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Quiet Forum concern


Ruggers
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Hello my name is Ruggers. I haven’t been on the forums much because I haven’t felt the need to since the pandemic started and I was approved right before it all happened. I’ve been on the forums a couple times this past year to look up information on a dewback prod. I checked in again today just to see how everyone is doing but, to my surprise I notice either no one posts lately or not many people log in at all.

I find all that concerning because for new members looking for answers to questions about the detachment and possible costuming, they may not get the help they need. So I hope for 2023 more people will get on and keep an eye out for questions from new members. Thank you.

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While @bigwamand I are always there to approve new members and Police Officer or SWAT applicants, support troopers with their questions and provide guidance where needed or simply react to trooping log posts in an encouraging way, I feel with you and have noticed the same and agree. 

I also hope that it's going to pick up again.

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Hello Roger,

as @Hausi says, it's been very quiet lately. For what reason? Unfortunately we don't know either. Many members register to have level 2 or 3 approved and then unfortunately you don't hear anything anymore. I hope, of course, that this will change again in the near future. The whole thing is very unfortunate. We also noticed that the Sandtrooper was and is a very popular costume. The number of approved Sandtroopers has increased. I hope, of course, that this will change again in the near future. That the interest in the forum increases again and more construction reports or pictures of Troopes, Foundparts and much more are posted.

 

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I've noticed that the MEPD is not the most active detachment forum, but when you post, you almost always get a response from the regulars, which is awesome!
Do any of you know how other detachments are faring? Given the current economic situation, I could imagine that the hobby is attracting less new people in general?

My new years resolution is to continue with my build-thread and hopefully update it in the next few days. :D 

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I also can't really tell as I don't regularly visit the other forums. I know that there's a lot going on in the bounty hunters' guild forum in the Mandalorian Armor section. The OT bounty hunters - except for Fett - on the other hand are also quite forgotten. I assume it's the same here, new people are maybe more attracted to costumes from the newer series.

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Question for the OP - what would you like to see more of on the forum?

While I don't post often here, I check in every few days or so to see if there are content I can contribute to / be interested in. Fact of the matter is, there's already so much awesome info on this forum I think of it more as a reference than anything else, and I think that's how a lot of troopers approach it.

I'm in all the detachment forums, and not all are super active. Off the top of my head, I think the active ones are all somewhat tied to costumes that appeared in the new media coming out. The rest who don't have as much new characters are fairly quiet with an engaged core staff (usually) that monitors and shows up to answer questions.

So, back to the original question - what would you like to see more of on the forum? Might help give the command here better feedback.

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/20/2023 at 7:24 AM, Hoda said:

Question for the OP - what would you like to see more of on the forum?

While I don't post often here, I check in every few days or so to see if there are content I can contribute to / be interested in. Fact of the matter is, there's already so much awesome info on this forum I think of it more as a reference than anything else, and I think that's how a lot of troopers approach it.

I'm in all the detachment forums, and not all are super active. Off the top of my head, I think the active ones are all somewhat tied to costumes that appeared in the new media coming out. The rest who don't have as much new characters are fairly quiet with an engaged core staff (usually) that monitors and shows up to answer questions.

So, back to the original question - what would you like to see more of on the forum? Might help give the command here better feedback.

Sorry for the late reply. I tried to access the forums the day or two after my post but I wasn’t able to connect to the server. That being said.

what would I like to see more of? I’m not entirely sure. By way of suggesting what we should add, I do not know, I haven’t spent much time on other forums of any kind. For what I do know though, I’d say build threads, because I’m interested in how everyone makes there armor and webs it all together, everyone does something a little different. I’ve seen people in my garrison use Velcro to connect the kidney plate to the abdominal plate and just clamshell themselves in. I use a lot of snaps which make it harder to get into my kit myself. So stuff like that I like to see.

I’d like to eventually see more costumes in the MEPD, but that isn’t something we have a lot of control over.

I would like to see everyone’s "tour of duty" photos since I like seeing what other garrisons are up to. There aren’t a lot of sand troopers in my garrison that currently wear their armor (its pretty much just me right now), so I’d like to see more pictures and stories. After all that would help our public relations team out quite a bit. More social media posts mean more exposure. More exposure means more potential members, which would potentially liven up the forums.

it makes sense that troopers view the forums as a reference more than anything. We’ve been making the same few costumes for a while now and it seems we’ve covered a lot of ground because of that.

being asked what I would like to see, I'm interested in what everyone else thinks we should do.

last year during the elections, I remember reading that making the forums more active was one of the goals. I think we should continue to work on that.

