[TheSymbiote]

i asked this ? on hisstank and i got 8 replies within the first 5 min.im sure this thread will get 1 reply per hour,

Why is hisstank so popular? - HissTank.com - G.I. Joe

[Saint Phe]

I've often wondered the same thing. But I don't remember it being nearly as busy before all the ROC hype started to heat up about a year ago.

[Snowflakian]

The having to login to see pictures helps too.

I've debated on it solely so I could see pics of some bits of news.

[ludovicotek]

Not sure. But it's true. G.I Joe is awesome, though. I wonder how long Hisstank was around before it really got busy, before ROC. How much longer has Hisstank been around than Toyark? I know it's been longer, but how long. Hopefully the Ark will take off as much.

[Snowflakian]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludovicotek

Not sure. But it's true. G.I Joe is awesome, though. I wonder how long Hisstank was around before it really got busy, before ROC. How much longer has Hisstank been around than Toyark? I know it's been longer, but how long. Hopefully the Ark will take off as much.

Hisstank's been around for maybe a little shorter if not the same amount of time as TFW.

I hope toyark takes off as much as well, as it's much simpler to find a bunch of things about any toys at once.

Nothing against TNI or Marvelousness, I just find here easier at times to navigate. A lot of that comes from being so new though as well. Once Toyark gets bigger it may herald in some of the same pitfalls of the larger communities.

[Joe Moore]

Hisstank has been around for only a few short years. The reason it took off the way it did was because there were so few TFW style websites for G.I. Joe. The websites that were out there were very unorganized or only focused on specialized areas of the G.I. Joe brand. Hisstank took what worked at TFW, and molded it into it's own thing. And it turns out, especially when the movie news was gaining steam, that it's exactly the type of site people were looking for.

Toyark is a much newer site. We're still doing our best to find our footing. And with the right mix of content, people and focus, we will get there. If anyone knows anything about the 2005 Network is that change is our one big constant, and we always look to upgrade, add and brign in new ideas to build up on our core focus.

[ericdbright]

I think the reason is more because there's not much of an "elitist" feel to that site. I'm a member there and lurk on fwoosh and he-man.org and there are some serious dicks on other sites. Don't get me wrong, the tank has it's share, most have become mods this past year or were banned. The first explosion hit when the 25th took off, the second around the few months before the movie release. People are very willing to trade and help by shopping for you. There are guys who make weekend trips and will shop for you since trull be out anyways. It's a great, diverse community and I should really be more active there.

[Shin Densetsu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saint Phe

I've often wondered the same thing. But I don't remember it being nearly as busy before all the ROC hype started to heat up about a year ago.

It got pretty busy once a lot of the 25th news and news for Sigma 6 started flowing in. DESTRO is a huge Sigma 6 fan. Same with me, and Razerwire from TFW(and here and HISS Tank too). The 25th line brought a LOT of people on board. Resolute has a huge share of fans there too(myself included, any of you buying those 7 packs?).

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowflakian

The having to login to see pictures helps too.

I've debated on it solely so I could see pics of some bits of news.

Might as well man, I think your login/user id here might work there, but it might depend on when you registered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ludovicotek

Not sure. But it's true. G.I Joe is awesome, though. I wonder how long Hisstank was around before it really got busy, before ROC. How much longer has Hisstank been around than Toyark? I know it's been longer, but how long. Hopefully the Ark will take off as much.

HISS Tank was automodded initially, and this was around 2005 or prior(not sure exactly when but I know I joined right after it started). I was a member back then, but not under the same user id. It was pretty neat, but when it went "live", believe me, it went LIVE!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snowflakian

Hisstank's been around for maybe a little shorter if not the same amount of time as TFW.

I hope toyark takes off as much as well, as it's much simpler to find a bunch of things about any toys at once.

Nothing against TNI or Marvelousness, I just find here easier at times to navigate. A lot of that comes from being so new though as well. Once Toyark gets bigger it may herald in some of the same pitfalls of the larger communities.

Thanks for the kind words man. TFW has a couple of years on HISS Tank. In fact, I was a member of 2005 for a few years before HISS Tank started. The 1st site I used to look at was Transfandom.com, then by 2002 I was lurking 2005 a lot, then signing up either that year or a year later. I do remember posting a lot more once the Binaltech Smokescreen was revealed during summer 03. I remember nearly EVERYONE rejoicing. Funny enough, the mass market stuff NOW beats the stuff back then(Armadaverse) by a landslide(except maybe Cybertron, Cybertron was awesome). Though for collector's lines, it's kind of the other way around. I miss Alternators.

Our premise here is to do for action figures/toys in general, what TFW did for Transformers and what HISS Tank did for G.I. Joe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Moore

Hisstank has been around for only a few short years. The reason it took off the way it did was because there were so few TFW style websites for G.I. Joe. The websites that were out there were very unorganized or only focused on specialized areas of the G.I. Joe brand. Hisstank took what worked at TFW, and molded it into it's own thing. And it turns out, especially when the movie news was gaining steam, that it's exactly the type of site people were looking for.

Toyark is a much newer site. We're still doing our best to find our footing. And with the right mix of content, people and focus, we will get there. If anyone knows anything about the 2005 Network is that change is our one big constant, and we always look to upgrade, add and brign in new ideas to build up on our core focus.

I couldn't have said it better myself, great post Joe!

[trebleshot]

Well said, Shin and Joe. Nothing much to add, really, except....

In the words of the immortal Sheriff Bart: "Once you establish yourself, they got to accept you."

[dieselboy m]

I've been a member of TNI since March of 2002. I went on hiatus from toys for a couple years, when I came back I found TNI had become all kinds of messy. I really don't hang out in message boards much anymore, I mostly just check the front pages for news. These days Hisstank is my go to place for GI Joe news, as TFW2005 is my go to place for toy news and Toyark for general toy news. I like how the sites are separate, but share a common interface.

[Newton Gimmick]

Why sites are popular never really pans out. There are lots of reasons. Usually people get exclusives or pay for tons of advertising. Little sites rarely have a chance against that sort of thing. Giveaways and stuff also amount to part of the reason.

Hisstank is a big community, but it's also a very uninformed community. While there are some really bright folks over at Hisstank, they are peppered in at a 1 to 10 ratio of people who are much more casual and have little to now knowledge about Joe (or other things) and the same can be said for various other forums. He-man.org has some of the best people in the community, but also thousands of goofballs.

Every forum has it's dicks. I think Toyark is coming along quite well, all in all, though I don't think you have much to worry about. Same problems will flood anywhere. It's never about quality content, that's almost always on your smaller sites, popularity comes from other sources.