Once upon a time, Nick pointed out that links to Israeli supermodels and pics of less-than-fully-dressed women with guns alienate female readers and prevent male readers from recommending The Truth About Guns to females. So I stopped. There is no evidence to suggest that our new, supposedly non-sexist editorial policy increased our female readership. But it may have. So I’m appealing to you, our female reader(s?) to give us some feedback . . .
Are you there? What kind of articles do you like and would you like to see on TTAG? I’m also reaching out to our male readers. Please ask your non-TTAG reading female friends and family members what they think of the site and why they don’t read it. You know, “guns are boring” and whatnot. Your help is most appreciated.
What kind? The good kind.
Bueller?
The Ads honestly make this site look trashy. Let me say that again, and I hope someone who works for this site notices:
THE ADS ON THIS SITE, MAKE IT LOOK TRASHY!
They are the same kind of Ads you see on complete garbage BS sites, and fake news websites. The same websites claiming, “REAL: METEOR REPTILIAN NAZIS FROM THE MOON SUPPORT OBAMA’S DICTATORSHIP!!!” New readers not knowing any better WILL see those ads and associate your site with those sites. I understand you need to collect revenue but they really do just make the site look like trash. Before they came along when citing a source in an argument or discussion with an anti or fence sitter I would cite this site. I don’t anymore because they easily brush it off with “yeah right, that and a billion other fake news sites.”
+1 to that, amigo.
agree
what ads are you talking about I have only TTAG content on my screen, no other distracting images/popups
but then I do not have java or scripts running in my browser, do you? then sorry to say but you must be enjoying the ads or you would have found a way to stop them as I did and I really am not trying to be snarky [It just comes out that way] Get (firefox/mozilla) and then run this guys security setup
http://archive.lewrockwell.com/creekmore/creekmore17.1.html
Its been working good for me for about 4 years now.
TTAG Keep up the good work guy/gals the info you put out is top notch. Thanks and Happy New Year, Happy Anniversary, Happy Birthday etc… you get the idea, lol
Drew
The problem with that approach is, if everyone blocks the ads, TTAG makes no money. I do block the ads on my PC, because they’re so damn annoying. It’s only when I occasionally check the site on my tablet or phone that I’m reminded of how godawful the ads are here. If TTAG had less annoying, trashy ads, I wouldn’t feel the need to block them, and maybe they’d make some revenue off my views.
In any case, I agree with AllAmerican 100%, and have said as much multiple times. TTAG, please, please get your shit together on the ads!
That dose nothing to address the problem of referring someone to this site.
I downloaded and installed ad-blocker specifically because of TTAG. From sketchy adds that try to open windows on their own, to ads that are borderline NSFW, to the most annoying ads that start playing loud audio without any warning. Not cool.
Somw adds try to make my phone download crappy apps
Aren’t they targeted ads?
The ads on the site is the problem far more than model content. Any computer I’m on without ADP and Ghostery ends up freezing with minimal browsing of TTAG. Seeing up to 24 blocks by Ghostery…
This. Browsing TTAG is painful. especially autoplay crap after the kido has gone to bed and I forget to mute the ‘puter.
Yup. The ad-network tracking javascripts are so convoluted that it crashes Safari on my 1st-gen iPad when I visit the site. I had to turn off javascript to even visit the site (and a few others, like CNN).
Sorry, RF & crew, I’d be happy to let you get the impressions, but the ad network you’re using crashes the browser. Tell the ad network to dial it back to non-crash-inducing levels and I’ll give it a try.
Agreed. I used Adblock, so I don’t notice it when I’m at my desk, but I visited the site yesterday from my phone and it was damn near unusable.
I use a desktop PC to browse the site. Use Malwarbytes anti-virus software and have very little problem most of the time. Site is fast, videos are good with no slowdowns or stops for buffering. Wondering if you folks using your phones to browse that maybe your phone or your wifi connection is the issue rather than the site itself? I also have very few ads pop up on the site so perhaps one of my settings or the anti-virus software is blocking those and giving me a more trouble free experience?
I’ve got no add problems at all on my iPhone.
I would like to support the site and leave the Ad’s enabled, maybe even click them every so often. But they are soo bad, I have to disable them to make the site usable.
This. Relevant ads would be welcome, but this garbage clickbait stuff is embarrassing! I only see this level of junk ads on those clickbait sites you never intend to go to. It’s sad to see so many on a well put together site like TTAG.
Funny thing is…. I’ve never seen ANY “ads” at this site, except the one banner at the top. I don’t look at such things much anyway, so couldn’t tell you what it said, even though it’s only been a few seconds since I saw it in passing. I just don’t understand this as a problem. Get some software to block ads, for pity sake.
