So after reading another twat-waffle's whiny little bitch post about how he was stuck with the 6.5 Manbun rifle when he really wanted something else... (how do you buy the 'wrong caliber' in a rifle, anyway?) it occurs to me that with our huge new member population, a history of the PX and why it's so rigidly enforced might be in order. Because it speaks to why things are the way they are. And why this community is protective of our PX and associated rules.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away our HMFWIC created Snipers Hide. And it was good. And it attracted good people and times were good. Those people swapped state-of-the-art information on rifles, optics, accessories, ammunition, reloading, bipods, web gear... and tactics, methods and tips. And times were good. One could say that the realm of the precision tactical marksman had moved from the dark recesses of the .mil and .LE communities... making its way to a group of people who wanted to pit their skills against, not so much each other, but against physics and the science of ballistics. Many of those skills and much of that knowledge fed back into the .mil and .LE communities and helped save countless lives downrange as the entire science of tactical marksmanship flourished over the past 25 years. And it was good.
These same people also began to sell rifles, optics, accessories, etc. Mainly among friends. And with the confidence that among this tight community, noone was going to get ripped off. A man's word was his bond. An 'I'll Take it" constituted an ironclad handshake, even between two men, sometimes warriors, who never even met. As it should be.
Then, after 9/11 and a few years of deployments and news stories and gun magazine stories about legendary snipery topics.. the community grew by leaps and bounds. More people coming in to learn and take the sport (and the tactical science) to the next level. Rifle, scope, ammo, accessory development entered a golden age where advancements seemed to come weekly in one area or another. New calibers, new platforms, chassis, new optics. Much of it driven right here on SH.
But with growth came some downsides. The community got large enough that it was seen as a target market. And what had been a nice, cozy, trustworthy buying and selling community became like Craigs List for all kinds of crap. Newbies were dropping in by the hundreds and offering junk for sale or, worse, offering scams. Surprise, right? This is the Internet. No fooling... scammers show up. The issue is that our HMFWIC bore the brunt of these scams... and his beloved community risked getting a reputation as being just another POS gun site on the Interwebs. So the community rallied and started to put in some rules.
First, they ruled that in order to buy, sell, trade here, you had to have 100 posts. Seems like a good idea. That way you can see if the person you are buying from is really a 'community' contributor. And that didn't work.
Why? Because the little scammers, trolls and "rules don't apply to me" douche bags who would later grow manbuns... would put up posts like "Tag" or "Ditto" or "#me Too" (probably only the ones who were molested). And within a day, they were going "But I have 100 posts... I have this awesome scope to sell at 3X USO MSRP because I managed to scam one." And people were again getting ripped off and pissed off and we were getting a reputation for being a douche-magnet.
So... the rule went into place that you have to have 100 Meaningful posts. Figuring that weeding out the peckerheads by their content would be something that could be spotted easily. Nope... Folks would come on and post semi-meaningful blather and would shoot to get to 100 posts in 2 hours... and on the 101st post would be their item for sale in the PX... or 20 items. Along with a "Ha Ha HMFWIC and SH assholes... I followed your little rules and here I am, selling my crap... ." And again, instead of contributing to the Community, these folks did nothing but turn The 'Hide into eBay... all while getting into spats, disputes, complaints that made the HMFWIC's life difficult.
And before we go into how this started to resolve itself... it should be noted that all during this time, the PX and "Sales" were not making our Leader any money. He didn't charge for storefronts. He didn't take a percentage. He didn't get a Commercial Vendor Fee or a 3 percent skim off the top like eBay or Gunbroker. So he got all the headaches brought on by the "Used Car Salesmen" who dumped all over the PX. And no benefit whatsoever. In fact, a net negative, because the BS in the PX spilled over into General Population and threatened the reputation of the SH Community. And without that reputation, he (and our residents) got nothing. We become a crap site like so many others.
