19 replies to this topic

[NerfMonkey]

Slow the Fuck Down Already

This is my first non-tactics related article. It's also one of about five ideas that have been swimming around in my head for the past few days and I'm glad to be writing about it (if Zach hadn't asked me to write articles for his site I never would've put my thoughts down in words). This article is about something that's been bothering me a lot and is something that could potentially harm the NIC. I'm talking about new members jumping headfirst into the community, moving too fast and getting burnt out. It's a trend that's been increasing in momentum, especially in the last year or so. Maybe I'm just becoming more observant as I post less and less, or maybe I'm just a cranky bastard looking for an excuse to rant, but it seems like there are too many people who come to the forums, post some really awesome shit and then disappear. I'm not going to throw out any names, but some people who've been guilty of this have had some really great resources available to them and could have done some great things for the community. But probably 75% quit posting for whatever reason, whether it be that they lost interest, ran out of money to dump into Nerf (doubtful) or are just on a temporary hiatus (very doubtful, as I don't think every new member that posts cool stuff would go on a "vacation" from Nerf at roughly the same point in their career). It irritates me not only because of the benefits the rest of the NIC could possibly reap from their work and in most cases willingness to share it with us, but also because it sets a bad example for lurkers on the forums. I can imagine seeing someone come up with great new ideas, posting them, getting kudos on them and then leaving. "Why did they leave?" I may think, "It must've been because they didn't get enough out of Nerf to stick with it. Maybe this hobby isn't for me after all." That probably doesn't happen with most of these potential members, but I can almost guarantee that there are a few that go through this thought pattern and decide not to register on the forums, or leave altogether. Maybe these people are just dumbshits that we don't need in the community, but some of them could have something truly unique to share with us and get turned away by watching other cool people (again, not saying names) leaving after only a month or two.
When I joined the Nerfing community I took it slow. I joined NerfHaven in late November of 2004 and didn't post my first real mod until probably June of the following year. That's a full seven months before posting a real mod (I'm not counting that RF20 mod that ended up being a monumental failure). I joined NHQ in January of 2005 and posted mods at the same times that I did on NH. I've slowed down a bit but I'm still going strong, and I know it's because I entered the NIC, made some stupid posts, got yelled at and THEN posted writeups and articles and such. I took my time and that's why after almost three years in the community Nerf still interests me. Some people like boltsniper, Carbon, Forsaken_angel24, CaptainSlug and probably some others I'm forgetting came into the community and started immediately posting neat stuff, kept going at a steady pace and are still interested. And all of them have lives outside of Nerf to boot!
Bottom line, when you enter the community, read up, get educated, be enthusiastic, but DON'T start going crazy right off the bat or you WILL get burnt out, you WILL lose interest and you WILL have wasted your money on Nerf.

NerfMonkey

[The Crackerjack Man]

I know im not one of the oldest or most experienced nerfers but I can atleast say that pretty much everything in the post above me is true. Ive been in the NIC for somewere around 7 to 8 months not much right, but I have seen almost everything that hes talking about.

[CaptainSlug]

Key to not burning out or having a crappy "debut" is searching for and reading tons of older threads. Don't reply to them, just absorb the information so you don't waste time and effort recreating existing material.
And then attend a war or have your own locally. The point of modifying guns after all is so that you can use them, not so that you can get a virtual pat-on-the-back.

Edited by CaptainSlug, 24 June 2007 - 12:35 AM.

[Forsaken angel24]

I started modifying Nerf guns to have an edge in Nerf Assassin games.
Assassin games aren't always going on but I am always working on something.
It is a hobby to me. Take a Nerf gun. See what it can do. Then open the gun up and let my imagination run wild. Take the realistic goals from that imagination and create a method of turning a vision into a reality.

Before I even modified a Nerf gun I read through every single mod write up on Nerf world.
Then I started to apply my knowledge. Once you know the basics you can get an idea on what will and wont work.

My very first mod was a Nitefinder. I was shocked at the difference after I did a basic Crayola barrel replacement.

I would love to see more members sticking around and I would love to see all the unique and different ways a nerf gun can be modified.

Nerf monkey is right though. Slow the fuck down. Don't just hop on the boards and expect to do the most mind blowing complicated mods to date. Start slow and build your way up.

Good article Nerf Monkey.

I hope Kbarker is still around and I pray he is available to make more RF20 spacer plates. Those plates are amazing.

[frost vectron]

I'm going crazy, but there's no way in hell I'm gonna burn out. The only thing that can conceivably happen is if I run out of guns to mod--though that seems unlikely at this point. I've got a nice big line of guns waiting to be modded: some mine, others are friends'.

