Vote on name of airsoft equipment

CrazyRabbit

Lets vote on what to call airsoft 'guns'.

Personally, I prefer either Tagger or Marker. Both harmless, and Marker is used in paintball which is an established sport.

SpitfireIV

Just my opinion, but when I hear the word 'tagger' some form of electronic device comes to mind

I like 'plinker'

[--SC(+)PE--]

plinkers got my vote

kdouglas

voted for plinker, tagger and airsoft marker, personally i think all 3 are suitable alternatives

kdouglas

LIGHTNING wrote:

What ever happened to ZAT? I`d vote for it! As for ATG it reminds me of Air to ground weapons like Mavericks or HARM`S!

slightly off-topic: was watching stargate the other day and was thinking how great would it be if someone made an airsoft staff weapon and zat, then we could do a stargate-style skirmish.

Captain Chaos

LIGHTNING wrote:

What ever happened to ZAT? I`d vote for it! As for ATG it reminds me of Air to ground weapons like Mavericks or HARM`S!

They're AGMs Air to Ground Munitions, AGM-65, AGM-88 etc.

IronWolf

Plinker gets my vote, sounds innocent enough and I can associate the words "airsoft" and "plinker" with out cringing, unlike adding the word "toy"

o1s1n

Woah slow down there mister.

If you want to put up a poll about something as big as naming the equipment we all use in here, you'll want to wait till there's a bigger selection than that.

Plinker doesnt work. What we all know as plinking isn't the same as skirmishing.The term plinker itself in airsoft would relate to someone who "plinks" in their back garden.

The abbreviations are too vague and uncatchy. They won't stick.

The only really valid ones are marker and tagger. The bbs don't exactly mark opponents.Tagger?"I just received my order of airsoft taggers..."
Somehow I can still see people using the word guns.

Spitfire666

o1s1n wrote:

Woah slow down there mister.

If you want to put up a poll about something as big as naming the equipment we all use in here, you'll want to wait till there's a bigger selection than that.

Plinker doesnt work. What we all know as plinking isn't the same as skirmishing.The term plinker itself in airsoft would relate to someone who "plinks" in their back garden.

The abbreviations are too vague and uncatchy. They won't stick.

The only really valid ones are marker and tagger. The bbs don't exactly mark opponents.Tagger?"I just received my order of airsoft taggers..."
Somehow I can still see people using the word guns.

theres no harm in putting it out there though?

i voted for Airsoft Gun as i dont feel that the word gun is the issue.

o1s1n

Spitfire666 wrote:

theres no harm in putting it out there though?

i voted for Airsoft Gun as i dont feel that the word gun is the issue.

The topic should have been

"Discussion and suggestion for names of airsoft devices"

Not

"right lads, what shall we call our equipment, A,B,C or D?"


I think gun is a little threatening alright. Yet the suggestions for other names really aren't good enough to stick.
I've simply started saying "device" or "equipment". Works for me.

Waylander24

I voted for Airsoft gun. Alot of us use AEGs and AEG stands for...

Spitfire666

my point is that the suppliers and manufacturers are calling them "airsoft GUNs". we may call them what we like tbut it wont be too valid.
its like calling a cap gun, a noice making toy. it just sounds stupid and its not gonna fool anyone. i actualy believe it may work the opposite way and make it look like we are trying to hide something.

o1s1n

Waylander24 wrote:

I voted for Airsoft gun. Alot of us use AEGs and AEG stands for...

That's a good point.

Instead of using "airsoft tagger, airsoft marker, airsoft etc etc" we could just use "Airsoft AEG" "Airsoft GBB"

Spitfire666

our government is having a similir problem with the new garda baton being issued. the new ones are the telescopic steel ones normaly know as/refered to as, Asps or extendable batons, even by the manufacturers and in the manuals suplied with them, however, the government wants to call them 'retractable' batons as they believe that this is les confrontational. only trouble is everyone knows what they are and it just makes the whole thing seem stupid.

padmundo

Lads did ye not know we live in a nanny state?

The world is gone too god damn pc for it's own good...

Spitfire666

it should be left as airsoft gun as thats what they are. theres no point calling it something else when the box has airsoft gun printed on it.

