Here goes a nice discussion piece that has the potential to go far!
You probably don't have to be a member of the forum for long to discover that I have my own opinions, my opinion on using the term 'marker' has been made clear many times.
The topic has come up again with the UKPSFs statement for a Sun article, on the Facebook thread they got called out for using the word 'gun'
(http://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/paintball-related-liver-injury-the-sun-ukpsf-comment.177032/)
Outside of the world of paintball nobody has any idea what a marker is, I went through 20 pages on Google without funding anything paintball related under a search for 'marker', even a few pages on Google.com
The only trace I could get referring to paintball was Wikipedia with Paintball marker as the 6th possible definition ... as a paintball gun or air gun.
Sometimes people give the advice to never use the word gun to the Police, at airports or when making a declaration when sending a package. Saying "I've got a gun" isn't going to be ideal, but being vague with "marker" is meaningless without some context - you can just as well say "My paintball gun is in the boot officer" as opposed to "My marker..." and still having to explain what that is.
On a legal basis in many parts of the world (Including the UK) paintball guns are firearms in the eye of the law - and with only a few exceptions there is no problem with them being guns (hold that thought though with the Policing & Crime Bill).
So - why are paintball guns called markers?
In the history of paintball a couple of guys found a 'paint marker gun' in a farming catalogue. Note that this was a marking gun - both with the word 'gun' in the name, and 'marking' because it shot permanent oil based paint.
We shoot food grade coloured gelatine balls, designed not to permanently mark, but depending on grade are designed to temporarily mark.
The second reason they are called markers, and the primary reason why people avoid the word gun is within American political correctness.
America still has a Victorian style society with many contradictory values, there was the attempt to disassociate the game with gun culture which at times has aligned in the UK with shooting incidents.
There also remains a perception in the US that by saying 'marker' then the 'guns are bad' parents will instantly let their child play paintball. No secret codeword will convince these parents, paintball needs to be open and honest about what paintball is and not rely on convincing people about what paintball is not.
I defy anyone to try and keep a straight face and tell me that they don't play paintball to shoot people.
There are numerous uses of the word gun to describe items that have nothing to do with shooting people and the users of which don't run around in circles trying to convince people otherwise.
I'm not telling people they cannot use the word 'marker', just don't get your pants in a twist over the word 'gun'
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=marker
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=glue+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=grease+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=paintball+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=spot+marking+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=spray+paint+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=spray+tan+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=tagging+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=tattoo+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=suns+out+guns+out
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gun
You probably don't have to be a member of the forum for long to discover that I have my own opinions, my opinion on using the term 'marker' has been made clear many times.
The topic has come up again with the UKPSFs statement for a Sun article, on the Facebook thread they got called out for using the word 'gun'
(http://p8ntballer-forums.com/threads/paintball-related-liver-injury-the-sun-ukpsf-comment.177032/)
Outside of the world of paintball nobody has any idea what a marker is, I went through 20 pages on Google without funding anything paintball related under a search for 'marker', even a few pages on Google.com
The only trace I could get referring to paintball was Wikipedia with Paintball marker as the 6th possible definition ... as a paintball gun or air gun.
Sometimes people give the advice to never use the word gun to the Police, at airports or when making a declaration when sending a package. Saying "I've got a gun" isn't going to be ideal, but being vague with "marker" is meaningless without some context - you can just as well say "My paintball gun is in the boot officer" as opposed to "My marker..." and still having to explain what that is.
On a legal basis in many parts of the world (Including the UK) paintball guns are firearms in the eye of the law - and with only a few exceptions there is no problem with them being guns (hold that thought though with the Policing & Crime Bill).
So - why are paintball guns called markers?
In the history of paintball a couple of guys found a 'paint marker gun' in a farming catalogue. Note that this was a marking gun - both with the word 'gun' in the name, and 'marking' because it shot permanent oil based paint.
We shoot food grade coloured gelatine balls, designed not to permanently mark, but depending on grade are designed to temporarily mark.
The second reason they are called markers, and the primary reason why people avoid the word gun is within American political correctness.
America still has a Victorian style society with many contradictory values, there was the attempt to disassociate the game with gun culture which at times has aligned in the UK with shooting incidents.
There also remains a perception in the US that by saying 'marker' then the 'guns are bad' parents will instantly let their child play paintball. No secret codeword will convince these parents, paintball needs to be open and honest about what paintball is and not rely on convincing people about what paintball is not.
I defy anyone to try and keep a straight face and tell me that they don't play paintball to shoot people.
There are numerous uses of the word gun to describe items that have nothing to do with shooting people and the users of which don't run around in circles trying to convince people otherwise.
I'm not telling people they cannot use the word 'marker', just don't get your pants in a twist over the word 'gun'
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=marker
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=glue+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=grease+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=paintball+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=spot+marking+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=spray+paint+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=spray+tan+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=tagging+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=tattoo+gun
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=suns+out+guns+out
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/gun
