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In the coming days we're going to be adding a handful of new moderators to our team. All of you will wonder, I'm sure some will think the sky is falling, but I want to take a moment and tell you that isn't the case (for most of you, anyway 
). I've always kept the mod team pretty small around here, not exactly on purpose but because we don't have near the number of problems other communities have (hint: there's a reason for that). With our growth this has left us with a fairly bare crew, and we've got some changes coming up that are going to require more hands on deck. I'll go over each of these briefly, feel free to ask questions.
1) NWFA V4
We've been working on the new version of Northwest Firearms for almost two years now, a required upgrade as this current version will be unsupported soon. We expect to make the move within the next six months, but not before we get extensive feedback from our members. The mistakes we made when we moved from V2 to V3 (our current version) will never be forgotten, completely switching the look, feel, and operation of the site. I get that people don't like change, and this new version is being developed with that in mind. My goal is to take our time, listen to you, and make this transition as smooth as possible. We're going to have a beta site up for you to play with in the coming weeks, and you guys are going to love some of these new features.
2) Housekeeping
While our team is fantastic about handling reports and helping our members, I've really done a poor job at communicating to our team the finer points of content curation and organization. In plain English, we need to do a better job of making sure threads are posted in the correct sections and that thread titles are descriptive so people can find what they're looking for. With thousands upon thousands of threads that need moving, this is a huge task.
3) Politics and divisive, disrespectful behavior
Saving the worst for last, this one is never any fun. Since starting Northwest Firearms in 2008 I've seen the best and worst of this community. You can find my novels on the subject in various places around the site but the summary is this; this community is always better when we focus on the things which bring us together rather than those which divide us, and we're leaning a little too far toward the latter. Over the years I've been called a fool countless times for insisting that Northwest Firearms be the exception rather than the rule. I'll be honest, it has bothered me at times, but this community was founded on principles.
This country is more divided than many of us have ever seen. It's everywhere, TV shows, radio broadcasts, magazines, newspapers, and worst of all, throughout internet forums and social media. Northwest Firearms is going to be different. The rules are simple, and our goals are simple. Non-firearm political discussions, even one-off comments, are not welcome here. Those who want to participate in firearm-related political discussion have a section to do so, Legal & Political. Everywhere else, guess what? Firearms! There's no reason we can't make this happen.
Wanna know how?
Exciting times ahead!
). I've always kept the mod team pretty small around here, not exactly on purpose but because we don't have near the number of problems other communities have (hint: there's a reason for that). With our growth this has left us with a fairly bare crew, and we've got some changes coming up that are going to require more hands on deck. I'll go over each of these briefly, feel free to ask questions. 1) NWFA V4
We've been working on the new version of Northwest Firearms for almost two years now, a required upgrade as this current version will be unsupported soon. We expect to make the move within the next six months, but not before we get extensive feedback from our members. The mistakes we made when we moved from V2 to V3 (our current version) will never be forgotten, completely switching the look, feel, and operation of the site. I get that people don't like change, and this new version is being developed with that in mind. My goal is to take our time, listen to you, and make this transition as smooth as possible. We're going to have a beta site up for you to play with in the coming weeks, and you guys are going to love some of these new features.
2) Housekeeping
While our team is fantastic about handling reports and helping our members, I've really done a poor job at communicating to our team the finer points of content curation and organization. In plain English, we need to do a better job of making sure threads are posted in the correct sections and that thread titles are descriptive so people can find what they're looking for. With thousands upon thousands of threads that need moving, this is a huge task.
3) Politics and divisive, disrespectful behavior
Saving the worst for last, this one is never any fun. Since starting Northwest Firearms in 2008 I've seen the best and worst of this community. You can find my novels on the subject in various places around the site but the summary is this; this community is always better when we focus on the things which bring us together rather than those which divide us, and we're leaning a little too far toward the latter. Over the years I've been called a fool countless times for insisting that Northwest Firearms be the exception rather than the rule. I'll be honest, it has bothered me at times, but this community was founded on principles.
This country is more divided than many of us have ever seen. It's everywhere, TV shows, radio broadcasts, magazines, newspapers, and worst of all, throughout internet forums and social media. Northwest Firearms is going to be different. The rules are simple, and our goals are simple. Non-firearm political discussions, even one-off comments, are not welcome here. Those who want to participate in firearm-related political discussion have a section to do so, Legal & Political. Everywhere else, guess what? Firearms! There's no reason we can't make this happen.
Wanna know how?
1. Be excellent to each other
Though this may sound a little 'out there', we couldn't phrase it better than our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln (captured on VHS circa 1989).
Websters defines excellent as "unusually good" or "much better than average". Our goal of welcoming all gun owners means you're likely to find a diverse group here. Going above and beyond when interacting with others you may disagree with is not easy, but it is a condition of your membership. You don't have to be warm and cuddly, but you do have to be courteous and respectful. When things get heated, simply avoid using the word you.
How you treat others here is a direct reflection on all gun owners, and believe us, people are watching. Opting for the high road is always the best choice, and arguing on the internet is pointless. Since we don't have time to babysit, we don't care who started it; most heated discussions result in both parties receiving a reminder. Continued friction between members is best dealt with via the ignore button.
