My last post about ts.com and This new forum will find success if.......

As a moderator of another forum that I seen grow from a forum THIS size to 18000 ACTIVE members and 91000 plus members and is a PAID format to be on it. You can say I have seen it all from a few members that were broken records bleeding the same old dribble being banned to massive uprisings of the masses when it went from free to pay and other rogue forums start and die.

The last comments I will say about ts.com.

They started with David and good intentions which is why they found success. A community of people with the same interests. The new owners bought it as a investment and the only care about the "community" was to make sure the heard kept putting in quality content so they would have something to sell. And sell they are doing.

Some will say I have a axe to grind as I was selling the wad hoppers. But I am here to say I was not selling them anymore and made it public when they were gone, that was it. As for profit you make a token of 20.00 on a set. The true drive was to make a product that my fellow shooters could use and have some fun doing it. Any profits were a token. But now that I have established money was not a motive lets look at how ts.com stifled people like me in our hobby. ie, Yvonne, Papacharly, the guy that makes the shell cutters are just a few off the top of my head that were asked as well to pay the 1200.00 per year...Oh wait they offered a one time of 75.00 a month. While that seems reasonable I can tell you that is more than I made in a year off hoppers and I can safely say that is true for others I listed. I do run my own business as well and am not against profits at all. They just need to pick who is vendors with a scalpel and not a shotgun.

While they are holding ground on this new policy they are scrambling to find a way to back that truck up. They have taken paid vendors which actually pays them money and put them in a area where members admittedly say..."I never have to look at there stuff again" and taken Yvonnes stuff and made it not available. They have in one swoop made both parties upset. This is just one example of the captain hitting the ice berg and turning a blind eye.

I see the future there and what is coming, take this for what you will. They have to start by leaning on vendors to get income first step. They will crowd the content of forum with more banner ads, then will move into selling vendors ads as auto inserts. So a new thread will have a advertisement auto reply in body of thread. If they can keep momentum you will start seeing the admins posting about slowing servers etc. etc. Then they will announce they have to CHARGE members a small annual fee for hardware. It will start out so small you will think no big deal...then you will realize one day you are paying 30.00 bucks a year to see more and more vendor ads. At the same time having a forum full of "facebook" type posters with no real valuable content.

I will not add content nor leave content to a site that will continue to use that momentum against us. Without content that members provide they have nothing. This is the last comment I will publicly make on them.


The success of this forum will depend on the "content" that I refer to. If the content here continues to bash the ATA and be negative I fear for this forum. While I may agree on some things it is never a good thing to start out bashing.

I believe this forum has the potential to be what David ran the old forum like.

 

good post

 

HiMark: This site is not and never has Bashed the ATA, I am not Bashing the ATA, What all have been POINTING OUT is the unnecessary changes the EC & BOD made w/o Delegate approval or running it by them for input, Just making changes across the board, Target Distance, angles, and Speed, absolutely never needed change, The wholesale Yardage reductions of 2 yards, Not once but Twice, and then the advent of 18 yds Hdcp, what a joke. Then Wagner's input of (for ATA Points) Bull Crap. They the EC and BOD is ruining ATA Integrity, At one time the ATA Integrity was very high, but not now. This site wants to bring back the Integrity of the ATA to what it once was.

Do you Remember when the President of the ATA was a Non-Paid position, only a small stipend? It was an honor to serve on the EC and BOD and they had respect for the sport.

If I make a comment or Brad Dysinger or Dave Berlet it is absolutely not bashing, Some from the other site that come on here want to make statements of Bashing, BASHING IS NOT HAPPENING.

This site is not under the control of the ATA, but for the betterment of ATA Trapshooting.

A group of concerned Trapshooters have dedicated their time to try and bring back the ATA to what it once was.

 

I used to donate to David once sometimes twice a year knowing it was not cheap to keep TS.Com going plus the updates all the time ... I 'm not sure what if any deals David had with the vendors but I do know he was very generous with his time and $$ to keep it going ... TS.Com will not survive if they start a pay as you play system after it was a virtually free site for so many years ... I don't count any donations as a cost factor or pay for play because it was never manditory ... I wish them well, glad to have a second place to go to though not in place of because the more I come to this site the less I feel the need for the other ... I guess we will all see what happens sooner or later ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

While you may see it as constructive debate most will perceive it as bashing. I am just saying. If you really want to know put a real poll (one you can vote at) and ask the population how it is perceived? Make it a simple yes or no if bashing or positive.

 

"perceive it as bashing"

That my friend is an understatement

There is room for another site but constant barrage of insults to another site, it's members and related organizations is not a good way to start.

 

It is rough to take sides when both sides are throwing stones.

 

Ken,
Sounds like the Democrates and Republicans telling each other who screwed up what first, as if that matters ... I do not see any threat to anyone or anything when it comes down to TS.Com versus Americantrapsooters.com or vice/versa ... In the mean time we all get screwed ... wpt ... (yac) ...

 

You're right Bill it's always the little guy.

 

An opinion is just that,an opinion. Just my 2 cents. That's why I love reading this stuff.

Rants,raves and opinions. Love this site.

 

When I was on the OSTA board TSC.Com was my main way to communicate with the Ohio shooters, the EC, and the main body of old ATA shooters that had quit but were still interested. Although I freely stated my opinions I also tried to answer questions of new and old shooters alike. All the BS from big don and dr.longshot was entertainment, nothing more, I found Neil's charts laughable but mostly stayed out of his way. Only when someone took a shot at me would I fire back, except for Taylor and Hampton because I've known them for 40 years and was trying to warn shooters what was coming.

Through all those years I was never thrown off or even warned by David or a moderator. I enjoyed many private e-mails and lots of phone calls from all over the USA from shooters who I knew or had never met that shared my concerns. TSC was informative, combative, but most of all fun. I'm not a tec geek but I love the ability to screw with the powers that be from the comfort of my office. When the new guys took over I tried to log on but couldn't, it just became a habit I dropped over the summer and fall. Just like I told Carl Chadwell once, the longer you don't shoot the easier it is. After three years I honestly don't miss registered shooting one bit.

I also don't think this site should become PC or falsely positive for positives sake alone. If everybody agrees nothing is accomplished. I wish ---- well, and I will be on here when my time permits. Brad