What is up with the GTA ?

[aluminumfetish]

Today, I looked in the classifieds... there are 6 entrys. I remeber when there were multiple pages of classifieds. In the 10 years I have been in here, I have never seen it that low. The chat room used to be crazy busy, now it's just broken. A lot of the GTA regulars have migrated to other forums. I see them in there, change is good but seriously, what heppened to the GTA. Does not look good.

[Motorhead]

Founders passed .... Taken over by acting administrator/s .... Then site was sold & much content / gates were eliminated ....  Site sold again to current owner who seems to not know what to do in revamping or gaining trust in users staying active or content being what folks are looking for ... We're living in some very odd times now !!!!

Near 14 years with GREAT memories conversing on projects and subjects that had meat on the bone !! and the sharing of R&D especially .... all that appears to be mostly gone now.

 Just my observation and in no way a slander 

[aluminumfetish]

When your reserach becomes the product, seems logical that somebody would want to keep it for themselves. Thankfully the 'wayback machine' has all that archived for those that want it.

[Hoosier Daddy]

I took a bit of a hiatus and upon returning I've noticed it too...
  Used to feel like a bunch of us sitting around a camp fire talking airguns and sharing wisdom.
Not so much anymore.
Just my 2 cents but I think we've gotten too "commercial".

[avator]

I think Scott's (Motorhead) assessment is pretty close. Some of the initial spirit has been lost. Have a look back at the "The Old GTA" archives and you can get a good read on what it was meant to be. Knowledge and experience were freely shared among the members. They were self supporting through donations and raffles. There were arraigned shooting events where members would travel good amount of distances to gather with other members. Many friendships were made and nurtured.
However... there was so much to learn and share then. The technology has almost reached a plateau. It's becoming redundant with changes only in styles, shapes and sizes. The song remains the same but the cost of the music is getting greater. On the low end (entry level) it kinda like the same old gun in a different stock (Crosman was a master of that smoke and mirror performance).
Many of our most knowledgeable members have passed or moved on or just don't share anymore.
Commercialized? Sure it is but we have to keep the lights on. But that don't mean we have to watch/read it.
Take what you want, share what you have and leave the rest where it is.
When I first joined the forum I spent days upon days reading "The Old GTA". That's where so much treasure lies.
We need to preserve this forum and the gold within it's walls. We can only do that by remaining active and involved.
Share it... What did you buy today? What did you learn today? What did you tune today? What did you cast today? and What did you shoot today? What worked and what didn't?
I admit that I'm guilty but, why is "Whatcha eating" one of the most travelled threads on this airgun forum?

[Hoosier Daddy]

On a good note, the "Welcome New Members" gate is thriving!

[Back_Roads]

On a good note, the "Welcome New Members" gate is thriving!

Hopefully we are helping the newbies, just finding out about modern air rifles

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

I am not a truly old-timer here and I have never been an air gun expert. I'm just an occasional shooter and hunter.

On the positive side, I still enjoy reading the Gateway To Airguns Forum each day.

Best Wishes - Tom

[longislandhunter]

I've noticed the change as well.  The forum seems to have a different "feel" than it used to in the "old days", if that makes sense.  It used to feel like a "family".  Now  not  so much and definitely much more commercial, but  the forum is still filled with really nice people who truly love air gunning and who remain willing to share their knowledge and help out other members. With the loss of Gene and Bob and other original members, as well as long time members moving on to different forums or disengaging from air gunning for their own personal reasons, it was only natural that the forum would evolve and change in order to remain up and running.  As with all things the GTA changing was inevitable I guess,   While I sincerely miss "the old days"  I still look forward each morning to logging onto GTA and enjoying my morning coffee while spending time seeing what's going on and what's  new and reading the informative posts from members who I've "known" for so long as well as the new members.   

Jeff

[Madd Hatter]

It's the first place I come to to see what is happening. I still spend way more time on here than the other 3 I go on.

[avator]

LOL... this place keeps me sane... imagine that. 

[Roadworthy]

I read more than I post - believe it or not.  I tend to ask for help when needed and share what I've learned as I can.  I see this place as kind of a community.  I'm not really into social media but GTA doesn't seem to me like social media.  I'm in for the long haul.

[dan_house]

On a good note, the "Welcome New Members" gate is thriving!

half-ish of the registered users have only posted 1 time......

[Rick67]

I read more than I post - believe it or not.  I tend to ask for help when needed and share what I've learned as I can.  I see this place as kind of a community.  I'm not really into social media but GTA doesn't seem to me like social media.  I'm in for the long haul.

I am kind of both, and I much prefer this forum over the more popular one.

Funny there’s one poster here (I remember him) who said he was leaving this forum yet he’s still here, lol!

[avator]

On a good note, the "Welcome New Members" gate is thriving!

half-ish of the registered users have only posted 1 time......

Hmmm... so that would make ummm... 8,000ish active users. Plus the lurkers that come for what they are looking for.
I think a look at the 'last time logged in" would tell a different story. But that would mean that someone would have to look at each user's profile.   Any volunteers?
It's all good.. GTA will be my home forum until it no longer exists.

[airgunaut]

On a good note, the "Welcome New Members" gate is thriving!

Hopefully we are helping the newbies, just finding out about modern air rifles

You are! But I do like GTA's plentiful info about older airgun designs just as much, if not more so.

If topics focus a lot on shooting, that should keep the commercial aspects within proper perspective. Buying "stuff" of any kind is relatively easy. Becoming good at using the stuff is much harder, yet more interesting in the long run. You really need info covering both selection/buying and using/maintaining--either old or modern.

I think the atmosphere is generally welcoming and helpful. The Back Room and Chat are still available.

[dan_house]

On a good note, the "Welcome New Members" gate is thriving!

half-ish of the registered users have only posted 1 time......

I think a look at the 'last time logged in" would tell a different story. But that would mean that someone would have to look at each user's profile.  Any volunteers?

dont think itll be _that_ bad..... sort the members list by date registered, pick a cut off date of, say 2016, then only check the last active date of those with 1 post,  Greatly reduce the scope..... And this should be done at least once a year. Dont knwo anything about this forum software, but its possible that this process could be scripted.  Volunteer? hehe no thanks. That's a "back-end" task for forum admins

[Madd Hatter]

I agree but think it should be 5 years. If someone has posted anything in 5 years........

[dan_house]

I agree but think it should be 5 years. If someone has posted anything in 5 years........

Walking over for lunch was thinking about this... and yes, you are correct. If a member hasnt been active in 5 years--regardless of post count-- then that member should be deleted.  If they are a member and lurking, and their activity date shows something recent, then they do not get deleted. Again, this purge should take place annually.

[avator]

They used to do a purge every couple years or so. In some cases it caused a problem... like I said, we do have lurkers that just come to read and gather info. I think the purge was based on folks that didn't post... I would think it would be better based on last time logged in.
Yeah, It's above my pay grade as well.
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