The Wild World of TB!

By now I am sure most of you know about the video of the bikini contest, and all I am going to say is where are the leaders of paintball? Where are the adults and industry people's outrage that this was allowed and is even now being allowed to be played out by the true dynamic of paintball, the youth as they demand access to titties at a paintball game like it was a inalienable right included in the right to vote and the right to have a gun. And there is silence in the halls of leadership, none of the industry people have made any comments not statements no demands for apology no nothing. Just let the fan boys rip everyone for being a downer and taking away all their fun. I thought it was a fucking paintball game, not a frat party that included beer, babes and boobs.

Maybe the industry is ok with what happened, maybe other members are using this as opportunity to scoop up paint sales or who the fuck knows. All I know is most of the talking heads are talking about how this is a fun thing and a cool thing. Hey Wolf, those girls that you had such a fine time whooping it up to are someone's daughters just like you have. I certainly don't think you would want your daughter up there on the stage now would you?

But I am disgusted by the lack of any moral integrity and the embracing of the moral turpitude of anyone in this so called industry. No one has the professionalism enough to say I am not a part of that and it should be put down. Since that is all their behaviour allows. They have banned people like me for 'playing too hard' yet allow and encourage this?

Don't get it twisted, I love titties. But there are places for that and a paintball game billed as a family event ain't fucking it.

Here is just a piece of the uncensored video. I hope someone from CPX sends me a cease and desist, I hope they do. As for the who's whos of the video, they scroll around the 'judges' table see if you can spot who was all there. The "pillars" of paintball! ;)

Enjoy the boobies if you can call them that.

And my where did the woman promoting PB Wimmins from the past Living Losers go?

http://www.worldoftb.com/stuff/LLstripper.avi

Take a peek or save to your system.

Soooo, yeah.

We seem to have a tittertastrophy abrewing at a certain HUGE game that went on this past weekend. While I am a FIRM believer in freedom of, well almost anything that dosen't cause permanant harm to ones self, or others in the blast radius, the stuff surfacing on the interwebs is......rather comical actually.

Stay with me here.

You put over 1000 people in a tiny spot on the planet, the majority of whom are male. Gas them up with adrenaline, and,by EVERY account I've read, alcohol. Turn them loose at each other, in a lopsided affair (found on PBN and other sources). Your main "Stars" are bitching and fighting amongst themselves. No one is happy, well maybe the guys who are whoopin the every loving snot out of the other team, or the ones at the beer cart but...yeah not really.

CHAOS I say!!!

I love me some good anarchy, but for the LOVE of Pete. Who the HELL thought bringing out women out on a stage in various stages of undress, whom by all accounts I've been able to see/read, some were NOT in their right mind and think your gonna have an episode of Baywatch? We, as humans, are nothing more than base animals you know, and some of us aren't that far along from "Mongo break something wif rock..hehehehe". Add beer and bad judgement....TAHH DAHHH! Shitfest 2013!!

Really? REALLY???!?!?

HK was involved. I have NOTHING personal against those guys at all. Hell man, make your money, have your fun. Hasn't anyone you know, SEEN what these guys are all about? Just take a look at some of the youtube stuff they're in. I've seen it first hand!! Who thought putting the "Party Patrol" in charge of the contest was a good idea?

Parents who were there.......WHY IS YOUR KID THERE????

You DIDN'T see this coming? Had no clue?? Go back to your Honey Boo Boo marathons and let your child run rampant on his/her game system of choice. Apparently your to stupid to ever leave the house again. You in no way shape or form can sit there and TELL ME your that innocent to what was happening. As soon as the first HINT of "this is going sideways" reared it's, or her, head,I would have grabbed the kids and beat a hasty retreat. Not EVEN that! You think this was gonna go off like some Disney rated G movie? What planet did YOU fly in from?

As for the promoters: Why did it continue? Why didnt you cut it off as soon as it was happening? The game sounds like it turned to absolute shit. Was this the consolation prize? Little bit of Skinemax after dark? All those Puppydograinbow guys and girls have been REALLY quiet on this subject, maybe they finally got smart and learned to keep their pieholes closed?