Yeah I use adblocker so it hasn’t been a problem.
Yeah I agree I would be fine with ads for brownells, midway, gun companies, and other more relevant issues like I see on some other websites but the ads on this site make it seem like some of those untrustworthy site I avoid all the time because of trashy ads like these. So you don’t need to remove ads but I would appreciate better more relevant ads.
Ok… As I was typing a reply, my phone had to reload the site because of all the spam. That’s a horrible way to increase your readership. Honestly, paid banner adds and quarter page adds may bring less money, but they don’t scare away users. I understand you guys need to keep the lights on and keep Nick in ammo, but it’s gotta be hurting more than helping.
Don’t know what I am doing but it has been a non-issue for me.
I don’t get any ads on my iPAD. Not an issue for me.
+1
Get a female contributor or Two. Have them write articles and reviews geared towards women. It’s great to tell women not to carry off-body, but give them some options and reasoned reviews on alternatives…..from women. Maybe profile some of the groups that are getting women to appreciate guns (The well armed woman, for example).
In other words, if you want women to read, draw them in with content directed towards them.
Great suggestion.
You mean Tyler’s cooking segments don’t pull more female readers?
(Not a dig on the articles, I actually like the change of pace)
I love the cooking articles. If I ever wind up with some bay duckies that need cooking, I’m doing that pastrami thing.
The kitchen is no place for a woman.
Only for cleaning, not for cooking.
+1
If I may make a suggestion: solicit the talents of faliaphotography. I know there’s a history there (can’t remember the particulars) but she’s focused a lot of her youtube videos toward the gun and carry needs of women.
This site linked to Falia a while back, and I found her videos very helpful. The Well Armed woman videos are useful too.
Agreed! Falia is amazing. She does some of the smartest, most detailed, interesting firearms and accesory reviews I’ve ever seen. She has great ideas for women’s ccw clothing, etc. and the way she shoots is anything but “girly.”
Hire Falia.
What happened to Kirsten? Or did she move on to bigger and better things?
+1
Her shooting was impressive, and seeing a lady who was even more into target shooting than I am was like finding proof that unicorns are real.
Exactly what I was going to comment. My GF carries almost as much as I do, and she constantly complains that she’d on body carry if someone made a holster designed for women. Flash-bang holsters are stupid, and womens clothing makes it difficult to conceal. Someone has to have a product that actually works..
Sounds like an opportunity for her and you.
She can clue you as to needs, Kydex is fairly cheap.
Or sell the design to a holster maker.
TheFirearmsBlog does this with articles by Katie something or other.
Kinda lighthearted, swooning over gear (not purses), and firearms that aren’t screaming “COME AT ME BRO”. She does a lot of the male and female clothing posts/reviews too.
Perfect balance.
My wife does. Occasionally.
My wife shoots with me a little here and there. She is supportive of liberty, the 2nd amendment, and shooting for sport, and she is the proud owner of a lilac Ruger LCP.
I can’t get her into TTAG. Some of the postings are a little “Inside Baseball” for a newer shooter, let alone a newer female shooter living in a culture that does not glamorize female firearms ownership.
I commonly quiz my wife on topics of interest at TTAG to get a sense of what an average gun owner who has little familiarity with gun culture or the political side of 2A rights might think. She has never heard of Shannon Watts, Everytown, Green tip ammo, the Sig Brace, or Defense Distributed. I’ll talk to her again tonight, but I get a sense from her and others that a series of “back to basics” articles might help to draw in newer shooters, including a lot of women who are new to firearms.
A follow-up: after posting the above I read the “3 Things” article RF put out there earlier today. Get 5 of that kind of article, add more emphasis on female carry, and I think you will be on the right path.
I’m “here” every day, usually check in many times. TTAG is in my blogroll and I forward links to articles frequently.
I like the articles on all sorts of “how to” as well as some of the hardware reviews. Most of the political/guns stuff is pretty good too. I get tired of the emphasis on concealed carry, but have learned to mostly ignore that bias and read the rest to pick out what I can use. I especially like the ND/irresponsible gun owner stories, because the raw “news” is usually so incomplete or twisted. I like that you make an effort to find out more and put it into perspective as much as possible.
I don’t care if the pictures are sexy women with guns. Or ugly women with guns… or sexy men/ugly men… whatever. I only look at the guns anyway. 🙂 Can’t, for the life of me, figure out why some women are so silly about pictures anyway. How in the world can a person be insulted by a picture of a stranger, taken by a stranger? And if they don’t like a picture, why not just ignore it? Silly people, to take such things personally.
