Sol seaker
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Posts posted by Sol seaker
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My mind was wandering just now when posting in another thread, and I realized that post was off-topic there and really belongs here. (sometimes I do write without thinking)
It was about what I learned in one place I worked at when I was 20. I saw the people dealing with the public there being really rude to the customers. If I were one of those customers I would have raised holy... well you get it. Then I watched how the management treated the people working there. I paid attention to stores where they treated the customers really well and asked them about their management.
I came to realize that a lot gets passed down. People treated well are more likely to treat others well. People treated badly are more likely to treat others badly.
The fact that the angst in these forums was bad a couple of years ago when I quit posting much, and it seems to have gotten a lot worse sense then.
The management team of these forums have gotten harsher and harsher and the forums keep getting worse and worse.
Perhaps the "fighting fire with fire" method is not working out so well.
I heard recently about some other forums where when people were out-of-line they were given clear notices about WHY they were out-of-line, and they were given a clear message about how many other notices they would get and then what consequences would happen from that.
That is clear messages that would have someone see that they are causing a problem. When someone is blindsided out-of-the-blue with a notice and no warning, and no indication of what the problem might be, it creates a bad atmosphere that spreads. That person runs to others and says, "What happened?" and others can also get disgruntled.
A kind, polite forum management, who does not engage in snarky remarks, therefore encouraging the same, with clear messages and warnings with clear consequences tends to encourage the same.
Also, a forum management team that listens to the complaints and suggestion of it's forum members, also creates a kind environment where everyone feels valued.
The people in these forums are the people who pay for geocaching.com. I think they have important insights and suggestions that need to be considered.
The best managers I've ever had are those who listen to those that work for them. The best companies I've frequented are those who ask for "suggestions and complaints" of the people who frequent their businesses.
I always go to businesses that treat their customers well. I always go to businesses that care if a customer feels they not been treated well.
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You know one cool thing about these forums is that geocachers can come here to post instead of geocaching when the snow is too deep, when it is raining too hard, when it is dark and they don't like caching in the dark. It is also good for disabled cachers who have a limited number of caches they can find and aren't able to cache as much as they are able to sit at their computer. It's also good for moments between work for some who sit at a desk.
I would not disagree with most of what you say here. My "general" statement was more along the lines of those that I can be guaranteed to find here on ANY random or arbitrary day. Perhaps we should limit forum post count to not exceed find count? << that was a joke..
It's actually true that I was trying to keep my forum count no higher than my find count for a long time.
Now I'm not on the forums as much. There has always been grumpy people on the forums, but it seems to have escalated in recent times.
I always think when helpers in a store are unfriendly that it comes down from the top.
I've worked at places where that is very true. Generally people treated well in a business treat others well.
In forums I think the same thing can happen. I think moderators can create a harsh atmosphere by treating people harshly. I don't see it working. Things seem to have gotten worse in here.
So I haven't been on the forums as much, and my forum count has dropped way below my find count. Does this mean I have work to do?
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Dinosaur here*.
If you're a dinosaur at 6 years than I must be an ammonite crawling out of the sea or something at 11 years.
I agree in principle that old timers bring wisdom to the game and at times hold it together. But I disagree that ALL regulars here in the forums are good for the forums. Particularly the ones that sit here day after day, page after page, and do nothing but respond to posts rather an actually going out to geocache. I come and go periodically here in the forums because I despise the nitpicking, pouncing, holier than thou attitudes that some of the regulars espouse. If they geocached as much as they posted, Alamogal might be given a run for his money.
I welcome responses even from ammonites in this thread, no matter where you crawl out of.
Yes, there have been some "pouncing" and very judgmental responses here.
You know one cool thing about these forums is that geocachers can come here to post instead of geocaching when the snow is too deep, when it is raining too hard, when it is dark and they don't like caching in the dark. It is also good for disabled cachers who have a limited number of caches they can find and aren't able to cache as much as they are able to sit at their computer. It's also good for moments between work for some who sit at a desk.
The forums have historically been a good place to connect with geocaching when one can't get out and geocache. It's great people are so involved in caching they like to connect with others about it when they can't cache every second of the day.
