ReadyOrNot

It was actually GC.com that said it was a good idea and suggested I float it out here. I am a little surprised to see some of the downright hostile replies I've seen so far. Just suggesting an IMPROVEMENT to the system. I didn't say I was against some sort of ratings, or "My Favorites" system. I'm pretty sure TPTB have seen all the multitude of previous threads too and if they really wanted to implement it they just would. It's certainly *not* trivial functionality to implement. I would guess bugs and other issues have gotten it pushed down the list, but I do believe it's on the list. Hopefully when the bugs from the last update die down, they'll get back to it... It would be nice to hear from "them" and find out if it's at least still on the radar or not. It keeps getting mentioned, so I would assume it is.

Just make sure you "remove the dirt" with your hand or some other non-pointy object

You are making way too much sense to be commenting on this topic. A male adult anywhere near a playground, for any reason is probable cause to call the police to report a pedophile stalking your children. Use your common sense!

ok the thread is unlocked, I assume that means something was decided in court. any idea what the verdict was Yes, guilty of theft of tupperware. Punishable by taxpayers having to pay for the prosecution.

How do you define "quality"? definition: character with respect to fineness, or grade of excellence "Grade of Excellence"... I like that.. Growth, in my opinion, lowers the grade of excellence. Can you remember sneaking out of the house when you were a teenage? (well, maybe some of you can't).. At 35, I wouldn't get quite the same thrill as I did when I was a teenager. There was a feeling of secrecy and a fear of getting caught. Geocaching use to have that same thrill. Now that everyone and their brother are doing it, it's lost that thrill. The Geocaching honeymoon is over. Unfortunately, there's a lot of money involved now and I don't see anything changing anytime soon.

I'm in Seattle for a week and decided to look around for some caches. I don't have a lot of time, so I wanted to find some "Notable" caches in the area. * Sifting through pages and pages of logs is not an acceptable way to find good caches. Anyone who claims that method is acceptable must have tons of time to waste. Personally, I'd rather be out geocaching versus sitting at my computer for an hour reading through logs. * Most bookmark lists are not very helpful and only contain the cache name without very much useful information. As with above, sifting through a bunch of bookmark lists is also *NOT* on my list of fun ways to spend an evening. * I did find the information I wanted. Eventually, I posted a message on the forums asking for input from those in the Seattle area as to what caches they would recommend. This method works great, but takes too long and I wasn't able to use the information until the next day... Those that are opposed to a rating system, can you give me a reasonable way to get the information I want that does not involve some kind of rating system?

The powers that be are already working on a ratings system. While it's fun discussing this topic OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER, how bout discussing what they are actually considering implementing? Here the link to Nate's post

I'm up here in Seattle until Friday, bored out of my mind. Anyone have any suggestions for some cool night caches in the area? (or just caches I can do at night) Anything really cool thanks!

I absolutely agree! I've been really busy the past 2 years with new job, etc. etc. and haven't been out caching much. I've just started recently and found 3 travel bugs sitting in a drawer that I forgot about. Those owners are going to get a surprise here shortly

There's no reason you should have to get permission to pick up trash at a public park. That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard all day.

I liked the old avatar better

I'm a Software Engineer and often get requests from end users with a very similar level of angst and disrespect. Those requests usually get ignored and put at the end of the list. If you are really interested in helping make things better, pehaps re-evaluating your approach would be in order?

Just because there's no agenda guideline doesn't mean that trackables don't get locked because of hateful rhetoric. Which is a different issue than finding somebody to mint geocoins with the examples you listed. "No agenda guideline" does not translate to "open season for hate groups." And you make an interesting point. It would be the trackable that get's locked, not the cache. If there's a "KKK" trackable or propaganda in my cache, the idea that it turns my cache into an agenda for the KKK is ridiculous at best. I use to be an atheist and I remember it making me so mad in High School when the religious groups would put flyers up for their Bible studies. In response, I printed out a bunch of flyers relating to worshipping Satan (I like to make trouble if you haven't noticed). The school decided to allow it, because they didn't want a big fight over what should and shouldn't be allowed. Once the period was over and the hallways filled with people, those flyers were ripped down and thrown in the trash in a matter of seconds. The point is, Geocachers are decent people and can self-police the swag. KKK swag or coins wouldn't survive very long.

