https://neilzone.co.uk/2025/09/what-if-i-dont-want-videos-of-my-hobby-time-available-to-the-entire-world/

Neil's blog

What if I don't want videos of my hobby time available to the entire
world?

2025-09-29

I am very much enjoying my newly-resurrected hobby of Airsoft.

Running around in the woods, firing small plastic pellets at other
people, in pursuit of a contrived-to-be-fun mission, turns out to be,
well, fun.

I have also had to accept that, for some other players, part of that
fun comes from making videos of their game days, and uploading them
to YouTube.

They often have quite impressive setups, with multiple cameras -
head, rear-facing from barrel of weapon, and scope cam - and clearly
put time, money, and effort into doing this.

Great! Just like someone taking photos on their holidays, or when out
and about, I can see the fun in it.

It is the "non-consensually publishing it online for the world to
see" aspect which bugs me a bit.

In the handful of games that I have played, no-one has ever asked
about consent of other participants.

There has been no "put on this purple lanyard if you don't want to be
included in the public version of the video" rule, which I've seen
work pretty well at conferences I have attended (even if it is
opt-out rather than consent).

I could, I suppose, ask each person that I see with a camera "would
you mind not including me in anything you upload, please?". And,
since everyone with whom I've spoken at games, so far anyway, has
been perfectly pleasant and friendly, I'd be hopeful that they would
at least consider my request. I have not done this.

The impression I get is that this is just seen as part and parcel of
the hobby: by running around in the woods of northern Newbury on a
Sunday morning, I need to accept that I may well appear on YouTube,
for the world to see.

I don't love it, but it is not a big enough deal for me to make a
fuss.

Other notes

I occasionally see people saying "well, if you don't want to be in
photos published online, don't be in public spaces".

This is nonsense, for a number of reasons. Clearly, one should be
able to exist in society, including going outside one's own home,
without needing to accept this kind of thing.

In any case, here, the issue is somewhat different, since it is a
private site, where people engage in private activity (a hobby).

But then I've seen the same at (private) conferences, with people
saying "Of course I'm free to take photos of identifiable individuals
without their consent and publish them online".

Publishing someone's photo online, without their consent, without
another strong justification, just because they happen to be in view
of one's camera lens, feels wrong to me.

This isn't about what is legal (although, in some cases, claims of
legality may be poorly conceived), but around my own perceptions of a
private life, and a dislike for the fact that, just because one can
publish such things, that one should.

[Updated] Some more notes

  * I'm just blogging. Sharing my thoughts. I'm not trying to set
    anyone's policy, demand that anyone takes anything down or stops
    doing anything, or change anyone's view.
  * I am in the UK. Different places may well have different norms,
    laws, and expectations. But this is just about something which
    bugs me a bit, not what the legal rights and wrongs might be.
    Plus, I don't think that anyone (that I've seen so far) is doing
    this meanly or nefariously. This is just part of the fun for
    them, and fun is important.
  * Yes, biodegradable BBs are available, although it is not a site
    requirement, and the site shop does not sell them. I have used
    them a couple of times, and I haven't found them to shatter on
    impact as much as (non-biodegradable) tracer BBs. I tend to buy
    BBs from the site's own shop, to support them.
  * Yes, I wear two-part face covering; goggles/glasses (depending on
    the heat and humidity), and a lower face and ear mask. I prefer
    this to a full face mask. But players are still pretty obviously
    distinguishable, given differences in loadouts, patches they
    wear, and people shouting names. Few people wear face coverings
    in the "safe zone" (where one rests, eats/drinks, chats, loads up
    etc.), which are sometimes included in videos.
  * vim over emacs ;)
  * waves at everyone from HN. Thanks for a pleasant,
    thought-provoking, discussion, with numerous different
    perspectives.

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