[Zane Zackerly]

...and no it isn't the Samuel Adams talking.

For some reason, ever since I registered here and started posting and reading other people's posts, I've just had a feeling that something was "different" --in a good way.

I recognize some familiar names.

I notice that there is sort of an unspoken acceptance that most of us are veterans who have been there done that on every other AK board.

Most of us are into our AK ownership at a higher level.

We know AK's and we know where we're coming from.

We talk like we've owned, shot, carried, and loved the AK for years.

It's a part of us, and this board seems to bring that out.

When we talk about AK's, it's from the standpoint of "knowing the other guy has some knowledge," instead of "do I have to first of all explain such and such to you."

Is it my imagination?

Or is this the world's first AK SUPERFORUM?

 

[Templar]

That was the plan Zane, and you nailed it.

Every forum has it's own "flavor", it's own style, and that's a good thing.

But here, this site was started by AK guys for AK guys, with precious little BS invovled.

Like you said, we've all been there, done that, and now this is a site for us.

:thumbsup:

 

[WarBaby]

That was the plan Zane, and you nailed it.

Every forum has it's own "flavor", it's own style, and that's a good thing.

But here, this site was started by AK guys for AK guys, with precious little BS invovled.

Like you said, we've all been there, done that, and now this is a site for us.

:thumbsup:

Thats the story, and im stickin' to it! :wink:

 

[fred_ex]

Whenever I go back and visit some of the "other sites", it's just not the same.

 

[Guest]

DELETED

 

[AKLover_91]

i think that one post was pretty accurate, you dont see any "ive got $250, whats the best AK for the money?" and "WASR or SAR1, whats the difference?"...

I wont be missing the pictures of peoples WASRs with their AR15 collapsable stocks, SAW pistol grips, Galil handguards and promags in the mag well....asking "is $20 too much for a AK clip?" (yes I said CLIP on purpose).


This place is so much better...just as stated above already, we all have already owned AKs (multiple) , we know how to use them, what they like, whats good, whats out there, how to do the simple things that need to be done, the lingo, all that....

the most important factor here is the members...they are pretty much handpicked, the best of the best from the different forums...but I think primarily from Arfcom... its a good bunch of people that makes forums, not just a mass number of people. :smile:

Hey, we all haven't owned them :sad:
But most everything else you said is straight on the mark, and this place is soooooooooo much better than "those other sites" :thumbsup:

 

[Zane Zackerly]

I can't put my finger on it....It's like when you step into a gunsmith's shop you can tell by the clutter that he's a pro, or by the lack of same that he's just out of school.

It's almost paranormal...

I can tell just by reading some of the posts that...

...there's that FEELING....

...like we've ALL had to re-tighten screws on balsa wood Chicom AK stocks every time we fire the weapon.

...like we've ALL noticed that the firing pin retaining pin becomes loosey-goosey after you detail-strip the bolt a few times...

...like we've ALL done a few Bubba stuff to our AK's (and we'll NEVER do THAT again!)...

I can't explain it. It's like knowing you don't have to explain to the next poster that his slant brake is not a flash hider.

Y'know?

 

[Guest]

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[Tint]

I hear ya'....There is much more experiece here than I have seen in one place at one time in a while. And I admit I'm way at the bottom of that list. But it was getting annoying on the other sites with questions like "My slant brake is angled off to one side, should I worry about this". Dayum!!!

This is a very refreshing place to be. :beer:

 

[AKLover_91]

I hear ya'....There is much more experiece here than I have seen in one place at one time in a while. And I admit I'm way at the bottom of that list. But it was getting annoying on the other sites with questions like "My slant brake is angled off to one side, should I worry about this". Dayum!!!

This is a very refreshing place to be. :beer:

i remember those...

Poster: Omg my slant break is crooked, Century is teh gheyy! H0WS CAN I FEX IT?!?

Answer 1: Grammar Nazi'd!

