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woof n lulu

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Posts posted by woof n lulu

  1. This is a really fun thread to watch! You have some very talented computer skills (which I lack.) My avatar is not too exciting, so I don't think there's much that can be done to it.

     

    But keep up the entertainment -- it's a great diversion from work!

     

    Bec

    Your avatar reminds me of my daughters two greyhounds...they are always in that very same pose... :D

  2. If many cachers are having issues with another cacher in the area, is there a procedure for reporting that cacher and having them banned from GC.com? I don't actually see a "Terms of Service" around here. I'm wondering if such a thing exists so I can see if it's justified to take the complaints to TPTB.

    I would contact TPTB at Geocache.com and tell them the problem, they will take it from there. A person can be banned from Groundspeak Forums (throught their ISP), and have their account purged from Geocache.com. But, they can still view the sites, just not post to them. If they are bent on a destructive course, banning will not stop them.

  3. It's not the servers that are the problem, but too many of you are sitting at your computer looking at forums, not out caching.  More finds = more logs = more work for the servers.  Get youselves in gear and go hunting! :D

    Yeah, I know what you mean! I can't see how people can spend all day just reading and posting in the forums! :D

    hrumphhh :(:D

  4. Almost everyone who places caches has probably had at least one denial, gotten upset, has cooled off and realized its all for fun and tried again. Using a benchmark as positive proof of visitation is just not gonna work. As you have been shown, it can be looked up right here on Geocache.com, and has been guessed correctly just by the little you have posted.

     

    PS - you will find most on here busy professionals also, whos time is rationed when it comes to Geocaching.

  5. I think the way ju66l3r stated this makes virtual caches placement much clearer, and should be considered for inclusion in the guidelines. Even a new member should be able to read this and get a better understanding on what it takes to create a good virtual.

     

    IMHO  :D

    Of course, this still implies that the hider actually reads the guidelines. Judging by what I see posted here in the forums, 50% of the "problems" stem from the hider not reading them, even though they have to check off that they did when they submitted the cache. The other 50% seem to know the guidelines exist, they just don't seem to think they apply to their cache.

    Thats very true Mopar...I guess its too much to expect a new cacher to spend the time doing the homework before wanting to play the game.

     

    But, if for some odd off the wall reason they do (like I did) this would be a lot easier (maybe) for some to understand. :lol:

  6. ------------------------------

     

    Virtual cache:

     

    There are two kinds of virtual caches. The first kind is a particular spot that would be perfect for inclusion in a more traditional cache hunt but is currently in an area that restricts geocaching (e.g., NPS land). These virtuals can be considered "stake points" for future geocaches if restrictions were to be lifted. The second kind of virtual cache is to highlight something out of the ordinary even in a place where a normal geocache might fit. The purpose is to bring attention to some of the more subtle landmarks and sublime experiences or facts for your area. Often a number of these smaller points of interest can be strung together to tell a story about your locality. Because of the subjectivity involved, your submission for this type of cache must meet a number of requirements:

     

    1) Is your submission unique? Is it peculiar to your specific location? (i.e., no animal carcasses or tennis shoes in the woods)

     

    2) Can someone solve your validation information without actually going to the site? (if so, then you can not be approved)

     

    3) Whether interested in the topic or not, will the seeker have gained a particular insight, knowledge, or appreciation from having completed your cache?

     

    Remember that not every virtual is approved because the system can not currently maintain the difference between virtual hides and traditional hides. To preserve more area and system resources for the physical placement of caches, you may be asked to use your virtual as the beginning of an offset cache instead. The final decision is for the approver to determine and the dismissal of your virtual will require you to consider improving any one of the above criteria before it will be considered again.

     

    -------------------

     

    I think "Wow" may better be summarized as the ability to impress someone with their find even if they were not initially interested in the topic. Of course, the way it is phrased does not mean that *everyone* needs to come away with an appreciation for what they've been shown (just like park'n'cache traditionals don't instill some sort of appreciation for me to do them either)...but the subject or way in which the virtual is accomplished should give the seeker at the very minimum a trivia fact to quote to someone a day later.

     

    I think that is a more pragmatic approach to defining a virtual than "wow". Finding a historical marker denoting the flanking point of General Hammersham in the Battle of Gettysburg....doesn't instill the person with anything. Finding every historical marker that follows the Union army's advance on the Confederacy over a 3 mile distance....instills at the minimum an appreciation for how far the soldiers had to go in the few days that the Battle took. And so on...

    I think the way ju66l3r stated this makes virtual caches placement much clearer, and should be considered for inclusion in the guidelines. Even a new member should be able to read this and get a better understanding on what it takes to create a good virtual.

     

    IMHO :lol:

  7. First time I heard about this was in Moab Utah...

     

    Heres a link if you arer interested.

    What was missing from that site was the natural progression of an ecosystem.

