Tactical Tailor

We’ve Started A “Hater” Matrix

I know, it sounds funny, doesn’t it? But the recent level of buffoonery in our comments section seemed to warrant some sort of tracking system. Turns out, a few of you guys complain…a lot. In some cases, it’s like having lunch with a guy who thinks he’s funny but no one else laughs at his jokes. In others it’s like having a mean drunk show up at a party.

So, here’s the deal. If the majority of your comments are about how much everything sucks, you’re now caught up in the matrix. It’s actually entertaining and at some point we may share it to give everyone a look. There are some real winners out there.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking, I’m a parent after all, but no, it’s not cool to be in the matrix. In fact, the matrix is a lot like a black list. Older guys will know what happens to people on the black list. It generally involves a black helicopter, in the middle of the night. Don’t be on that bird.

45 Responses to “We’ve Started A “Hater” Matrix”

  1. Erin O'Neill says:

    First of all kudos to requiring adult responses on your website. Secondly, I just think it’s hilarious there have been no responses so far to your post. Keep up the good work.

  2. Bill says:

    This entry was posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2016 at 04:50 and is filed under Admin. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

  3. CWG says:

    These Gripes We’ll Defend

  4. Lasse says:

    you done goofed now because SSD backtraced it!

  5. dudeabides says:

    What if the complaints are rooted in disbelief at the Army’s camouflage selection process, or carbine improvement/replacement process or service pistol replacement process, or ruck improvement process, or any other such process? #ComplaintLivesMatter?

  6. JKifer says:

    Hell yeah, I wanna be on that bird..but as one of the ones cometh to collect.

  7. Rob Collins says:

    What if I’ve got a complaint about complaints about complaints? Who would I complain to?

    • AGL Bob says:

      Sounds like you went full circle, so I guess you would complain to yourself. But keep it constructive.

  8. BrettW says:

    This post is overpriced. Why would I post here when I could just post on mysnapfacetwixter blog (insert random blog link here), they don’t treat me this way…

    Didn’t someone else make a negative matrix previously, this must be a blatant copy (insert random youtube video link here).

    +1 +1 +1 +1

  9. BillC says:

    I need to get some positive posts in.

  10. reverend says:

    I was raised that if you have nothing but a complaint, with no solution, or alternative…. STFU…. (shrugs)

  11. Rob371 says:

    So….this is SSD’s JPEL? I guess the comments will be patterns of life, haha.

  12. Patrick says:

    Might share the matrix with everyone? Might?!?

    Please share it at some point. I want to see how much the names I’m drafting in my head match the names on the list.

  13. Sean says:

    I hate this product, it cost too much, I hate you all, I hate my life. Oh and this product isn’t tacicool enough.

  14. patrulje68 says:

    “Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is.” Sorry, couldn’t resist.

  15. Maskirovka says:

    I just want to say that after careful analysis here, I am fully behind this program, and give it 110% of my support. I endorse it and approve. Furthermore I like it very much and think it’s really great. I am looking forward to being part of this matrix. Oh wait.

  16. Kerbert says:

    Eric, I think you forget that you have an OPINION BLOG. You’re not a New York Times journalist. This being a blog filled with your opinions also brings out opinions of others. Are you not familiar with what a blog is? It certainly isn’t Pulitzer prize winning journalism.

    If you think the comments on this blog are harsh then you should really visit other and much bigger blogs / “news” sites. Hell visit Yahoo! news and look at the thousands of comments each post gets. Most of them filled with hundreds of “negative” comments.

    People I would hope especially on this site are smart enough to read between the haters and the positive. I think most adults on here can form their own opinion.

    It’s best not to take comments on this site personal. It’s only a blog, nobody is trying to tarnish the reputation of any brands or you.

    -KX

    • mike says:

      I don’t think he’s taking anything personal, but he can comment on that himself. I do think, as he’s said a number of times, that the preponderance of negative comments *that don’t advance the conversation* detract from his usual pace of, well, advancing the conversation. Just because the rest of the internet is flinging poo doesn’t mean we can’t be civil here. I for one applaud his attempts of rein in the chaos and discourage needless complaining in favor of encouraging useful discourse. If I wanted to go to Troll Town I would just read 4Chan or Reddit, but here we are consistently provided with timely and useful info on the state of the industry and the products within.

    • Don Duffer says:

      There’s another side to it though. (And this isn’t so much directed at you Kerbert so much as more towards all these other comments)

      While SSD can be considered an opinion blog, the rhetoric and ethos of each post is pulled from YEARS of not only industry experience but from knowledge of products and technology in the field. Since readers know this, they come to this site to form their own opinions on products and companies based on content read combined with their own experiences. When people anonymously post claims of products being faulty or dangerous or that a brand/person is corrupt, that in turn redirects the original conversation of the post. It can start rumors that can negatively impact those businesses or individuals, even when not true. Often times the commenter has no merit of their own to even comment. But armed with a keyboard and defended with anonymity people will do anything to troll people/competitors.

      When those comments become what people come to the site for, it sacrifices the integrity of what Eric is trying to do and turns SSD into a tabloid for the tactical industry, which then only encourages more trolls because it gives them a voice. If anyone likes tabloids I’d suggest peeping the checkout line at Walmart, you’ll find some gold.

      If there is someone constantly leaving negative comments THAT ARE NOT CONSTRUCTIVE and tries to hurt other brands that are all here to support one of the greatest and most elite communities in the world, I think they should be removed because ultimately they’re achieving nothing and they have a million other places they can troll.