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Seems to me that this thread took a very sharp and sudden turn into rage-politics.
Actually, the OP started from the "rage-politics" angle, and has confirmed it a couple posts below yours. He posted a similar post in a thread that had turned from some other topic to discussing banned members before posting this thread: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=330334&view=findpost&p=5484385
So, no - there was no turn.
So do you assume that every time someone starts a new thread it's about the latest threads they've posted in? I've also posted about flashlights and tent hammocks recently. Perhaps this thread is really about that.
There is no rage and there is no politics in my opening post. I am not a rageful person; I am not an angry person. I'm really pretty darn nice if you get to know me.
I must say however, that the responses I've gotten in this thread have ranged from argument, to anger, to confusion to some really great responses to my question. It's amazing what people are reading into what I thought was a simple question.
I appreciate all the simple responses to my simple question. There have been some great responses here.
The rest I must say, have me baffled.
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Yeah, that's why I was trying to avoid the question of who is an old timer and who is not. We don't want anyone to feel insulted or left out. Anyone can be an old timer or a newcomer. I don't think it matters, and certainly not for this thread.
The point is that those who have been around a while have a lot to offer the community. They have VALUE in being here. They have a lot to share.
I love learning from the experience of others. That's one of the most fun parts of going to events. It's great to talk to people and hear the best caches to find and the latest tools or whatever.
People who have been playing the game for a while used to be all over these forums answering questions the rest of us didn't know. I've learned so much from these forums. when I was a really new cacher I was asked once how I had been caching for such a short time yet knew so much about geocaching. It was because I hung out on the forums and learned. Because of all I learned I gave a geocaching class (free) and turned a lot of people onto all the great stuff I learned in here.
We need people who have been around a while. The forums belong to everyone. Or at least they should.
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I checked out another thread on hammocks. There was a lot of talk about under quilts.
Anyone have any experiences or suggestions regarding quilts to share?
I was surprised to sleep comfortably in 20 degree weather without an underquilt. Granted I was using a zero degree bag but I was toasty all night. I had slipped a space blanket between the layers of my Blackbird so that might have made a difference.
Underquilts are extremely expensive. Heck, most cost more than my hammock and tarp combined. I have several square sleeping bags that I haven't used in years. I was thinking of cutting them in half lengthwise and finding someone with a sewing machine to sew the cut end closed. Then adding grommets to the corners so I could hang it as an underquilt.
Arrowhead-equipment.com makes an underquilt called the Jarbridge for about 100-150 but it is a 3/4 length.
This is an interesting solution to the problem of cold coming up through the bottom.
I actually have an old sleeping bag someone gave me after they melted part of it in the dryer. Since I sew, I end up with this stuff and can often do a lot with them. Not sure I'll have need for it, since I'm thinking of getting rid of the Hennessey though. I did love it a lot, but I got another 4 season tent a couple of years ago that's my latest love. I can set it up in a fraction of the time of the hammock and don't need trees.
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I'm an avid sewer and I love altering outdoor gear.
I bought a Hennessey hammock years ago, the first thing I did was rip it apart.
I'm claustrophobic, so I put in a zipper in the side so I wouldn't freak out sleeping on top of my escape hatch.
Then later I added a velcro-on additional piece of fabric on top of the mesh roof. This made it so much incredibly warmer I couldn't believe! I tend to camp in a lot of different type of weather. I try not to camp in snow much, but have camped alone in 19 degrees, so I do need warmth in my tents.
My hammock tent, even with the additional velcro sheet I added to keep warmth in, still is not warm enough for me for winter camping. The cold still comes up through the floor (yes, with it hanging!).
I also modified the rain fly, almost doubling the size of it. It really wasn't big enough before.
Since the modifications I've used the hammock many times. I've really loved it, but may have had enough of it for a while. I still am very claustrophobic.
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I am a flashlight fanatic. I have more than I could possibly count. Every time I go in a hardware or outdoor store I have to look at the flashlights to see if they've got anything better than what I've got.
This is my absolutely favorite best flashlight of all times.