This rule is purposely vague to inclusively prohibit a wide variety of rude, malicious, catty, sarcastic, hurtful, hateful, spiteful, barbed, and ornery behavior within the Northwest Firearms community including:
2. Religious and non-firearm political content is prohibited
We are a single-issue organization, focused solely on bringing people together in support of the 2nd Amendment. Religious and political content is inherently divisive, working against the very goals of our organization. This includes news-related content that our staff believes may cause division. This rule applies to the site in its entirety, including the Off Topic section.
It is important to note that firearm-related political content is not prohibited. However, clear attempts to fabricate this relation may be considered a rule violation.
3. Divisive, negative, offensive, or inappropriate content is prohibited
This is the guideline which sets the overall look, feel, and tone of our community. As a public organization with clearly defined goals, we must do everything we can to establish and maintain a positive, welcoming, family-friendly environment. Per our Terms of Service, it is the responsibility of every member to act accordingly.
This rule is all encompassing, including threads, posts, images, videos, language, innuendos, insinuations, suggestions, intimations, implications, hints, overtones, undertones, allusions, and references, or links to content which would be considered divisive, negative, offensive, or inappropriate if posted here. This also includes causing discord by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages, either accidentally or with the deliberate intent of provoking others into an emotional response, or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion (aka Trolling).
Hiding or masking this type of content, such as attempting to avoid the language filter (d$#@!) or through vague wording, will be considered a violation of this rule.
Though this may sound a little 'out there', we couldn't phrase it better than our sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln (captured on VHS circa 1989).
Websters defines excellent as "unusually good" or "much better than average". Our goal of welcoming all gun owners means you're likely to find a diverse group here. Going above and beyond when interacting with others you may disagree with is not easy, but it is a condition of your membership. You don't have to be warm and cuddly, but you do have to be courteous and respectful. When things get heated, simply avoid using the word you.
How you treat others here is a direct reflection on all gun owners, and believe us, people are watching. Opting for the high road is always the best choice, and arguing on the internet is pointless. Since we don't have time to babysit, we don't care who started it; most heated discussions result in both parties receiving a reminder. Continued friction between members is best dealt with via the ignore button.
This rule is purposely vague to inclusively prohibit a wide variety of rude, malicious, catty, sarcastic, hurtful, hateful, spiteful, barbed, and ornery behavior within the Northwest Firearms community including:
- General rudeness and disrespect (as outlined above).
- Epithets, labels, and generalizations against another person or group of people, whether they are members here or not. These serve absolutely no purpose other than to divide us, directly opposite to our goal of uniting gun owners. This is especially relevant in regard to political labels (such as 'the liberal media', 'those right-wingers', and even 'left/right'). Pro-gun and anti-gun are the only labels that should be applied here, as we are a single issue community. This rule also applies to but is not limited to epithets, labels, and generalizations pertaining to race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, age, ethnicity, nationality, occupation (such as law enforcement), and every other one you can think of. Disagreement over what constitutes a religion, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etcetra is not a legitimate excuse.
- Using someone's affiliations as an ad hominem means of dismissing or discrediting their views regardless of whether said affiliations are mainstream. An example could be "you're a vegetarian, so what would you know about hunting?".
- Linking to external attacks, harassment, or other material, for the purpose of attacking another member.
- Comparing members to Nazis, dictators, or other infamous persons.
- Accusations about personal behavior. If you believe a person's personal behavior is questionable, on or off the site, please contact a moderator.
- Giving out personal information about another member, such as name, phone number, address, etc.
- Threats, including, but not limited to:
- Threats of legal action.
- Threats of violence or other off-site action (particularly death threats).
- Threats of physical or electronic vandalism.
- Threats or actions which deliberately expose other members to political, religious or other persecution by government, their employer or any others.
- Threats to give out personal information about another member.
2. Religious and non-firearm political content is prohibited
We are a single-issue organization, focused solely on bringing people together in support of the 2nd Amendment. Religious and political content is inherently divisive, working against the very goals of our organization. This includes news-related content that our staff believes may cause division. This rule applies to the site in its entirety, including the Off Topic section.
It is important to note that firearm-related political content is not prohibited. However, clear attempts to fabricate this relation may be considered a rule violation.
3. Divisive, negative, offensive, or inappropriate content is prohibited
This is the guideline which sets the overall look, feel, and tone of our community. As a public organization with clearly defined goals, we must do everything we can to establish and maintain a positive, welcoming, family-friendly environment. Per our Terms of Service, it is the responsibility of every member to act accordingly.
This rule is all encompassing, including threads, posts, images, videos, language, innuendos, insinuations, suggestions, intimations, implications, hints, overtones, undertones, allusions, and references, or links to content which would be considered divisive, negative, offensive, or inappropriate if posted here. This also includes causing discord by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages, either accidentally or with the deliberate intent of provoking others into an emotional response, or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion (aka Trolling).
Hiding or masking this type of content, such as attempting to avoid the language filter (d$#@!) or through vague wording, will be considered a violation of this rule.
Exciting times ahead!
