What happened?

[Gdpolk]

Just a thought... How often, when discussing trad archery to an inexperienced archer, have we recommended Trad Gang specifically as source of information? Do we actively recruit?

I do!

[GCook]

[/quote]

This is why a Report Post of those "someones" would be beneficial to all.  We will take to task those kinds of posts.  Period.
[/quote]
You know Rob I'm usually more willing to just say my piece to someone on a thread than report.  I mean I will report but some times I think pointing out the what I see askew might enlighten them.  Probably naive or ignorant I know.
But sometimes what I think I perceive as the intent or the spirit of the thread or post could be wrong too. 
So if I throw my two cents in and get shown I'm off base I can learn something.

[huntsfairchase]

Some extremely valid points have been made. Both here and the LW you’ll the same things. Newbies being told to do a search, jumping all over someone just  looking for a keyboard brawl…

I used to post a lot on another site and some here, but admittedly, I believe this is my first post since the pay to play classifieds. I may have paid the first year, but also saw the drop in activity and moved on. As mentioned earlier, I always started in the classifieds then the PoWow and so on. Actually just came back on a few days ago hoping the classifieds had opened back up as I was in the market for another bow to replace one that just gave up the ghost. It wasn’t, so I posted on another site and have a bow coming in the mail. Bought and sold hundreds of bows now without any major incidents, but I also haven’t done a deal without a phone conversation prior to finalizing anything. I understand the reasoning, and I’m guessing the site understands ours…

[mgf]

As time goes on fewer and fewer people have access to decent hunting. OK people with money and time/means to travel do ok but not so much the would be hunter who would like to hunt a Saturday or Sunday close to home. I try to stick to fishing and skip the fall/hunting depression...that's what you get when you have hunting on your mind but can't hunt, LOL. Every few years I get the bug until the frustration overwhelms me and I go back to fishing. I have some good fishing available.

When I'm in fishing gear I don't spend much time on the archery forums.

[BigJim]

I am also guilty of not coming here much anymore. I don't have a lot of time for doing the forum thing, but it is part of what I should be doing for my business. 
I want to give an honest angle on what I see.. and feel. It may not be received as well and may not be completely accurate, but is what I feel.

I prefer this site, but it is difficult for me to navigate. I haven't lately, but in doing a search, it just doesn't respond as I think it should. No rhyme or reason to the info coming back. The age of the posts in the search seems to be mixed up so I get frustrated. I also still have problems posting pictures... I'm sure these problems are related to my techno handicaps, but I can't be the only one.
This is a much friendlier place than LW. I go there frequently as there seems to be much more traffic and that is what I need for business. I go back to check in and bump up the post when I'm doing sales as it falls off the page hourly even with frequent replies from viewers. ... Again, I'm there mostly for business reasons. It can be a hate full place! Very little respect over there. Having said that, I think that is what keeps people interested in checking back. So many just love to see a wreck that they can't take their eyes off of it.

I post every sale/event here on this site and even without responses, it won't leave the front page for weeks. I wish the opposite were true as I don't care for all of the negative responses on LW..

Also... Trad is alive and maybe even better than ever. The social media B.S. has in part taken over and divides the numbers somewhat. If you are an archery retailer and doing poorly at this time, you should consider a change .. maybe golf?
I used to maintain between 300-400 used bows in stock. Currently I'm down to under 50! In the last 7 days I've taken 14 custom bow orders.. and while that is exceptionally high, the orders are constant.
Shop orders are the same. Yes, we are having some supply issues, but are selling things as fast as we get them in.

Having conversations with other trad archery vendors and bowyers, they are experiencing the same.

I once had to read a book written to help business people.. "Who stole my cheese?!" If you are not familiar with it, the jist is that the when one doesn't grow and change with the times, the times leaves them behind.

A response to loosing hunters.. I'm sure that some of the influx here must be related to guys/gals moving in and out of hunting due to loss of hunting opportunities or just finding more joy in other sports, but how is this new?
If the loss of your hunting opportunities makes you move on, you might have been looking for something different anyway, but someone else is picking up opportunities and appealing to them would be the goal.
Sure, the climate is growing toward crossbows and compounds or guns, but that is how "we" became traditional archery  in the first place. If everyone just stayed with longbows and recurves, we would just be known as archery!
It's a challenge to gain and keep viewers/members. If it's boring, well...____ you fill in the blank.

BigJim

[Al Dente]

I visit TG several times a day.  Even though, I do not post that often, I enjoy reading through the posts and different topic forums.  To be honest, I try to limit my computer time to as little as possible.  Being the past President of NYB, Inc., my down time for 4 years daily was consumed by the web.  Legislation, game infractions, planning for meetings, the Annual Banquet, responding to member and non-member issues, letter writing to legislators and publications, etc...  Quite frankly, I am enjoying my newly acquired down time. 
TG is still an awesome site, with great people manning it and contributing to the content.