But then, I’m not in the least typical of women who carry a gun, so consider the source. 🙂
Ok, this may or not be very helpful. I read just about everything here, though I probably pay more attention to the political/gun rights/DGU posts. I think it’s a good mix, and I’ve learned a lot from the more technical articles. Robert and staff have also in the past been good about posting about carry systems for women, and Robert’s nagging is a big reason I went from purse carry to on body carry. I’ve had my CHL for over a decade but still needed coaching on how to carry on body.
I don’t have a problem with (clothed) pretty girl posts, and I’m a big KJW fan, but the one time I clicked on a supermodel link I thought it was sleazy. That website crossed the line over to slightly offensive, so thanks for discontinuing those.
I don’t think that pictures of girls in bikinis add anything good to your content or increase your gravitas. If we want to look at Israeli supermodels, there are PLENTY of other websites.
Perhaps start “thetruthaboutisraelisupermodels.com” and keep this site on-point.
More “Puppies with Guns”, maybe kittens too. 😀
Without a doubt Puppies with Guns was one of my top 3 favorite posts from this website since I’ve started to come here.
We had thread going a few days ago about weaponized cats.
Not. A. Good. Idea.
If you forget the cat treats just *one* time…
(shudder)
My lady just began carrying, and has been researching holsters. She has found her way to this site on at least one occasion. She would lose respect for the site instantly if she stumbled across any of the stories that include those links. I always thought they were sort of stupid.
KJW managed to be super hot without wearing anything more revealing than short sleeves and a machine gun. *I* would certainly never go shooting in a bathing suit, don’t think it adds a thing.
I’m a perpetually confused egalitarian.
While there are a few gender specific subtopics such as gender specific carry methods, guns are not an innately gendered Interest.
There is nothing about reviewing firearms and their related products that is relative to gender.
Sometimes reviewers use language which is condescending to women and some.
The most common example seems to be variations on the phrase, “people with small/weak hands, such as women and the disabled.” People with small or weak hands would be sufficient.
I’ve always considered the use of bikini models in gun ads to be low brow and embarrassingly juvenile.
I don’t see a reason to attract female gun enthusiasts any more than I feel it’s important to attract red headed gun enthusiasts. Instead we should work on avoiding unnecessarily exclusionary language.
I think you’re on the right track there. Targeting content at any one group usually comes off kind of condescending.
If you want female readers, drop the “just us bros” attitude that sometimes creeps in (usually in Robert’s articles more than any other writer here), and get a few women to write for you. But absolutely do not task them exclusively with writing articles “for women”. Let them write the same kinds of articles as the male writers. A few topics might be gender-specific (holsters and carry methods are the only one I can really think of off-hand, though), and should be covered as such, but mostly I think women (at least the pro-2A ones I know) would prefer to be treated as equals, and they don’t find that very often in the firearms world.
You might also look for better ad providers. Some of the sponsored content links are pretty off-topic and trashy. That’s one of the problems I have sending links to articles to non-gun-nut friends (of any gender) who might otherwise enjoy them: I have to offer a caveat that the trashy ads are not indicative of the site quality. When you load up a page and are greeted with links to “13 Botched Celebrity Boob Jobs” or whatever, it’s hard to take the site seriously if you haven’t been here long enough to know that the actual content is pretty great. Like it or not, books get judged by their cover all the time.
^ I agree, it would be refreshing to get a woman’s perspective on all firearms related topics.
“There is nothing about reviewing firearms and their related products that is relative to gender. ”
A review on a purse with a carry pocket is not relevant to gender?
When it comes to carry there are differences in the needs of women vs. men. Differences in body geometry dictate that. Women sometimes need holsters built for them.
Im one of the female regular readers. I Rarely comment. I like DGU and news stories And hunting stories/recipes. I am less interested in gear reviews though sometimes find them helpful. I very much appreciate that ttag has cut back on the sexism and soft porn. I know that has been challenging for some and I recognize the effort it has taken to tame things down. I enjoy the site a lot more now and would not hesitate to recommend it to my friends. Just because guns used to be toys just for boys doesn’t mean that the boys club atmosphere needs to continue.
Thanks for the positive change.!
What kind of women read TTAG?
The awesome kind.
I started exposing my daughter to the articles and she likes them. She even forwards them to her friends.
She is looking forward to some range time with her new pistol.
Just keep posting links to scantily clad Israeli super models but you’ll have to be fair and balance for the ladies by post links to scantily clad OFWGs.
Fair is fair.
That’ll scare away the ladies (and the men) 🙂
I read it all the time. I even comment, probably more than is strictly necessary.
I never minded the girls with guns pics all that much. It’s sort of a game, watching for the ones with horrible trigger discipline. And, well, my own particular bias towards the scantily-clad ones probably isn’t the demographic you were initially thinking of, but there it is. 😉
Oh, and I contributed once. I might be interested in doing so again, if asked nicely.
