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You may have followed the recent kerfuffle that ensued when venerable gun guy Hickok45 was unceremoniously booted from YouTube. Twice. It’s funny how firearms-oriented retailers and publishers tend to be given much less leeway by online media monoliths than more “reputable” content producers like, say, neo-Nazis or soft core porn purveyors [links NSFW]. It’s almost as if we’re not welcome there. Anyway . . .

one of the reasons we should all thank Al Gore for inventing the internet is that, no matter how slanted the big providers may be, new providers with better solutions seem to come along to fill niches just about every day. Along those lines, Hickok45 has made the move away from the don’t-be-evil megaconglomerate’s video hosting service to uber-firearm-friendly Full30.com.

And what a coincidence! TTAG’s in good company because RF and I met up with Full30 main main MAC at the SHOT Show last month and decided that was the place our talkies should live, too.

Now, we don’t have nearly the canon that prolific producers like Hickok45, 22Plinster, Demolition Ranch and others do. But that will change. We’ve got some ideas for moving picture products, and we already have Jeremy S.’s talents. But we want to know, our dear readers, what you’d like to see. Put your imagination to work and let us know what kind of video content you’d like The Truth About Guns to produce.

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103 COMMENTS

  1. I know it would be very expensive to do, but how about launching a new YouTube and call it gun tube?? And let people have their own channels under the Constitution Protected freedoms Like we should anywhere we go.

      • Full30 seems like its going to be a great place for firearms related stuff, especially with other social media becoming less 2A friendly by the day.

        BUT, please, please, please don’t let your new video content lessen your text based content. There are a lot of us that don’t really care about videos that much. There are gun blogs that I don’t read anymore, at all, no clicks, I don’t go there anymore, because they stopped typing and started making videos of some dude just talking into a camera. I have better things to do with my life than watch some fool talk.

        • Yes, I’ve had videos of mine — in some cases the same video — posted on TTAG and posted on other gun blogs, and even though the post itself gets more traffic on TTAG, the video gets less (usually way less). Our readers tend to be just that, readers. Y’all are often on the site at work, and are an older and more educated demographic than most of the firearm-related websites and blogs. I’d be very happy to gear my video content more towards what the TTAG readership specifically wants to see, but there’s no intention of shifting any focus away from the written stuff.

        • Absolutely. Once in a while I’ll watch some firearms-oriented video or another online, but mostly I see it as a much, much slower way to get information. I can read way faster than people can talk. Also, just watching some chump shoot a gun at far away targets is watching-paint-dry boring. So if there’s a particular reason for a video, like to illustrate something for which words or still pictures are inadequate, then sure, make a video. Trick shooting videos can be cool, too. But a “video review” is usually just a way to pack five minutes of information into thirty minutes of stammering.

      • You guys should check out the YouTube Creator Academy lessons. Although you don’t plan on being on the platform, the production and promotion concepts are the same.

        If you SWOT analysis what you do or what to do, you’ll have your answer. The ultimate guage is this: Will your content provide value to the point that your viewers are willing to share what they consume?

      • Instead of doing just another video (single topic) series, you should model it after Top Gear. A given video would consist of several presenters doing something together edited around individual projects. Even include a celebrity interview/challenge segment (such as a small standardized TTAG 3-gun run) to ante up the “broad appeal” factor.
        Does the Stig shoot?

        My 2 cents…
        (A man can dream can’t he?)

        • “How hard could it be…?”
          “Some say he’s….”

          /missing the lads
          Last of the politically incorrect TV.

        • Coming to your Amazon-enabled device soon. They snagged a fair amount of the old staff to go with, so it should be the same (or better, with more money available).

  2. A “Guns For Absolute Beginners” series would probably be a good start. You might get some traction with podcasts, the way GunChannels does.

    I’d love to see interviews/debates with people on the other side. Set up a Hangout or Skype meeting. (I prefer Hangouts because the person hosting the call can mute people who interrupt too often.)

    • This is a great idea. The “not yet people of the gun” could use a gentle liftoff rather than a toss off the diving board into ‘gun culture’ since many who are ‘in the know’ don’t realize just how ‘in’ they speak, talking about NFA, SBR, MM vs .cal, the subjective differences between firing small,lightweight vs large/heavy PD/HD (there I go again) weapons, basic maintenance, “so you bought your first gun, now what?” type of training, dry-fire importance and why not to do it with certain firearms, misconceptions, stuff like that. A million questions answered for a million noobies and of course the 4 rules of firearm safety.