[Ghost Dog]

I joined Trad Gang in the very beginning. My member number was 52, when member numbers were being assigned.

I had a lot of friends on TG, and a lot of interaction with those friends. Inevitably TG became more and more popular, eventually attracting tens of thousands of members. It just became too big for me, too diluted, and the posts became too repetitive. 

And this; I'm starting to feel like a relic. I still shoot bows in the mid 50#s, which apparently is now considered "macho", I still shoot wood arrows and selfbows, as well as glass bows. These days I see a lot of mass market, cheap, god awful offshore bows being purchased, in low 40# or less draw weights. And then there's Lars Anderson who seems to have become a hero to many. I have to wonder what Dean Torges would think about him. Being a weenie and shooting a child's bow as if it were a slingshot has become the new badge of honor in social media.

But here I am, back on TG. I miss the place.

[trad_bowhunter1965]

When I joined back in 2005 I came to understand this was a Trad Bowhunting sight and it was about teaching and mentoring and Trad Gang has done that for me. I love the no tolerance for Bull Shit or hate you go to some Trad sights and you see all kinds of crap like "why do we have to call it a Trad bow " and one of my favorite question that is asked here yearly is will a light pound bow kill a deer no one is a smart ass we either repost earlier post on the question or add our 2 cents you don't get that for social media just like someone killing a doe or small buck everyone here nothing but positive. I think that the folks that stay on here are Bowhunters and its not the next great fad to us it is Lifestyle and like my bio say I am a Trad Ganger until they shut it down or I let my Irish temper gets me band 

[JakeD]

I'm not the most active on the site, but I do check it at least every other day or so.  I really enjoy both doing and reading write ups on the successes that we have, and it seems that we used to have more of that on here than we do now.  I have also recently tried steering other trad guys to this site because of the wealth of knowledge that it has.  After all, I feel that I owe it to the site to direct some traffic this way.  I've made friends on here that I wouldn't have met otherwise.  This site helped me tremendously in getting started with traditional archery.  Just know that some guys "lurk" around for a long time and don't ask anything because they aren't always sure of what to say or ask.  If any "lurkers" read this, feel free to join in on the conversations.   

Something else that I'd like to see more of is people's hunting seasons, not just their success.  KennyM is a good example. He started a thread about his season, and there was quite a bit of interaction and conversation.  If anybody else is wondering if they should do the same, DO IT.  I love seeing those things and seems that others do as well.  Pictures help too (I know, sounds like a little kid).  I really enjoy the small amount of living vicariously through everybody elses pictures and descriptions of their hunts.  I have a 1 year old at home, so it's hard for me to add a whole lot at this point in time, although I need to try harder.  I still feel that this is as wonderful of a site as the day I joined, and hope that others continue to add their experiences and knowledge to keep it that way. 

[Kevin Dill]

I don't get the feeling there is any substantial drop-off in traditional archery/bowhunting interest. Lots of successful bowyers marketing their creations across the web. Orders backed up over a year in many cases. Traditional supplies available via numerous avenues. The resurgence of Bear Archery's traditional products. The web is littered with traditional bowhunting videos, blogs, podcasts and more. It's all over Instagram and Facebook. You can see images of, or associations with, traditional bowhunters on websites like Sitka, KUIU, Kifaru, First Lite, Seek Outside and many others. Which leads me to....

If this website and forums is dealing with lagging contributions, active members, and overall activity, what is the root cause? How are other traditional bowhunting forums performing? Is it a problem across many forums and indicative of forums (overall) going into decline? Is it anything specific to TG forums? Whatever is happening, I don't think it can be attributed to any decline in traditional bowhunting interest or practice. If anything, it's a matter of figuring out where the customers (members) are going to get their needs met and why they went there. Maybe it's an aging-out thing and forums are destined to be obsolete for all except those (like me) who still see some value in them. I just don't know.

[Todd Cook]

Big Jim said " when one doesn't grow and change with the times, the times leave them behind". I absolutely agree. At nearly 53 I'm on the low end of older guys( if that makes sense). Many of the newer, younger converts are much more interested in technology than woodsmanship. Carbon/ foam, stabilizers, elevated rests, disposable blade knives and broadheads, podcasts, instagram, etc. The selfbows, hill styles and wood arrows don't( mostly) have as much appeal.

I think it's just the way the world is now. Not a bad thing nessesarily. I'm enjoying the ILF stuff myself. People don't have as much patience as they used too about learning new skills, mostly because they don't have too anymore. So much more info out there now days.

Maybe we just need to speak their language better.

[danbow]

Been here since 2004 with only 195 posts. I find I’m-better off listening than talking. I get in less trouble that way. I also learn more.

