ZachMJ2345

My girlfriend and I are both 23. She hasn't been out yet but we plan to get her first sometime this week. I haven't been out there looking suspicious in almost 3 years... it's about time I get back to it.

Just because you want GC.com to endorse a new "game", that doesn't mean they should at all... The idea that just because you want a new feature added to the site, a new version of the game, that they should do it just because you want it is asking a little bit too much. From the response received on the forums, it's plain to see that not many people like your idea. I can't really see that ANYone likes it. This is probably as much because of the way you presented the idea as it is about anything else. Anyways, to expect them to list "stash-friendly" caches here is silly. No game in the world has ever catered to every want of the consumer - here's an idea for you though: Geocaching was started from the ground up - not long ago really. If you really think your idea is great and that gc.com is really missing out on an opportunity, start hiding your own caches, list them on your own site, invite others to list on your site (do NOT advertise on these forums though) Those caches can be stashed to your heart's content. I'd like to add one more thing. In your email you pretty much say that cachers tend to take this game too seriously... well, I would agree with you if it were just about the game. For me though, this is about the game, NATURE, and most of all, the people I've met along the way. I'd have to say that in going to several events, I've made at least a hundred new friends. I care about these people, and I care about the caches that they have gone through the trouble of hiding. You said, For some people, it IS a way of life. For some people, this is about getting out, being in nature, having friends, and staying fit. I know people who wouldn't get any exercise were it not for this game - it is literally saving their lives (or at least adding years to it) Just because you don't take it seriously, that doesn't mean that it's not extremely important to others.

Has anyone ever seen the skit on SNL "Nick Burns: your company's computer guy" or whatever it is? Av8tors reminds me of him... The gist of it is, the guy thinks everyone else is below him in terms of computer knowledge, and while he does know a lot, he's just a jerk (not saying you're a jerk, just a little bit elitist). This thread has made me laugh just like that skit. I think the idea of an ezine is a great one, and a magazine would be even better. In fact, I'd love to see an option someday when we sign up or renew our subscriptions here, to subscribe to an actual magazine for an extra 10-20 bucks per year. Which reminds me... I haven't renewed yet (off topic, sorry, but i hope they let me keep my charter member status...) I guess they'd actually have to become affiliated with Groundspeak for that to happen, but maybe it's possible.

I just want to say that we have never found a cache that we didn't enjoy. Sure, it's great fun to open up an ammo box and see all the things people have left, but I just love the feeling I get when I finally spot the cache. Micros, if anything, give me the feeling more - it's amazing to me that I can find a little tiny container in this big ol' world with just a GPS and some coordinates. I, too, like to see the good in all caches. Take urban micros for example. It's really very exciting to me to be out in the open with tons of people around looking for a cache. It's like we're a part of a secret society, no one around has any idea of what we are doing, only WE know that there is something hidden right under their noses. It's almost like we're kids again, playing spy or something... just awesome - plain and simple. Micros where there could be a traditional cache - they're more than fine with me. The genius behind so many micro containers just makes me smile when I find them. I have no problem at all with micros - the destination is the same no matter what kind of cache is placed there. An ammo can doesn't make the experience any better for me. I think if an out-of-towner wants to hide a cache somewhere, they should contact a local and hide it with them. I'd love to find some caches co-hidden by some of the out-of-town legends that have passed through here. ONLY if co-hidden with a local though, it's got to be maintained.

First I'd like to say, Thanks El Diablo!! You're a great guy for doing all that you do for the caching community. It's too bad you're not from around here, I'd like to meet you sometime. Second... thank you umc! You're not just a great approver, you're also a great guy. Especially after getting the opportunity to camp with you, I consider you a friend. I'll admit, at first I wasn't really sure if you liked me... that umc brand of humor, you know? (LOL, I hope...) But you're a ton of fun, and if all geocaching communities had a guy like you in them, they'd benefit greatly from your kindness, generosity, acceptance of others, and like I mentioned before, your sense of humor. Thanks again. -Zach -Team Zen-

Yeah Trippy, I got on live with one of their service people and told them that I was a regular at the site and that it was a real inconvenience for us and asked from an outside standpoint that they fix it (and I threw in something about how they should refund some money)I also submitted a support ticket, lol. Maybe that will get their butts going. I just did all that about 45 minutes ago. The "Live Tech" said he'd fix it and resolve all the issues right away. I told him that there shouldn't be any "issues" and that they've been ongoing. He said that he would get it resolved... I can't help but doubt that. -Zach -Team Zen-