        • Exactly, for those sold by gun store employees (e.g. Glock pistols bought ‘because they are popular’ aka ‘in stock’ not because of extensive personal research)
          To find gun ignorance, one need only ask a couple of simple questions (or be asked, “how many .9mm bullets fit in this clip?”)

    • An early and easy one there should be “automatic vs semi-automatic”, developed with a complete newbie’s input in asking questions, I’ve known the difference for so many decades I could never explain it adequately because I wouldn’t realize things the audience did not already know. I bet most everybody here would admit the same, if you’re honest. The answers are easy, it’s the questions which I would completely miss.

      Oh, and just to be stupid, how about cleaning tips, including products and procedures. How to choose a cleaning rod? Which solvent? I have no memory of who told me. But I have met gunowners who had no idea at all, could not disassemble their own 1911.

      • “Clip” vs. “Mag”?
        “Semi Auto” vs. “machine gun” – that’s for Goldie Whoopberg
        Proper twist rate for heavier bullets?
        How did the Czechs figure out ergonomics so perfectly?
        Glock Fanboys: true shooters or sniffers of Gaston’s man sausage?

    • Without talking down to the noobs, just because your average reader has been able to disassemble /reassemble an ar15 since they were in diapers doesn’t mean everyone can

  3. For some reason (the embedded NSFW links, perhaps?) this post is showing up on RSS feeds as porn for the thumbnail… just a heads-up…

    • Yeah, same here with Feedly reader. Not cool. If you want folks to check in at work (I mean, on breaks at work) stop doing that. Quick path to getting fired in this day and age. Otherwise it will need to come out of the reader and be checked manually if/when I get to it.

      I may not care but the burly HR lady looking for scalps sure does.

  4. For a long time I’ve wanted to see Hickok make the move to Full30. His videos (along with Taofledermaus) were the only reason I’d visit YT. Full30 has since worked out some of the early kinks, and I don’t really mind the short firearm-related advertisements that play before each video. I’m glad to hear that TTAG will be joining Forgotten Weapons, Demo Ranch, MAC, Plinkster, and friends.
    That being said; I’d like to see some footage of TTAG contributors at competitions like Run n’ Gun/etc, interviews & reviews from Texas Firearm Festival/SHOT/etc, muzzle-brake & accessory tests for non-AR platforms, ammo performance tests in ballistic mediums (not just against AR500 plates & melons), and possibly some interviews with TTAG members (i.e. Ralph, Griz, & Dyspeptic Gunsmith).

  5. Videos pointing out hilarious flaws in gun control laws are always fun. Something like a shopkeeper berating an armed robber for bringing a gun into his store (while pointing at a no guns sign). Then the robber sulking out the door empty handed.

  6. Video channels succeed on personality as much as (or more than) content. MAC is no-nonsense, DemoRanch is silly, Hickok45 is old timey. What is TTAG’s angle? I would argue it’s the second T: Truth. For me, I enjoy watching gun reviews and demonstrations, but I think the Truth about guns is your brand.

    • Short, simple, data-driven responses to the most common sladers and fallacies used in Anti-Gun arguements.
      Something calm, professional, and not demeaning to Anti’s – like what AmidstTheNoise used to put out.

      Basically be an easily linkable resource for people who are trying to persuade others.

      • Except not as much talking head. There are lots of videos like that out there. Since TTAG has a mix of personalities, I would encourage them to use their full “cast” and speak conversationally instead of didactically.

  7. I would keep with the theme of the Truth about Guns. So just tell the truth and limit on the opinions. I would First start with a lot of basic stuff so those new to gun ownership would find your site a valuable resource for information and keep coming back.
    Guides and Tutorials
    *Different types of holster.
    *Different ways to handle a traffic stop.
    *How to get into reloading.
    *4 rules of safety.
    *Double vs Single Action.
    *State Specific laws
    *How to get a CCW per state.
    *How to clean and lube various guns.
    *Various DIY Training regimes for at the range.
    Myth testing.
    *What damages a gun the most?
    *Steel vs Aluminum vs Brass for wear.
    *Test Scenarios of mass shootings.
    *Negative effects of not cleaning.
    History
    *How current guns laws came from JIm Crow laws and such.
    *How certain guns were invented and how they progressed over time.

