Doc_Cadaverous

Logged in today, and thought I'd check on my Watchlist caches and trackables, to see their latest adventures. So I hit the lists link, as I always have, but it tells me that lists is a premium feature. Umm, I'm a Basic and have been since 2006, and I've always, every time I've tried, been able to add caches and trackables to my watchlist, so that I can watch/follow/bookmark them, their adventures and travels. So why suddenly is it premium only? I have issues with the "premium" thing anyway, as I feel and have always understood that geocaching is open and available to EVERYONE with a GPS. I took a class once, not about geocaching or GPS, but on another topic, but the same "rules" apply, so I'll substitute geocaching for the actual topic. The instructor of the class said, "there are two rules that we have in this class, 1. Geocaching is supposed to be fun. 2. If your not having fun, refer to rule number 1". I've been having fun, enjoying the adventure, and excitement of geocaching since 2006 (11 years) with friends and family, I've even gotten my girlfriend and her family 1700 miles away involved and "in the game", all this and I'm just a Basic member, and currently planning to stay that way. My physical personal experience with "premium" members hasn't been all that inviting, enjoyable, or pleasant, in fact if I wasn't already a geocacher, and my dealings with these premiums was my first experience, I'm pretty sure I'd not join the game, I'd have walked away and never geocached again. I went to an event in my area, and everyone there except myself, was a premium, and I never felt included, nobody talked to me, the premiums got in their little clique and commenced trashing cachers and caches in the area and surrounding area. When I attempted to join the conversation about some very cool caches I'd found, I was made to feel like my finds were trivial, and not worthy of mention among premiums, that their finds, caches, and geocaching was superior to anything I'd done, or would ever do. Maybe it was just this group of premiums that are the issue, but it tainted my view of the premium membership, as I see seen firsthand how it segregated the basics from the premiums, it creates a division in the game, it doesn't promote geocaching in a positive light in my experiences (I've had other brief encounters with premiums, and had similar outcomes of feeling like I'm inferior). I just read posts about premium membership issues, and even some of them are put off by the premium thing. Paying money to purchase status, then looking down your nose at others who don't, yeah, that's cool isn't it? It really promotes, encourages and invites others to join the sport, doesn't it? I see premium membership as a boughten sign of status, sort of like paying money to buy a diploma so that you can impress people, and gain special treatment, because you bought it, and now that makes you superior. Premiums have special caches, only available to them, they can "favorite" caches adding to the popularity, they can have special search options, allowing them, usually guaranteeing them all the FTF's, and more, basically screwing Basics out of getting excited over a FTF, or promoting the awesome caches they find by adding to the favorite status, and now apparently it's only premiums who can watch/follow/bookmark caches and trackables. Yep, that sounds like a positive, inviting, enjoyable sport/activity to be a part of, sort of like a novice gamer playing a video game against a pro with all the cheats/eastereggs/tips and tricks, yep sounds fair to me, getting screwed before the game even starts, all because one person paid money to purchase their status, and the other was just playing the game for the excitement, thrill, and fun that it brings. I know that this has been a long rant about what's wrong in my opinion, with the "premium" membership, and I realize that it's a vast generalization, and not all premiums are like that, and I apologize to those who aren't like that, and who are honorable and positive role models of geocaching. I just feel that Basics are getting the shaft in lots of cases to begin with, and now having the Watchlist suddenly become a "premium only" perk, pretty soon Basics will be only able to view caches with a difficulty of 1, or terrain of 1, because anything higher will be for the special, select group who pay to buy in to the game, which defeats the purpose the game was created in the first place. Just wondering if I'm alone in this observation and thought?

Ok, since the subject of Night Caching is being addressed, I'm wondering how best to go about setting one up for the first time. Now I realize that there are no set guidelines as to this, but with so many premium members chiming in, I thought there might be some experienced and insightful ideas, suggestions, and such for a night caching "newbie". Are they always listed under "mystery" caches, or how best would you list them? Is it best to go with a theme, or just a night cache? Would you recommend staying more urban (parks and such, but not residential. Don't want to alarm the muggles), or going more rural or wild (wild being, say up in the mountains, or forest) to begin with? I've been, let's say a "casual cacher" since 2006, the reason I say casual is that I cached a bit early, then drifted away due to family, health, and other issues, and have rediscovered geocaching due to Cub Scouts where I have been a leader. Most all my finds have been urban, but I'm wanting to branch out a bit, and even place some of my own. Yep, I'm a 10 year old geocacher with no caches of my own, I'm a basic member in a world of premiums. My area seems to be flooded with micros and nanos (you have probably a 75 to 1 ratio of micro/nano to even a small) and I want to do something different, something exciting, and night caching looks to be just what I'm wanting. I've tried to find night caches in my area, but being a basic I can't search attributes, so I'm not having much luck finding much. But also since I'm a basic, I feel the desire to do something that other basics can easily find, maybe a small series of "intro to night caching" or caching in general type caches, that will maybe inspire others to create bigger and better, and replace those old moldy pill bottles, and obsolete caches that should have been archived years back. I don't know about you, but try seeing things through a newbies eyes, and if all there are, are a bunch of micros and nanos, that are full of DNF's, I'd get a bit discouraged, I'd want something "easy" to get my feet wet, to as the BSA put it, "Get Into The Game" and learn the basics before jumping in over my head and searching for a cache disguised as a pinecone in the middle of the forest. I guess I'm an advocate for the newbies, my philosophy is to begin with some basics, I mean you don't start a baby on steak do you. It just seems a majority of caches are placed by premium members, and I kinda think sometimes they forget what it's like to be the newbie, trying to find their first cache, their first night cache, Wherigo, multicache, etc True, these beginner type caches don't present much challenge for the "old pros" but they create the excitement for the new guys, to stick around long enough to be old pros someday. Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox now (lol) any suggestions, advice, ideas, and encouragement about creating my first night cache (actually first cache ever), would be greatly appreciated.