I miss quieter times

[HEUER]

I feel that with all the increased traffic, CALGUNS no longer has a "small town" feel to it. I liked it better before the OLL craze.

[Skammy]

I agree with Kestryll.. with the OLL craze I've stopped posting completely after two months or so of it.. I still look over the boards but not in depth like before OLL came along..

I loved the feeling this place used to have and was careful not to link it on the other big boards for fear of ruining it

[Centurion_D]

Were those the Fudrucker's pre-Shooting Man meetings? IIRC you were originally planning to join us on the first one (Are the initials CR close?)

Outta of curiosity will there be another BBQ/get together at the Chabot range anytime this summer? Very good weather for a calguns BBQ

[metalhead357]

FWIW

If it weren't for the OLL I dunno If I woulda heard about this site. Guess I've come over from way too many "biggies" as this place DOES have small town feel to it to me........ tin foil and all ((and you guys here arnt THAT tinfoil! Have ya' ever checked out Squirrel?))

So, take this for what it is- just possible suggestions; and NO....not I'm not advocating ANY of them.

1. Increase the number of moderators
2. Increase warnings for inappropriate posting(s) and throw out the deadweight.

3. Paid membership.....even $1.00 A MONTH and you'd see the membership cut down by 95% as there's simply too many freebie boards out there.

4. Impliment something like a...must "respond" to at least 10 posts BEFORE ever being able to start a thread

5. ((Really DONT reccomend this one...but its worked on some boards...drives me friggin nutts)). Set up one, two , or three "Dummy" accounts and have the mods or Admin play the dupe and challenge a post or two via PM....and either suspend peeep's posting privlages or can them for even PM'ng inappropriately.

I'd hate to see any of these implimented but it WOULD decrease membership and the inane posting(s) that you are seeing....But it might also KILL THE BOARD...............

I've said it early on in another thread when some of the "Old timers" were harping on us newer guys. Give it time.....it WILL die down; the OLL is "just" one more passing fancy and things will normalize after the majority has had thier pick of the parts and read of the threads....and DOJ gets off thier rears

Just my .02 from a 7month old FNG...trying ever harder to be more and more JAFO and let things return to thier normacy.

Metalhead

[MaxQ]

Since it hasn't yet been said in this thread, I have to give a huge and sincere THANK YOU to Ramon, for the time, effort, expense, aggravation, etc., in making Calguns a very worthwhile place to visit. Also, a big thanks to Kestryll and the other moderators. It may be more aggravating for some of us members around here lately, but you guys are bearing the brunt of the increasing burden.

Yeah, I do miss the more relaxed atmosphere that Calguns had when I stumbled on it in early 2004. But hey, times change. If the OLL frenzy has resulted in more Californians who are better informed about firearms laws, less intimidated about perfectly legal firearms, learn about C&Rs, become better, safer shooters, share tips and info, and who can freely discuss EBRs without feeling like criminals, well, those are good things. I've seen a lot of posts asking for help with technical problems that got solutions posted within minutes. That's pretty cool. And how many great people are here thanks to the OLL situation?

I think a big part of the problem is that a few years worth of new users came on board in a very short time. There wasn't time for gradual assimilation. Instead of a noob question (what's "the List," what about xxxx receiver, etc.) appearing only occasionally, and getting a somewhat polite response, ten of them in two days just gets everyone frazzled and "read the *&%&^$^ FAQ" or "Do a (*&@#$!%^ search" responses. Also,the AR/AK issue generates a ton of emotions, as many folks realize for the first time, that they can legally own them in California.

There have been times recently that I've been so irritated that I've stayed away, like after reading the 8,000th "the list is here" joke thread in a two day period. It really wasn't funny the second time...

Think before posting. The only thing worse than a worthless thread, is 20 worthless follow-up posts. And, do NOT advocate any kind of illegal or questionable acitivity. It's not fair to anyone, not people new to guns, and not to Ramon. If you want to be an idiot, don't bring others down to your level.

I've met some great people at Calguns, and I'm positive I will continue to do so. Overall, Calguns gets a big +1 in my book. Relax, be patient, and chalk this all up to growing pains. Calguns is still better than other boards where egos are as big as Jupiter and Saturn, you know, the gas giants...

[6172crew]

Were those the Fudrucker's pre-Shooting Man meetings? IIRC you were originally planning to join us on the first one (Are the initials CR close?)

It was indeed Fudruckers, I didnt show up to any of those but do remember everyone talking about them after.

[kalibear]

I miss the "good 'ol days"

Always think before you post.

[rkt88edmo]

I can see it now...the "quiet forum"

Anyone can arrange or announce a get together, and if you just keep it to shooting at a range + maybe hitting a local pizza or burger joint afterwards, you don't have to do much organizing or plannning. I'm sure I'll be busy that day like I am for 98% of the other shoot'n'Q type events

[50 Freak]

I definitely miss the POLL days (Pre-Off Listed Lowers) also.

