Hello,
I’m not typically an advocate of PC stuff, but in the case of the word/term shooter in a school environment maybe we should pick something else. How about calling it a launcher or, in the case of 2020 Infinite Recharge game, maybe an energizer would work.
For your perusal, this issue has been discussed. If I remember correctly, the consensus is that you can change it, but it starts at a pretty individual level.
Since our T-Shirt cannon has been popular at school for many years, I think we are good. 
But I hear ya.
I guess if you had the wrong person hear something at the wrong time it could cause an issue but something like that seems so unlikely that keeping the shooter terminology is a none issue.
Shooter, at least in FIRST, is a term that is widely accepted (and inoffensive) and used to describe something. IMHO, it doesn’t need to be removed from the FIRST lexicon just like French classes shouldn’t be prevented from using the French word “retard”.
That being said, no one is going to be upset with someone else calling it a launcher, and I am not particularly attached to the current terminology. Though, I don’t think I’ll make an active attempt to change which one I use.
@Brandon_Martus while we are on the topic of words, perhaps the French word I mentioned above should be on the banned word list for manual confirmation? Mods may have gotten to it quickly, but it seemed to never be hidden.
If you want to remove the word “shooter”, using the specific mechanism name would probably be the easiest to switch to since people already use them within mechanical discussions. Flywheel and catapult are inoffensive as far as I am aware.
fwiw: “retard” also has a neutral English meaning (pronounced differently than the slur) - eg “these chemicals retard the spread of fire; they are fire retardant”
If we stop using the word shooter, we should stop using the word hanging when talking about climbing. Saying “Is hanging worth it?” while walking through the halls is sure to turn heads, possibly a visit to the principal’s office.
This post is sarcastic, for anyone who couldn’t easily tell
It would by my contention that the words do not mean the same thing.
When I think of a ‘launch’, I think of ‘launching’ a boat or a space rocket…you impart energy to it so it leaves the starting place, but isn’t directed carefully…it might be steered carefully after the launch.
When I think of ‘shoot’, I think the implication is it has a very specific trajectory when leaving the starting point and that will result in it going somewhere very specific with no further interaction. A bullet. A laser. Not a jon-boat.
Fine, don’t say ‘shooter’ if you don’t want to. You can say “catapult” or “pitching machine.” But I don’t think these words are completely interchangeable.
And we’ve done exactly this same string before.
It probably been a year since shooters were discussed. Those threads are probably locked by now.
That’s why I mentioned the manual confirmation, so that the proper uses aren’t prevented.
As I suggested in the other thread, just append a descriptor in front of the word “shooter.”
“Flywheel shooter”
“Ball shooter”
“Power cell shooter”
Etc.
To be grammatically correct (GR). Shooter should refer to the driver and not to the device launching the projectile.
- a person who shoots with a gun, bow, etc.: efforts to capture the shooter.
- a gun (often used in combination): a six-shooter.
- a person who shoots a ball, puck, etc., at a goal.
- a thing that shoots: The meteor shower had many bright shooters.
- a marble used to shoot at other marbles in a game.
- a person who sets off explosives in oil-drilling operations.
- Informal. a professional or amateur photographer.
- first-person shooter.
Or my personal favorite:
a shot of hard liquor (such as whiskey or tequila)
This brings back a memory of being in the airport on the way to a regional:
“Hey, did you remember the BOM?!”
heads turn
No worries, just call Team 16 and they’ll help you with that…
Don’t most people call throwing a basketball up toward the basket a shot? And the player doing that is shooting? And isn’t basketball played in and talked about in schools?
Side topic, but “retard” is also used in the automotive industry inoffensively. Eg. “retarding belts/chains” or “retarding cams”