Not sure if what we need are the Workbench or Gallery forums opened, but there needs to be something to draw people here to see what is for sale. Until this becomes the go to place, there needs to be something which assures some good traffic of potential buyers.
I understand that this forum is trying to cut down on the ridiculous behavior on other forums, which I completely agree with, but there should be some more community involved than just commerce, to boost the site traffic.
My suggestion would be the Gallery since that will draw people without drawing as much theatrics, just a shiny area to draw attention. Maybe the workbench, but that might draw a lot of needless question and which gun threads, etc. I would love a more practical forum for discussing real upgrades and mods, but it has a bigger chance of being problematical.
Just my opinion.
I'm definitely considering opening up both of those forums, but I also didn't want to send out a message that we were trying to take away from other, more established sites, unless our members requested the features. I believe that starting with as few forums as possible in the beginning will get and keep people posting, so that our growth will be properly controlled.
I'm quite the picture taker myself, and I do spend a hell of a lot of time looking over other people's projects, so believe me, it wasn't an easy decision to close off forums for now. However, I'm going to work on opening the Gallery forum, once I come up with a set of rules for it, and possibly add subforms to help organize what's posted a little better. It would be nice to keep themed photos together, to ensure they get the most exposure.
I like the gallery Idea. It will bring people in if they see some of the eye candy that is poping up in their. Especaily when the see it come up for sale like the sig. Also if the workbench is everopened. I say leave out the wich gun thread. If nesscary have one page listing type of gun their roles in games but no one can respond to it. Also if the workbench has upgrade topics Please please seperate the mpegs from the better quality gun that cost a bit more. If too many post questions in an mpeg section about the same thing that commonly happens post a sticky type help that does not go away or goes to a seperate thread with the most common airsoft problems and suggestions on how to fix them. Make the person search for the awnsers in that thread before he posts. I don't know how hard that would be. I do have my own local forum and I would but moderators in charge of monitoring the thread once it gets large(the site as well as the repair thread.
Also if this is the go to spot for trading and selling we need to keep that front and center! When people see that they can buy/sell/trade stuff and know they are not going to be ripped off they will come. Also in the sale section I would put sale items in categories to help people locate and find thing better.
Just my 2 cent's worth.
The marketplace will of course be the first area we focus on for expansion. The main goal was to get people started, and get feedback on what they would like to see, and what they've been exposed to in the past that they didn't care for. There will definitely be separation in the sales area, to allow for breakdowns in different types of airsoft gear for sale. Our first priority is the verification process. We need to have something in place to get more people verified, so people can see it in action. Once that is complete, you'll see the sales area open up.
So, make sure you give us your thoughts on the verification process, and any ideas you may have!