I've posted my opinions on this forum about this topic so much now I don't want to clutter up the server with anymore of it, but here goes anyways.

The bottom line is I really don't like the notion of paying for other people's stupidity. Anything that would limit my liability for the worthless actions of others is a good thing. If a person dies in the wilderness for lack of good sense, I don't reckon that concerns me any, but preventing that at any cost, I take issue. Putting other people in harm's way to save these idiots, I take issue. Don't go in the big woods or out on the big water if you can't afford self extraction. If that means paying an insurance premium or subscribing to a service ahead of time, however expensive that may be, then it is far better than making me foot the bill. That'd be like finishing a meal at a restaurant and then expecting me to pay for it just because I am the next one to sit at the same table after you left.

There's lots of things I'd like to do in life, except for the fact that I can't afford it, and I don't think anyone else should have to pay for my trip to South Africa to go shoot a water buffalo or some such. How hard a concept is that to grasp? If an idiot is going to compound his trouble by refusing rescue, then let him sign the disclaimer and he can be on his merry way, and we will dig him out of the snow and mud in the springtime, provided his loved ones will foot the bill for his recovery.

Yes, I have little sympathy for the ignorant and the foolish in such matters, call me practical, or an ass, or whatever, but I prefer my money be spent on more important things, like taking care of my own family. I also feel that being in a community means being a responsible member of that community, and going on an adventure ill-prepared or otherwise taking unnecessary risks that put the welfare of the whole in jeopardy should disqualify one from being a member any longer, and exonerate the rest from having to bail their dumb hide out.