Here is where you can tell us (the staff) all about your gripes and complaints about pretty much anything that has to do with the board. If there is anything that you can think of that would help us serve YOU better, just post it up here, and we'll see what we can do. The goal here to is make ASF better/cleaner/friendlier to use, as well as to clean up small stuff around the board that has been getting on your nerves. Any suggestions, comments, and concerns are welcome.

Rules:
- Don't post up saying "+1" or other kinds of agreeing statement. If you have something extra to add, feel free to post it up, but simply agreeing with someone does nothing but make clutter in this thread. We'll consider everything posted, so it's useless to repeat something that's already being considered.
- DO NOT complain about other members I.e. "so-and-so isn't being nice to me" or otherwise. We don't want any hard feelings here; this thread is for the betterment of ASF as a board, NOT to complain about other members. If you wish to do that, present your case to a moderator via PM. On the other hand, complaining ABOUT a moderator is a different story. If one of the staff members aren't doing their job in a proper fashion, feel free to explain the situation here.
- If you would like to stay anonymous for whatever reason, simply shoot me or another active mod a PM, and we'll relay it to the rest of the staff. That moderator will abide by whatever level of anonymity you wish, whether you would like to be kept anonymous from the staff as well as the other members.
(These rules are subject to change at any time. This thread will be changed/fixed from time to time, as things pop up as they inevitably do)

So with that said, let the complaining begin!

This post has been edited by hydralover: Jul 1 2009, 01:33 AM

I'd like to see longer editing times. It'd be useful for some types of threads. But have a button that you can click to see all previous edits and the original post.

if you use quotations, it will look for the combination of words in that order.

nieb, that's a great idea... we'll see what happens when admin gets here; I'm not sure if it's possible, lol.

This post has been edited by hydralover: Jul 1 2009, 01:25 AM

I think there needs to be a lesser tolerance of "which gun" threads. They clutter up the board a lot. I don't know if this could be solved by a better search engine or just the search engine being easier to see.

I think that when a user posts a which gun thread the thread should be closed and the user pm'd. Either people need to sign up to be someone who the mods closing the threads can refer the original poster to or the mods can help the posters. I like the first one.

This post has been edited by theyoungone10: Jul 1 2009, 12:38 AM

I think to keep the boards filled with interesting topics pointless, easy to answer question threads should be closed. Ie-Is it legal to airsoft in national park or help me decided on which gun color. These are simple questions that people need to answer for themselves. I mean seriously if they cannot answer these sort of questions do they really belong on this forum. Plus most of the time these threads just cause flaming and unpleasant situations

Alright guys, Non of this +1 stuff please, its almost a rank post. Try something cooler like "I completely agree" or some other kiss-up type post. Lol

Dam Hydra, this thread is going to flood fast.. We need to keep this as clean as possible guys, please.

Constructed Responces/ suggestions only, If its something small please PM one of the mods here on the Forums. Um, To sum up the half page I decided not to post, Please make your posts logical. Hydra stated in the first posts complaints are alowed, so bring them on I guess. Its its a problem you feel one of the mods could handle, Please don't hesitate to contact one of us directly! We are very friendly.

^_^

This post has been edited by airsofthawaii: Jul 1 2009, 01:28 AM

Yeah, I'm sitting here scratching my head, lol. I'll try to make some changes.



So you're saying we're too lenient around here? I'm not sure what can be done about the search engine, wait until admin gets here. In the meantime, how do you think the search engine could be improved?

We already close/leave a friendly message to which gun posts. I remember a few days ago, Scav guided the OP through the search process, and even left the thread open so the original post could be edited. Have you seen differing occurrences?



Well, I wouldn't say that they don't belong on this forum because ASF prides itself on welcoming members of all backgrounds and educating them about airsoft. However, you do bring up a good point about the topics that just make you go "wtf?"

This post has been edited by hydralover: Jul 1 2009, 01:31 AM

I wouldn't say your too lenient. I have seen multiple which gun or pretty vague questions. It could just be you guys haven't got to it yet.
And I think the search engine is overall pretty good.

Overall, I know you guys are working hard and thats all I can ask.

Hm.. next time you see a thread like that, just PM a mod with a link to it, and we'll take care of it.