Please?
Less than fully dressed women displaying guns is 100% a female reader turn off, in my world anyhow. I hate seeing buxom blondes holding some semi-automatic weapon in a tight t-shirt too. It appeals to one thing & one thing only, the smaller head of the male species. My fiancé is an avid reader of your website & has given me a few articles to read, which I have enjoyed, but it has not been enough to entice me to be a regular reader. I have had a weird relationship with guns though. Growing up, my Dad shot trap semi-professionally & my brother competed in biathalons. I was born & raised in Alaska, giving me a lot of exposure to pistols, rifles, shotguns, air guns, etc. However, when I was 20 I married an abusive man that put a pistol to my head twice before I finally found the courage to leave him. It left me with scars that I still have today and a phobia of pistols. But, I got extremely lucky a number of years later & found a wonderful specimen of a man that has gotten me over my phobia & makes me feel like a powerful female. Empowerment is huge with us, but something we are very slow to admit. We want to believe at we can manage it all, but truth is we can’t. We do need help. So we read many How To Be Better… Boss, mother, time manager, partner, shooter, you name it. We are always striving to be better because we have a hard time being satisfied with where we are. But, on those days we do feel satisfied, we can take on the world. Not sure how much this will help you, but I hope I have given you some insight into the female psyche.
My story may sound unique & there are certainly parts that are, but the abuse, unfortunately, is not one of them. Sharing my story has saddened me to hear how many other females have gone through similar situations. I believe the statistics are far higher than anyone suspects simply because we are ashamed to admit that we allowed another human to dominate us in some way.
Personally, I would enjoy more shooting gear tailored to women, other than pink camo (ladies, camo should not be a fashion statement). Learning about guns that may be easier for women to handle, understanding laws pertaining to usage of guns in questionable situations (stand your ground, break ins, robberies, etc). And just how to be a more confident, strong powerful female. Reading about other females in the sport helps. I enjoy hearing about others stories, how they got there, what got them started, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Anyway, sorry to be so long winded. Probably a lot more than you bargained for, but it’s a sensitive topic to me & I appreciate the opportunity to have my voice heard.
” But, I got extremely lucky a number of years later & found a wonderful specimen of a man that has gotten me over my phobia & makes me feel like a powerful female.”
Good for you, darlin’. The hardest thing is the part where you get away. Abusers are very good at getting your to believe that you are powerless and trapped. That’s how they keep control. Getting away from an a**hole abuser takes a kind of courage most people can’t imagine until they’ve seen it up close. In doing that you empowered yourself. After that the rest is cake.
Thank you for your insights. That was very interesting.
Glad you’re here with us Stacey
I’m not a “lady” (heck, I’m barely a “gentleman”), but I’d like to suggest that even if there’s no effect on female readership (and, frankly, it sounds like you’re fishing for a reason to go back to posting those types of links–I hope I’m reading too much into it), I encourage you to keep things classy and on point. I appreciate the female form in all its glory as much as (if not more than!) the next guy, but…
Seriously, it adds *nothing* to gun-related discussion, and if anything, gives the antis reason to add “misogynist” to their “racist homophobic redneck” screeches.
As others have mentioned, if anyone needs to look up Israeli supermodels, there are other, more “appropriate” venues for doing that. A (respected/respectable) gun blog ain’t one of ’em.
Both my girlfriend and I have read ttag for years and never found the supermodel content either offensive or out of place. Honestly a part of life is beautiful women, and if you walk through my college any weekday you’ll get just as much of an eyeful as when browsing ttag’s model pics(fewer guns though).
Robert, your argument as to why you self censor reminds me of Oscar Wilde’s “Dorian Gray.” Gray attempted to be good not because it was right but because it was a new type of experience. Whether your policy attracts women or not (I do hope they are here) should be a moot point. Rather, do good because that’s what is right to do. The policy is good as it keeps the site classy, safe for work/home, and in good taste.
It’s tough. As far as I can tell (could be wrong) there are zero barriers to entry but the ratio of male to female editors on wikipedia is something like 9+ to 1.
My gf reads once in a while.
I know she’d like to see more reviews for gear targeted at women and more women-centric news articles. She’d like to see of firearms targeted to women by coloring them pink.
Apparently, some of our firearms manufacturers need a cluebat that not all ladies like pink. My gf likes purple. And glitter.
^Can’t edit. Meant to type she’d like to see less pink weapons.
I ONLY snickered after your pseudo-edit. The thought wouldn’t have crossed my mind otherwise.
