Facebook Bans Airsoft Gun Sales

[Baz JJ]

It seems that Facebook in an attempt to ban the sales and trade of firearms on its media, has also banned the sale and trade of airsoft guns.

 

There are many, many specialist groups on FB and many have been removed.

 

Looks like the b&s pages of forums will come into their own once more.

[BlackDragon]

Do you know when this will happen? The pages i'm on are still up and running at the moment.

[EvilMonkee]

Now. Its probably dependent on FB implementing it properly based on reports of groups or an algorithm of some sort which isnt perfect. I expect groups will gradually disappear unless changed.

[MrMcG]

yep its happening as we type

 

I have seen a few removed already

 

Including some bans handed out to people for selling.

 

It is amazing really, you can be racist, aggressive, post disturbing content, show videos that would turn even hardened men and they do nothing yet they have jumped all over the sale of essentially toy guns

Genius!

[BlackDragon]

http://merlinsairsoftnews.com/?p=3338

There's some more on it.

[Mr Monkey Nuts]

 

I don't see why everyone is menstruating over this? EBay, Gumtree, and pretty much every other non gun centric media source banned sales years ago.

It's a good thing for the community, it will draw sales back towards the forums.

[MrMcG]

I don't see why everyone is menstruating over this? EBay, Gumtree, and pretty much every other non gun centric media source banned sales years ago.

It's a good thing for the community, it will draw sales back towards the forums.

 

Oh I don't have an issue with the sales part

 

It's the fact they are shutting down all pages even if they don't have sales posts, so the knowledge and ease of access in terms of questions, pics, videos etc is all being lost.

 

I like the forums but sometimes a question on here can go unanswered for hrs as opposed to logging on to FB going to the WE GBBR group posting same question and having a response in minutes.

 

FB is easier for me to use on a mobile as well

[Sacarathe]

I don't see why everyone is menstruating over this? EBay, Gumtree, and pretty much every other non gun centric media source banned sales years ago.

It's a good thing for the community, it will draw sales back towards the forums.

 

Not exactly, the facebook ban is worldwide - so it affects warzones, but ebay US and many others still trade airsoft guns.

[BrightCandle]

Eventually I expect the silicon valley culture of shunning any culture around guns to spread, I wouldn't expect Okto to be able to have a facebook in about a years time the way this is going. Big companies censoring people doing legal things is becoming the normal and there isn't even a lot of outcry generally because its just those gun nuts over there or those horrid gamers or whatever minority hobby they choose next. Persecution of people for their hobby is precisely why I don't attach my name to Okto and airsoft on facebook and its also the reason they banned my alias account from facebook. They would rather I suffer the consequences of playing this hobby professional than allow me to be protected. Its a very sad state of the world that so few will defend the rights of others to pursue completely legal and safe hobbies and treat them fairly for choosing to pursue those hobbies, but while people do persecute people for that companies like facebook ought to be defending them not making the situation ever worse by closing the places they can be.

 

The slippery slope is being traveled down at ever increasing pace.

[Lozart]

 

 

It's the fact they are shutting down all pages even if they don't have sales posts, so the knowledge and ease of access in terms of questions, pics, videos etc is all being lost.

 

 

 

Do you have any actual evidence of this? Discussion groups aren't actually affected.

[Sitting Duck]

So this begs the question.....

 

Will Zero One, Gunfire, LWA etc..... have their FaceBook pages shut down ???

 

Jeeez - where can terrorists buy toy guns now ???

 

And Apple refuse to unlock a murder's fone ???

 

Yeah the world is one crazy place - getting crazier by the minute

[Lozart]

So this begs the question.....

 

Will Zero One, Gunfire, LWA etc..... have their FaceBook pages shut down ???

 

Jeeez - where can terrorists buy toy guns now ???

 

Probably not. The ban is aimed at "unauthorised dealers" so basically private sales.

[MrMcG]

 

Do you have any actual evidence of this? Discussion groups aren't actually affected.

One of the discussion groups was removed for the GHK range of guns

 

It had little to no sales threads on it

 

 

If rumours are true they are doing the search based on words such as gun, airsoft etc...

