Rant

[Failure2Stop]

It all depends on the quality of information that the poster wants.
As Shivan said above, there is already a wealth of information on the forum, if one is inclined to look for it, by those that have opinions that others frequently pay for. That information is here for anyone that bothers to look for it, for free. That does not mean that there is no new information, or that a single post is the be-all, end-all of the topic, but it gives the reader a depth of knowledge that will permit the more informed discussion of a topic, discussion at a level that most of us are accustomed to and direct our comments to.

There are numerous topics that have been beaten to death, and lacking any advancement in those topics, there isn't going to be any progress in the topic other than what was already stated (usually to a better/more concise end by our highly knowledgeable user base).

What discussion would you rather participate in, and what would provide a better resource for those looking for information:
1- I just bought my first AR. It's an XXX. Is it any good? I paid $XXXX for it. How do I clean the barrel? I heard that I need to break the barrel in, how do I do that? I've been shooting it dry except for a few drops of WD40. I want to shoot at 1,000 yards, is there ammo cheaper than M855 that would be as good at that range? I've been using a Barska 3x optic, it sure is great at 25 yards, but how high will I have to aim at 1,000?

2- I'm looking for precision ammo for 600 meter iron sight shooting. I've done a search, and found ammo brands X, Y, and Z. X is cheaper than Y and Z, but does it work as well at that distance out of a 16" barrel with 1inWhatever twist?
Has anyone compared the 3 options in such a barrel?

Now litter option 1 with gross grammatical errors, irrelevant punctuation, and "lolz", and what one will get attention by those worth listening to?

A quick search would answer everything from the first example, and is pretty much guaranteed to raise the ire of our primary member base. There are plenty of sites to go to where one can argue the merits of "good as" firearms and gear, get 300 responses about how to color in your roll marks, or be spoon-fed basic information, but that really isn't the intent of this site.

New members are most certainly welcome to join and participate, but if the entirety of your firearms knowledge and training comes from gun magazines, family members, and the local gunshop employee, you might want to take the time to read and get a feel of the site before jumping into a conversation.

Having a resource like M4, where thousands of members can discuss and share information, and have it all easily found, is incredibly valuable. It is what this site is best at, and is how we want to keep it. I say that not only as a moderator and industry professional, but also as a member that cares about the forum and the community.

[SHIVAN]

That doesn't mean it's okay to be disrespectful. And just because seething has been covered at one pint in time doesn't mean it will show up in a search in the first 3-5 pages of results every time. I see both sides here but disrespecting others is ridiculous.

Please point out in my text where I suggested that disrespecting anyone was "okay"?

Also, our website has Google linkages so that the orange-ish button above has an "Advanced" level for Google searching, not to mention using google.com directly, and some logic, to extract what you might need from their exhaustive search engine, independent of our search engines.

Fact is, those who want to learn, and seek knowledge, will do so in the face of adversity. If someone can not handle being told to search for something, someone should not be on the internet.

[tgace]

I guess it comes down to what you want this site to be. Is it simply a repository of info that you should dig through; or is it supposed to be a place that invites questions and discussions...even if its a rehash?

Wont discussion eventually die out here if people are discouraged from asking questions that may have already been asked before?

[Littlelebowski]

"the search doesn't work" is not an excuse.

Paste the below into google.

your search terms site:m4carbine.net

[Littlelebowski]

Olympic arms barska site:m4carbine.net

Gave me 5 relevant results!

[SHIVAN]

I guess it comes down to what you want this site to be. Is it simply a repository of info that you should dig through; or is it supposed to be a place that invites questions and discussions...even if its a rehash?

Wont discussion eventually die out here if people are discouraged from asking questions that may have already been asked before?

We will continue to use common sense in an attempt to moderate discussion consistent with what our membership, staff and owners would like to see.

That doesn't necessarily mean everyone, in all those sub-groups, needs to be in agreement on what that might be...

[ivanhedrick]

Yeah, if you had read what I posted, you would have seen that I covered that...

Reading comprehension is important...

I must be stupid then and you must be one of the smart a$$'s referred to as rude. I've never started a thread on here and usually don't post. I do, however read quite a bit on here and seems like half the new threads start out by saying, "I searched and searched." Even if I did want to know something I would be scared to ask because someone else like you would call me out for not searching enough. I need to change my screen name to Forrest Gump.

[SeriousStudent]

This is not a rant or hate-filled response to the OP. But it's intended as a thought-provoking question.

Did you join the forum, or did the forum join you?

It's an established discussion board, that existed well before I arrived here years ago. I lurked for 2 years prior to even registering. It was a year after that before my first post.

There was a culture here before I arrived, and (hopefully) long after I depart. Part of me being a guest in this house, is that I go along with its culture.

As others have pointed out, there is this really spiffy Search button. Another one that comes in handy is the "Report Post" button. When you hit that, it goes to all the jolly folks that run this place. They ponder and decide what a suitable course of action will be.

Which may be nothing.

So I pretty much put on my big boy pants every time I come here.

Again, this is not meant to be mean, cruel, demeaning or vile. Imagine me pouring you a glass of really good Bourbon while saying this.

And believe me, I have some really, really good Bourbon.

The alternative is to wander off to TOS or some other place infested with things better off left unsaid.

I'm not a mod, not staff. I'm just a paying member that likes what I sees. Is it perfect? Nope. But I am not aware of a single person amongst the mods, staff, senior staff, or admin ranks that makes a nickel for the time they spend here cleaning up other people's messes.

Let me know if you want some more Bourbon, I'm a nice guy.

[jaxman7]

This past summer things have really gone downhill (with the membership, not the staff) it seems.....

DeltaSierra is correct in my opinion. The complaints in this thread can be understood but take a look at alot of the newer members and what they post. The 'noise' on here has significantly increased as of late. Guys posting goofy things like "Here's my new rifle" on AR General Discussion. You may be proud of it but what is it contributing to gathering or sharing any type of valuable knowledge. Answer: none. That's just one example but I hope you get my point.

The constant search button comment must not be viewed through the
eyes of getting personally butt hurt. This in a way is a push back for a huge drove of newer members coming in and not knowing what this site is all about and it is not like most others. If you are new here read more and keep the posts to a minimum ONLY after the stickies have been read and using......the Search Function.

Back to what Delta said its not just attitude thats being shown toward newer members that should be discussed but also the rather large number of newcomers on here that come out of nowhere and do things like comment on a mods weight, keep saying the same dumb things in different threads after multiple warnings, etc. Lately there have been a ton of newbies that have a crappy and arrogant attitude. Should we pamper them hold hands and sing the Coke song? Uh Uh.

I can show some deference to guys that may smart off to a newer fella in a thread every once in a while who is a mod, staff member, senior member, or some guy who doesn't post much but everytime he posts something I know he is knowledgeable.

What I CANNOT stand is some new guy that no one knows posting insults to respected members or staff/mods. This is an increasing problem.

One can view the moaning/groaning as disrespectful and wrong or right it is a method of pushing back at the huge influx of newer members and them just not knowing how this site works. This is preventative maintenance IMHO. To keep this site as close to its original intent as possible. Not everyone is going to like how they're treated but the moderators and staff are doing the best they can. I wouldn't want their job. JSantoro seems to like his at times though.

I must add though the arguments as of late on the GD is disconcerting.


-Jax

[CLJ94104]

I swear, I think for new members they should have to go through a tutorial on M4C etiquette before they can post so they know how to avoid pissing off members here.

People are too damn touchy about the search button. I understand answering questions repeatedly is annoying but my point is that the disrespect shown for others is unnecessary.