Is the airsoft Community getting worse?

[G-Force]

Sorry for the gloomy post, I'll avoid ranting as much as possible. Me and a few friends were talking about this the other day and I thought it was an interesting topic.

 

When I started airsoft about 6 years ago the community in many ways seemed a lot better. Take my home site at the time as an example. Back then there were about 50-70 players turning up each weekend, all mostly adults and had some degree of experience. Newcomers and youngsters like myself felt welcome and got shown the ropes quickly. There was (and still is) a team that played their regularly. There was hardly any cheats, snobbery from experienced players or other bad practice.

 

Over a period of about 3 or 4 years this begun to change. Perhaps it was because of the new customers brought in by a retailer who had set up an onsite shop. Whatever the reason, there were a lot more people on site (about 100 each weekend). Cheating (or so called cheating) rose dramatically, there were more clueless kids who no one seemed to help out. Some of these kids were typically naive new players, but no one decided to help them. Others were the more arrogant codsofter types. Even the once friendly onsite team took a turn for the worse. Some of the older members left and were replaced by others. I heard of one online incident involving one of these team members (a 40 year old) basically abusing a teenager who played there. In fairness both were equally bad. The overall result was a site full of these snobby team members and non hit takers. The decent players were stuck awkwardly in the middle and most stopped going there.

 

I've seen similar things elsewhere. More notably including fraud, theft, slander etc... I know of various businesses that have had some very serious internal problems. Others have treated their customers poorly. A player was banned from an event I attended just for raising safety concerns about some proposed pyrotechnics on facebook. These pyrotechnics were both really dangerous and illegal. The event organizer didn't seem to care so long as the police didn't find out. Luckily they weren't used because of the fuss on facebook, but it's this sort of person that gets the sport banned.

 

In fairness there are many great new players coming into the sport and new sites popping up all over the place. I've recently played at some brilliant events and met like-minded players. So maybe this kind of thing is isolated to a few sites, shops and teams. I think this forum shows that the majority of people are decent players. I'm just disappointed that some sites seem to have fallen apart and a few individuals value trust so little in a sport primarily about honesty.

 

Has anyone else had problems like this?

[Suzuki Yamamoto]

I can't say I've experienced anything like that on the sites I attend. I went to a site in Essex and everyone there was really nice and welcoming. There will always be the issue of cheats and non-hit takers where ever you go. I think with new and young players some things can easily get "Lost in translation" and they just need a little educating on site.

 

With regards to the retailers, my overall experience has been good, although there is room for improvement.

[kentsg]

I can't say I've experienced anything like that on the sites I attend. I went to a site in Essex and everyone there was really nice and welcoming. There will always be the issue of cheats and non-hit takers where ever you go. I think with new and young players some things can easily get "Lost in translation" and they just need a little educating on site.

 

With regards to the retailers, my overall experience has been good, although there is room for improvement.

Because we are young or new players does not mean we are always the ones to get it wrong. Its up to the site orgnaisers and expeirenced players to educate and there are plenty of them that don't get it right! But there are lots of sites where new players are made to feel unwelcome, one in kent I have visited your are made to feel your not welcome by the other players who don't talk to anyone but each other

[G-Force]

At Elite Action Games Dorking they run run a small warm up game for rentals and new players to get used to the game. For the rest of the day afterwards they play with everyone else. I thought this was a good way to help out players newer to the sport.

[Deva]

I think when you start something, you are less aware of the bigger picture in that hobby, you're having fun and focusing on yourself, learning stuff.

 

Time has just allowed you to recognise what really goes on.. people are still the same and airsoft hasn't fundamentally changed in that time.

[Airsoft-Ed]

I think Dev has more or less hit the nail on the head, it's kinda like when I first started gaming with a Playstation1, I could play on that thing forever because it was all new to me. Now there's so many consoles and games and I'm used to it all, nothing really strikes me as being quite so awesome anymore.

 

But I can appreciate where you're coming from and it ought to stay as good as when you're new throughout the whole thing.

[G-Force]

I think when you start something, you are less aware of the bigger picture in that hobby, you're having fun and focusing on yourself, learning stuff.

 

Time has just allowed you to recognise what really goes on.. people are still the same and airsoft hasn't fundamentally changed in that time.

You're probably right. It's mostly about perspective.

 

That said, that first site I mentioned definitely did go down hill, but in most cases some sites are good and some are bad as opposed to them declining.

[Deva]

If a site goes downhill, I'd put that down to bad management not the community.

 

Same applies to the forums - if we were too sloppy with them they'd become a state. It's just how things work. They have to be managed.

[G-Force]

I agree with most of what you said. On reflection, the marshals rarely kicked bad players off. On the other hand I don't think that's an excuse for poor conduct on the player's part.

 

Going along with the forum example - If you have a bad member, it's his fault that he acted bad, not the moderators. However, the moderators have a responsibility to sort it out.

[Suzuki Yamamoto]

Because we are young or new players does not mean we are always the ones to get it wrong. Its up to the site orgnaisers and expeirenced players to educate and there are plenty of them that don't get it right! But there are lots of sites where new players are made to feel unwelcome, one in kent I have visited your are made to feel your not welcome by the other players who don't talk to anyone but each other

 

Everyone can get it wrong from time to time, but when you enter into a new hobby it takes time to adjust to how things work, the jargon used and the type of people that attend. Everyone has to start out somewhere and I personally try to be as helpful and friendly as possible at any site I attend to players of all age and ability.

[TPI]

^Classed as a Creep then mate ^

 

It's all to do with Health & Safety and Kid's Being too restricted or chicken to have the option to do crazy stupid stuff that we used to be able to do & The same goe's for Adult's aswell but more so for kid's I've met so many Kid's that are so afraid to do anything because they had parent's that Sheltered so heavily....