The firearms industry fad of “make it in pink/purple is rather funny. Exactly the same idiotic approach of the auto industry in the 50s. http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1955-1956-dodge-la-femme2.htm
I can’t speak for all women, only my gf. I have been trying for years to get her interested in firearms and target shooting. It wasn’t until she saw the blue, zebra striped Walther PK380 at Cabelas that she fell in love.
http://images.cabelas.com/is/image/cabelas/s7_291942_982_02
I learned that everyone is different, but some people are as much (or more) motivated by aesthetics as the actual function of the firearms.
Why not reach out to somebody like TacTissy? She’s an avid shooter, knows her stuff, and I’m sure she could draw more women to this site. She could review female-specific gear, recommend guns, set up some instructional videos and get into the 2A politics as well. Basically, you need articles / videos by women to attract female readership. Oh and make sure that they can add to Pinterest any gear that is reviewed. Girls love that stuff.
I’m not female, nor do I play one on TV…
But most articles by the nature of this site are going to be about either gun hardware/accessories or gun related politics. If you don’t like at least one of those topics, this site will probably never appeal.
I’m a regular reader and posted a couple of times. Usually little to no response. Well except for one especially snotty reply to my suggestion that rather than carrying long guns in support of open carry in Texas, wear an empty holster, as a less provocative means of supporting a new law. Some jerk responded with something about being “an operator, operating” Anyway Open Carry Texas, did visit the capital wearing empty holsters. It was effective in at least getting the bills out of committee, so maybe it wasn’t such a lame suggestion. I like most of the articles, always read the comments, especially from other women. I’m more a handgun person, especially revolvers. was even able to score a Colt Detective .38 revolver from the 70’s for $200.00 from an individual seller. Due to reading some articles on vintage handguns and getting some tips on buying used handguns, am now the owner of a cleaned, lubed, beautiful work of art stub nosed revolver, and yes I do credit TTAG for educating me about guns, and a whole lot of other stuff. Kudos to all!
Admit it, the only reason you posted that was to brag about stealing that poor fool’s Colt for only $200. 😉
Oh, not that bad. I bought one in 1972, think it was $85, the wife loved it for years, eventually went to a Sig 230, then a S&W airweight. The $200 would be acceptable, I think, if I was tempted to sell, but I’m not! A real nice little gun. Of course, I leaned that way because I was a Python fan, owned 3 at the time.
There are more transgender and gay readers than female. Just my feeling based on comments. I may be wrong.
We could use more KJW.
How about some competition coverage? Or maybe some good drills to hone skills. There are sites out there dedicated to that but a tip every now and then here could balance out the political stuff. And I love my politics.
There are more transgender and gay readers than female. Just my feeling based on comments. I may be wrong. Don’t forget the potheads Apparently have a bunch.
A generation ago, it was as acceptable to make s***head remarks about women and other minorities as it currently is for “potheads.” The general complaint from the female readership (based on my skim through the comments thus far) is that the rank and file here is a bunch of assholes with their noses too far in the air to see what’s in front of them.
Thanks for illustrating their point!
Sincerely,
not-a-marijuana-smoker
Wow! You think it’s bad here? Go post on Arfcom. Everybody over there is Special Forces, Operators that can use a 12 inch DPMS .223 pistlol and hit a 5 round group within 1/2″ at 500 meters with a non magnified red dot or iron sights . Just ask them.
I have always had to click on the link to see the models. I assume if you don’t click on the link, you won’t see the models. I have always read the articles too, of course.
I am a married mother of 4 under 8. I started reading about a year ago because somebody at Ricochet recommended this site to people unfamiliar with guns and wanting to know more. I like the gun reviews, the holster reviews, and general gun related news. I don’t read much of the hunting stuff but it’s obviously relevant to most of your readership.
I just bought my first gun last week. It’s a Smith & Wesson M&P9 sheild because it has a manual safety and my husband insisted that if I was going to go through with this it had to have a safety.
I don’t carry yet as I feel that I need to practice.
Is your husband a gun guy? Why the insistence of a safety, for your safety or his?
He is not, tho he has handled more than I have. He cited the recent incident in Idaho where the toddler shot his mom. He is thinking specifically of our button pushing 2yr old.
Congratulations Search on your first handgun purchase. Note: it probably will not be your last purchase!
Here are some tips and best practices for a new firearm owner …
Always make sure a firearm is unloaded in both the chamber (barrel) and magazine before handling it. Cycle the action two or three times to make sure there are no cartridges hiding somewhere.
When handing a firearm to another person to inspect it or handle it, show them that it is unloaded in both chamber (barrel) and magazine and hand it to them with the action locked open.
Invest some time on “dry fire” practice. That simply means that you make sure your firearm is unloaded (check the chamber and magazine and cycle the action multiple times like I stated above) and then practice squeezing the trigger, aiming, drawing, changing magazines, racking the slide (of a semi-automatic handgun such as your M&P Shield) etc. Because you are not using any ammunition, you can do this inside your home any time that is convenient for you.
