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Did I Join The Wrong Sport?


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I recently recieved a GPS fron my wife for Xmas. Our neighbor is a geocacher and has been urging us to try it.

When I clicked "geocaches in your area" recently, a geocache came up titled "Trailer Park Trash" http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...a9-2dae7e881744

I live in a trailer park and find this offensive, although it is one of the nicer ones in the area, I don't consider anyone trash. We don't have much money as I have been retired and living on a fixed income for the past several years, and sometimes things are tight but we manage. Upon further investigation, I learned that there was another geocache in the spot which was abandoned by someone else and that the new geocache is actually the older one with a new name designed to embarass and humiliate the other geocacher for not cleaning up their old geocache. Is this what I can expect from this sport? Please tell me no. My neighbor who has been geocaching for over a year and has a few dozen "finds" is upset too. They say that someone "approved" this new geocache. The new geocache was placed over a week ago, and I figured that an outcry from the locals would put an end to it, but there seems to have been none. At first I was going to sent off an angry letter to the geocacher, but if this happens frequently, and people "approve" of this, I thought I would ask here. I don't want to join a sport that involves public humiliation and embarassment, as well as stepping on us lower income people. It also seem quite immature. I served my country years ago in Korea, and we fought for ALL Americans, not just the "better" or "richer" ones.

 

Charlie

charlesb@usa.com

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Charlie,

 

First of all, welcome to the game. If you're interested in getting some exercise, searching in interesting locations and having some fun with your new GPS then, no, you haven't joined the wrong sport.

 

I've been geocaching for just over 4 years and have yet to find a cache with a name like that one. Names are chosen by the person who places the cache and very often they reflect the hider's sense of humor or outlook on life. While they may have made a poor choice by naming the cache as they did, please don't let it reflect on your view of the entire game.

 

As with every cache, information to contact the cache owner is provided on the top of the page. I would suggest you air your disappointment at the owner and try to come to some kind of mutual understanding.

 

I think this is a good lesson for all of us. The cache you hide may be the first one that someone ever finds. I hope the locations we choose and the names we use and the items we include in the cache are the sorts of things that will make that first hunt as enjoyable as possible.

 

Again, welcome to the game. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Bret

Edited by CYBret
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There are a few people in EVERY area that are like this and cache like this. Hopefully he's the only one in yours and you can put that cache on your ignore list and move on. Sometimes leaving it alone is the best thing to do. After all, with the immaturity level this person has aleady represented, it's probably not a good idea to single yourself out since you don't want this cacher to start harassing you specifically which DOES happen sadly enough.

 

Unfortunately it IS what you can expect in this sport from VERY few, but VERY vocal people. As a cacher I would hate for a person who was just getting started to think that kind of behavior represented all cachers.

 

BTW, thank you for your service to this country. MOST cachers are very respectful.

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DirtySocks.jpg

Thank you for your reply Bret, but I saw this post and I guess it implies that we are all dirty since we are poor !!

 

No, it implies that if you have something to say, say it from your REAL geocaching account, not a fake one.

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Thank you for your reply Bret, but I saw this post and I guess it implies that we are all dirty since we are poor !!

It doesn't. I implies that you are not what you say you are.

 

Assuming you are what you say you are (me, I haven't a clue), it's hard for me to imagine someone who lives in a trailer park who hasn't heard jokes about it. I grew up in the rural south, and I certainly hear plenty of banjos-and-sex-with-your-brother jokes. Funny? Not particularly, but not infuriating. I'm guessing just about everyone could find a cache name the humor of which leaves him unamused.

 

Of course, if I'm falling for a sock puppet, I'm going to be SO irritated with you!

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Thank you for your reply Bret, but I saw this post and I guess it implies that we are all dirty since we are poor !!

It doesn't. I implies that you are not what you say you are.

 

Assuming you are what you say you are (me, I haven't a clue), it's hard for me to imagine someone who lives in a trailer park who hasn't heard jokes about it. I grew up in the rural south, and I certainly hear plenty of banjos-and-sex-with-your-brother jokes. Funny? Not particularly, but not infuriating. I'm guessing just about everyone could find a cache name the humor of which leaves him unamused.

 

Of course, if I'm falling for a sock puppet, I'm going to be SO irritated with you!

Yes, of course I have heard jokes about it, and we don't think they are very funny. I despise the stereotype. I am unfamiliar with the phrase "sock puppet" .

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No, this isn't usual. There are occasional lapses in taste (some bigger than others), which you're bound to come across in any human activity. If you don't have luck talking with the cache owner, the [volunteer] cache reviewer for your area would be the next person to talk with.