Nahh....I give to much credit.

Looking at the PBN threads, and all the other forums. The "negative" threads have, if not deleted already, been deathly silent. The usual ass kissing abounds on almost every other one. Same people sending the same message to stroke the other same people so everyone feels all cuddly and warm. ACK! Way to NOT take responsibility for a shit ass game and a disaster of a "Bikini Contest"

Was I there? No. Do I know EXACTLY what happened? Nope, but I am not an idiot. I've been to many a big games where this exact scenario happened. Skirmish, EMR, hell even at Sherwood. The World Cup? IAO? Been to both many times, and I think I'm still legally bound to be silent about some of the shit I saw there. Remember Heaven? Skyball? HELLS yeah! Saw people doing bar dives in the Hard Rock with naked women getting sprayed with beer. Did it start off like that? NO! Did we see it coming? HELL yes!

Hey, I've said it before and I'll say it again. I am not dead, or gay...I LIKE boobies! All for 'em! Boobies and paintball...just not while Im playing thank you, I'd be useless or have whiplash.

Lets see what the future bring from this little fiasco. I'd wadger....nothing!

"If I had asked people what they want, they'd have said faster horses." -Henry Ford

At LL6, according to the stories, one of the generals quit a mere 2 hours into the game. They didn't come back until 2 teams were made to switch sides. Generals are one of the most dangerous failure points for scenario games. They are like that because of the way the whole setup is built upon a stack of wildly unpredictable failure points. We've talked about this before here, why you don't really need a general.

The prevailing problem is in how generals are selected. They are largely selected for their ability to recruit people to come play for them. This is very prevalent in an age of self-manufactured social media personalities and forum cults. This is also natural and exists in other hobbies. That's what scenarios are at their core, entertainment for hobbyists. When your marketing budget is relatively microscopic in a massively over-saturated market it's believed these people are an asset to growing your business. I was telling Viper he needed to be making content on Youtube for marketing years before it became popular. Instead of doing it himself, he's leveraging all of this easily available free labor. Once you get past the marketing and implement an actual game process using these human variables things become wildly unpredictable.

Look back at what Mike Phillips said when he lead a LL. To paraphrase, it was about balancing winning with making people feel good about themselves. Unfortunately this type of compromise based on a business view doesn't breed championship mentalities. A champion is going to go in there and win, or fight you to the death in the process. It's predictable. When you discourage that behavior, well, in this case you got a labor strike in the middle of a marquee event grinding half the customers to a halt, stories of 2 teams switching sides to get the generals to play, and a massively blown out score. If you ask any player they're going to want that championship mentality general, who's experienced and will never quit. They want the faster horse.

Well you're not going to get a faster horse, it's not in the entertainment business model. It has to be something else. My solution was released as a torrent on World of TB. Since it's the player that gets boned by bad leadership, send the mission direct to the players. Simple, effective, fair. There are some copies that exist in the wild.

I've gotten to play with a lot of teams that were really good over the years, from all over this country. Generally the best ones operate with extreme efficiency through self-management. They don't need a general to hand them the task, they just need the task.

"Bitches be crazy yo." -a friend of mine

Bob Gurnsey, despite being beyond elderly and into old age, is a petulant child.

Want to be a "hater"? It's very simple, just point out a simple fact to somebodies sycophantic follower. People can't deal with it, they reply in barely comprehensible form, and then block you from seeing the reply or making a retort. I don't think I will ever understand the logic behind that, but at least WoTB exists. Retorts can be posted in public, and the people who hide behind artificial conversation controls are too timid to speak their mind.

It starts off with a sycophant named Rick Bailey giving Bob a virtual blow job. When a small taste of reality is injected, it is downhill from there.

Rick Bailey:

If I could have my way, I'd like to make Bob's Splat the most recognizable Logo in the Universe! Pretty cool Bob! Well done.

This is quite obviously impossible. Am I really a hater if I laugh at the notion of an obscure 1980s logo eclipsing Coca-Cola? I don't believe so, I live on planet Earth instead of living up Bob's ass.

