The Decline of AP.com
As a relatively new player in the PNW, there has been a learning curve to understanding our community. From what I have seen in our region & other places in America, it appears we are very fortunate to have one of the best-organized airsoft communities. While there are many involved & enthusiastic organizers in the area, with whom we are blessed (frankly), I believe our strength is largely a result of AirsoftPacific.com.
Since its inception on March 14th, 2007 (yesterday was the 9-year anniversary), AP.com has racked up just under 95 million views — a remarkable volume for such a niche sport. It has acted as a platform for rookie & veteran players alike to share knowledge, experiences, organize new teams, & plan future games. AP.com is the reason I was able to get involved in the PNW even before my family relocated to Portland by making my introduction seamless. I know I am not alone in this experience, although I’ve seen some younger players receive a harder welcome than myself.
While attending the most recent War Sport NW game at Camp Rilea (OP: Steel Talon), I took the time to speak with experienced players from several different teams about their thoughts on airsoft in our region. Above all, there was one thing that every single one of them agreed upon:
AirsoftPacific.com is not being properly maintained, moderated, or promoted & the inevitable result will be its phasing out.
This wasn’t something that was spoken with anger or venom, but rather melancholy disappointment. Everyone that I spoke to had invested a lot of time on AP.com to develop the community & were frustrated by lack of positive moderation. One of the most common complaints was of old cadre, who are incredibly experienced & possess a wealth of knowledge, are too easily frustrated by “noob questions” & readily supply sarcasm rather than encouragement. Or worse yet, there were also accounts (which I have not taken the time to personally verify) of moderators themselves replying to simple beginner’s questions with negativity. I have myself witnessed that one of the easiest ways to receive backlash on AP.com is by posting with improper spelling or grammar. While it is outstanding that some people still care about language form, perhaps we need to do our best to answer a question if the author basically makes his/her point since this is not an English enthusiasts page.
The first headline that a new visitor to AP.com reads is from September, 2014. The “Latest Poll” was posted in November 2014 & only 137 people have voted since then. Without further investigation, anyone that is not from the region could almost safely assume the website is merely an advertisement-toting ghost with sponsor-link swag. The reality, however, is that our airsoft community is THRIVING & grows bigger every day. Our teams are incredibly well-developed with legitimate websites, patches, uniform & communications standards. More people are constantly getting involved & they need a virtual place where it is possible to connect with ease & encouragement, where news is fresh & bio BBs grow little flowers when they degrade (partial joke). I understand it is easy to paint a rosy picture, but my point is that our virtual community should be an extension of our actual community & reflect what we really are.
I am calling upon the operators & admins of AirsoftPacific.com to re-energize the website by assigning new moderators, bringing on new writers to create current articles & reviews, & to once again take active interest in the community. If the current operators & admins are unable or unwilling, I call upon them to pass the torch to current members of the community that are willing to do so, thus bringing new life into our virtual community.
The truth is that we love AP.com & want the best community we can have in the PNW. This is why we are online & hope to be as long as we are slinging BBs within FPS limits.
Thank you for reading my post.
Statistics: Posted by Cruz FoxHound — Tue Mar 15, 2016 1:39 pm