Since it's start, paintball has been a small industry.  Stores and fields were around, but scarce.  You would see adds in magazines, and you could order via mail or phone orders.  Since paintballs appearance on the internet, it has taken off like wildfire, allowing you access to pretty much anything that has to do with the sport.

Paintball Resources

        In 1994, WARPIG hit the internet, lead by owners Bill and Dawn Mills.  It was the first website to provide coverage of events, technical advice, and basically anything related to paintball.  It basically gave paintball players access to the sport of paintball, brought home conveniently to their computers.  THE MPN followed in 1996, starting off as an email, sent out monthly.  The MPN set out to do the same thing as far as bringing the "latest and greatest" in the paintball industry, tournament, and players for everyone to see, except for the fact that we were one of the first to be international, with over 80% of our staff working outside the continental United States.  Other paintball sources such as Action Pursuit Games, Paintball Games International, PCRI, etc., are became a presence on the internet as well, however, they require a paid subscription.

Stores

        Stores soon hit the internet, bringing a large potential to try and capture on-line sales which can be processed much faster (in most cases) then calling in, or even "snail mailing" an order.  The stores have an advantage by making sales on the internet by being able to update ads, using online "shopping carts", as well as being able to hit paintball players all over the world instead of just locally.  The only thing today, is that there is a lot of competition, which forces many of the smaller stores to either lower their prices (in most cases to prices they cannot make a profit at) or close down.  Dominant sites will usually prevail from there.

Owner's Groups

        "Owner's Groups" as they are referred to made their appearance when players decided to "pool" player who played with the same guns that they did.  Though it was kind of a bizarre idea at first, they have become extremely popular.  Manufacturers of the markers even endorse many of the sites, by making them the "official" site of their particular marker.  Owner's groups have been able to provide players technical advice, ways to meet other players and make new friends in your area, as well as allow players to post pictures of their customized guns for others to see.  Some popular forums are: Shocker Owners Group (SOO), PGP Owners Group (PGPOG), the Angel Owners Group (now OAO), Palmer Owners Group (POG), etc.

Forums

        "Forums" have become quite popular, providing players to post just about anything they like about paintball.  Features, such as, being able to respond to other posts, post images, etc., and having them post instantly, have made forums the method of choice when trying to communicate with one another.  Being able to access them from anyone's computer with Internet access is also another plus.

Rumors and Vulgarity

        A few things which have become problems on the Internet however.  Being that posts, emails, etc. are able to reach others far more quickly than by physically sending them, issues such as rumors, vulgar language and attitudes, etc., have becoming more apparent and accessible.  One rumor which was started a few months back, mentioned the death of a popular paintball player/store owner, which caused widespread concerns within a matter of a few days.  Issues regarding such posts, especially when they regard serious matters such as someone's death, are taken very seriously and shouldn't be joked around with.

        In conclusion, one thing is for certain, paintball, and it presence on the internet, are here to stay.  Things such as being able to play "Virtual Paintball" online, are already around, and it's just a matter of time before you will be able to have some sort of networked paintball simulator created, allowing players to play with others around the world.  The internet has definitely change the way paintball we view paintball today.  Let's hope it does more good than harm...

Sean Takeda
MPN Columnist