 

Good luck, and enjoy geocaching.

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My real account ? What does that mean? I haven't even gone out caching yet. What are you accusing me of?

lets see:

  • So, you're saying you haven't actually gone and found this (or any other) cache yet, but you know all about the cache that was there before you even signed up,
  • you know all about cache approvers,
  • you know that the new hider is making fun of the old cache hider,
  • you've been on the site for 1 day (you cant see the coords for a cache before you register, so before yesterday you would not have been able to see where that cache was) yet you've been waiting a week for the public outcry, and
  • your geocaching screen name was obviously chosen to relate to this particular post.

Like I said, if you want anyone to take you seriously; post from your real account.

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My real account ? What does that mean? I haven't even gone out caching yet. What are you accusing me of?

lets see:

  • So, you're saying you haven't actually gone and found this (or any other) cache yet, but you know all about the cache that was there before you even signed up,
  • you know all about cache approvers,
  • you know that the new hider is making fun of the old cache hider,
  • you've been on the site for 1 day (you cant see the coords for a cache before you register, so before yesterday you would not have been able to see where that cache was) yet you've been waiting a week for the public outcry, and
  • your geocaching screen name was obviously chosen to relate to this particular post.

Like I said, if you want anyone to take you seriously; post from your real account.

My neighbor is a geocacher and has told me all about it. I have been looking at the site for about 3 months, but haven't gone out yet as it has been cold lately. Any other questions?

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My real account ? What does that mean? I haven't even gone out caching yet. What are you accusing me of?

lets see:

  • So, you're saying you haven't actually gone and found this (or any other) cache yet, but you know all about the cache that was there before you even signed up,
  • you know all about cache approvers,
  • you know that the new hider is making fun of the old cache hider,
  • you've been on the site for 1 day (you cant see the coords for a cache before you register, so before yesterday you would not have been able to see where that cache was) yet you've been waiting a week for the public outcry, and
  • your geocaching screen name was obviously chosen to relate to this particular post.

Like I said, if you want anyone to take you seriously; post from your real account.

My neighbor is a geocacher and has told me all about it. I have been looking at the site for about 3 months, but haven't gone out yet as it has been cold lately. Any other questions?

 

See, this is where ya got tripped up. Someone who already had an account problably wouldn't know this; some time ago it was changed so you can't see where a cache is without being logged in. If you've been checking out caches near you for 3 months, you've had an account for at least that long, not 1 day.

In case you are poor and proud but not very computer literate, the site administers can usually track forum posts back to the computer it was made from. Using a fake account to post in the forums can get your real account banned from accessing the website.

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I can see the pages just fine. Only the coords are hidden. I don't like being accused of this nonsense!

Without the coords, how would you know where there cache is or isnt? Without the coords, how would you know it's near you and not 1/2 way across the state?

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Sock Puppet or not it doesn't matter if someone has a question we should help them.

So BACK ON TOPIC :D

anyways why don't you try the cache first. If you like it then welcome to a fun and great hobby, if you don't like it don't do it simple as that. If the cache name is offensive to you don't do that cache simply click on the cache page ignore listing and your problem will be solved. I am sure that there is more caches in your area besides this one.:laughing:

Edited by Mystery Ink
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I can see the pages just fine. Only the coords are hidden. I don't like being accused of this nonsense!

Without the coords, how would you know where there cache is or isnt? Without the coords, how would you know it's near you and not 1/2 way across the state?

I punch in my zip code and the cache is there. There is no map, or coords, but it is there. I have a feeling that there is something else to this discussion. Care to share? Do you want my address, phone number? Do you want me to leave because geocaching is for people who are well off?

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Sock Puppet or not it doesn't matter if someone has a question we should help them.

So BACK ON TOPIC :D

anyways why don't you try the cache first. If you like it then welcome to a fun and great hobby, if you don't like it don't do it simple as that. If the cache name is offensive to you don't do that cache simply click on the cache page ignore listing and your problem will be solved. I am sure that there is more caches in your area besides this one.:laughing:

Thank you, I will do that. We got the GPS specifically for geocaching and it wasn't cheap. There are always troublemakers in every sport, but I am hoping that they do not dominate this one.

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Do you want me to leave because geocaching is for people who are well off?

 

Okay, I have to admit: that part sounds pretty troll-y.

 

I apologize but I am getting upset at being accused of things which I am not. If it makes you feel better I will leave.

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I apologize but I am getting upset at being accused of things which I am not. If it makes you feel better I will leave.

