View Full Version : Looks like Snipers Hide just fell on its sword.
The move to Scout (whatever that is) appears to be a real mess. The old posts are gone, as are all PM's. It also looks like you might have to pay $130 a year now, though I'm not sure of that yet. We'll see what happens when the free 7 day trial runs out.
USMC88-93
10-13-2014, 20:34
Here is a quote from elsewhere.
For the commercial sales accounts, we will be honor all commitments as well the current SH Site will remain online but in a read only state so we can access the information. This means all the current ads will continue to view. Over the next few weeks we will also be moving the ads to the Scout Network.
In 2015 the commercial sales account will be handled through the Scout Network, we have an 800# that will be used to sign up with . Also the ads will be served through Scout, Sniper’s Hide has been assigned a Sales Person to help with the transition. With this move we will be opening up our network to a much larger audience. Scout is dedicated to this move and has committed to promoting Sniper’s Hide among this 25 Million subscribers, as well as outside their network. Advertising of content is in place which will push our stories and topics to greater group of enthusiast.
If you have any questions please call me @ 203-530-3301
More About Scout
Scout is a multi-channel, men-focused media network owned by Pilot Group, Bob Pittman’s investment fund. Scout’s proprietary content is produced by over 1,000 contributing experts and distributed over 300+ unique Web destinations, 40 print publications and three broadcast television shows. Scout content focuses on men’s passion points: the NFL, fantasy sports, college football and basketball, high school recruiting, hunting, fishing, outdoors, military and history. Scout has a growing consumer base of over 21MM, and our members’ passions make Scout a place where brands can speak to men in a brand-enhancing, premium environment. Scout.com - College and High School Football, Basketball, Recruiting, NFL, and MLB Front Page"
USMC88-93
10-13-2014, 20:42
Here is the canned BS on the Snipers Hide Facebook page.
I am extremely excited to announce that Sniper’s Hide has joined Scout Media, the leading sports and men’s lifestyle destination. So, what does this mean for you and the rest of our Sniper’s Hide community?
Sniper’s Hide has moved to the Scout Network. Our address is still the same, so go to snipershide.com and check it out. You’ll see some great new additions to the site, and you’ll also have access to over 300 additional sites on Scout – plus TV series and print magazines. Scout is dedicated to the outdoors, sports, fantasy, military, home improvement and much more. An online store was also recently launched and it features awesome gear with discounts for members, like you. This makes our Sniper’s Hide community even stronger and provides new opportunities for you.
This expansion is something Sniper’s Hide could not have done on our own. With the Scout Team behind us, we hope to grow the site, and grow the sport by taking it mainstream. The Scout Network is the perfect launch point for this growth. There is a lot to Scout, in addition to literally hundreds of sports sites that comprehensively cover each and every market like no one else, they have a network of hunting and fishing content – including the renowned North American Hunter and North American Fisherman – it is absolutely unparalleled. The best part? That’s all part of your membership. Change for the better, for all of us. As part of the move, we will be recruiting several new moderators as well as “Scouts” to help add content to the site. We will be expanding the home page of Sniper’s Hide and we are looking to include the Sniper’s Hide members to add to this. So, if you’re interested in being a Scout for Sniper’s Hide and getting inside access so we can provide a better experience for all, let me know.
Again, we’re excited about joining Scout, and we hope you are, too. While there will be many changes in the next month or so when we move into the network, all of it will be for the better. A full support staff, a sales team for commercial accounts, and you, our valued members who will help us build great content and community.
For the commercial sales accounts, we will be honoring all commitments. As well, the current SH Site will remain online but in a read only state so we can access the information. This means all the current ads will continue to view. Over the next few weeks we will also be moving the ads to the Scout Network. In 2015 the commercial sales accounts will be managed by the Scout support team. We have an 800# that will be used for sign up.. Any digital advertising requests will also be managed by Scout. With this move we will be opening up our network to a much larger audience. Scout is dedicated to this move and has committed to promoting Sniper’s Hide among it’s millions of members, as well as outside their network. Advertising of content is in place which will push our stories and topics to a larger group of enthusiasts.
More About Scout Scout is a multi-channel, men-focused media network owned by Pilot Group, Bob Pittman’s investment fund. Scout’s proprietary content is produced by over 1,000 contributing experts and distributed over 300+ unique Web destinations, 40 print publications and three broadcast television shows. Scout content focuses on men’s passion points: the NFL, fantasy sports, college football and basketball, high school recruiting, hunting, fishing, outdoors, military and history. Scout has a growing consumer base of over 21MM, and our members’ passions make Scout a place where brands can speak to men in a brand-enhancing, premium environment.
