Here is a rant I posted a couple years ago that I felt would be good to put in a page as well:
After looking at the "warning" tab on Jerm's blog, (and seeing the video he included) this made me think for a while. Is modding dangerous? Like Jerm, I would answer yes and no. Shooting a hot glue domed stefan at someone out of a singled Nerf Titan with a plugged pump is definitely dangerous (and stupid). Removing an AR out of a Recon for a little better range is not a big deal in my opinion. Don't even get me started with the darts with pins in them... that is just crazy and stupid.
Most people have it wrong (not helped by the misleading video made by people who don't know what they are talking about). I have accounts on quite a few blaster forums. Talking about darts with pins in them are an absolute no-no and will probably get you banned. I don't participate in many wars, but I know that 99% of all nerf wars that are organized are very well regulated. Certain modifications are not allowed. If the war allows homemade darts at all, it only allows certain kinds. Safety gear is required, and people use their modified blasters with common sense. If you have a blaster that shoots, say 70 feet, you would never shoot someone at point blank range. The other 1% of wars that are not well regulated, (or semi not well regulated like the one shown in the video) are organized by people who have no responsibility or common sense. These are people who I would consider "stupid noobs".
I do have some very powerful blasters- and some modified darts and stefans. But the difference between me along with most of the nerfing/ modding community, and those "stupid noobs" is that we have responsibility. I would never shoot someone with a hot glue domed stefan out of a singled BBB with added springs. I might use it with a hopper or an RSCB with padded darts (depending on what is allowed at that nerf game) and I would never shoot at someone who wasn't wearing proper safety gear. But I won't go stand on my porch and shoot at anyone who walks by with it no matter how "safe" it is. I use hot glue domed stefans and the likes with my modified blasters to see how much range/ accuracy I can achieve for personal accomplishment, But again, responsibility comes into play: I do not shoot at or near people with things like that. There are things you can use at wars and games, and there are things you can use for target shooting, and seeing how far you can get your blaster to shoot. With painting blasters, I think the idea is simple: paint it in a manner that makes it obvious that it is a toy, not a real weapon. If you want to paint it black or whatever to look like a real gun for cosplay, go ahead. But don't take it outside.
Video:
Overall, I think this video is very misleading, and was made by people that are biased, and don't know what they are talking about. (Does the media really ever know what they are talking about?) I think the kid and his mom are right. We do learn the principles of physics and engineering with modifications. I also think Nerf would be happy to know that people love their toys. But I don't think they care that we can make them better. They might like modding, because of the occasional (more often with less expirienced modders) breakage of a blaster. Nerf would like that because then you would probably buy a new one. They told the news people that they didn't want people to mod, because they have to. If they suggested one bit that they liked modding for whatever reason, that would subject them to legal issues. I also think that they used bad examples to prove their points. It is that 1% of irresponsible idiots who make the rest of us look bad. What we do really isn't bad. Yes, it is dangerous in the absence of responsibility and common sense, but 99% of us can handle that.
Sorry for any grammar issues- It's hard to organize a rant! Please leave comments with your opinions!