I have slowed down a little bit here at NH, but the reason is that I'm actually getting out there and flinging the foam. I actually have several mod writeups I need to get to, even though they have been done for weeks now.

I enjoyed the article, but I do hope the observed trend does not continue.

[Rambo]

I'm not so sure I agree with your article. First off, to whoever mentioned KBarker, he hasn't 'left'. He just doesn't post much. He lurks a lot and was online on Friday. What you have to realize is that people have priorities. If someone's priority is Nerf, great, we have another diehard member. If not, that's not your place to insult them. They have school, work, family, friends, etc. that they put higher than Nerf and there's nothing you can do about it.

Also, I see no guarentee that someone that starts slow is going to stick around. With over seven thousand members and what, a few hundred active ones, I'm not so sure how 'fast' you get into it matters. You stated quite a few examples of people who jump right in and stick with it, but none of the ones who lose interest. I know you don't want to insult them, but it's hard for me to see what you mean without examples.

Remember, many people are conservative posters and don't want to waste time in General Nerf, Trading, Homemades, Off Topic, even Wars(because there's none around them).

[NerfMonkey]

I'm not so sure I agree with your article. First off, to whoever mentioned KBarker, he hasn't 'left'. He just doesn't post much. He lurks a lot and was online on Friday. What you have to realize is that people have priorities. If someone's priority is Nerf, great, we have another diehard member. If not, that's not your place to insult them. They have school, work, family, friends, etc. that they put higher than Nerf and there's nothing you can do about it.

I didn't 'insult' ANYONE with this article. I used the word dumbshit to describe people who MIGHT go through the thought process I outlined in the article. I understand the priorities point by this time and if you don't think I do after Nerfing for two and a half years you must think I'm pretty damn stupid.

Also, I see no guarentee that someone that starts slow is going to stick around. With over seven thousand members and what, a few hundred active ones, I'm not so sure how 'fast' you get into it matters. You stated quite a few examples of people who jump right in and stick with it, but none of the ones who lose interest. I know you don't want to insult them, but it's hard for me to see what you mean without examples.

If you thought I was insulting people by posting an article about what I see from my own point of view happening with people in the community, don't tell me to use examples of people who are doing exactly what I am trying to prevent by posting this. I can agree with you that there is no guarantee of someone who starts out slow staying around for any longer than someone who starts out fast, but most of the members you see here don't post a new mod every few weeks and the ones you see who've been here for a year or more are that way too, with the exception of the people I mentioned in the article. It's harder to prove something like this in a community with only a few hundred active members, tops, but if you look around you should notice the same thing.

Remember, many people are conservative posters and don't want to waste time in General Nerf, Trading, Homemades, Off Topic, even Wars(because there's none around them).

I don't see what that has to do with anything. The focus of my article was the mods forum.

Thanks for the constructive criticism.

[The Infinite Shindig]

Most major organizations have large drop out rates. Since this an online community of teenagers and adults who don't want to admit they grew up, you are bound to find a high drop out rate. I still don't know what I want to eat in ten minutes let alone what I'll be doing a year from now. If the community keeps its resources going to provide a good experience for those who come along as they please, that's really great. Let's keep a good knowledge base going and get active war crews all over the country, and I guarantee drop out rates will be solved.

You make some good points, and I think with some cleaning up, we could bump it on over to the articles section for you. I'll talk to you more over PM.

[shadowkid33]

...Since this an online community of teenagers and adults who don't want to admit they grew up,...

That's great Shindig, added that hilarious quote to my signature, while playing with my butthole.

[LastManAlive]

I know I'm not that good a member on here, but I think I can be a moderate example of trying to be bass-ass too fast.

But hey, at least I have been to a Nerf war and want and plan to go to others.

[Rambo]

I'm not so sure I agree with your article. First off, to whoever mentioned KBarker, he hasn't 'left'. He just doesn't post much. He lurks a lot and was online on Friday. What you have to realize is that people have priorities. If someone's priority is Nerf, great, we have another diehard member. If not, that's not your place to insult them. They have school, work, family, friends, etc. that they put higher than Nerf and there's nothing you can do about it.

I didn't 'insult' ANYONE with this article. I used the word dumbshit to describe people who MIGHT go through the thought process I outlined in the article. I understand the priorities point by this time and if you don't think I do after Nerfing for two and a half years you must think I'm pretty damn stupid.

I didn't mean it like that. I meant in a hypothetical sense. I don't feel you insulted anyone with the article.

Also, I see no guarentee that someone that starts slow is going to stick around. With over seven thousand members and what, a few hundred active ones, I'm not so sure how 'fast' you get into it matters. You stated quite a few examples of people who jump right in and stick with it, but none of the ones who lose interest. I know you don't want to insult them, but it's hard for me to see what you mean without examples.

