I was talking with para on the phone today and he brought up the idea that Sigforum may have been one of the early pioneers of discussion boards in a modern format on the internet.

I think what he told me has merit. We have been around since about 2000.

Is sigforum one of the early pioneers of the modern discussion boards?

I'm sure proud to be a long term member!

Long live SIGforum!

I can say that we have always wanted to be unique in all the world.
Personally, I think all of us have accomplished that.

But were we pioneers?

GlockTalk, The Firing Line, SIG-L and the various other lists came before us, but in archaeological terms, say a century from now, yes, we were pioneers.

I don't know when the first discussion boards popped up, but I'm a member of another car-related board that's also been up since 2000, and is coincidentally run similarly to SIGforum with no ads and a minimum of drama mostly as a result of having a zero tolerance policy for bullshit.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
GlockTalk, The Firing Line, SIG-L and the various other lists came before us, but in archaeological terms, say a century from now, yes, we were pioneers.

It's like we were part of a wagon train or something then. Maybe eating a little dust of those just ahead of us.
Fortunately we weren't headed to California.

I always wanted to be a pioneer. It would be cool if we were.
It's just so romantic sounding, pioneer.

Need to put 'Legendary' in front of Quality Firearms, Quality Discussion.

Or, Quality Firearms, Pioneering Discussion.


Para's new CUT: The Christopher Columbus of Internet Discussion.

I was part of a couple dating back to 1998/99, but those years were the pioneering days of the modern internet forum.

para was involved in the forum before I was.
It seems to me though, that we were running this forum and evolving it by 2001.

This place was a tiny hole in the wall back then.

I know lbj said I should never post in a thread he's started but I wanted to add that this is the longest running popular forum I've been a part of. There is one other that has been around just as long and was a pioneer in its own genre of PC gaming, but has since decline to the point where there are only 10 members left and none of us posts there but a couple times a year.

This has been an extremely successful forum. So kudos to you, lbj, and para.

SIGforum was the first forum I joined.

I found it to be an amazing place to visit, but did not have a lot to compare it to.

All these years later, I think it is even more amazing that SIGforum remains true to form, as it was back then.

No fee to be a member and still no advertising, or annoying pop ups.

Thank you Para, lbj and everyone else responsible for making SIGforum such an incredible place to visit.

Sigforum was in there with GT and ARF back in 2000 - 2001. What Sigforum didn't do was become heavily commercialized. No banner ads. No membership fees. No strange and shifting connections to various players in the industry. No attempts to monetize on the big socials sites. Few-to-no attempts to tie the site tightly with certain vendors or firearm platforms because the Sigforum site owners know those boats rise-and-fall with the industry hype cycle and management du jour.

The pioneering spirit here has been the consistent and unwavering focus on quality discussion. It is in keeping with the true spirit of how the internet and then Web 2.0 were founded. Collaboration without the clutter and hype. Sigforum isn't the biggest. It's the best. For this, I am very grateful to lbj and para for this beautiful island.

Para almost died of dysentery when he built this place, after fording the river. (computer servers in covered wagon)

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:

Para almost died of dysentery when he built this place, after fording the river. (computer servers in covered wagon)

The first thing that came to mind was how Para describes PSA's shipping logistics.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
GlockTalk, The Firing Line, SIG-L and the various other lists came before us, but in archaeological terms, say a century from now, yes, we were pioneers.

A different way of looking at it:

Of the pioneers who started the race, who is still running it the same way?

I don't know about the Firing Line, but of the others, Sigforum has changed the least--which means it was a very successful model to being with. SIG-L isn't around anymore and Glocktalk, well, it's definitely not what it used to be.

When does a forum change so much that it's nothing more than a namesake?

When forums like HKPro and Snipers Hide changed ownership, IMO their credibility counter starts over.

quote:

Originally posted by LDD:

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
GlockTalk, The Firing Line, SIG-L and the various other lists came before us, but in archaeological terms, say a century from now, yes, we were pioneers.

A different way of looking at it:

I don't know about the Firing Line, but of the others, Sigforum has changed the least--which means it was a very successful model to being with. SIG-L isn't around anymore and Glocktalk, well, it's definitely not what it used to be.

How I look at it, also. Every single one of them is commercialized, except SF, and some so heavily that you can't even find the posts.

Sig Forum is in my top 3 favorites.
http://www.usrifleteams.com and http://www.bullseyeforum.net/ are the other two

LDD's points are good.

I've been part of a lot of forums since they weren't. IOW, the old Bulletin Board format and stream of mail, God bless us.

I've seen a lot around a long time in variety of genres, but most come and go, or evolve/dwindle more dramatically over time. Other than the occasional danger times in sleep deprivation modes or 2008 election era, this is remarkably consistent and unique.

I've always wanted to know what inspired Para (and others?) to start Sigforum. Maybe he will share the story with us. I've never read about it if it's ever been posted.