I made a more direct comparison to another splat logo, the iconic Nickelodeon splat logos used for over a decade. There were over 64 variations of it in use for 19 years. Because I think it's funny, a more direct Bob to Bob comparison is one of Nickelodeon's signature products, SpongeBob. Squarepants has 42,000,000 Facebook likes. Bob Gurnsey has 2000. It's a ratio of 21,000 to 1, and that's just 1 social media platform. Go deeper into the numbers, and you'll find more households tuned into 1 Spongebob special than there are paintball players in the entire world. Let that sink in for a moment. It is very, very likely that an animated homosexual sea sponge is more valuable than the entire worldwide paintball industry.

Bobs response: Nickelodeon illegally used his logos.

There was NO way it was possibler to even defend it as there were THOUSANDS of MIS-USERS. By the Way Sponge bob was illegal in using it in any clothing.

^^ sic.

Viacom owns Nickelodeon. Viacom has a market value of $25,000,000,000. Estimates put Nickelodeon as worth 18% of Viacom, it is more valuable than MTV. MTV also has featured "splat" logos, but we're not going into their numbers too. That puts Nickelodeon's value at around $4,500,000,000.00 Per Bob G., they have been infringing on Bob's trademark every time they put a splat logo on clothing. He's the victim unable to defend what is obviously his from "THOUSANDS of MIS-USERS". That's in Bob's world. The poor victim was just unable to defend himself.

Infringement:

Infringement may occur when one party, the "infringer", uses a trademark which is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark owned by another party, in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the products or services which the registration covers

In our objective reality, he is full of shit. He is upset that somebody would have the nerve to mention reality in the middle of his virtual suck-fest. All of Nickelodeon's "splats" are trademarked. The trademark office does a search for conflicting marks as part of the filing process. You also must accurately describe your goods/services provided. Not exactly what I'd call "commonality" between a paintball equipment supplier and a kids cable TV content provider. The US Patent and Trademark Office was cool with the differences enough to register them both. Thankfully there are laws in place to protect businesses from people like Bob Gurnsey making such frivolous claims in court.

I had to ask if Bob honestly believe he was being stolen from out of sheer incredulousness.

This is the Internet. When you get offended by reality and don't have an intelligent response, or are senile, attack the person and turn it into a proverbial dick measuring contest, then block them. Somebody named Drum Taylor jumps in, no clue who this person is. He needs to make sure he gives Bob's ego a well manicured hand-job.

The only innovation to come out of Nickelodeon was dumping buckets of colored "slime" on kids. Will take my "slime" and 300fps and eschew all other pretenders to your splatty legacy. Hey Allen, what did YOU ever invent? (Methinks you are jealous of all SPongeBob's likes, lol)

I really have no clue what makes children programming innovative or not. I'm certain this Drum person is not an expert either. For a company with only "1" innovation, they sure make a lot of money and have managed to keep generation after generation of kid tuned through evolving content.

Am I jealous of SpongeBob's likes? No, not the "likes". I'm not a senior citizen trying to build a legacy on rapidly obsoleted equipment from 30 years ago. Am I jealous of SpongeBob's value as IP? Fuck yeah. It's the most recognizable character of a $4.5 billion dollar company. All small business owners want to have a revenue stream that enormous.

We'll get back to the "inventions" part in a bit.

Somebody named Jason Reid is a brave soul, stepping in to agree with the very obvious.

Yeah that Nickelodeon splat is iconic. People might not like hearing it, but it is the truth. Statements to the contrary are laughable.

At this point the senility, "Otherism", and ad hominem attacks begin.

Bob:

Well Allen so typical of people like you. Whoever said it They Stole fom me.? You have tottally missed my point. All I trie to do was to show and display a Registered Tm for a Splat I created asnd registered in many catagories. JUST for fun!

LOL Drum... just another hater and naysayer... who tries to elevate his own stature making worthless MOOT points about little nothings.