 

I'm feeling fine. You, on the other hand, seem exceptionally prone to major upset after minor provocation. That's an unusual quality for someone old enough to be retired, in my experience. One generally learns not to sweat the small stuff after a while, or one would be in danger of having one's spleen explode before one was forty.

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I apologize but I am getting upset at being accused of things which I am not. If it makes you feel better I will leave.

 

I'm feeling fine. You, on the other hand, seem exceptionally prone to major upset after minor provocation. That's an unusual quality for someone old enough to be retired, in my experience. One generally learns not to sweat the small stuff after a while, or one would be in danger of having one's spleen explode before one was forty.

Oh, I don't know. If I wasn't a sock puppet, and I came into the forums for the first time, and then had this happen, I'd be taking it a lot worse then him. But maybe that's just because I'm only 31. :D

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I apologize but I am getting upset at being accused of things which I am not. If it makes you feel better I will leave.

I'm feeling fine. You, on the other hand, seem exceptionally prone to major upset after minor provocation. That's an unusual quality for someone old enough to be retired, in my experience. One generally learns not to sweat the small stuff after a while, or one would be in danger of having one's spleen explode before one was forty.

Oh, I don't know. If I wasn't a sock puppet, and I came into the forums for the first time, and then had this happen, I'd be taking it a lot worse then him. But maybe that's just because I'm only 31. :D

 

Well, I was taking it in conjunction with his original complaint. To get wadded up about the name of a cache and come into the forums with a big ol' chip on your shoulder, only to get wadded up when that doesn't go over so well...I expect a touch more mellowness in my fellow geezers. And a touch more humility in my newbies. There's a certain...inauthenticity about it.

 

Now, if he would care to share old memories of welfare peanut butter and strawberry jam, it would go a ways toward proving his credentials. The one was ground up peanuts and nothing else, the other was mashed up strawberries with sugar and pectin. They sell that kind of stuff in Whole Foods now for a zillion dollars, but we got it for free because we was poor.

 

See? Age and poverty don't make you tetchy. Being tetchy makes you tetchy.

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I apologize but I am getting upset at being accused of things which I am not. If it makes you feel better I will leave.

 

I'm feeling fine. You, on the other hand, seem exceptionally prone to major upset after minor provocation. That's an unusual quality for someone old enough to be retired, in my experience. One generally learns not to sweat the small stuff after a while, or one would be in danger of having one's spleen explode before one was forty.

 

Auntie, very well put! There is a virtue in life to taking things lightly, and with a smile. Personally, my own vote is for sock puppet.

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... Is this what I can expect from this sport? Please tell me no.

...

There are enough geocachers out there that is like real life. Some people are nice, some are not, some try very hard to not offend others, some just say what they think. I think most cachers are nice and friendly but if you have some special expectation you might reconsider geocaching, or at least the forum part. You can spend a lot of time arguing about ???.

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Greetings

I am the owner of that cache in question. I am not hiding behind a sock puppet account. I loved the cache placement in its old format, I contacted the previous owner by email had their go ahead to use the existing one and add more stuff, I am sending them their old log book and the camera. And the cache page is now not a multi as the original was. I thought I was being cute. The cache looks over a Trailer park that I was born in. HA ha I am the Trailer Park Trash. He He. My name is April Hughes, I cache with my husband and I was referring to myself in my kind of humor. It fit, I lived where it overlooks, ( a trailer park) it was trash left behind from a previous cacher. I am sorry it offends but it stays as it lays. I was not making fun of the previous owner!!!! Do not search for it if you do not like the name

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From Your Profile:

 

I just got the GPS this past Xmas from the wife and have been dying to try this.

 

Biography:

I've been retired for over 10 years and was a industrial truck mechanic for close to 30.

 

Hobbies:

fly fishing, reading, torturing the grandkids.

I AM DEEPLY OFFENDED BY THE USE OF THE WORD XMAS!!!!! THE HOLIDAY IS "CHRISTMAS" THAT MEANS "CHRIST" MASS. IT IS A HOLIDAY WHEN WE CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF CHRIST, NOT THE BIRTH OF X, WHOEVER THE HECK THAT IS!!!!!

 

AND WHAT IS THIS BIT ABOUT TORTURING YOUR GRANDKIDS? ARE YOU A CHILD ABUSER? SHAME ON YOU!!!

 

OK, so here's my point:

 

Anyone can be offended by anything. Some people will be offended by everything. It is not possible to write anything that will be read by the general public without taking the chance that you will offend someone.

 

If you are going to judge the sport by something offensive you might come across, then you definitely are in the wrong sport. Don't bother looking for a better one because you will find something offensive everywhere. If you are really a retiree, I can't believe you could have lived that long on this corrupted Earth and just now realize that.