And should anyone say anything about the GUN part of the name in an argument, remind them of all the times they were young and played with Spud-Guns, or should we start calling them "vegetable particle accelerator"

Fiach Dubh

Snub nosed French Fry delivery canon?

MaxForce

Waylander24 wrote:

I voted for Airsoft gun. Alot of us use AEGs and AEG stands for...

Agreed. We call the g,s every day when we say AEG. On the companies packaging that make they are called g's. What do other more esatblished countries call them? As far as I know g's.

And there was thread to throw up a new name and the above were all suggested init. I take it this is not going to be in stone and is just suggestion at this point.

Sparks

Lads, if ye want to tackle the problem, fine. If you don't, that's fine too.
Doesn't bother me either way, I don't do airsoft anyway. But for the record, we correct anyone who says target shooters use guns (we don't, we use rifles and pistols and shotguns).
"Gun" is a term with nothing but bad connotations.

kdouglas

recently ive just been calling them airsofts, especially in forum posts, no need for any word after it unless you want to be specific (AEG,GBB,AEP etc..)

it wouldnt sound too stupid either,
"i just ordered a few new airsofts today" ?

and if this was going to be used in a press release or any other news article, you could explain what they are first, and then just say "hereafter reffered to as airsofts"

sidneyreilly

kdouglas wrote:

recently ive just been calling them airsofts, especially in forum posts, no need for any word after it unless you want to be specific

Thats sounds like the most sensible one yet!

For the record "plinking" is casual target shooting usually using novelty targets such as cans,bottles, eggs etc.. so plinker isnt on.

CrazyRabbit

This thread was intended more as a discussion, but with a poll attached to see what the current feeling was. I would imagine that any official poll would be done on the IAA website forum and would be posted by the president of the IAA.

I like that idea of just calling them 'airsofts'. It's accurate, it's used by the manufacturers, and it doesn't link them with any other piece of equipment or pastime.

"I just got a new order of airsofts in today"
"Is that your new airsoft?"

Sounds ok to me...

Can't believe so many people voted for plinkers. I've never heard of that term before and it sounds like some naff toy from the 70's or early 80's.

[--SC(+)PE--]

ya airsoft's seams to be the most sensible id agree. although "Emulaton Highpowered Nicety" is written on my Aug box i dont think it would work

CrazyRabbit

PID's

Pain Inflicting Devices.

Oh wait, on second thought, maybe not.


===========================
NOTE : I'm joking (or attempting to)
===========================

N.O.I.P.

How about Whuppys favorite - MRDs - Molar Reshaping Devices

Sam_Fisher_jk

I prefer the term Airsoft Weapons

but since you didnt have it i picked Airsoft Guns. there no point calling a spade anything but a spade!

sidneyreilly

Sam_Fisher_jk wrote:

I prefer the term Airsoft Weapons

Jesus wept:(

Captain Chaos

To me weapon is a big no no.

Weapons by definition are objects or things designed to hurt, mame and kill.

Airsoft gun is far better.

Like spud guns. Not spud weapon.:D

MaxForce

Airsofts are good. How about the same as Sparks and his mates call thier stuff rifles and pistols why not incoroporate airsoft and say Airsoft Rifle or Airsoft Pistol?

sidneyreilly

MaxForce wrote:

Airsofts are good. How about the same as Sparks and his mates call thier stuff rifles and pistols why not incoroporate airsoft and say Airsoft Rifle or Airsoft Pistol?

Airsoft pistol is fine, technically incorrect on rifle though as they are not rifled (not thst that really matters though).

How about airsoft Musket:D

Captain Chaos

Its probably to do with that people will leave out the soft part and call them air guns and rifles which is no good at all.

When I tell people I have an airsoft gun, they say what the hell is an airsoft gun. I show them my GBB and they go ''oh, an air gun/ pellet gun''

The word airsoft needs to be passed more freely among the masses. Its just not that catchy. You say airsoft to most people and they look at you like you have two heads.

CrazyRabbit

Well this poll shows one thing of interest. People don't like acronyms.