That's what he just did. See above where he claimed Nickelodeon infringed his trademarks putting splat logos on clothing. Trademark infringement is IP theft. This is a very basic tenet of IP protections. Everybody knows this, even the US Senate, and it's filled with power crazed, sub-human morons.

Now observe the cognitive dissonance and early alzheimer's in full force. He can't even remember making a claim not 2 hours before, automatically assumes he's under some sort of attack for as 2 people saying his splat won't be as popular as Nickelodeon's iconic logos, and lumps me in with "people like you". lol.

What's a "moot point"? Here's the definition that fits here:

An issue regarded as potentially debatable, but no longer practically applicable

Is pointing the reality of a current idea out a moot point? Doesn't sound like it to me.

Posting a simplistic logo from 30 years ago and subsequently claiming it was abused and stolen, but then claiming you didn't claim that and you only even trademarked it "for fun" so it doesn't matter in the first place... that's the definition of a "moot point".

What's this doing to "elevate my stature"? I'm not selling anything on Facebook, nor trying to build some legacy or reputation in a paintball related community. I'm just some guy who's really, really picky about scenario games. It's in my interest for people to NOT know who I am.

So lets move on to the grand finale, the good old ban-and-post.

Drum , at 70 now, I have reached an age where such insecure ,small ,irrelevant people like this tend to cite anything that sounds good as their achievement. They try to package it and wrap it in all sorts of cute ,little ,spangly bows of ribbon and then Claim "well i invented the frisbee because I scaled my MOMS records". It is NEVER good enough to "create,invent something but rather to know HOW to market it and bring it to a fruition on a large scale. I have invented a few things as you know including.. bringing to the market Acupressure bands for Nausea in 1981,, Headache bands and now a kitchen product,, yeah small but just another million dollar idea like all odf Allen's. LOL... return to your small world where all you seem to have is a desire to dump oon others in an obscure warped sophomoric attemt at elevating your own importance. Ciao. AH

...again, sic. Read it. Read it again. Revel in it. Marinate.

Bob's million dollar idea he is proud to bring to market in 1981 is an Acupressure band. Pseudo-medicine. That's like being proud you figured out how to sell Negative Ion Bracelets. It's called "alternative medicine" because it's the exact opposite of evidence-based medicine. It's "Ancient Chinese Medicine" because it was crap people made up before the scientific method existed. You never learned about "Principal Meridians" in any science class because it is bullshit. In Texas it would be illegal to teach this quackery in a science class because texts must be fact based.

Quackery is the promotion[1] of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. Random House Dictionary describes a "quack" as a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or qualifications he or she does not possess; a charlatan".[2]
The word "quack" derives from the archaic word "quacksalver", of Dutch origin (spelled kwakzalver in contemporary Dutch), literally meaning "hawker of salve".[3] In the Middle Ages the word quack meant "shouting". The quacksalvers sold their wares on the market shouting in a loud voice.[4]
"Health fraud" is often used as a synonym for quackery, but quackery's salient characteristic is aggressive promotion ("quacks quack!") rather than fraud, greed or misinformation.[1] "Pseudo-medicine" is a term for treatments known to be ineffective, regardless of whether their advocates themselves believe in their effectiveness.

He took this long established quackery, packaged it up in the form of a head band, and sold this placebo to naive shills in pain looking for relief. Holy. Fucking. Shit. That's abhorrent. This is the same fraud that for decades been sold to people promising weight loss, appetite suppression, smoking cessation, "unblock blockages", "promote the flow of Qi", "health balancing", "energy balancing", and a terrifyingly long list of bullshit.

I want to close out this article right here. The the above travesty should suffice. We must keep going though. We must move on to "market talk" and "inventions".

Prototyping things is a hobby of mine. I've made things with such specific purposes there is no worthwhile market opportunity. I've made some things that could probably do okay on the market if they were funded. I've made some things that are completely useless. Right now I'm working on 3D printed RC planes and will distribute the plans so anybody that wants one can have it to. Who knows, next I may do a 3D printed paintball marker if it hasn't been done already and give that away too. Making shit is fun. So if somebody asks for some inventions in a paintball related thread I'll toss out some shit I cobbled together for scenario play.

