# CBB Project Brief: Dope.community — Social Data Platform
**Status:** Concept
**Destination:** CBB_Corporate venture (public data platform, own domain/brand; graduates to `CBB_Corporate/03_-_Confidential/Product_Strategy/`)
**Tier:** 3 — Longer Horizon
**Classification:** Internal — Confidential
**Version and date:** see Revision Control Block at the end of this document

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## Summary

A web platform for sharing, comparing, and discussing DOPE data across the precision rifle community. Shooters contribute their anonymized session data, explore aggregate come-up tables for specific cartridge/rifle combinations, compare their data to the population, and discuss ballistic questions in a data-grounded context. Think of it as Strava for precision rifle data — an opt-in community layer built on top of the DOPE database that transforms anonymous data points into a living, searchable community resource. It drives ScopeDOPE™ adoption (you need the app to contribute data), enriches the DOPE database, and builds a community asset that compounds over time.

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## Problem Statement

The precision rifle community's ballistic knowledge is scattered across dozens of forums, Facebook groups, and YouTube comment sections. A shooter who wants to know "what come-ups are typical for 6.5 Creedmoor with 140gr ELDM at 2,750 FPS out of an 18" barrel?" has to read through 50 Sniper's Hide posts and reconcile conflicting numbers reported under different atmospheric conditions.

There is no structured, searchable, data-grounded community resource for precision rifle ballistic data. Existing forums are text-based and unstructured. The DOPE database being built within ScopeDOPE is the first real-world precision rifle dataset. Dope.community is the public-facing interface to that dataset.

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## Product Concept

### Core Features (v1.0)

**DOPE Explorer (public, no account required)**
- Search by: cartridge, projectile, barrel length, twist rate, MV range
- View aggregate come-up table for the query: mean elevation in MRAD/MOA at each distance, with confidence intervals and n= sample count
- Filter: environmental conditions (altitude range, temperature range)
- Compare two configurations side by side
- "How many ScopeDOPE sessions contributed to this?" — n= displayed prominently (trust signal)

**Discussion (requires free account)**
- Each DOPE data node (e.g., "6.5 Creedmoor, 140gr ELDM, 18", 2,750 FPS") has a discussion thread
- Users can post questions, observations, notes about their experience with this configuration
- Moderated by CBB (light touch — precision rifle community is generally high-signal)

**Contribution (requires ScopeDOPE + Community Account)**
- Sessions submitted from ScopeDOPE with opt-in consent appear in the aggregate dataset
- Contributor profile: "You have contributed 47 Gold-tier sessions to the community database"
- Contributor leaderboard: top contributors by session quality and volume (opt-in visibility)

**Personal Dashboard (ScopeDOPE users)**
- "How does your DOPE compare to the community?" — show how a user's personal come-ups compare to the aggregate for their specific configuration
- Outliers flagged: "Your 500-yard come-up is 0.3 MRAD higher than the community median — possible barrel wear, abnormal MV, or non-standard zero?"

### v2.0 Features
- Ammo lot performance comparisons (once lot-level data has sufficient depth)
- Barrel maker comparisons: does Brand A vs. Brand B show measurable velocity differences for the same caliber/length?
- Environmental adjustment calculator: "Here's the aggregate come-up from users at sea level — here's how to adjust for your 4,000 ft altitude"
- Mobile app for Dope.community browsing (or deep-link from ScopeDOPE)

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## Target User

**Browsers:** Any precision rifle shooter curious about ballistic data for a specific configuration. No account required. This is the majority of visitors — they're doing research, not contributing.

**Contributors:** ScopeDOPE users who opt in to the community data program. The Gold/Silver/Bronze credit system (from CBB_MERCH_ANALYSIS.md) is the incentive mechanism.

**Discussion participants:** Experienced shooters who want to provide context for the data — "I shot those come-ups at 5,000 ft altitude; here's how they change at sea level."

**ScopeDOPE new users:** A shooter who finds Dope.community while researching their new rifle configuration and sees "Get ScopeDOPE to contribute your data and compare against the community" is a direct acquisition event.

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## Revenue Model

**Direct revenue: None** from the core platform. This is a community asset and top-of-funnel.

**Indirect revenue:**
- ScopeDOPE acquisition: every visitor who downloads ScopeDOPE to contribute is a paying customer
- Data API (Brief #09): Dope.community is the human-readable face of the dataset; the API is the machine-readable face. They are complementary products that together make the DOPE database a full-stack data business.
- Premium features: ad-free browsing, expanded comparison tools, batch export for researchers — possible future premium tier

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## Strategic Fit with CBB / ScopeDOPE

Dope.community is the public-facing expression of Cold Bore Ballistics™' core moat: the aggregated real-world DOPE database. Everything that makes the DOPE database valuable internally is made visible here. This serves two functions:

1. **Proof of concept:** When a potential acquirer, partner, or investor asks "what is this DOPE database you keep referencing?", the answer is "go to dope.community and explore it." It's tangible, it's searchable, it's impressive when the data is deep.

2. **Acquisition flywheel:** A shooter who finds useful data on dope.community converts to a ScopeDOPE user who contributes more data who makes dope.community more useful who attracts more browsers who convert more users. This is a classic two-sided platform flywheel.

The community discussion layer also transforms the dataset from a passive resource into an active one — the data has context, nuance, and community-validated interpretation that raw numbers alone don't provide.

