GTA

GTA directory => GTA Forum Help Desk => Topic started by: ezman604 on June 02, 2017, 12:00:50 PM

Title: Why & How - "ABOUT" GTA Forums
Post by: ezman604 on June 02, 2017, 12:00:50 PM
GTA International Airgun Forums was the dream of our founding father Lowell Eugene "Gene" Curtis. With the help of Bob "CharlieDaTuna" Werner, GTA Forums was built as a member owned and managed gathering place for like minded folks. Since our start in 2005, we have grown tremendously. We have gone through several phases of reconstruction and upgrade since the early days. In 2010 we decided to build a completely new forum to accommodate the mass amount of information contained within our walls and "gates". Unfortunately, we could not find a way to convert all of the great information from the old to the new. So instead, we have a static copy of the old forum still available for your viewing. Check the toolbar at the upper part of every forum page for several useful shortcuts, which includes "Old GTA". Take a tour through time and visit there to see where we came from and how we have grown. And there ARE a lot of very helpful topics and great airgun projects for you to enjoy there.
Before their time on earth ended, both of these gentlemen sat me down and asked if I would take over their dream and keep it going. And I wake up every day with the challenge of doing them proud and continuing their goal of making and keeping GTA Forums the best site on the internet to gather. But it can't be done by one person alone. It takes the effort of dedicated and all volunteer staff as well as ALL of you. We are what the members make it. So I thank the staff and each and every one of you for making GTA Forums what it is today. As Gene always said, "GTA, A Cut Above The Rest".
And speaking of staff, we have a group of fantastic folks that are regular members like you and me but have stepped forward to volunteer their very valuable time to our forum. We have administrators that handle the technical aspects of forum management. Those are the ones to blame. LOL
Each "gate" has at least one gatekeeper or moderator. They keep an eye on things in their assigned areas and make sure things stay neat, tidy and in order. They are the ones to praise!!! For past, present and future moderators and admins, THANK YOU for volunteering your time for us!!! And for members, be mindful of what these folks represent. When they have to communicate with you about forum issues, they are speaking for Gene and Bob as representatives of YOUR forum. But please remember we are ALL members here.
Since we are a member owned and member managed forum, we do not sell advertising and we do not have "sponsors". We are free to all that wish to come here to learn or share anything airgun. We DO have ongoing monthly expenses that must be paid to keep our doors open for all. We have a donation tab in the toolbar above. For those that find this site useful or feel this is their home you can drop a dime in the jar to help us meet our expenses. For those of you that have and continue to support GTA Forums, THANK YOU!!!
Among our membership you will see several airgun related vendors. Please understand how we work here. Like I said, we are not sponsored and do not sell advertising on our forum. What we have is very unique on the internet. We have spent years building the best airgun forum on the internet. And because of this effort, we WANT only the best to be a part of making history and to represent GTA. We look and listen to what you and the airgun community have to say about it's vendors. When there is a vendor that stands out as being one of the best, we will ask them if they would like to become a sanctioned and supported GTA vendor. Many times the vendor will actually approach us first, that too is a good sign of our reputation. We have a short but VERY tough set of requirements a vendor must meet AND maintain before we will even consider them. Once approved, we will set them up a vendor gate of their own to use as they please. They can use this gate to communicate with the membership. We add their logo and a hot link to their website in rotation at the bottom of every forum page. We also add them to the GTA Mall page as well as add them to the Vendor user group. This will add a distinguishing "V" under their user name. We do not and never will charge a vendor for this support. We are NOT a pay to play site. But what we do have is a motto "We support those that support us". Meaning the community as well as this forum. We do ask an approved vendor for a few things. We ask that they place a small GTA logo on their website. This should be a badge of honor to them and to us. We ask that they keep their vendor gate active by posting something at least once a month. More is better but the idea is to just stay active and show involvement in GTA Forums. We ask that they from time to time, or in support of our annual Fun Shoot, donate something airgun related for us to use in a raffle to raise needed operating funds. This will give them an opportunity to show support for us, to help us give back something to you the member, and to also highlight the vendor as a good community supporter. It is a mutual support scenario that I feel is a win-win situation. Be sure to take a look at the vendor gates here and know exactly who has earned and continues to earn our support. When you are in need of anything airgun related, please consider our officially approved vendors FIRST. They have and continue to earn our support by being the best of the best.
And please remember we are an information site and NOT a money maker. Every person on staff, including and especially myself as the registered owner, do not receive any compensation for what we do here. Every penny generated goes right back into this forum to keep it updated and available for all at no charge. The way we are set up, in my opinion, is unheard of on the internet and is history making. Especially for as long as we have been able to stay active. We continue to grow by 10-20 new members daily which indicates we MUST be doing something right. :)
Thanks to all of you for making GTA what it is today and for helping keep Gene's dream alive and well!!!