I was going to suggest we do a poll before the elections, since I think more people would check in at that time. But like I said, I couldn’t connect to the server for a bit. I don’t know how polls during the election would work, but maybe that is something we can look into, if not after the elections have completed.

 

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5 hours ago, Ruggers said:

 

Sorry for the late reply. I tried to access the forums the day or two after my post but I wasn’t able to connect to the server. That being said.

what would I like to see more of? I’m not entirely sure. By way of suggesting what we should add, I do not know, I haven’t spent much time on other forums of any kind. For what I do know though, I’d say build threads, because I’m interested in how everyone makes there armor and webs it all together, everyone does something a little different. I’ve seen people in my garrison use Velcro to connect the kidney plate to the abdominal plate and just clamshell themselves in. I use a lot of snaps which make it harder to get into my kit myself. So stuff like that I like to see.

I’d like to eventually see more costumes in the MEPD, but that isn’t something we have a lot of control over.

I would like to see everyone’s "tour of duty" photos since I like seeing what other garrisons are up to. There aren’t a lot of sand troopers in my garrison that currently wear their armor (its pretty much just me right now), so I’d like to see more pictures and stories. After all that would help our public relations team out quite a bit. More social media posts mean more exposure. More exposure means more potential members, which would potentially liven up the forums.

it makes sense that troopers view the forums as a reference more than anything. We’ve been making the same few costumes for a while now and it seems we’ve covered a lot of ground because of that.

being asked what I would like to see, I'm interested in what everyone else thinks we should do.

last year during the elections, I remember reading that making the forums more active was one of the goals. I think we should continue to work on that.

I was going to suggest we do a poll before the elections, since I think more people would check in at that time. But like I said, I couldn’t connect to the server for a bit. I don’t know how polls during the election would work, but maybe that is something we can look into, if not after the elections have completed.

 

Trooping incentives would be fun! I know some folks who dedicate a whole lot of time to the troop logs for the purpose of some incentive patches/coins.

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  • 3 weeks later...

To be honest, we have all of the above mentioned things, WIPs, trooping incentives like the "roughneck" awards... still people don't really like to get involved anylonger. They look at the pics but nobody posts an encouraging comment anymore or leaves a like. I guess it's people's attitude that has changed. 

I for one also do not feel as motivated anymore to take all the time to post my builds here if I feel like no one really cares. But I still keep doing it as I also feel it helps people. 

The only thing that everyone really cares about is merch these days.

Sorry for the rant.:sweat:

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On 1/31/2023 at 1:37 PM, Ruggers said:

 

Sorry for the late reply. I tried to access the forums the day or two after my post but I wasn’t able to connect to the server. That being said.

what would I like to see more of? I’m not entirely sure. By way of suggesting what we should add, I do not know, I haven’t spent much time on other forums of any kind. For what I do know though, I’d say build threads, because I’m interested in how everyone makes there armor and webs it all together, everyone does something a little different. I’ve seen people in my garrison use Velcro to connect the kidney plate to the abdominal plate and just clamshell themselves in. I use a lot of snaps which make it harder to get into my kit myself. So stuff like that I like to see.

I’d like to eventually see more costumes in the MEPD, but that isn’t something we have a lot of control over.

I would like to see everyone’s "tour of duty" photos since I like seeing what other garrisons are up to. There aren’t a lot of sand troopers in my garrison that currently wear their armor (its pretty much just me right now), so I’d like to see more pictures and stories. After all that would help our public relations team out quite a bit. More social media posts mean more exposure. More exposure means more potential members, which would potentially liven up the forums.

it makes sense that troopers view the forums as a reference more than anything. We’ve been making the same few costumes for a while now and it seems we’ve covered a lot of ground because of that.

being asked what I would like to see, I'm interested in what everyone else thinks we should do.

last year during the elections, I remember reading that making the forums more active was one of the goals. I think we should continue to work on that.

I was going to suggest we do a poll before the elections, since I think more people would check in at that time. But like I said, I couldn’t connect to the server for a bit. I don’t know how polls during the election would work, but maybe that is something we can look into, if not after the elections have completed.

