Only time I will look down the barrel of a firearm or anything that shoots a projectile is when entire bolt assembly/firing mechanism is out, power source is disconnected in case of airsoft/bb guns and I know for a fact that there was nothing discharged from the said device in the last 10 minutes or so. Call me paranoid but I've seen things and read things done with both airsoft and real firearms.

only time i'll ever look down a barrel of an airsoft gun is when the barrel is detached from it. (for cleaning purposes)

or if I jam my finger between the bolt and the hop up unit with the magazine out

I have to look down the barrel to check nozzle alignment, but I always wear safety glasses when I do it. more so for any particulate or grease that may come out should it shoot.
But realistically, it's not capable of shooting when I do it, so it's purely a paranoid safety precaution.

Safety eyewear is fine for airsoft guns. To get a good look at an airsoft barrel though, you really need to remove it anyways. On many platforms the barrel assembly slides out easily.

Holy smokes, getting the mock silencer back on a LCT Val when you've got the battery plugged in pretty well screams "stare down the muzzle".

https://youtu.be/tnftq3pePtA

Something like this is why I think it's ok to look down the bore. This excludes hang fires of course...

So do we have a consensus here? Should we follow the cfsc teachings or consider safer alternatives?

Interesting thing: for ceremonial rifle inspections, they do seem to be looking down the bore. Of course, all the rifles are cleared and there's no live ammo or mags/clips in (as far as I can tell...) but I guess that just means that's the way they've done it for decades?
Example of it at around 0:45 of this vid of the Arlington Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Changing of the Guard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPgFwrxf9N4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnftq3pePtA

As long as you follow all the steps, looking down the barrel is 100% safe.

You need to remember the rules of firearm handling:
1) Never point a loaded weapon in an unsafe direction.
2) All weapons are loaded until YOU personally verify it is safe.
3) Verifying the barrel is the last step of making it safe. You may use a cleaning rod, if you have one. Failing that, eyeballs will do the job, provided you have -done- -every- -step-.

1. Take out magazine.
2. Visually inspect the magazine.
3. Put magazine in pouch/pocket/dump pouch/your pants etc.
4. Cant your weapon to the side your ejection port (usually right side) is on.
5. Cock the weapon two to three times to clear out any bb's.
5b. On the last cock, hold whatever it is you used to cock it completely far back.
6. While holding the cocking device ie; charging handle, cant the weapon over to the other side so you can look into the chamber and see if there are any other bb's left behind.
7. Release the charging handle and let it slide forward on its own.
8. Choose a safe place to point your weapon, then fire it to clear out any bb that may somehow have passed your expert inspection.
9. Close the dust cover of your weapon.
10. Wind your scope down to zero.
11. Place weapon down with dust cover side of receiver facing up (to mitigate dirt from getting in).
12 (optional). Perform a functions test on your weapon afterwards.
13. Bonus points to anyone who thinks this procedure sounds familiar.

Just my 2 c's: remember airsoft guns are very different from real guns.
To clear airsoft AEG's I use the following steps: remove magazine, point in a safe direction and fire three rounds (this makes sure there are no BBs in the hop area), remove battery and secure in case.
For GBBs: remove mag, rack action three times with the barrel pointing up (BBs stuck in hop will fall out), point in safe direction and fire once to uncock hammer, secure in case.
For springers: remove mag, cock action once and fire in a safe direction. Secure in case.
Don't compare these procedures to RS ones, please. This is airsoft. :)