Author Topic: Forum Traffic  (Read 3644 times)

Offline EagleEye801

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Forum Traffic
« on: May 27, 2016, 12:39:26 PM »
I've never been the most talkative guy on the forums but I was looking at the forum stats and noticed a major dip in forum traffic in 2013-2014.  After a while being away from the sport I've been trying to get back in it but it's been tough with the lack of quality events and overall, state-wide slow down of the Arizona community.

What I'm getting at is more then anything I have a question for some of the older members of Airsoft Arizona.  What do you guys think caused that major dip in traffic on the site and the presumed death of the sport and Arizona?  As will as the death of quality Mil-sim games, such as the games the Combat Challenge guys hosted?

Thank you guys for taking the time to read this post and I apologize if it rubs anyone the wrong way.. 
EagleEye

Offline XavierMace

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Re: Forum Traffic
« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2016, 05:05:33 PM »
Take your pick there's a variety of factors.  A lot of the vets just moved on to other things as they got older.  Life and such.  Personally I also think Ron's passing was a large factor as well.  It was pretty rare to drop in and not find me or some other vet just hanging out there.  That always served as motivation for lazy people such as myself to actually go play.  A lot of other activity was based around him and Gearbox as well.  Swap meets, a place to meet up for deals, etc.

I know various groups also had some on field drama that created rifts as well.  The player base changed a lot over the years and a lot of vets weren't fans of the change.  That further decreased the desire to play.

Regarding site traffic specifically, a lot of people especially younger players moved to social media.  Other people tried to start up their own forum.  That just further divides the player base.  That said, it's not just AA either.  ASR is dead.  ASF has 1 whole member online right this moment, Arnies has 10.  Between the two of them they've had 3 new topics created today and they're both international forums.  Those three forums made up the top 3 airsoft forums by traffic a few years ago.  Considering we're geared towards just AZ, we're holding up better than most.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2016, 05:11:10 PM by XavierMace »

Offline thegovernator

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Re: Forum Traffic
« Reply #2 on: May 28, 2016, 07:26:57 PM »
I agree with mace. The passing of Ron took its toll on the airsoft community and losing the local shop with legitimate experienced techs and all around awesome guys to be around. I found myself driving out of my way to go to gearbox and just talk with those guys. And also like mace said, the division of a few teams hurt the community as well. And those teams continued to try to keep hosting games but it seems or felt like there wasn't any interest in a milsim style game. It quickly turned into speedball mentality out at sasco/4 peaks etc.
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Offline thegovernator

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Re: Forum Traffic
« Reply #3 on: May 28, 2016, 07:30:54 PM »
These are just some of the biggest factors that caused it. There are many many more but we won't go into that.
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Offline EagleEye801

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Re: Forum Traffic
« Reply #4 on: June 01, 2016, 10:21:27 AM »
Thanks for the insight guys.  I had a feeling Ron's passing had something to do with it.  Its a shame a quality Airsoft shop hasn't opened in a central area like Tempe again.  I'm sure a bunch of us miss the long two or three day events..  But I even miss the day games like Red Dagger II and the national guard armory in Mesa.  Good times..
EagleEye

Offline Exarach

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Re: Forum Traffic
« Reply #5 on: June 01, 2016, 01:08:38 PM »
#BringbackTheForum
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Offline spazz

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Re: Forum Traffic
« Reply #6 on: June 01, 2016, 02:33:37 PM »
is still at least one quality airsoft/tech shop in the valley. the one i work for, the command post.
ive been there for a couple of years now and we are turning out some great work. its not always fast but 90% of the stuff that leaves the shop meets or exceeds your expectations.

as for the dip in quality games, they are there if you look for them. they are not allways advertised here, you have to check your local social networking sites as thats were most of the people that are organising games will put them first.

and as much as some people dont like them, the speed ball/pick up type of game play is an integral part of airsoft that you should not dismiss out of hand. it will help keep your reactions and sighting strong as well as get your gun used on a regular basis. believe it or not your used gun that sits in the bag for 6 months at a time while you wait for a game that you think is worth playing, is not good for it. seals go bad and grease settles/dries up from disuse, batteries die.

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Offline XavierMace

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Re: Forum Traffic
« Reply #7 on: June 02, 2016, 02:23:05 AM »
as for the dip in quality games, they are there if you look for them. they are not allways advertised here, you have to check your local social networking sites as thats were most of the people that are organising games will put them first.

That was kinda the point I was making.  I won't lie, I have a predisposition against social media in general.  If that's somebodies preference, that's up to them.  But ONLY posting it on Social Media divides the player base.  Personally, if I decide I want to go airsofting this weekend (yeah, right), I'm going to check here.  If I find nothing to interest me, I'll just go down to Tempe.  I'm not going to dig around Facebook or Twitter.  I would say you could call me old, but I know you're older than me.

and as much as some people dont like them, the speed ball/pick up type of game play is an integral part of airsoft that you should not dismiss out of hand. it will help keep your reactions and sighting strong as well as get your gun used on a regular basis.

That's a matter of personal preference, not liking that gameplay style is not dismissing it out of hand.  I would also say that in many cases, it's not the gameplay itself that's the problem, it's the player base that it often attracts.  But that's a discussion for another thread.

seals go bad and grease settles/dries up from disuse, batteries die.

If your batteries are going dead after 6 months, you're buying bad batteries.  :p