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Non Muggles, Non Geocachers?

froldt

By froldt
in General geocaching topics

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froldt

+froldt

Posted
Posted

What do you call a non-muggle who is not a geocacher?

 

A muggle is defined as "A non-geocacher who accidentally finds a cache or is in the area when you're searching for a cache."

 

Mom read about geocaching in a magazine somewhere and for Christmas got me a GPSr. So she's been out with us to find one geocache, and she loves hearing the stories that we come home with. However, she is not a geocacher, and I can't get her interested enough to start/go on her own.

 

So, she's not a muggle, because she is aware of how geocaching works, and sort of follows our adventures and our caches, TB's and Geocoins. Neither is she a geocacher, though, because she doesn't go caching.

 

Any suggestions on what to call such a person?

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crtrue

crtrue

Posted
Posted

What do you call a non-muggle who is not a geocacher?

 

A muggle is defined as "A non-geocacher who accidentally finds a cache or is in the area when you're searching for a cache."

 

Mom read about geocaching in a magazine somewhere and for Christmas got me a GPSr. So she's been out with us to find one geocache, and she loves hearing the stories that we come home with. However, she is not a geocacher, and I can't get her interested enough to start/go on her own.

 

So, she's not a muggle, because she is aware of how geocaching works, and sort of follows our adventures and our caches, TB's and Geocoins. Neither is she a geocacher, though, because she doesn't go caching.

 

Any suggestions on what to call such a person?

 

Fresh Meat?

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KoosKoos

+KoosKoos

Posted
Posted

Actually, I've always thought of muggle more along the lines of the Geolex definition:

 

Muggle – A non-geocacher (taken from the Harry Potter series of books). Also “GeoMuggle”.

 

To me, that's still your mom...she's interested in geocaching, but she's a non-geocacher.

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crtrue

crtrue

Posted
Posted

Actually, I've always thought of muggle more along the lines of the Geolex definition:

 

Muggle – A non-geocacher (taken from the Harry Potter series of books). Also “GeoMuggle”.

 

To me, that's still your mom...she's interested in geocaching, but she's a non-geocacher.

 

The problem with that is that "muggle" generally describes people unaware of the sport, thus the name (people unaware of the world of magic in Harry Potter). She has some knowledge, she just hasn't gone. She's more like a medium <_<

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vtmtnman

vtmtnman

Posted
Posted

Actually, I've always thought of muggle more along the lines of the Geolex definition:

 

Muggle – A non-geocacher (taken from the Harry Potter series of books). Also “GeoMuggle”.

 

To me, that's still your mom...she's interested in geocaching, but she's a non-geocacher.

 

The problem with that is that "muggle" generally describes people unaware of the sport, thus the name (people unaware of the world of magic in Harry Potter). She has some knowledge, she just hasn't gone. She's more like a medium <_<

So a "Meggle" then?

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froldt

+froldt

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Potential Cachers?

 

Well, if they're interested in it but have not yet begun caching, how about Pre-o-Cacher?

Then, once they've found a few---> NeoCacher.

 

See, I've tried taking her out. She went to an event and has found a couple of caches with us.

She's interested because it's part of my life and we come back with some good stories. However, she's not interested enough to ask to join us or to go out on her own, so I don't think she'll ever become a geocacher.

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4wheelin_fool

4wheelin_fool

Posted
Posted

What do you call a non-muggle who is not a geocacher?

 

A muggle is defined as "A non-geocacher who accidentally finds a cache or is in the area when you're searching for a cache."

 

Mom read about geocaching in a magazine somewhere and for Christmas got me a GPSr. So she's been out with us to find one geocache, and she loves hearing the stories that we come home with. However, she is not a geocacher, and I can't get her interested enough to start/go on her own.

 

So, she's not a muggle, because she is aware of how geocaching works, and sort of follows our adventures and our caches, TB's and Geocoins. Neither is she a geocacher, though, because she doesn't go caching.

 

Any suggestions on what to call such a person?

 

a Geowatcher?

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Renegade Knight

+Renegade Knight

Posted
Posted (edited)

...Any suggestions on what to call such a person?

 

In your case "Mom" works well. My mom is the same. She goes caching with me, but never on her own.

 

However if I was out caching and your mom was near the cache and I had to beg off the cache...she'd be a muggle. Vice versa is true as well.

 

I'm not sure you really need a name. It's all in the context.

Edited by Renegade Knight
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PJPeters

+PJPeters

Posted
Posted

 

In your case "Mom" works well. My mom is the same. She goes caching with me, but never on her own.

