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Why We Have Posted That Warning on Our Message Board...
It starts like this... a person posts on one of our message boards "Hi! My names it [blank] and I want to go on a ghost hunt at [blank]! Who wants to go?"
Then, one of our board moderators has to post up a message that says something along the line of "That's great but please note: This hunt [or whatever] is not an official GHRS event and people that attend or participate are doing so at their own risk and the GHRS researchers, directors and investigators can not be held responsible for any issues that may happen during this event/hunt/investigation/whatever."
People have gotten very upset when we've done this. They feel it is an attack on them for posting... This is not true and I'd like to explain why... First, here's the common arguments/misconceptions that people assume when we post these warnings...
#1: The GHRS wants to keep private investigators or groups down and save all the fun for themselves.
This argument is poppycock. If you look through our courses, "how to" documents and information on equipment, we openly ask and suggest private and personal investigation and really hope people will be interested in looking into the paranormal without the GHRS "banner" behind them. We not only promote but strongly suggest such activities in all of our editorials provided they are done legally, safely and, as we often say, with great respect for "the living" ahead of anything else. (Granted, respect for the departed is also a good idea but, in all honesty, the living *must* come first!)
#2: The GHRS does not like people doing things that don't make them money/fame/whatever.
Again, this is completely incorrect. We appreciate and look at all data collected by anyone and when private or small groups look into things, all of us benefit provided it is done well and the findings are well laid out. Also, since our group is completely non-profit and, again, by reading our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) and our editorials, you'll note that media and "fame" are not high on the list of things we are aiming to get for ourselves nor is money with investigations.
#3: The GHRS does not like people doing things other than "their" way.
Again, not true! The only thing we're sticklers for is don't hoax, don't break the law and be respectful and safe. As for investigations and methods, we again all need to learn. If you believe that waving a "Dustbuster"(TM) in the air at a haunted place helps, all we ask is if you're using our site as a 'springboard', explain why and be honest with your findings. If the "Dustbuster"(TM) yields nothing, tell us! If it yields much, let us know too. We all need to learn! (But, be warned... we will ask "Why?" and even non-GHRS people on the board may disagree or correct you if they have evidence or ideas to the contrary... This is not an attack, it is simply trying to figure out the best ways to do the job of data collection.)
#4: The GHRS does not want non-GHRS people to do investigations using the GHRS name(s).
This one is absolutely true. Sorry, but, all GHRS researchers, directors, investigators have either gone through our course, exam and some testing or have been "hand selected" by a director for reasons of special skills or abilities. We (all of us) have worked hard since 1997 to forge relationships with many historical boards, educational facilities and even, in some cases, local governments which we strive very hard to maintain. This does not mean we're worried about "you" messing this up for us, it may not be you but, I'm sure you've met or read information from some ghost groups/haunters/investigators/researchers who very well could cause trouble by storming into a historic site somewhere saying "Hi! I'm with GHRS and I want to look into this place *now*!"
Like I said, the above may not be "you" but if we let everyone do this, eventually, one of those "bad" people will cause trouble.
How would you like it if I went to a friend of your's home and said "Hi! I'm here on behalf of [you] and I'm going to be a guest!"
Imagine if I caused any issues?
As stated, GHRS researchers, investigators and directors are all trained and have proven that they are exceptional in the field and have earned the right to use the name and the connections we've made through our friends and partners. We admit, we're a little proud and on our own "lilypads" about our abilities and what we've done and *only* those people listed on our sites' "About Us" or "Staff" pages can do anything saying they are truly with the GHRS.
Sadly, our group(s) only recruit every so often. If you wished to join our group, please click here and read through carefully.
Right now, in some of the GHRS locations, there's a chance that other would-be ghost hunters may be responsible either by accident or design for some unfortunate acts that are still ongoing police investigations. Needless to say, these are *not* GHRS people and we need to make sure that our group is kept away from these situations. I'm sorry if some people feel that's being 'elitist' but, again, we cannot afford to be cast into a possible criminal investigation because of other non-GHRS would-be "ghost hunters".
#5: You're suppressing my right to free speech!
I know, some of you are reading this saying "What? What has free speech got to do with anything?" and, well... you're right.
