Bob White 20 Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 Why would you think that what an advertiser wants you to do, and what the BSA allows you to do would somehow be related? Link to post Share on other sites
OldGreyEagle 5 Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 Bob, I think the point it that the ad was in the Council newspaper and I have to think its mighty sloopy editing to allow an ad for a prohibited activity. Now, if it said great for Birthdays parties etc. no problem, but when it says scouting, in a scouting newspaper, its kinda weird. Link to post Share on other sites
EagleInKY 14 Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 Fling - I would bet that the person responsible for filling ad space is not aware of the policy. I would bet that if Joe's liquor store wanted to place an ad and it said "pick up a 12 pack for your next campout", they would not allow it. A lot of these lazer places have other things to do as well, such as bumper cars, mini-golf and arcades. They might be justifying it by that. Link to post Share on other sites
fling1 10 Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 Obviously, I am making a few assumptions, as I have no role in the production of the Fireside Chat: Ads are reviewed and approved before they are placed in the newspaper. Ads encouraging units to ignore policy, break rules, rebel against BSA, etc., would not be accepted for publication. For example, my assumption is that an ad that said, "For a great scout outing, come elk hunting on souped-up ATVs at Antlers-R-Us" would be refused. In order to validate these assumptions, I have a call in to Council. I was told that there was a specific Program Director there that was "promoting" this, and that I should talk to him. I left a message asking him to call me and clarify. I'll let you know what I find out.(This message has been edited by fling1) Link to post Share on other sites
Bob White 20 Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 I don't know who edits or compiles the News letter. I do not know their training in scouting. But I do not assume that an advertiser determines policy nor would I follow their scouting advice without checking the G2SS. Is it sloppy editing. Certainly. Should we use it as evidence to support a resticted activity? Certainly not. Link to post Share on other sites
SR540Beaver 116 Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 I just went to our council website to look at the newsletter and to double check what I already knew to be true. We have an ad for a lazer tag place along with an ad for a tae kwon do school which is also not approved in G2SS. The lazer tag ad does not mention scouting or a discount for scouts however. Both are in my district and on our district's page. Link to post Share on other sites
Bob White 20 Posted October 29, 2004 Share Posted October 29, 2004 The plot thins. either activity is fine for a scout just not a scout unit. No harm, no foul. Everyone back to the game. Link to post Share on other sites
romboman 10 Posted October 31, 2004 Share Posted October 31, 2004 Just wanted to clarify my previous post..... Does BSA allow such activities?....No. Are we a part of BSA every minute of our lives?.. no. I happen to love playing paintball. Many of the scouts in my troop do too. We can have fun together OUTSIDE of the BSA program. Not Wearing uniforms is not a "dodge" of the rules. It is a reinforcment that we are operating as "friends",not as a troop. Other outings we wear our class A's when travelling. What message does that send?? BSA has policy we follow. We also do FUN stuff as fathers (moms)and sons (and daughters) as FRIENDS.... Link to post Share on other sites
fling1 10 Posted November 3, 2004 Share Posted November 3, 2004 I promised to pass on any info from council, so here it is: Amusingly (to me), the laser tag issue is a far bigger issue out here in forum-land than it is at our council. The guy who placed the ad told me he had been called out on it many times already by people who quoted the G2SS to him and told him that it is a much-discussed topic on mailing lists and forums. He agreed that BSA policy prohibits laser tag. No surprises. He told me that the ad had been placed as a trade, after a staff development outing had been held there. I don't want to get anyone in trouble, so I'll not repeat what else he told me :-)(This message has been edited by fling1) Link to post Share on other sites
Hunt 11 Posted November 4, 2004 Share Posted November 4, 2004 I was looking at the latest Boys Life yesterday, and I noticed a big ad on the back cover for a new Teen-rated "shooter" video game. I was somewhat surprised to see that. When I flipped through the magazine, I saw an ad for a laser-tag gizmo. I'm sure BL reviews its ads (because there are plenty of things that are not advertised there), but I wish they wouldn't accept these ads either. If BSA really believes that it's against the ideals of Scouting to point weapons at others for fun, why would it provide the opportunity for others to advertise such activities? Link to post Share on other sites
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