    3D renderings and explanations of how different guns work.

    Most of all keep them short and informative. You can skim an article but a video you pretty much have to watch the whole thing.

  8. None. YouTube already has cute kitten videos covered, and thousands of others (well, dozens and dozens with more by the day) provide more content than anyone can watch on Full30.

    TTAG does “writing” really well. Please stick to that, with videos supplementing reviews only.

    Fewer auto-play ads would be nice, if we are counting those as videos….

  9. If you guys could do like the gun equivalent of top gear that would be awesome. Like, each of you have $300 and 3 days to make a functional gun, or some kind of crazy challenges and stuff mixed with reviews.

    • This is not a half bad idea! Different topics and different budgets could make for many different episodes. Concealed carry guns, 3 gun rigs, long distance rifles, different game hunting setups, etc. Give all the participants the same budget and then compare what they procure with a live fire test relevant to the topic. Then, tell the “truth” about why one rig worked better than others and why.

  10. Please ,no videos. I stopped visiting a lot of my favorite web sites because over time instead of articles they have now just started posting videos. I know the ad money from a video click is probably a lot greater than from an article but I have no interest or time to listen to someone talk about guns, even if it’s just for a few minutes that is a few minutes longer than the 30 seconds it takes me to actually read something.

    • Perhaps a link as an adjunct to a review. But there are a lot of established players in that space, no one could ever watch a fraction of that content already there, and how do you do something different to get noticed, or is it just an extension of the TTAG brand?

      Until people quit reading blogs, I’m unsure why you would compromise this format to compete in one where it’ll be really tough to get eyeballs.

  11. Don’t reinvent the wheel. TTAGs mission is to “explore the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns.”

    The vids should adhere to that mission. It’s all fair game.

  12. I would suggest focusing on producing videos that highlight media bias against and near total ignorance regarding guns and the 2nd amendment. Many people have a strong desire to believe whatever the talking head on TV tells them. We need to help these people see that they are being lied to.

    • No kidding. When Bret Baier (not an enemy of guns) on Fox news announced bald faced that the “bullet button” found on some rifles in CA was a button the manufacturers put on the gun which turned the gun into full auto when pushed, I thought I was gonna crap my pants, and they never did explain how very, very wrong that was.

  13. I enjoy your gun and gear reviews whenever you guys do them, but what I always liked most about TTAG was the thinking side of it. There’s plenty of gun blogs out there and most of them focus “on what is the latest gear”

    I would like TTAG to talk about “how can we defeat the antis and defend our 2A rights” I would like to see videos with more information, stories about defensive gun uses, tactics and methods for engaging non-2a supporters and maybe some techniques or information we can get to persuade them. I also like posts that challenge the Pro-2A community to come up with ideas and share opinions about where we should go as a movement – where’s the important political fight, should we embrace open carry or only support ccw ltc what sort of legal cases are out there that relate to our 2a rights and what can we do to help?

    There are plenty of sites that show the newest gun from xyz company, all shiny and glittery, but I would like to see TTAG continue to do what it does best (IMHO) be the intellectual heart of the pro-2A community.

  14. We (people of the gun) should be creating videos of “average” people that demonstrate just how capable they are of defending themselves and others with a firearm.

    Case in point: there is a video of a young gal (13 years old) who was utterly astounding in a competition (3-gun?) using a full-auto machine gun, shotgun, and handgun. I have used that video at least once in response to gun-grabbers who claim that civilians don’t have the skills of law enforcement and military. This young gal would shoot circles around 95% of all cops and GIs.

    If YouTube ever pulls this video, we need it to be readily available at an alternate location.

    Here is the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZE-EDGw2vo

  15. Some of us love videos and articles both (I can’t get enough of quality articles and vids). Here is what I would like to see:

    – Video reviews to complement the written ones. Size comparisons are especially helpful to actually see (hickok does this well). I get bored with watching him shoot though, same thing every video (yawn).

    – Comparison videos – when shopping, everyone compares the most viable options.

