West Virginia needs a message board like this one!

[WVneighbor]

I came here after hearing about the Dickson City incident to give my support to those who were wronged. I've been completely impressed by the wealth of knowledgable people here and how freely they share their information. I was impressed, and a little envious that Pennsylvania had such a resource. Here was a place where like minded people could come together and discuss (sometimes heatedly) their common interests. It wasn't just a place for open carry , it wasn't just a place for concealed carry, it wasn't a place just for one type of firearm, it was a place where topics ranged far and wide, but all with a common theme, a common interest. I was impressed with the layout, the intellegent ordering of categories, and the general clean look of the board.

So I started searching for something similar but based on/in my home state of West Virginia. I posted on Opencarry.org about this subject and was directed to the West Virginia Citizens Defense Leauge. My searches returned no other results other than WVCDL, however they don't have a messageboard and if they did, I believe it would have a different "theme", more directed to the legal aspect and less toward a common interest in firearms.

Then I started thinking. Here is where I usually get into trouble, I act before I've thought things out. This time, I think my intentions are good, but I want to make sure I don't step on anyones toes, or infringe on a copyright.

I intended to address this to the board administration directly, but putting it out to the general public isnt such a bad idea.

So here goes:

Would the administrators or members have any issue with a message board and possibly later on a web site bearing the name West Virginia Firearm Owners Association?

I've thought about variations, but Firearm Owners Association seems to more appropriately describe what I'm thinking about doing. There would be more interest, in my opinion, for a message board with a broad scope containing specific categories rather than a narrow one such as "West Virginia Hunters". Other names crossed my mind, but all seemed to fall short of the mark I was setting. Gun owners association, firearm owners group (WVFOG, sounds like a weather report), people with guns, firearm enthusiats (ditched that one because I cant easily spell enthusiast), nothing seemed to "sing".

Would the adminsitrators or members have any issue with me using PAFOAs message board as a template to better organize a potential message board I may create?

I've thought about categories to add and honestly I can't think of a more comprehensive list than what is here that doesn't devolve into too specific of a topic. The organization is also intellegently done and I've been hard pressed to improve upon it.

I'm willing to meet reasonable requests from the administrators, up to and including final layout approval and Moderator status. And since WV and PA have a reciprocity agreement for concealed carry, I'd even be willing to extend the Moderator status to PAFOA Mods if they so wished.

If the administrators wish to discuss this privately, lock/delete this thread and we can continue via PM, email, phone or even over lunch one day.

I'm not trying to take anything away from PAFOA, I'm simply hoping to give the people of West Virginia a similar, state focused forum for discussing a shared interest.

If the eventual answer is no, then West Virginia will have a message board with a crappy title and poorly organized categories, and no one wants that, do they?

I look forward to your replies and/or PMs.

[danp]

I would strongly encourage it. Every state should have as many active organizations as possible and utilizing the collective power of the Internet is a very untapped resource for many such organizations.

I am pretty sure we don't own the term "firearm owners association"

[00leland00]

I feel the same about my state. I really wish someone would start a GAFOA. I'm not sure what's all involved, but I seriously doubt I could dedicate the time to do it myself. Like the OP, we don't have a site that's nearly as comprehensive as PAFOA (not that I've found, anyway.)

[WVneighbor]

Originally Posted by danp

I would strongly encourage it. Every state should have as many active organizations as possible and utilizing the collective power of the Internet is a very untapped resource for many such organizations.

I am pretty sure we don't own the term "firearm owners association"

Dan,

Thank you!

Before I put the message board out for public use I'll let you take a look at it and make any suggestions.

I've been looking at a few places and had decided on proboards.com. They have two huge advantages, its simple to use and more importantly, its free.

Again, thank you. I hope I can do as well for the people of WV as you have for the people of PA.

[WVneighbor]

Originally Posted by 00leland00

I feel the same about my state. I really wish someone would start a GAFOA. I'm not sure what's all involved, but I seriously doubt I could dedicate the time to do it myself. Like the OP, we don't have a site that's nearly as comprehensive as PAFOA (not that I've found, anyway.)

Its not hard to set it up, what might be challengeing is getting enough people to use it and finding a few trustworthy people to help administrate/moderate it.

I'm going to have my hands full, but if you decided to be that someone who starts a GAFOA, let me know I'll do what I can.

[HiredGoon]

Maybe this group could help with this idea???

West Virginia Citizens Defense League

[kmorgan]

The WVCDL is just starting a forum. We haven't publicly announced it yet, but since google pointed out this post, I'll let you guys in on the ground floor. It's available at http://forums.wvcdl.org. You can be one of our first members.

This has been on our plate for at least six months, and we're finally getting around to bringing the forums up.

[WVneighbor]

Originally Posted by kmorgan

The WVCDL is just starting a forum. We haven't publicly announced it yet, but since google pointed out this post, I'll let you guys in on the ground floor. It's available at http://forums.wvcdl.org. You can be one of our first members.

This has been on our plate for at least six months, and we're finally getting around to bringing the forums up.

I just got the notification via email of the new message board. Congradulations!

This is the story of my life, a day late and a dollar short!

In any case, I'll be signing up.

[Koli01]

Best of luck to all of you.

A few months ago a guy started something similar up in NYS. I haven't been there in a while so not sure how it is going.

[jmiro]

Whats your thoughts on starting a page for links to these type of boards in other states. A step towards advocacy on a grand scale would be to link these boards. Just a thought. Besides typing and turning this thing on Im pretty computer iliterate.