Not good enough for Bob. First it was medical quackery, now just wait till his million dollar idea kitchen gadget comes out! Unless your shit has gone to market it's nothing. Open Source is all fancy ribbons. You've never taken products to market, more insults and self congratulatory sickness.

This is why you shouldn't make assumptions. For example, I don't assume that his kitchen product will be made with Chinese slave labor, we'll find out if it ever goes to market. I'm not selling quackery or trying to slap chop things. With $70 million gross in the last 5 years I'm doing pretty okay. Don't worry about me, just keep voting for lower taxes.

Since we're talking markets, lets look at the actual scenario market for a moment. The scenario market sucks. Since it's become watered down to being essentially big games with a few bright points and proliferated into a heavily saturated market with something going on in virtually every state every weekend. The quality has plummeted. Most producers could put on higher quality games, but they do not have the tools to do it. The willingness of players to swallow the same low standards and recycled play non-stop, year-round, has created an environment where there is really no pressure on producers to make better events. Business is built through social connections and establishing brand loyalists. Distributors want players to act on their barbie doll dressing instincts to get the latest in this years hard and soft goods, and shoot more paint. It's not their job to know about game mechanics and how that influences end user interaction or provide event producers with tools.

Here's the catch. Only the distributors can actually afford to create the tools for the producers, but the producers can't afford to pay for the tools. You'd have to release it in a totally comprehensive manner with hard goods, soft goods, software development, infrastructure, marketing campaign, training, sponsorships, events, etc. It would cost $750k to a million to fully implement it and there are very, very few people capable of directing this type of project due to the many different disciplines of knowledge required.

I'm not making that investment. I don't have anything to do with paintball. I like scenario so I built some tools in case I want to run a scenario game. They are certainly not refined, commercial ready products, just prototypes.

Most likely the tools will come from the airsoft world and not paintball. It's basically the same market, except without the emphasis on paint. That allows airsoft players to regularly pay more for the game itself and demand well developed game play. They're more willingly to experiment with content delivery and gear to enhance that end of game play. It's safer to do so because paintballs are quite destructive. The distributors and promoters are largely in the same boat as paintball, and some like Valken active in both markets. The costs of development don't just go away.

So that's why open source. The tools, in my view, will likely come from a small group of dedicated gamers who happen to have the correct mix of skills sets needed to accomplish the project. I've already given some of them code. The smart paintball producers will adopt that technology. It'll grow from a grass roots level and the early adopters will run roughshod over everybody else. Once the grass roots level builds up one of the distributors will eventually jump on board with their own solution. If they're smart it'll be good, if not it'll be like the latest SimCity launch.

Isn't the scenario market fun? :) Of course not, but entertainment is a tough business.

So in conclusion, fuck Bob Gurnsey. If he comes around you, hold on to your wallet tightly and exit the area as quickly as possible.

See you get a couple of the older guys around each other for more than a few minutes, and things start happening. Such as this tome right here.....

A very interesting point was brought up this past weekend, with me being in earshot of it about how "easy" the players to day have it. Now, I didnt know if this was meant about gear, or rules or what have you so I stuck around and listened.

For the most part, this is about the speedballers, and how "easy" they do have it.

Field walking....

Yep, walking the field on the day of the games. Having the bunker type and layout available. Just walk in, and start looking. Field layout was kept supah-squirrel secret until the day of. No one knew lanes, or bunker sizes until the staff started inflating them.

So yeah, THIS I have questions with. I know it's done to "equal" the playing field out. Equal to what?? If you suck, having a known entity isn't going to make you THAT much better. Honestly, I believe it takes away alot of what us old bastards used when we played ball. Our brains, and a generous helping of savvy. The PSP and whatever the hell the NPPL is anymore publish field layouts MONTHS in advance.

Why?

I dont know about the rest of you, but I find it weak. Lazy even. Takes away from actually having to use your brain for more then pulling a trigger. Is it really making it more "equal" for the teams participating in the tourny? Or, is it for seating arrangments in the stands....like having a seat on the 50, or center court?

