What happened here?!

[griggsy]

This use to be a great place, but lately I seem to run into more and more rude and impolite individuals. Rude, snide or impolite communications are not needed. Be honest and polite. We should be on the same side, simple no thank you or thank you would be great. I still do meet some great people here but lately the ratio good to bad is going the wrong way. We sit in these places and wonder why THEY are winning, when we can't even be at least professional to each other. We are supposed to be on the same side! Instead it seems we are starting to turn on each other. Disappointing

[Barang]

With growth comes undesirable characters.

[toby]

Divided we stand ,united we fall or is that the other way around?.....................nope it's like that.

[bigbearbear]

That's what the ignore button is for, use it generously.

[Virus55]

9 times out of 10 im a good guy, although some guys r ridiculous.....

[SonofWWIIDI]

I just ignore the bad apples. I won't argue with an idiot, he'll beat you with experience every time.

[Oceanbob]

I don't see any serious issues. Once in a while we get someone Grumpy...haha.

But our contribution to this website is to offer up friendly advice that helps our fellow members. Really, the bottom line is to come together (thanks to Kest) so we as a community can come together to protect our gun rights.

That is the bottom line folks.

People come and people go. When they need help, advice or just want to have a good conversation, it is our job to be nice and Do what we can to help. This grows our community and provides much needed responsible citizens and voters who provide input to our local politicians to protect our gun rights.

Nothing else matters. I really enjoy the conversations and I learn something everyday.

But we must be diligent about the gauntlet of wrong thinking politicians who are constantly trying to hurt us.

Keep your eye on the ball folks.

No drama needed.

[ar15barrels]

This use to be a great place, but lately I seem to run into more and more rude and impolite individuals. Rude, snide or impolite communications are not needed. Be honest and polite. We should be on the same side, simple no thank you or thank you would be great. I still do meet some great people here but lately the ratio good to bad is going the wrong way. We sit in these places and wonder why THEY are winning, when we can't even be at least professional to each other. We are supposed to be on the same side! Instead it seems we are starting to turn on each other. Disappointing

Like it or not, Internet forums commonly undergo an evolutionary
process regardless of whether they are moderated or unmoderated. The
natural life cycle of an Internet forum, with its various phases,
might be best summed up as follows:

1. Declaration of Enthusiasm - Subscribers introduce themselves and
gush over how wonderful it is to have encountered kindred spirits.

2. Origin of Evangelism - Participants moan about how the forum
consists of far too few members and brainstorming ensues to initiate
recruitment strategies.

3. Expansion of Community - An ever increasing number of interested
parties subscribe and contribute to the forum. Lengthy threads
develop (some more relevant than others).

4. Emergence of Camaraderie - Information and advice is exchanged
(some empirically founded ... some just anecdotal nonsense).
Friendships are forged. Members rib one another, but all in good
fun. New subscribers are welcomed and newbies. Both newcomers and
veterans alike are receptive to asking questions, providing answers,
and sharing experiences.

5. Genesis of Disenchantment - The volume of postings increases
dramatically. Not all threads are of interest to all participants.
Members pitch a ***** about signal-to-noise ratio, off-topic threads,
me too posts, forged and spoofed identities, forwarding of private
emails, and other violations of internet forum netiquette. Member #1
threatens to unsubscribe if things don't change for the better.
Member #2 aligns himself with Member #1. Member #3 disagrees with
both Members #1 and #2. Member #4 suggests that Members #1, #2, and
#3 should lighten up. Flame wars erupt and adversaries emerge.
Bandwidth is sacrificed as an abundance of postings proliferate in an
effort to resolve differences and restore some semblance of order.
During this particular phase, many a delete key gets more than its
share of abuse and filtering and killfiles are implemented.

6. Stagnation of Growth - The purists castigate members who ask an old
question or respond humorously to a serious post. Newcomers are
rebuffed and discouraged. SPAM posts, trolls and stalkers dominate
the forum. Traffic volume subsides considerably and is generally
confined to minor topics. Many relevant issues are communicated via
private emails. Some members turn in their membership cards in a huff
and the remaining members continue to participate in phases #4 and/or
#5 above.

7. Salvation from Destruction - Someone like me pounds away at the
keyboard composing a post such as this one in an effort to stir the
juices of those members who find themselves entrenched in the quagmire
of phase #4 and/or #5 above ... mostly #5 in hopes of resurection ;-)

More here:
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!to...nt/urE4qylzhqI[1-25-false]

Or, google search "life cycle of internet forums".

[The Gleam]

no thank you

[desrt2]

I was thoroughly trashed on a thread I started.
It wasn't an inflammatory topic but I should have PM'd a senior or knowledgeable member. I asked an insanely ambiguous question. I did not want the underlying question seen by shills/spies.
I earned it.
I owned it.
I rolled with the punches.
I responded with humor.

If you can laugh at yourself or show humility, that drains the power from the "adversary."

Debate is healthy.
People who debate should avoid ad hominem attacks and respond objectively.

I started another thread on the subject of, "Does Law Enforcement Really Need Select Fire?"

That was a healthy debate. A couple of members went back and forth relentlessly against each other. There was some serious butt-hurt.

Only a couple of people started, then stopped making it a personal attack on me for asking the question.

I responded objectively, politely, explained ad hominem fallacy and asked them to stay on topic.

507 posts on that thread and over 10,000 views.

Put your armor on and know there will be some very passionate responses on hot button topics and statements.

But for those who are shills, no mercy need be given.

[wpod]

I'm new here but not to forums. I have questions on some CA gun laws that after reading the law, I'm still unsure. But reading responses to similar questions causes me to refrain from asking.

Sent from my VS950 4G using Tapatalk

[JohnP]

Calguns is just like California. Some great folks here. Some real zero's here too. Focus on the good folks. Try to ignore the rest.

[trigger945]

JohnP said it best - very concise.

You will clearly see who are here to help and who aren't. I have met - in person through deals and/or just through the forums - a lot of great CalGuns folks. Heck, I can name a few of them and I just send them a PM if I have a question. I also have the mobile numbers of some of them and use text messaging.

Don't be discouraged OP. Just try to isolate the bad ones and you will see that this is a great place.

[Jimi Jah]

Internet forums are like Democratic governments, they all fall eventually, for the same reasons.

[ArcherDog]

I agree with the being friendly part, however there is a responsibility on the poster to do his homework and review old topics, lest he be bringing up a topic discussed ad nauseam, and also to not present a condescending or smug attitude, which tends to push people's buttons. Most of the threads I've seen that have fallen into morass tend to be either newbies who ask a question that's been discussed a 100 times or a "hot button" topic that will never be answered (9mm vs 45, AK vs AR), or that post a "question" that is basically fishing for validation of their point of view, without considering other options.

Plus I think everyone needs a thick skin to some criticism and a realization that people are here for different reasons. And I also don't agree that we are "all on the same side". Other than being fans of firearms, I'd say we are a pretty diverse group in almost every other demographic there is.