Kouros

I use the pocket queries very rarely. In a weekly email, I have the five closest cache waypoints emailed to me, and that's about it. I don't think I've ever hunted a Members Only cache. Do I think my £20 wasted? Nope. I consider it late payment for the twelve months of free use I got out of the site before I signed up. Completely ignoring the members benefits (of which there are few) there are many factors of this site without which caching would be impossible. I feel that my £20 has been well spent on a service, even if I don't get anything extra in return. On the other hand, I also like the idea that the site is free for others to use as they wish. If you don't want to pay, don't - you probably won't notice any benefits, other than the happy warm feeling from knowing you've helped support the game. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

Fully agreed, carleenp. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

I know exactly what you mean by "hitting the wall" - though I don't think I've quite got there yet. I quite often only hunt one or two per trip, and I definately don't go every weekend, let alone every day. OK, so it means I still haven't hit the 100 mark, but instead I just go when I feel the need to go caching. Otherwise, I spread my outdoor hobbies out - sometimes, I'll go riding, sometimes I'll just go for a walk with no caching involved. Then, once every couple of weeks or so, I feel a real desire to grab a cache or two. That said, failing to find three caches? Heck, I'm sure half the ones I fail to find are because I've given in too easily. Until you mentioned it, I had always put it down to my general ineptitude, but you could be right - perhaps I've hit the wall, but carry on out of habit. I wondered why my nose felt flatter than usual... ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

quote:Originally posted by Divine:The person below me has some chlorine. Well, she's a fair better looker than Collette... The person below me actually enjoyed the film "My Little Eye" ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

Beer can: Probably Fosters or Carling. Never really paid attention Soda: Definately Coke Cigarette Pack: Probably Marlboro, though can't really remember Fast Food Bag: Oddly enough, I can't remember *ever* having to trash one of those out. Not even a burger box or fries packet. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

For all the critics of Geocaching, you can call it all you want, but it sure is educational. It's odd what you come across in the woods, that most of us somehow manage to avoid in the 'real' world. I know I've found my fair share of bongs, and bodies (though the body in question wasn't exactly dead). ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

Well done T&J, we've all got some catching up to do... ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

A well thought out, and mature response to a contentious issue, in my opinion Brian. hikemeister, can I also point you towards Geocaching's Cache In, Trash Out discussion forum? 'CITO' is a geocaching policy that you may find of interest. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

Well, yeah! Thanks, Simon! ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

quote:Originally posted by sbell111:Those trinks sound fine. Commercial would be if you printed swag that said 'Bull Moose' Pool and Spa Depot' and then hid them in a box just outside your showroom door. Unless, of course, there is no such company called 'Bull Moose Pool and Spa Depot' and by 'showroom' you mean 'bathroom'. Although that would be a pretty weird cache. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

Over on the 'Getting Started' forum, there's a topic about where you can find a site that would translate an address to a coordinate. Obviously (or not so obviously) the site is based in the U.S. Does anyone know of a similar utility that could do the job for the United Kingdom? ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

Because some people truly believe that a golf ball is a worthy trade for a DVD. It is a shame, and there are ways around it - don't trade or always trade 'up'. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

As far as I'm aware, the prices are still the same. New members can only become Premium members now. If I recall correctly, though, I remember Jeremy saying somewhere or other that at some point in the future, prices will change. The price will go up for Premium members, but Charter Members will be 'grandfathered' at the old rate. I might be remembering that incorrectly, so feel free to correct me if you know better. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

quote:Originally posted by DerekReed: quote:Originally posted by Moss Trooper:Also available on the GAGB site That one is only available to those with the correct privs (e.g. GAGB Forum Moderators.) Odd. Seems to work fine this end, and I'm no moderator... ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

quote: So, my solemn vow is to make a cache in this area, and, while I'm at it, clean out that limestone kiln. I think it's the least I can do for mother nature and for our local history Good for you! The world needs more people like you to take care of our environment. But please, don't be diheartened when the trash comes back again - sadly it will. quote: go for it fenrirWolf... one person cleaning one spot is all it takes to make the world a better place. Indeed it does. Unfortunately it only takes one person (and a large number of BAR-B-Q potato chips bags) to mess it all up again. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

quote:Originally posted by solohiker:Most of the sheeple were making comments about the high cost of running a web business. It was my obligation as a cacher to pay to play. I really don't care how much Groundspeak make out of subscriptions, except to say the more the better - they deserve every penny for the last couple of years of hard work they've put into it. Hell, $30? That's about £20 in real money, and about equal to a week's worth of petrol - I'm sure I can stretch to that to subsidise something giving me 12 months worth of enjoyment, with a few extra useful features to boot. It may not be your obligation to pay, but for the number of things we're forced to pay for every day - taxes, food, clothing, petrol, electricity - this is one thing I'm happy to pay my own way for voluntarily, and partly because they've given you the option of not paying if you don't want to. So enjoy your free ride, what do I care? I'm enjoying this ride too - the scenery is just as nice, and the bus company has given me an extra cup holder. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

Thanks! Interesting stuff... ...but just to move a little OT:- quote: Egnos is a joint project of the European Space Agency, the European Commission and the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, Eurocontrol. Am I alone in thinking that "Euro" and "European" are a little over-used at the moment? 'Eurocontrol' to me sounds like it should be part of the European bank (controlling all those Euros) - we really need another name that can be used in place of "European" in much the same way that (Although not necessarily geographically correct) America is pretty much interchangeable with United States, USA, United States of America etc. Sorry, rant over. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

Jolly good for you, and a fantastic story to boot! Well done! ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

We've come across what we thought was a dead body but it all turned out to just be a very drunk man. That's about it, really, and to be honest I'm glad I haven't had any more real problems than that. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

