INGO's explosive growth!

[Blue Tile Spook]

Originally Posted by shooter521

OK, so a fellow INGO'er was heard to say at a recent event that "the heyday of INGO has passed" - meaning that we've reached the point of diminishing returns with regard to membership growth. Continued growth will mean more newbies, trolls, disagreements/fights, duped threads, etc., more headaches for the mods, and possibly more stringent codes of conduct, heavier moderation, and higher fees.

I've seen what has happened to ARFcom and Glocktalk over the years (I belong to both sites, but spend virtually no time at either anymore), and I don't want to see INGO head down that path. But by the same token, there's something to be said for having strength in numbers. So I guess I'm on the fence.

Your thoughts?

Have you seen Fenway's gun safe? Or his "super secret" gun safe? Or the hidden door that leads to his secret lair with attached gun room?

Nah, me neither. But I have trust that he can handle most anything that goes on here and he has given access to the MODS to his BAN BUTTON, so I feel safe, regardless of trolls.

[Scutter01]

Originally Posted by shooter521

OK, so a fellow INGO'er was heard to say at a recent event that "the heyday of INGO has passed" - meaning that we've reached the point of diminishing returns with regard to membership growth. Continued growth will mean more newbies, trolls, disagreements/fights, duped threads, etc., more headaches for the mods, and possibly more stringent codes of conduct, heavier moderation, and higher fees.

I've seen what has happened to ARFcom and Glocktalk over the years (I belong to both sites, but spend virtually no time at either anymore), and I don't want to see INGO head down that path. But by the same token, there's something to be said for having strength in numbers. So I guess I'm on the fence.

Your thoughts?

We (mods) have been routinely accused of being far too uptight and over-moderating the board. That may be true, but I think it's gone a long way towards keeping us a tight-knit group. ARFcom is lightly moderated, GT is moderated hardly at all. Anyone remember packing.org and what it was like just before it went offline forever? The place was a cesspool.

Will continued growth eventually hurt INGO? I don't think so. I think we have a cohesive and responsible staff and we have a membership dedicated to protecting the site. I'm confident that we'll be around for a long time.

[printcraft]

Originally Posted by shooter521

OK, so a fellow INGO'er was heard to say at a recent event that "the heyday of INGO has passed" - meaning that we've reached the point of diminishing returns with regard to membership growth. Continued growth will mean more newbies, trolls, disagreements/fights, duped threads, etc., more headaches for the mods, and possibly more stringent codes of conduct, heavier moderation, and higher fees.

I've seen what has happened to ARFcom and Glocktalk over the years (I belong to both sites, but spend virtually no time at either anymore), and I don't want to see INGO head down that path. But by the same token, there's something to be said for having strength in numbers. So I guess I'm on the fence.

Your thoughts?

Newbies are only for a time, a couple of months in and they can learn alot if they stick around and are usually thankful to be informed
by the members of this from. This place is a great source of information.

Duped threads can be merged, again more trouble for the mods. MORE HEADACHES.
More mods? I still don't know exactly how they do manage to keep track of reoccuring threads.

Mod Question: Do you have a list or just keep all that stuff in your head?
EXAMPLE: as far as remembering the other 10 times or threads someone posts about the ammo encoding bill?
I get about 20 projects at a time crammed in and I start to miss stuff.

Trolls and drive by posters are pretty easy to spot and are usually dealt
with by the regulars. There are people with vastly different opinions who
like to argue but they are NOT trolls and their viewpoints are welcomed.

Not sure about the "higher fees"?

[Scutter01]

Originally Posted by printcraft

Mod Question: Do you have a list or just keep all that stuff in your head
EXAMPLE as far as remembering the other 10 times or threads someone posts about the ammo encoding bill?
I get about 20 projects at a time crammed in and I start to miss stuff.

We're just awesome that way.

Seriously, as a group we tend to read pretty much every thread. We've added mods as necessary to keep a handle on things. You get used to noticing similar threads.

Not sure about the "higher fees"?

Fenway has always said that INGO will always be free. Of course, things change and he may ultimately not be able to keep that promise forever, but I believe him when he says it's his goal.

[RogerB]

personally IMO I think this forum can have a long healthy life.

As long as there are individuals that really care about our rights to own and shoot guns, be it handgun or long guns.

As long as those same individuals maintain the mental thought process of "oh, we have a new member, I'll help them in anyway I can and be patient with them ".

Instead of "oh a new member, whats this stupid F'er think he/she knows about anything" mentality. Or the "what? I gotta PAY for something? I wanted it for FREE" mentality....

those things will destroy any forum.

again thats just a simple opinion of a simple man...carry on...

Good on ya Mike for creating this site!

[esrice]

Sure we Mods clean things up a bit, organize here and there, and remove problems when necessary, but the real credit for the continued responsible growth goes to the membership. Those that actively participate and are here to help others and continue to teach the message of responsible gun ownership give INGO its wings.

Without you there would be 6 of us staring at each other wondering what to talk about next. lol

[Jerry]

Originally Posted by Scutter01

On the eve of our 4000th member, I thought you might be interested in seeing a chart depicting INGO's growth since the creation of the very first account! We've had nice steady growth over the last 15 months, and as you can see it hasn't plateaued yet. If anything, it's been growing faster in the last few months than ever before. Go INGO!

Wow... I have some posting to catch up on... Looks like I was one of the first 500 members or so.
Regardless... Congrats and thanks Fenway! I'd be a supporter if I wasn't broke, hopefully this summer I can spare the money.

Thanks to everyone else that has made this a fun and informational place to visit.

[mikea46996]

OK I'm here so shut and bar the Doors!!!!!

No just kidding, I think 95% of the people that join us do so for the community feel we have here, do we get some that are just interested in the classifieds? Sure we do but I'll bet if they ever decide to check out the rest of the board they become another productive member.

Do we have disagreements here? Hell yes we do!! Do you always get along with your friends or siblings? Yeah that's what I thought.

I like it here and hope it stays the way it is, I will be here a good long time or until they toss me out because I get defensive about our rights and voice it sometimes.

[Bigum1969]

That's impressive growth.

Even with the rapid expansion, INGO has kept a great, friendly atmosphere for the most part.

We're like one big (and growing), dysfunctional family.

[Scutter01]

Originally Posted by esrice

Without you there would be 6 of us staring at each other wondering what to talk about next. lol

I remember those days. Being able to read every. single. post.