Answer 2: Its supposed to point more to one side

Poster: I knows but its teh crooked, how do i feex it? It's pointig to da right!!!

ah, good times...not really :goof:

Did they even read replies?

 

[Zane Zackerly]

I don't wanna turn this into a flame of other sites, so I won't mention any names.

But how many times have you...


...read a post that your thread is "gay" by somebody with 13 posts?
...posted something important and 100% true, only to have a vendor dispute you and all the moderators jump in to support him because they need his money even though it turns out you were right?
...listened to the rules of how "we don't allow that company to be shilled for" quoted to you endless times?
...read complaints about your thread not being right for that forum even when it has 17,950 views?

Sorry, now the Sam Adams IS beginning to speak-LOL!

 

[75_stingray]

All here are the cream of the crop who've gained respect from several different AK sites whom all I consider trusted friends.
The confidence, experience, and respect will precede the members of this forum. :thumbsup:

 

[Guest]

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[Dawg180]

I realized that I must be a have a decent "digital persona" when I had two different members invite me to join within three days of this place opening up. Not bad for a guy who has actually owned an AK for only about 6 weeks...

The difference you are feeling is very simple: This is essentially an "invite only" web board. Yes, someone could theoretically join without invitation, but for the most part everyone here was invited by other members who thought their presence would be a valuable addition to the site. In essense, being here is a privelege .

You will note many very common screen names at another place, even people with many posts, are conspicuously absent here. I do not think that is a coincidence.

I also have found that after only a week, I rarely if ever even bother logging onto the "other" place where I learned about AKs. I simply got tired of the, well, you know...I don't even need to run through it all again.

This place reminds me a lot of the Uzitalk of maybe a year ago (which is also still a great place, but has gone through a population explosion and thus the "what xxx is best to buy?" cancer is starting to hit it too). Uzitalk really got me hooked because it only had about 300 memebers, with maybe 15 guys who were real experts and could answer ANYTHING. It was like a little mom and pop gunshop dedicated to one weapon. And honestly I think that is what we have here.

Hell, I actually felt a bit guilty asking "best finish match" questions here as I felt like a newbie and that the question was a bit 'beneath' this board. But it pertained toa specific model of AK, and I posted it in the correct forum, so maybe it wasn't such a bad question after all. :smile:

 

[Judge]

At the risk of raising the ire of the many AK pros here, I just would like to offer a little food for thought. To begin with and in an AA meeting format, Hello. My name is Gino and I?m an AK Newbie. Having a robust collection of various firearms is not a priority for me since I view firearms as tools to do a job. Lots of people have collections of lots of different items depending on what interest them and that is good. As for me, I collect corporate retirement checks and Social Security and I try my damndest to minimize my collection of bad stocks and bonds. Because of the way I view firearms, I am able to afford what I believe to be quality tools.
This past October, I acquired a SA M7S from Arsenal. In another very lightly used forum, I posted a topic that began with an apology for probably not using the correct terminology but stated what I needed. I wanted to replace the muzzle nut with a muzzle brake/compensator/flash suppressor or whatever it?s called. They understood what I was seeking and I received a couple of links to check out. Ordered and received one. I?m probably using the wrong terminology here again, but the notches on the new item wouldn?t line up for the spring loaded retaining pin to engage. Back to the lightly used forum I go questioning what to do. I got a couple of responses saying that some wobble was normal but I didn?t feel too comfortable about that even though I had no grounds/experience with which to counter.
Then, in the early morning fog, appeared a stranger who presented what to me was a mini thesis on how to solve my dilemma. Now to most of you folks, you wouldn?t have had my problem because you have been there, done that, but to a newbie like me, it was a work of art.
Furthermore, I decided that I wanted the Red Star trigger group in my new tool. I read their installation instructions online and for most of you that install would be a piece of cake. Knowing my limitations, I opted to drive down to Gravois Mills to let them install it for a modest fee.