Spitfire666

i think if your gonna use airsoft rifle/airsoft pistol, you may just as well use airsoft gun as pistol and rifle are gonna be just as "bad" in public eye as using gun

Harekin

Sam_Fisher_jk wrote:

I prefer the term Airsoft Weapons

but since you didnt have it i picked Airsoft Guns. there no point calling a spade anything but a spade!

I agree on the point about calling them what they are. They're Airsoft Guns and always will be "guns" to the public. We just need to get the way we use them out to the public so they know that although they are "guns" we aint gonna be killing Gardai, etc with them.

Spitfire666

and not just that we WONT do it, but that we CANT POSSIBLY, kill anyone.

weeder

they are guns, end of

now sorry but at the end o fthe day its a replica of a gun


its like calling replica car a replica of a mobile of autoness or something silly


now matter how we look at it its going to be called a gun however i would suggest that people are more educated on the difference between and airsoft gun and a pellet/airgun

i was telling my friend about airsoft and he says "oh i have an airsoft gun, i kill rabbits with it", people just need to be educated on the matter and shown that although they are guns, they are not weapons



my 2c


EDIT: also notice 2 stickys on this board use the word airsoft guns



Sticky: Basic information about airsoft guns. Please read first if you have any questions.




Sticky: Are airsoft guns/paintball markers legal? + 1 joule information.

nonex

auto electric gun serie's
auto gas gun serie's
that's what the manual says
and what the box says
and they are for 18 years of age or older
and its what the meda will have to say, or you can take them to court
people just need to be educated on the matter and shown that although they are airsoft guns, they are not weapons, thats why it's 1 joule

CrazyRabbit

I'm getting the impression that no matter what we call them, the general public is gonna use the term 'gun' anyway.

So, do we try to change what 4 million people call them, or do we try educate those 4 million people on what an airsoft gun is?

Since they look like guns, I think the first option will be so much harder. If it looks like a gun, people are gonna call it a gun.

Education would seem to be easier. Just think about when you first showed your AEG to someone not familiar with airsoft. They probably first thought "OMG, it's a gun", but once you explained it to them, they were probably no longer concerned and accepted it as a fairly harmless toy/sports equipment etc.

I keep changing my mind on this. It's driving me nuts. Sooo many perspectives and valid arguments!

o1s1n

CrazyRabbit wrote:

I'm getting the impression that no matter what we call them, the general public is gonna use the term 'gun' anyway.

So, do we try to change what 4 million people call them, or do we try educate those 4 million people on what an airsoft gun is?

Since they look like guns, I think the first option will be so much harder. If it looks like a gun, people are gonna call it a gun.

Education would seem to be easier. Just think about when you first showed your AEG to someone not familiar with airsoft. They probably first thought "OMG, it's a gun", but once you explained it to them, they were probably no longer concerned and accepted it as a fairly harmless toy/sports equipment etc.

I keep changing my mind on this. It's driving me nuts. Sooo many perspectives and valid arguments!

I'm inclined to agree with you. What percentage of people in this country actually refer to a paintball gun as a paintball marker? Aside from paintballers and people familiar with the sport, not many.

We on the other hand have difficultly enough as it is in just trying to get people to use the term airsoft gun.

MaxForce

CrazyRabbit wrote:

I'm getting the impression that no matter what we call them, the general public is gonna use the term 'gun' anyway.

So, do we try to change what 4 million people call them, or do we try educate those 4 million people on what an airsoft gun is?

Since they look like guns, I think the first option will be so much harder. If it looks like a gun, people are gonna call it a gun.

Education would seem to be easier. Just think about when you first showed your AEG to someone not familiar with airsoft. They probably first thought "OMG, it's a gun", but once you explained it to them, they were probably no longer concerned and accepted it as a fairly harmless toy/sports equipment etc.

I keep changing my mind on this. It's driving me nuts. Sooo many perspectives and valid arguments!