So are all off the threads after threads of good info gone!? I'll hold judgement for 8 days and then I'll move over to sniperforums
Yeah I'm not thrilled about the move in general either, but the transition seems to be a lesson in how not to do something. I guess I'm happy for the guys who sold and have a gazillion dollars now, or whatever.
USMC88-93
10-13-2014, 21:11
So are all off the threads after threads of good info gone!? I'll hold judgement for 8 days and then I'll move over to sniperforums
He claims accessible but not writable. I see more than a few people that are complaining about ongoing equipment exchange deals being lost... I do not have a problem with the fact Frank chose to do this but I do dislike what this will inevitably do to that website.
Great-Kazoo
10-13-2014, 21:14
The wording sounds like recruitment for a cult.
Again, we’re excited about joining Scout, and we hope you are, too. While there will be many changes in the next month or so when we move into the network, all of it will be for the better. A full support staff, a sales team for commercial accounts, and you, our valued members who will help us build great content and community.
As part of the move, we will be recruiting several new moderators as well as “Scouts” to help add content to the site. We will be expanding the home page of Sniper’s Hide and we are looking to include the Sniper’s Hide members to add to this. So if you are interested in being a Scout for Sniper’s Hide and getting inside access so we can provide a better experience for all, let me know.
I've never been to Sniper'sHide before, but feel confident that this will ruin the site. I used to post on RunnersWorld and it is run by a magazine. Feels similar to this. It's probably going to suck. Adding a corporate feel to a discussion forum is a great way to kill a site. RunnersWorld is big, and thrives, but it kind of ends up like the comments section after a news article.
I am of the opinion that nothing good can come from this.
jerrymrc
10-13-2014, 21:25
There is a reason why we do not accept commercial ads and to become an IP takes time. Once the inmates run the asylum all bets are off.
USMC88-93
10-13-2014, 21:35
It also looks like you might have to pay $130 a year now, though I'm not sure of that yet. We'll see what happens when the free 7 day trial runs out.
He posted that that membership cost is related to "online training" so I would imagine that not much content would be excluded if you chose not to pay it.
XC700116
10-13-2014, 21:44
It's still going to be free for what has been free but that new site is fricken horrible to try and read. All the old info is going to be archived on the old site as read only.
I think the site will survive but the old hands will be gone for the most part, BTDT with other forums and it never turns out well.
USMC88-93
10-13-2014, 22:13
II think the site will survive but the old hands will be gone for the most part, BTDT with other forums and it never turns out well.
That is exactly what I think will happen the new blood they want to attract will kill any resemblance to what the site was originally intended to be but they will still get their add money so in their eyes "no harm no foul" as long as the money flows.
I have a friend who talks like he lives on the site. I'm curious to ask him about these developments.
Frank has stated that if it doesn't work out, he can still activate the old site and pull the plug on Scout. He still owns all rights to Snipershide. The old site will be a read only. And can be reactivated by Frank at any time.
Also, the new site is not finished yet. It is somewhat live at this time.
If this is true that is good news.
Frank has stated that if it doesn't work out, he can still activate the old site and pull the plug on Scout. He still owns all rights to Snipershide. The old site will be a read only. And can be reactivated by Frank at any time.
Also, the new site is not finished yet. It is somewhat live at this time.
This is what Frank *should* have said:
Dear Suckers,
Thank you for all your hard work over the years - creating free content and making me a top destination on the web. I am now going to take all of your hard work and info and sell out. Fuck you all. I'm 'rich'.
- Frank
He might actually say that to your face. Frank, if nothing else, is direct. I for one won't be checking out Scout. The vacuum will get filled by someone, if it indeed exists.
spqrzilla
10-14-2014, 12:56
I don't resent someone "taking the Boeing" as we used to call it. Monetizing a blog/forum is perfectly legitimate. But it does sound like its being done incompetently, which will destroy the very value supposedly being bought.
Don't for a second think that the old "SnipersHide" was not monetized, and making a significant chunk of change.
If this is true that is good news.
It is true... Ask him yourself if you don't believe me.
And again, HE DIDN'T SELL SNIPERSHIDE!
