41 replies to this topic

[The Metal Bullet]

http://blog.makezine...s_boltsnip.html
http://blog.makezine...TC-0D6B48984890
and
http://blog.makezine...our_nerf_1.html

I just searched MAKE's website.

BRAINFLASH!!!: In the essay post that members of the Nerf Community have been featured in Make Magazine before and add the links.

That would definitely up our chances.

[imaseoulman]

I'm definitely willing to help out with this. I have some experience with technical writing and my wife is just graduating with her degree in English. As far as my NERFing bonafides...I don't post much but I have been NERFing religiously for a little over nine years (I just had a small war with a couple of high school buddies this evening). I should also probably mention that I am an avid collector and own somewhere around two hundred guns. My aim name is ArachNerfPhobia.

[ejrasmussen]

If this arcticle comes through i think we should have something kinda self explainitory and not with all of our fancy words like air restrictors etc. but as it seems we would have to use that in a atleast adequite mod we should have descriptions of words.
Also if this is posted in the magazine where people like to take apart and mod/hack stuff think how many new brains there will be to NerfHaven and or Nerf HQ.

[bobafett109]

Ok, so how about like this Sunday or Saturday night we all who want to help get on AIM? It has to be before 9:30, though, cause... you know... Parents... both sat and sunday work for me, post which works for you.

[jwasko]

Just to add a few (or many...) thoughts/suggestions:

Firsty, I want to stress that all aspects of the Nerfing hobby should be included, to one extent or another. This includes (although is not limited to...I may have forgotten something): Warring, Modding, Painting, Dartsmithing, and making Homemades (er...Homemaking?)

I think the article should focus on modifications. Homemades are great -- and can be some of the awe-inspiring examples of the hobby -- but modification is one of the most central aspects of Nerfing, second only to warring itself. By all means, homemades should be included; however, they should only consist of a fraction of the article.

Also, while everyone has been pointing out Boltsniper and CaptainSlug's marvels, we should not forget Carbon's SNAP series. In fact, if everyone decides to stress the homemade aspect, a tutorial of how to make the SNAP-1 would be a great addition; meanwhile, photos of Boltsniper and CS's work would be good to include.

The modification section of the article can explain the goals of modifying Nerf blasters (off the top of my head: longer range, greater rate of fire, and/or reliability) as well as basic techniques for achieving those goals (barrel replacement, AR removal, etc). Along the way, terms could be explained (such as what the heck an AR is). Also, a list of general modding materials might be good (the different barrel materials, dremel tool, PVC/CPVC pipe, etc).

As far as what modification tutorial to include, I would go with something that is readily available on the market today. Unfortunately, that excludes some of the best blasters (especially the Crossbow), but we want to give the idea that Nerf is something that is relatively easy to get into. An NF mod is perhaps ideal, although an LS or AT2k (many Kohl's stores still stock them) would be good, too.

Of course, pictures of more complicated mods and harder-to-find blasters, would be good...I'm particularly thinking about JAWS, and the Eyes of Fire. A DirectThreat paintjob would be a cool inclusion.

As far as warring goes, we could explain some of the rules, and even precautions against injury (eye protection, most especially). A few photos from wars would be nice. We may even want to add a little about the NIC. The differences between NH and NHQ (being the two main Nerf forums) can be pointed out. The many benefits of joining a forum can be stated: finding out about wars near you, the many people who are willing to provide help with your troubles, and the trading forum, for finding older blasters.

Finally, Like someone else said, a Stefan-making tutorial would be good to include. At the very least, a photo or two of a stefan should be included.

[bobafett109]

So as far as my outline goes, this is what I think we should at least include.
Stefan guide
Basic write up
What is nerfhaven?
What are the goals of a mod?
List of some acronyms
Warring guidelines & rules
Paintjobs
Homemades
Where are there active nerfers?

I'm going to need some help with the acronyms, since I'm still kinda new here and don't know what everything is. I could have swore I saw a big list of them around here, but I cannot find it again. I will definitely post my essay here before I even consider entering it.

[el swifto]

Theres a list of acronyms on nerfwiki, but it's still down.

[bobafett109]

Ok, well does anyone have a working list of acronyms?

[lionhead333]

I'm not sure, but I personally think...

We not include a stefan guide, per say, but simply include a quick definition in one of the main articles. For exampe- 'We fire stefans, or homemade darts make of of caulk saver, as they fly farther, and truer than stock darts.'

Same thing with active nerfers. Sure, it'd be great to give the veterans some more recognition, and we should throw in names somewhere, but not a section devoted to them. Perhaps in a "Brief History of Nerfing" portion, we could name the main legends of each coast that have made some great achievements (Groove flying out to 'Geddon 4 times).

Acronyms, again, maybe in a "Quick Knowledge" side box, but not as part of the article, I don't think.

Although, I haven't read a make magazine. If, typically, there are topics like that, then go right ahead!
I just think the above may seem to make the article look less beefy than it is, and get us a better chance of getting in. We have to remember that most articles are totally restricted somewhere between two and three pages.
Lastly, make absolute sure your grammar, spelling, and punctuation are correct before sending it in. No offense, I just mean that we don't want to come off like a bunch of illiterate morons.

[jwasko]

Here is a list of Nerf abbreviations from the HQ's discussion forums.

Although, I don't know that we actually need to go into a great deal of information about all the abbreviations. Actually, they're mostly just abbreviations for blasters anyway.

On the other hand, I think that it would definitely be a good idea to put in things in the body of the article like:

An air restrictor (AR) is anything that slows or restricts the flow of air to the darts/barrel.

Stefans are homemade darts, most commonly made out of foam backer rod (FBR, also known as caulk saver), a weight, and hot glue (used to attach the weight to the foam).

Also, I just want to bring up a point: are we actually going to be writing the article itself, or just an essay to garner interest from the magazine?

I'm not sure what difference it would make to us as far as what we should write; I just wanted to bring up the issue.

[Ubermensch]

This is great! People are actually getting into my idea! Anyway, there are several types of articles in MAKE.

A feature is just a page or two describing something, with supplementing infoboxes. A project is several pages of hands-on instructions.

[Ubermensch]

Sorry 'bout the double post, but come on, people! Lets write this essay! I really want to see Nerf in MAKE.

[bobafett109]

Ok, i'll get on writing it. I have a couple hours where I can use the computer uninterrupted and i'll get started on the essay. I'll log on to AIM as bfett109, and probably yahoo IM as bobafett109. Contact me, i'm open to suggestions.

[Ubermensch]

Yes! I'm afraid I can't IM you, though.

Come on, people! I really want this to be something everyone can contribute to.

Boba, once you finish, you should post the essay in a new topic, so people can suggest revisions. The submission guidelines on the site say the essay should be 600-1,000 words.

[bobafett109]

Then E-mail me at bobafett109@yahoo.com or PM me if you can't IM, and want to contact.

[Ubermensch]

Sure. Nice essay, by the way.

[AnOoB]

i'm sorry to reply to such an old topic but make magazine made an article about nerf:

http://makezine.com/...nting-business/