The airsoft community in Ireland

se conman · 12-12-2010 7:08pm #1

With various threads here discussing things like which is the best team , how the forum is moderated and the image that airsoft portrays to readers of boards.ie , I think that a MAJOR (excuse the pun) point is not being made and we are doing ourselves a big disservice by not showing new and future players how special the airsoft community is in Ireland.
Apart from the fun I get from skirmishing , I have made some of the best friends that I could ever have hoped to make and I am not talking about acquaintances , I am talking about good , loyal , do anything for you friends.
The last trip I was on was the trip to THE MALL and 75 airsofters traveled , ate , drank and partied together and the crack was great.All ages , all backgrounds , all levels of experience , all levels of equipment and none of this mattered because we are AIRSOFTERS.
I have made friends in all parts of Ireland through airsoft , from Cork to Belfast and everywhere in between and I have NEVER seen anything but comradery on any site and this is unique in any sport and I feel very proud to be part of it.
I am involved in other sports , hillwalking , canoeing , motor-sport and I have to say that I have never experienced ANYTHING like the goodwill that I meet on an airsoft site.
I have seen mouthy young lads turn into fine young men just from the example they receive within the airsoft community , I have seen comrades receiving emotional support from fellow airsofters who genuinely care about their mates and I can honestly say I have never seen any serious bickering.
To finish , I , for one , am extremely proud to be part of such a friendly and honourable community.

*DOBBY* · 12-12-2010 8:17pm

Well said Keith. I can't second that enough.I too have met fantastic people who are now extremely good friends, through airsoft. I'm sick of seeing the negative threads here on boards and choose to ignore most of them as it doesn't represent the actual on site/ in shop feelings of players or the general good nature of nearly every weekend that takes place up and down the country.
So well said and thanks for the positve thread creation. It made me want to post in it.:D

The_ChiefDUB · 12-12-2010 9:04pm

Having been out of the country for the last six months with really just this forum to provide me with a gauge of how things were going in the Airsoft community here, I have to admit that some of the negativity that I'd seen on here had started to get the better of me. Cut to a couple of weeks later. I've had a great Sunday out at Redbarn last week and a brilliant night at The Office Block. On both occasions I had friends who were completely new to Airsoft come along with me. The reception which my friends received was just brilliant on both occasions and they are all eagerly planning their next Airsoft outing. The return to a great community and the chance to catch up with the friends I have made through this sport was a great welcome back to the country and to Airsoft for me. Suffice to say that my faith in the Irish Airsoft community was completely restored.
I really hope that this great community spirit can be echoed on this forum so that outsiders can get to experience it and I really commend the opening of the new debate on how to get things back on track here on Boards.

MagicIRL · 12-12-2010 9:14pm

I think we can agree that we've all met top-class lads and ladies out on the sites, playing the game.

Its the trolls here on boards that, in my honest opinion, keep airsoft in the clutches of the damned, in that- Anyone who comes to these forums/sub forums sees nothing but fighting, bickering and general flaming against each other just because someone has asked a repeated question, used an old topic, or said something that one of the "locals" disagreed with.

Furthermore we have Mods, who at times take the modding to far, here to help. They step in and ban/kick/snip and then get thanked by some random users who were not involved in the dispute at all. If anything it comes across as users baiting other users by "thanking" the action they were not involved in. That just shows with whats wrong with the airsoft community.

On site, everyone who actually goes out and plays are great people. But on boards, when "advertising" airsoft to the average forum user, we come across as dicks.

CpcRc · 12-12-2010 11:12pm

I started playing airsoft with some of my friends as we were all interested in it, and I can say that we are better friends than we were before as a result. I've found the airsoft community to be one of the most positive and helpful communities that you could ever find. If I ever had a question or was confused about something there would always be a more experienced airsofter(s) or fellow airsofter that would be more than willing to give me an answer. And I would in turn always be willing to give advice to another airsofter. We all learn new things from eachother.

Airsoft is a great way for people to get along and it's a shame if the public forums don't properly portray it as this.

I think that one of the worst side effects of how airsoft is ill-portrayed on some of the threads is that it makes it hard for new people to see how easily you can be accepted in the airsoft community. There will always be conflicting opinions but there are also people who agree with you. It's when people go out there and play and make new friends that they see how great it is.

As shop atmosphere was mentioned before, I found it to be another great thing about the sport. I feel that retailers are always willing to help you with any purchase or decision you make as well as answer your questions. Retailers care about airsoft and are interested in what they're doing and this really comes across in how well they deal with their customers.

Thats my two cents.

mafiaboy · 13-12-2010 12:04am

Well said se conman
I for one have met greet people out gaming
not just the guys in our team but all over the world
Iv seen guys guns brake down and guys offering a lend of there spear ones ie whydave was on a site and had 2 of my mates for there first day airsofting all they had was sidearms and Dave bring them to his car and lent them two aeg, there is not many sports where you will see that.
But on boards.ie all that seems to dissipate
And for that reson you will only see me on adverts,
I for one would like to see that change.
My thought of the day If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all...

evilrobotshane · 13-12-2010 12:40am

It's some sausage fest though.

Silent Death · 14-12-2010 3:59pm

Since i stated playing i have got about 15 new players into the sport

All lads though

Vent13 · 24-12-2010 11:41am

Have to concur with Kieth, well said bud.

Also must agree with one of our comerades above who said that most of the online bickering is from people who rarely step foot on the field of play. Any site that I have ever played on, whether here in Ireland or in the UK, there has never been anything but friendship, a welcome and some good comeradery whilst sharing war stories between and after games.

Airsoft is a game of honour. That should extend to off the field as well as on it.

Again, well said Kieth and to the other posters above.

Vent13

kimmyt1987 · 27-12-2010 4:02am

Sausage fest is right, but hey....
some of the friendliest, most down to earth,
loyal sausages I have and will ever meet!

Hivemind187 · 27-12-2010 11:31am

kimmyt1987 wrote: »

Sausage fest is right, but hey....
some of the friendliest, most down to earth,
loyal sausages I have and will ever meet!

Airsofters = Monogamous pork products?

... well at least we arent slutty rashers.

kimmyt1987 · 28-12-2010 1:28am

Moggser just heard rashers and sausages and started to chomp at the bit.....

gandalf · 03-01-2011 11:07am

As a lurker in these parts these days I agree with you. This forum does not show the reality of airsoft in Ireland at all. People seem to change when they have a keyboard and screen in front of them, they seem to lose social common sense (this is the same for most forums on boards!). I haven't skirmished in a while because myself and the missus have started a family and my son is 6 months old now. I hope to get back skirmishing soon but have to find a job first. However I have very fond memories of skirmishing and making friends with a very diverse bunch of people some of whom I would have never met because of airsoft.

Happy New Year to you all. I hope to get out on the field of battle at some stage again this year

SteffSt · 21-10-2011 4:21pm

Hey there,

I got recommended to check out this forum. I'm involved with a programme called Yes I Can and one of the participants, Simon Jameson, has spent 5 years trying to adapt a wheelchair to enable him to play airsoft. Simon has Muscular Dystrophy and with Yes I Can he managed to complete a game of airsoft. I thought for you guys from the airsoft community this could be interesting. His behind the scenes teaser is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOPKfi5Fq9U&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PLA266A787411646EA

Cheers,
Steffi

Arcto · 21-10-2011 9:24pm

Halloween came early, ZOMBIE THREAD!!!

andy_g · 21-10-2011 9:30pm

Please use the other thread discussing Simon on the Tv show.

The airsoft community in Ireland

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