So... the natural answer is to shut down the PX. Ban selling and trades and other 'commerce' all together. Boom! All the headaches go away. It is a very real and valid option. And one that if I had been the HMFWIC I'd have probably done, because I don't have his patience and tolerance. But the community rose up and begged to keep the PX. Me among them. Because I've gotten some great deals on reloading stuff and I find the PX to be a very useful place not just as a buyer but for information as well. "We'll follow the rules HMFWIC, we all said. Please, don't take our PX. Come up with a plan! But let us keep our PX!" And the HMFWIC relented and we got to keep our PX. And it was good.
But, of course, in the post-Scout world and in the COVID world, the interest in the subject has gone through the roof. The sign-up numbers are in the tens of thousands a month. A million new members pouring into our community. This means more opportunities for HMFIC. More visibility for his sponsors and his videos and classes and events. And it is very good!
Except with the PX. Because all of a sudden, this influx of new blood (90 percent of which is awesome) is accompanied by scammers, Nigerian Warlords, eBay sellers, man-bun-wearing douche-nozzles with 6.5's who think they are above petty rules. And the HMFWIC's life is, again, not copasetic.
"Don't shut the PX down," says the community. "We love the PX. Come up with something..." So the HMFIC creates a new banner and category for folks called "Hessians" who are allowed to buy accounts to sell in the PX 'up front.' Hessians, BTW, was a blatant insult intended to brand these folks as being purely mercenary... and willing to sell out for a few bucks. But, many wore the tag to continue to post for sale and trade, etc. items in the PX. And the community was happy. Mostly. Except for those who skirted the rules. And those who sold crap. And those who were scammers. And, again, the HMFIC was getting headaches from the PX.
"Please, don't shut our PX Down," says the community. "We love our PX. Please don't kill it! Even though it is the bane of your existence. We'll follow the rules."
So the 100 post rule goes away. The 'time you are a member' goes away. Hessians go away. Everything goes away. Now, you pay a membership to post in the PX. Which is still a PITA. But at least our dear leader is now getting some compensation for the bovine scatology he has to endure daily from the little PX spats and people scamming and selling garbage. Hey, at least he can also say "Those aren't members of the community, they're just used gear salesmen... "
And we get to keep our PX. Of course, it is now more of a minefield than it every was. Handshakes aren't ironclad. And one has to watch their a$$ because that pistol you buy from Alaska might not exist at all... and some MFer is using SH to do what every thieving scum-weasel on the Internet does... Steal shit and scam people. It's what they do. But for those of use who are smart enough... there are still great deals and great people on the PX... and joining SH every day. Did I mention 10 percent.
But, as in all things. there's always those few guys. The douche-weasels who go "I'll create a workaround by creating a 'state-by-state' marketplace. Or "Noone will notice if I come here and put a "For Sale" line hidden at the bottom of my first post. I'm above the rules." And more importantly are willing to say, right in public... right to the whole community in their posts: "I am openly stealing from Frank Galli and putting the PX at Risk by being an asshole and I don't care because the rules don't apply to me.
And when the community... the same community that values its PX and is here because the castle that our HMFWIC built is an amazing place... calls some little peckerhead thief on his actions... they get all antsy in their little skinny jeans and call out the community.
We are protecting our PX and our community for a reason. And here is some news for the little thieves who think stealing from Frank and Shitting in our nest is a good idea. Some folks here protect this community pretty ruthlessly. The level of vitriol that you will find can be epic. And you will never come back. Moreover, your idiocy will be preserved for all to see. A virtual head-on-a-pike, Dracula style around the Transylvania castle. And we'll have fun doing it.
So please, new members... Join us in droves. Come and contribute! Become part of the community and revered members. Learn, shoot, grow, contribute to a growing sport. Buy (and earn) the right to use the PX and use it wisely. Be Snipers Hide.
The 10 percent of you who think you are above us all and show up here to steal and throw arrows? Game on, cupcakes.
Thus endeth the lesson. And all is good.