 

My 2c

GDAE,

Dave

 

Confucius' Cat say: "have fun and find cache"

Edited by Confucius' Cat
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Well, my vote is for sock puppet, but if you are indeed new and that easily offended, yep, you're probably in the wrong activity. Geocaching has an abundance of twisted senses of humor and masters of biting sarcasm and many of us pride ourselves in being moderately unstable. Perhaps you should take up....well...heck, I can think of anything that wouldn't have something someone might find offensive.

 

By the way, I'm living in a trailer right now that I've been in for 8 1/2 years, but just for six more days. Then I'm moving to a house, so I'll no longer be trailer trash - I'll graduate to poor white trash.

 

Front yard looks pretty good, but walk around back and the cache description just might fit.

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You know, most people who have just found our group sort of look around, try some caches, get to know us. We're pretty easy to get to know. There are all kinds of personalities involved. Some of us do not do as good a job as others. Some of us wish for expensive loot. Some of us tag kids along. Some of us get offended at the word "kids."

 

Maybe you were bored on a Sunday and were looking for an argument. Maybe you're........ awe heck! Whatever you are, you can cache if you want. Find a few, see how you like it. Just don't expect everyone here to think just exactly like you do. I remember the Halloween that our candy got infested with cockroaches and we had to fumigate the entire house. That's the kind of neighborhood I grew up in. I still cache. And lots of people make fun of cockroaches.

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Not sure what kind of reply you were really looking for in here. It looks like to me that you really didn't want an answer to your question but wanted to call someone out.

 

Maybe you were bored on a Sunday and were looking for an argument. Maybe you're........ awe heck! Whatever you are, you can cache if you want.

 

I'm with him. Go find some caches, if you like it fine, if not that's fine too.

 

As for the Topic of this thread, "Did I Join the Wrong Sport?" Well, if you haven't even tried to cache then you haven't joined anything. Honestly, I don't care if you join or not, the decision is up to you! If you decide to go out geocaching, well then welcome to this hobby,sport, addiction. If you don't join for whatever reason then I guess its not for you. So far you are looking like a troll and if so maybe you are in the wrong sport cause they don't last long round here.

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Greetings

I am the owner of that cache in question. I am not hiding behind a sock puppet account. I loved the cache placement in its old format, I contacted the previous owner by email had their go ahead to use the existing one and add more stuff, I am sending them their old log book and the camera. And the cache page is now not a multi as the original was. I thought I was being cute. The cache looks over a Trailer park that I was born in. HA ha I am the Trailer Park Trash. He He. My name is April Hughes, I cache with my husband and I was referring to myself in my kind of humor. It fit, I lived where it overlooks, ( a trailer park) it was trash left behind from a previous cacher. I am sorry it offends but it stays as it lays. I was not making fun of the previous owner!!!! Do not search for it if you do not like the name

 

Well said April. If someone had bothered to drop you a line with their concerns in the first place, then this entire negative thread might have been avoided.

 

Unfortunately the forums are not a good place for concerns and discussions. Too much negativity here.

 

I am heading back to my drawer. It is safer there.

 

pets_sock-puppet.jpg

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Well it is sad to say but I think the cache being discussed has been taken. A fellow cacher whom I know made a DNF today. I went to make sure, and I was hoping to beat the dark; but the park was closed when I got there. ( The park is a sunrise till sunset park) I will not disable until I check tomorrow am. If it is gone as I suspect it is it will reappear as it was. I can not believe that a sock puppet account could cause this much hassle.

To poor & proud, YA you joined the wrong sport!!! If you did not take it :because you posted in the forums, someone else did. I blame you for the lose!! We do not need cachers like you in this sport, a friendly little email telling me your concerns would have been the friendly way to handle this and not in the forums. I could have told you I HAD PERMISSION from the previous owner, the cache is different, yet the same. SO SAD THAt this has happened.

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Well it is sad to say but I think the cache being discussed has been taken. A fellow cacher whom I know made a DNF today. I went to make sure, and I was hoping to beat the dark; but the park was closed when I got there. ( The park is a sunrise till sunset park) I will not disable until I check tomorrow am. If it is gone as I suspect it is it will reappear as it was. I can not believe that a sock puppet account could cause this much hassle.

To poor & proud, YA you joined the wrong sport!!! If you did not take it :because you posted in the forums, someone else did. I blame you for the lose!! We do not need cachers like you in this sport, a friendly little email telling me your concerns would have been the friendly way to handle this and not in the forums. I could have told you I HAD PERMISSION from the previous owner, the cache is different, yet the same. SO SAD THAt this has happened.

