What do you want from OSA?

[tRidiot]

I'm just curious...

Some people want to use this forum for stimulating political and social discourse and as an outlet or means to (further) express their own dissent, or to attempt to convert those perceived to be on the "opposite" side or those of an opposing point of view. There seem to be some very clearly-demarcated lines these days in terms of ideals, political views and posting styles.

Personally... my goal is to have a place to connect with fellow firearms enthusiasts, while at the same time have an informal type of gathering place where we can vent, support, encourage and sometimes lash out or chastise one another. These things are not universally negative.

I spend too much of my time and life pressured to fit into a certain "mold" which I almost never feel applies or is comfortable to me, but having somewhere to let off some steam, even poke fun, irritate and ridicule each other (good-naturedly, for the most part) feels good.

I'm a professional, and moderately-well educated, but sometimes just want to act like a knuckle-dragger and fling some p00. Without true hard feelings, but feeling free to act in a slightly rancorous and cantankerous manner.

The shorter my remaining time on this rock becomes, the more I feel like just letting go and speaking my mind.

If I am blessed (or cursed) enough to remain alive to a ripe old age, I suspect I will be an opinionated and irascible old fart who gives people laffs while making them shake their heads and roll their eyes on a regular basis.


"Can't we all just get along?"... with some regular p00 flinging to release our pent-up and societally-repressed testosterone, of course!

 

[Frederick]

I think OSA is at it's best when folks look after each other and treat eachother respectfully. We've got some flames going on here, for sure, but i think there are a lot of decent folks here, too. It's just a shame that things get so heated here sometimes.

 

[steelfingers]

I think it's a very active forum that is a credit to the gun community. It has a prozac moment on occasion, but much less than most sites.
I'm here to share my love of guns and the gun community. To learn and interact with like minded people. This is also a huge resource of information. It has that happy medium between the crazy trouble makers and the snobbish elite (the worst forums).
I'm here because it's the best available for what I mentioned above. I hope it stays that way.

 

[Pokinfun]

I'll post because the OP has me on ignore because I disagreed with him.

 

[Honey Badger]

I don't come around much any more. I get tired of having to be "gun forum PC". It seems on these sites that there is certain "frame of mind" you need to have to be part of the crowd. I don't care about politics, gays, the government. I just wanted a place to BS about guns and hunting. I have found that most of my time is spent in the hunting forums, or classifieds anymore. Occasionally I ask a question and get really good advice. I am grateful for that of course. But I avoid political discussions like the plague.

 

[SdoubleA]

Entirely way too much political ******** and driven agendas are on here anymore. It is a shame to see it all happen, and it could be easily eliminated.

 

[YukonGlocker]

We try to keep the political discourse and ideological debates in a "join-only" political/heated-topics forum, to help deal with differences in what people want to see and participate in (and what they don't)...it gives each person a choice about what they see, and what they participate in. Do you all like that system, or think we could improve it in some way?

 

[Frederick]

We try to keep the political discourse and ideological debates in a "join-only" political/heated-topics forum, to help deal with differences in what people want to see and participate in (and what they don't)...it gives each person a choice about what they see, and what they participate in. Do you all like that system, or think we could improve it in some way?

I think it's a good idea to separate the political discussion from general chat, that's fine. the problem with that is that no one uses the hidden topics forum, really. So it doesn't get any attention. If there was a political forum that was not 'join only' near or below general discussion, i think it'd get used more and encourage people to use the general forum for more general things that don't necessarily involve politics.

I also feel that it would be better that when we do discuss politics, that we have a base standard of respect expected of people. that way it doesn't turn into a big toxic shitfest.

just my .02 though.

Since it's not where everyone can see it an in a convenient location, it kind of discourages it's use and participation.

 

[$$$$$]

Classifieds mostly. I also keep an eye on the Hunting page, especially during deer season (rut report thread). Also, if I'm thinking about buying a particular product I might sometimes use the search to see if anyone has a review or comments on it.

 

[druryj]

What do I want from OSA? A sense of community with like-minded folks, a place to talk, learn, and share info. A place to talk about firearms and associated things, like holsters, gear, ammo, hunting, range trips, gear and gun reviews, the outdoors...etc. I do not like getting (or allowing myself to be) sucked into politics or religion and am going to make a concentrated effort to curtail that.