Sirhr
PS... My apologies for any details I got wrong on the PX history... I missed the first decade here... coming in with the first wave of newbies... and only just overlapping with many of the founding legends. So some of you real early folks, please correct my oversights. And, last, thanks HMFWIC for putting up with us. And for keeping the PX when it would have been much easier to nuke it long ago! Hey, I'm going shopping now!
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away our HMFWIC created Snipers Hide. And it was good. And it attracted good people and times were good. Those people swapped state-of-the-art information on rifles, optics, accessories, ammunition, reloading, bipods, web gear... and tactics, methods and tips. And times were good. One could say that the realm of the precision tactical marksman had moved from the dark recesses of the .mil and .LE communities... making its way to a group of people who wanted to pit their skills against, not so much each other, but against physics and the science of ballistics. Many of those skills and much of that knowledge fed back into the .mil and .LE communities and helped save countless lives downrange as the entire science of tactical marksmanship flourished over the past 25 years. And it was good.
These same people also began to sell rifles, optics, accessories, etc. Mainly among friends. And with the confidence that among this tight community, noone was going to get ripped off. A man's word was his bond. An 'I'll Take it" constituted an ironclad handshake, even between two men, sometimes warriors, who never even met. As it should be.
Then, after 9/11 and a few years of deployments and news stories and gun magazine stories about legendary snipery topics.. the community grew by leaps and bounds. More people coming in to learn and take the sport (and the tactical science) to the next level. Rifle, scope, ammo, accessory development entered a golden age where advancements seemed to come weekly in one area or another. New calibers, new platforms, chassis, new optics. Much of it driven right here on SH.
But with growth came some downsides. The community got large enough that it was seen as a target market. And what had been a nice, cozy, trustworthy buying and selling community became like Craigs List for all kinds of crap. Newbies were dropping in by the hundreds and offering junk for sale or, worse, offering scams. Surprise, right? This is the Internet. No fooling... scammers show up. The issue is that our HMFWIC bore the brunt of these scams... and his beloved community risked getting a reputation as being just another POS gun site on the Interwebs. So the community rallied and started to put in some rules.
First, they ruled that in order to buy, sell, trade here, you had to have 100 posts. Seems like a good idea. That way you can see if the person you are buying from is really a 'community' contributor. And that didn't work.
Why? Because the little scammers, trolls and "rules don't apply to me" douche bags who would later grow manbuns... would put up posts like "Tag" or "Ditto" or "#me Too" (probably only the ones who were molested). And within a day, they were going "But I have 100 posts... I have this awesome scope to sell at 3X USO MSRP because I managed to scam one." And people were again getting ripped off and pissed off and we were getting a reputation for being a douche-magnet.
So... the rule went into place that you have to have 100 Meaningful posts. Figuring that weeding out the peckerheads by their content would be something that could be spotted easily. Nope... Folks would come on and post semi-meaningful blather and would shoot to get to 100 posts in 2 hours... and on the 101st post would be their item for sale in the PX... or 20 items. Along with a "Ha Ha HMFWIC and SH assholes... I followed your little rules and here I am, selling my crap... ." And again, instead of contributing to the Community, these folks did nothing but turn The 'Hide into eBay... all while getting into spats, disputes, complaints that made the HMFWIC's life difficult.
And before we go into how this started to resolve itself... it should be noted that all during this time, the PX and "Sales" were not making our Leader any money. He didn't charge for storefronts. He didn't take a percentage. He didn't get a Commercial Vendor Fee or a 3 percent skim off the top like eBay or Gunbroker. So he got all the headaches brought on by the "Used Car Salesmen" who dumped all over the PX. And no benefit whatsoever. In fact, a net negative, because the BS in the PX spilled over into General Population and threatened the reputation of the SH Community. And without that reputation, he (and our residents) got nothing. We become a crap site like so many others.
So... the natural answer is to shut down the PX. Ban selling and trades and other 'commerce' all together. Boom! All the headaches go away. It is a very real and valid option. And one that if I had been the HMFWIC I'd have probably done, because I don't have his patience and tolerance. But the community rose up and begged to keep the PX. Me among them. Because I've gotten some great deals on reloading stuff and I find the PX to be a very useful place not just as a buyer but for information as well. "We'll follow the rules HMFWIC, we all said. Please, don't take our PX. Come up with a plan! But let us keep our PX!" And the HMFWIC relented and we got to keep our PX. And it was good.
