What Is The Future Of Geocaching?

[+50Cal]

I am relatively new to the sport, and I have already seen massive changes to the sport since I have been introduced to it. Will the popularity eventually ruin the sport and evolve it into a hobby that is not enjoyable by the "originals"? Or will it continue to get better as the years progress and the caches become more abundant?

[+Torchbearer]

I don't think more people would be worse. The "originals" generally welcome all new cachers and are happy to help them get started or at least in my experience they have been. My only concern, and it is way far out there hopefully, is that with more and more caches being found by muggles who think they are suspect packages, I.E. bombs, that the government will start regulating caches and cachers. We have a good honors system now and those that monitor these forums and those that approve caches are always doing their absolute best to make sure the integrity of the game is not compromised in any way. I would hate for some lobbyist to say we are a threat because we hide packages in the woods, parks, parking lots, etc. and cause thousands of dollars and hundreds of man hours for the police, bomb squad, sheriff's departments, and the like. There have been too many recent articles about caches being destroyed because authorities thought they were suspect. That's my only worry about the future. However, there have been some very positive articles about geocaching done recently as well. I think as long as we as geocachers do our best to keep the environment clean and keep each other safe we will be fine.

[+Airmapper]

Part of me wants it to grow and gain members, with more caches to hunt and more people enjoying the game.

 

Then there is that other part that wants it to stay small and out of the general public eye, not to grow to much and just kinda stay the way it is.

[+BlueDeuce]

I am relatively new to the sport, and I have already seen massive changes to the sport since I have been introduced to it. Will the popularity eventually ruin the sport and evolve it into a hobby that is not enjoyable by the "originals"? Or will it continue to get better as the years progress and the caches become more abundant?

 

You can always start your own cache listing site whenever gc.com gets too popular and ruins the game. Their massive changes usually screw it up for the rest of us.

 

 

edit: changed only one word.

 

edited 2. you do know that was sarcasm don't you?

Edited May 15, 2006 by BlueDeuce

[nobby.nobbs]

who let blueduece out of his cage today?

 

change can be good but beware change for change's sake. not everything that is new is good. sometimes old and inferior is better than new and improved.

[+budd-rdc]

Popularity and mass acceptance generally change anything, including Geocaching. I seem to notice less self-policing and more demand for rules lately. If you have been through anything of this sort (i.e. evolution of the Internet) then this is to be expected.

 

My personal wish is for Geocaching to always have limited appeal. Growth for growth's sake is not necessarily a good thing.

[+MileHighAko]

I am relatively new to the sport, and I have already seen massive changes to the sport since I have been introduced to it. Will the popularity eventually ruin the sport and evolve it into a hobby that is not enjoyable by the "originals"? Or will it continue to get better as the years progress and the caches become more abundant?

 

What "massive changes" are you talking about?

[+briansnat]

The more popular it gets the more different it gets. I personally don't care for some of the "innovations" that have come along as geocaching has grown.

[+Snoogans]

As for the "originals," many of them lose sight of the fact that this is a game where people hide stuff and other people go find it.

 

They can't see beyond their own personal aesthetic and hold others accountable for their enjoyment of the sport. Those people should start terracaching where you can smite a cache out of existence if it's too hard, or not in some perfect setting with great parking and clean restrooms, or you just don't like how the cache page sounds without even bothering to hunt it, or it's in a small container that you don't care to hunt for. I terracache too. That wasn't a slam. I know some terracachers who hardly bother to hunt a gc.com cache anymore....

 

Changes to the sport are bound to come and go. Some I like and some I don't. Even at my most dissatisfied with this site, I didn't dip below 89% satisfaction. (I'm hovering around 97% right now.)

 

Since the great majority of NEW geocachers don't make it past 25 finds, I'd say, the more the merrier.

 

A cache is a cache is a cache. If it passed the approval process, then it's just another choice of how to spend your free time. No one is forcing you to hunt for it and those who blindly follow the arrow to the next cache get exactly what they deserve.... Another log to sign..... Anyone that EXPECTS MORE is already headed down the road to disillusion..

Edited May 15, 2006 by Snoogans

[+Kit Fox]

Since I started caching in May of 2004, I noticed a dramatic increase in "couch potato" hides. These can also be defined as lame uninspiring micros, hidden in less than scenic locals.

 

I try to lead by example and hide great caches, in great locations. I hope the couch potato cachers will try to follow my example. If it doesn't work, I use GSAK to filter the cache types I dislike.

 

PQs are a great way to "change" the game to how you want to play.

Edited May 15, 2006 by Kit Fox

[+Snoogans]

Since I started caching in May of 2004, I noticed a dramatic increase in "couch potato" hides. These can also be defined as lame uninspring micros, hidden in less than scenic locals.

 

I try to lead by example and hide great caches, in great locations. I hope the couch potato cachers will try to follow my example. If it doesn't work, I use GSAK to filter the cache types I dislike.

 

PQs are a great way to "change" the game to how you want to play.

 

I over rate the terrain and difficulty on some of my BEST hides to keep the couch potatoes away.

[+Team Cotati]

I am relatively new to the sport, and I have already seen massive changes to the sport since I have been introduced to it. Will the popularity eventually ruin the sport and evolve it into a hobby that is not enjoyable by the "originals"? Or will it continue to get better as the years progress and the caches become more abundant?

 

It is not very likely that the hobby will be "ruined". It is likely that your "originals" there will think that it has been.

[+ThePropers]

I firmly believe popularity will/is ruining in it. As others mentioned, as it becomes more popular, more rules regarding parks, forests..etc are being put in place, nearly always having a negative effect on geocaching. In urban areas, more bomb squad and police calls will definitely have a negative impact. As it becomes more popular the number of "bad apples" grows....and it only takes one or two to ruin the whole bunch.

 

Anyways, I gave my 2 cents, which I could have spent on gas.

[+briansnat]

As for the "originals," many of them lose sight of the fact that this is a game where people hide stuff and other people go find it.

 

I may not be an "orginal", but I was an early adopter of this sport. My chief problem with many of the "innovations" and trends in geocaching is precisely that people are losing lose sight of the fact that this is a game where people hide stuff and other people go find it.

[+50Cal]

I am relatively new to the sport, and I have already seen massive changes to the sport since I have been introduced to it. Will the popularity eventually ruin the sport and evolve it into a hobby that is not enjoyable by the "originals"? Or will it continue to get better as the years progress and the caches become more abundant?

 

What "massive changes" are you talking about?

 

I should have been more specific. I am basically talking about the growth. The area that I started geocaching in had relatively few caches. But with growing interest in geocaching, there has been a large increase in caches themselves and the variety of caches. My interest has grown tremendously since the number of caches have increased, and I was just curious about the changes in other areas and how people have responded to them.

[+Blue Power Ranger]

I am reminded of Yogi Berra's quote. Will this soon apply to geocaching?...

 

"Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded."

[+Renegade Knight]

The answer is yes.

 

Caching will grow, evolve, change, and adapt. There will be more caches and more variation. What will also need to evolve is better ways of sorting out caches so we can seek the ones we enjoy.