 

However if I was out caching and your mom was near the cache and I had to beg off the cache...she'd be a muggle. Vice versa is true as well.

 

I'm not sure you really need a name. It's all in the context.

My mom and sister are the same. They're both pretty excited, and love the stories I tell, but just try to get them to go out on their own. Okay, so neither has a GPSr. That's no excuse! :P

I'd walk right on by a cache if I saw someone nearby - unless I a - see their GPSr, b - know them already, or c - catch them in the cache.

 

So, they're muggles in my eye.

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rogueleader1977

+rogueleader1977

Posted
Posted

Stealing another HP definition - How about

 

Squib - Someone born without magical powers in a magical family?

 

My very first thought! How many true HP fans are there around here? Though I am trying to think if there was ever a term used in the books for 'Muggles' who were aware of the Magical world (Harry's Aunt and Uncle or the Brittish Prime Minister for example) I don't think so.

 

Squib is good.

 

Mudblood is the other term. It means "wizard born of muggle parents."

 

I happen to like to think of them as Geofriends. ^.^

 

Ummm.. 'Mudblood' is a very offensive term in the book. Squib is better but still doesn't fit the true definition.

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tigerfind

tigerfind

Posted
Posted

I like the term 'squib,' too. It occurred to me independently of this discussion two nights ago when I was seraching for a cache. A man in the vicinity with his two children asked me if I was geocaching. I replied that I was, and asked if he had ever gone. "No," he replied, "But I'm aware of it." I immediately thought 'squib,' and then visited here to see if anyone had though along those lines. I think I will start using it in my cache logs (although I'm not likely to use it often, he is the first in eight years of caching to whom the term has applied). However, the sport is much more widely known than it was when I first started, so I imagine the number of squibs will increase accordingly.

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Happy Humphrey

+Happy Humphrey

Posted
Posted (edited)

"Squib" sounds good, although really that would just be someone that is in your family and is geo-aware.

 

The ideal term would also include people you don't know, but know about a cache and are sympathetic. Sometimes the local householder becomes aware that they have a cache in the neighbourhood and enjoy meeting the occasional passing geocacher: they may even keep an eye on the cache. They aren't really squibs, and are too sympathetic to be muggles.

 

Muggles (to me) are either unaware of the whole caching world, or they know that something's going on and are negative about it.

Edited by Happy Humphrey
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flask

+flask

Posted
Posted

the use of the term "muggle" in a context outside of harry potter is best used by people who cannot dress themselves and need to be reminded to wipe the drool off of their chins.

 

it is an idiotic practice and should have been stopped before it took hold. unfortunately, too many caching people tend toward the cutesy and thought it'd be swell no matter how goofy it makes them sound.

 

geocachers are not (contrary to popular opinion) special, magical creatures that need differentiation from other people. i cannot think of a single other sporting group that wouldn't be grossly embarrassed to hear other participants refer to people who do not engage in the sport as "muggles".

 

consider the sound of it on a soccer field. or at football practice. or even fishing.

 

so PLEASE let's not look to the HP books to find other terms.

 

and consider not using this one. i don't know if you've noticed, but people outside geocaching hear you use it, they roll their eyes and back slowly away. or they wait until your back is turned and they ridicule you for it.

 

 

and so do i.

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JacobBarlow

+JacobBarlow

Posted
Posted (edited)

1.

...A non-geocacher who ... is in the area when you're searching for a cache."

 

2.

Mom read about geocaching in a magazine ... she's been out with us to find one geocache ... she is not a geocacher...

 

 

Is it just me or do statements 1 and 2 BOTH describe your Mom ? It sure looks like it to me, so you can call your Mom a 'M-word.'

Edited by AD0OR
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JacobBarlow

+JacobBarlow

Posted
Posted

the use of the term "muggle" in a context outside of harry potter is best used by people who cannot dress themselves and need to be reminded to wipe the drool off of their chins.

 

it is an idiotic practice and should have been stopped before it took hold. unfortunately, too many caching people tend toward the cutesy and thought it'd be swell no matter how goofy it makes them sound.

 

geocachers are not (contrary to popular opinion) special, magical creatures that need differentiation from other people. i cannot think of a single other sporting group that wouldn't be grossly embarrassed to hear other participants refer to people who do not engage in the sport as "muggles".

 

consider the sound of it on a soccer field. or at football practice. or even fishing.

 

so PLEASE let's not look to the HP books to find other terms.