XC700116
10-14-2014, 14:11
No he didn't "sell" snipers hide, its too valuable to do that straight away, but if you think there was "no sale" involved you are naive. I don't know the details but you can bet there is something involved beyond just holding hands and working together. Maybe he's sick of handling the admin side of it, or something else, who knows but , I guarantee this is more than just a facelift of the site itself and moving to a new server.
I don't blame him a bit for doing it, no matter what exactly is involved, administration of a forum like that is a gigantic headache and pain in the ass. He has provided a forum that's generated a ton of info free for anyone that wants to read it. That's not something that's easily done and the thousands of failures for every one that is a success is proof of that. He also managed to make it pay in more than just info for the membership in the form of vendor discounts and insider info otherwise not necessarily available. Its truly a huge accomplishment.
That said you don't just turn over all that to an outfit like scout and not see a huge payoff from it. At least you dont if you're not an idiot, and frank is not. The money to be made from the ad traffic, site traffic etc to scout is very significant by moving it under their umbrella, all the site traffic alone raises their stock significantly. I'd also bet that's a huge part of why they didn't move the database over as well, the membership will frantically start to regenerate what was and that is going to create a ton of traffic and activity that will pay huge dividends for ad sales. Not to mention sh is by FAR the biggest forum under their umbrella and having that raises the profile of all the other ones. Its genius if there isn't a total revolt by the membership that kills it all together, which there's little to no chance of because there's too many that will stick it out and keep it viable even if its not what it once was.
Old site archive so we can all still access all the good information and stay away from scout!
http://forum.snipershide.info
DeusExMachina
10-17-2014, 15:43
I posted about how Frank has effectively sold every member's personal info to some other company and it appears I've been banned from commenting on the Facebook page and my comments deleted. But yeah, enjoy any future spam because of this.
Also, it's annoying how many things I Google are now broken due to links from Sniper's Hide going effectively nowhere.
tim-adams
10-17-2014, 17:44
I posted about how Frank has effectively sold every member's personal info to some other company and it appears I've been banned from commenting on the Facebook page and my comments deleted. But yeah, enjoy any future spam because of this.
Also, it's annoying how many things I Google are now broken due to links from Sniper's Hide going effectively nowhere.
the Google thing should fix itself in a few days, if they are still allowing Google to index their forum.
If they pulled the links and are not going to allow a rescan, that's a crappy thing to do, so deal with them accordingly..
money talks..
DeusExMachina
10-17-2014, 18:25
the Google thing should fix itself in a few days, if they are still allowing Google to index their forum.
If they pulled the links and are not going to allow a rescan, that's a crappy thing to do, so deal with them accordingly..
money talks..
Unfortunately they already have anything of value I ever gave them (my email). I just don't understand sacrificing the page hits.
scratchy
10-17-2014, 18:50
The new site blows. I will not participate until I figure out if it's more arsewipe than real. Hoser's opinion would be very valuable.
scratchy
10-17-2014, 19:15
No he didn't "sell" snipers hide, its too valuable to do that straight away, but if you think there was "no sale" involved you are naive. I don't know the details but you can bet there is something involved beyond just holding hands and working together. Maybe he's sick of handling the admin side of it, or something else, who knows but , I guarantee this is more than just a facelift of the site itself and moving to a new server.
I don't blame him a bit for doing it, no matter what exactly is involved, administration of a forum like that is a gigantic headache and pain in the ass.
.................................................. ................................And much much more.
I do agree. I may not like what I see, I do agree with Frank's decision.
Really not impressed so far.
Starbuck
10-23-2014, 14:58
Here goes with my first post on here:
I learned quite a bit from the Hide - I have been on there for five years or so - and to see it now as part of Scout Media is useless to me as a shooter, and disappointing. I have no interest in fantasy football, bass fishing, and the other stuff over there at Scout. But Frank didn't make the move because he wants to keep the Hide membership happy, and this is his mistake, IMO.
One of Frank's justifications for moving the Hide to Scout is that it will "grow the sport" of precision shooting and comps, by attracting some of the fantasy football and/or bass boat types to precision shooting. He uses the example somewhere of a hunter who has a Perazzi shotgun getting interested in precision rifles and then buying an AI. I don't see how this is good for shooters. It's good for the firearms industry, but not good for shooters. "Growing the sport" in this way will make ranges and matches more crowded. Look at the wait lists too for clubs like like PWSA and the Boulder Rifle Club. Look at how crowded the Mike K's SRM has gotten to be. Can't get a slot for years at the ASC, etc. Look what's happened to alpine skiing and rock climbing over the past decade or two: Great sports that are now overcrowded due to the relentless push for growth by the industry.