Its not just changing what 4 million people are going to call them. This is what they have called since the first Airsoft rolled off the assembly line. I don’t know when it was but it was a good while ago. It is also what the whole world call them. We cant change that. We have to be part not only of our newly found Irish Community but also of the European, and world wide one. That means uniformity in terminology.

weeder

toys would also work but sounds Silly and people would just say airsoft toy guns

CrazyRabbit

weeder wrote:

toys would also work but sounds ghey and people would just say airsoft toy guns

Just a small friendly suggestion. It might not be a good idea to use the term 'ghey' (gay??) in the context used above. It would be seen by many as derogatory and they could be offended.

I agree that calling them toys would just result in people calling them Airsoft Toy guns anway. I'm not fond of the term 'toy' anyway. Toys are for young children, airsoft equipment is not.

MaxForce

I think the poll speaks for it self. It is between Gun Plinker and Tagger.

Sparks

Education would be easier

Yes, because we all remember how much people love school and how popular the open university has become with everyone involved in taking courses at night school and at weekends. In fact, groups like the GAA and the vinters association are bemoaning this love of learning because it means that sports clubs and pubs are nearly empty all week long and totally empty on the weekends.

CrazyRabbit

Sparks wrote:

Yes, because we all remember how much people love school and how popular the open university has become with everyone involved in taking courses at night school and at weekends. In fact, groups like the GAA and the vinters association are bemoaning this love of learning because it means that sports clubs and pubs are nearly empty all week long and totally empty on the weekends.

Hehe.

Well if airsoft is something they are concerned about, then I thing it is something they will actually read about. We just have to make sure they are reading the right material.

Would be funny if there was an Open University course on Airsoft. They have courses for just about everything else!

o1s1n

weeder wrote:

toys would also work but sounds ghey and people would just say airsoft toy guns

As Crazzyrabbit said, do not do this. People have been banned for using such words before.

Harekin

o1s1n wrote:

As Crazzyrabbit said, do not do this. People have been banned for using such words before.

ME!! :mad: So other people cant use them either!!

weeder

o1s1n wrote:

As Crazzyrabbit said, do not do this. People have been banned for using such words before.

apology's, ive edited it, wont happen again

The Master

I agree with what you lads are saying.
The rest of the worldwide airsoft community call their gear AEGs,GBBs,EBBs and others.
It would be a little pointless to try and introduce a new term that nobody outside of Ireland will use or recognise?
I understand we're trying to think of a safe term to avoid the use of the word gun but any search for the word Airsoft is going to bring up the word gun not tagger,plinker or any other term we decide to give them.

Harekin

Plus I dont really see anyone using the new names.
I can setup a poll to change the name of a car...it wont either make it safer or change what people call it.

extremetaz

guys there are so many of you missing the point it's rediculous!

here's the deal - in plain simple terms that i'm hoping even the most skeptical of you can understand.

the biggest problem with our replica's is that by association, they are assumed lethal by the general public.

now there's no point yelling on here that they aren't - that won't make a damned bit of difference

your own personal take on this doesn't make a damned bit of difference

and arguing the point amongst ourselves won't make a DAMNED BIT OF DIFFERENCE!!!

all it manages to do is turn what should be a structured, organised and intelligent forum into chaos - and how does that reflect on us at a time when we're trying to convince the country that we can self regulate eh?.....

the reason for the proposed terminology - whatever term is decided upon - is to gradually develop distance between our "toys" and the lethal weapons which they merely share cosmetics with.

arguing that the term "gun" in association with the toys bears no impact "in *YOUR* opinion" is NULL AND VOID!!

human psychology dictates that we fear what we do not know - FACT!

hence the term "GUN" will cause alarm to anyone who is unfamiliar with or opposed to firearms of any kind - FACT!

therefore - here we have ourselves with a factor which is highly influential in the public opinion of airsoft which WE CAN INFLUENCE!

so how about a little co-operation on the issue eh?

there are a few of us at the moment sourcing as much contacts, advice and information as we can on what is required of us to keep OUR SPORT legal in this country.
this is no small undertaking and we're working our asses off to try and achieve it.

Frankly we need all the help we can get AND THIS IS NOT HELPING!!

So i'm going to lay it down in black and white.

we *need* a useable term other than gun or firearm to describe airsoft devices.

we *need* your co-operation on this issue - without it we can't do this and AIRSOFT WILL BE BANNED along with all replica's.

so *PLEASE* can we stop the petty arguing?