What I?m saying is that this is a new forum but the newbies will probably be appearing in droves in the not too far distant future.
If other forums for ARs, AKs, Glocks, Sigs, or whatever are any indication, then I?m sure we?ll see some ?ridiculous? questions here also. Hopefully, no one will be posting the proverbial ?CCW Badge?.Pro or Con? question every couple of months on an AK forum. I just ask that you be as patient as you can bear to be. I worked for 35 years with mid-range and mainframe computers??.trust me, there is nothing worse than a computer user trying to explain what they want.

Thanks for listening??..

Oh! Almost forgot???that stranger that appeared in the early morning fog with the mini thesis that got my head on straight??
Same guy that started this thread and rides under the name of Zane Zackerly. Thank you, ZZ??.you done good and I appreciate it.
:thumbsup:

 

[75_stingray]

Judge, I remember that entire thread of which you speak,(Although you must have used a diff user name). I read most all of the "New Member's" questions and welcome them all to the forums.
On the "lightly used forum", we always treat fresh members with respect and try to answer all they're questions, even when the questions been asked a 1000 times. We all were new once, and we all can remember it.

The thing you experienced after you asked your question was not just someone giving the answer, but you were also given and shown respect. And thats what makes a good forum great!

With the members I see here, this forum will follow in that respect as well. No matter how many times "bannana" clip pops up. We all know what is being asked.

 

[Zane Zackerly]

Oh! Almost forgot???that stranger that appeared in the early morning fog with the mini thesis that got my head on straight??
Same guy that started this thread and rides under the name of Zane Zackerly. Thank you, ZZ??.you done good and I appreciate it.
:thumbsup:

You're welcome.

Nobody's knocking newbies, Judge; we were all newbies at one time or another. I think the line is drawn at repetitive questions for the same newbie question all the time. In other words, veteran AK/internet folks are tired of people not being able to use the search function. You said you asked your questions on a small board, which probably did not have a good post history for your question.

A lot of people here are from multiple forums and large forums where if you type in a search, you may get 50 hits on that one subject. That's what we're complaining about more than anything, I think. Some noob that just bought his first AK and joins a forum with 35,000 members could probably find the answer to his question by doing a search rather than embarassing himself by asking the same question that 200 other members asked over the last six months.

You bought an Arsenal rifle as your first, so you can't be too much of a newbie--you went right to the best.

 

[Judge]

My apologies to all that might have thought that I was implying that anyone was knocking newbies??. believe me, I wasn?t. Even I get frustrated at some of the questions they pose at times. Many of the newbies suffer from terminal laziness and it would be very good for them, not to mention the forum, if they could be taught from the start to search for their answers before posting a question. The ?Search? function of the software used for this forum is probably the best that I have seen. In my own past case, I used ?muzzle brake? as a search argument, then again I used ?compensator? and, yet again, I used ?flash suppressor?. Unfortunately, too many folks will NOT expend the effort to exhaust their search options before asking, hence, the SOS posts appear repeatedly.

At the risk of appearing to be an overly stern taskmaster, it might be nice to have a ?Newbie Posting Instructions? section to possibly get some of these folks to look before leaping. I can deal with people?s ignorance of any given item but I have a tough time overlooking laziness. I suppose that just comes from being old and cranky.

For lack of a better comparison, just as puppies have to be paper trained, some users need to be forum trained. With all of the talented members that this forum has, it would be a shame to see it become ?just another forum?.

Now, with all of that being said, should I lapse into laziness with any of my posts in the future, I beseech any or all of you to please roll up a newspaper and smack me across the nose. :chair:

Thanks??????..

 

[JOHNO]

Its good to have you Guys here.Regardless of how experienced we all are or become,one thing I expect out of each and everone of you is courtesy to the AK noob.Until we get our FAQ thread posted,and even after,take the time to answer questions as well as recieving answers to your own questions.