Defensive Carry: Member Viewpoint

[Rock and Glock]

The "Management" of Defensive Carry would never write this, being the shy retiring folks they are, and will never ask for anything other than following forum rules, but as a member I wanted to let folks know a little bit of DC history.....

About 18 months ago Defensive Carry began meteoric growth in membership. As a result, resources were strained to the breaking point. The Administrators, Moderators, and other site gurus struggled heroically to keep the site functioning smoothly and consistently. The resources DC provided both new and old members had begun to tax the system beyond it's capabilities.

Due to the growth, significant costs were being incurred, and members clamored to help underwrite the site with contributions. Bumper was extremely reluctant to accept contributions for numerous reasons, but in the end, the rabble won the argument, and DC began accepting forum contributions.

Fast forward a year......it went fast.......too fast. Membership and content continues to grow astronomically. The site is more robust and has wider user input from an exceptionally interesting and vocal membership. The site has become one of my favorites, a "must have". The Administrators, Moderators, and Members are the engine driving the progress and growth!

So why, pray tell, do I write this post? For several reasons:

• Express my gratitude for the resource it provides;
• Thank Bumper for the vision to make DC happen;
• Thank all of the Administrators, Moderators and others that add to the site;
• Thank the members for robust input;
• Thank Bumper for the best "smilies" on the web;
• Remind us all that financial resources are needed, whether or not Bumper will ever ask for any help;
• And....Remind everyone that on the "One Year Anniversary" of this site accepting contributions, support continues to be needed!

So, please renew your support when it comes up!

Bumper will probably delete this thread, or maybe send me a nastygram, 'cause he doesn't like attention, but site contributions do make the jobs for all of the site folks easier!

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[P95Carry]

Thx from me for your comments Richard ..... I doubt Bumper minds some praise - he deserves it but it'd be for him to add his 2c on that.

It can I think be said that the huge majority of members enjoy this place and accept what might to some seem rather draconian rules but - IMO so far that has worked, and well. Respect and courtesy are important in life and on forums.

Unfortunately - by comparison with my early days here, I have less time than once but still relish it when I can visit. Here's hoping we are all still enjoying things another year down the line.

[MattInFla]

Just renewed this morning (and bumped up a "class" as well).

And Rock and Glock is absolutely correct that Bumper is far too modest about the forum, and migth object to the thread.

But just this once, I think we can tell Bumper to cope with a little disobedience ........



Matt

[Bumper]

It's hard to object to the thread, although you're correct, I would not have posted one myself. I do, however, very much appreciate the sentiment. Our donating members, joined now by commercial sponsors, are what are keeping this site up and running, and allowing us to accommodate the growth we have been seeing. And, as Richard said, it has been meteoric. We have, undeniably, begun growing by leaps and bounds. Just a couple of months ago we hit 500,000 posts. Now, we're approaching 600,000. I recently removed over a thousand inactive and duplicate accounts and memberships is growing to restore those numbers. To slow us down a bit, I recently moved us to being almost a completely open forum, meaning you don't have to register to view almost all of our content. "Holding out" is one way forums can grow their membership. Members that join now should be only those that are truly interested in our subject matter, specifically concealed carry.

What is responsible for the growth is, without question, our members who, simply guided by the rules, are so welcoming and helpful to other members, new and old. We may, occasionally, have a small squabble between members, but for the most part our members are mature, civil, knowledgeable and are willing to share their experiences with other members. I'm sure there are other forums on the Internet that have great memberships, but I believe we have the best, overall. I admit to being biased.

Credit must also be given to our staff. They are some of the most dedicated people I could have ever expected to find to manage the day to day operation of the forum. It is amazing how many hours they put into the site, committed to keeping the site true to the original vision. Our staff is very much a team effort and, considering the nature of moderation, have my deepest respect for the job they do. They do me proud.

As time goes on, our members have taken up some of the slack in operations, as well. When trouble starts somewhere on the forum, our membership will often use the report feature or PM staff to let us know about it. We can't be everywhere at once and this takes a bit of the pressure off of us. Knowing that our members understand and appreciate the rules we have, even if they don't agree with every one of them, is gratifying to me. While there is no forum "Camelot", for the most part, our members work very hard to make the forum what it is.