I was looking for something that could penetrate the pitch darkness of being in the deep woods at night far away from the city and even be able to run by that light.
I found it.
this thing is incredibly bright, and is also RECHARGEABLE BY USB, so I can recharge it in my car from my cigarette lighter. But it lasts so long I don't need to worry about it. I use it many hours, and have never had it go out on me.
It's got two settings, both LED. One is dimmer for reading in the tent, and one is a spotlight for running at night in the woods. Or whatever.
I paid $70 bucks for mine and did not waste my money. It looks like they can be had a whole lot cheaper right now, being the old model.
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So some friends and I were discussing the value of long-time geocachers to the game.
As I see it, they spread the word about geocaching better than anyone or anything. They help new cachers get into the game and teach them about the game.
I know for myself, if I cache with newbies I always encourage them to sign up to get a paid membership to geocaching.com, which is a benefit to geocaching.com as a business, but it also helps newcomers with pocket queries, notifications and other benefits of a paid membership.
Old timers put on events (most of the events around here are put on by old timers).
At events, excitement and interest in geocaching spreads. I spent time with a newbie at a recent event. It was fun to share the joy of caching. The event was chock full of mainly old timers, but there were newbies there checking out the game.
I could go on with this list, and I'll add some more later, but I want to give others a chance to answer this question.
Of course newbies are very important to this game, we all know that, and you can start that thread. But this one is just about those of us who have been around a while.
IMHO you are throwing around very relative and subjective terms...I have been using portable GPS units since 1997, long before I started geocaching in 2001...I might consider you a "newbie"... Who is "us" as you say?
Not sure where you get your classifications on what is and what isn't a newbie. We have been caching since 04. We still use a GPS and our number of finds is not important. We enjoy it for what it is. Who is "us"?
I think people can call themselves whatever they like, and whatever they feel they are.
However, it does seem important to people here to have a definition, so I will say, I consider someone a "newbie" if they've been caching under a year with less than 300 finds.
Now if you ask 100 cachers you will get 100 answers to that question. There is no real definition. I don't want titles to get in the way of the question here.
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Thank you very much Geobain, for having the courage to start this topic. It is a question a lot of us have wanted to ask, but been afraid to ask.
I don't want to show up in a space where I'm afraid to voice my opinion for fear of saying something wrong and being banished, when I had no idea it was the wrong thing to say.
And Knowschad,
You are correct in saying Groundspeak has no need to fear for competition. What is it now? 3 million geocachers cannot be wrong. We all love geocaching, the vast majority of us love Groundspeak. It is getting more and more common for people to know what geocaching is, and it really is true that geocaching and Groundspeak are becoming synonymous.
Heck, just look at a geocaching map. No one can catch up to that. No one. There are more than a few dedicated geocachers around that create more dedicated geocachers. This thing is still spreading. Heck, even the Pizza place where we held a recent event, the woman behind the counter was asking us to bring her the log book. She was all excited about us being there.
It is important to keep a positive outlook in the forums, but in order to do that one must keep a positive outlook. You can't create positive with negative. It just doesn't work.
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So some friends and I were discussing the value of long-time geocachers to the game.
As I see it, they spread the word about geocaching better than anyone or anything. They help new cachers get into the game and teach them about the game.
I know for myself, if I cache with newbies I always encourage them to sign up to get a paid membership to geocaching.com, which is a benefit to geocaching.com as a business, but it also helps newcomers with pocket queries, notifications and other benefits of a paid membership.
Old timers put on events (most of the events around here are put on by old timers).
At events, excitement and interest in geocaching spreads. I spent time with a newbie at a recent event. It was fun to share the joy of caching. The event was chock full of mainly old timers, but there were newbies there checking out the game.
I could go on with this list, and I'll add some more later, but I want to give others a chance to answer this question.
Of course <b>newbies</b> are very important to this game, we all know that, and you can start that thread. <b>But this one is just about<u> those of us</u> who have been around a while.</b>
IMHO you are throwing around very relative and subjective terms...I have been using portable GPS units since 1997, long before I started geocaching in 2001...I might consider you a "newbie"... Who is "us" as you say?
