snow? How about swapping recipes for the best competition loads & asking if shooting a glock sux compared to a M&P in the snow?

As far as I know of, nobody has been banned from this site yet. That's due to the lack of heated arguments. I think that will soon change too.

I visit maybe 5% of the threads on OSA (a few of them GD). Because it takes me more time to find 1 I'm interested in than it does to read it.

There's plenty of chatter & goofing that goes on in our threads to make things fun as well as informative. My opinion is, the site is great the way it is. Let's leave all that other stuff to facebook & twitter (which I don't participate in).

Tony, your point about the lack of heated discussion here is a good one. I think part of the reason for this is that most of actually shoot together on a regular basis and know that we will be face to face at some point which removes the ability to hide behind a screen name that we see other places on the web... This is a good thing IMHO.

pyplynr · Feb 9, 2011

Why not just add a shout box on the side like this

IDK how to do it or who would but I think it wouldn't take up as much server space and whole threads do.

nikatkimber · Feb 9, 2011

Coming from the view of a long-timer "over there" please hear me out.

I'm personally undecided on the issue. It is after all a gun forum.

However, being that for a large part, most of us have a lot of similar interests, beyond guns. Outdoors, self sustainability etc. So naturally there are a lot of topics that I might want to ask of others who have similar interests, that aren't strictly gun related.

IE, trucks/cars. Yes I know, you can go to Fordforums.com etc etc, but sometimes a local opinion from people you have met personally (and therefore give a little credence to what they say) is nice. But, could you not ask about experiences with 4x4 trucks in the hunting or outdoors section?

Also, food. Many of us gun loving men enjoy eating good food, specifically meat. And a large number enjoy cooking it too. Not gun related, but something that as this forum grows as a community, more true friendships will be made. And friendships aren't always strictly gun related.

Now, that said, there is a lot of BS that goes on as mentioned above that hurts that very same community. This is where strict/specific rules come in. However, you also have to be willing to enforce those rules; which doesn't always make friends. Ask me how I know!

Something I would suggest for a rule, would be no "fluff" topics. IE, polls about whether Lady GaGa is a lady or not, is bigfoot real, or I saw this ugly hooptie running around town yesterday.

Legit topics would be things like specific recipes for steak, or deer meat, or a review of a local car dealership. Scheduling a meet & greet before a competition or gunshow at a local restaurant. These topics could benefit the community; the "fluff" does not, and does nothing but take server resources and waste the readers' time.

For this reason, I like the idea of "allowing" access to a general section. Then, if someone doesn't abide by the rules, you can remove privileges before having to ban someone.

JMO