All that being said, I received a PM in the wee hours of the morning (this morning) from one of our members, and doing some quick research, I was going to post a thread regarding donations first thing, although a little different than the one Richard posted. It seems that somewhere in the forum script, the site is sending out "reminders" that it is time to renew your subscription. While many of you asked me to do this, after a year had passed, I wasn't really sure how to do it. It is now obvious that the script did it automatically. That's good, I guess, but it embarrasses me that the "canned" reminders come across sounding like they came from somebody from The Sopranos, saying "If you do not extend your subscription, access will be removed." I want everyone that might receive this email to understand, that this is not true and that I am trying to figure out exactly where the email is originating from so I can alter the content of the email. We appreciate, very much, donations made to the forum, large and small, but we don't dun or threaten our membership for donations. At least not intentionally. For anyone that may have contributed as a result of this email, I will refund it, without question.

In closing, I would just say, that I'm proud to have you all here as members, and staff, and look forward to the years to come. Thank you for your continued support, through donations, through sponsorships and through participation.

[gpsxplr]

Just renewed. Thanks for a great resource.

-- Kirk.

[BigEFan]

Truly a great site and worth far more than I could ever pay.

A heartfelt thank you to all of the staff for all of the work you do to keep the site up and running.

[Arkie]

Yep, Thank you for this wonderful forum.

Where do you renew? I got lost clicking.

[AZ Husker]

I think the automatic reminder is a great idea! Keep up the great work!
Tracy

[USPnTX]

A huge thanks to Bumper and all the staff. This is by far my favorite site on the web. It has allowed me to tap into the knowledge and experience of others that I would have "met".

[S3ymour]

I completely agree. I found this site through my father, and used to browse while on my break at work. Then, when faced with a new anti-gun manager, they blocked all sites involving the word firearms, guns, and knives. I almost cried, as I was unable to access the site on my normal routine. Now I've adjusted my schedule to find time when I come home after taking care of making dinner, I sit down and pull up this site and browse the new posts scanning for articles of interest, adding my opinion where I shouldn't and just enjoying the friends that everyone on this forum have become. A big thank you to everyone, Admins, mods, and members for keeping this informative, clean and just a great place to visit.

[CopperKnight]

A toast to all. Good post! Also my favorite little corner of the web.

[kazzaerexys]

Kudos to all who keep this place running smoothly. I am very happy to be a contributor to the site; this is one of the only online fora I have ever found, on any subject, to be so consistently friendly and useful.

Keep up the good work!

[tegemu]

How 'bout a reminder of the process to send a donation. Thanx.

[MattInFla]

At the top of the screen, in the second menu bar, you'll find this link:

http://www.defensivecarry.com/vbulletin/payments.php

From there, one can make a donation.

[dr_cmg]

How 'bout a reminder of the process to send a donation. Thanx.

If you are averse to using PayPal and would rather send a check then PM Bumper and he will provide the address for contributions.

I don't use PayPal, but my bank will send checks automatically, so instead of having to be reminded I set up an automatic payment monthly to DefensiveCarry. I get to maximize my contribution with no effort and I don't have to be reminded. Works for me. PayPal users can set up recurring donations as well.

As a moderator I blush a little at the praise that is heaped on us, but I have to agree that on the whole DefensiveCarry is the best run site on the 'net. And though I may be slightly biased I would say it is the best site of any kind on the 'net. It takes more than moderators to do that.

It first takes a vision for a forum that is different. Bumper had that vision several years ago. It takes a staff that has bought into that vision and who is willing to operate within Bumper's vision. We have that kind of staff. Our mods and admins do a fantastic job of keeping DC what Bumper envisioned. (I see more of what they do than the regular membership does because I am back there with them) But with Bumper's vision and the mods and admins buying into that vision are not enough. To make DC the best required that we have the best members. You ladies and gentlemen are what makes it work. You try to abide by the rules, you report violations, you support the forum financially, and you tell others about a place where it is done right. So, thanks for praising us for our work, but you deserve the real thanks. Without you there would be a couple of dozen of us talking to each other.

Thanks to the best members anywhere.