If you thought I was insulting people by posting an article about what I see from my own point of view happening with people in the community, don't tell me to use examples of people who are doing exactly what I am trying to prevent by posting this. I can agree with you that there is no guarantee of someone who starts out slow staying around for any longer than someone who starts out fast, but most of the members you see here don't post a new mod every few weeks and the ones you see who've been here for a year or more are that way too, with the exception of the people I mentioned in the article. It's harder to prove something like this in a community with only a few hundred active members, tops, but if you look around you should notice the same thing.

That's the thing, I don't notice it. I've seen no one offer proof to this, and when I do, I'll shut up quietly.

Remember, many people are conservative posters and don't want to waste time in General Nerf, Trading, Homemades, Off Topic, even Wars(because there's none around them).

I don't see what that has to do with anything. The focus of my article was the mods forum.

Thanks for the constructive criticism.

Right, take KBarker for example. If memory serves he's a busy college student. Yeah, it's summer, so he's probably working. What I'm saying is, he's probably reading the mods forum and posts of interest in other forums once in awhile, but he doesn't feel like responding to threads where people want to contact Hasbro, or what his favorite stuff is. He wants to post meaningful mods or comments on other people's mods. This is shown by his post cound. I think he's posts are 35/42 or so in the mods forum.

[Mantis]

But hey, at least I have been to a Nerf war and want and plan to go to others.

That made me giggle. Does that imply that a lot of people don't actually play with their fancy new modified toys these days? That's a genuine question.

[NerfMonkey]

Most don't for a number of reasons. Some don't have anybody to play with and others are only interested in modding and not actually playing.

[Rover]

Mantis, that made me chuckle too. I got one of my friends interested in modding Nerf. He went out and bought about 5 guns (Magstrike, Rf20, two nitefinders, big blast) and modded them all; breaking the RF20 in the process . After he was done I went to his house to get him to play some nerf, and he wouldn't even come outside. After all the work of modding, he wasn't interested in actually using the blasters (or you can call them guns, if thats how you roll). A week later I convinced him to come join me and another friend in a skirmish, and now he's addicted. Great sucess!

[LastManAlive]

My biggest problem was just getting people to play actually.

When I lived here in Maryland, I would go to the occassional Nerfing with Sinfil and his friends. I think we got up to about a 10 person Nerfing once.

When I moved to West Virginia, I had a tub of Nerf blasters, parts, darts, foam, hot glue, and there was a mess in there too if you don't count what was listed. So I got in the funk of modding all my blasters and buying more and modding them. But for the most part I need to repair/mod/restore guns and get reorganized. I didn't have anything to Nerf with really.

So after all that is through and I have a few guns to work with, I get a few friends to shoot them around in my house. A few ended up buying some and wondering and pondering for hours over what to do. I guess I was wise to just tell them myself and not tell them about the forums or else we would have had 5 more newbs hanging around on here.

And then the in inevitable happened. They finsished modding their guns and didn't want to touch the air outside. After numerous hours of struggling to get them to fire their blaster outside, I gave up and said fine, so I washed my hands with the idea of outside play, pulled out all the stock micros I had then, loaded all the guns up that shot hard enough to need micros inside and the others like the RF20 with stefans and shot me friend. I called him out and ran upstairs. They got the idea and we started Nerfing indoors.

But oh thank the sweet devil himself for the Milton Flea Market and it's grandiare of Airsoft providers. After one of them found out about Airsoft guns, I took mine out of hiding hoping to keep the Nerf alive as long as possible and they got into that. I still haven't tought them NOT to buy guns for 50 bucks a peice. I don't think they know the meaning to P.O.S.

And now I'm here. And I get the chance, money, gawl, whatever you want to call it, to make it to a DCNO. I went through a flat tire to get there and both my father and I had a great time. I don't regret a thing being there. I had planned to come for a long time, I just never could get myself together to make it. I vertually drove 6 hours to a Nerf war from West Virginia. Not sure how far Jersey is from here, but I would say I made one of the longest trips along with the Tenn. family coming up. I call that a pretty big sacrifice. And the best part is, I hope to maybe bring a friend or two next time and do the whole 6 hour trip by myself.


And someone asked if I was going to make it to APOC. Now THAT'S a chuckle to me.

[supercraft99]

Thanks for posting this. I'm an extremely new member, and I was kinda worried about stepping into the mindset you described. But I also didn't want to have fewer posts, maybe looking like I wasn't as devoted to the hobby. Now I have a picture of how some people came into this community, and of how I should begin posting.

[Famine]

Slow the Fuck Down Already

I took my time and that's why after almost three years in the community Nerf still interests me.

