Wow Wolfgang nice work sir.

Ok for those that missed it, I have written the editor already. BUT if someone else wants to write a better article (which has a chance to be published) then PM me and I'll give you the editor's email.

I will on one condition, Id prefer that whomever writes the article has a post count of more than 600 because GENERALLY those people have been in the sport longer and do a better job of writing a true article without bashing anybody.

Invite this guy out to the next game near him. POLITELY.

This is exactly what we need to do! Anyone who writes him those PLEASE be polite, we want to seem more MATURE than the kids playign with softair guns!

Perhaps we could all penned a "coordinated" response. Sort of put our heads together and come up with a thoughful, insightful article that gives correct information about airsoft, but it also a direct rebuttal to that particular artcle.

I agree it should be written by someone that's been around for a while, but not based on post count. I have 1800 posts and been into airsoft less than a year now. That means nothing. But if someone who's been around for a while could write a "base article", and post it here, we could all have our say on it, fill any holes, catch any missed points, make corrections to inaccuracies, etc. Then we could put all that info into an edited, properly formatted article and present it to the Gazette, and the original author of the flawed article as a group of members from the airsoft community, and not just as an individual. That gives us a voice in numbers rather than it being just the opinion of an individual.

EDIT:

Yes, inviting him to an actual REAL airsoft event with lots of REAL players would be a good idea as well. It would give him both sides of the story. He saw the bad side of airsoft as practiced by kids who shouldn't be playing with these things without adult supervision in the first place (something he needs to be made aware of). Now he needs to see how it works from the good side.

But chances are, if he though softair guns sting and are "dangerous", I don't really see his opinion changing on that by playing with even more powerful guns....

Thats why I said GENERALLY about post count. I did email the author as well as the editor inviting them here to ask us as many questions about the sport and our rules as they would like.

Someone in the Quebec City area should just go and meet him, doesnt need to be at a game, just meet the guy for coffee, bring some photos, explain to him the mature side of airsoft.

If all goes well there, then invite him to a game.

Actually, that sounds like a good idea there too.

Personally I find this article somewhat hypocritical. The author goes through all the trouble of writing this rant about how its bad airsoft is, when at the same time, as a parent, they are doing nothing. I might have a little more respect for the author if they practiced what they preached.

But hey, that's just my 2 cents.

I believe there was a similar article written like this not too long ago. It basically bitches about the same facts for the most part.

It seems to me that because these guns are mainly marketed as a "toy" due to the fact that all the cheap readily available "airsoft" guns the public sees are the clear plastic ones from Canadian Tire and Wal-Mart that even though those stores do have a policy, on paper at least, of only selling to those 18 and over, most would come to mind that since its a clear plastic gun that it's okay to hand them over to ten to fifteen year olds.

Most people are even further pampered by the fact that they don't do their own research into the world of airsoft and just blindly believe whatever the news medias say about airsoft, when if they did even ten minutes of research on a website with some good information on the sport they would find that most players treat and handle their airsoft guns as if they are their real world counterparts.

I think because paintball guns don't remotely look like any "real-steel" gun and most PB guns sell starting around $150~300 at most places including Canadian Tire and Wal-Mart and the fact that there seems to be a bigger PB community, to most people's eyes at least, that PB is to be played by the young adult crowd at least sixteen or over, or at least for most places where people play they have that age rule, where strict rules are enforced to ensure the safety of everyone, unlike airsoft... which seems to be a rouge game where people just play in their backyard... which couldn't be further from the truth.

Since the very nature of airsoft is to have the guns look, feel and function as their "real-steel" counterparts, most misinformed people who have seen a "real" airsoft gun, and not the clear plastic ones, have the conception that airsoft guns are dangerous. With proper handling and use, airsoft guns are no more dangerous than PB guns. Yes if you get hit by a plastic BB, depending one where you get hit, it will hurt.. but so does getting hit by a PB...

Granted I may be mistaken in something in everything I just said, since I've never been to an actual game yet, from that's the conception I see people have about airsoft from my own research into the sport. Feel free to correct anything I just said.

This article was also published in the Ottawa Citizen today in the Life section.

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/...1f598acc92&p=1

quality journalism, AGAIN.
journalists....

UGH!

anyone want to write to that journalist back?