 

MEPD and FISD both have a great vast of knowledge build up over the last 10+ years. I am trying things out to get people to post more and start or update their Tour of Duty logs. The real issue that is affecting all detachments is people using social media/discord, etc. now as a daily "chat" and leaving forums for official things or reference like you said. Instead of rejecting social media, it should be used a tool to promote our detachment and also get people to check in on the forum. Our forum is the official platform for many things, most importantly during elections and merch runs. The forums will never go away. Tim has got a great crew this term and we're motivated. We've got some great things coming down the pipeline. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey There brothers!
Long time...

(Hope this post doesn't kill the thread as it has happened to me several times)

I have not been in the forums for several months. Even then, I don't remember having posted any time recently. And yet, when and if I come to take a look, read a bit or simple get some memories and smile, I do notice the lack of activity, posting... life.

In the last months of Mike Harrison period as DL, and during the first few months of Noel aka Bluey, we went through something like this. Some of the more veterans will remember it no doubt. To put it simple,  the MEPD was dead.  

At the time, it was a completely different experience being a Sandtrooper.  An Underrated character, with no action figure yet. Only a few Sandtrooper lovers had developed a basic kit for all TD gear. Crashmann had the basic pack kit available, there were a few proto-pauldrons made (before Jay revolutionized how it was done), no baptys, no sonix radios... It was a dark time.

A few troopers, mainly Rolf and Noel, kept posting nonstop. Always bringing new info, references, ideas, anecdotes or just good vibe. Slowly, people started to join the party and more content was posted. I myself got all excited at the time... 

Then what I call the era of discovery came. When we all as a community joined forces and time to research, dig up and find new information and most importantly, found parts. From the Shires Syphon, to the correct Tupperware pitcher lid, to the Gyostyle canteen for the pack. Every day was exciting, spending hours on ebay, antique stores, flea markets and just on google. Trying to find the correct parts, and correctly identifying the pouches.

*BTW, I just saw a thread and understood how different this moment is to that, when a Spanish pouch can go up to 60 USD. I got mine for 6. Low demand meant low price, I guess.

And that is what brought more and more people to the forum at the time.

Then... new and more accurate armor. After the so called Armor Wars, back in the day, armor options were rare and "exclusive". Then, it suddenly was possible for anybody to get an accurate kit. And even better, later on, the holy grail of armor. RS Armor appeared. I do remember that day... I was so excited that I did not sleep reading and rereading all and every single post published originally by Simon (I think I remember his forum name at the RPF was Siman or something similar).

We researched every single detail, from bronce snaps, to shoe brands, from latex and foam handguards, to color scheme for the backpacks. From Boy scouts backpack frames to WWII Machine guns!! And more!

Anyway... years went by as this community discovered pretty much all and every part (almost). Then came the first few Sonix Victory 75 Radios. And also the northstar one. That was magic! 

Then came the replicas, the kits, the mockups and... the readily availble off the shelf Sandtrooper kit and experience. And... for what the MEPD meant to me, that was it. At least the end of an era.

At the same time, under Bluey's command, the CRL was upgraded (and then the rest of the Detachments followed). Years later, with all the discoveries, under DirtyBoy's command, the SWAT program was developed and then came the Level 3 for us and all detachments, again.

New movies, new characters, new times... For me and a few others, it was time to step down, step back and get a few quiet years. I was personally tired of being here 24/7 first posting exciting new news, then moderating the super busy threads, and finally replying the same answers for the same questions day after day.

I loved this place. I still love it. It is the center of my SW and 501st experience... even more (from a certain point of view) than the movies themselves. I was just tired.

So... after all this years watching from the sidelines, Im happy to see this still going on. Sad that it is so slow... but hey, we are still here.

So for the unsolicited advice. Keep the news, ideas, references and anecdotes coming. Not just replying to the same questions. We do need moderators, but most of all, a forum needs content creators. That will attract people. And the right content, will no doubt attract the right people.

Then, you will call that people not only friends, but brothers!

We are Sandtroopers. 
And we are brothers.

Happy to be here. 
Hope to come back soon.


And to all of you still here, veteran or newbie,  thank you.

Saludos
Juan


PS. Man! Typing this brought some good memories and a smile to my face!


 
 

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Very well written.


