Question about Forums

[Mace2124]

Hi, earlier today I posted a topic about some antennas in North Dakota and it got removed. I got an email from the owner saying it isnt proper ettiquite or something. I have no idea why anyone would complain about a post like that? Dont u agree it would be awsome to see someone base jump from the tallest man made structure?

[baseninja]

No, it would be cooler to do it yourself... At 2,000ft, it should be just like a skydive...

Now go away...

[pringles]

I just looked and it isn't listed in the rules and acceptable use policy. It was probably overlooked. However site naming and detailed directions to a site can be very taboo. This probably falls under common sense in the rules. But apparently what may be common to some might not be to others. Maybe Mick will have to make this addition to the rules.

[Mace2124]

I still dont seem to understand but I always thought base jumpers were like crazy guys. Seems like it would be pretty cool to be the first person to jump off the worlds tallest man made structure.

[pringles]

Also taken from the rules page.

1. Don't feed the trolls

[Mac]

I just looked and it isn't listed in the rules and acceptable use policy. It was probably overlooked. However site naming and detailed directions to a site can be very taboo. This probably falls under common sense in the rules. But apparently what may be common to some might not be to others. Maybe Mick will have to make this addition to the rules.

The degree of the site naming policing is under discussion at the moment. As you say its a common sense thing, but your right some written rule about the boundries is needed and will soon appear.

I have no idea why anyone would complain about a post like that? Dont u agree it would be awsome to see someone base jump from the tallest man made structure?

The point is that you dont know that someone has not spent months and months gaining the entrance to this object and jumps it without being known. Just because its not general knowledge or high profile because of the nature of the object does not mean that it is not jumped - (for information I am not an American so I can not say whether the object in this case is or is not). Drawing attention to such things is not beneficial to people. The time and effort people put in to jumping objects can be unbelievable. Email me if you want to discuss this further.

dont feed the trolls

Sometimes "troll posts" really are just innocent curious people that dont know alot about the sport.

[Skinflicka]

I still dont seem to understand but I always thought base jumpers were like crazy guys. Seems like it would be pretty cool to be the first person to jump off the worlds tallest man made structure.

Can you imagine how bad it would suck if you were jumping this object regularly without a problem and suddenly you get busted by a local cop who read this post?

That's why we don't name sites publicly.

I admire your spirit, however, so in future if you want to inform everyone of a site please pm us all individually with the details.

Thanks for caring,

Skin.

[Tom Aiello]

Hi, earlier today I posted a topic about some antennas in North Dakota and it got removed. I got an email from the owner saying it isnt proper ettiquite or something.

I removed the post. Actually I linked to a long discussion on the topic. Did you have a chance to read it? I thought it did a pretty good job of explaining the issue. Here are the most relevant parts:

In public discussion, especially on-line discussion, I avoid naming BASE jumping sites.

Inquiries about sites serve as the primary gatekeeper of the BASE community. If a prospective jumper has to locate experienced jumpers to learn about sites, there is a far greater chance that they will receive instruction (of any kind) and use appropriate gear. If a site is publicized, pretty much anyone can run out and throw himself off of it. He can jump with no training, with improper equipment and with no supervision. This is a recipe for disaster, and has resulted in multiple accidents, including more than one fatality.

Any discussion of a site can easily be held by referring to the site descriptively, rather than by name or location. It is easy to discuss "the Bridge Day site" or "the popular terminal wall in Northern Italy" for example, and using such labels detracts nothing from a technical discussion.

Accidents occur at legal sites, as well as illegal ones, and this reasoning applies equally to either. In fact, the majority of BASE fatalities have occurred at legal sites. The ease of access to these sites, as well as the frequency of accidents, argues, if anything, for greater site secrecy at legal sites.

Some BASE jumpers feel that preventing accidents is important because it keeps sites open for jumping (whether legal or illegal). This concern is a distant second to preventing injury.

Refraining from naming sites is quite easy, and the potential costs of naming them are huge. Why take the chance?

I have no idea why anyone would complain about a post like that?

It boils down to a few main points. Let's recap:

1) Preventing accidents: Folks without proper knowledge can find sites named in such a post quite easily (you pretty much gave directions, in yours). Anyone with a skydiving rig (heck, anyone with a big hefty bag) who fancies themself a BASE jumper could easily drive out there and chuck themself off of it. The odds for potential injury in this situation are _huge_.

2) Protecting the site: Easily available knowledge of a site has a high potential of resulting in police or owner action (as a result of various things) that make it harder for jumpers to continue accessing the site.

3) Respect: Many sites have local jumpers who you (and I) may not know. It is massively disrespectful to invite people to come jump a site that has been quietly, and respectfully maintained by local jumpers for years.

Dont u agree it would be awsome to see someone base jump from the tallest man made structure?

I have seen it. Just because you haven't seen it and it isn't on TV doesn't mean it hasn't happened. As an aside, I'm far from convinced that the tower you named (which has been jumped multiple times to my certain knowledge) is actually the tallest man made structure. Every time someone claims they've found the tallest/lowest/best/most difficult/whatever BASE jump, it only takes a short time before someone else finds one taller/lower/better/etc.

[Tom Aiello]

I still dont seem to understand but I always thought base jumpers were like crazy guys.

I think you've been suckered into the TV myth of BASE jumpers.

We're definitely _not_ crazy guys. I know many BASE jumpers who don't smoke pot, have long hair, or say "dude". The stereotypes you may have seen in movies and television are pretty much just stereotypes. Some jumpers find them just as offensive as stereotypes of black people as criminals, asians as computer nerds, or attractive women as unintelligent.