    – Definitely beginner vids. With all the newcomers to firearms, I would love to be able to point friends to vids that can help them get up and running in the knowledge department.

    – How To’s on the basics of gun cleaning, maintenance, safe storage options, and even beginning reloading.

    – Demonstration vids of hardball vs defensive ammo for newbs. I realize shootingthebull410 has some of these but co-opted for newbs with the TTAG brand would be nice.

    – Vids of defensive shootings from the news compiled in one area. Excellent promotion for guns as self-defense. I see pro-gunners share these all the time on Facebook. Video is worth a million words.

    – If you could debate anti-gunners in a way that isn’t schoolyard yelling that could be helpful. Or vid presentations that put forward the best pro-gun arguments to help persuade those on the fence.

    – Vid highlights of politicians that actually are defending the 2A legislatively. Let’s give these guys more exposure and support (and expose the antis).

    – Vids that walkthrough newbies to all kinds of competition and recreational shooting (IDPA, IPSC, cowboy action, long range, etc.). Show people what is out there and how to get started.

    – Vids showing how to educate kids and start them off in firearms safely and in non-intimidating ways.

    – Vids by female instructors speaking directly to women. Many women are intimidated by male instructors and really respond to female leaders.

    – Highlight women competition shooters, instructors, amateur and enthusiasts as much as possible. Give visibility to women in shooting sports and defense as much as possible.

    – Holster and carry options and how to choose what’s best for you.

    – Highlight training classes – what to expect, how to evaluate, etc.

    – Basics of going to a gun range for the first time.

    I’ll stop there 🙂

  16. IMHO, the best videos TTAG has done so far are the scenarios proving/disproving the “Good Guy With A Gun” stopping the Newtown School shooting and Charlie Hebdo shooting. Show us the Truth about ordinary citizens trying to stop mass shootings, carjackings, home invasions, etc. and whether there is a reasonable chance of being successful and what strategies work best. I learned a lot from those scenario videos. Not like the ABC scenarios that were rigged for failure, I want to know the unbiased truth.

    • That would be very difficult. Most mass killers, I am sure, are pretty nuts. But that does not mean they are untrained. A well-trained and experienced nut against an average chl is likely to win. But there are chls who just left the SEALs last month, too. A nut of any level, who does not know such a person is in the area, is likely to lose every time. So much depends on relative experience level, sobriety, etc, it is going to be difficult to even claim “the truth”. The best you can do is no guns equals no opposition to the fruitcakes, they can kill all they want.

  17. How about shows visiting different gunshops, gunsmiths, ranges around the country. Would be good advertising for that particular shop, and show viewers their different talents, specialities. Also their inventory. Would be neat to watch.

  18. I’m. It exactly sure what y’all linked to, or how, but in my news reader, this article’s photo is a rather NSFW shot of a woman. I’m not sure what all I want y’all posting, but that sure ain’t it. I read this site at work.

    • You guys should consider pulling this article temporarily. The thumbnail is a woman completed nude from behind bent over on RSS readers. Something is FUBAR.

    • Fascinating! I’ve been on this thread for around 30 minutes, and the pic now is the same as it was when I got here, Hickock45. If you think that’s a woman, well, don’t let him find out. Are we being hacked? AArgh! I have adblocker, and I do not see the photo you describe. Could that be the difference?

  19. I think that the statists at F-Book really screwed up I expect other statists at Google to soon follow them off the cliff.

    It’s not that they’ll lose very much money or views but it does make it much harder for the government to collect data and watch all of the liberty-minded people they irrationally fear so much. /;-)

  20. In order of preference:
    1) Gun reviews
    2) Gear reviews
    3) Shooting instruction broken into topics
    4) Second amendment supporting videos including factual support

    • Yes, this list and in this order. With the gun reviews, be sure to list negatives (or call them “some may not prefer this” if you are worried about giving criticism) or else they won’t be believable. I enjoy Sootch00’s videos a lot but every single gun gets “two thumbs up” and it is hard for me to place as much value on his opinion as, say, Military Arms Channel’s.

  21. I like the reviews that Jeremy puts up. If Nick is still in the 3-gun scene, I’d like to see links of his vids like he used to do.