I'm still on the fence about whether I'm going to hang out at new Hide or move on. If a lot of people move on, so will the advertisers. If they bail, then Frank will have bet the wrong way for sure.
TheBelly
10-23-2014, 15:06
I'm still on the fence about whether I'm going to hang out at new Hide or move on. If a lot of people move on, so will the advertisers. If they bail, then Frank will have bet the wrong way for sure.
I believe he still has the option of walking away from the new location and turning the old site back on. If I had my way, it would go back to the old site. My reason? I kinda rely on that 'new posts' button.
Not a fun experience so far, think I'll wait a while and check in again. I had to register twice to make it work, then it took some time for the registration to actually take effect. Not promising. One of the best things about the prior setup was that it was a one-interest site.
I agree with the prior poster, wading through all the other stuff is not something I'm interested in. The overall amount of good info in Snipershide is too good to pass up, though.
The shooting sports ARE growing (witness 3Gun, IDPA and Rimfire Challenge) and some of the "sniper" guys want a slice...however trying to take "sniper matches" to the mainstream is exactly the opposite of what the industry research says works, or will be generally healthy. If rich bass fishermen and Perazzi owners go buy LR rigs, they will soon be up for sale, which, in part benefits some manufacturer's short term and maybe some second tier competitors a bit further out, but it is probably not a sport that will be grown by mass market appeal. Just my opinion of course, which might be totally wrong...time will tell.
I do know in 3Gun, at majors, you now have to lock your car, never leave any gear behind, and on some squads, work twice as much as the "Me Only" generation is moving into the sport. Many veteran 3Gunners despise what "3GunNation" has "brought" to the sport.
XC700116
10-23-2014, 21:31
Unfortunately, growth in any sport brings those same kinds of issues, it's just the nature of the beast.
However Frank's justification of "growing the sport" is pretty fantastical at best. Sure there might be a couple here and there, but nothing significant. If you look around the rest of the forums on scout, the average users online are in the 30's at any given time, and the fantasy football ones should be on fire this time of year. SH is BY FAR the largest and most heavily active one of the bunch.
Starbuck
10-23-2014, 22:16
The shooting sports ARE growing (witness 3Gun, IDPA and Rimfire Challenge) and some of the "sniper" guys want a slice...however trying to take "sniper matches" to the mainstream is exactly the opposite of what the industry research says works, or will be generally healthy. If rich bass fishermen and Perazzi owners go buy LR rigs, they will soon be up for sale, which, in part benefits some manufacturer's short term and maybe some second tier competitors a bit further out, but it is probably not a sport that will be grown by mass market appeal. Just my opinion of course, which might be totally wrong...time will tell.
I do know in 3Gun, at majors, you now have to lock your car, never leave any gear behind, and on some squads, work twice as much as the "Me Only" generation is moving into the sport. Many veteran 3Gunners despise what "3GunNation" has "brought" to the sport.
Thanks for your perspective, Mark. I will talk to Frank this weekend at the Trigger Gime Gun Club Extreme Long Range class-match-whatever and post up some more thoughts - as if Frank would change his mind based on my views, LOL. He's no wallflower as you know, and he is after all the owner of SH, and his view seems to be that he owes the SH members nothing - the members who have contributed much of the content, as Frank surely has as well.
His view seems to be "Fuc& the members who have contributed in the past - this is my website, which is not in dispute - and now I want to grow this big time...." This is surely his prerogative, but he will lose I believe many of his loyal followers, as well as paying advertisers.
As I suggested earlier, his decision to stay with the Scout Media people or take the Hide back "private" will likely be based upon whether his advertisers like Mile High, EuroOptic, TNVC, and others stay, or bail out.
My $0.02....
One thing I am sure of about Frank, his decision will be dominated by the monetary considerations first. I would not say Frank and I are enemies, nor friends and our interactions have been rather nuetral, so I hope I am being objective. I have a lot of respect for Frank's knowledge and skills, and always consider his advice or suggestions on various shooting related topics. But the cumulative of the knowledge base on SH was why I went there, not Frank. Sure, there were some old retired mil types who spent too much time searching for threads to crap on, but once ID'd easily ignored. All told, I will miss it.