Anyone who considers themselves an old timer counts. That can be someone with 1000 cache finds or 40,000 cache finds. It may be ten years they've been in the game, or two years.
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So some friends and I were discussing the value of long-time geocachers to the game.
As I see it, they spread the word about geocaching better than anyone or anything. They help new cachers get into the game and teach them about the game.
I know for myself, if I cache with newbies I always encourage them to sign up to get a paid membership to geocaching.com, which is a benefit to geocaching.com as a business, but it also helps newcomers with pocket queries, notifications and other benefits of a paid membership.
Old timers put on events (most of the events around here are put on by old timers).
At events, excitement and interest in geocaching spreads. I spent time with a newbie at a recent event. It was fun to share the joy of caching. The event was chock full of mainly old timers, but there were newbies there checking out the game.
I could go on with this list, and I'll add some more later, but I want to give others a chance to answer this question.
Of course newbies are very important to this game, we all know that, and you can start that thread. But this one is just about those of us who have been around a while.
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Let the record reflect that we're not handing out warnings for hijacking memomls' thread so that forum posting suspensions can be discussed.
Details of individual accounts are not discussed publicly. Suffice it to say that one needs to rack up a large number of forum warnings over a sustained period of time in order to be considered for a permanent posting suspension. It is a last resort when prior warnings and multiple short-term posting suspensions have failed to change fundamental behaviors.
One focus of the moderating team is for the forum community to be more welcoming and helpful to newcomers or occasional visitors who stop by to ask simple questions. Query whether the last several days' worth of posts to this thread have been kind and welcoming from memomls' perspective.
It is important to serve the long-time members as well as the newbies.
It is important for long-time members to know the unspoken rules that could get them banned. Everyone I know wants to play by the rules here.
The old timers are as important as the newbies, if not more so. They are the ones who are the strong forum legs. They are here to teach, and yes welcome the newbies.
Please don't kick the old timers under the bus. They are important for the forums and indeed for the geocaching.com business.
It's the long time geocachers who are the best promoters of geocaching as a game. It is important not to kick them under the bus.
Happy old timers are the best promoters of geocaching and of the paid memberships that keep Groundspeak afloat.
Disgruntled old timers have been known to do things like constantly steal caches (a real problem here in WA)or leave quite unpleasant things in caches that make newbies not want to cache anymore (a problem that many have seen).
Happy old times spread the joy. Everyone I meet, I tell them to get a geocaching.com paid membership if they cache. How could you be without one and cache? I tell them.
Old timers are out there right now, all over, taking new cachers by the hand and helping them learn this game. It is much easier to learn with an old timer than by oneself. Old timers are the best promotion tool Groundspeak has. They should be treated with respect in mind of this situation.
Old timers are good for Groundspeak. This is really important. This is not to be forgotten.
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The thing I don't get, is how do people enjoy cache goals when they know they really didn't meet them?
I've considered logging a cache a day ahead in order to fill in my cache-a-day calendar, but realized that would ruin the entire thing for me. Why not just fill it all in? It would make it worthless.
Yes when we fill in the wrong day to get something (like a streak) then we are cheating ourselves (in addition to others, as Knowschad and BC have mentioned).
So do these people cheat themselves all the time already and so one more doesn't make a difference? I just don't get it. It would make the stats worthless to myself, which is who matters the most. Where is the integrity to ones self?
I will miss Mr. Yuck too. He had some clear-headed opinions around here and had some great information to share. I wonder if there is some actual guideline to give people a permanent ban. There are people on this forum who are regularly disruptive and they seem to not get one. I don't understand that either.
Is integrity dead in these United States? Does no one have a conscience anymore?
I blam the this childishness on the fact there are way too many challange caches out there now.
This Mr.Yuck situation has me feeling disillusioned. So much so, I am taking a break from these forums for a while. I encourage anyone else feeling disillusioned to also take a break.
Some argue that there are too many caches of all types. But while it may affect how some choose to play, one should not let it affect how you enjoy the game. If it stops being fun, I'll stop playing. I don't want others to affect my enjoyment so I ignore them as much as possible.
