Over the past couple years, we have been thinking long and hard about the issue of fan encounters vs. the perception of stalking. It’s not an easy issue by any means. There are opinions on each side, all with valid points. We do want to emphasize that this in NO WAY is a criticism of any specific events, but just a general “feeling” we have been struggling with for quite a while and the decisions we have made to deal with it FOR OUR SITE.

Do not believe everything you read on the internet. We have said most of this before and are simply being proactive in establishing some boundries for ourselves and stating them clearly and permanently. NOTHING has happened to Gerry, or this site, to prompt our stand on this issue. We don’t believe rumors and have no knowledge of any rumors to be true. We simply decided to be proactive instead of, God forbid, reactive to something unfortunate. The following guidelines have been established to hopefully give fans a chance to THINK before they do:

• We do NOT endorse road trips to a city where Gerry is working or is rumored to be visiting (this does NOT apply to trips to support him at a film festival, talk show appearance or movie premiere). While we believe a majority of fans are completely harmless, we in NO WAY endorse these types of trips and DISCOURAGE them. We also highly discourage set visits even if you live in those cities. Film sets are a place a business and the less distractions for the filmmakers the better the final product will be. Time is money and distractions take time and will cost the production money. We certainly can’t control what individuals choose to do, adults will do what they want, but what if what you do inspires someone else, who are not as harmless, to do the same? It’s for that reason that we would prefer this forum not be a place for those plans.

• ALL fan encounters posted in our section of the Gerard Butler Fan Club Haven will be previewed by a moderator or administrator FIRST before being viewable. That particular forum is available to registered users only. The same goes for pictures, although we will allow those to be viewable by all visitors. Most will automatically be approved, but some, when it involves a non-public event will have to be reviewed before we decide to allow it. If a fan encounter or pictures are submitted from trips that were specifically designed to meet Gerry while he was working or living his life (as described above), they will not be approved. Any encounter containing names of crew members, hotels, restaurants, street locations etc. will NOT be approved before editing such information out. As a general rule, keep your stories, short and sweet with NO specific details that are not necessary to the story.
• DO NOT send us e-mails or post on the forum about information of Gerry’s whereabouts. They won’t be answered and will be immediately deleted. If he is shooting a film, that information will be here, as it’s common knowledge, but we will NOT post specifics and members are asked to refrain from doing the same. DO NOT contact film production offices before or during filming. Your call takes away from legitimate business those workers have to do for the production.Fans should NEVER troll the halls of Gerry’s hotels, try to call him at his hotel, badger his manager’s office with phone calls and or visits constantly (that means more than once to the point of being a nuisance) show up on the set of one of his movies when they are on a location shoot or call the production offices of his films.We will NOT post articles that name places Gerry has been seen around town in unless it was a public event or party. Members should NOT submit such articles to the website either.

We are offering the following advice for our visitors. These are in no way orders, but simple suggestions for those times when fans may encounter Gerry:

• If you have had a legitimate encounter, and are contacted by another fan for more specific details, politely decline. While we can only control what is seen on this site, the fans also have to help us in those efforts by not providing information to strangers in the interest of Gerry’s privacy and security. KEEP THE INFORMATION TO YOURSELF!
• If you are lucky enough to stumble onto a street shoot of one of Gerry’s films, we strongly advise that you DO NOTstay NO LONGER than 15 minutes, tops and DO NOT repeatedly visit a set time and time and time again. call out, yell, constantly videotape or photograph him while he is working. The productions have professional set photographers and videographers and they do a fine job of documenting the film’s progress for us (you don’t want him to feel like the fish in the fishbowl - constantly videotaping his every more is equivalent to tapping on the glass). Save the film and video for that special moment if he has the time to spend with you. If he is on a break and does not approach you FIRST, leave him be. Most probably he is using the time to prepare for his next scene. We also advise that you
• Even if you know where he is staying in a specific city, we encourage fans to respect that he is “home” when there, and just as you would not want to be constantly bothered in your home by strangers (and YES, fans ARE strangers), he deserves the same. While you may think “I am only one person”, multiply that by 10 or even more and you have a nuisance, so if you have no legitimate business in these locations, don’t visit . If you have an item or letter you would like him to have, send it to the fan mail service DO NOT drop things off at his hotels or send them to the film production offices.Film after parties however are NOT meet and greets. If you have a legitimate invitation, enjoy the party and allow Gerry the chance to network and visit with friends. It doesn’t mean you can’t approach him, but respect that he may not have all the time you would like to chat and respect that security may prevent you from doing so. The same goes for film fesitvals. In many cases he is there to work, network with colleagues and in some cases, enjoy a little time off. DO NOT bother him if he is enjoying personal down time from the main festival events.If you do get lucky and encounter Gerry, and you have the opportunity to say hello, if he politely says “no” to a request or comments that he is “busy” or in a rush to get somewhere, PLEASE don’t press for an autograph, picture or more. Please DO NOT TOUCH HIM. Just as you would like to have someone respect what you say and respect your personal space, Gerry deserves the same courtesy. Yes, he loves his fans, but he is not always in a position to accommodate every request and any touching should be initiated by HIM. As innocent as a touch or grabbing his arm or hand may seem to you, it’s can be disconcerting when surrounded by others.