The Sandtrooper costume is something special for me. I have several costumes but this is the one I wear the most. 80% sure.
During construction we (my son TD-22997 and I) did some research. Searched for pictures, made screenshots. Discarded a lot and started anew. Pay attention to the little things. Many original parts were chosen for the backpack or the best possible reproductions of the originals. The Trooper should be as close to the original as possible. He is and I can say that with pride.


There aren't too many of those anymore. Many members build the costume from the CRL's simplest template. It's not about the costume itself, but often just "I want it, I'll do it". Without much background research. The simplest is good enough. Recently a member sold their backpack saying it was "too annoying". I'd rather say "too uncomfortable". A full Sandtrooper isn't comfortable, but that should be clear in advance.
After the troop, the shoulders hurt from the backpack. I got tennis elbow from the RT97. But hey - fuck it. The Sandtrooper is and will always be my #1 costume of choice.


But that's the point. These members who chose the costume for a specific reason and enlivened the forum with construction reports, found parts and much more have dwindled in number. I often get requests, can you help me. How does it work, what do I need, where can I buy it. I'm happy to help but many just rely on the advice and help others than just put some work into research. It should be quick and easy. But, that's not the way.

I hope that will change again and the forum will soon be filled with new life.

Stay dirty!

bigwam

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Yep!
Being a Sandtrooper is something different.
It's not simple another costume that you can just collect and use every once in a while.
if you commit to building this armor correctly, you will end up wanting to wear it as often as possible. 

Let's hope that more content, more members and more excitement keep coming to this forum so it stays a community.

I'm half way building a new armor up to specs, with all correct parts and gears. Also a new Backpack with 90% found parts... but have been into that for the last 4 or 5 years... maybe more. But as soon as I get back to it and finish it, I promise I will come back and share it.

Saludos.
 

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On 3/8/2023 at 11:07 AM, bigwam said:


There aren't too many of those anymore. Many members build the costume from the CRL's simplest template. It's not about the costume itself, but often just "I want it, I'll do it". Without much background research. The simplest is good enough. Recently a member sold their backpack saying it was "too annoying". I'd rather say "too uncomfortable". A full Sandtrooper isn't comfortable, but that should be clear in advance.
After the troop, the shoulders hurt from the backpack. I got tennis elbow from the RT97. But hey - **** it. The Sandtrooper is and will always be my #1 costume of choice.

 

Hi Guys,

Read the threat and thought about it.

I wanted to mention: don't be too harsh. YOUR dedication is outstanding - that is for shure! And I love every bit of it. You guys are the tip of the iceberg! The craziest guys/girls out there in the outer rim! For sure! But every iceberg has a tip and a lot of ice beneath it.
I think being able to build a screen accurate SW Costume is such a nerdy and painfull process, even in the most simple fashion it is just MADNESS. Even if you throw all your money at it and buy a ready suit, you will have to put so much work in it, to make it fit. There is NO EASY MODE for this at all. And that is the beauty in it. So don't be mad at people that are "just" putting one year of work in their gear instead of 15 years. That is ONE YEAR. For a costume! For a piece that "normal" people buy in the store for 15 Bucks.

I am one of the people you mentioned: following the CRL and being happy to make it work. But if I tell friends about that hobby, they think that I am crazy. Having a CRL? For a Costume? WTF?? Putting one year of lifetime into a costume, ARE YOU SERIOUS!!??. And they are right. It is crazy.

Everyone could decide how far he/she would go. And I love about that community, that in general, nobody judges you for "just" going to level 1. The Community is happy to have you. To help you. They applaud you for your individual dedication - no matter how big it is. It has do be everyones own decision, because time is precious in life. And giving even a bit of it to that SW-Costume hobby and talking about it, helping others over here - you have all my respect and I will say: Thank you - Sir and Madam!

But that is just my opinion. 

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Good morning,
I think I might have phrased that a bit wrong and I certainly didn't mean it to sound arrogant or anything.


It's not about how long it takes someone to build a costume or how much work and passion they put into it. Also nobody will be judged who gets the costume approved on level 1 or who buys it made. No way. Not everyone is lucky enough to build their own costumes. It's not about that.
Rather, I address people who want to build something themselves but have neither the desire nor the muse to research something themselves. For example: I received a friend request from a member of our garrison via Facebook. Assuming, of course. In the weeks that followed, I was peppered with questions: what is it, where is it from, which part is it, have a look on ebay - is it the right one .... all good, I'm happy to help, everyone can confirm that. When the Sandtrooper was approved, the "friendship" was withdrawn. At the next meeting, not even a hello. Something like that annoys me.
You want to, but don't want to deal with it.