 

and consider not using this one. i don't know if you've noticed, but people outside geocaching hear you use it, they roll their eyes and back slowly away. or they wait until your back is turned and they ridicule you for it.

 

 

and so do i.

 

AMEM!

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Happy Humphrey

+Happy Humphrey

Posted
Posted (edited)

the use of the term "muggle" in a context outside of harry potter is best used by people who cannot dress themselves and need to be reminded to wipe the drool off of their chins.

 

it is an idiotic practice and should have been stopped before it took hold. unfortunately, too many caching people tend toward the cutesy and thought it'd be swell no matter how goofy it makes them sound.

 

geocachers are not (contrary to popular opinion) special, magical creatures that need differentiation from other people. i cannot think of a single other sporting group that wouldn't be grossly embarrassed to hear other participants refer to people who do not engage in the sport as "muggles".

 

consider the sound of it on a soccer field. or at football practice. or even fishing.

 

so PLEASE let's not look to the HP books to find other terms.

 

and consider not using this one. i don't know if you've noticed, but people outside geocaching hear you use it, they roll their eyes and back slowly away. or they wait until your back is turned and they ridicule you for it.

 

 

and so do i.

Sorry, I don't take the game that seriously..."muggle" is suitably silly for a silly game and it makes me smile. :mad:

 

Other games are silly too, with silly terminology that makes non-participants roll their eyes (think about golf!) and I'm happy to say I partake in several of them (although I think I'm still termed a "Rabbit" at golf ).

Edited by Happy Humphrey
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CrippledBlindSquirrel

+CrippledBlindSquirrel

Posted
Posted

the use of the term "muggle" in a context outside of harry potter is best used by people who cannot dress themselves and need to be reminded to wipe the drool off of their chins.

 

it is an idiotic practice and should have been stopped before it took hold. unfortunately, too many caching people tend toward the cutesy and thought it'd be swell no matter how goofy it makes them sound.

 

geocachers are not (contrary to popular opinion) special, magical creatures that need differentiation from other people. i cannot think of a single other sporting group that wouldn't be grossly embarrassed to hear other participants refer to people who do not engage in the sport as "muggles".

 

consider the sound of it on a soccer field. or at football practice. or even fishing.

 

so PLEASE let's not look to the HP books to find other terms.

 

and consider not using this one. i don't know if you've noticed, but people outside geocaching hear you use it, they roll their eyes and back slowly away. or they wait until your back is turned and they ridicule you for it.

 

 

and so do i.

Sorry, I don't take the game that seriously..."muggle" is suitably silly for a silly game and it makes me smile. :yikes:

 

Other games are silly too, with silly terminology that makes non-participants roll their eyes (think about golf!) and I'm happy to say I partake in several of them (although I think I'm still termed a "Rabbit" at golf ).

 

So...Let see....If there is a cache located on a golf course and there is a golfer who is nearby and he uses a mulligan in your presence while you are lounging about waiting on him to hit the ball and move on, then what do you call him? A mulligle? :ph34r:

 

As for the OP's mom I think she should be called a "carrier". She promotes and spreads the "disease" but doesn't suffer from it herself! :mad:

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CrippledBlindSquirrel

+CrippledBlindSquirrel

Posted
Posted

I like the term 'squib,' too. It occurred to me independently of this discussion two nights ago when I was seraching for a cache. A man in the vicinity with his two children asked me if I was geocaching. I replied that I was, and asked if he had ever gone. "No," he replied, "But I'm aware of it." I immediately thought 'squib,' and then visited here to see if anyone had though along those lines. I think I will start using it in my cache logs (although I'm not likely to use it often, he is the first in eight years of caching to whom the term has applied). However, the sport is much more widely known than it was when I first started, so I imagine the number of squibs will increase accordingly.

 

A squib is term used to describe some part of the fire chain in an explosive devise I believe...perhaps that term would be more appropriately applied to a muggle who scatters a cache rather than just taking it...

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uktim

+uktim

Posted
Posted

Sorry, I don't take the game that seriously..."muggle" is suitably silly for a silly game and it makes me smile. :mad:

 

Other games are silly too, with silly terminology that makes non-participants roll their eyes (think about golf!) and I'm happy to say I partake in several of them (although I think I'm still termed a "Rabbit" at golf ).

 

Does anybody else think that using such terms for other folks outside our own tiny worlds is slightly derogatory and more than a little disrespectful?

 

It would be impolite and unacceptable to use such a term to lump people of other nationalities or sexual orientations into a single stereotyped group on geocaching.com or the forums, so why is it acceptable to do it for non-cachers?

