PVC Arsenal 17 wrote:
It seems like many members of the community are only really interested in the work of the few big name members like Boltsniper and CaptainSlug
I just wanted to put in my 2c on this back-and-forth with the Nerf guys. I think you
are the next Boltsniper or CaptainSlug, and I came back to Nerf and started lurking on Spudfiles because of your work. It takes some time for the Nerf guys to warm up to an idea, but you did the most important thing right: you built something that works. If you keep doing that, you'll be the next "god" of Nerf. btrettel deserves a lot of credit here, too, for trying to bridge the gap with the Nerf community, but (as far as I know -- I've been gone for awhile) he's never had the same kind of reliable, obviously-easy-to-build prototype that you did. That's what the Nerf guys want to see.
PVC Arsenal 17 wrote:
They do seem open to new ideas, but more so when they're presented by the few I mentioned before. NerfHaven's administration makes this especially evident when they lock "concept threads" by common members but not those by CaptainSlug, for example.
This attitude was many years in the making. The bar for Nerf modding is set far lower (as is, I'm sure, the average age) than the one for spudding, so there's necessarily a lot more crap floating around in the Nerf community. This means that people are very intolerant of bullshit, and you
must prove your point with a
practical prototype or nobody will listen. This is sad, but it's the only way to avoid lots of the pointless mods you guys are making fun of here.
The draconian admins on Nerfhaven were pretty surprising, though, even for me. It makes the forums feel like a schoolyard where some of the bullies have bigger sticks than others, and I don't care for it.
PVC Arsenal 17 wrote:
I understand that Nerfers have their "traditions" when it comes to the operation of Nerf guns. I've received some criticism for trying to achieve high rate of fire guns. While I respect that they have certain norms they like to stick to, it might benefit the hobby to open up to new things.
I think the people who don't want the
game to change are in the minority, and most people are willing to see the game change in response to a reliable, easily built homemade. The +bow was just such a change. I think most people stick to their norms simply because they're conditioned to do what works. This is what generates the negative responses to pneumatics -- most Nerfers are unconvinced that it can work the way you claim. When they see that it can, and that pneumatics aren't necessarily more powerful than a +bow, they'll start to allow them at games.
PVC Arsenal 17 wrote:
I don't have much else to say besides that. They don't really bother me. I'm patient with whatever faults they might have. No community is perfect.
Thanks for being patient -- they'll appreciate you one day. Keep up the good work.