I can guess that you just lost the debate by resorting to sarcasm, shame, it was interesting until then! Most of the discussion took place in the "other" thread. This one is about "Naughty Swag", not about religious items in caches. Sorry about the sarcasm, but sometimes it's better than beating ones head against a wall

I don't get the family sport comment. Do you consider religion somehow anti-family? Family's have been split over religion. People argue, fight and kill over religion. This forum is a one good example. Keep religion out of geocaching and save it for your worship day. Now let the attacks begin. People argue, fight and kill over shoes. People have been killed over $5. People get killed over infidelity. People get killed by the state as punishment. People get killed fighting for freedom. What was your point again? Oh yeah, keep shoes out of Geocaching. gotcha

Solicitations are off-limits. For example, caches perceived to be posted for religious, political, charitable or social agendas are not permitted. Geocaching is supposed to be a light, fun activity, not a platform for an agenda. Those representatives of "TPTB" who have commented here have indicated that they rarely, if ever, attempt to police cache content. The reviewers I've spoken to frown on using cache swag to promote an agenda but recognize there is little they can do about it and that it's up to the cache community to be self-policing in this area. I've highlighted the part I really want you to focus in on... Keep in mind that as a listing service, what they are primarily interested in is what is listed on their web servers, hence the posting... Notice the verb "posted" that is used in the language. Trade items are not "posted" anywhere. Please explain to me how it is that you are applying this to trade items, because i'm just not seeing it.

My comments are addressing the "agenda" context. Oh my.. This is getting tiring. Show me where in the guidelines it says that trade-items cannot have an agenda. We're all very well aware of the part that discusses cache owners listing a cache that has an agenda, but you are connecting two different areas of the guidelines. Most of the folks here agree that you are wrong in your interpretation Even the powers that be agree that you are wrong in your interpretation Could it be that you are wrong in your interpretation?

If you can't handle disagreement, that's unfortunate, but telling others to leave the forum because you don't like what they have to say is, quite frankly, appalling. You are the one that keeps bringing up that caching should be fun and light. If you deem something to not be "Fun" or "Light", you get to CITO it (this is by your own admission).. Since your presence is causing my "Fun" to diminish, wouldn't it be appropriate for the self-appointed swag cop to CITO themselves from the discussion?

Can you please show me where I've called anyone evil? I disagree with using geocaches to promote an agenda, but I wouldn't characterize it as "evil." I'm sorry if you think I'm singling out a particular religion. I'm not trying to. Can you please show where he said you called anyone evil? It appears that he added that for effect, but I understand that can be difficult to comprehend.

"Geocaching is supposed to be a light, fun activity, not a platform for an agenda." That I don't find your arguments persuasive is not a comprehension problem. Well, i'm not having any fun right now.. Can you CITO yourself from these forums please?

Congratulations! You've managed to make sense without invoking the guidelines! . o O Your patronizing tone is unwelcome and not conducive to a good discussion. I realize that you initially interpreted my comments as being antagonistic toward religion, but I have clarified - repeatedly - that they were not intended that way. That you continue to insist on making this personal is tiresome and a little disturbing. I get it now! You're one of those "Artifical Intelligence Debate Bots" aren't you? How cute! Do you do 20 questions too? Ooooh! oooh! oooh! I've got a stumper for you. What's the meaning of life? Are you a male bot or a female bot? I've got something in my hand.. It's made from trees, it has writing on it and has the power to waste an entire day's worth of work.. Can you guess what it is?

If you think that's the meaning of the guidelines, then your reading comprehension might be a little lacking, no wonder you can't understand what anyone is telling you. The personal attacks are unnecessary - you can address my points without using insults. The guidelines address religious agendas, and also address cache contents. Filling a geocache with literature for the purpose of influencing other people's ideas *is* using the geocache as a platform for an agenda. As the guidelines state: "Geocaching is supposed to be a light, fun activity, not a platform for an agenda." If or how this might be enforced is questionable, but that's what the guidelines say. There's no personal attacks.. You really do seem to have a comprehension problem.

If an item has an obvious agenda, I will CITO it. I don't base that on whether or not I'm offended by it - if I leave a brochure in a cache because I agree with it, I'm complicit in using the geocache to promote an agenda. Promoting agendas and causes has no place in the game. Everyone thinks their causes are worthwhile, but Groundspeak asks us to keep them out of the game and I don't want to see geocaches tainted by the same debates that drive wedges between people everywhere else. I wouldn't assume that a coupon has an agenda - someone might have just thought it was a good swag item. A brochure telling me to vote for so-and-so or a pamphlet telling me how to reach spiritual enlightenment has an obvious agenda, and I would remove that. If the poor cache has been degraded by cachers putting in crappy trade items that need to be CITO'd, I might replenish the contents if I have stuff with me. Regardless of my feelings about geocaches and agendas, taking a nice piece of swag and replacing it with a pamphlet seems like a pretty obvious case of down-trading to me. Congratulations! You've managed to make sense without invoking the guidelines!

Tee hee!

I got so tired of being accused of being a sock puppet, so I decided to become one