Looking for beta testers for a new airsoft social website

[Bo B]

9 hours ago, Tackle said:

Your profile pic looks young, hardly a stretch to make a guess at your age, prove me wrong, what year were you born ?

As for your project, good luck, I really mean it, I'm sure there's a market for it, probably all the gen z's that are incapable or too lazy to use the search function & expect to be spoon fed & have their arses wiped for them, we see them on here regularly,  we'll send them your way.

Your welcome  🙏 

 

You have such a strange and ugly attitude. I guess that's another problem with forums and pseudonymous users too.

 

Hope you're OK. 

[Lozart]

15 hours ago, Bo B said:

good UI shouldn't require a lesson in how to use it. 

 

 

You are correct, but everyones idea of "good UI design" is different. For example, I work in Industrial Automation, part and parcel of that is operator interfaces for machines. Every client we have wants their UI a certain way which in and of itself is fine but if an operator is familiar with how machine A works and then has to go and work on machine B which does exactly the same thing but is made by a different company then the UI will be different so will require familiarisation.

 

If you design a UI from an iOS users perspective, it will not feel intuitive to an Android user and vice versa. You may not be familiar with the layout of this forum because it's not what you use but those of us that use forums a lot are very familiar with it because it uses the same platform a lot of other forums do. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that the utopia of universal UI is not easy at all.

[Madhouse]

14 hours ago, Bo B said:

Thanks to those of you that have submitted interest. I'll email you individually to say hello and share some next steps.

 

If said testers could post some screenshots & share their experience here too I'm sure there will be more valuable community feedback from those of us unwilling to be a bets (sic) tester.

[Bo B]

2 minutes ago, Lozart said:

 

You are correct, but everyones idea of "good UI design" is different. For example, I work in Industrial Automation, part and parcel of that is operator interfaces for machines. Every client we have wants their UI a certain way which in and of itself is fine but if an operator is familiar with how machine A works and then has to go and work on machine B which does exactly the same thing but is made by a different company then the UI will be different so will require familiarisation.

 

If you design a UI from an iOS users perspective, it will not feel intuitive to an Android user and vice versa. You may not be familiar with the layout of this forum because it's not what you use but those of us that use forums a lot are very familiar with it because it uses the same platform a lot of other forums do. I'm not saying you're wrong, just that the utopia of universal UI is not easy at all.

That's a fair comment. Thanks for sharing. 

 

Would you say that as time goes on, more people are trending towards forum style UI or the pages/newsfeed style UI that we see on platforms like Facebook, insta, Twitter. Or maybe something else entirely?

 

I'm not really here to fight any particular corner to be honest. I'm interested in working out if we can do something better for the wider community. Maybe forums are the answer. Maybe they aren't. 

 

[Jez_Armstrong]

TL;DR 

 

Guys comes to forum to steal members for his forum? 

[Lozart]

3 hours ago, Bo B said:

That's a fair comment. Thanks for sharing. 

 

Would you say that as time goes on, more people are trending towards forum style UI or the pages/newsfeed style UI that we see on platforms like Facebook, insta, Twitter. Or maybe something else entirely?

 

I'm not really here to fight any particular corner to be honest. I'm interested in working out if we can do something better for the wider community. Maybe forums are the answer. Maybe they aren't. 

 

 

 

I'd say that people gravitated towards social media based groups but are starting to be pushed back down the forum route due to restrictions being placed on firearm related social media content.

 

Personally, given the nature of discussion around what we enjoy, I find the long form format of the forum more useful because it goes further than "sik gun innit" and technical advice can be in a more detailed style.

[Chev Chelios]

Oh for sure Lozart, new Youtube and Facebook guidelines going to kill pew pew content. Cant even show putting a suppresser on a barrel. Forums build more of an archive for future readers on topics they may find useful in the future and just offer more of a community. 

20 minutes ago, Jez_Armstrong said:

TL;DR 

 

Guys comes to forum to steal members for his forum? 

 

I mean stealing implies ownership, right?  I don't think this forum has much to worry about one of the best run forums regardless of media around. (AFK while I clean the brown off my nose)

[Bo B]

50 minutes ago, Lozart said:

 

 

I'd say that people gravitated towards social media based groups but are starting to be pushed back down the forum route due to restrictions being placed on firearm related social media content.

 

Personally, given the nature of discussion around what we enjoy, I find the long form format of the forum more useful because it goes further than "sik gun innit" and technical advice can be in a more detailed style.

 

 

If the only reason people are gravitating back is because thry are being forced to i.e. no alternative, that kinda highlights the point I'm making. 