I heard that a couple of other forum regulars were also given the permanent boot in the forums here. If such actions is meant to be a deterrent, they should be made known to those who participate in the forums. Some of us are confused why certain people are banned while others are not. Color me disillusioned as well, but I neither encourage nor discourage anyone from participating in the forums here. As I had said before, I learned a lot here, and in my own small way I hope I had helped a few people with technical issues. I had taken a voluntary break in the past, and I think I will take one again.
The fate of Mr.Yuck, Tozainamboku and 4wheelinfool has me really bothered too. This will be my last post for a while.
+1
It has me worried that my days may be numbered too. I'm an oldie, frequent contributor, and speak out a lot mostly against the numbers aspect of the game (quality over quantity). Was that the problem? Too much criticism?
Maybe there's a plan afoot to wind down the forums altogether, in favour of twitface and the like?
Removing members with the highest post count might help that process along.
Is it streaking?
I guess it's a streak of banning forum regulars.
I think it's important for the rest of us to know why and that it's happening so we know the finer rules in here that are unspoken but will still get you banned. But I guess we should break that into another thread.
As far as streaking involving signing caching on a day you didn't find the cache, no that's not streaking. That's ... I have no idea what that is. Just finding caches I guess. And something that could turn problematic for players trying to find caches after you if the caches come up missing.
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I think it's a good thing we are moving forward here with new search engines.
I've always wanted to sort caches by name and place, for instance, caches that begin with "welcome to" in the state of Washington. Before I had to sort through the entire planet to find the WA State ones.
I haven't used the new search engine much yet, but I'm really glad to see Groundspeak moving forward making the attempts to make a better search experience.
I would suggest anyone having input, put it in positive, constructive manner, and this new design can surely be improved.
I'm really glad to see the search engine being worked on. I'm sure soon it will be in great shape to suit more peoples needs.
This is a good step forward in creating a new one.
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I went to a pi event at a pizza restaurant. It was a lot of fun. We mobbed the back of the restaurant.
One of the women at the counter got really excited when she heard what we were up to. I told her to come out and sign the log book.
Someone published a new puzzle cache for the event, and handed it out at the event. Most of us could not make heads or tails of it, but the solution was soon being passed around too, for us puzzle impaired.
As people trickled out they headed for the puzzle cache. There was a huge list of names on the new log when I got there. The people kept coming up as I was leaving too. That was fun.
I then went out and grabbed a few more caches to make it a six icon day. I didn't have time to hunt down any more for more icons. To get more than that would have meant a lot of travel I didn't have time for.
It was a great event and a lot of fun. And now I've got 40 souvenirs.
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Yes it would be good to get some function like that on the cachers map.
I'd love to be able to mark caches I want to find, like there's a challenge nearby I keep forgetting to find that I've qualified for, for a few years.
Also I could mark puzzle caches that I've solved, so when I look at the map I can just go get them. I keep finding puzzles I've solved but haven't found (I put my solutions in the "notes" box).
If I could mark all these I could keep up on the puzzles that I solve. I know a woman who has a file drawer filled with the puzzles she's solved. It would be really nice for her to just look at the map to know which sheets to pull out of her files.
Also, I could mark events I plan on going to, multi's that look really interesting, traditionals with high favorite points, etc.
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The thing I don't get, is how do people enjoy cache goals when they know they really didn't meet them?
I've considered logging a cache a day ahead in order to fill in my cache-a-day calendar, but realized that would ruin the entire thing for me. Why not just fill it all in? It would make it worthless.
Yes when we fill in the wrong day to get something (like a streak) then we are cheating ourselves (in addition to others, as Knowschad and BC have mentioned).
So do these people cheat themselves all the time already and so one more doesn't make a difference? I just don't get it. It would make the stats worthless to myself, which is who matters the most. Where is the integrity to ones self?
I will miss Mr. Yuck too. He had some clear-headed opinions around here and had some great information to share. I wonder if there is some actual guideline to give people a permanent ban. There are people on this forum who are regularly disruptive and they seem to not get one. I don't understand that either.