The move to Scout (whatever that is) appears to be a real mess. The old posts are gone, as are all PM's. It also looks like you might have to pay $130 a year now, though I'm not sure of that yet. We'll see what happens when the free 7 day trial runs out.
So now that your "free trial" is over. Do you still feel the way your thread title states.
I see you're still posting over there.
XC700116
10-25-2014, 19:56
I do, the new site sucks balls, compared to the old one, and I find myself no longer giving a crap to add to any discussions. And I'm not the only one, there's a LOT less traffic/posts per day now than before.
I just tried to log in again. Won't accept either my old Snipershide login or the new and improved Scout login. I'm through, and that really saddens me. I'm done with this crap.
The SnipersHide site is slightly different and change is never comfortable. People were upset at the change but in reality it will be back to what it was, just give it some time. The site will retain most of the serious members that have a vast knowledge in their varied fields. It will take a while to get the data back into the forum with new postings and articles but it will be the same info from the same members.
Just give it some time. I'm just an average member of the forum with a low post count, nothing to gain other than passing on the info on a wonderful precision firearms site. I list the link to save people from having to search.
Best wishes to all my fellow firearm enthusiasts!
http://snipershide.scout.com/
does the stupid scout page popup for everyone everytime you click a thread or go back and forth opening and closing threads? that is annoying.
I have pop up eliminator software so I can't answer that one. I don't have any trouble there and the SnipersHide Forums are pretty separated from the other sports forums. You wont see a huge difference one you get on "the Hide". They are still working on getting a few functions back up that were on the old forum but that comes with the territory of changing to a new place. It really does not seem that different other than the number of posts are much smaller. They will be back after a while and we will never even remember the change.
Does anyone remember the last time SnipersHide changed? I made it through that one and don't remember it at all.
Best wishes fellow shooters!
Update:
I checked in again last weekend. Apparently they finally got my login info to take effect. Once that snafu was resolved, it's been mostly like it used to be. That's a good thing.
JMBD2112
11-07-2014, 13:50
got an email today, they're charging $10.95/month for a hide membership
got an email today, they're charging $10.95/month for a hide membership
It's supposed to still be free for the basic membership, and this "premium" thing is for... well, not quite sure anyone really understands that yet. "Online training" is one thing that keeps getting mentioned - I think that was always something that was available on the site before, right? Given all the free content out there, it's going to be hard to convince people to pay for video I'd think...
Can't say they are doing a great job on this transition. That email really made a lot of people mad. Could have been worded a lot better.
Everyone has free reign until we settle in, I am opening up all Premium Content to everyone. If your account cannot view it I will check into it. The only thing paid for on this site is The Online Training. Yes i have 2 other forums for Premium Content members, but in the big picture it is exactly the same in fact it is easier on a lot of guys. You do not have to pay to access anything, what you had access to yesterday you will have access to tomorrow.
No more Pay Pal. Online Training people will use the Premium Content Subscription which is $12.95 a month or $10.82 a month if paid up front. Plus you get all the Premium Content benefits including the Warrior Magazine Subscription.
got an email today, they're charging $10.95/month for a hide membership
Same here.
The site is still free. The online training has always been a premium subscription ($10 per month), even on the old site. It has been discussed numerous times on the new site. Frank opened the premium content for 30 days until everyone got settled in. Well...the thirty days is up, now if you want premium, you have to pay for it. Same as it was before.
It's amazing the lack of reading comprehension, and false assumptions that are getting spread around.
Starbuck
11-27-2014, 08:16
It still sucks over at SH without the feature-rich V-bulletin forum software that it it used to have, and we have here now. The current SH forum interface is close to being a torture chamber. Frank says it's being worked on, so we'll see.
Any other worthwhile site you guys are using for information exchange on all things precision rifle, aside from here?
Any other worthwhile site you guys are using for information exchange on all things precision rifle, aside from here?
With the skill and knowledge depth here (and minus some of the real morons at the old SH) not sure why you would need much more. :)
Starbuck
11-27-2014, 09:27
With the skill and knowledge depth here (and minus some of the real morons at the old SH) not sure why you would need much more. :)
Haha. I do like it here so I'll be hanging around for sure....
Difficult to navigate on TOS. Only issue here is no drama....[fail]
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