Now some final comments, Most of the encounters posted on this site were either accidental or at public events like premieres, film festivals and TV appearances. This is perfectly acceptable and the support everyone shows for him at these events IS important and GREATLY appreciated. These are the places where fans are expected and welcomed, but you CANNOT spend a ton of money to go to these events EXPECTING that you will meet, or even get near, Gerry.

PLEASE, keep it real, DO NOT TOUCH HIM, HIS VEHICLE OR ANYBODY WITH HIM in an attempt to get his attention or keep him from going somewhere (all those actions can be deemed threatening when in a crowd), and understand that sometimes time and circumstances prevent what you might expect. These actions are not only threatening (even if you don’t see it as such), but can be dangerous to him, and you as well. As he gets to be more and more popular, so should his fans understand that the days of individual attention may not be what it once was. What happened one or two years ago is not always realistic today, tomorrow or further in the future. It can’t be EXPECTED by any of us that he will have time for us, but it will be a wonderful treat if it happens, it just should not be forced. We helped him achieve the success he has, but let us not also make him pay too high a price for that success. He will UNDOUBTEDLY give back as best he can, to as many as he can, when he can, but shouldn’t have to do it because we we demand, or expect, he can in our eyes. We hope that everyone understands our position on this. As Gerry’s star is “growing” this site is as well and it seems like we are encountering more of these types of situations. We know most have nothing but the best of intentions. We in no way believe the encounters we have been blessed with so far are stalking, nor is there anything inherently wrong with them. We do however believe there is potential for things to get out of hand, so NOW is the time to set some guidelines for the website AND encourage members to also take these things into consideration. When we make a decision please understand that it is after a lot of consideration and thought.

We try to see all sides and be respectful of all of the different opinions on the forum, but we also try to see Gerry’s side as well. In the end, we are responsible for this site and this message board and we have to start taking a hard look at the actions of our members, what we post and not only what actually is happening (which, for the most part is innocent and harmless), but also what message it sends to those who are not innocent and harmless. When even WE, the champions of promoting Gerry and his career, as well as the genuine person he is, start to feel uncomfortable, it’s time to take a hard look at things. It’s a fine line and we in NO WAY feel the current stories and pictures posted are “stalkerish”, but we are approaching a line that we simply do not wish to cross and if we don’t set these guidelines now, we may regret it later. We all love him. It’s time we all start thinking about HIM, and not just ourselves. In numbers we can make a HUGE difference in ticket and DVD sales, but we can also become overwhelming by constantly asking for his attention. We are not friends, we are fans, and it’s time we set some boundaries for the sake of ourselves, this site, and Gerry. The visitors and members of this site are kind, caring talented and generous people. Your hearts are HUGE and we would hate to see those truly genuine things about you to be overshadowed by a few unfortunate incidents. While we know we can only control what appears on this site, and individuals are responsible for their own behavior, at the same time, we simply ask that you take the above and consider what we have said when dealing with the emotions and desires that come with being a fan of Gerry’s.

People will STILL meet Gerry. He wouldn’t be Gerry if that didn’t continue. As fan numbers increase though, people have to understand that time may not always allow him to get to everybody. We have NO DOUBT though, he WILL continue to enjoy meeting and talking to fans. That WILL NOT end. In the end, it is up to the individual. We are not the final word on Gerry-etiquette and we know many will simply brush off our words and do what they want - it may even mean losing members, so be it, that’s their choice. We have no issue with that, but we have to set guidelines to make this site, with all it’s 10,000 members and over 6 million hits something to be proud off where the message is fan support and doing what we can, within limits, to continue to help Gerry’s star shine. Gerry’s mother says he says he has the best fans in the world, we, for one would like to keep it that way!!

Thank you to everyone for their understanding.