I started gunservant.com on 11 August 2014 as a platform on which to publish my firearm-related ramblings (mostly about gun rights and so forth), because I had nowhere else to publish it (not all of it being newsworthy enough for other publications) and because I firmly believed (as I do to this day) that a public discussion regarding firearm rights in South Africa is of vital importance.
Three years later and the blog has grown from a handful of regular readers to over ten-thousand subscribers, with more joining every day.
The success has presented a unique challenge: the current format has done exceptionally well, especially when one considers the amateur-status of it, but the time has come to do things a little more professionally.
I have always had the goal of taking the firearm rights discussion beyond the echo chamber of the gun-owning community, and so-doing to challenge the prevailing narrative that dominates the news media regarding firearms and the people who own them. The only way in which you can effectively change the optics about a subject, is to present the alternative view as credibly as possible to as wide an audience as possible.
At the same time Gunservant has evolved from a platform dedicated solely to firearm rights, into a website where a wide variety of related content (be it gear reviews, scenario and tactics discussions, or practical advice in general) is regularly presented. The response to these articles has been overwhelmingly positive, and it is clear readers want more of it.
In order to achieve these goals, the content needs to be presented in a way that is easy to navigate, pleasurable to read, convenient to share, and rich in variety in order to appeal to a broad group of readers. This will require a new and expanded digital format that allows the website to expand outside of its current limitations.
After many months of deliberation and brainstorming, I made the decision to rebrand and migrate Gunservant into a brand-new identity: Paratus.
I chose the name because it lends a particular gravitas to what we are doing, and because the Latin meaning is very much applicable to the message we are spreading.
The rebranding will, if all goes smoothly, have an absolutely minimal effect on you (apart from vastly improving your reading experience): all of Gunservant’s content is being seamlessly migrated to the new domain, and existing links and articles will redirect to their new address.
At the moment I have a team of around 15 highly-talented contributors who have very kindly created world-class content for the website absolutely gratis. There is no fixed schedule (even though I try hard to keep Harold F. Callahan regular), and the gentlemen and ladies submit articles as their time allows. Once the new domain is up and running I would very much like to take advantage of the crowdfunding possibilities in order to at least pay these good people for their hard work.
Be that as it may, you will still be reading the same content, by the same creators, on a new website. And unfortunately you will remain stuck with the same owner and editor to boot!
At this point I have no specific date as to when the new domain is going to launch, but it will be before the end of the year. Stay tuned and I will do my best to keep you posted.
You will find the new website at: www.paratus.info