 

Sock puppet or no, that is a reactionary statement and will only drive this thread to the more negative side. Be above it. It's just a cache. I lost 2 last week and you don't see me pointing fingers.... :D

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New news, I just received a distressing phone call moments ago, and a fellow cacher who had placed TB's in the cache and was the FTF under the new name; went back to that cache to help one on its mission and the cache is indeed gone. IT will be back!!!!! with the name intact.

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IT will be back!!!!! with the name intact.

Well, now, there isn't any real reason to think this thread and the loss of the cache are connected.

 

However, just to make sure, may I make a suggestion? Every time you have to replace it, I suggest you make the title a tad more pejorative. Like, make this next one "Smelly Trailer Trash." And the one after "Ignorant Smelly Trailer Trash." And so on. After all...you grew up there, you can say what you like.

 

And if you need any help with your Tupperware fund, drop me a line.

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I recently recieved a GPS fron my wife for Xmas.

Where 'ya been for two months? Your profile (created yesterday) says you are "dying" to use your GPS.

 

I was prepared to post a few hours ago, but decided to contemplate my post further - and having done so, and unchanged in my gut opinion, I have to cast my vote along side Vinny - 100% Cotton Tube Sock.

 

I searched and found 15 other cache listings that reference trailer - everything from Trailer Park Boys, to Trailers Only, to Trailerpark Geocachers Meet Bigfoot! Do these not offend you Poor&proud?

 

BTW there are 99 listings with the word "Poor", and 36 with "Proud" in the title.

 

I think a previous (recent) post nailed it - Geocaching represents society. Some people are nice, some not so much. If you wish to retreat from society, this sport is not a good fit. If you ARE for real Poor&Proud, I respectfully submit that your issue is not related to too much Poor - but rather an excess of Proud. If you are real life, than let real life be and get on with yours - you won't have much quality if you let things people say get you freaked out.

 

To that end: I have to run and build a cache listing... there are none with "sock puppet" or "tube sock" in the title :D

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:D To whom it may concer!!!

 

As I am fairly new Geocaching. I am offended and disturbed by what I discovered today when I returned to a recent find, only to find nothing there!

 

Disturbed in that I thought the cache was muggled, not uncommon, but it does occur.

 

Offended to find that the site and the TB's inside were STOLEN!!

 

Stolen by some Idiot who claims to be offended by a name.

 

Stolen by some Idiot who claims to be a vet who had fought for this country and it's peoples rights.

 

Stolen by some Idiot who spreads lies and falsehoods about something he claims to know nothing about.

 

I am aware that several geocachers have traveled in search of this site and have wasted their time and their effort because of some narrow minded Idiot STOLE a cache because he was offended by a name that was submitted and approved.

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From Your Profile:

 

I just got the GPS this past Xmas from the wife and have been dying to try this.

 

I AM DEEPLY OFFENDED BY THE USE OF THE WORD XMAS!!!!! THE HOLIDAY IS "CHRISTMAS" THAT MEANS "CHRIST" MASS. IT IS A HOLIDAY WHEN WE CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF CHRIST, NOT THE BIRTH OF X, WHOEVER THE HECK THAT IS!!!!!

 

Hey, as long as we're hijacking a thread here...just wanted to throw this out:

 

From Random House Word of the Day:

 

The written shortening Xmas for "Christmas" is quite old, and is part of a large group of abbreviations based on Greek letters.

 

Similarly, the name Christ has for a thousand years been abbreviated as X, which is not the Roman letter "eks," but the Greek letter "chi," standing for the first letter of Christ when written in Greek as "Christos" (as transcribed into Roman letters). Some of the words using this abbreviation are X, Xp (Greek chi-rho, or "Chr"), and Xt for "Christ," Xren for "christen," and Xtian for "Christian."

 

The use of Xmas for "Christmas" is first found in the sixteenth century, in the slightly expanded spelling X'temmas; the Xmas form was in use by the eighteenth century. The X has always been used in religious contexts, and was often lavishly decorated in manuscripts, for example the glorious Chi-Rho page of the Book of Kells, the ninth-century illuminated gospels. The assumption that the abbreviation is somehow "weak" or "irreligious" since it "removes" the Christ from "Christmas" is a thoroughly modern idea.

 

And yes, the article does point that since so many are "offended" by the usage, it's easier to just avoid it.

 

Just some more troll food! :D

 

 

P.S. Yes, I accept your apology...has anyone notified LE yet? (more forum throwbacks)

Edited by KoosKoos
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