[saburai]

I've dabbled in traditional archery since childhood and now at 60 I've decided to get serious. I've on and off, have been a lurker here for at least ten years. In regards to "what happened?" I’ll echo what has been said about social media killing forums. Facebook groups, Instagram, Twitter as well as things like Signal groups and the like are for reasons unknown to me, what people seem to be gravitating towards. The liner, stream of consciousness un searchable nature is not for me. A good forum is indexed and searchable. This is in addition to also being a community! I guess the real time instant gratification is where it's at for most people today. While YouTube and videos certainly have great value, often I would like to immerse myself in reading about whatever the subject of study is before watching a video. Sadly today, it seems that there's often no option other than watching video or listening to a podcast. I would much rather read than listen, I guess I'm becoming another old grouch! I've experienced the "use the search!" Response on many forums, here included. Yes, I know that I can search! I can read a book or an article too. In posting a question, I was hoping to start a more organic dialog, learn and perhaps make some friends and become part of the community! Lastly, and I'm not complaining since I'm very happy to be here but I've definitely been on other forums with a more user-friendly interface, especially when viewed from my android phone. I was wondering why there was not a like button. I don't thumb type quickly and with a like button I can give the author a bit of positive feedback easily. Maybe it doesn't show up on the Android mobile app of Tradgang.com but I still can't find it!

[Rob DiStefano]

I've dabbled in traditional archery since childhood and now at 60 I've decided to get serious. I've on and off, have been a lurker here for at least ten years. In regards to "what happened?" I’ll echo what has been said about social media killing forums. Facebook groups, Instagram, Twitter as well as things like Signal groups and the like are for reasons unknown to me, what people seem to be gravitating towards. The liner, stream of consciousness un searchable nature is not for me. A good forum is indexed and searchable. This is in addition to also being a community! I guess the real time instant gratification is where it's at for most people today. While YouTube and videos certainly have great value, often I would like to immerse myself in reading about whatever the subject of study is before watching a video. Sadly today, it seems that there's often no option other than watching video or listening to a podcast. I would much rather read than listen, I guess I'm becoming another old grouch! I've experienced the "use the search!" Response on many forums, here included. Yes, I know that I can search! I can read a book or an article too. In posting a question, I was hoping to start a more organic dialog, learn and perhaps make some friends and become part of the community! Lastly, and I'm not complaining since I'm very happy to be here but I've definitely been on other forums with a more user-friendly interface, especially when viewed from my android phone. I was wondering why there was not a like button. I don't thumb type quickly and with a like button I can give the author a bit of positive feedback easily. Maybe it doesn't show up on the Android mobile app of Tradgang.com but I still can't find it!

Good to have you getting more serious about trad archery as well as posting and using the forum interactively.  If I can be of any help, please PM or email me directly.

Almost every newbie to traditional longbow/recurve archery will benefit by one-on-one mentoring by a qualified archery teacher trained in the use of traditional archery tackle and instinctive shooting.  Barring that, it'll be hit or miss for developing a solid basic form that one can personalize.  Developing bad habits can be hard to break out of, and too heavy a starting bow is the leading culprit.  Can't achieve good form whilst struggling to come to a good full draw.

Everyone will have their personal views as to what computing device works best for them.  This ranges the spectrum from a desktop to a smartphone and a gaggle of devices in between.  As a loooong time computer user, both professionally and otherwise since the days of "the pong game" (that will have the young'uns scratching their heads), if I can't type on goodly sized keyboard I won't use it.  I use cellphones for talking and maybe some text messaging using voice-to-text input.  Still, I'd rather have a nice keyboard.  To each their own.

You are using the mobile Trad Gang theme and the "Like" app won't work on that - it's a quirk of the mod hack since the mobile theme is yet another mod hack.  Change the moblie theme back to the default theme and you'll see the "Like" button on yer phone.  I've used both the mobile and default themes and still prefer the default theme if I have a need to access the forum via the phone, which is almost never.

Pretty much all forum software will have their quirks and it's impossible to please everyone.  When I first built this forum back in 2003, that software was the best around and it was a "flat file" type.  Time marched on and that software became legacy and no longer supported.  To get off that manner of software and on to current relational base software was nothing short of a nightmare.  The only software app that had a chance of surviving a migration was what we have today, SMF - and believe me, I worked with all the big forum software brands and they all threw their hands up.  With great help from an independent software guru, and from our server manager, the conversion was made.  It's not the best software, but it's not all that bad either, and world's better for functionality than our old forum software. 

[saburai]

Thanks Rob!
I'll shoot you a PM as time allows...

[Possum Head]

Been here since 2004 with only 195 posts. I find I’m-better off listening than talking. I get in less trouble that way. I also learn more.

Yep!

[Wudstix]

I recommend TradGang and ***********.