Ask around friends and family - you might be surprised how many people have GPS units and don't use them... you might be able to buy there's off of them. Alternatively, try Ebay. I know not everyone likes using second hand wares, but for simply trying the game out, it might be worth doing that instead of spending more and discovering it's not for you. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

quote:Originally posted by The Hungry Caterpillars:Like this a lot Kouros.Obviously a lot of thought is being put into this. It feels as if many lessons have been learnt and a framework is being built that will not make too many geocachers unhappy. Thank you. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

I started to read this thread, and noted that it had begun to move into a discussion of whether or not we need a representative organisation, which is not what Paul asked for. Sine I am one of the guilty few who gets drawn into heated debates, I've decided to steer clear, and just answer Paul's questions. - should it represent UK, GB, England, Wales etc? I would suggest trying it on a small area. If successful there, move it to a wider one. - how many people would be needed to run it? As few as possible. I would propose that the organisation should merely act as a 'gateway' to the caching community. For example, it could be a database of cachers from whom to contact for the land owners, and for the cachers, relay any information that land owners may want to provide. A potential scenario: a land owner may want to tell the caching community that all caches in X area are out of bounds for two months while birds are nesting. This would have the result that in effect it would be no different to now, except that important information is collected together in an accessible form, and both cachers and landowners would be able to easily communicate with one another. - should it pro-actively be promoting geocaching? I don't think that should be a primary aim at this time - I think to do so would be giving the organisation too many responsibilities. - Should it be pro-actively promoting to landowners, with the aim of getting "general cache-placement approval"? Yes - but through the caching community. In other words, for each occasion where a meeting with a landowner is seen to be required, the community of cachers would suggest a suitable person - this may be due to geographical location, caching experience, and experience in talking with authority bodies. This would also prevent the hypothetical situation where someone decides off their own back to contact such-and-such county council, and when they don't get want they want, kick up a fuss and make the situation worse. It is obviously worth noting that on the whole, people who do contact landowners or land managers would no doubt do an excellent job, but this option would allow the whole community to have involvement in choosing who represents them - not just one individual deciding that they are fit for the job. For those of you who suggest that above scenario would not happen - remember that when Phil Allen from HCC took the time to come onto these boards, a few people accused him of not existing because what he said appeared to support one side of the argument and not the other. - should it act as a "single & convenient point of contact" for caching enquiries (eg from both people wanting to go hunting, and landowners who find a cache)? Only in as much as it could provide a database of reliable people to contact. E.G. Someone from Buxton wants to start caching, and so the organisation may suggest that they contact Teasel (not to be detrimental to anyone else from Buxton - just Teasel is the first name that springs to mind that comes from Buxton), and give them the appropriate contact details. Or, if a landowner wants to organise a caching event (as with the upcoming HCC event) it may suggest experienced event-cachers who may be willing to help get it going. - should it be promoting a single set of UK-wide (or GB-wide etc) "local recommendations" for cache placement? Again, only in as much as it could provide a database of requirements from local landowners. I don't believe that it should have any control over the approval process, but people who place caches that don't follow the land owners requirements should be made aware that the land owner may remove them. I don't think that it should fulfill any sort of "policing" role, but rather literally promote land owner requirements, and cachers should realise that landowners would themselves be willing to enforce them. It should work as a matter of respect - Cachers realise that landowners allow caching, and as such, follow their requests. In contrast, Caches which are placed within the landowners requirements could have a notice stating that they have been placed with the landowners consent. - should it be involved with cache approval? No. GC.com/whatever other site should approve caches. The organisation should be a means to encourage cachers to place them legally, and within any wishes of the landowner. Again - to do otherwise would, in my opinion, give the organisation too much control. - what should it be called? Not important at this time, except to suggest that the name should be location-neutral. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will

quote:Originally posted by Flatlander22:Having said that, the one thing that caught my attention in this article is the statement that some geocachers ignored signs that the park was closed and ventured in anyway. That part made me question the validity of the article (as did the bit about Geocaching encouraging cachers to use motor vehicles on sensitive land). A few other things don't seem to tally up in my own mind, but I wouldn't want to comment without seeing the cache logs in question. Seems to me like a badly written article attempting to demonise cachers by purposefully not painting the full picture (there's *lots* of pretty blatant positive stuff that even a third-rate journalist would have noted, such as CacheIn-TrashOut, actually encouraging people to enjoy the outdoors, the educational value etc), and not even having a point of view from a Geocacher, but rather a biased account of a situation about us potentially having an impact on sensitive land (for which there was a legitimate cause for concern). Either that or the journalist in question is just inept. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will [This message was edited by Kouros on June 02, 2003 at 03:27 PM.]

quote:Originally posted by Travers:Really? It must be a regional thing, you definitely don't have to pay anything here. _"Access to the Internet, word processing and CD-ROM facilities are free."_ I was having a look at this site to see whether Hampshire Libraries have free Internet Access, and it suggests that all libraries should have free connection across the UK - so perhaps the info about Wales is a little out of date? Omally noted it was this time last year, so I guess things may have changed. It might be worth enquiring about the "People's Network" at a library in Wales to see whether or not they support the scheme. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will [This message was edited by Kouros on May 31, 2003 at 09:37 AM.]

I know exactly what you mean Pid. I didn't get a chance to go out caching earlier today, because I left the GPS in the car, but I did go out for a nice long ride through the countryside. Can't help but feel guilty about it though... finals are coming up, and I *should* be slomped in front of a computer screen/books/lecture notes getting as much as I can done before the fateful day. *Sigh* - You just can't win. ------ An it harm none, do what ye will