Expand?

Airsoft reports looks to be a good place for information, what about possibly expanding?

Your YouTube videos are good, forum is good, and thats it.
I have asked several people at yesterdays meet (maybe 40?) and not a single person knew of you guys here.

My advice is to amp up your hits by getting better keywords for Google and other search engines. Advertise on other sites also.

Try embedding videos on the site and direct people to the site in order to view them.


Oh, and also, your missing ranks. People have earned the ranks they have by posting useful information, you should reward them with their rank. (your missing the picture)

Embed like this.

lol, who needs to expand when we have you!

Yes these are certainly things we should look into, and have been discussed in the past. All members can do there part just by telling their friends, and people they airsoft with.

If anyone else has ideas on how to expand please post them in this thread.

If people watch airsoft reviews on youtube, under the comment sectoin, you can say something about the forum, or the youtube account

fdsakiller wrote:

If people watch airsoft reviews on youtube, under the comment sectoin, you can say something about the forum, or the youtube account

Not a bad idea, but most people have already seen what they want, a review.
Past that they don't really care what you have to offer.

Maybe at your next airsoft meet (aimed at Administration) film a review in the background. If you are reviewing the Echo1 M4a1 get a local player who has a high end M4 and have him shoot and hold both AEGs and give an opinion on them. That way people get to see two opinions, and the players at the field get a personal encounter with airsoft reports.
(Before they can be in the review they need to sign a waiver)

_______________________________________________

Quote :

...................................My Rank is So Blank *cry* *cry* *sniffle* *sniffle.........................

I think he wants his well earned rank!

Oh, and before I forget, I will soon be writing a full review of the Daisy PowerLine 953 Air Rifle for PyramyDair.com soon, I will let you guys get a sneak peak before I send it to them. I should have it done around June 15th. Give you all a chance to criticize me on a review, sounds fun huh?

That would be awsome, and also, a internal look comparing a high end and a mid end, taking them apart, comparing parts, sloppieness etc.... with the gear box.


Also.......


Purple, I was just kidding, ask Sgt. Hartwig, having no rank is a mark of acclomplishment.

@ fdsa
Very good idea, I like your thinking.

Another good thing we could do is create Adobe documents of our reviews for download, and also have them able to download a full screen version of the review. It is actually very easy to do something like this and is a unique thing to reviews.

He'll be doing an internal review on the TSD M4 this summer, since it is his project gun, as stated in his last vid.

We can get the airsoft geeks to put it on there iPods

I also thinks that airsoft reports should go over gun reviews, maybe showing some battles, or the guns performance in battle first hand. Or maybe a Tactics video stating, how you do this or that

Even how to camp!

Explain for new people how to move, how to aim, how to play airsoft! Airsoft Reports : Tactical Guide?

Admin could place full screen reviews up on the forum only, and require member access to see them, it would increase the members. Also add in a members only section to the video!

Also maybe a guide showing the different types, of games you can play, or the most convient ways of playing a certain game

or maybe showing how to play a fun game that you just made up


But sadly konrad isnt creative


No offense taken please, just a joke

Dont ban me

I've gotta be honest here. I don't think this site is ready for a big expansion. Yes, it has improved greatly in content and general attitude over the last month or so, but frankly, this site is one big "which gun should I get" thread.

Too few of the existing members put up meaningful and informative posts and threads, instead tossing around a whole lot of hearsay, occasional misinformation, and "so and so said it is like this, so it must be"

Honestly, look at the last 10 or so new threads. I guarantee that about 80% of them are "Which gun should I get" or "tell me more about this gun". All people do here is ask what for information that could easily be found by doing a simple google search. They put the threads in the wrong sections, and they don't get moved. They post a ton of off topic info or questions, and nothing is done about it. I'm not going after the mods (or is there just one now?) as they don't want to be seen as oppressive and voted off the island, so to speak (OMD anyone?)

I go back to this argument again and again, but if you want more traffic here (real traffic, not just more lazy people wanting to be spoonfed an answer to which gun they should get) then you need to do a major forum cleaning, get rid of the pointless threads, up the moderating, and start putting up some real, high quality info.