Is integrity dead in these United States? Does no one have a conscience anymore?
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I would really love to see a new map option added, that is to be able to mark caches on the map.
The idea would be to click on the cache icon, perhaps right-click, and then mark that cache in red (or something).
This way I could take a look at the map of my area and see all the caches that I would like to do next.
Perhaps the ability to mark them in two colors would allow me to mark, say in blue, caches that I've DNF'ed.
I could open up my geocaching map and be able to see at a glance, the caches I'd like to do next and the ones I've DNF'ed.
That would be incredibly awesome.
Thank you for considering this idea.
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I'll stop geocaching when other things in my life become more important.
I'm finding that happening more and more, and I think it's probably a good thing.
I certainly can't imagine quitting due to physical problems. I've injured my back a few times pretty badly, once I couldn't walk over 20 feet. I just learned to appreciate drive-up caches. I had complained about LPC's before that. I got the chance to clear quite a few off of my map.
I can't imagine ever totally quitting. The amazing adventures I've had because of geocaching would not have otherwise happened. I've explored many islands among other things, that just wouldn't have happened.
I've got my eye on a remote island up in the mountains that you've got to hike a boat a few mile up to (lake is too big and cold to swim) and inflate it and paddle out to the geocache on the island. What other reason would there be to do that?
Quit no. Cut down, maybe.
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I'm really happy you guys are putting some thought into this. This is something we've really needed. I appreciate it!!
We've really been needing a search engine where we can do a search on something within our areas, like "Tubular" within Seattle.
I also think it's a great idea to check with a few people and get feedback.
Now all that being said, I can't get it to work at all.
I tried caches within the state of Washington with the name "tubular" in the title. It said, "DNF".
So I tried all caches anywhere with "tubular" in the title. "DNF"
So then I tried clearing all filters and tried just "Dayspring". "DNF"
Maybe it's down today.
I went back to the old search engine and tried "tubular" and got a whole lot of caches, but not Daysprings caches. I freaked out and went to the map to find if they were all archived, but easily found the ones I've found.
I'd love to find all of his caches that I haven't found already. I can use the old search for now, but it was a good test of the new one.
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Here's the screen that appears. This is likely at any Taco Bell that has wifi. It's the official Taco Bell Wifi with an agreement screen and everything. I tried a couple of simple things like the direct IP address, but didn't change network settings.
If the previous replies are saying there's a way to use Geocaching.com from within Waymarking.com, posting the specific steps would be helpful.
It says right on top that opendns thinks the site is bad, not taco bell. You have non-standard dns settings on your device.
The next to last line of the message says that TB blocked the site. OpenDNS allows account holders to configure the DNS to suit their needs, which is what TB has done.
A few people have made the assumption that someone at TB is managing the blacklist or accessing OpenDNS. For a company as large as Taco Bell I find it more likely that TB contracted with some internet service provider to make "free wifi" available for their locations, and it's the ISP that is managing the OpenDNS configuration as part of the service they're providing to TB. Someone at TB may have stipulated that they want to restrict access such that patrons can't view porn or play online games, and the ISP is just using a solution (OpenDNS) which allows them to do that.
I fully agree. By saying TB blocked the the site, I meant their IT dept (internal or contracted) and that it wasn't initiated by OpenDNS, as was suggested in, "opendns thinks the site is bad."
Okay, I just submitted a comment saying that I want geocaching.com on wifi at all taco bell stores.
Don't say I never did nothin' for ya.
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I think someone should email taco bell headquarters and give them a link to these forums and this thread.
I'm sure they have no idea what sites they've blocked, and that they're upsetting a group from a family-friendly game.
I don't eat Taco Bell anyway, so I guess I don't care so much.
http://www.tacobell.com/feedback
You would get more results letting them know how you feel than us. But it's good to let us know so everyone can email them. Best results that way.
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teaching the dogs to do that is the trick.
Clarification
in General geocaching topics
Posted
Just for the record, I've never been banned here.
I always watch how people around me are treated in all situations though.
If a business treats others badly I figure my time will come around where they'll treat me badly too, so I don't go there.