 

The use of the term makes me decidedly uneasy.

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Happy Humphrey

+Happy Humphrey

Posted
Posted

Does anybody else think that using such terms for other folks outside our own tiny worlds is slightly derogatory and more than a little disrespectful?

 

It would be impolite and unacceptable to use such a term to lump people of other nationalities or sexual orientations into a single stereotyped group on geocaching.com or the forums, so why is it acceptable to do it for non-cachers?

 

The use of the term makes me decidedly uneasy.

Nope, it's used in a tongue-in-cheek fashion and within the game only. Just like "Rabbit" above. Muggles are obstacles to caching, so they are part of the game.

 

If you can think of a better term that covers the situation entirely, sell it to me and I might abandon the "M " word. For a start "folks outside our own tiny worlds" is not a correct description of muggles - the people you describe are not all obstacles in the game.

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uktim

+uktim

Posted
Posted

Nope, it's used in a tongue-in-cheek fashion and within the game only. Just like "Rabbit" above. Muggles are obstacles to caching, so they are part of the game.

 

If you can think of a better term that covers the situation entirely, sell it to me and I might abandon the "M " word. For a start "folks outside our own tiny worlds" is not a correct description of muggles - the people you describe are not all obstacles in the game.

 

So it's OK to use racial/sexual misnomers as long it's only in jest and within your own little clique?

 

Surely we don't need a catch all term, if we must use a description why not describe them as a walker/bird watcher/child playing in the woods etc. To use the name "muggle" is as lazy, ignorant and disrespectful as the useof inappropiate racial or sexual names IMO.

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Happy Humphrey

+Happy Humphrey

Posted
Posted

So it's OK to use racial/sexual misnomers as long it's only in jest and within your own little clique?

Uh? That's completely different. I'm not more than mildly offended by being called a "Rabbit" either, nor have I ever heard of anyone being really offended, even though it's derogatory (it means a high-handicap golfer, i.e. a bit of an obstacle on the course, wandering about rabbits do).

Surely we don't need a catch all term, if we must use a description why not describe them as a walker/bird watcher/child playing in the woods etc. To use the name "muggle" is as lazy, ignorant and disrespectful as the useof inappropiate racial or sexual names IMO.

It's not a catch-all term, it's quite specific. There's always a need for terminology, otherwise things get too unwieldy. Imagine if you had to keep on saying "I approached the cache, but a group of people that looked like they may or may not take kindly to the idea of geocaching and may damage, destroy or steal the container and contents should I reveal the secret location to them were standing nearby so I had to wait until they dispersed". It's much more clear and simple to say "I approached the cache, but some muggles were standing nearby and I had to wait for them to move on". N.B. if they were ramblers or bird-watchers then that's what I'd call them, up until the point that they started eyeing me suspiciously!

 

Anyway, this is off-topic so I apologise, take a bow and leave the soapbox.

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NYPaddleCacher

+NYPaddleCacher

Posted
Posted

What do you call a non-muggle who is not a geocacher?

 

A muggle is defined as "A non-geocacher who accidentally finds a cache or is in the area when you're searching for a cache."

 

Mom read about geocaching in a magazine somewhere and for Christmas got me a GPSr. So she's been out with us to find one geocache, and she loves hearing the stories that we come home with. However, she is not a geocacher, and I can't get her interested enough to start/go on her own.

 

So, she's not a muggle, because she is aware of how geocaching works, and sort of follows our adventures and our caches, TB's and Geocoins. Neither is she a geocacher, though, because she doesn't go caching.

 

Any suggestions on what to call such a person?

 

Mom?

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TexTiger

+TexTiger

Posted
Posted

Technically the term as coming from HP is being misused. A muggle is just someone who does not have any magical ability, whether or not they are aware of magic is irrelevant. So techinally someone can know about geocaching and not do it and still be a muggle.

 

My boys use the term "Street Pirates" for those people that aren't geocachers that we see while out caching because they have the potential to steal the cache. If a cache is missing, we say it was Pirated, not Muggled. This started because we called caching "Treasure Hunting" when we first started.

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Dread_Pirate_Bruce

+Dread_Pirate_Bruce

Posted
Posted

I call the folks who politely wait until my back is turned to roll their eyes at my Geocaching adventures, and those who appease me by going along for the occasional trip to ensure I don't get eaten by a bear "Friendlies" ! Works for me...

 

I call people who come along to ensure that I don't get eaten by a bear "decoys." I don't need to outrun the bear, just the decoys.

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