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## Competitive Landscape

No comparable platform exists. Ballistic data is scattered across:
- Sniper's Hide forums (text, no structured data)
- Applied Ballistics' published tables (controlled measurement, not field confirmed)
- Reddit (r/longrange, r/PrecisionRifles) — no data structure
- Manufacturer websites (marketing data, not field validated)

Dope.community would be the first searchable, structured, community-contributed real-world precision rifle ballistic data resource. In a community that places enormous value on real-world validated data, this is a meaningful differentiator.

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## Technical Overview

**Platform:** Web application (mobile-responsive)

**Stack:**
- Frontend: React + Tailwind
- Backend: Python/FastAPI, shared with CBB's existing API infrastructure
- Database: PostgreSQL — aggregate view layer over the DOPE database (same database as Data API, Brief #09)
- Search: PostgreSQL full-text search for v1.0; Elasticsearch if search performance requires it at scale
- Auth: CBB Community Account (shared with ScopeDOPE and Club Management SaaS)
- Hosting: CBB Kubernetes cluster

**Key technical component:** The aggregate data view layer must be designed to compute and cache query results efficiently. A real-time query across 100,000 sessions for "6.5 Creedmoor, 140gr, 18-inch barrel" cannot run on every page load — it must be pre-computed and refreshed nightly.

**Privacy enforcement:** Same n≥30 minimum threshold as the Data API. No individual session data displayed. All data is aggregate only.

**Complexity estimate:** Medium. The data infrastructure is shared with the Data API (Brief #09). The web interface is the primary build. Discussion layer is additive complexity. Full v1.0 is 6–8 weeks of development assuming the data layer already exists.

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## Go-to-Market

**Launch when data is meaningful.** Don't launch with thin data. Target: 5,000+ sessions in the database with coverage of at least 10 common configurations (6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Winchester, .22LR, 6mm GT, etc.) at n≥30 each.

**SEO:** "6.5 Creedmoor come-up table," "308 Winchester ballistic data," "6mm GT DOPE" — specific, high-intent search queries that precision rifle shooters actually Google. Dope.community should rank for these.

**Community announcement:** "We've published the community's real-world ballistic data at dope.community. Here's what 5,000 sessions look like for 6.5 Creedmoor." Post on Sniper's Hide and r/longrange with a data preview that demonstrates the depth.

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## Success Metrics

| Metric | 6-month post-launch | 12-month post-launch |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly unique visitors | 2,000 | 10,000 |
| Data configurations searchable (n≥30) | 15 | 50 |
| ScopeDOPE downloads attributed to community | 5%+ of total | Measurable |
| Discussion posts per month | 100 | 500 |
| Data API customers who cite community as discovery | Tracked | Tracked |

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## Risks & Mitigations

| Risk | Likelihood | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|
| Data too thin at launch — most searches return "insufficient data" | High | Don't launch until 10+ configurations meet n≥30. Set user expectations clearly with "n=" on all results. |
| Community discussion becomes negative/adversarial | Low | Precision rifle community is high-signal; light moderation sufficient. Clear community guidelines. |
| SEO difficult in this niche | Medium | Long-tail keywords are low competition; a domain with good structure will rank. |
| Data quality concerns — "my barrel is different, this data is wrong" | Medium | Publish confidence intervals and n= counts prominently. Never claim the data is prescriptive. |

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## Resource Requirements

- 1 developer (Jason) — 6–8 weeks, assuming data infrastructure from Brief #09 is already built
- Content: moderation policy, community guidelines (1–2 days)
- Domain: `dope.community` (check availability; alternatives: `dopedata.community`, `community.coldboreballisticsllc.com`)
- Hosting: CBB Kubernetes cluster (shared)

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## Recommended Timing

**Build after Data API (Brief #09) infrastructure is established** (~5,000 installs). Dope.community and the Data API share the same underlying data layer — build both on the same infrastructure. The community platform is the consumer-facing view; the API is the developer-facing view. They should be designed together.

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## Open Questions

- Should Dope.community be branded as "Dope.community" (community-forward) or "ScopeDOPE Community" (product-forward)? Recommendation: Dope.community as the domain and brand — it's searchable, memorable, and distinct from the app. "Powered by ScopeDOPE" attribution throughout.
- Should Dope.community include discussion forums or link to existing communities (Sniper's Hide)? Recommendation: light discussion layer (per-configuration comments/notes) at v1.0; not a full forum. Full forum is a massive content moderation commitment.
- Should the community platform be built on an existing platform (Discourse, Circle) or custom? Recommendation: custom for the data explorer; Discourse for discussion if discussion is prioritized — don't build a forum from scratch.

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## Document Control

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| **Document owner** | `jschwefel@coldboreballisticsllc.com` |
| **Classification** | Confidential (03_-_Confidential/) |
| **Location** | `OneDrive/ScopeDOPE/03_-_Confidential/Product_Strategy/CBB_BRIEF_14_DOPE_COMMUNITY.md` |
| **Cross-references** | `CBB_PROJECT_BRIEFS_TOC.md` |
| **Created** | 2026-06-02 |
| **Last updated** | 2026-06-09 |
| **Next full review due** | 2027-06-02 |

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## Revision Control Block

| Rev | Date | Changed By | Reviewed By | Approved By | Summary |
|-----|------|------------|-------------|-------------|-------|
| 0.9 | 2026-06-02 | jschwefel | — | — | Initial release |
| DRAFT | 2026-06-09 | Claude (Opus 4.8) | — | — | Removed header version number (→ Status/Destination + revision-block pointer); added Destination tag (CBB_Corporate venture); replaced forbidden `community.coldboreballistics.com` → `community.coldboreballisticsllc.com`; applied ™ to first use of ScopeDOPE/Cold Bore Ballistics. |