     

    Grasses and weeds grow,shading the ground and allowing bushes and shrubs to sprout. Once these take hold, trees can grow. As trees age, the canopy prevents others from maturing. The a fire comes and burns many of the older trees. Grasses and weeds grow...

    yep..and the natural progression of that is...when Mother Nature is tired of us messing around with her, she will replace us with something else.. :tongue:

    This was in reference to the fires...and seeding earth with non native stuff...

  8. Just a quick heads up... some feathers from birds are not legal.

    I didn't realize feathers could be illegal. That seems a bit odd, but I suppose it's a useful law if you think about it. I just updated the descripton to reflect that.

     

    It's not the bones that I thought people would find disrespectful, but the fact that I hid it in a cemetery. It just seemed fitting to me. Heck, there's even a little park in there!

    You might want to check it out about the feathers, it's a FEDERAL offense to have bald eagle feathers in your posession unless you are an American Indian. (For religious ceremonies)

     

    In the state of New Mexico, every bird except the Common Sparrow and the Redwing Blackbird are protected by law and carry severe penalties and fines if convicted.

  9. Crawly things is exactly why people should carry a walking stick, and maybe even a pair of gloves. Black Widows are abundant here, as are small scorpions. Leather hiking boot are prefered footwear for protection against Western Diamondback, and Pygmy Rattlers.

     

    We went to a cache this weekend to an area we had been wanting to go to for years. It sits between two active forest fires in New Mexico, that at this time are out of control. This last weekend thought they were still small but it made me aware that mountain lions and bears could possibly be on the move and in a dangerous frame of mind.

     

    Geocaching is fun, but you have to be AWARE of what is going on around you at all times no matter if its urban or suburban, or out in the wilds.

  10. I have had 6 virts approved since Aug. of last year. Only one is in a national park, one I temporarily archived for safety, and the rest are not well know monuments, but rather they represent well know periods of history that most people know in passing about, but not the actual places or persons involved. They have been very well received, and I hope they will in the future.

    That is interesting. So if I understand you correctly, you think Virtual caches should be intersting to cachers, not some garbage can, but something new or unique that people would be interested in seeing.

     

    I agree, as long as it has interest by cachers and that is usually determined by whether people visit the cache. You must have had a much easier approver than I did. Couple of things you might be interested in:

     

    From the virtual cache guidelines

    "The reward for these caches is the location itself and sharing information about your visit. Although many locations are interesting, a virtual cache should be out of the ordinary enough to warrant listing as a unique cache page. "

     

    When I talked to the approver, he said that Virtual Caches need not just be interesting, but they need a "WOW" factor to it.

     

    This is why I am confused about what contains a WOW factor. I believe if a virtual cache is interesting and enjoyable then it should be approved so others can share in the experience. I pointed out other comparable virtual caches in the area and the approver said the following:

     

    "Both caches you mention were approved before the guidelines on virtual caches were tightened up. Therefore they do not apply. They have been allowed to remain because they were Grand Fathered under the old ruling.

     

     A virtual cache must be novel, of interest to other players, and have a special historic, community or Geocaching quality that sets it apart from everyday subjects. Since the reward for a virtual cache is the location, the location should “WOW” the prospective finder.  Signs, memorials, tombstones or historical markers are among the items that are generally too common to qualify as virtual caches.  Unusual landmarks or items that would be in a coffee table book are good examples."

     

    This is why I can only think of NP and well known monuments, which are things in a coffee table book. I suppose there are a few unknown places. But for the most part that really limits virtual caches. Things that are very interesting could be unapproved.

    Please...you don't have to show me the same guidelines I have read over numerous times.

     

    As far as your last sentence, what makes you think what has been passed approval (not mistakenly) will be unapproved ?

  11. There is a de facto ban on virts. TPTB won't come out and say it, but it's true, for better or for worse.

    The only virt you might get approved is one in a National Park or the like.

    No there isn't. That statement is just plain wrong.

    OK. Go out tonight and set up a virt. Submit it. I'd say there is about a 95% chance it gets rejected.

    The approver will write you and say something like, "Couldn't you make this the first step in a multi ending in a physical cache with a log book?"

    That's a de facto ban.

    That's just it, you CANNOT set up a good virtual in just one night. It take more work then that...even more then a traditional at times.

    Geocaching is in a transition period of refining and redefining this sport to make it better for all. Bare with it, and ask questions of the admins. They are here to help make the game better.

  12. Should virtual caches entail more than just National Parks or well known monuments?

     

    I have had 6 virts approved since Aug. of last year. Only one is in a national park, one I temporarily archived for safety, and the rest are not well know monuments, but rather they represent well know periods of history that most people know in passing about, but not the actual places or persons involved. They have been very well received, and I hope they will in the future.

     

    I had no trouble having these approved. Why, because I did my homework, and emailed any questions I had to my approver. I see alot of people join in caching, but rather then wait, watch, and learn before placing caches, or asking for the help provided by the very insightful approvers, they are setting themselves up to fail. The Administrators are and have a wealth of information at their fingertips, use them. Virtuals are not dead, they have been streamlined to provide a more enjoyable experience for everyone.

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