So I posted this in another thread about the software update.. But I decided to put it over here for people to read. Yeah, it's long, and a big time FRAT - but if you have 2 minutes, check it out. I just wanted to make a thread to publicly acknowledge the hard work and time these guys have spent making a great place for MMA fans like us, to let them know that hard work is not unnoticed.. but much appreciated.
Anyway, my original post was this:
Splinty and IWEI are my favorite people
This forum and all the work put into it is no easy task. I've owned a lot of forums over the years and none grew at the rate this did. Even the smallest ones took a TON of meticulous, time consuming, tiny little tweaks to make perfect. I just want to take a minute to thank and recognize you guys for the endless hours spent clicking and typing away to get this board to where it's at in just over 2 months time. It's amazing.
With this new update... Man. I just have personally never been on a better forum for any subject. The functionality, the people, the features etc. I can't thank you guys enough. Like I said, I have an idea (only to a degree) of how much work this kind of thing takes.. I can't imagine it on such a scale so soon. It's not even been 3 months and yet you have what, 2 million + views, 20k + posts, near 300 members etc? That is insane for an MMA forum considering there are literally hundreds out there if not more. Thousands. Dozens that have over 100k members each and have been up over a decade
It proves that serious fans who want a place to discuss the sport without all the trolling, negative hate, etc, were waiting YEARS for something like this to come along. Yet I don't think any of us really knew it. Or at least, we didn't think it was possible. It was kind of an obvious idea and at the same time, nobody has really pulled it off the way you guys have. There have been tons of MMA forum offshoots from the UG - I can name at least a dozen. None of them grew at this rate, none had such a high quality of posters so early on, and as far as the forum software and workings itself... NONE were even close. They were just typical free software without any real customization or added features.
The UG, Sherdog, any message board in history all started with a handful of people who wanted to create a new community as an alternative to whatever the hell they were using in their life at the time. Most fail and some take off. The ones that succeed have passion behind them - passion in the developers/owners, and passion in the users.
In my opinion, from many years and countless hours spent reading the forums.... the group of people gathered here are by far some of the most passionate MMA fans I've seen. Most of us have been UG or other users for YEARS. I'm not trying to toot my own horn or anything, but a lot of us are respected users, too, who people often say they enjoy reading the original content we've put hours of our time into creating.
Lookoutawhale, EatonBeaver, D241, sgotwalks. I could name DOZENS of us in a minute - these are long time, staple users of the biggest MMA forums on the entire internet.. Who have created threads generating millions of views combined on the UG and OG over the years. Those guys, you guys, me... We are all here now. I find myself spending more and more time here every day because more people like us keep joining up.
I just think it's fucking awesome.. I'm astonished at how well it's turned out. When I was first invited, and told of this idea, I had hopes for it. But had no idea it would become this big this fast. I admired what IWEI and Splinty were doing but I figured it'd be a small handful of us for a long while. Not the crazy #s I listed above... dozens of threads made daily, sometimes hourly... Hundreds of posts on a fight night...
I think this is a reflection of two things that should sum up my entire post:
The hard work of Splinty and IWEI - their absolute true desire to create something for US to enjoy, and people like us... and well, us. Us being so into this sport, us wanting to discuss what we all have in common despite decades of age difference or being thousands of miles apart - a passion for combat sports, the greatest athletic competition in the world. We need a place like this, and it would not be here if the 2 guys whose names keep coming up in this thread didn't put in exhausting hours to make this place not just another spin off MMA forum... But a really great website for people who love fights.
Congratulations to you guys. If there is ever anything I can do to help, let me know. I know this was a super long post, but I really wanted to convey how I feel about this place, and how appreciative I am of the grind you guys have put in - both in development and promotion. It's not easy, you guys have stayed committed and so far, have reaped the rewards of creating the best MMA board out there.
Now let's continue to spread the word!
Anyway, my original post was this:
Splinty and IWEI are my favorite people
This forum and all the work put into it is no easy task. I've owned a lot of forums over the years and none grew at the rate this did. Even the smallest ones took a TON of meticulous, time consuming, tiny little tweaks to make perfect. I just want to take a minute to thank and recognize you guys for the endless hours spent clicking and typing away to get this board to where it's at in just over 2 months time. It's amazing.
With this new update... Man. I just have personally never been on a better forum for any subject. The functionality, the people, the features etc. I can't thank you guys enough. Like I said, I have an idea (only to a degree) of how much work this kind of thing takes.. I can't imagine it on such a scale so soon. It's not even been 3 months and yet you have what, 2 million + views, 20k + posts, near 300 members etc? That is insane for an MMA forum considering there are literally hundreds out there if not more. Thousands. Dozens that have over 100k members each and have been up over a decade
It proves that serious fans who want a place to discuss the sport without all the trolling, negative hate, etc, were waiting YEARS for something like this to come along. Yet I don't think any of us really knew it. Or at least, we didn't think it was possible. It was kind of an obvious idea and at the same time, nobody has really pulled it off the way you guys have. There have been tons of MMA forum offshoots from the UG - I can name at least a dozen. None of them grew at this rate, none had such a high quality of posters so early on, and as far as the forum software and workings itself... NONE were even close. They were just typical free software without any real customization or added features.
The UG, Sherdog, any message board in history all started with a handful of people who wanted to create a new community as an alternative to whatever the hell they were using in their life at the time. Most fail and some take off. The ones that succeed have passion behind them - passion in the developers/owners, and passion in the users.
In my opinion, from many years and countless hours spent reading the forums.... the group of people gathered here are by far some of the most passionate MMA fans I've seen. Most of us have been UG or other users for YEARS. I'm not trying to toot my own horn or anything, but a lot of us are respected users, too, who people often say they enjoy reading the original content we've put hours of our time into creating.
Lookoutawhale, EatonBeaver, D241, sgotwalks. I could name DOZENS of us in a minute - these are long time, staple users of the biggest MMA forums on the entire internet.. Who have created threads generating millions of views combined on the UG and OG over the years. Those guys, you guys, me... We are all here now. I find myself spending more and more time here every day because more people like us keep joining up.
I just think it's fucking awesome.. I'm astonished at how well it's turned out. When I was first invited, and told of this idea, I had hopes for it. But had no idea it would become this big this fast. I admired what IWEI and Splinty were doing but I figured it'd be a small handful of us for a long while. Not the crazy #s I listed above... dozens of threads made daily, sometimes hourly... Hundreds of posts on a fight night...
I think this is a reflection of two things that should sum up my entire post:
The hard work of Splinty and IWEI - their absolute true desire to create something for US to enjoy, and people like us... and well, us. Us being so into this sport, us wanting to discuss what we all have in common despite decades of age difference or being thousands of miles apart - a passion for combat sports, the greatest athletic competition in the world. We need a place like this, and it would not be here if the 2 guys whose names keep coming up in this thread didn't put in exhausting hours to make this place not just another spin off MMA forum... But a really great website for people who love fights.
Congratulations to you guys. If there is ever anything I can do to help, let me know. I know this was a super long post, but I really wanted to convey how I feel about this place, and how appreciative I am of the grind you guys have put in - both in development and promotion. It's not easy, you guys have stayed committed and so far, have reaped the rewards of creating the best MMA board out there.
Now let's continue to spread the word!