I hate hearing about how "This layout sucks!". You all had MONTHS to prepare on it! NO Excuse!! You all practiced and drilled on it, so you just got beat. End of story....

Couldnt afford the field layout? Didnt have a practice area that had the set up?

C'mon! You video game kids out there should be smart enough to figure it out. I mean they WROTE everything down for you!! Hell, they even have the layouts posted!

Don't think Im letting the scenario players go on this either. Google Earth and other programs out there give you all the info you can have. Sure, you dont know where EVERY bunker or hollow log is out there, but its way better than even 5 years ago! Every damn game anymore has map maps and more maps. With all points of interest printed on it. Where the hell is the fun there?? Im all about the gunfight, but finding a surprise on the field, be it prop or cool little hidey hole makes it all more.......dare I say? FUN!!!!

Gods help these kids if they have to ise a bit more brain power. Not just the kids either! Some of you adults need a good English Nanny shaking too.

Wanna impress me Pro leagues? Do one or two events old style. NO prearranged layouts. No one gets a peek at the fields until game day. Finals fields are put up day of, and teams are given an hour to get their defication coagulated. One HOUR!! No bullshit! 60 minutes, then you throw it down.....

I am not even going to get into scenario...........

Not today!

Remember what good customer service looked like? It was when a promoter said, to paraphrase it, "hey, don't bring your BS in my house".

Now it's time to look at some more customer service.

Before you get started reading, remember this all goes back to 1 simple facebook post made by Delta. Is somebody who never actually plays paintball a paintball player? As that evolved, a post was made, paraphrasing again, "Hey people talking shit behind our back, are you willing to talk to us in person?"

Now, here comes a PM, because for some reason that will never resonate with me, obfuscation and hidden conversations are "the right way" to do things. Now, lets ignore the fact that this attitude is the source of many ills in the world and why politics are often a terrible, violent thing that have left billions dead. Let us just look at it as customer service for the time being.

-Steve Stacker Harrison

gonna do this as a private message...I honestly didnt have a problem with you guys coming up to our game on sunday. but after a status update like that it just looks like you are asking for trouble. So im going to ask you nicely not to come. I dont need the aggravation or the bullshit that goes along with it. this is our first game we are producing and I refuse to let you fuck it up. Dont come, you will be asked to leave.

Okay, so Delta, you are bad bad people and must stay home.

-Delta Paintball Team

What aggravation? There is going to be no issues, however if everyone who posted in that previous topic wants to come up and have a mature discussion, we'd welcome it.

We are tired of people talking shit and not sayin it in person.

Awfully polite response and request for a mature discussion for a bunch of dickheads.

Look, I was one of those ppl, your team thread instigated all that bull shit. At some point in time YOU should have taken the high road and squashed it out if respect for another team... MINE! And I really had no prob with you coming, ask BGR, I told him that just today. Then you post that horse shit update...really? That just shows the that you are looking for a fight or altercation. I don't have time for your bullshit, I'm 42 yrs old, I left high school a long time ago. Now, I did this as a pm because its the right way to handle things. Your guys are gonna show and my guys are gonna confront and it's gonna get ugly. Bottom line is this, I don't want you there. So this will be the last time I ask you nicely. Please don't come. I will be at OXCC in October and we can discuss this further when cooler heads are available.

Woahwaitwhat? The event promoter is one of the people talking shit about them. No wonder he refused to talk in public. Not only that, his teammates, people involved in game production, are admittedly uncontrollably violent. They are violent only at games they are putting on, when they travel elsewhere, they are no longer violent apparently and can then have a conversation.

-Delta Paintball Team

I hope you will refund the team members that have already paid for entry and paint then. If so, I'll supply you with a list now and their cards can be refunded first thing tomorrow morning.

Craziest fuckin' customer service I've ever seen. Let me do one last paraphrase... "My employees are uncontrollably violent against people who state opinions we dislike."

They did get their refunds, at least there is that.