Make trips to the range a “date” with your husband. Try to go out on this kind of date at least once every four months (three times a year).
After you have enough enough dry-fire practice to feel comfortable and familiar with your handgun, start carrying your handgun at home — unloaded initially. This is a safe way to work out any kinks with your holster or method of carry.
After you have enough practice with carrying your unloaded handgun at home and two or three trips to the range for live fire practice, start carrying your handgun at home with a full magazine and an empty chamber.
After you have enough practice at home carrying your handgun with an empty chamber and a loaded magazine, consider carrying with a round in the chamber and a full magazine. Make sure you have a properly fitting (tight) holster that completely covers the trigger guard of your handgun before carrying with a round in the chamber. This is critical for preventing unintentional discharges.
After you are comfortable carrying your loaded handgun at home, consider carrying it in public. Please check your local laws before carrying in public to avoid any legal troubles.
Please consider how to store your handgun safely when you are not carrying it on your body — especially if you have children.
Most importantly: keep seeking and learning and have fun!
On a somewhat more serious note, I want to encourage you to not be too intimidated. Firearms are actually pretty simple. Once someone loads a firearm, all you do is point it at your target and squeeze the trigger. If you can point your finger at someone, you can aim a handgun accurately at an attacker who is within a few feet. Plenty of people who have never shot a handgun have been able to aim at and shoot an attacker with no previous experience. While I don’t recommend that approach to “practice”, it helps provide some perspective.
Carrying is practicing. You will eventually spend more of your time carrying your pistol than shooting it so even if you carry unloaded (which I am not recommending) you will be gaining invaluable knowledge. Welcome to the community. My wife and I joined in 2013.
Perhaps a tab at the top “NEW TO FIREARMS” that includes 90% threads that are of particular interest to new shooters and 10% political hot issues. I think NEW is a larger demographic to outreach/train than a gender.
This, more than anything else. The folks who read TTaG and write for it are, for the most part, an extremely knowledgeable bunch. We love getting into the nitty-gritty and debating esoteric details, but that can be extremely intimidating for somebody with only a cursory (or even nonexistent) understanding of firearms and the various sub-topics. This is a great website for people who already know a ton, but for newcomers to the world of firearms, well, the site leaves a LOT to be desired. Accessibility could definitely be increased with a new tab.
Yes, an excellent plan. That is actually closer to something which should be named “the truth about guns” than what we have now, like answers from experienced folk to questions from inexperienced folk. Possibly one of the regular folk selecting which answers to actually use, rather than all. I would think that would be quite welcome to someone who googled “the truth about guns” looking for answers, without an agenda.
Fact of the matter is this: you have the appeal to the greatest common denominator.
I wouldn’t for a moment encourage exclusivity, but the gun community is anything but tame. It won’t be tame at your LGS, range, etc. Blatant douchebaggery should be discouraged, but you’re going to get a fair amount of it no matter what you do. Encouraging the community to police itself will result in assholes being shamed into silence and eventually going away.
The current trend of making everything “palatable” is boring. Profanity filters are great at taking out people like me who tend to drop f-bombs in their posts, but the homosexual and religious slurs are EVERYWHERE. For example: people get jumped on when somebody says something negative about Jews, but nasty comments about Muslims go unchallenged. And holy sh** let any given topic touch on the left/right paradigm of the American political spectrum. You’ll have a handful of readers raving about leftards and libertardians for days.
The theme recently doesn’t seem to be “inclusive” so much as “selectively exclusive.” You can’t moderate it right, you have to train the readership to take care of its own.
Lastly… The wife has told me a few times that TTAG’s attempts to “clean things up,” smack of pandering. It offends her FAR more than Israeli supermodels.
Have recommends this site to a dozen(gun owning) people or so, all guys, so this may not be the feedback you are looking for, but only 1 acquaintance has stuck with the site that I’m sure of, some of the others have not found interest for whatever reasons. At least 2 mentioned similiar to what I have posted here, a lot here seems inconsistent , as in this site doesn’t trust or believe the Governemnt when it comes to guns, but takes the 100% government sanctioned position on everything else. Comes off as not credible to many in the gun community.
“100% government sanctioned position”? What the hell are they basing that perception off of? TTaG (the writers and the community) are, for the most part, a libertarian’s wet dream. They/we understand and accept human fallibility, and see how that extends to government fallibility. And I’m not sure anyone here (OK, maybe El Mac) actually trusts the government in ANY way, certainly not enough to take the “government sanctioned position” on anything. Your friends are idiots, no offense.
You’re opinion duly noted. A good friend read an exchange regarding 9/11 and he wouldn’t come back. There’s lots of other examples.