The video reviews are great. Most of the user submitted reviews are great now (the peer edit program could use a brushing up, and people need to stop whining when their grammar is corrected, as that is what the section is for). But for this site to actually be seen as a real, informative, and good place to get info, then it needs to be just that. It needs good stories, tutorials, guides, and info. If you don't know firsthand about something, don't give info on it. There is SO much bad info that gets tossed around here, and people like me need to clean it up. That gets tiring, and it would be better if the people giving the bad info would keep their mouths shut in the first place.

As for the ranks. Get rid of them all together. People think, "well, this person is a colonel (randomly selected rank, not targeting anyone), so they must know what they are talking about" but alot of the time, the people with high ranks are just as ignorant as the person posting their first post. Rank, post count, etc say nothing about the person giving the advice. I see a lot of high ranking people giving out bad advice, or just plain lying to make themselves sound better, or somehow try to impress a new member. Why they need to wag their E-weiner is beyond me. It's the internet guys, you're not impressing anyone.

In my opinion, this site needs a serious identity check before it can get any bigger.

If it wants to be a "which gun should I get" site, then it should be only that. Don't try to run an entire forum when all people really do is ask what gun they should get, and that is something that only they can determine on their own, based on their own experiences. We are not you, and we cannot tell you what gun YOU will be happy with.

If it wants to be a real forum, where people can come to get REAL info, not just told (usually wrongly) what gun they should get, then get rid of the which gun threads, and up the real content.

Sorry for the long, meandering, and somewhat heated rant, but I had a lot on my chest, lol. I'm just a guy giving his opinion (and trying to cut down on everyone asking me for advice on a daily basis, lol) so take this all for what it's worth. Don't get me wrong, this site HAS improved leaps and bounds from where it was even 2 months ago, but with a LITTLE teaking, it can really be great.

/end rant

Booligan wrote:

I've gotta be honest here. I don't think this site is ready for a big expansion. Yes, it has improved greatly in content and general attitude over the last month or so, but frankly, this site is one big "which gun should I get" thread.

Too few of the existing members put up meaningful and informative posts and threads, instead tossing around a whole lot of hearsay, occasional misinformation, and "so and so said it is like this, so it must be"

Honestly, look at the last 10 or so new threads. I guarantee that about 80% of them are "Which gun should I get" or "tell me more about this gun". All people do here is ask what for information that could easily be found by doing a simple google search. They put the threads in the wrong sections, and they don't get moved. They post a ton of off topic info or questions, and nothing is done about it. I'm not going after the mods (or is there just one now?) as they don't want to be seen as oppressive and voted off the island, so to speak (OMD anyone?)

I go back to this argument again and again, but if you want more traffic here (real traffic, not just more lazy people wanting to be spoonfed an answer to which gun they should get) then you need to do a major forum cleaning, get rid of the pointless threads, up the moderating, and start putting up some real, high quality info.

The video reviews are great. Most of the user submitted reviews are great now (the peer edit program could use a brushing up, and people need to stop whining when their grammar is corrected, as that is what the section is for). But for this site to actually be seen as a real, informative, and good place to get info, then it needs to be just that. It needs good stories, tutorials, guides, and info. If you don't know firsthand about something, don't give info on it. There is SO much bad info that gets tossed around here, and people like me need to clean it up. That gets tiring, and it would be better if the people giving the bad info would keep their mouths shut in the first place.

As for the ranks. Get rid of them all together. People think, "well, this person is a colonel (randomly selected rank, not targeting anyone), so they must know what they are talking about" but alot of the time, the people with high ranks are just as ignorant as the person posting their first post. Rank, post count, etc say nothing about the person giving the advice. I see a lot of high ranking people giving out bad advice, or just plain lying to make themselves sound better, or somehow try to impress a new member. Why they need to wag their E-weiner is beyond me. It's the internet guys, you're not impressing anyone.

In my opinion, this site needs a serious identity check before it can get any bigger.

If it wants to be a "which gun should I get" site, then it should be only that. Don't try to run an entire forum when all people really do is ask what gun they should get, and that is something that only they can determine on their own, based on their own experiences. We are not you, and we cannot tell you what gun YOU will be happy with.

If it wants to be a real forum, where people can come to get REAL info, not just told (usually wrongly) what gun they should get, then get rid of the which gun threads, and up the real content.

Sorry for the long, meandering, and somewhat heated rant, but I had a lot on my chest, lol. I'm just a guy giving his opinion (and trying to cut down on everyone asking me for advice on a daily basis, lol) so take this all for what it's worth. Don't get me wrong, this site HAS improved leaps and bounds from where it was even 2 months ago, but with a LITTLE teaking, it can really be great.