I'm sure you could always ask for more, that's what this thread is here for

I know... that's exactly why I created a topic in the New Members' section, you should see it there.
I think there actually should be a section of the New Member's forum dedicated to "which gun" threads (the currently allowed type) under a plan much like this (again, my brilliant and flawless idea): http://www.airsoftforum.com/board/Members-...on-t150773.html

I think there should be a sticky in General Discussion that is titled in BOLD writing "THE BEST GUN IS...". The inside would be with a guide to some of the best of each model of gun and price range. Of course, somewhere in it it would have to tell them that there is no "Best Gun".

Now we just need someone who knows enough about Airsoft and is willing to dedicate enough time to make such a thread...

I think it could work. Every time someone makes a "Which Gun" topic, a Mod can just link him to that and close the thread...

The main thing is to make it VISIBLE so all of the impatient Newbies can see it before they post, and to make the guide itself (which will no doubt be quite large) easy to navigate, so they don't just give up and make a new topic.

There is one thing I have been meaning to do for a while, make a comprehensive list of every review ever done for every gun. I think a list such as this would be invaluable for players. for example


Classic Army G36C-
Forums-
Arnies Review
Airsoft Forum Review
Youtube-
YT1pt1
YT1pt2

and so on and so on

of course keeping out less than proffessional reviews on youtube and forums that just say that the gun is Really Cool leet and whatnot. I would really like to take this on but to be honest I cant do it alone if people would like to volunteer and knock out a specific company (like all of G&G's guns) that would be greatly appreciated. I really think that something like this would be of great use to any airsofter and would cut down the which gun threads

Ficalos - for now, I'm going to simply link every which gun post to Kav's thread. Kav has kindly agreed to let us borrow his thread for whatever purposes we need, as well as answer any questions that newcomers may have. Until we can get things more organized, this will be the temporary solution.

Serano - that's a huge project. lol. However, let's wait and see what's admin's new review software is going to look like (it should be installed today).

Does anyone have any suggestions/ideas on how to improve ASF other than which gun threads/reviews? Not that we're done discussing it, but I'm wondering what else you guys are thinking about.

This post has been edited by hydralover: Jul 1 2009, 10:19 AM

I really think that the search engine needs to be a little easier/better. The Google embedded search engine only brings up print pages for me, and the forum search engine often doesn't work at all for me. I was once searching for a review on a brand of bb's and the search engine refused to search. Also if you can, make the search engine button larger, or more visible (IE orange blaze), it might stop some of the newbie questions.

I think the modifications section should be divided. either by internal mods vs. external mods. or by gun type.

One more suggestion...

I think that the "Airsoft Stories, Scenarios, and Tactics Discussion" should be moved up to the "General" subdivision of the Forum. It is one of my favorite Subforums and I like to share my stories, but no one ever goes there when it's way down at the bottom.


Ok, how many of you didn't even know that section existed? Be honest!

Actually I have a pet peeve about the forum, when creating a topic title it doesn't allow you to put multiple letters capitalized for example AEG is Aeg. This actually bugs the living daylights out of me is there a way to fix this?




EDIT: Also why are the user controls on the very top? it was more efficient when it was just above the topics.

This post has been edited by Scavengre: Jul 1 2009, 11:15 AM

Yes it is possible and is an option in the AdminCP of the board.

About the which gun questions:
It's extremely hard to compile a list of "best guns" or "best guns for your style" because of how dynamic the airsoft gun market is. We have new stuff coming out constantly and really the only way to see what is best for you, and the real reason we have discussion forums, is by researching and seeing what other's experiences with certain guns are.

That is why we ask you to research, that is why we point you to the search feature.

This post has been edited by Tux: Jul 1 2009, 11:15 AM

I was gonna say that I'd like to see a slightly more organized review section, like ASR's, on here. there are plenty of awesome revies on ASF, sometimes it just takes a while to find waht you're looking for. Using a humbnail from the review like ASR does would also make it easier, and simply organizing by company would probably make things a whole lot easier. But I guess admin is already on top of this. I'm curious to see how it looks when it's installed.

How can we make the search engine better? Besides the appearance...

huh. I didn't even know we had a google embedded search. I only ever use the forum search engine, which works decently well (for me at least). However, it doesn't search for any input that is 3 characters or less (IIRC).




that annoys me as well.

As for the user controls - the only explanation I can think of is ad clicks.

