That's good to hear, Tam, though I wasn't trying to presume intent on your part.Originally Posted by Tamara
My thought is that it is what it is. No simpler and no more complex. I hang around the parts of the site that mean the most to me and generally don't participate in the areas which are not of as much interest.
Not only does the site and its composition change, but what we gravitate toward is also subject to change as well over the years.
There's nothing civil about this war.
To be fair, I think this is one of the better forums I’ve been on. I think at one time, I was bouncing between like 40 forums (if I’m going into a project or buying a certain gun, I’ll see what people that have them have to say prior to taking the plunge).
I’ve alluded it in a few other threads, but I hate when people get it in their minds that if someone is discussing something… their answer is 100% right, and if you don’t see it that way… you are an idiot. I’ve moved away from quite a few forums because of that.
Quick example from another forum, there was a discussion about carrying a .22 for defense. Guy had hand issues, want to say arteritis, and a .22 was what he could manage. Few people come in and say, “nope, you can’t do that…” and so on. Think I asked the OP what was stopping him from other calibers… being I was legitimately interested in if it was pulling slide or recoil. Was called a few names for even asking that. What did that do? That member, who was new, never posted there again… and I want to say the thread was locked/deleted. Zero repercussions, as the same people continue to do the same crap.
I browse on Tapatalk, so I’ll keep forums in there until one of two things; I don’t need to access the forum anymore (after I got my 1911 squared away, I did leave the 1911 forum I was a member of… because I have the one 1911 and that will be it) or the forum pisses me off to the point where I say the hell with it. When I first got my TAC-14, I joined Suarez’s forum. To be fair, he did a lot of stuff with that platform and I learned a lot. But at a certain point, I said enough was enough…
For the original question… I like to read the threads and learn from others. I think I’ve gained a lot just from reading threads I didn’t even post in. I do like putting in my viewpoint from time to time… being I feel it is a good thing to hear different opinions and see where someone else is coming from.
The question while seeking a collective and objective answer inherently results in a subjective and individual response.
Mine is encapsulated below
Don’t just sit there – do something short sighted and stupid!
Something I have noticed, is as the years pass, many to most of the folks that have been around PF for many years like to debate/argue less. I am around for the information exchange but not the drama.
Likes pretty much everything in every caliber.
No we don't.
Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.
Yes we do! Change my mind!No we don't.
Nothing so needs reforming as other people's habits - Mark Twain
Tact is the knack of making a point without making an enemy / Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
I believe the majority of the site supporters are courteous and thoughtful people who actively try to help others. I've seen it on multiple occasions. As this is one of the few forums I frequent, I don't know whether this is typical, but doubt it.
Met a number of PF'ers in person of the years that were exceptionally good company, and who I look forward to seeing again. A few more I hope to still meet. Overall, this is a great little place.
My formula: general discussion rarely, politics/social issues/LE threads virtually never.
الدهون القاع الفتيات لك جعل العالم هزاز جولة الذهاب
I regard P-F as the grad school of the "gunternet" (I dislike the term, but it does the job in this case). To be a bit more specific, it's more like a long-running multifaceted graduate seminar on pistolcraft. There's a basic expectation that you've done the reading and to be ready to read and critically evaluate the experiences of others and offered data. That may not be all-encompassing (thankfully, there's a breadth of backgrounds here), but if the topic falls to something well-known, you may find yourself directed to discussion on a topic that has been thoroughly explored rather than rehashing old topics. It's not considered rude (at least in my perception) to be directed to an old thread and told "read this, and see if you'd like to pick up the conversation from where that thread left off". Willfully unprepared for class doesn't fly.
Minor rant about other fora: One of the first things I noticed here is that people actually fucking READ the posts. In other places, I lost count of the number of times someone decided "I don't like X, tried Y, and did does anyone have experience with Z". For sake of example, they don't like their Glock 17 because of the trigger, 1911 was nice but too heavy, and has anybody tried an M&P w/ Apex trigger. Within the first page, they've been told that they should get a j-frame, asked if they have tried a Glock 19, told that 1911 is the answer to all problems Glock (nobody actually read the opening post). By page 2, they found a PX4 and liked it, bought it. By page 3, others are asking if they've tried a Glock (clearly didn't read that a purchase has already been made). Holy shit.
On P-F, people read and refer back to past experiences. If a new training methodology comes along, references are made to prior ones to evaluate (objectively, as much as possible) and comparisons are made by people who have been students and teachers. If there's a new piece of tech, it gets used an evaluated, typically by (multiple) people who have no issues discussing the cons as well as the pros. And thus something magical occurs - the conversation progresses past the surface level and is able to provide a much deeper insight as well as keep up with new developments. Additionally, the conversation continues to build upon itself and grow.
THAT is what I think defines this forum. P-F isn't exclusive in this characteristic, but it is rare. Also of note - this community isn't perfect in this endeavor, but it's good enough that I'm not in a mood to pick nits.
I'll close by noting that I first observed this when I joined shortly before you left (2016 join date), and while the above has been tested over the last few years it has held without breaking.
Just my two-penny observation.
Grab your gun and bring in the cat.
My read on PF has always been that the membership is a high percentage of high-performers actively seeking self improvement in defense-related subjects. I still see that being the case.
For the more experienced members, I would guess there's also a bit of a desire to mentor and pass along that precious knowledge. I genuinely relish and appreciate every bit of it they're willing to give.
I've been on many other gun forums. I also started one with a friend and we grew it to 25K members. I can honestly say PF is still better, in my experience, than any other gun forum I can think of.
Personally, I want to surround myself with people far better than me, because better is what I want to be. There's not another public forum I can think of where you can do that to this degree in this niche.
It's the nature of forums for people to come and go. After a decade or more, any forum is going to reach a point of saturation on certain subjects such that they seem to go stale or interest wanes. One difficulty is most forum software is terrible at organization when it comes to making this aged content easily accessible. The end result is the same long-since thoroughly-discussed subjects get brought back up year after year, and tolerance for the rehashing declines. It's just a normal cycle for forums.
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