/end rant

I dont wanna be mean but Booli

well lol

I think a lot of this is directed toward me.

^It was directed at a lot of people, but if you think it applies to you, then I guess it may be. I stated a lot of info, and if you believe it applies to you, I can't say otherwise. Only you know if it applies to you or not, lol

Now, my long winded post wasn't designed to call anyone out or bash anyone, just tossing out my opinion.

In the beggining I did not like the "English Teachers" but im fine now, and a lot of my old post were kind of post count post.

Not until pretty lately
maybe a month or two. Also there are many "which Gun" on this, which I believe are fine when they narrow down the guns. Not just I want a good gun for this price.

Not to be rude but it may also help if the moderators were more active as Booligan mentioned and used propper grammar. Sorry, didn't want to say it but I had to get in on this one it has been annoying me.

Booligan that is some very insightful stuff, I would suggest you PM Admin, he does not get on line a lot but when he does I think what you said should be brought to his attention.

I agree 100% with Booligan. I used to be very opposed to what he said, but now I "get it".

This site, the current way it is headed, is not very good. I dont want to give out names, but I see two/three members CONSTANTLY rank posting/trying to raise they're post counts/ goin WAY off topic. We have like 5 times as many which gun threads as any other kind combined. Sometimes it takes a lot of restarint not to snap at some guys on here.

I have seen false info, insanely biased info, etc.

And please dont quote long posts, especially if you post right after them.....

Indeed. This forum needs to be cleaned up. However, it DOES NOT need to wiped like last time. There is a problem, because there are a lot of which gun gun thread, and often several on the same gun.

AirsoftMan wrote:

I agree 100% with Booligan. I used to be very opposed to what he said, but now I "get it".

This site, the current way it is headed, is not very good. I dont want to give out names, but I see two/three members CONSTANTLY rank posting/trying to raise they're post counts/ goin WAY off topic. We have like 5 times as many which gun threads as any other kind combined. Sometimes it takes a lot of restarint not to snap at some guys on here.

I have seen false info, insanely biased info, etc.

And please dont quote long posts, especially if you post right after them.....

if that's directed toward me, I don't give a crap about post count lol To me, all post count shows is that you have too much time on your hands.


I agree with you booligan. I know I post a lot and I'm not always right, but I'm learning as I go. That's what is great about this forum, it's a like a small town; you commit a crime and nobody chops off your head.

I think the reason I post so much is because I like to help people. Even if I'm not helping, at least I tried. I'm not trying to raise myself up here, but if I didn't post in some topics, they wouldn't get answered for a while. Sometimes people can't afford to wait a couple of days, they need answers now.

If anyone thinks I'm doing something wrong, please tell me. I don't mind being corrected if there is a good reason for it. If I am wrong about something, tell me.

RoboFURY wrote:

Booligan that is some very insightful stuff, I would suggest you PM Admin, he does not get on line a lot but when he does I think what you said should be brought to his attention.

The thing is, these are all suggestions I've made time and time again. When I suggest them, I get told "don't expect the forum to be changed to fit YOUR desires" or something to that effect. I think what Admin needs to see is that I'm not alone in wanting to see these changes made, and the subsequent posts after my initial one show that it's more or less unanimous.

Now, in the end, it is HIS forum, and he pays for it, so he has the final word, so if he wants to keep it the same, I respect that. If he wants to make the members happy and progress into this site\'s future on an upward swing instead of a downward one, then the changes should be made, in my opinion.

Airsoftguy wrote:

Indeed. This forum needs to be cleaned up. However, it DOES NOT need to wiped like last time. There is a problem, because there are a lot of which gun gun thread, and often several on the same gun.

I'm not calling for a total wipe, with every thread deleted, just a strategic one, getting rid of a large quantity of very useless threads in certain sections. That would be something for you mods to work on though.

Then I suggest that someone compose a respectful letter explaining to the Admin what we think would do this forum good and put the names of the users who agree with the idea at the end. However it is crucial to make sure that Admin knows that these are suggestions, make sure he understands that we are loyal and will not desert the forums if the changes are not made.

But thats just in my opinion

^I think that this thread is pretty visible, and is quite respectful. Maybe someone should alert him to its presence?