I skim a lot, read further into whatever seems interesting or informative.
#1 for me is the information breakdown, clearing up misinformation, pointing out skewed statistics and shutting down blatant emotional appeals that have no basis in reality.
More gear reviews from women would be nice, I know there’s a growing market of made for women holsters but not a lot of talk on how well they actually work. As pointed out, gun stuff is mostly genderless, but for that little bit that isn’t it would be helpful to get a review from a woman’s perspective.
I’m neither here nor there on sexy women. As dumb as it is though, sexy stuff guarantees shots taken from the anti crowd. It’s low hanging fruit, easy to pick and throw around. I recently tried to explain why prettied up belly bands were not sexualizing or fetishizing guns, but got nowhere. As far as I can guess, a little faux-lace trim means that the entire thing is just a ploy to make guns sexual and somehow more dangerous [no actual explanation was given for that].
Seems that since they can’t cry ‘small penis compensation’ at women, anti’s will instead declare that women gain false sexual empowerment from guns.
You’re doing fine TTAG. As far as I know my wife has never looked at your site. Those adds are everywhere in blogland too. WE have adblock so nothing autoplays. Personally I remember a gal(sorrycan’t think of the name) from several months ago who couldn’tstand the vile testosterone & boys club attitude. You can’t please everyone.
Was that cowgirlup you were recalling?
I’m a wife, a mother and a physical therapist and I read TTAG every day. I have had my CCW for almost 2 years. I read a lot of the gear/gun reviews when I was picking out my first handgun and I found them thorough and helpful. I started out wanting to carry because I walk 4 miles every morning and was living in an area where I had to worry about mountain lions. We’ve since moved, and now I worry more about people than animals.
I would like to carry all day, every day but I haven’t quite figured out how to make that work. I would appreciate more articles about helping the regular woman carry. Practically speaking, it’s kind of a nightmare…..Finding the right gun and the right holster set up is challenging. So, I would enjoy articles about this from everyday women…working women, moms, etc….what they carry in what situations and what has worked for them and what hasn’t. For example, I am small and have small hands so a smaller gun would make more sense as it is easier to conceal and easier to hold (maybe), but I have a harder time controlling a smaller gun (like the Ruger LCP I found a little squirrelly for my taste). Bigger guns are easier for me to shoot and I feel more comfortable with them, but much harder to carry on body. These are the problems regular women will run into if and when they want to start carrying. My husband and I talk a lot about guns and shooting and we go on shooting dates, but he wears jeans and a tshirt every day, so he can’t really offer much advice about in body carrying for women.
I enjoy the articles by Kirsten and the other female competitive shooters, and am in awe of their abilities, but it isn’t something I can relate to on a daily basis.
I get my holsters from The Well Armed Woman. Carrie Lightfoot is knowledgable and has a variety of products. The videos are helpful. I once sent her a long email asking for holster advise, but never heard back, I’m guess it ended up in her spam folder. What I’m learning is for women to carry on a daily basis, we need about as many holsters as we have pairs of shoes…literally one for every outfit because our clothing styles can be so varied. This for sure is a barrier to entry for women. Its confusing and expensive.
I also like TTAG because of the conservative political viewpoints. I enjoy learning about 2nd amendment issues. And I can’t say I was offended by the Isreali supermodels, I didn’t give it much thought either way really. And, to comment on what some other posters said, I’m not having any trouble with the ads either. My first reaction was “what ads?”
So, as woman, I’d like to see more gun/gear articles that apply to women and how to about conceal carrying, etc. Also, as a woman and mom, I am REALLY tired of Shannon Watts and the Moms Demand Action crowd. So, any articles that help women see the truth about guns and protecting ourselves and our constitutional rights etc are welcomed.
You raise some good points. As a male reader, I’d actually be interested in seeing more articles written by a female, with a female point of view on holsters, self-defense, firearm reviews, etc. Those would be articles I’d definitely forward on to my wife to help increase her interest in firearms.
I have to say Robert and crew that I read all the time. Don’t comment much but being a guy that is slowly introducing his wife to the world of firearms I think it would be a great idea to maybe run articles on women’s firearms training. Also I think maybe involving Pintrest style posts. Call them Guntrests! One thing that my wife has started doing with me is looking up some of the really nice custom engraved guns. That so far has been some of the most firearms fun we have had together and she really enjoys it. Give women a forum to discuss their likes dislikes and questions. Kind of like Field of Dreams “If you build it they will come…”
I’m using Android 4.4 with Dolphin browser, and have no ad or auto play problems. Now rotating from portrait to landscape is another thing. Also leaving a comment is painful due to serious lag so I rarely comment.