 

There is certainly a need for the longer form format, I'll admit. 

 

I wonder if there would be a way to build onto this. So that the huge archive of info can be saved but we'd still have a modernised interface for those that want to use it.  

 

🤔

1 hour ago, Jez_Armstrong said:

TL;DR 

 

Guys comes to forum to steal members for his forum? 

 

Haha! There are certainly more time effective ways to generate members than sitting on a forum thread replying to gatekeepers. 

Edited July 25 by Bo B

[Tackle]

Like many here, been a member of many good forums, most of which died a slow painful death when fb came along & most airsoft sites switched to an essentially free medium that was (then) easier to update, but then fb uk became part of the "nanny state" & changed all the rules pertaining to airsoft etc, which in turn wasn't helped by the average low iq fb user not being able to grasp the new restrictions, so pages started getting clobbered & disappearing, some might say not necessarily a bad thing.

Now we've got players returning to the forums in droves, again, some are good to have, & some are a pita asking questions that have been asked, & answered, hundreds of times before (& can usually be found via the search fuction)

Thankfully, most of the time, the quality of the longstanding members here shines through, as does their patience in helping these new members. 

In fact this thread is a great example of that, how many times have we had either new members, or longtime lurkers, pop up with a brainwave that's gonna revolutionise some aspect of airsoft, whether it's the mediums we surf to glean info, the kit we use to play the game, or some kinda new angle on how a site is designed & run, & within reason, sometimes through gritted teeth😬, we humour whatever wannabe entrepreneur that's fielding their ideas.

End of the day though, when you break it down, it's a physical game, that relies on physical equipment & the KISS approach, anything else is wasted on some players,  & the remainder probably don't have the time or patience to embrace something that's over conceptualised.

@Bo B not a dig at you, your trying to field an idea, just the reality of getting new ideas off the ground can be a long & often fruitless journey.

[Bo B]

11 minutes ago, Tackle said:

Like many here, been a member of many good forums, most of which died a slow painful death when fb came along & most airsoft sites switched to an essentially free medium that was (then) easier to update, but then fb uk became part of the "nanny state" & changed all the rules pertaining to airsoft etc, which in turn wasn't helped by the average low iq fb user not being able to grasp the new restrictions, so pages started getting clobbered & disappearing, some might say not necessarily a bad thing.

Now we've got players returning to the forums in droves, again, some are good to have, & some are a pita asking questions that have been asked, & answered, hundreds of times before (& can usually be found via the search fuction)

Thankfully, most of the time, the quality of the longstanding members here shines through, as does their patience in helping these new members. 

In fact this thread is a great example of that, how many times have we had either new members, or longtime lurkers, pop up with a brainwave that's gonna revolutionise some aspect of airsoft, whether it's the mediums we surf to glean info, the kit we use to play the game, or some kinda new angle on how a site is designed & run, & within reason, sometimes through gritted teeth😬, we humour whatever wannabe entrepreneur that's fielding their ideas.

End of the day though, when you break it down, it's a physical game, that relies on physical equipment & the KISS approach, anything else is wasted on some players,  & the remainder probably don't have the time or patience to embrace something that's over conceptualised.

@Bo B not a dig at you, your trying to field an idea, just the reality of getting new ideas off the ground can be a long & often fruitless journey.

 

Thank you for being a bit more constructive with your comments. I appreciate the time you've taken to type that out. 

 

 

 

[Skara]

Forums survive for two reasons: Quality content and filtered access to it.

 

You can't have only one of them, there is no quality content without filtered access and vice versa.

 

A simple registration process (provide an email address, a username and a password) is a formidable tool to keep most of the retards away.

 

Look at facebook pages, almost all of them are shitholes where the same questions are asked over and over and over again in a 15 minutes span from one another, where half the comments make you want to commit a genocide and where people mostly parrot whatever the celebrity of the month said.

 

Also as Tackle said, spoon feeding information is wrong...

What was the saying?

Give a man a fish.....

 

[Rogerborg]

3 hours ago, Jez_Armstrong said:

Guys comes to forum to steal members for his forum? 

 

Pretty much.  Like a stranger walking into a pub and saying "Hey new besties, this place sucks, come and help me build a rival wine bar next door.  Why?  Well, it'll be better because it'll be better."

 

Cool story, good luck, I'll love you when you win.

[Bo B]

It isn't what I wanted to hear but I appreciate you all taking the time to say it. 

 

Just to clear things up, I'm not trying to 'steal' people from you. If I was, this certainly isn't the way I'd go about it. 