  22. Comparison videos are really crucial now. With so many products it can be hard to decide without shooting and carrying the gun first. Reviews are great but sitting all “mid-compact handguns” side by side, for example, and going through strengths and weaknesses, is great. Enjoyable for all levels of the gun world. Very few video channels have videos like this. Hickock and Nutnfancy have a few, but you guys could have access to a broad range of options and help people narrow them down.

    Same for gear like optics, or systems like DI vs Piston.

  23. How to make your own lead styphnate, and homemade primer production.

    How to build your own 3D printer for fabricating your own AR accessories.

    How to fabricate and anneal your own brass for ammo production.

    Making you own cartridges101.

    You know… Useful stuff. More educational than entertaining please.

    It would be awesome if TTAG had a gunsmith do projects for us to watch too. That would be enjoyable.

  24. I have always appreciated the motto “gotta stick to what we do best”. I think it would be awesome to take the different series you incorporate in the blog, i.e. what i carry and why, question of the day, new from, for beginners, etc. and putting them into video form along with the written content would be a great way to start.

    If that goes well maybe you can introduce some TTAG viewer videos in the same way you have TTAG reader posts.

    Just as a personal preference, If you can combine the qualities found in videos from Hickock45, Aaron Cowan from Sage Dynamics, Demolition Ranch, and Mr GunsnGear with the quality of the information we already get from the TTAG team in the blog posts, I think you could produce some awesome content for the website.

  25. 1- a bunch of real life scenarios that a certain firearm would be likely used (added into your gun or gear reviews)

    2- more exposure of elected persons or pop culture persons defending the 2A.

    3- or nothing at all… I enjoy reading your site more than watching most gun vids

  26. Porn.
    On a serious level, there are already quite a few good channels on Full 30. I would not get pigeon holed by topic. The better channels do have good quality videos such as MAC, In Range, Forgotten Weapons, Vickers Tactical, Hickock 45, and some others. Just do what you do well.
    I think the better videos usually are done by Ian McCollum.

  27. A rest vest, jumper cables, an arc welder, a tub of KY jelly, and three midgets………………………oh wait, you said gun related?

  28. I CAN’T WAIT!

    How about some in-depth comparison videos. Pick the top 5 or so widgets in a given category and run them through a semi-exhaustive battery of tests to rank each widget in an attempt to pick the “best.” I’m thinking like the car magazines do when they pit 5 supercars against each other in an attempt to pick the “winner.”

    Imagine a “best concealed carry semi-auto pistol” video. Take the top 5 pistols by sales numbers and pit them against each other. Who would win? I want to know! Imagine a “best custom kydex holster manufacturer” video. Imagine a “best aftermarket magazine” video. How about a “best sling for your rifle.” Or “best lighting option for your pistol,” “…for your rifle,” for your shotgun.” How about picking a specific weapon and outlining what is available in the aftermarket to make the weapon “better.” I had an absolute “blast” outfitting my Benelli M2 Tactical with all manner of cool goodness while ensuring 922r compliance. Don’t focus on stuff that just looks cool. Focus on what works. What if you did some videos with some real “operators” that talk about what they like to add to their weapon system and why.

  29. As an FYI, the image for this post in Feedly is a pornographic image. Thought you should know, I have a screenshot if you’re interested.

  30. Wow guys! I clicked on the link. Decidedly NOT soft-core. If I want porn I’ll go porn. No-don’t care if you do a video channel. Honestly I watch very little on You-tube.

  31. Come on, guys. The image for this post on Feedly is pornographic. You should take this post down until you figure out what’s going on. Not cool.

  32. More open posts like this!!
    Don’t click bait me!
    Maybe a structure like college class. Video and articles for beginners = 101. Articles for average shooters = 201, hunters = 301. Articles for experienced shooters = 401. Or something like that.

