Basejumper.com - archive

Curious as to why no one has posted anything about the last one yet...

PM me if you'd prefer too.

Maybe because death is a very personal and in most cases quite a private matter. And however well-intended, such public discussions do more harm than good. It is not to be pontificated-upon or speculated-about by those who are merely curious or feel an elevated sense of self-entitlement--especially so in such a small "community" of such similar, yet diverse individuals.

We're all connected by BASE. That is certain. And our concerns I believe to be mostly genuine, but should our discussions be so public in today's day and age of hawkish media, struggling for a story?

Not directed at you personally, GauleyGuide, just a response to the spirit of your question. I believe that enough can be learned word of mouth or in a factual report versus public discussions which burden those who know and have more important things to do than report on the Internet and give fodder for speculation. Generally it lends to a louder voice by those who weren't there or have factual info than those who were or do.

I disagree.
Take care,
space

Such public discussions--when filled with speculation--do more harm than good.

Better?

Not better. There is a thread for condolences. and there is a thread for incidents. To deny speculations in the incidents thread would be tantamount to my friends dying in vain. We can start with my friend Jeb Williams.
Do you jump? If so, do you use an appropriately sized PC? Thank Jeb and the speculations.
Take care,
space

I jump. We've actually jumped together and have shared a few beers on hikes and after jumping. Look for a PM later.

What I was not articulating as well as I should have is my point that a rush for immediate details and discussion is something that--in the way today's media operates--perhaps is better to let the situation pass and the media cool off before we discuss such incidents publicly. I feel it's more respectful to the deceased's family and friends.

I have no knowledge of this latest one, but I've had to go through this before. The last thing on my mind was updates to a public forum. I was trying to work through details for the deceased's family and at the time, those outside the family who needed to know "right now" learned by direct communication/word of mouth, not here.

But perhaps I'm making more out of this than I should. And after all, it's just my opinion.

Well!!!. Bullshit!!! I'm curious, not morbid, just interested??? BASE is BASE, and people die, "if you can't do the time, don't do the crime." Face it, ..... we participate for our own reasons, I'm always monitoring BS.com out of interest in what's happening,...includes the accidents and fatalities, and the beta on new sites and where the sport is going. No Regrets, let's have fun and try to stay safe, and if you end up as a statistic it's your own Goddamn fault!! Have fun, and stay safe! Regards,B.

heheh B is that bullshit.com

i monitor the site as i write the fatality list and have it up out of respect for the ones that have died..

+1

Could be, but in most parts of the world, death is celebrated and a honor. But in this case, it leads leads into your next statement...

You couldn't be more wrong. The BFL and this Forum provide insight to incidents that provide a learning platform for others to learn from. Look at Parachutist magazine. They print the fatal and non-fatal incidents, what happened and what the USPA and all the governing parties recommend to prevent a repeat and lay out guidelines. Most DZ's adopt the guidelines and the skyjumpers follow the rules knowing a violation could get them grounded or kicked off the DZ. In BASE, rules are not set in place, they are not written in black and white, and violations of rules, paradoxal, ends in death. When a jumper goes in, people in this community, need to know. I want to know. I want to make sure that what I am doing, more importantly, how I'M DOING IT, hasn't killed a bunch of people.

Bla bla bla bla

Whatever?


I feel'ya.


Word of mouth is pretty hard these days with everyone spending time on computers and phones and such. This forum is the new and improved word of mouth when it comes to incidents in BASE. When someone post here saying there has been a fatality, no one speculates or fodders all over the place. Its the details of what went wrong. How did it happen, why did it happen, what can be done to prevent a repeat?

The personal side is left out of this. The friends and family know the jumper by name, they are bonded by love and relationships. When we refer to #188 we are not talking about someones son or friend, we are talking about #188 and what went wrong. Which in turn leads us back to the very beginning of your post...and why your post is, well intended, but, out of place and context in relation to the whole reason we have an incidents forum.

What a pile of poop. By this standard, no death should ever be reported, all information about every death should be suppressed.

According to your standard, there should be no news of the Batman shooting, no listing of those who died or were injured, and most definitely no pontification upon or speculation about the how and why of how it all came down and what might be done to prevent such a thing in the future.

So please explain how your contention is somehow legitimate for BASE but not applicable to every other death, all of which are also "personal and in most cases quite a private matter... and not to be pontificated-upon or speculated about by those wiho are merely curious or feel an elevated sense of self-entitlement."

44

+1

What went wrong could potentially prevent another topic in this section of the forums. It's a risk of the sport, everyone understands. I would like to think that everyone has a goal of eliminating as much of that risk as possible, if not take it away.

I failed to adequately express the context of the timeliness of a public discussion here while still possibly fresh in the media's eyes. Nonetheless it's a matter of opinion and debatable at that.
Very valid points from some of you, though. Has changed my perspective a bit.

 
I'm going to play devels advocate here. I've seen cases that were potentually sencetive where it was best for us all to just keep mum. I'm not going to address this or any one fatality but there can be a political side and some times media coverage is not desiroble. News only happens if there is news. A picture, a clip, a sound bite, or even just a quote off of here can be enough for a scum bag reporter to build a story around and you can bet money it wont be faverable. And he is right there is a experation date on such a story. A week, at most a month, and it's gone. At that point no editor is even going to think about printing it.

I'm a big proponit of the free flow of infomation. But it might not be a bad idea to put a lock on all such threads for say two weeks or even a month. Honestly it will often take that long to gather what little infomation there is to be had and for an informed report to be formed. For a fatality investigation that's actually pritty quick and it might cut down on the usefull sound bites that are stolen from here.

I'm not even going to address the winey sappy side of this argument. And sence you seem to be all senceitive I'd suggest that you not inquire as to my thoughts in that regard... you wouldn't like them. Just accept my thoughts on your side of the argument and be gratefull.

Lee

Base accidents is like a balloon that exceeds its pressure limits. You can feel how its builds ups until it bursts. BASE jumping is safe, it is the mentality to push the limits until it gives you a smack over the fingers, and everything starts over again, again, again, and again.

The incident forum is necessary to let some air out of the balloon.

It hurts when you loose a friend! Big boys still cries, even after so many years in the game. Yesterday I was again reminded how it really feels when a great guy goes in.

Know your limits, i