A sincere message about the community.

Hey everyone, I want to preface this by saying I am not an admin. I'm a moderator who's been here for a while and have been following/updating the sub daily for a long time. I'm also an avid collector/shooter and I know the community from the outside. I feel like I have some valuable insight, so I'd like to make this post. I would love for you to reply or PM me with ways I can help this community.<br><br>If you'll notice, I've been doing my best to regulate strict rules to keep scammers away. It's an uphill battle and they will never be 100% gone. But with the community's help, we can make it so scamming is not an easy thing to do. <br><br>My message here, though, is about the community. I'm seeing more and more posts about negativity and judgment. It's heinous. I think we need to remember that we're all here for the same reason: love of guns/gun collecting. I've seen posts of users getting upset because someone is using a stock photo, despite having proof it's their item. I see users judging each other because they don't have the same experience as them. I see a lot of negativity.<br><br>We need to be better. This is a community and we're all in this together. New collectors, older collectors, experienced shooters, and even new shooters. We're all the same. I think it's so important to remember that. <br><br>I am going to be hosting a lot of AMAs. I think this can be a good way to show new collectors different perspectives from experienced collectors and shooters. I am going to do my best to make sure every brand and type of collector/shooter has representation. Please send me suggestions on who you'd like to see. <br><br>I'm also hoping to host a lot of contests. I think this will be a wonderful way to bring the community together. I think we need to also remember that this sub is 'gun accessory' sales. I know most people here are looking to buy/sell. But I also believe we need to foster a sense of community. I think we're straying from that. <br><br>I don't want to see any negativity in the comments or anywhere in the sub. It makes me so disheartened to see. I want us to all be friends and accommodate each other. Remember, at the end of the day, we're all here for the guns! <br><br>I love you all and I really hope we can turn this sub in a positive direction. Let's work together. <br><br>If you ever have any questions/comments/concern, please PM me anytime. I am always here to help. I want to make the community better for everyone!<br><br>Edit: I think I need to touch on something- there's a lot of comments coming in saying we need to police each other. This is not what I meant. Yes, call out scammers. Yes, report very obviously fake posts. But being super strict on each other is a little too much. Let me give an example- if someone posts a stock photo but has an album proving it's theirs, I don't think it's fair to harass them. Let's just remember that even if we don't always agree, we're all part of the same community and we should be kind to everyone. Let's all do our part for the community!