The main TFA web site will be undergoing changes over the next 2 to 3 months. At present we have a programmer (Daniel Dennis) who is working on a total redesign and expansion of the site. Rob Anderson and I have had several meetings with Daniel already and I am starting to see conceptual work on the new layout.
In this process, you may see interruptions of the site (not necessarily the forum) as we work on the site.
We want to receive recommendations from you on
a) the look of the site and in particular its navigation. If there are web sites that you think have extraordinary layout and design, particularly navigation, please post links in this topic on the forum.
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b) if there are topics (e.g., hunting, marksmanship, etc.) that you think would be good information on the site, please share those thoughts with us AND help us develop the content once again on the forum. For example, we are talking about new sections on
i) individual shooting disciplines (pistol defense, IDPA, shotgun trap, skeet, sporting clays, rifle highpower and smallbore, cowboy western, military, etc.);
ii) hunting - laws, regulations, seasons, species, places (free and fee based)
iii) educators/students which will address historical research, writing projects, core documents, etc.
iv) military and other collectors -
v) legislation/ laws
vi) class III firearms
vii) gun smithing / repairs (how to and how not to and who should)
viii) law enforcement interests
ix) gun clubs / ranges
x) gun shows / events / contests
xi) fraud alerts (we are possibly going to call this the Gene Kennedy Registry - sort of like the sexual offender registry)
xii) media contacts
In each of these I would like to have information for individuals on what the sport, activity or topic is about, what you need to get started, where to find clubs, ranges or other organizations (such as TNSSA) that specialize in those categories.
Hopefully, in time TFA's site will be the FIRST STOP for anyone wanting to find anything about shooting in Tennessee but we do not have to be the sole source as long as we are the portal/conduit to get them to the information they need.
The point is I need more than just ideas. I need people who have interests in specific issues (such as David Lewis who has a master's in history and wrote an excellent paper on the history of duelling and who I will encourage to help pull together some of the historical documents and reference materials) who are willing to help develop the content for that portion or portions of the site. To start, we need content developers for almost all of the topic areas listed above. You do not have to be the programmer or designer but we do need content. You do not have to act in isolation. I would like to designate teams from across the state to focus on each area.
When I say "content" I do not limit that to writing a bunch of paragraphs. Part of the content should include where appropriate a network of links to other sites - so, for example, on the reciprocity page we will have links to as many of the official state web sites for the reciprocity states. We may also develop links to as many of the other state organizations as we can identify.
c) Part of this work I hope will be taken up as chapter projects. I anticipate that a brief rollout of the preliminary look of the new site will in fact happen at the Nashville chapter meeting on May 20!!!!