[quote="Stealthmasterairsofter14"]

AirsoftMan wrote:

I agree 100% with Booligan. I used to be very opposed to what he said, but now I "get it".

This site, the current way it is headed, is not very good. I dont want to give out names, but I see two/three members CONSTANTLY rank posting/trying to raise they're post counts/ goin WAY off topic. We have like 5 times as many which gun threads as any other kind combined. Sometimes it takes a lot of restarint not to snap at some guys on here.

I have seen false info, insanely biased info, etc.

And please dont quote long posts, especially if you post right after them.....

I know for a fact that it is directed toward me, but I believe that I have been learning much more, such as stealth said.

But look, if you call it rank posting if someone says, I agree, but not adding imput, that is NOT rank posting. It is more of showing how many people Agrees with the other person, making it more convincing for the buyer.

Also about biased posts. If it is biased about the gun, like saying Systemas are the god of the game. which is absolutley not true.


Short post arent always rankposts:D

LOL
I just saw this post and some of you are correct, I don't get on the FORUM as much as I would like. My summer semester has begun and thats part of that.

Just to clarify some things, I appreciate everyone's ideas and input. Especially because everyone has kept things civil.

So everyone knows with the exception of the work that our moderators have done, everything that is Airsoft Reports has been created by me. Now Im not bragging or looking for sympathy. I know the site is not THE most impressive thing in the world, but understand that I didn't know jack about web design before I started this entire project, hence its all been a learning experience. Further, given that I have limited resources and time I have to pick and choose what I can do and what I can't.


This means that until or unless I hire professional web designers, employ full time moderators etc... there is not a whole heck of a lot that I can do that will bring any more traffic than is already coming.

I have gone through the meta tags and keywords in painstaking fashion, taking inspiration from the keyword sets of the more well known sites such as AS-R and Arnies. I don't know why the search engine rankings are so poor, expect that the revisions I have done in the last couple of months can take up to 3 months to become logged into the search engine servers.

As for increased content the simple answer is I just don't have the time.

I am in Law School full time and I am married. This site is my hobby and I have a passion for it, but the truth is that making this site any more than I have done is a full time job.

Thus, any more than you see know will have to be created and donated from other sources. I.e. you guys. If you are willing to create an Adobe Form etc... I am willing to take it and place it on the site with credit to you.

As for embedding, I have thought of doing just that but from a formatting perspective it can be sometimes difficult. However, if the embedding will result in a higher search engine ranking due to better keywords/meta tag combos and someone has proof that that works, then im game.

In regards to the forum and its "which gun should I get" nature. I will say that I would love to have a more diverse forum. But it is what it is.

I am not willing to enforce what have turned into draconian "Laws" that stifle discussion.

Perhaps more accurately the OMD and UWS experience has shown me the dangers of requiring moderators to create and enforce rules which simply became rediculous.

After all this is a FORUM. By definition it is a place to post ideas, thoughts, opinions etc...

Now I do ask that members NOT get into arguments over opinion, because that does take up a lot of time and really gets us all no where.

The point is I don't what a bunch of little dictators flexing their online muscle to get their jollies. That is what happened with OMD and UWS.

Each Mod that has either joined since or remained through that period has demonstrated that they are capable of basically having an appropriate response to issues when they get out of hand.

ALSO, given the fact that I cannot PAY my mods, I can hardly ask them to be on here 24/7. I am grateful for what help I can get.

As for ranks, the only real reason to have them was to provide new members with a quick reference point for who is the Mod, Head Mod and Admin. As for posting for the sake of increasing the rank, I will not penalize someone for posting frequently if the posts are substantive. (i.e they are not merely one line posts stating some thing like "Lol".) Frankly, rank or no, a fool will be known by his words.

As for word of mouth and advertising, that is all but out of the question. I cannot afford to pay for advertising, and frankly, as my site is informational only, advertising would not get people that much really. The site is fairly basic and there is not enough exclusive content to charge admission or monthly fees so while Youtube has been a blessing, it is also a curse as Purple mentioned.

People see the video and have no reason to visit the site. Now, I COULD start posting previews of the videos and direct people to the site, and I have thought of that, but that would require embedding the videos into the site with additional software. I am considering this and I welcome comment on this subject.

If you have a legitimate idea for increasing the search engine ranking and increasing traffic, please by all means tell me!

I appreciate all your ideas.

Regards,

Konrad