How do we fix AO?

[kosmo]

What the heck happened to Brians forum?

[BobTheCow]

What the heck happened to Brians forum?

Yeah, it's been a couple weeks now. No good.

[behemoth]

Jdev's server took a dump. Thats why Brians, DC, AKAOG, as well as a few others have gone down too.

Anyhow, PMSTC - As far as i know VF was a good dude, we did business a few times. He's from TX tho (if memory serves), idk how you'd have met him...

[pmstc]

Jdev's server took a dump. Thats why Brians, DC, AKAOG, as well as a few others have gone down too.

Anyhow, PMSTC - As far as i know VF was a good dude, we did business a few times. He's from TX tho (if memory serves), idk how you'd have met him...

lol then I definitely am way off
I remember the fat guy now, it was lord_vader and I played with him once like 5 years ago. and he didn't rip anyone off. that was someone else. Srry VF I <3 u

[gibby]

Gibby, you still got that gorgeous karta-emag?

Hey there behemoth...unfortunately, I don't. I actually traded that thing for a DC Viking about a year or so ago. Where I live now, you pay for air by the 1000psi. As you can see, it got expensive playing with it.

I've actually seen pics of my Karta mag floating around as it's changed hands several times. I think last I saw, it was being parted out. Sad to see but I made my choice. Definitely one of the harder decisions I had to make but I'm still happy with my Viking! It's the next best thing to a mag, imo.

[CoFFeY[NiTrO]]

i keep seeing myself in the banner up top, and it makes me miss my xmag haha

[MagDog68]

I've been on here a long time - and I think AO was one of the best forums out there. I can't put my finger on it, but it does not feel the same. It doesn't feel like a community as much any more, and I don't really know why. I'd like for AO to continue to be something special on the Internet.

There's been a lot of complaining, with little constructiveness.
Rule for this thread: Be constructive. No complaining without proposed solutions.

I'm going to go out on a limb here... but stupidity = ban of undisclosed amount of time in this thread. And... pruning will be very liberal.

Is it really broken, or just a matter of things changing over time?

What made AO good?

What still makes it good?

What has changed?

How do we improve it?

Ahhh....here is the simplest answer as to why it doesn't feel the same. I will give you simple anaolgy. AO is like the band you loved and only you and a few of your friends knew about. You would go see them at the local club with about a hundred other people in the audience and you felt as though you were part of something. Then one day you go to the mall to pick up a new pair of sneakers and you see a group of 15 year old girls wearing your band's T-Shirts, and it doesn't feel the same.

This place used to be so small that I knew the name of the guy who only posted once a week. Now I'm lucky if anyone knows who the hell I am and I've been here longer than 90% of the members. Its the way things go as they grow up, just like paintball did for Tom. It got too big, too corporate, too different from the thing we loved when we started it.

PS My A button sticks a lot, so forgive any typos.