Badgerboy wrote: ↑ Sun Nov 06, 2022 8:10 am Question: If I pay to support, can I edit and censor LT USN? He is mean and has offended my very sensitive feelings at times.

I want to censor LT USA too!!

Let's see: Musk paid $44B for Twitter, valuing each claimed Twitterer (real or imagined) at $100K per (financial genius, right?).

So I'm in for at least a buck and a half to censor LT USN...

Just a "rant" from only me.

I'm actually appalled that Century Arms won't afford ~$600/year to support their users' forum! That's a pretty short-sighted decision. Yeah, we all know they sure don't put much into product advertising and/or parts support (the former magazine issue?). But they need to ante-up if they want to play the game against comparable products in the US. That decision on their part really shows how little wisdom depth their is to their business. And that turns me away from a future Canik product purchase believe it or not. There are too many good alternatives and they don't seem to be able to see that and better support their fan base at a time when they are just gaining popularity. Seems like a bad decision on their part. It's only about $600/year (and yeah it's really more than that if they take it over, but it's still small game compared to their revenues)!

It's probably just me and the way I look at it, so others will see it their own way wich might be more "normal".

ncjw wrote: ↑ Sun Nov 06, 2022 7:08 am

Janik wrote: ↑ Fri Nov 04, 2022 4:04 pm And that's why I'm shutting it down, because of people like you who expect someone else to pay for it.

Janik,

With all due respect, what is that number?

It's about $600 a year. It's not a huge #, which is why I mentioned if every member paid .50 cents a year, we'd have a surplus and be able to buy things for giveaways again. Also, we want to use a new skin for the forum that costs about $250, but it's more intuitive when on a smart phone. If someone made a skin that was more "facebookish" I think forums would regain popularity.

Janik wrote: ↑ Tue Nov 08, 2022 10:46 am

ncjw wrote: ↑ Sun Nov 06, 2022 7:08 am

Janik wrote: ↑ Fri Nov 04, 2022 4:04 pm And that's why I'm shutting it down, because of people like you who expect someone else to pay for it.

Janik,

With all due respect, what is that number?

It's about $600 a year. It's not a huge #, which is why I mentioned if every member paid .50 cents a year, we'd have a surplus and be able to buy things for giveaways again. Also, we want to use a new skin for the forum that costs about $250, but it's more intuitive when on a smart phone. If someone made a skin that was more "facebookish" I think forums would regain popularity.

Okay so setup a Patreon or whatever page where we can all donate .50 - 2.00 a member and be done with it. Or just give us your Zelle account info and we can transfer whatever one feels to you there.
NO PAYPAL please. I cancelled mine.

I think we would all be good with that.

I'm in.

With 8% inflation $1-2 won't even buy you a cheeseburger. Just set it up and see what comes in, I think that you'd be surprised (or whoever takes it over - I am sure that it gets old after a while).

And although it won't change my mind about Caniks, they are idiots for not sponsoring this. They usually run a full page ad in Recoil and that has GOT to be a pretty penny.

(And if you add a small $1.50 upgrade fee to block LT USN, well there's another $3 right there...)

I'm in to support also...but LT USN is too quiet; makes me uneasy, and I am watching my back more than normal lately...

Also might be worth looking into forum membership. I used to be on BBQ and photography forums a lot and they would offer extra perks for a membership. I think I'd drop $10-$20 a year on them just to have more PM's and access to some forums and other stuff. Hell, start a membership and have member only giveaways with the surplus you have.

There's a Nikon user forum like this one in that it's independent of the company, and they had to go to a user membership fee to support the costs. They did that about 8 years ago and they're still there. But that probably has more potential members than Canik has customers. To me a paid membership seems like the way forward here. Maybe like $10/year for access to content?

Bruno911 wrote: ↑ Wed Nov 09, 2022 5:38 am There's a Nikon user forum like this one in that it's independent of the company, and they had to go to a user membership fee to support the costs. They did that about 8 years ago and they're still there. But that probably has more potential members than Canik has customers. To me a paid membership seems like the way forward here. Maybe like $10/year for access to content?

Well, I think most content should be free. That's how you gain new members. However, you can have certain perks, rewards or forum sections that members get access to. Like I believe Arfcom has a section where people share special deals, coupon codes and such. Things that maybe you don't want out there for freeloaders to find in a google search and use up.

This forum has been very valuable to me. I would kick in some to help keep it going.

I think part of the problem with the forum feeling "dead" lately is that the Canik pistols are just too good, right out of the box. It really cuts down on the need to go online and find "solutions".

I was more active when I got my first Canik because I was learning all my options for what to do to the pistol to best set it up for USPSA CO. The gun is so good, that didn't take long, and now it's done and just works. No real impetus to get on here. I don't need info on upgrades and I don't have any problems that need fixing. That was a TP9 SFx. Then I got a Rival and was more active again for a short time as I got that one sorted out for matches.

Now, unless Canik comes out with either a replacement for the Rival that is better somehow (a steel frame?) or a legit subcompact (which the SC is not, in my book), I probably don't have much occasion to get on here. There's just not much to discuss about guns that need no upgrades and just work.

Agreed for me too. After figuring things out about Caniks there's little to say or ask. I only post something if I do something that *might* be useful for others to know.

Bruno911 wrote: ↑ Wed Nov 09, 2022 5:38 am Maybe like $10/year for access to content?