Get ready for the end of The Universe kids... I actually agree with Rambo! I don't quite get the point of this article.

You're not reprimanding newbs for posting dozens of useless mod writeups, which I'd agree with. You're not reprimanding those people who spend all their time/energy modding Nerf guns without actually playing a single war, which I'd also agree with. Instead you seem to be lecturing those people who show up, post several worthwhile modifications, and then disappear. I gotta ask, so what?

I like what Shindig said, as long as we have a steady stream of new players anchored by a solid yet slowly rotating base of veterans the community should be fine. People are going to leave, whether because their life demands it, social pressures suggest it, or they just genuinely lose interest. Whatever, I don't think any less of them. If anything the players that take periodic breaks from the community seem to last a lot longer than those that try to maintain a steady stream.

I dunno, you've only been around 3 years dude - should you really be writing an article lecturing people on burn out? I appreciate you trying to add content to the forums but I feel Rambo's post was valid and you kind of jumped all over him.

[NerfMonkey]

I misunderstood what Rambo was trying to say and we've since sorted it out. I didn't jump all over him, I just defended myself.

I'm not trying to reprimand or lecture anyone. I'm trying to encourage people to (as the article's title says) slow down. I don't think less of people that post a few things and leave. I'd just like to see more people stay longer because if they're posting worthwhile things I'd like to see more of it rather than a few weeks or months of cool stuff at regular intervals and then nothing. I also realize three years isn't a long time to have been in the community, but it's a long time compared to three months. I'm not trying to disrespect or yell at anyone. I'm just trying to get them take it easy. Some people do quit posting and reading and even Nerfing because of matters out of their control, but that's not who this article is geared towards. Looking back I definitely did a piss-poor job of conveying that with these sentences:

I'm not going to throw out any names, but some people who've been guilty of this have had some really great resources available to them and could have done some great things for the community. But probably 75% quit posting for whatever reason, whether it be that they lost interest, ran out of money to dump into Nerf (doubtful) or are just on a temporary hiatus (very doubtful, as I don't think every new member that posts cool stuff would go on a "vacation" from Nerf at roughly the same point in their career).

but it was not my intention to give the impression that I think less of or dislike every new member that quits Nerfing because they have things going on that prevent them from doing it anymore. I was aiming it at people who might move too fast, get bored and lose interest.

It bothers me that some people mod guns but don't Nerf, but that's not what this article is about, so I didn't address that. It's been talked about so much that it wouldn't really be worth writing about because I think it's mentioned regularly enough that new people can get all the encouragement they need to get out and play without someone writing an article about it. I didn't feel the same way about this topic, so that was why I did write an article about it. I'm not trying to get praise for writing something, I'm trying to encourage new members to keep interest longer than they might otherwise. Probably very few new members will read it, but it was worth writing if only a handful do and take the advice found in it.

Edited by NerfMonkey, 27 June 2007 - 04:26 PM.

[VACC]

Dude, you're fucking making my head hurt. You're lecturing people for posting worthwhile content while you're wasting your time over thinking this shit? GO FUCKING NERF!! Calling this an article is about the most generous feat of literary bullshit I've ever seen.

[Diablo]

I don't really agree with this article, but I also don't think it's as bad as some of you make it out to be.

I think that the points you made, NerfMonkey, are valid. But, they are only valid to a minority of Nerfers. If anything, I would think that posting a lot of great content that is praised would keep someone interested in Nerf. What annoys me is when people post a lot of shit content, get knocked for it, and then still don't shut up. People like Frost, for example, have been producing great content since day one and are still very interested in Nerf. I think part of the reason for this may be because of what Famine said; a lot of the good members that have been around for awhile have taken periodic breaks. I think this holds true to every long lasting member of the NIC. I've been a member of this community for nearly seven years, and I know that when I first started I tried my hardest to make the biggest contributions. I didn't burn out, but rather I realized that it's not necessary to post a new mod every week. If you have something useful to post, post it by all means. But, you're more likely to burn out if you start forcing yourself to produce new ideas (which, since forced, will probably end up being shit anyway.)

I don't think that this article applies to many of us here, and have not really noticed this trend that you see. I would assume that most people who leave the NIC have not been burnt out, but rather they just don't care about the hobby anymore. They have a surge of "this is new, this is awesome!" but after that initial surge, they just don't find it interesting anymore. It's not burnout, it's just not caring as much anymore.

But in your defense NerfMonkey:
VACC, don't worry about him not Nerfing. He may be over thinking this subject, but he went to PANO last weekend (I think) and he'll be at CANO this Saturday. He might not Nerf 24/7, but he's definitely a member of these forums who still cares about going out and shooting foam.