This post has been edited by hydralover: Jul 1 2009, 11:44 AM

I'll be blunt: I don't like any of the forum skins. They're all either too dark, too bright, or have weird formatting. MILSIM-2009 is probably the best, but I dislike how the icons in View New Posts don't show which threads I've posted in. Green is probably the best format, although to "fix" it to be easier on the eyes would probably need the buttons and such remade to a darker colour. Yea, I'm just complaining because I have an incredibly bright computer screen.

CHANGE IT BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS! NOW!

why?

I hate the way it's set-up, I hate it with a passion. Also, change+me=bad.

This post has been edited by osu5312: Jul 1 2009, 03:02 PM

I only have two complaints.

1. The control bar should be moved back down to where it was before.

2. Please, Please, PLEASE!! Lower the search criteria to 3 characters so we can search terms like USP, Mp7, or the plethora of weapons with 3 letter names.

And one minor gripe, agreeing with what Scavengre had said about topic titles and the capitalization and decapitalization of letters.

Thank You

I hate to say it, but the three letter restriction is there because indexing every three letter word in the forum will take a TON of resources. That said, I also really want it done since almost everything around these parts is a TLA (three-letter-acronym)

So as to not make this simply a +1 post, I'm going to have to say that the reviews forum should be changed. If I want information on a particular GBB, for instance, I often have more luck searching (manually, of course, since I can't seem to get the search feature to work most of the time) through the Gas Powered Handguns, SMGs, and Rifles forum instead of the Reviews one.

A centralized review database is a good idea, and I would be glad to help. I'd suggest assembling a team of members to collect reviews and (depending on how many people you get) splitting them up by manufacturer so there's no (or as close to it as possible) overlap.

Sorry for suggesting something done on ASR, but if duplicate threads about extremely similar subjects are made, please link the OP to the original/earlier topic, then close the new one. Saves forum space and eliminates redundancy.

I know!
I don't exactly know how (I'm an ideas guy, not a details guy), but some sort of system NEEDS to be implemented to attract newbies to the pinned topics more, especially the rules. How about before you join, you have to read all of the rules, but you can always just skip right through it, right? Well, if anyone's played world of warcraft, you know when it makes you read the terms and conditions after you patch? Well it has a special system in place so that you have to actually slowly scroll through the entire thing, and if you just skip to the bottom it won't let you hit "accept".

I can do longer edit times, what did you have in mind? By the way, "Authorized Sellers" Do have longer edit times as an added bonus for them.

This is a really hard thing to deal with. We try to educate newbies on this and there are dozens of topics, many of them pinned all over the place to reduce the "which gun" type questions. Some are legit questions and many are not. It's just difficult to handle them. We try the best we can and we do try to help newbies as well as point them to the right direction, but MANY people just don't read pinned topics.

Heck, we got moderators and staff members who don't read pinned topics or even know about the google search box at the top of the forum lol (sorry, had to harrass you on that one hydra).

again, this is another touchy subject that is difficult to deal with when you have thousands of members and visitors who don't read or are brand new to the forums or to airsoft. They signup and are excited, like the board, and post away... Often times without reading or searching anything.

We try to be as nice about it as possible because we don't want to run off all the newbies as many other boards do when they ask dumn questions. But it's our job as staff, moderators and EVEN veteran members to guide and assist them so that we can all shape them into educated players. It just takes time and we have to be patient with people / newbies.



YOUR WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED! I have just fixed that for you, thanks for letting us know - we appreciate your input.

WITH IT OFF HOWEVER, MANY PEOPLE WILL TYPE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS BECAUSE THEY EITHER THINK IT LOOKS COOL OR THEY DON'T REALIZE IT'S NOT PROPER FORUM EDICATE TO "SHOUT" WITH ALL-CAPS... BUT WE'LL TRY IT LIKE THIS AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS AND HOW YOU GUYS LIKE IT LIKE THIS. LET ME KNOW IF I NEED TO CHANGE IT BACK

I moved the member bar to the top of the board like that for two main reasons... #1 that is normally where it is on many other websites and where it should be as that is the very first thing a member should do (log in or register). #2 reason is because if it is not up there, the sponsor banner in the corner pretty much gets ignored. Now with the member bar just above it, you have no choice but to see and acknowledge the sponsor's banners. Rest assured however, that those banners are from people that are paying to support us - no spam there - so please consider them when you need to buy something. If they know that advertising here is cost effective and productive for them, they will continue paying.. If it is not, then obviously they will not.