Nope. That would discourage new users. And as much as I like this forum, I would not subscribe.

My witty banter and insightful comments are worth $10 a year, at least. $15 if you want me to shut up.

Badgerboy wrote: ↑ Thu Nov 10, 2022 3:58 pm My witty banter and insightful comments are worth $10 a year, at least. $15 if you want me to shut up.

Here's my $15!

I knew you would show up.

For those who don't mind PayPal, there is a donate button on the right side of the forum. Someone did pay through that recently and it's greatly appreciated. I could set up a Venmo for people who don't want to use PayPal. Someone else mentioned Patreon, which I don't know much about, but we could look into that too.

I'm all for this being a public funded and operated forum. There is a wealth of knowledge here. And, if you look at the stats, at any given time there's 150 to 200 people on here. Most are not members, but people are reading posts and looking for information. Is it feasible to set this up so we all have a stake in it, and also giving other people a voice in how they want it formatted and operated? I'm guessing the majority of us who use the forum are older and used to the days when forums were king. Fakebook already shut us down once with over 30,000 members, and no doubt it will happen again. I tried to get people to use MeWe since they have been gun group friendly, but it's hard to get people to use other platforms that aren't as popular. If the day comes where Liberals have their way and all social media is relegated to groups that are only about rainbows and unicorns, existing forums could see an increase again in activity. I really think we need to invest in a new skin for the forum though that allows people to search it more easily, upload images more easily, and is more like Fakebook and other social media sites that are easier to use.

What are your thoughts? Do we need to expand the forum and add more categories for discussion topics? Do we need to use a different skin like Survivalist Forum and others have migrated to? Do people who are willing to donate what more skin in the game and help guide the future of this forum? Let me know what you think.

Being new here doesn't give me a whole lot of credibility but I have already found the site useful and I donated. I'm not trying to brag or anything but I donated 5% of the sites annual operating costs... I reckon if you love puppies and Jesus (the bible guy or the Mexican one) you can match me.

To the topic at hand, I don't think forums are dead. A lot of people still use forums but they serve more as a repository for information than a social platform these days. Thus, the pace is greatly slowed. The key to the longevity of a forum is a) industry partner engagement, b) participant buy in, and c) fresh content.

What CF seems to lack most is A and C. Unfortunately, you can't force Industy partners to create Canik products. That makes C much harder. You can't repeat the same post over and over again and it still be interesting so there needs to be new guns or new things for them to spawn conversation. The only caveat to that is for those like myself that are newish to the platform and looking for information and comradery.

So, is the forum worth it? I think it was worth donating to in an effort to see what can be made of it... to see if there's a path forward in the black. As a Veteran, a gun builder, and a freedom lover I hate to see something good die without a fight. Is it something I would shovel $30 into over and over again? No, and I don't blame Janik for drawing a line. The question is, is his hard work and effort worth something to everyone else?

I'm also a relatively new member. I just sent in some $$ hoping that the forum will stay open after the first of the year. I don't post much, but check daily and read the new posts. If not for this forum, I wouldn't have one, let alone two Caniks. I agree that more varied content would help to bring in more interest. For other forums, I hit The High Road daily (mostly for the Reloading section) and sporadically hit Brian Enos and the 1911 forum. I guess I fall into the older crowd and just don't get facebook. When I closed my business, I stopped going there. In any event, I would hate to see the forum go.

Jim98 wrote: ↑ Sat Nov 12, 2022 1:24 pm Being new here doesn't give me a whole lot of credibility but I have already found the site useful and I donated. I'm not trying to brag or anything but I donated 5% of the sites annual operating costs... I reckon if you love puppies and Jesus (the bible guy or the Mexican one) you can match me.

To the topic at hand, I don't think forums are dead. A lot of people still use forums but they serve more as a repository for information than a social platform these days. Thus, the pace is greatly slowed. The key to the longevity of a forum is a) industry partner engagement, b) participant buy in, and c) fresh content.

What CF seems to lack most is A and C. Unfortunately, you can't force Industy partners to create Canik products. That makes C much harder. You can't repeat the same post over and over again and it still be interesting so there needs to be new guns or new things for them to spawn conversation. The only caveat to that is for those like myself that are newish to the platform and looking for information and comradery.

So, is the forum worth it? I think it was worth donating to in an effort to see what can be made of it... to see if there's a path forward in the black. As a Veteran, a gun builder, and a freedom lover I hate to see something good die without a fight. Is it something I would shovel $30 into over and over again? No, and I don't blame Janik for drawing a line. The question is, is his hard work and effort worth something to everyone else?

Thank you for your donation, it helps a lot. With the interest people have, we will definitely keep the forum going. We just need to ,make some improvements and for that we will rely on user feedback.

Kb327 wrote: ↑ Sat Nov 12, 2022 2:43 pm I'm also a relatively new member. I just sent in some $$ hoping that the forum will stay open after the first of the year. I don't post much, but check daily and read the new posts. If not for this forum, I wouldn't have one, let alone two Caniks. I agree that more varied content would help to bring in more interest. For other forums, I hit The High Road daily (mostly for the Reloading section) and sporadically hit Brian Enos and the 1911 forum. I guess I fall into the older crowd and just don't get facebook. When I closed my business, I stopped going there. In any event, I would hate to see the forum go.

Thank you for your contribution. We'll keep the doors open, but will be making some changes and would appreciate any thoughts you have on how we can make the forum better.