Yeah.... sounds like a real bum of a host. I used BurtonHosting for my old website and in a year I don't remember my site going down at all. They are fairly affordable, too (compared to most services at least.) I'm glad there's a thread on the matter here... I was beginning to worry! I am in the first stages of forum withdrawal right now i think. I need to get my fix... must.... contact.... dot5... our host. Must beat host into pulp! Zach angry! -Zach -Team Zen-

Garmin V Deluxe: $430 Sony Clie PEG-NX80V PDA: $450 on eBay 128MB Memory Stick to hold all those cache pages: $40 Also a Yellow eTrex: $106 Total: $1026. This is depressing... I'm a college student and really can't afford all this stuff... If you want to go further, I also bought a $500 dollar digital camera for taking pictures out on the trail, and a $400 video camera for taping events, etc... I've been to 5 events and only brought it to 1. Sadly, it's all worth it. -Zach -Team Zen-

If you contact police or poison control or anything, don't say "I found them in a geocache" because that could also give us a bad rep with law enforcement. Just say you found them in the woods, or something like that. -Zach -Team Zen-

There's no sense in flooding the bodies of our posts with images unless you want TPTB to get rid of that feature on the forums too. People have all kinds of gripes about Jeremy, but honestly... what's the big deal? I would LOVE to have stats, I would love to still be able to have an image in my signature line, but it's like you're all complaining about a gift. It's really kinda greedy. GC.com is a very nice webpage that has been made with the general caching population in mind, so what if we don't have stats? We're getting out and seeing nature and meeting all kinds of great people in doing so. What does it matter if we can't have an image in our signature line? Have some sympathy for the users out there with a 28.8 connection. I'm spoiled by cable internet so the images never bothered me, but I can see why it would be a problem. I'll admit, it seems to me that the reason something was done about the issue now is the stats being the images used. I don't know why they are needed honestly though. Again, stats are something that I would love to see incorporated into GC.com, keeppeople is not the answer though, IMHO. It's meaningless since so few people proportionately are actually signed up there. I'd just like to add a comment about stats here... even if we never get them, I would love to see the total caches found back in our profiles. It doesn't rank anyone, it just gives the final picture of what is already listed in the profile. Totals of all the sub-catagories are already there, I don't see why it would be a problem. Okay... back on topic, sorry. I'll finish this up. People, GC.com is darn good to us. We are lucky to have such good people in charge of it all, even if we don't always agree with every decision they make. If you want anything done, don't do so much complaining to them, tell them nicely what you want changed (most people are nice about it, anyways) and tell them why you think it should be changed. Don't use reasons like "because everyone wants it" because everyone here would love it if gc.com gave them a million bucks too, but that's not gonna happen. They know that just because they don't give us stats and images in our signatures, it's ot going to start making people quit, not enough people care THAT much to really make an impact. While I do want stats and it would be nice to have images in our signature lines, I can't think of any groundbreaking reason that we should have to have them. -Zach -Team Zen-

One of my now archived caches had a visit from a couple apparently young men. They not only called some girl, who they must have not been very good friends with, every name in the book dealing with sexual deviance; they also left a map and directions to her house with something to the extent of "for a good time, go to this address" written on it. It really was a pretty well made flyer, lol, just happened to not be for a good cause. Needless to say, I removed it and did NOT follow the flyer's instructions. -Zach -Team Zen-

The best way I know of is just to get your hands on the most accurate GPS you can find and test yours against it. Not to long ago someone was out in our area letting people test out a GPS that's MUCH more accurate than anything we use for geocaching. Anyways, your GPS is not ever going to be perfectly accurate, nor will it have the same accuracy day after day. Just trust it to within about 40 feet and then take what it says with a grain of salt. -Zach -Team Zen-

Well, Jeremy... I wouldn't go so far as to call you evil... Seriously though... lots of locked topics do have a lot of content. A lot of those have content that sometimes does not belong in these forums though. Besides... they're threads, people need to stop getting to upset when they get locked. Start a new one or send emails or pick up the phone. The minions aren't going to stop you. I think they govern the forums very well, personally. They even let some topics go way further than they need to. Quit yelling at the frog. Er... maybe the ninja turtle. -Zach -Team Zen-