I agree and YOUR WISH has also been granted! This is something that I have been working on for the last few days. I just got it installed today and I / we will be testing it and working out the bugs... Stay tuned for details (watch the announcement forum and the top of the board index)

No problem, well if you wan to go on a mission and find something you like for IPB 2.3.6, please let me know:
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=ipb+ski...;fp=-WPIvmzc7xw



Is having the member bar at the top of the board starting to grow on you now or is it totally unbearable? It really needs to stay where it is now, but if the majority hate it - let me know, I can move it back or compromise, but if you read what I just wrote about the reasons for it to be there, I think you can understand and get used to it. If not, please let me know.



You're right, the 3 letter search restriction does use more resources, but I have enabled it - let's see what happens. You'll notice a slight delay now when searching as its going to be a more intensive search now.

The Review Section is about to be unveiled, stand by. If you want to assist, we'd love to have you help us. We can use all the quality review people we can find as what's about to be unleashed is pretty much a blank slate right now.

No problem, Well, we actually do try to do this here but as I said, people just don't read and so we have to be as lenient with them as possible so as to not drive the newbies out of here as many other "newbie bashing airsoft boards" do. It's a very fine line as you know and I think we do a pretty good job of finding happy middle ground for everyone.

Nice job admin. As for the newbie/which gun threads, I have an idea of how to handle those. I still need to work out a few things, though. If anyone has any ideas on this topic, feel free to post up or shoot me a PM.

This post has been edited by hydralover: Jul 5 2009, 04:22 PM

One possible solution is to create a sub-forum or thread which is dedicated to posting "which gun" or "versus" questions and that way these questions won't clutter the other forums.

This post has been edited by theyoungone10: Jul 5 2009, 04:58 PM

Got that I'm thinking a thread.

Any other ideas?

Thief!

Nah, just kidding... and sorry to steal Aries quest, but I did find a couple of nice-looking skins for you to take a look at, admin:
http://www.ipbcustomize.com/IPB-23x-skin-Chrome-t2811.html
http://theskinnery.com/forum/index.php?aut...um&album=36

Several sites also make custom skins, that might be a good option...

This post has been edited by Kavurcen: Jul 6 2009, 02:32 AM

It might be cool to add a section to Gear and Supplies for Airsoft Traps, Grenades, and Distraction Devices (not grenade launchers but the actual 40mm grenades and hand grenades) because as of now I am afraid to post things about them because I do not want to put them in the wrong place and get flamed to death.

Erm. You won't get flamed to death. The most that will happen is someone politely tells you it's not allowed. Just read all the rules, and follow those.

If you're talking about explosives, discussion is not allowed for safety/liability reasons. If you're talking about airsoft grenades, there is no reason not to post as long as it's in the right section: Under Gear and Supplies, "Accessories - MISC. AEG Attachments, & Conversion Kits
This is the place to discuss Grenade launchers, fake & dummy suppressors & flash hiders, attachments, replacement stocks, handguards and conversions. "

I wasn't talking about explosives. I was just saying that there isnt a designated spot for airsoft traps and hand grenades (I.e. tornado grenades, thumper co2 grenades,claymores/other mines, etc...) So, In the future I will just post in the Accessories category. I guess I was just trying to be very specific as to where I post. It says grenade launchers, but not grenades. Thanks.

This post has been edited by mk96sniper: Jul 6 2009, 12:29 PM

Yeah, I figured you weren't, so I added a bit more. I just put that explosives part just in case.

I guess just stick it in the Accessories section. I see what you're saying (it's titled "AEG attachments), but there isn't a better place right now. We'll see what we can do.

Thanks for being careful

This post has been edited by hydralover: Jul 6 2009, 12:36 PM

Require the members to be a certain age before joining.

No.

Haha.

Unlimited editing time on original posts, in the BST Section. Then people don't have to read through a bunch of stuff to figure out new prices, what's left, etc. I am not even sure if that can be done.....

Being able to insert more than one quote, rather than using Ctrl+C - Ctrl+V. I don't know what it is for you Mac users though.