Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How do I join/register to post in the forums?
A. The Registration link is on the left-side navigation.
Q. Why Another Forum?
A. While existing forums and social media sites serve multiple purposes, none targeted my specific interests as directly as iSoaker.net shall.
Q. I thought you didn’t have time/energy to manage a forum. Isn’t this a forum?
A. My amount of free time is extremely limited these days, but my passion for water blasters remain. What I realize I cannot do well is support all aspects of water warfare (i.e. water blasters, water warfare, water blaster building, modifications, organizing events, etc.). Sure, I’ve helped with coming up with water warfare games classification and water warfare rulesets. However, these topics have never interested me as much as the water blasters, themselves.
Q. Aren’t Water Fights / Water Wars important?
A. Of course water wars are important! Water blasters are but tools to enable epic water wars to become reality. However, the topics of water warfare, rules, organizing them, etc. are best handled elsewhere. iSoaker.net focuses on the tools behind the sport. While the topic of water warfare will undoubtedly exist in various threads, the focus here is on the role the water blasters, themselves, play as part of the equation. Water warfare is a much broader topic that includes the water blaster, but must also cover the water blaster user, interactions between water warriors, and specific game dynamics. No doubt interesting to many, but not the focus of here.
If you want a place to chat about water warfare, check out the WaterWar.net Forums.
Q. I have plenty of thoughts on what I’d like to see in a water blaster. Shall I share them?
A. The mission of iSoaker.net is to provide a sounding board for looking at what makes a good and what makes a bad stock water blaster. Ideas on what would make a water blaster better or things that should be avoided are definitely welcome.
Q. [Company X] has ruined water blasters! Shall we let the world know?
A. While everyone is entitled to their opinion on manufacturers and retailers, iSoaker.net strives for constructive criticism, not rants. While some aspects of a water blaster are more subjective (i.e. how comfortable or easy a particular model is to use), comments and critiques should be presented as objectively as possible. It is also very easy to think that a manufacturer is failing to meet a segment of market demand. However, this, too, can be presented objectively. If we wish to gain ground in understanding, we cannot simply attack without reason. Rather, continued positive recommendations is our means to our goal.
Q. We’ve been trying for so many years to affect [Company X] with no good results. Why makes you think this will change anything?
A. Only time will tell how effective this is. However, for those who think different approaches are needed, they can do so on their own time and using their own means. Positive reinforcement and constructive criticism are the means I choose to use. You are welcome to join if you agree with this approach. If you don’t, you do not need to participate here; this is a forum that is open to the public, but not a public forum.
Q. Aren’t Homemades and/or Modified Water Guns merely the beginning of the next generation of stock water guns?
A. In one sense, yes. In another sense, no. Homemade water guns as well as modified water guns have the potential to have their features and capabilities translated into a mass-produced stock water blaster. The original Super Soaker began as a homemade water gun. However, there are many other considerations that must be taken into account for this to happen. These early prototypes, while they have value, are too far from the goal of iSoaker.net. I do not wish to get distrated on the technical aspects of building homemades and/or modifying stock water guns, but rather on features and characteristics that we would like to see in the final product. There are many routes to a solution; by focusing on attributes, this will give manufacturers and retailers a better sense of what is desired in the end product.
If you want a place to chat about building homemades and/or how to modify your water guns, check out the WaterWar.net Forums.
Q. But have you actually ever even been able to affect what goes to market?
A. Yes. Many times over. But we have had unforeseen setbacks on trying to bring back the level of water blaster performance that inspired me to build a water blaster website in the first place. Hopefully, though, we are getting closer to reviving that again.
Q. Isn’t this new forum going to divide the community?
A. This forum is not built to be divisive, but built to be focused. As I do not wish to leech members away from currently active communities, I have also opted not to post about iSoaker.net’s re-launch elsewhere, either. Instead, iSoaker.net seeks individuals who share the same interest as I do when it comes to stock water blasters. I also respect that there is much more to water warfare than what I wish to cover in iSoaker.net, but I choose to focus on what interests me the most and leave other subjects to those who can develop those better than I.