In point of fact, the jumpers I know include: a US Marshall, a US government lawyer, a World Bank employee, a stockbroker, a dentist, an emergency room doctor, and many other perfectly respectable people.

While we are friends, and within our community, we sometimes (often?) call each other nuts, it offends me every time someone who is not a jumper stereotypes us in this manner.

I am a 32 year old married man. My wife and I own a home, vote (Republican or Libertarian, usually), pay taxes, and have a household income in 6 figures. My neighbors like me, I play with children, and I hold backyard barbecues for my friends. I am, in short, a respectable member of society.

BASEjumper.org, a UK BASE site and discussion board, has this to say about who we are. I think it's a good final note for this little tirade of mine:

Contrary to popular misconception the sport is not full of "Point Break" adrenaline junkies. There is a wide cross section of society that enjoy the quest for a feeling of freedom like no other. Soldiers, solicitors, IT consultants, plumbers and students alike all participate in "stepping over the edge".

[Mace2124]

Well you have said people have base jumped this location. Why wouldn't you film it or take pictures? An infamous jump like that would be great for viewers to watch, and dont give me any crap about the law, etc. there not going to do anything so stop being such babies and saying you might get busted by the cops when the nearest cop station is about 40 miles away. All you crazy ass jumpers need to get out there and do it, damn.

[zennie]

Well you have said people have base jumped this location. Why wouldn't you film it or take pictures? An infamous jump like that would be great for viewers to watch, and dont give me any crap about the law, etc. there not going to do anything so stop being such babies and saying you might get busted by the cops when the nearest cop station is about 40 miles away. All you crazy ass jumpers need to get out there and do it, damn.

Most definitely a troll.

Go back to your cave.

[mknutson]

Let me give you my laundry list of site naming issues:

1. A non-base jumper get a wild hair and decides they know that 2,000' is just like a skydive and gets exact directions to a site, jumps with a Sabre and a collapsible PC. Then of coarse tows the PC into the dirt. THIS HAS HAPPEND!
2. A low time jumper with little or no etiquette finds this jump and starts filming during the day. Then after the fcc gets a view of it on Real TV, the federal laws come down hard on the locals that jump unseen for a time. So you basically set a trap for the respectable jumpers.
3. Just like Mac said, law enforcement reads this forum and has for years. So by saying things here, you will definitely get heat.

With all the bad things that can happen with site naming, when someone screws up, you make EVERY base jumper look bad!

Another thing very important:
Postings do not get deleted ever!!!!!!
Reguardless of anything that may have happened in the past, for the last 6 months, no posting has been deleted! Postings get moved to a private forum that only the moderators are allowed to see. I saw the posting just a minute ago, and agree with Toms choice.

Mac was also correct that we are going to be revising the site naming rules for this site very soon.
We want to allow some site naming, but we need to be caureful about how we go about that. I have been in base for 12 years, trust me there are many issues! These rules are for the entire sport! not just for some power trip and some might think.

We all do this for the love of base. We want to base to prosper, not implode!
And when a base brother or sister gets busted, we all morn, and all suffer.

Stay safe, stay smart, stay alive!

Hi, earlier today I posted a topic about some antennas in North Dakota and it got removed. I got an email from the owner saying it isnt proper ettiquite or something. I have no idea why anyone would complain about a post like that? Dont u agree it would be awsome to see someone base jump from the tallest man made structure?

[Tom Aiello]

Just because you haven't seen them doesn't mean that no pictures or video were taken.

Well you have said people have base jumped this location. Why wouldn't you film it or take pictures?

A better question would be, why _would_ you film or take pictures? Some folks are actually in the jumping for the jumping itself, believe it or not.

An infamous jump like that would be great for viewers to watch

Why, exactly? What would make that particular terminal tower jump any better or worse than any other? Believe me, I've made many jumps from towers over 1800'. They all start to blur together sooner or later.

Personally, I'd prefer that the general public see awesome, inspiring legal jumps. Otherwise, we just get more random people assuming they know who we are, and what we do, and treating us accordingly.

and dont give me any crap about the law, etc. there not going to do anything so stop being such babies and saying you might get busted by the cops when the nearest cop station is about 40 miles away. All you crazy ass jumpers need to get out there and do it, damn.

Right. I'm sure that the law wouldn't care about any of that. I guess you'd better hurry out and do it then, to show us how crazy your ass is.

[monkey1031]

it's not so much the cop.
it's the farmer who will shoot you with his 12 gauge.
and, no. that is not a joke.

if you ever want to find out how "crazy" we are, why don't you come spend an afternoon helping me rake my lawn, carry out the garbage, or hey - if you hurry, my girlfriend is studying tomorrow for an exam and I get to clean the house! Then, right after that, now hold on to your socks for this one.... I'm gonna (gawd, I can hardly contain myself here) walk the dog! It's almost like the adrenaline is being fed into my vein with an I.V.! Now, if you think that's enough fun for one afternoon... my basement flooded in the rain we had this week (now follow me here) yes, the SAME RAIN as you had this week.... and I get to steam clean the carpets.

Read the posting rules.
Stop being a ninny.
Go spend 6 years trying to gain access to something -and then- let me come up behind you while you're trying to be very quiet as to not alert anyone to anything you may be doing (which, by the way, wouldn't ever hurt anyone but yourself) and ever so gently, I'll pull out a megaphone and some strobelights and ask you how it's working out.



smd7