The thread here is about the lack of participation in the forum.
That's the result of things like that. Questions and research, construction reports .... this is what a forum lives from. It doesn't matter if level 1 or 3. It's not about the quality of the armor but about the way to get there. That's what I'm missing here. I don't care if someone buys their armor or has it built. But folks, show pictures of the thing. Pictures of the finished armor. It doesn't matter whether you bought it ready-made or built it yourself. From the Troops that followed, fun pics, reports of experiences, suggestions for improvement, show it.
Just keep the forum going please. I just don't want this forum to disappear into oblivion. It would be too bad.

Best Regards, bigwam - hope, we see us on a troop

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Yeah - thanks for answering that. I agree. 

Maybe its also that Star Wars is in a difficult situation in general: with all the new stuff coming out the people more and more split into different factions.  Also I am not happy about a lot of the new stuff and don't like it at all. For many years Star Wars was a thing to generally bring people together on a childhood memory-level. These are the storys you enjoyed being a kid and a lot of people still react to that feeling when they see you in costume. It was a kind of World-Story everybody could gather around no matter where you're from or who you are. They were trying to generate profit out of it for sure, but in a much more decent manner than today.

Nowadays Star Wars as a topic has a really heavy bias in being a cash-cow more than ever. Having Disney pumping out stuff no-matter-what, splitting communities in half. Throwing over heritage and - the most relevant for me - releasing mediocre and bad movies and shows more than good ones - just to have someting spicy and new. A lot of people around me are torn apart - loving and hating Star Wars at the same time. It gets much more difficult to get in contact to that pure positive feeling you could rely on 7-8 years ago.

For me, that is the most relevant explanation for people turning away. 

But in a way, for the MEPD that could also be some kind of chance: There are not a lot of costumes so tightly connected to that old and original feeling than Sandtroopers. That combination of toilet-parts, lousy application of dirt and Duck-Tape combined with some WW2 found Parts is more "original Star Wars" than everything else. And I love that especially about it.

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I'm going to show my age here but I was introduced to SW's in the 90s when it was re-released in theaters. Ever since seeing ANH for the first time, I have always loved the sandtrooper. It took me quite a while to finally join but in 2015 I made my initial purchase and was added to the 501st in December 2015. A few years later, I was asked to join the command staff and I've been involved ever since. I have added a Jawa to my costume inventory because even though my sandtrooper is my absolute favorite and passion, I can't wear it at all day troops anymore and sometimes its simply easier to be more mobile as I am too short and not in shape enough to sit down etc. in armor. A couple years ago I was reached out to by a recruit in my garrison. I have helped him every step of the way and continue to motivate him to submit his PO application and he's nearly there. Life sometimes gets in the way. I'm hoping this 2023 term brings life back into MEPD. We're all very motivated and have some great things in the pipeline. I am also hoping to get people motivated by running the Trooper Incentive Program. Get sandies to share their troops and post their troop logs. 

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Heyo, I joined in 2015. I pop in and out the past two years due to medical things going on with me. And I haven’t trooped much for similar reasons as to what Airborne Trooper said. It is harder for me to troop a few hours now. 
When I do pop in, I skim through threads trying to answer any questions that may still be open, or at least try to direct individuals to those that have more knowledge on a specific subject. 
I also agree that the influx of all the new Disney titles for Star Wars. - there are so many new characters that are available now. 
I also think it is a money issue. Prepandemic it seemed our garrison had a new Jawa every week. 
 

I am also hoping to get people motivated by running the Trooper Incentive Program. Get sandies to share their troops and post their troop logs.
 
I’m still mad at that. Because prior troops, I trooped,  never thinking about documenting my troops with a photo. I trooped for the fun of it. Then when we started that I believe I had close to 50 or so troops. All documented on our garrison’s “trooper tracker”. But without a photo those did not count. I had started to sift through however many years of troops to fins even just the smallest picture of me in the background, and then just decided it wasn’t really worth that effort.  
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Hey! Great to see more that a couple replies in a thread!
:)
As stated by everybody, lets hope that the wheels keep turning and we can find a way and a moment for the MEPD, the forums and the members to come back with excitement, participation, ideas, discussions and much more.


Take this community back to life and much more!

Saludos

 

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