I don't say this about any games, even Vipers... but don't go to this team's game. They are wildly unprofessional and willfully violent by their own admission. First and last I hope, threatening the safety of customers who've put money down is no way to run a business. The rule of law does exist for a reason you fuckin' nutcases.

Guest blog by Jerime "Coach" Wargo, a long time scenario player. Enjoy! - TB

I’ve got little use for hypocrites who preach respect yet offer none. They speak publicly of respecting the players but block any sort of dissenting opinions. They create a private group so that they can spout their true feelings without ruining their public personas. They speak of promoting the game and create a group dedicated to that cause, yet they make the group private. How can they promote the game behind closed doors?

True respect isn't shown by blocking dissent; it comes through open and honest discussion. In politics formal debates are a sign of respect. The candidates stand before the public and voice their opinions. They disagree with each other, but do it in a respectful manner. In paintball when there is a disagreement the solution is said to be a simple “fuck you” and then ignore the other person. How respectful is that?

For those who have been in the game for years this whole discussion is frustrating. The battles are always the same, but the players keep changing. Every few years some new saviour comes around preaching that they want to “respect the game” or “grow the sport.” I call these people born again ballers. They disagree with the old teachings and want to convert you to their way. They want everyone to get along and don’t like the hard-nosed, stick it to the other guy style of play. They don’t agree that coming at you with everything I have on the field is the truest sign of respect. They feel that respect should be given not earned. After a few years of preaching their message grows old and they fade back into the abyss that they came out of. Then someone new pops up and the cycle repeats itself.

But here’s the cold hard truth of the matter: No one really cares! Next time you’re at the field start asking players if the know of Dale Ford, or the Golden Girl, or TB, or A-Train. Don’t ask the people in your inner circle, ask the other 80 - 90% of the people at the game. Unless one of these people has ever commanded a game at that field chances are none of the players know these names. The 80% are the ones who pay the bills for the fields and the promoters, the rest of it is just noise.

I prefer open forums. Did you know that you can reply to any post here with whatever you want to say about it? You can, just provide a legit email address. It's that simple. Don't like information posted? Feel free to retort.

Now it's time to compare and contrast it with the echo chamber effect. This is an effect in mass media which results when people create closed communities that constantly reinforce their own opinions, rendering them less capable of critical thinking and reason.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echo_chamber_%28media%29

Participants in online communities may find their own opinions constantly echoed back to them, which reinforces their individual belief systems. This can create significant barriers to critical discourse within an online medium. The echo chamber effect may also impact a lack of recognition to large demographic changes in language and culture on the Internet if individuals only create, experience and navigate those online spaces that reinforce their world view.

How silly has it gotten? People are writing open letters to TB, because he's the ultimate evil, despite the fact that they've never met him or even been on the same field..

Jonathan Staaz shared a link.

Please read this and share it if you have a love and affection for paintball. We have flies in the soup and they aren’t back stroking!
Mr. TB I am immensely disturbed with your rant about Bob Gurnsey and even more so the efforts you seem to be taking to try and ruin the sport, the lifestyle of painting of the balls. My initial intent was to speak to you in the same vulgarities which you choose to speak about others in BUT, as an upstanding member of a community which takes pride in its family friendly nature I will address you so that our particular audience

and then post it in a place TB can't even see it.

Lawrence Wright - Whats funny is he wrote this to me and I have no way to see it. It aint like it was emailed to me.

That is the echo chamber effect in action. This guy just scored a lot of what in online gaming is known as "e-peen" amongst his closed community.

So, I'm going to veer off a bit from the puppyrainbow dogs and get to the heart of it, so to speak....

It's all about the gear baby!!!

 

I love the toys.  That new smell when you crack open the box or case or package.  The free monomers floating into your olfactory sensors.  The tested by stickers and new handbooks eager to be tossed aside.  The sheen of fresh anno, the polished bonnet of a new tank. Blinking lights and a sctratchless readout screen! Whirring gears and the thunk of air hitting the new regulator!  Ahhhh, for some it's better than a bottle of Dom (1986), or a good bourbon.