The GHRS message boards are *not* public. They are private and have rules that must be obeyed. The statutes of "Free Speech" only apply to the press (which does not mean that if you write a letter or message to the editor, it's a given that it will be published... it's just the right for the editor/producer of the documents to state their point without fear of repercussions provided it is within "community standards"... look it up!) and public forums (...again, within "community standards").
We are not a public forum. We are a private forum that the public are welcome to. We have stated, very clearly on our pages, provided you adhere to our simple rules of conduct, we will not delete, edit or modify any posting (click here to see these rules) and welcome anyone to post!
So, please, we are *not* trying to repress you, we're simply insuring that board rules are adhered to and that our responsibilities to the members and visitors to our sites are met as moderators of this board.
Now, with these facts in mind, here is the other reason we post these warnings...
Although the vast majority that post messages such as these I'm sure are very trustworthy and good, we have had a couple of instances in the past where folks have been lured out under false pretenses. In one case, a young girl was lured out to a "ghost hunt" by someone from our board and was put in a very uncomfortable situation which, thankfully, just ended with a scare and the girl going home post haste from the man's apartment that lured her in. The young lady was *very* upset and with very good reason and wrote to us about the experience.
It very easily could have been a very, very bad situation and luckily(?) was simply "uncomfortable".
On another case, a group of young ghost hunters were arrested for various reasons and, when asked, the "leader" of this group had told the others that he was working with the GHRS. When contacted by the police, we had to tell the truth that this person was not one of our researchers. (The fact that he "flipped out" some sort of I.D. badge that said he worked with us helped as we don't issue I.D. badges and simply use names-to-"About Us" page-to-personal identification. In other words, if someone says they work "for us", check the site's "About Us" or "Staff" page and then, if still unsure, ask for personal identification.)
As for the police, who, in that area, we were lucky knew us (many of them had read the web site) laughed and more or less said "Yeah, we thought so..." and that was the end of it for us from them but, we did receive a couple of bitter e-mails from some of the young folks who were arrested who didn't understand why "we" would allow this fellow that arranged the "illegal ghost hunt" work for us... It was sad and funny when we said he wasn't with us.
These incidents (mostly, and appropriately, the first one more so) were used in an excellent article by our sister group, ParaResearchers which can be read by clicking here.
We have had people who find out about these situations and have said "But I'm a female and I'm not trying to lure out girls so this does not apply to me." or "I'm a respectable guy! I wouldn't do things like that!"
This statement puts me (or whoever the board moderator who posts the warning online) in a very nasty situation of saying "Via the web, I don't know who you are so we cannot take this chance."
This makes sense to *most* people but some assume we should just know and accept that *they* are okay. I hope most folks realise that this kind of blind faith can be legitimately fatal.
In essence, although one would assume this is *not* the case, the GHRS *could* be held responsible for any outings undertaken by people using our resources that end up in a bad way. In other words, god forbid, if someone is hurt or is put in a bad situation, regardless of how they ended up in it, if we don't post up something to say "If you're going to this private person's event/investigation/meeting/hunt/whatever, it has noting to do with us." We *can* be held legally responsible for any issues that may come up. This is a liability we cannot afford to take.
There are exceptions, of course... If one of our partner groups or friends post up an event or whatever, there's no issues but, please note, they will say "We [whoever they are] are presenting our event!" or the like and because they have a long-standing relationship with us or, because they give a URL where they take responsibility for their own event, we do not need to place a warning.
So, if you're interested in trying your hand at organizing a group to go out and do something using our board, you *can* avoid the trouble and the warning by simply stating *clearly*...
"We're/I am trying to organize something outside the normal GHRS and not an official event through them, but..."
or...
"We're/I am doing this and, although the GHRS is not involved officially, I'd like to invite people to..."
Something like this is great and we, again, honestly appreciate it.
So, if you're one of the people that posted up a notice on one of our boards and wondered why we've put up that "warning" or disclaimer, again, although it's almost a "given" that you are not one of the nastier people out there, because they do exist, we cannot make exceptions and yes, the warning must go up for our own protection.
Hey, it's been a rule on our "board rules" since day one... click here and note "Rule #11".
I do hope this document helps and answers those questions from those who have wondered "Why the warning?"
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©1997-2005 - GHRS - Ontario 100632991
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