A Flag of Caution To MDers

[bigscoop]

I do, however, see a "possible" positive from all this new interest, and that lone positive "could" reside in the increase in related sales and the increase in the general interest in the MDing hobby. The industry in itself is growing and is going to continue to grow for a while, and that growth could be put to good use if it was applied in the right way. Still researching and evaluating the situation but I do think there are some possible windows of opportunity here that could actually strengthen the hobby's overall position in certain areas.

 

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[bigscoop]

bigscoop, are you merely assuming that the person booting the flower-box hunter in the park did so "specifically because of watching a TV show"? Or are you the one assuming this is the reason? Because if someone booting another simply says : “To nip the coming problems in the butt before they get started” does not necessarily mean they are saying this because of a TV show. I've had persons saying things like this to me before, in years past. You know, things like "if we allow you, then we have to allow any other yahoo out here, blah blah".

and you say:

"Had this case happened just a couple of years ago before all this exposure, it would have been completely ignored "

Huh? I challenge you to use the new nifty search function of T'net, and see for yourself if park bootings in the past (yup, even before the TV show) haven't been happening all along (say it isn't so!!). If you doubt me, I'll assemble a list here as long as your arm. But no doubt you'll continue to think that all the current ones are "distinctly" and "only" because of the TV show.

And to the extent that any city or county or state person, anywhere, has got a law idea up their sleeves ONLY because they were up late at night watching this silly show (which I doubt), I still say you're only going to make it worse by making yourself a big red x going around trying to pre-empt things that aren't necessarily on anyone's radar (till you ask).

No Tom, you're the one assuming. The individual I spoke with was the effected park employee. And yes, this type of thing had happened before in the park and the policy was to ignore it and let it be. But that is not the case now because of all the recent exposure as they are now expecting an increase in these type of problems. This came straight from the park people. And here lays another huge problem, too many people advising and acting on pure assumption. I'm not, I made sure of that and I still am. Perhaps you should take the time and do the same?

 

[Tom_in_CA]

scoop, then if this is so, that a park employee stayed up late one night watching this, and this made them h*ll-bent on being watchful for "those evil md'rs" the next day at work, then so be it. Yes, it certainly could happen. There can be a whole host of reasons why a gardener or cop boots someone (whether or not there is any actual specific rule). Granted.

I still maintain though that the greater danger is to think a case like this means:

a) we should run around trying pre-empt things, where no laws or pending laws currently exist (lest we merely put ourselves on the radar, when there was no gaurantee that anyone would ever have cared). Or

b) that this example of yours is representative of all city councilmen, gardeners, cops, mayors, county personell, etc.... I'd venture to say the vast mojority flipped past that channel, in the same way they probably also didn't watch lizard lick towing, the shopping channel, or Sesame street. Yes it can happen (as I said: I wasn't saying this is a good thing).

It's a question of the greater danger. And I know that anytime, for any reason in the past, that someone's come up with the brilliant idea of permits, permissions, clarifications, etc.... they most often regret it and wished they'd left "un-addressed" just that: UN- addressed. If something is not prohibited (specifically) then best left that way. I do not believe this current TV show means that is is necessarily putting an end to all public land, nor do I believe the best solution to that (if it were even true) is to run around and get permits in place. It'll never happen, and all you'll do is get a bunch of "no's" to your pressing question (from people who most likely never gave the matter thought before).

 

[smartmoney]

I had the same post and few days ago and I have to agree with Scoop. We have been on the "unwanted" list for as long as I can remember. I vaguely remember a Lost Treasure article sometime in the mid 80s that touched on some guys night hawking in Civil War battlefields. That cause unwanted attention to our hobby and provided much needed ssecurity to these sites. Then we have the lazy MDer who doesnt like filling in his holes to perfection. A week or two after this discovery in a local park, someone falls and brakes their ankle. An eyewitness says it must have been caused by that guy MDing a few weeks ago. Whether or not the fall was the result of an improperly filled-in hole, the unwanted attention is there thus causing more restrictions. I also firmly believe that where you are in this country plays a huge role. Like I said in my earlier post, the only way to detect in NYC parks is with a permit. Back in the 90s, NYC banned all metal detecting in parks. Then us local folks got really involved and negotiated our way back into the parks, but with rediculous restrictions like "you cant detect within 25' of the dripline of a tree" or you must report anything "significant" including old coins to the parks dept. We need to be aware that changes are taking place as we speak and IMO I dont think we will be freely able to detect in public areas at all in the next 20 years.

 

[bigscoop]

Tom, just to clarify:
A) There is nobody running around trying to preempt anything. With that said, there are a few very involved people discussing the need for a prepared alternative in the event that it might be required. These people do not want to sit around wait until after the fact to be prepared. And I think this action is very wise at this present time. As far as I know, nobody has asked anyone to go about quizzing and questioning lawmakers?
B) You keep going back to representatives watching TV? You're missing the point, they don't need to watch TV because the pressure is already coming across their desk in the form of letters from other representatives. And the case I outlined with the park, that's just one such case of many.

You seem to think that the rest of us were born into this hobby yesterday and I assure you, that's not the case. I've been involved in this hobby since the mid-80's, have written and published articles on the hobby, even had a couple of offers to write books on the subject, and I have contacts who have been doing the same a lot longer then I have. It is through many of these resources, and their resources, that I have been very enlightened in recent weeks. So I'm not speaking blindly in regards to the current, "what's happening today" situation, as you apparently are. Have you, or have you not, even taken the time to watch any of these shows or to investigate the matter more deeply for yourself? As of the other day, you had not. So again, what are you basing your current, up to date, position and opinions on? End of story until you do otherwise, only then will we be able to better discuss the issue in a proactive, productive manner.