We look at these pieces of engineering as if it's a new Ferrari or BMW. We name them, put them above almost everything (especially ex-wives), dote and care for them.  We want that performance, that thrill and tactile sensation of just running the hell out of it.  Doing the flying mile, or the quarter even.  Pushing the gear to its limits........

In this day and age, sometimes you have to buy a Yugo before you dance with 'Vettes.  Looking at the AMAZING amount of gear out there that is available for your consumer disease is almost like having vertigo.  I mean, it's just so much!  TOO MUCH!

 What do you want?  What style of play? How big/small? Short? Long? Poppet? Spool? Pump? Bolt? Fast? ....slow.......?

What's the cost?  Performance? Resale (because the little bastards at PBN ruined all that), how does it shoot?

I have realised years ago why women buy so many shoes.

 

Yeah, I'm so guilty of it.  I want that gear, almost to the point of it being a dangerous obsession.  At one point, having over 60 working guns in my collection. It took up most of my house .  I would've made great copy on the Hoarders show.  Also worth mentioning are the loader, goggles, tanks, tools and other sundries of our sport that once inhabited my abode.  Keep in mind I am NOT talking about jerseys or pants or soft goods.  We're talkin the HARD stuff here!

 Be aware, if you will, that I have also throughout the years amassed quite the knowledge of how to work on these things.  All of them.  Pump, spool, poppet, tank loader, goggles.....ALL the junk.  So you might say I have a working, and considerable base of knowledge for the equipment, and a good understanding of what works, and what dosen't.

Out there, right now, are companies that, in brutal honesty....don't give a shit about the gear.  Oh maybe they once did...back when they, y'know, they had to shoot their own stuff. Now, it's about massing the cash.

I have heard from many different sources about leaking tanks, BRAND new from the factory.  Tech support?  Pfft, whatev.  They got your cash.  Oh?  Paid for it?  When?  4 months?  To bad asshat, gotcher money....shouldna taken the A-Train....

Gun dosen't work?  Aww, shouldn't have broken it.....

Lots of people blame the Chinese for making the stuff.  Here's a hint: ALL companies have quality control.  Some of the larger companies have physical offices with staff in country just to HAVE quality control.  I don't blame China, I DO blame the company for not doing it's due diligence and making sure the product works!  Sure, you get a lemon, no one is perfect.  I'm talking about 1 out of 4 that come out choking and sputtering, that is a common problem throughout the equipment production run.

 

This seems to the trend the seems to be more and more prevalent in today's paintball world.  From some of the more established companies too!  I also understand it from the gear companies perspective, having worked for a few of them over the course of time.  The consumers WILL lie to you, want everything for free, and will take no responsibility for anything as far as the gear being busted.  But, my all time fav statement is..."I dunno, it's not my gear."  

Oh no?  Did ya steal it? 

Or that always popular, "I got it off PBNation."  You FOOL!

Not saying there aren't honest people out there, just saying that we need a better way to weed the nasties out.

 

Look, it's YOUR money.  YOU control what is and isn't sold.  From low end to top shelf, we as adults, and consumers, need to be careful about where our cash goes to.  This isn't about food, or housing.  This is in all actuality just some stupid capture the flag game with overbuilt dart guns.  Looking at the state of the culture around us, it seems that we just buy it.....because.  New IPhone?  SURE! GIMME three! Screw the "old" one that works perfectly.  I dont need to eat for this month anyway!  Gotta fit into mah new (insert brand name) pants that cost $$$ and are NEW I say...NEW! The Whajamajigger 5000 gun iz out?!?!?  NEED IT!!  Its has...uh...NEW stuff innit!! Gotta sell mah old gat, yo!

And before you all start yellin "Oh Mr. Da Mole, you already SAID your a gun whore!".  Yes, this is true, but I am also a gun tech.  One who has to stay on top of current technology.  I am addicted to the gear, but I still have to eat.  Also, I KNOW the difference between "New" and "Refined".

 

Dosen't mean I ain't gonna run the hell out of it when I get my greedy little Mole paws on one!!