  33. Stuff for newbies.
    Maintenance and modification. A lot of the maintenance videos I have watched are poorly done.
    More cartridge/bullet testing like shootinthebull410 does.
    Side by side test of similar guns. Put a Glock 17, an SR9, a Beretta 92, a Springfield 9 fullsize and an S&W 9 fullsize side by side with a quality range test — for example. Or a $600 US AK, a $600 import AK, and a $600 AR side by side.
    Side by side range tests of cheap guns like Taurus and Hi Point. Maybe against Glock.
    Proper stance and sight picture as shown in videos, not still photos, using different weapons. It took me a long time to figure out why I could not get the AK to fire where I thought it should. I finally found a video that a Czech guy did of proper stance and sight picture. Voila — center of target. If you could collect a bunch of these in one place!!
    Tactics for gunfighting or more importantly self-protection. We can’t all go to Gunsite or Frontsight.
    Videos of Take an Anti Out to the Range

  34. If you are going to do long videos, You definitely need to go all out, take tips from other popular shows about material items, like top gear. A standard course of fire with multiple guns, with the “Stig” pro shooter (who all suspect is jerry jerry miculek) would be cool. Funny commentary and cool events for every show.

    Other than that, gun and gear reviews in the TTAG style is always good.

  35. Whatever you do, stay away from anything related to firearms laws/regulations. Y’all have spread some very wrong info in the past.

  36. a/ Make sure the speed up feature is enabled (I like Hickok etc but he’s a lot more interesting at 1.25x or 1.5x than for the real-time 25 minutes…)

    b/ NO SNARK. There’s too much of that here already.

    c/ No repeated comparisons of guns to female body parts that certain writers here clearly have hardly any acquaintance with.

    d/ No dumb-ass comments about Zionism from RF when reviewing Israeli firearms….

  37. I would like to see comparison videos. I see plenty of videos reviewing single guns, but very few “shoot outs”. So it would be nice for me as a consumer to see a head to head comparison of, say, the latest 9mm sub compacts, or full frame .45s. Sort of like a Car and Driver shootout, but with pistols or rifles.

    Another fun thing that I would enjoy seeing are videos of oddball or historically significant guns. Something frsturing a gun that may have been forgotten, or not very well heard of (Deslile carbine immediately springs to mind, but I’m sure there are countless cool pieces to check out.)

  38. Personally, I click elsewhere when reviews or whatnot are in video format. I make exceptions for Mr. Miculek, of course. However I would definitely watch something like a super-cut of Jeremy’s muzzle device round-ups. A couple of rounds out of each, some high speed footage. Paired with some animated graphs perhaps. Stuff like that would be long but worth watching after work with a cold one. That or figure out how to be the Bob Ross of firearm related video.

  39. Whatever you decide on, please add Closed Capitioning (CC) or subtitles for those of us who cannot hear or are watching it at work or such on the DL. Something better than YT has. YT CC/subs are nonsense, nasty and headache inducing. Thank you.

  40. If TTAG starts doing a lot of videos, PLEASE supplement with quality photos. As a professional corporate slacker, I cruise the web a lot during the day. Usually about 6-7 hours. Most big companies, at least, monitor bandwidth. Too many videos will jeopardize the sweet deal I’ve got going here. Its a slug’s life for me! We need video free content.

  41. Personally I would really like to see somebody put together a practical shooting course comparing the various 5.56 rifles:

    1) Full featured AR platform (the ‘scary black rifle’ that is SOooooo much more dangerous than regular rifles)
    2) ‘Compliant rifles’, including AR platform rifles that do not have full features.
    3) The ARES Defense AR rifle (no pistol grip, ‘traditional’ stock/lower)
    4) ‘Traditional’ rifles in the same caliber as the ARs (5.56, but also .308s and larger)

    In court cases over ‘Assault Weapon’ bans the anti-gun ‘experts’ always state that the banned ‘features’ make the rifles more dangerous, and more easy to ‘indiscriminately spray’ bullets. I’d like to see that wild theory actually put to the test. In controlled circumstances.

  42. I’d like to see a video version of the “Armed Citizen File,” which recounts real-life examples of how guns prevented or diminished criminal activity. Actual footage or re-creations would work well. Seems to me we are always playing defense when it comes to owning firearms, forever touting the Second Amendment in general terms but not in the cold reality of the particulars and how actually law-biding citizens are exercising their rights to the benefit of society.

    There is an excellent documentary called “Innocents Betrayed” on Youtube that vividly demonstrates the enormous harm that comes to a nation’s citizens when they are disarmed by tyrannical governments. Nazi Germany is but one of several examples in the past century. It’s an eye-opener. It should be played and replayed at least once a week on a national TV outlet as a reminder of what happens in a society where only the masters are armed and the terrible consequences that ensue when the general population is stripped of the right to defend itself.

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