      I’m on board with the matrix.

      • Kerbert says:

        Just because someone doesn’t comment with “MAN I LOVE THIS, GREATEST IDEA EVER” doesn’t mean it’s hate. Believe me there is a lot of crap posted on this site that should have never been made or has already been done 10x over. Some industry folk need the tough love.

        I’m not one to hand out trophies to every company in the race. I have had a lot of tough love in my long career and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. You don’t get to the top by having someone shouting praise the entire way there. Sometimes you need to really evaluate what you have before you go to market with it.

        Like I said in my original post, most adults on here can form their own opinion and probably already did as soon as they read the original article. I don’t need to read a negative comment to make up my mind.

        By Eric creating any kind of matrix or calling people out is only feeding the trolls and exciting more of these people to continue what they do. Case in point this blog post will now be the most popular of the day taking away from the other announcements today.

        -KX

        • Don Duffer says:

          Valid point.

          The key differentiator is constructive feedback vs trolling cause you’re right, negative feedback is 100% essential for products (or anything) to improve. Being an ass hat though helps no one. Some of the comments people post get a bit extreme. If someone posts something crazy occasionally then so be it, but if that’s all they’re commenting on any post then they’re probably a meaningless figure in this industry. If there were hundreds of comments per posts and only some were trolls like on Yahoo, Reddit, 4chan, etc it’d be one thing, but when there’s an average of 10 comments per post and they end up being conversations started by trolls as a distraction, there really isn’t a use.

          If nothing else just block the IP addresses of people on the matrix so it doesn’t incentivize trolling.

          • SSD says:

            Don gets it

            • Kerbert says:

              You guys are so behind in web tech it’s almost comical.

              Blocking someones IP isn’t going to stop people from posting on this site. There are proxies as well as other workarounds. Spam bots have been doing this for years.

              You think for intel work ya’ll be a bit more up to date. 😉

        • Dev says:

          I don’t think you understand the purpose of SSD.

          I don’t think you realise it’s the 21st century and quality journalism doesn’t restrict itself to the traditional mediums.

          I don’t think you will find another website that covers the “industry” any better (please state otherwise if you think so).

          I don’t think you’ll be able to do a better job.

          Just my 2 cents.

          • Kerbert says:

            “I don’t think you understand the purpose of SSD.”
            I think I do. It’s a web site that receives press releases via email and Eric posts them. Nothing really to understand here.

            “I don’t think you realise it’s the 21st century and quality journalism doesn’t restrict itself to the traditional mediums.”
            I don’t think you know what the definition of journalism is. Receiving an email and posting the contents of said email is not journalism.

            “I don’t think you will find another website that covers the “industry” any better (please state otherwise if you think so).”
            If this is the only site you visit for “news” then are you severely misinformed.

            “I don’t think you’ll be able to do a better job.”
            There are plenty of sites already with successful formulas. I don’t have the personal time to copy and paste from emails. Not my gig. I also never said I could do a better job. Not knocking on Eric and what he does but he isn’t a God. He has a popular web site sure but it’s still only a blog.

            “Just my 2 cents.”
            My 2 cents as well

            • SSD says:

              Once again, you are wrong. Sure, I post Press Releases, but that’s really not what’s going on here. Do you actually know anything?

            • Dev says:

              If I was on the forefront of covering the UCP replacement debacle and providing insider news, to breaking information publicly first time, I’d be fucking insulted. Not to mention the efforts made to cover trade shows every year.

              I’ve been reading SSD since 2009/10 now. I’m from Australia serving in the ADF (army infantry, for that matter). There has been news that relates to the ADF that broke on SSD first time before I’ve even found out through my superiors or through official ADF sources.

              I’ve also spoken to some local industry insiders. None of them have anything bad to say about the work Eric has done covering, yes, the fucking news of the industry. I’m sure the people who are in the relevant industries in the US of A can relate to that.

              Find me an alternative news site that has such a global reach and appeal and does actual journalism like uncovering the UCP replacement clusterfuck or even note recently the EOTech debacle.

              Tell me that isn’t news. I’ve just given you 2 examples.

              Kerbert, it’s clear that from your comments here (the Mandalorian one, especially and I’m not even a Star Wars fanboy) that you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. You think you’re so fucking clever when you’re just a loudmouth dumb cunt. You really are an insufferable individual that adds the sum total of fuck all to the subject matter. This is coming from someone that actually reads all the comments to gain more insight and knowledge on this site.

              Stick to what you know Kerbert, as someone here has mentioned before, “jack” and “shit”.

  17. Callmespot says:

    I’m only complaining to complain about this post !

  18. Jason says:

    Hater Matrix’s are so lame. Why even bother.

    Do you even blog bro?

  19. Mike Nomad says:

    SHIT is a WEAPON
    MONKEYS use it
    aim for the EYES

  20. Chris says:

    Matrix? Just tell them to take the red pill and get lost!

  21. xpoqx says:

    WHAT?!? Did I miss something? Like a chance to make an asshole out of myself and those around me? Fuck.

  22. Robert says:

    Embrace The Hatrix.

    There are far too many individuals out there whose reflexive response is set to “everything that I don’t own or approve of sucks”.

    I am thankful that SSD provides excellent information and products, while keeping the non-productive input to a minimum.

  23. bouton says:

    Gin, you are correct, great catch! It’s Apache by the Incredible Bongo Band!