6 replies to this topic

[shandsgator8]

I know there's been some talk or concern about the Nerf community going to other sites like facebook. Could one reason be that it's too cumbersome for people to join NH? They have to wait for approval and when they get it, they're limited in how they can post or PM. I can't blame someone from relying on facebook or reddit for informing others about Nerf wars or events given how so many people who are interested aren't allowed to post on NH.

 

Maybe making it easier to joining NH might keep more people from using other sites? Or has NH already gotten rid of these restrictions?

[Birch]

Nerfhaven is strict for one reason, as far as I'm concerned, trolls. Nerfhaven wants to be a formal place where geeks can geek out. Not a place where nerds are made fun of by cowards behind their computer screens. This is a place where we take silly things seriously, not get made fun of by. 

[CaliforniaPants]

joining is very easy, just as easy as any other forum. people are put off by the post limit as a new member, but the goal is to encourage people to read more and get a feeling for the place and not just post fifteen threads immediately. if you notice a lot of the forum is very "clean" in that its not full of threads with like one reply saying "hey cool idea" and thats it. this makes it way easier to get right to what you're looking for be it help or write ups or whatever. this means a nice and smooth experience for new people registered or unregistered.

[Langley]

Incidentally, it is now possible to create an account using Facebook, which bypasses the captcha and email validation stages. You can also tie your existing account to your facebook account if you look in your user settings.

[Meaker VI]

joining is very easy, just as easy as any other forum. people are put off by the post limit as a new member, but the goal is to encourage people to read more and get a feeling for the place and not just post fifteen threads immediately. if you notice a lot of the forum is very "clean" in that its not full of threads with like one reply saying "hey cool idea" and thats it. this makes it way easier to get right to what you're looking for be it help or write ups or whatever. this means a nice and smooth experience for new people registered or unregistered.

 

And joining is much easier now than it has been in the past. The post limit and new member restrictions were put in place to automate registration while still keeping the place clean - prior to that the admins validated all the new members by hand. I don't remember if I was in or just missed the group that actually had to write an essay as part of the joining process, but it took months to be validated either way.

 

I do admit though, I'm not a fan of this fracture in the community. I've just started to branch out and found I need to check youtube and reddit (and apparently I should be checking facebook, but stuff posted there doesn't show up in google searches so as far as I'm concerned that information is lost to the depths of the internet) to get information on new blasters, mods, and internals. With the plethera of new stock blasters that would have been bleeding-edge one-offs in Homemades just a few years ago, I'm surprised that there isn't more activity.

[Ice Nine]

(I should probably start this post off with a disclaimer that I refuse to use Facebook because I hate it.)

 

(and apparently I should be checking facebook, but stuff posted there doesn't show up in google searches so as far as I'm concerned that information is lost to the depths of the internet)

 

I work in data analysis and consistently I see that Facebook content has zero tail. It gets posted and then it gets buried. It's unsearchable. It may be the single worst closed network available for data archiving.

 

Facebook is great for image hosting and event planning. These two things are pretty highly valued in the Nerf community, but it also offers a mechanism for immediate recognition for contributions. I'm sure there are people who like the feeling of a post of one of their guns getting a certain number of likes and whatever, and in the moment it offers a decent method for discussion in the comment section.

 

But, as soon as that post is pushed off a group page into one of the endless loading sections, it can only be found by going into the gallery of the person who originally posted it, and maybe not even then.

 

NerfHaven remains the best archival system available for information. I think that the availability of instant gratification from other services contributes to the slowdown on the forums, but Langley has done a great job of expediting the sign-up process from the several month waiting period and so I'd say that the reputation of NerfHaven is the primary reason for people not signing up.

Edited by Ice Nine, 08 December 2015 - 01:21 PM.

[shandsgator8]

Thanks for the information and answers.