Hmm... lockdown... who wants to argue about the religious politics of gay abortions? Lol... as little sense as that makes. Seriously though... I voted for the last option. -Zach -Team Zen-

There's nothing better than picking wild plants that are edible. They taste so much better than anything you can buy in the store. Last spring I picked 50-75 HUGE morel mushrooms growing right on my fiancee's grandparents land. I was walking around and happened to see a patch of 15 giant white morels... with a little more searching and a couple weeks we had a ton. Man... they are great. Any edible berries are superb too... I don't know too much about it though. I'd say... carry a book with you identifying what you can and cannot eat. You should be able to order one from amazon.com or someplace similar. I'm actually considering doing that too now that you brought up this topic. -Zach -Team Zen-

Ugh... I totally didn't mean for this to be another thread for arguing about whether or not stats are good. Keep it on topic... I just wanted a thread to say "Hey... show us that you care what we think about this, Powers that be." I'm not saying they don't care, but an official poll from them and a final, official statement would put a stop to all of this discussion. With all due respect, I did not know that this idea was brought up in another thread because there are so many threads about the same thing, I couldn't read them all in a week. Since this has become just another thread about the same thing I guess I've realized that I can't say exactly what I want to say about this on a message board. Oh well... Just forget it. -Zach -Team Zen-

How about a request for the powers that be... A poll on the front page of geocaching.com asking whether stats are wanted or not. Surely tptb are fair and just "rulers" over our little geo-kingdom. I realize that not everyone looks at the forums to vote on those polls. That's why I ask for a poll on our mothership. How about it? They wouldn't even have to actually follow through with it. At least they'd have a much better idea of whether or not stats are wanted. I usually don't like getting into the great stats debate. It's just been discussed so many times, I really want TPTB to put an end to it. To at least get people to stop having stupid polls on whether or not stats are wanted on the forums. -Zach -Team Zen-

With all due respect... I think ignoring him is a dandy idea, but everytime you post it lets him know that you have noticed him. Even this low degree of fame is a powerful force to keep someone doing the thing that is giving it to them. Honestly, I hope he keeps it up until he gets caught or gets in trouble. I don't like what he is doing, but I think it's neat that he causes so much grief over here just by interrupting a game/sport. He's like a little dog that runs onto the field during a sporting event and steals the ball... only, he's getting a lot more press. Good for the little dog, I say. He's having his fun for now and adds some excitement to a game we all love. He interferes temporarily, but we do get the ball back. Also, eventually he'll be tackled and taken off the field... no big deal. Just a little disturbance that people are making a big deal out of for nothing. -Zach -Team Zen-

I'm planning on placing a subscriber only cache soon. My reason is that I am going to have a UV flashlight in the first stage that is needed to find the rest of the cache. I only want cachers who are serious about it to have access to it. Keep in mind, not all premium members are responsible and most non-premium members ARE respoinsible. This is just a way of trying to keep the cache a little bit safer. -Zach -Team Zen-

I actually had the idea of a UV cache too. I think I'm actually going to do it too. The plan is to make it member's only and make it a multi. The first stage will contain a UV flashlight and off you go. The first stage will also be near parking to the flashlight can be easily replaced. I wasn't going to mention anything about it until I placed it, but since it was brought up here I figured I might as well. There might also be a true ghost story to go along with it. It should be ready just in time for... yep, Halloween. -Zach -Team Zen-

The Stay Puff't marshmallow man's long lost daughter. or As you can see, the perpetrator in the background is still holding the weapon. It was reportedly the largest scoop of ice cream in the history of the world. or Baskin' Robins is now offering a brand new product, the one-piece vanilla supreme bathing suit. -Zach -Team Zen-