But, of course, in the post-Scout world and in the COVID world, the interest in the subject has gone through the roof. The sign-up numbers are in the tens of thousands a month. A million new members pouring into our community. This means more opportunities for HMFIC. More visibility for his sponsors and his videos and classes and events. And it is very good!
Except with the PX. Because all of a sudden, this influx of new blood (90 percent of which is awesome) is accompanied by scammers, Nigerian Warlords, eBay sellers, man-bun-wearing douche-nozzles with 6.5's who think they are above petty rules. And the HMFWIC's life is, again, not copasetic.
"Don't shut the PX down," says the community. "We love the PX. Come up with something..." So the HMFIC creates a new banner and category for folks called "Hessians" who are allowed to buy accounts to sell in the PX 'up front.' Hessians, BTW, was a blatant insult intended to brand these folks as being purely mercenary... and willing to sell out for a few bucks. But, many wore the tag to continue to post for sale and trade, etc. items in the PX. And the community was happy. Mostly. Except for those who skirted the rules. And those who sold crap. And those who were scammers. And, again, the HMFIC was getting headaches from the PX.
"Please, don't shut our PX Down," says the community. "We love our PX. Please don't kill it! Even though it is the bane of your existence. We'll follow the rules."
So the 100 post rule goes away. The 'time you are a member' goes away. Hessians go away. Everything goes away. Now, you pay a membership to post in the PX. Which is still a PITA. But at least our dear leader is now getting some compensation for the bovine scatology he has to endure daily from the little PX spats and people scamming and selling garbage. Hey, at least he can also say "Those aren't members of the community, they're just used gear salesmen... "
And we get to keep our PX. Of course, it is now more of a minefield than it every was. Handshakes aren't ironclad. And one has to watch their a$$ because that pistol you buy from Alaska might not exist at all... and some MFer is using SH to do what every thieving scum-weasel on the Internet does... Steal shit and scam people. It's what they do. But for those of use who are smart enough... there are still great deals and great people on the PX... and joining SH every day. Did I mention 10 percent.
But, as in all things. there's always those few guys. The douche-weasels who go "I'll create a workaround by creating a 'state-by-state' marketplace. Or "Noone will notice if I come here and put a "For Sale" line hidden at the bottom of my first post. I'm above the rules." And more importantly are willing to say, right in public... right to the whole community in their posts: "I am openly stealing from Frank Galli and putting the PX at Risk by being an asshole and I don't care because the rules don't apply to me.
And when the community... the same community that values its PX and is here because the castle that our HMFWIC built is an amazing place... calls some little peckerhead thief on his actions... they get all antsy in their little skinny jeans and call out the community.
We are protecting our PX and our community for a reason. And here is some news for the little thieves who think stealing from Frank and Shitting in our nest is a good idea. Some folks here protect this community pretty ruthlessly. The level of vitriol that you will find can be epic. And you will never come back. Moreover, your idiocy will be preserved for all to see. A virtual head-on-a-pike, Dracula style around the Transylvania castle. And we'll have fun doing it.
So please, new members... Join us in droves. Come and contribute! Become part of the community and revered members. Learn, shoot, grow, contribute to a growing sport. Buy (and earn) the right to use the PX and use it wisely. Be Snipers Hide.
The 10 percent of you who think you are above us all and show up here to steal and throw arrows? Game on, cupcakes.
Thus endeth the lesson. And all is good.
Sirhr
PS... My apologies for any details I got wrong on the PX history... I missed the first decade here... coming in with the first wave of newbies... and only just overlapping with many of the founding legends. So some of you real early folks, please correct my oversights. And, last, thanks HMFWIC for putting up with us. And for keeping the PX when it would have been much easier to nuke it long ago! Hey, I'm going shopping now!
