A new Code of Ethics for the hobby

What do you feel would be good to be included in a Code of Ethics for the hobby. When people refer to " The " Code of Ethics they are really just referring to a fantasy as no one knows where an original one came from and there are countless versions around. Everyone is not going to agree on what should be included in one but I hope we all agree that detecting should be done ethically. Just food for thought and trying to get a general consensus as to what people feel would be beneficial to the hobby if they followed "a" Code of Ethics. I'm talking about the hobby here rather than the sport so if you engage in both please post what you feel is best for the hobby.

As a starting point--

1-I will not treat the hobby as a sport.
2-I will try to minimize exposure of the hobby to those who may not understand it.
3-I will not ask to detect public property when I can look up the laws for myself.
4-I will not confuse a law with a code,ordinance, or opinion that is not specific to detecting as a hobby.
5-I will not hinder discussion that may be beneficial to the hobby.

I like # 3.....the rest are corny.

Kemper,
The whole hobby vs. sport thing is getting old. It is, quite obviously, a distinction that is important to you. Cool. But, IMO, is no reason to re write the code of ethics for metal detecting. Be it a hobby, sport, or activity.

Dean

bado1 Wrote:
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> Kemper,
> The whole hobby vs. sport thing is getting old. It
> is, quite obviously, a distinction that is
> important to you. Cool. But, IMO, is no reason to
> re write the code of ethics for metal detecting.
> Be it a hobby, sport, or activity.
>
> Dean


There is no " the " code of ethics to re write. Evidently there was a code that has been rewritten many times to suit whatever a person wanted to portray when they used a version. If a person feels they are being ethical by using any one that is floating around that could be a bad thing to the new person to the hobby. I think it is important for them to know there is no official " Code of Ethics " I don't think we need an official version but I think it is good to see what the hobby community feels is important since one is often referred to.

The code of ethics was made to save the hobby. It was printed in metal detecting magazines to get dumb ass people to wise up. At the time metal detecting hobbyists were being booted from public places left and right. Without the peer pressure everyone would be stuck to private land detecting by now. The rules are a guide line for us all. They are not the law. They are not commandments. They probably need to change to keep up with modern day dumb asses. Remember at one time we had access to Civil War battle fields, State Park swimming holes, and many Schools. I got a few for a new list.

Do not detect school yards during school or events. You will scare the hell out of everyone including the law.
Do not detect cemeteries. You give off a shitty appearance.

goodmore Wrote:
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> The code of ethics was made to save the hobby. It
> was printed in metal detecting magazines to get
> dumb ass people to wise up. At the time metal
> detecting hobbyists were being booted from public
> places left and right. Without the peer pressure
> everyone would be stuck to private land detecting
> by now. The rules are a guide line for us all.
> They are not the law. They are not commandments.
> They probably need to change to keep up with
> modern day dumb asses. Remember at one time we had
> access to Civil War battle fields, State Park
> swimming holes, and many Schools. I got a few for
> a new list.
>
> Do not detect school yards during school or
> events. You will scare the hell out of everyone
> including the law.
> Do not detect cemeteries. You give off a shitty
> appearance.

You make some very good points and I agree with the 2 codes you posted. On the point of "peer pressure" I think that is important in the detecting community. Does far more good than trying to organize us in any official way. If enough people give someone a hard time for doing something stupid and/or harmful to the hobby there is a good chance they will stop.

I've seen where people tried to use a code of ethics in a way to push their view and justify their view by making the person think they were going against " the " code if they didn't agree. A new person to the hobby could very well fall victim if they thought there were actually a " Code of Ethics " that everyone follows. I know of a detecting website that has 20 listed as " The Code of Ethics "

#6 Just hunt your own yard,but get permission from the owner,I.e wife.
#7 Boats and boobies

------------"Cz's still bad to the bone".------------
Living on a big ass Astroid.
The woman that got my rib,I want it back.

supertraq Wrote:
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> #6 Just hunt your own yard,but get permission from
> the owner,I.e wife.
> #7 Boats and boobies


I better not touch those. ( or tell you if I do )

Didn't I tell you that I was building a boat, a big boat, a beautiful boat --the Kemper boa... never mind. Wrong forum.

#8 dont feed trolls

Kemper94-

Yes, there are a few good versions of the "metal detecting code of ethics" in print as Goodmore mentioned. Pretty common sense stuff that should be passed on to newbies. Habits that we should all employ so that we don't lose any more privileges. Unfortunately, a few dumb asses, that do not have the capacity for common sense, can ruin it for all of us. This doesn't just apply to metal detecting- hunting ,fishing, etc.

You mention in your original post that, "you are talking about the hobby here not the sport". As if there is a difference between the two and a different set of ethics for both. It doesn't matter what you want to call it! Trying to make some sort of ambiguous distinction between the two with a different set of "rules" just complicates things.

One thing that should be added to your list is- "Use common sense". Unfortunately, it is a commodity that is in short supply...which is why the "code of ethics", as non- existent as they may seem to you, was created.