Honey... next time you pop a zit... turn the other way. -Zach -Team Zen-

Yeah... discussion of guns is a good thing. ESPECIALLY if you dislike them. I understand that it's supposed to be family friendly, guns are not family friendly in my book. This is something that we, as adults, must discuss though. It's quite eye-opening to me that so many people take guns caching. That said, I am totally against guns pretty much everywhere. Hunting is an exception, although I'm not a huge fan of hunting either. I would never bring a gun geocaching, although I do fear a wild dog attack. I just think the risks involved outweigh that... if I encounter wild dogs I can fend them of with a hiking stick, if need be. If anyone wants to see a great movie that deals with these sorts of things, watch "Bowling for Columbine". It shows that guns in America is the problem... guns aren't really a problem anywhere else. Just as many people have guns in Canada... but their level of gun violence is practically zero compared to ours. I think our government could learn a thing of two from other countries. Trailblazer... You do have the right to bear arms, but are guns always the best solution? Remember, that was written in a time when we were at war within our own country. It was conceived in a much different time. I'm not saying you shouldn't carry... I just hate to hear people use that as their reasoning. By the way, I voted for the "I don't own a gun" one. People in this country need to learn not to fear so much. Fear is the biggest problem we have. They're too willing to pull a gun on a person because they happen to be walking to the same store as them and are of a different race... "Oh god... that *insert racial term here* is following me... I need to do something if I want to live." Guns aren't the problem, but until we learn to be less scared, maybe we shouldn't carry so many. (Scared of wild animals is different. I'm not criticizing anyone who carries for that reason of protection.) -Zach -Team Zen-

nincehelser, First. It is not fabrication. RK is saying that CITO is a good thing that geocachers do. You said that cachers don't do anything for caves. You're changing your story to "cachers don't do ENOUGH for caves" now. Well excuse us for not putting all of our time and effort into "saving the caves". Excuse us for having CITO events in places with a TON of trash. Places that need it severely. Caves cannot possibly have as much trash in them as most of the places that host CITO events. Unless you're talking about the bodies of all the weak little dead geocachers who go into caves and stink them up for you... I guess that would be something to clean up. Let's leave that to the police though. Please, don't accuse me of fabrication. Just because I haven't quoted you exactly, it doesn't mean my points aren't valid. In fact... I want to say now... if you choose to argue my post, don't say I am off topic, don't say "so?", and don't act like I'm WAY off base. You have done a whole lot of that to RK and not made any real good counterpoints. Okay, that said I will move on. I'll admit, I have never seen or been to a CITO cave event. Know why? There are no caves in my area. You can't expect people to trash out caves as much as they do other areas. They just aren't as plentiful. Plus... the cavers don't tend to tell people about them, so how are we to know about them to do anything about it? Also, safety IS a side issue. That's RK's point. Anyplace can be dangerous, caches are placed on the edges of cliffs and the tops of mountains. Get over it. If someone is dumb enough to ignore a warning on a cache page, it's their fault. Should we not allow any dangerous caches? I don't feel RK was off base in talking about preservation either. Please, make a more detailed argument. It HAS been mentioned that cavers don't want their caves trashed, and that's why they don't want a bunch of regular joes out there in them. If you don't feel preservation is an issue, just say so. Don't just tell people they are off base. He brings up 100% preservation because cavers seem to want preservation, but they are walking around in caves which does not lead to preservation. If you want them preserved, close them off and don't let ANYONE in. And don't go telling me that you preserve them too... because sure, you do... but not ALL caves need preservation. They are just stomping grounds for cavers. Just fun places to go. I don't know if that was RK's point, but it sure is mine. I believe what he was saying about the anti-motorized trail user crowd, is that many cavers bring their equipment to the caves via those trails. How would you like people telling you that you can't use those? I understand you aren't saying we CAN'T. You sure seem to be saying we shouldn't be in caves though. MY bottom line is... no one here would have a grudge against cavers if it weren't for people like you. He isn't saying people should come to him for caving advice... he's just saying that he would be glad to get in contact with grottos and pass on any information he got from them. How can you seriously argue with a person trying to do something good like that? By the way... don't reply to my post with "Whatever..." That seems to be your little defense mechanism. -Zach -Team Zen-

I completely agree with RK. Seems to me that nincehelser is trying to keep the argument at the childish level he already established. Seriously, if you have something intelligent to say, do it soon. I think anyone following this thread is probably losing their patience. Also... anyone remotely on your side is probably pissed at you too because you're making cavers look like total A$$es. After this thread, I am pretty confident that all the preconceived notions that cachers have of cavers are pretty much right on. Thanks for clearing up at least one thing, nincehelser. -Zach -Team Zen-