[G-Force]

It goes both ways. Kids are too sheltered so they are afraid to do anything, yet nothing can be done to discipline them so they have no respect for anyone (I'm speaking VERY generally here)

 

At the CQB site I used to play at I remember seeing kids stacked up all around door ways, but the buggers were too scared to go in. Problem was that the rest of us couldn't get in either because there were so many of the useless prats standing round the doorways. Yet, those same players would have no problem arguing with marshals and other players.

 

On a side note; I remember when I first started airsoft. My dad would have killed me if I ran away from a firefight.

[Suzuki Yamamoto]

^Classed as a Creep then mate ^

 

It's all to do with Health & Safety and Kid's Being too restricted or chicken to have the option to do crazy stupid stuff that we used to be able to do & The same goe's for Adult's aswell but more so for kid's I've met so many Kid's that are so afraid to do anything because they had parent's that Sheltered so heavily....

My missus worked in a school and she said the same about the children there, that none of the parents would even let their kids pick up a twig of the floor to play with. They hated seeing their children get a bit dirty when playing too. Poor kids. I used to go out and get dirty playing run outs and what not! Those really were the days!

[kentsg]

^Classed as a Creep then mate ^

 

It's all to do with Health & Safety and Kid's Being too restricted or chicken to have the option to do crazy stupid stuff that we used to be able to do & The same goe's for Adult's aswell but more so for kid's I've met so many Kid's that are so afraid to do anything because they had parent's that Sheltered so heavily....

suzuki sounds like someone we need more of, when you get older experienced players talking to you about kit etc its really helpful. They are treating you as a brother airsofter and not like a kid at all

When there are freaks asking if you have girlfriend, , where do you hang out then its creepy!!!!!!!!!

[Suzuki Yamamoto]

When there are freaks asking if you have girlfriend, , where do you hang out then its creepy!!!!!!!!!

 

^Now that's creepy!^

[kentsg]

when I am 17 and a 50 yo asks if I have a girlfriend etc its creepy, I am here to play airsoft, not be asked question about my private life, pretty sure thats a question teachers are not aloud to ask

[G-Force]

I think it really depends on the context they ask the question.

 

Anyway I don't think peados are really the focus of this topic since there is the CRB topic...

[TPI]

Swear I'm 19 this year and back in my day it was called conversation o_0

[kentsg]

yeah I know I sort of started the paedo thread, but I am sick of it now! can we run away from it 100mph!! Craigw you would disagree with anything I said mate, then make violent threats so drop me out muppet. Its people that get all nasty when you express an opinion that are probably the one that frown on newbies learning the ropes

[TPI]

Well that Escalated quickly o_0

 

You went from Insulting to apology's to now insulting me again...

 

Let's Try this thing called Moving on and using Common sense Ok?

 

 

 

Considering he Insinuated i was a child Molestor in CRB Check i told him that if he had said that to me in the real world i'd take his head from his shoulder's & considering he has no idea of where i even Live he has no right to be so Slanderous & Offensive as to affiliate me with one of those thing's.

 

[Hav0c]

Come on guys, the forums aint a place for arguments, eapecially not in a thread that'll be seen by a lot of folk.

 

I agree with what everyone has said in this thread. My cousin played airsoft years ago (5/6) and like you more experienced players said, he ended up quiting the sport due to the lack of trust and sportsmanship.

 

I myself am a fairly new player, I only got into the sport properly back in September, but have always respected the more experienced players and trusted their judgement over my own for a number of reasons (more knowledge of site, guns, etc.), and if the marshals tell me to do something I do it unlike some of the new players I've seen. I totally have respect for any older players who have been into the sport for a few years and one of the marshals at my local even told me that they are starting to notice me more.

[jcheeseright]

one of the marshals at my local even told me that they are starting to notice me more.

You're being groomed! Make sure he lubes up.

[Ian_Gere]

I wasn't there years ago so I don't know. What I have seen is that literally just 2-3 mates behaving badly amongst a group of 60-70 airsofters can lead to genuinely acrimonious arguments and a terribly unfriendly and even unsafe atmosphere, even at a site which is usually top notch for friendly, welcoming, well run, etc.

 

It's difficult to know how draconian marshals can be to protect what is good without ruining it by being wankers themselves. I tend to think that, during a skirmish, all a player can or should do is report anything they don't like to a marshal, but back in the safe zone we can interact with each other.

 

A lot of any bad feeling is always going to be down to men getting their testosterone on. That's not mockery, or me dismissing it; I'm male, I know for a fact that I have been and thus could again be a dick. Sometimes it's because something has really pushed my buttons, sometimes just because i've been in a bad mood generally, but whatever the reason, I've gone with the "Me man. Me right. Him challenger. Must back down." approach, rather than being open to resolving any genuine issue of behaviour, or finding a workable compromise to something which cannot be simply changed.

 

An 'honest broker' refereeing the initial "Oi mate, we need to have a talk." is usually all it takes for men to recognise when their stubborn intransigence has gone from looking manly to the border of looking like a right prick in front of their peers and, 'face' having been established and/or saved, we are usually willing to get more 'manly' points for being mature, reasonable and honourable men, whose word is worthy of respect, etc., and pack it in...

[Dan's Ark]

The problem at our site isn't the staff or "snobby players", ours is just naivety. There are at least five players turning up to skirmishes with £30 guns from JBBG and getting shot out CONSTANTLY. Fair enough if they're on a strict budget, but they could at least either hire a gun or save up until they can get something decent.

[M_P]

I dont think the community is getting worse per se, however the longer you're around it, the sooner you realised there are more arseholes around than you first thought.