TFL v. THR

[Coffee357]

I put TFL - but I don't believe forever. TFL had a couple of things going for it. It was easier to discover because it just plain sounded like a shooting site. It also had a couple years behind it to gather its following and, as a result, wound up with an enormously large audience (We ain't doing too bad here, though !). Finally, as a result of TFL's time in service, TFL had inputs on almost all firearm related matters of it's time and so became an enormous database that I still use for some of the more obscure topics or reviews.

That said, THR is getting there. With the already large membership it is only a matter of time before THR meets or exceeds the accomplishments of TFL. As a firearm enthusiast I consider myself fortunate for the resourse that TFL, and now THR
provides. I used to be a gun magazine junkie - now I only buy when an extremely promising article appears. TFL and THR have become THE source I go to when considering purchases, brands and input on assembly and repair (I admit to AR15.com, GlockTalk,
The Ruger forum, and the 1911 forum for type specific questions). All in all - TFL was great! - THR is great! A huge thank-you to those who have brought us both and to those who have contributed.

Coffee

 

[sm]

Art...

said it best for me...

 

[hso]

As THR matures I think that it will be fairer to make the call.

 

[Gary H]

Oleg:

I've been curious about that one since December. They show THR as the 28841st busiest website. Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Hal]

Saw both from their inception.....

TFL was a continuation of Compuserve, only done better and with more open rules. Most of the originals @ TFL migrated there when the Compuserve discussion forum closed. The original TFL (Fall 1998) started with a very rigid "Firearms Only" policy, which almost killed it. @ the time, another Forum, www.gunforums.com, the "sister site" site of www.knifeforums.com - owned by Earl Stewart, and TFL competed for the same posters. There were numerous complaints @ GF.com about the strict policy of 100% firearms related posts. Rich L. went so far as to award prizes to posters for generating some form of 100% gun related topics.
(Search General for @ the last)
Unfortunatly, most if not all of the first month of TFL is lost becuse there was no "General Forum". "Legal" goes back to the inception though.
Anyhow, someone (Rich L?) took note of the difference and relaxed the 100% rule. After that, traffic increased to the point that TFL began to drag down the performance of the www.bladeforums.com server, which at that time hosted the site.
A move to a new dedicated server, and a software upgrade, allowed TFL to become the "fastest" firearms board on the net, along with the most "user friendly" interface. (Shooters had the speed, but it's layout was primitive)
(Circa ~ Late Spring 1999). That was the period (1999) of explosive growth for TFL.

(more @ some other point)

 

[twoblink]

I think vs. is not doing either forum justice.

There are also things to consider; a lot of us TFL'ers have matured (some slower then others, speaking of myself) and so we have more knowledge to share with each other. That said, THR has a long ways to go as far as ARCHIVED knowledge. But if I've got a rifle question, I'm glad Art is around, if I've got a "I think they only make 30 of these guns, anybody tell me more about them?" question, Tamara is around... etc..

A lot of old faces, a lot of new faces, TFL was the best in it's days, and THR is here now. When I think of THR, I smile, when I think of TFL, I smile.

No vs.. Different era, different board.

 

[garrettwc]

I don't think it's an either/or proposition.

TFL Elites? Hardly. More like veterans.

Think of it as one great RKBA war. The theater of operations may have changed (TFL to THR), some of the troops moved on to other units, and were replaced by new recruits.

But the mission remains the same.

 

[PATH]

TFL and THR complement each other. Choosing between the two would be like choosing between ones children. No, I love both sites.

 

[dairycreek]

I am doublythankful for that which was and that which is!

Good shooting

 

[Sean Smith]

Was at TFL, it seems like the same difference to me.

The furry hat pic is just priceless!

 

[Sven]

Poll isn't very fair.

TFL is still - and hopefully always will be - an amazing resource. THR's archive stands at about 10% of TFL's size, so far.

Won't say anything bout quality except that its everyones job to keep the quality of this forum up.

 

[2nd Amendment]

It's impossible to compare the two as resources. THR simply hasn't existed long enough to be competetive there. I do believe that it will grow to the TFL level in a shorter time than it took TFL because THR hit the ground running and the ideals and goals were already clearly in place.

As for the board itself, I actually like THR better because its policies are not quite so rigid as TFL. That means things will be a little rougher around the edges, true, but in the long term it'll make for a more varied resource and a larger audience with a wider(and sometimes louder) group of views and opinions. To me that's a good thing, though to the thin skinned it might not be.

 

[MountainPeak]

I lurked some at TFL, but don't think I ever joined or posted. I enjoy THR. In fact, I probably spend about 80% of my internet gun forums time here. Keep up the good work.

 

[HankL]

No vote at all. The idea was to build an educated base of people to promote and defend the Right of The American People to keep and carry arms. The bonus was that other forums were started that made valuable knowledge available about firearms themselves. A small group grew into a small family from what I understand. The family grew to the point of growing pains on many an occasion. Server problems, bandwidth, etc. Their were some renegades along the way, one being a guy who called himself Cornered Rat as I recall.

This place is a gathering ground of people with vast knowledge and people who would like to learn. If you have time to learn, sit by the fire and soak in what you can.

If you never were a lurker or member of TFL read this thread and search around a bit. Old TFL Nothing that special about that post except that it was early on and a good discussion.

We will get there here in time. I will sit by the fire and learn for now.

Hank