 

When things open up, I invite you to come take a look around. Don't worry, having a play around over there won't mean you're cheating on your forum wives haha.

 

39 minutes ago, Rogerborg said:

 

Pretty much.  Like a stranger walking into a pub and saying "Hey new besties, this place sucks, come and help me build a rival wine bar next door.  Why?  Well, it'll be better because it'll be better."

 

Cool story, good luck, I'll love you when you win.

 

I haven't said this place sucks. You're getting defensive for no reason. That said, if you want help with your wine bar, give me a shout. 

[Rogerborg]

14 minutes ago, Bo B said:

I appreciate you all taking the time to say it. 

 

 

 

 

14 minutes ago, Bo B said:

Just to clear things up, I'm not trying to 'steal' people from you.

 

 

 

 

14 minutes ago, Bo B said:

I haven't said this place sucks.

 

 

 

 

14 minutes ago, Bo B said:

You're getting defensive for no reason.

 

You're getting defensive for no reason.

 

Anyway, congratulations on your Usenet prize.

 

[Cannonfodder]

Considering you don't know what this platform will offer, whether it's anything different or the same as what's already out there, makes this whole idea look like you don't have a clue about what you' want this new platf, hence the reason you dont have people lining up to pat you on the back and tell you what a great job you're doing. 

 

Oh, and loose the passive aggressive attitude. It just makes you come across as a petulant child who can't stand being told no

[Bo B]

34 minutes ago, Cannonfodder said:

Oh, and loose the passive aggressive attitude. It just makes you come across as a petulant child who can't stand being told no

 

I'm not sure how I'm being passive aggressive and I've literally said it isn't what I wanted to hear but I'm grateful for the responses. 

 

I'll leave my contributions to the topic here but thanks again to everyone for the input. 

 

Maybe we'll cross paths in real life and get the chance to play. It sounds like a few of you would like the chance to shoot me haha. 

Edited July 25 by Bo B

[mightyjebus]

you would be better off dropping this thread and just go develop the app and release it. If it's any good people will use it. Forums have been around as long as airsoft has been popular in the UK. This one is a bit crap, UKAZ was better but was crap compared to the one before it and I can't even remember its name. Zeroin exists and struggles with scammers so has a low reputation whereas Arnies was the best forum, it's still there but no one goes there anymore, which is a shame.

 

The forums are full of cantankerous old gits who fear technology, think Randolph and Statler wearing DPM. Your post comes at a time of year that regular forum users fear, the school holidays, and to be honest the replies so far have been a bit tame.

 

Good luck with the app, I hope it works out for you.

[Jez_Armstrong]

7 hours ago, Bo B said:

 

 

If the only reason people are gravitating back is because thry are being forced to i.e. no alternative, that kinda highlights the point I'm making. 

 

There is certainly a need for the longer form format, I'll admit. 

 

I wonder if there would be a way to build onto this. So that the huge archive of info can be saved but we'd still have a modernised interface for those that want to use it.  

 

🤔

 

Haha! There are certainly more time effective ways to generate members than sitting on a forum thread replying to gatekeepers. 

 Gatekeepers? 😂

Edited July 25 by Jez_Armstrong

[Tommikka]

9 minutes ago, Jez_Armstrong said:

 Gatekeepers?

 

Lad, some of us have probably been on airsoft forums for longer than you've walked this earth 😂 

Duration of membership doesn’t mean anything …….. some may have been on this forum for about a decade without playing a single game of Airsoft 

 

 

[hitmanNo2]

1 hour ago, mightyjebus said:

Arnies was the best forum, it's still there but no one goes there anymore, which is a shame.

Arnies is still quite active.  But only with spammers and their gummie links sadly.  A wealth of info on there.  

[Rogerborg]

9 hours ago, Tommikka said:

Duration of membership doesn’t mean anything …….. some may have been on this forum for about a decade without playing a single game of Airsoft 

 

True, but true of most hobby forums too. Any new wunderforum should also welcome retirees as well as starry eyed fantasists, as it's all content to the mill.

[Skara]

10 hours ago, mightyjebus said:

This one is a bit crap

how so?

[Lozart]

11 hours ago, mightyjebus said:

This one is a bit crap,

 

[Tommikka]

10 hours ago, Jez_Armstrong said:

 Gatekeepers? 😂

[Jez_Armstrong]

19 hours ago, Tommikka said:

Duration of membership doesn’t mean anything …….. some may have been on this forum for about a decade without playing a single game of Airsoft 

 

 

It absolutely does, I've been active on forums since 2006 

 

We're literally talking about forums and groups and being online within the community here, regardless of how many games you play 🙄