1.People that actually build stuff typically do not need or want to use the designs of other people.
2. Nobody is going to invest the time or money to attempt to duplicate a design that hasn't been built by anyone to confirm that it's even feasible or functional as a blaster.
3. You're unfortunately assuming that posts alone count as contribution. That's just not the case in this community, where emphasis is on promoting Nerf War attendance. And increasing the innovation of the blasters we use to keep said wars interesting.
4. Designs do not equal innovation. Working prototypes do.
1. People that actually build stuff actually do use other people's ideas. Just look at how guns are based off of the blow forward bolt on Spudfiles.
2. That's the whole point of peer review. Using others to check for design flaws to increase the chances of creating working model.
3. Contributing designs and spreading ideas is alot better than keeping an amazing iidea inside your head.
4. The Manhattan Project wasn't made by a single person who had a great idea and put it together. It was the result of the collaboration of hundreds of people working together to create a solid, functioning design. Of course prototypes needed to be developed before the final version was created. I'm not saying that a design alone will lead to a revolution in Nerfing. But what I am saying is that better products often result from better ideas?
saving space
I totally agree that at some point, the designs have to be made to be fully tested. But having the ability to have others check your design before you waste time building something that obviously won't work is an invaluable resource. For example, I designed a spring less, semi auto bolt and valve. I posted it on Spudfiles and was nicely informed that the front of the bolt had to have more surface area in order to work. Simple facts like that allowed me to fix my design before building it, saving me the money that it would have cost to build another design and the time it would have taken me to fix a problem that I would have otherwise not have known how to solve.
In addition, it's sometimes just not feasible to build multiple models when they're epensive to build or consume a lot of time. Having a peer reviewed design eliminates most of the work required to create a working product. I'm not saying that having it peer reviewed will automaticaly gurantee success, but it sure will help a lot.
Edited by Shadow 92, 15 August 2008 - 09:56 PM.