 

I'd get a screen grab of the the page but I can't for obvious reasons many now have started changing group names and making them secret etc..

 

Not sure that will have much effect but time will tell

[Lozart]

Making the group secret won't change anything. There's a number of groups that have taken themselves down without being "taken" down as such.

 

As usual everyone is frothing over something that may not actually affect them as much as they think it will...

[Sitting Duck]

 

Probably not. The ban is aimed at "unauthorised dealers" so basically private sales.

 

Make the group secret instead of private - wow

then that can make me a dodgy toy arms dealer then

or I can make out I'm working for MI5 but now I've said that I will have to kill you

 

Yet but trying to putting into perspective - it is just daft as f*ck

ebay UK no aeg's - ebay USA still sold aeg's

ok that is down to different regulations from each different country but all the same

 

Call the EU about our human rights as a toy gun owner - oooops wrong thread

 

I'm sure the US will threaten their rights to bear toy gun arms and such

it is just daft, surely a group for sales is better than flogging stuff at a boot fair / gumtree / free ads

at least they bang on about defense even for trades - well ones I've seen do

[jcheeseright]

going secret won't change anything, facebook can access any group on facebook... secret or not. It's not like they're using the search bar on the website to find these pages!

[MrMcG]

Making the group secret won't change anything. There's a number of groups that have taken themselves down without being "taken" down as such.

 

As usual everyone is frothing over something that may not actually affect them as much as they think it will...

Nope I agree

 

Changing anything won't make a difference at all each to their own I guess on that they probably feel the need to do everything they can to stop it.

 

As mentioned for the sale point of view I don't have an issue as I'm fairly sure it's how most airsoft guns are obtained and in a far from "legal" way

 

It's the knowledge base that would disappoint me IF lost

[GiantKiwi]

going secret won't change anything, facebook can access any group on facebook... secret or not. It's not like they're using the search bar on the website to find these pages!

 

Going secret isn't to hide the group, its just to gain greater control over who is entering the group as people have to be invited to join, or at least that's my reasoning.

[two_zero]

I don't see why everyone is menstruating over this? EBay, Gumtree, and pretty much every other non gun centric media source banned sales years ago.

It's a good thing for the community, it will draw sales back towards the forums.

well. since it is banned on those other sites FB scene meant a lot. In UK, well I only ever used the forums anyway.. but in Sweden where I am currently this means bad news :/

[Sitting Duck]

well. since it is banned on those other sites FB scene meant a lot. In UK, well I only ever used the forums anyway.. but in Sweden where I am currently this means bad news :/

 

Why is so bad to be in Sweden ???

soz just being very stupid and silly - like FaceBook

[oddjob]

i heard it ment to start in america first but they have decide to do it across the lot.

i am on one and the admin has posted and warned people to just post gear and thats it.

thing is we all know people dont listen

[Sacarathe]

Probably not. The ban is aimed at "unauthorised dealers" so basically private sales.

 

Unfortunately this is pretty much rubbish, they're not going to check whether someone is or is not authorised. You're just not authorised, even if getting authorised is impossible.

 

Or does authorised mean: you pay facebook money?

 

 

 

I'm not even aware of anyone that needs to grant authorisation to sell airsoft guns in the UK or to UK citizens.

[ImTriggerHappy]

Couldn't care less it wont make much if any difference to most peoples lives.

People will just sell on forums instead.

 

Even better ban facebook and its "I have a thousand fake friends" crap the world would be a better place.

[Okto Eight Milsim]

At the moment, it's sales and trading of firearms which includes BB guns by their default. Whether it impacts on airsoft (non second hand sales) and photos of military stuff remains to be seen.

 

Facebook is useful in that many people have access and its really easy to post stuff up, especially photos.

 

However, if FB get very silly, we will just start up websites and fan forums to cover what we do and general milsim activity. At the end of the day, FB is just a type of social media which has been convenient to use.

 

Our sister organisation, Gunman Airsoft already have a website and forum running in parallel to their FB activity.

[beastmode]

If we were to start up our own social network just for airsoft what would it be called airbook? Just find Facebook convenient because of the app. And the fact I can check people's profiles before I buy off them.