I recently visited an abandoned site here in Virginia, and those that know me know that I LOVE abandoned sites. And when I visit these places, I do not disturb anything, nor do I risk my safety. If I think for one minute a structure might give, I don't risk it. This particular site had "No Trespassing" signs posted (I didn't see these until AFTER I exited, so perhaps better placement is needed...?). I was only there for about 10 minutes - I literally RAN through and snapped some quick photos of the interesting things there, then left. When I posted them to Flickr (then shared here and to Facebook), I never posted the location and I disclosed the no trespassing portion - I was quite clear.
A couple of months after I visited this site, I received a phone call from the listing agent for this location. He was extremely rude to me and demanded I take the photos down immediately. I was even threatened with police action. Of course, he doesn't know me and doesn't know I'm not an entirely dumb cookie... so when I asked about ALL the other HUNDREDS of photos of this place on the Internet and Flickr (just to name a few), he balked and again demanded I remove mine. I said no, not until the others are removed. *On a side note, there's photos on Flickr by some guy allowing his children to run around these buildings that are literally falling apart.* I hung up on him.
A few hours after that phone call, I get an email from the trustee of the property... a lawyer. He was very nice and professional and explained to me exactly what happened. Some folks went out there and ran into some hunters - the property is leased to a hunt club and is actively hunted. These "folks" cited MY Facebook page... MY NAME. Even though a simple search will bring up tons of stuff for this place. He also asked that I post that violators will be prosecuted, which I did. I let him know that I never posted location information and posted about the trespassing.
If you see something on my website, Facebook page, blog, Twitter, Tumblr, whatever... and you decide you want to go there, you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK. DO NOT... I REPEAT... DO NOT mention MY NAME. I WILL NOT be responsible for your safety, or your stupidity. I went out there, I trespassed (unknowingly at the time), and I OWN IT. OWN YOUR ACTIONS.
For those folks that like to go urban exploring, just be careful PLEASE. You just never know who the property belongs to. Honestly, if I'm able to find contact information, I call and ask permission. As long as you guarantee the owner isn't liable for any injuries (I always provide them a waiver), then 90% of the time, they have no problem with you going. It's really that simple. Don't ruin it for other people.