I'm definitely up for ShootingMan.

Sned, where are you.....

[grammaton76]

4. Impliment something like a...must "respond" to at least 10 posts BEFORE ever being able to start a thread

Of all the options you've posted, personally I think this one offers the most promise. It'd REALLY cut down on the "omg I just found this memo, what do you guys think?!?" postings, and encourage people to actually read first, without having to implement draconian policies.

It's also very easy to deploy and wait a month or two, and see how it changes things - no reason we would have to deploy everything at once.

[shooterx10]

I remember those quiet days before the OLL madness when there were only a few people, mostly all of which who participated in the forum in a friendly manner. Now, this forum is like the traffic on the 405 Freeway in L.A. You got some irate drivers, some patient drivers, some who love to give finger gestures, etc. The .50 caliber forum on Biggerhammer.net had the same growing pains for those of you who can remember back then.

Hey, I'm reminiscing about the last Shoot-N-Q at Chabot several years ago. Now, that was a great get together! BTW, whatever happened to Julie and Rika?

[Yute]

As a relatively new CA gun owner - another big thank you for the forum! Really would be difficult to have gotten much needed info without CGN. I'm not an OLL person, and glad to see that this board isn't just about OLLs - can get intense here sometimes but time seems to heal all wounds...

[taloft]

I'm with Kestryll on this one. It had much more of a family feel to it in the beginning. Rarely was there a flame war. People were more concerned about their latest acquisition, helping fellow shooters with a problem, or staying current with the changing legalities of being a gun owner. I really liked it because you didn't have to sift through a bunch of crap to get to the info. gems.

The whole OLL craze turned it on its head. I have mixed feelings about the changes. I'm grateful to Bill, and the rest for enlightening me. I do have a lower because of them. Most of the problems stem from the people that showed up as a result. More people bring more ideas to the board which is a good thing, they also bring more A**holes, trolls, and morons. I do like the majority of the new people. I do feel a much younger "vibe" in the posts than in the past. Like VeryCoolCat noted, this is good because it means our sport continues to flourish. Time will fix the rest.
I feel that we would all benefit if people did more thinking before they post. In my opinion, communication skills/manners are in dire need of improvement around here. Address the posts, not the poster. Making statements about someone's character that you've never met is just ignorant. We need to stick together as a community, not tear each other apart. There are enough people out there willing to do that for us. I certainly don't have ST. in front of my handle but, I do have better things to do with my time than argue about BS. I would much rather spend my time helping others, learning, and/or joking with my fellow shooters.

I definitely would like to thank Ramon for the CalGuns Forum. It has proven an excellent resource. I would also like to thank artherd, ivanimal, Jeff Rambo, Kalibear, Kestryll, Scatch Maroo and the rest for taking the time to moderate the forums. I know it can be a pain at times but, we all are grateful.


**********Thank You**********

[50 Freak]

The .50 caliber forum on Biggerhammer.net had the same growing pains for those of you who can remember back then.

I used to frequent Biggerhammer a lot until all of sudden we had a flood of brand new 50 cal experts starting flame wars left and right. Most of which never even shot a 50 cal. Missed being able to sit back and just listen and learn from the old timers.

I definitely would like to thank Ramon for the CalGuns Forum

And I totally agree, thanks Ramon for creating this board. I remember when you first started this board. I thought..."DAMN, that's pretty freaking smart...Our own board for just CA people so we don't have to listen to the constant KALI sucks hecklers".

Well, looks like your forum has become a little too successful. But if you guys just sit back, maybe we can learn from some of the nubies. Afterall not all of them are id-jiots.

P.S. I'm up for a "membership fee". Just do $1 buck and more than 70% of the id-jiots will fall off this board in a heartbeat.

[hoffmang]

First - Ramon - Don't rule out letting one of us raise a couple of bucks for you to offset some of the pain that running a board like this brings. Just PM if you'd like someone to ask for people to step up with some paypal to offset.

Second, I'm one of the OLL moths to the light. That said, I'd hope I don't fall in the same category as some of the tinfoil hat crowd. What I can say is that its quite clear to a thinking person that there is a certain spark of committed, calm, and intellectual folks here who can work together to wreak havoc on those who oppose all of us. I think this has morphed a bit beyond just a nice quiet California gun board into potentially the voice of the enlightened gun owner in California. I'm no NRA hater as many of the tinfoil crowd are, but I am more interested in results (aka rolling back restrictions in CA) than I am in the NRA's longevity as a political institution for example. Here, with a few key names, are the folks that are truly the ground swell group that can keep both the NRA, the CPRA and others honest. We've got a forum in which folks can communicate intelligently about strategy and reach out to the rest of the only half interested folks to rally them around helping advance a cause that at the end of the day will simply allow all of us to have the same rights an responsibilities our non California friends have (with better weather and a better economy.)

Anyway - its not tinfoil to pass on a huge thank you to all of you admins and core contributors that come before and stay through some of the more colorful folks on the "opinions" spectrum.