There are plenty of people and groups that claim to be explorers of the rural and urban alike, and afterward proving themselves unworthy of the title by destroying property. This is not only disconcerting to us actual explorer-types, but it is also slowly making authorities wary of anybody that steps foot onto a parcel of land that nobody has touched in thirty years. So, here we go; my own list of rules for urban and rural exploration, and for exploration in general.
1. Don't break stuff!
It seems inanely obvious. However; the truth is, a lot of people apparently don't know this. I was talking to a friend of mine roughly two years ago about a house I had explored about a week prior to the conversation. I had chimed in with the fact that the house was heavily vandalized, and a smile began to form on his face. At the mention of the toilet having been pushed through the second floor and into a closet on the first, he finally admitted to having done the damage himself.
2. Leave it as you found it!
Uh... friends of mine... have been known to scoop up a bottle or two off of the ground, in good faith of course. However, my main focus with this rule is littering. Nothing pains me more than to see a beer can (mind you, one from this century) or three or nine strewn about the remnants of a significant historical site. Just pocket your trash and throw it somewhere more suitable. (I'll leave it up to you to define 'suitable.')
3. Unless already so, do not disclose a location publicly.
When I say "location", I am referring to a set of coordinates, or incredibly accurate directions. I will disclose a rough location to those inquiring by e-mail, but if your information could not have been located by somebody else (a.k.a. inside sources, or a maiden discovery), do not disclose! Most of the information I use to find locations is readily available on the Internet. If you are interested in exploring something we've seen before, I encourage you to look for it yourself.
That's about it. Anybody who has an addition, comment it!
1. Don't break stuff!
It seems inanely obvious. However; the truth is, a lot of people apparently don't know this. I was talking to a friend of mine roughly two years ago about a house I had explored about a week prior to the conversation. I had chimed in with the fact that the house was heavily vandalized, and a smile began to form on his face. At the mention of the toilet having been pushed through the second floor and into a closet on the first, he finally admitted to having done the damage himself.
2. Leave it as you found it!
Uh... friends of mine... have been known to scoop up a bottle or two off of the ground, in good faith of course. However, my main focus with this rule is littering. Nothing pains me more than to see a beer can (mind you, one from this century) or three or nine strewn about the remnants of a significant historical site. Just pocket your trash and throw it somewhere more suitable. (I'll leave it up to you to define 'suitable.')
3. Unless already so, do not disclose a location publicly.
When I say "location", I am referring to a set of coordinates, or incredibly accurate directions. I will disclose a rough location to those inquiring by e-mail, but if your information could not have been located by somebody else (a.k.a. inside sources, or a maiden discovery), do not disclose! Most of the information I use to find locations is readily available on the Internet. If you are interested in exploring something we've seen before, I encourage you to look for it yourself.
That's about it. Anybody who has an addition, comment it!