Dean

bado1 Wrote:
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> Kemper94-
>
> Yes, there are a few good versions of the "metal
> detecting code of ethics" in print as Goodmore
> mentioned. Pretty common sense stuff that should
> be passed on to newbies. Habits that we should
> all employ so that we don't lose any more
> privileges. Unfortunately, a few dumb asses, that
> do not have the capacity for common sense, can
> ruin it for all of us. This doesn't just apply to
> metal detecting- hunting ,fishing, etc.
>
> You mention in your original post that, "you are
> talking about the hobby here not the sport". As if
> there is a difference between the two and a
> different set of ethics for both. It doesn't
> matter what you want to call it! Trying to make
> some sort of ambiguous distinction between the two
> with a different set of "rules" just complicates
> things.
>
> One thing that should be added to your list is-
> "Use common sense". Unfortunately, it is a
> commodity that is in short supply...which is why
> the "code of ethics", as non- existent as they may
> seem to you, was created.
>
> Dean


Treating metal detecting as a hobby can be quite different than treating it as a sport. If metal detecting is treated as the unique hobby it is, it wouldn't matter which it is called. If calling it a sport causes some to treat it as one that is a big problem. I agree that common sense should be used.
As for your statement-- " as non- existent as they may
> seem to you," I don't know where you got that from. I am well aware of the various codes out there and it is a point of mine that others should be aware of the countless versions. If I made one up as many others have done, I would clearly label it as " My Code of Ethics " and would not give an impression that it was one that is accepted by the community.

Common sense and the KISS theory should apply. Go out and detect, respect the land the parks and find some goodies.....seems like you are concerned about things other than detecting and having fun. Wasting time concerning about these issues puts a downer on the hobby, it's a past time for crying out loud.

ozzie Wrote:
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it's a past time for crying
> out loud.


Not the past time it was and it will continue to deteriorate if people can't detect,have fun and discuss the issues. I have no problem multi-tasking. If you only detect and have fun and don't don't enjoy discussing hobby issues you don't have to. Your opinion that discussing the issues is a waste of time and a downer for you is something you will have to remedy by staying away from the issues. The KISS theory should apply as you said.

I think it should be labeled a sport. Then we could be in the Olympics and get all the hot chicks!

I'm out. I'm actually going to go participate in some metal detecting "activity".


Dean

bado1 Wrote:
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> I think it should be labeled a sport. Then we
> could be in the Olympics and get all the hot
> chicks!
>
> I'm out. I'm actually going to go participate in
> some metal detecting "activity".
>
>
> Dean

Sounds good, but reality--
[www.youtube.com]

From Thesaurus.com:

hobby
see definition of hobby:
(noun)
pleasurable pastime
amusement

Synonyms for hobby:
amusement, art, avocation, craft, diversion, fad, fun,
obsession, occupation, specialty, sport

Pick any word you want...it means the same thing.
Obsessing over the minutia is equivalent to obsessing over the difference between 'happy' and 'glad'.

Sometimes, you just gotta push that keyboard away, and go do something meaningful.

Mike in CO Wrote:
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> From Thesaurus.com:
>
> hobby
> see definition of hobby:
> (noun)
> pleasurable pastime
> amusement
>
> Synonyms for hobby:
> amusement, art, avocation, craft, diversion, fad,
> fun,
> obsession, occupation, specialty, sport
>
> Pick any word you want...it means the same thing.
> Obsessing over the minutia is equivalent to
> obsessing over the difference between 'happy' and
> 'glad'.
>
> Sometimes, you just gotta push that keyboard away,
> and go do something meaningful.


As I said earlier here--


" Treating metal detecting as a hobby can be quite different than treating it as a sport. " It's not about obsessing over the term or obsessing over what the term might imply. It's about discussing the term and any implications the use of it may have without becoming obsessed. Sometimes you gotta push that keyboard away and realize you may not be able to discuss some issues in context. If you can stay focused you can be part of a meaningful conversation.

Kemper94 Wrote:
> If you can stay focused you can be part of a
> meaningful conversation.

I'm plenty focused...I just think you're wrong...and stubborn about it.
But if that's how you enjoy life, then have fun.

As a general observation I find that cities,for example, make areas available for sports. Baseball,soccer etc. are perceived as sports by authority and areas are expanded to accommodate what the citizens in the community need and/or want. If there were an equal amount of detectorists in a community they may make more areas available for detecting if the detecting were done in a sporting fashion such as a competition under a set of rules or perhaps even if it were done as hobby. The numbers are not there to treat detecting the same as other activities.

Sports can be banned from one area of a park and allowed to be played in another area of that park without anything taken away from the sport. If detecting were banned from one area of a park and allowed in another area, something would be taken away from the hobby. If people use the word " sport " to define detecting and treat detecting as other sports, that will have a negative impact on detecting. If people call it a " sport " and do not treat it as other sports then it will not have the same negative impact.

It is my opinion that referring to detecting as a hobby rather than a sport more closely defines what the hobby of detecting is. I think it is best to label detecting as a hobby because that is how I treat it. If a person would treat detecting as a sport they may like the sport label better. Some may not care how it is labeled.

Perception is a big factor in metal detecting as is how one detects.