2021 UK Airsoft Site of the Year

[shadowfacex]

Hey, folks! It’s been a while since I actively posted anything on the forum, and with 2021 being a thing of the past, I thought it would be cool to celebrate the plentiful of airsoft sites in the UK with a little Player’s Choice contest for the best (in your opinion) site in the UK.

You can read the announcement on PlayAirsoft blog: https://playairsoft.uk/blog/2021-airsoft-site-of-the-year

Also, to save you a click, you can vote here: https://airtable.com/shrDNnHOIHkgV5XZb

I’m hoping that in 2022 we can revive airsoft as 2021 has been an all-round tough year for both players and hosts/organisers alike due to restrictions and lockdowns, let alone supply chain/import issues.

Voting closes on Friday, 28/01/2022, and the winner (and runner-ups) will be announced the following Monday, 31/01/2022.

PS. You can only vote for sites in PlayAirsoft database, so if there’s one you can’t find there yet, you can submit it via this little form: https://airtable.com/shrpMw7Xx1UiVErke

 

[colinjallen]

This seems pretty pointless; most players only have experience of a very limited number of sites so cannot meaningfully vote for the best site in the UK.

I know which site I would vote for; I would vote for it because it is the best site that I have been to.  However, is it better than a site I have not been to?  I have no idea.

 

[EDcase]

This seems pretty pointless; most players only have experience of a very limited number of sites so cannot meaningfully vote for the best site in the UK.

I know which site I would vote for; I would vote for it because it is the best site that I have been to.  However, is it better than a site I have not been to?  I have no idea.

It could show the most popular sites in different regions.

If we can see the results that way...

 

[shadowfacex]

This seems pretty pointless; most players only have experience of a very limited number of sites so cannot meaningfully vote for the best site in the UK.

I know which site I would vote for; I would vote for it because it is the best site that I have been to.  However, is it better than a site I have not been to?  I have no idea.

Following the same logic, The Game Awards and other similar contests are also pointless, because nobody is capable of playing absolutely every single game to have skin in the game. Or watch a movie. Or try every recipe. Of course it's a subjective popularity contest. The point is to find out which sites are the most favourable among the online community. That's why it's called "Player's Choice".

I could tell you objectively which sites are most popular based on the traffic on PlayAirsoft, but that would be also a biased representative, since it's algorithmically driven by search engines with plenty of queries for some specific sites.

In the end, feel free to ignore this whole thing. If you don't think your vote might be representative due to a particular viewpoint, I have no objection there, but let's not make it into something bigger than it is. Some things are not made to be super serious. As a hobby niche we've been hit with enough crap over the last two years to put a lot of dedicated players down, to the detriment of the sport. It's not like I'm suddenly going to start slapping "recommendation" badges based on random online polls, which are subjective by nature. It's not a meaningful metric of excellence by any standard.

The contest was created to raise awareness of airsoft, airsoft organisers, see what players think is best, bring us together, maybe entice organisers to start paying attention to player standards in the near future, etc.

Lots of positive points to consider to bring us together. We've had enough divisions in the past two years.

 

[Cannonfodder]

It could show the most popular sites in different regions.

If we can see the results that way...

Unfortunately popular doesn't mean best. Eg the NAE is popular but the gameplay is shit. 

The contest was created to raise awareness of airsoft,

I think everyone on a airsoft forum will already be aware of airsoft?

 

[heroshark]

I think everyone on a airsoft forum will already be aware of airsoft

Air what?

I just voted for the most regular public site I play at which seems fair/logical. I've probably had some more enjoyable days elsewhere but they've just been one off days or specific events rather than regular game days. 

 

[shadowfacex]

@Cannonfodder You assume that my primary audience for this contest is this forum and its members. That’s incorrect. It’s a distribution channel in this case. I also posted on social media and in about 1-2 days this will be all over search engines too, not a lot of traffic, but way more than this forum can muster alone. I just wanted everyone to join in and have their say, so why would I exclude you guys? Joining in is an option, and your participation is very much welcome.

I wish I could offer some free merch instead of just a “thanks for taking part,” but sadly, I don’t have a few hundred quid laying around to spend on tees, caps and badges. Yet.

Unfortunately popular doesn't mean best

You’re right. But again, this isn’t the goal. I have more reliable ideas for determining what the best airsoft site is, and it doesn’t involve people’s subjective ratings or loyalty to a given site, or distinguishing between a good or bad game day. ?

 

[Rogerborg]

I don’t have a few hundred quid laying around to spend on tees, caps and badges. Yet.

I really, really hope you're not paying Alphabet money to have Alphabet send you roboclicks in order to persuade you to pay Alphabet more money.

One warning sign would be if most of your unpaid engagement is negative or disinterested.

 

[colinjallen]

Following the same logic, The Game Awards and other similar contests are also pointless, because nobody is capable of playing absolutely every single game to have skin in the game. Or watch a movie. Or try every recipe. Of course it's a subjective popularity contest. The point is to find out which sites are the most favourable among the online community. That's why it's called "Player's Choice".

I could tell you objectively which sites are most popular based on the traffic on PlayAirsoft, but that would be also a biased representative, since it's algorithmically driven by search engines with plenty of queries for some specific sites.

In the end, feel free to ignore this whole thing. If you don't think your vote might be representative due to a particular viewpoint, I have no objection there, but let's not make it into something bigger than it is. Some things are not made to be super serious. As a hobby niche we've been hit with enough crap over the last two years to put a lot of dedicated players down, to the detriment of the sport. It's not like I'm suddenly going to start slapping "recommendation" badges based on random online polls, which are subjective by nature. It's not a meaningful metric of excellence by any standard.

The contest was created to raise awareness of airsoft, airsoft organisers, see what players think is best, bring us together, maybe entice organisers to start paying attention to player standards in the near future, etc.

Lots of positive points to consider to bring us together. We've had enough divisions in the past two years.

So, nothing to do with finding the best site (in anyone's opinion) in the UK then?

 

[shadowfacex]

I really, really hope you're not paying Alphabet money to have Alphabet send you roboclicks in order to persuade you to pay Alphabet more money.

One warning sign would be if most of your unpaid engagement is negative or disinterested.

It’s all organic, baby! ?

In all seriousness, web stuff is what I do professionally, and SEO is not black magic. I’m still not 100% happy with the effect, but it’s been a few good months, and the compounding effect of building good, quality content people actually rely on has paid off.

I have way more in store for 2022, as there are some glaring shortcomings of having a static website as opposed to something more dynamic and player-focused.

But that’s something for another topic on this forum.

So, nothing to do with finding the best site (in anyone's opinion) in the UK then?

Not objectively, no. It’s just a contest to see which sites are trending in players minds, see regional spread, which regions are more active online, that sort of stuff.

Technically, if you got enough friends you could skew the results, so… ?
 

It’s not really going to reach the numbers I’ve had during the initial player survey, but it’s a good indicator of “engagement vs traffic”, as I currently cannot measure this reliably.

It also tests aptitude for more complex ideas in the future.

A - Always

B - Be

T - Testing

And just like that you’ve got an inside scoop into this whole thing. Ain’t being on a niche hobby forum informative at times? I thought this internet thing was made for watching cat videos, social media and playing video games. ???

 

[heroshark]

It’s all organic, baby! ?

In all seriousness, web stuff is what I do professionally, and SEO is not black magic. 

Ooh, can you make my website #1 on search engines? ?