Our intent is for this forum to be different. The internet is full of information and that is a good thing. But the issue when information has been democratized is that while everyone is able to share their expertise, the information noise level increases exponentially. How do you determine good info from bad info? For the topics we discuss here, bad info can literally get you killed. Here is our approach.

Data and Facts reign supreme

• Each position you take should be supported by data. Share the data that led you to make a certain decision. This is the decision making equivalent of open-source software. Share your thought processes and the data you used to come to your conclusions so that others can check your work. If you've done your homework and drawn the right conclusions, great, you've just contributed to the body of information. If you made some mistakes along the way, you'll get a chance to get feedback to identify your mistake and course correct.
• There is a lot of shorthand in the gun community. Firearms are complex machines. Ballistics is all about physics. Sometimes that tip or shortcut that you've seen on the internet, might have limited application, but how often do you see that spelled out? Let's all learn how to critically re-evaluate information that we've been told.

Subject Matter Experts (SME)

• There are individuals out there that have established their knowledge in certain areas. They are known as Subject Matter Experts. These SME's can be a tremendous resource for the community.
• As a way of identifying them, they will have a tag "SME" after their user name. They will also have profile signatures enabled that will identify their areas of expertise.
• In our forum, anyone can become a SME. It's not just for someone that is a "name" in the community. If you can establish your credentials, consistently demonstrate your knowledge, you can become a trusted resource for the community.