I’m a regular female reader here. Current news and product reviews hold most of my interest. I mostly ignore the politics. Like Chris above, I don’t really care about the sexy crap, but it definitely comes up as a criticism from non-gunny friends.
Bewbs.
I’m a fairly regular reader since my husband introduced me to this site about a year ago. I stop by usually a couple times a day, most days. I am mostly interested in the RKBA and gun laws/policy related topics, but I also enjoy reading about DGUs and opinions on various gun-related topics. The gear reviews don’t interest me as much but they don’t bother me either.
I agree that nearly all of the subject is not really gendered at all, even if it’s traditionally seen as a “masculine” interest. It’s occurred to me that I’m in the minority as a woman but I’ve never felt excluded in any way for it. It seems to me that TTAG does a fine job at highlighting relevant issues for both men and women. I’ve felt a lot more awkward here as a pro-2A liberal than as a woman, and that’s primarily from the comments and not the content. (This is not a request to lock down the comments sections; the lively dialogue is part of the appeal of the site and I’m not so sensitive that I can’t handle it.)
I think as far as female-specific content, I wouldn’t go any farther than maybe some gear reviews for women’s holsters or things like that. If you try to create a bunch of content specifically tailored towards females I think it will just come off as condescending and annoying. Like we female readers are being given a corner to go sit in while the guys continue on what they like and they think we don’t. I come here because I like and am interested in the sorts of posts found here. I don’t need you to change to “accommodate” me.
I also happen to be pregnant with my first child, and I was very interested in the story of the babywearing and gun carrying class for parents of small children. If I lived in Iowa I would love to attend the class, but since I don’t I’d love to see some how-to articles along the same lines. In coming years I’m sure I will have an ever increasing interest in things like how to safely keep and carry guns around toddlers, age appropriate ways to introduce children to gun safety and shooting sports, reviews for good “first guns” for children mature enough to start learning to shoot but lacking in a the full adult sized frame or adult upper body strength, and so on. I don’t think of this as a female-specific thing since approximately half of all parents of young children are male, but maybe others see it differently.
Yes, I’m a woman.
No, I don’t want my guns to be pink. I don’t care if they are available in pink for those who like them that way as long as I can get them in black.
No, I don’t need introductory lessons to the world of firearms. Some people do, men and women alike, and I think creating content for them is a good idea as long as it’s aimed at new people, not “women.”
No, Shannon Watts does not speak for me, nor does the fact that she is a woman and a mother make me take her any more seriously or dislike her any less.
Yes, I’m interested in a stories about women who fought off home invaders and rapists with arms of all sorts. I’m also interested in stories about men and girls and boys and seniors and students and anybody really who did the same.
I will agree that ads here are typically annoying garbage clickbait and I’d love to see a better class of actually relevant ads (not as much, you know, as zero ads, but I want the people who run this site to be able to make a living so they can keep running the site). The content here doesn’t strike me as sexist or offputting to women, but some of those ads sure do.
Mostly, TTAG, keep doing your awesome thing and I’ll happily keep coming here to read it.
Why not click on a few ads instead of hating on them. It costs you nothing and supports TTAG. Or, send RF some coffee money. If you’re giving your fair share already, just ignore this comment.
Maybe because some of those ads have that skeevy, “this will definitely try to infect your computer with a dozen viruses” look to them?
I’ll click on ads when they’re appropriate and on-topic, not just moronic click-bait.
@Stinkeye May your chains rest lightly upon you.
/trolling
I’ve in the past been hesitant to link to TTAG articles on my FB feed, partly because I’ve had female friends say that some of the stuff elsewhere on the site came off frat boy-ish. It really makes the “but I only read the articles!” argument hold up much better when I try sharing stuff from TTAG with my wife or female friends and family members, when there isn’t all the sexual content.
My wife shoots with me from time to time and can defend the basic parts of the self-defence-catechism, but she has to listen to me talking about guns and politics way too much to come on here herself.
And she’s always angry that I leave five or six TTAG tabs open and it slows down her browsing.
I’m a little late responding to this, but taking care of a newborn saps a lot of time! I second what Kirstin said and I’d like to see reviews of gun gear by and for women. I find it difficult to carry as well because so much gun gear is designed for men and men’s bodies. Purse carry is more useful for whacking someone over the head with the added heft than actually drawing a pistol.
I also just enjoy reading about the regular news, and competitions and other articles of general interest but I think reviews of gear for women is pretty lacking across the internet as a whole. Takes some searching to find it.
Oh and reading what Branwyn said, articles about introducing children to shooting, and gun safety and such would also be of appeal to women (and should be of appeal to men too!). It’s hard to find resources to help with teaching our own children about gun safety, and we as parents just have to kind of “wing it”
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