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WIRED Magazine "Be a GPS Prankster"


Lego Fans

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Dear Wired Magazine:

 

Geocaching is a family activity where spoiling the "find" as you suggest saddens the children we take on these outdooors adventures. Ruining the innocent fun of others should be beneath you, but obviously is not. I'll bet you feel 'big' knowing how you can spoil the enjoyment of kids spending time with their parents. The professed attitude of the author/editors of being malicious without cause indicates you probably haven't ever had a date, much less reproduced (which is probably a good thing in the overall scheme of things). Do you guys also promote putting razor blades in apples for the kids that come trick or treating too?

 

That was the last edition of Wired I'll ever buy.

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I subscribe to wired and saw the GPS prank article (which also mentioned editing waymarks on Waymarking.com). The short colum was clearly for humor and not malicious at all, as well as being entirely impractical even if one was to take it's "advice". Moving a cache and stakin git out to laugh at those hunting for it? Most caches in my area go a few days or more between logs. So who is more adversly affected, a cacher who gets a DNF, or the prankster that had to sit in a tree for 3 days just to see the the "hilarity".

 

*sigh*

 

Those po'd at wired need to think it through a bit. I found it humorus. There is little to no incentive to do any of that. And the tone of it was clearly for humor.

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Oh oh... get your emails ready again... this time National Lampoon magazine is gonna shoot a dog!!!

Yeah, but that magazine says Lampoon right on the cover. I've noticed that some people need to be told explicitly if something is meant as a joke. :lol: Right in these forums I've seen people criticized for not putting a emoticon on their post :) Maybe WIRED should have put an emoticon on that article :). Maybe we could all use more smileys :)

 

Almost forgot this one :)

Edited by tozainamboku
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Oh oh... get your emails ready again... this time National Lampoon magazine is gonna shoot a dog!!!

Yeah, but that magazine says Lampoon right on the cover. I've noticed that some people need to be told explicitly if something is meant as a joke. :lol: Right in these forums I've seen people criticized for not putting a emoticon on their post :) Maybe WIRED should have put an emoticon on that article :) . Maybe we could all use more smileys :)

 

Almost forgot this one :)

 

What??? Are you telling me that they really won't shoot the dog if I don't buy their magazine??? I am soooooooooooooooooo peeved. That's the dog that ate my homework in 5th grade. I really hate that dog!!!

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...Thanks for posting the scan, Lego Fans! I think that proves this is much ado about nothing. People are really going to cancel their subscription and write the editor and the advertisers... because of THAT? Go geocaching, people. You need to get out of the house if you're taking this that seriously!

 

John Brandon lives in Minnesota. He has a geocache within a mile of his house. Maybe it's one he moved for kicks and you will do it soon? :)

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Oh oh... get your emails ready again... this time National Lampoon magazine is gonna shoot a dog!!!

 

2f1a8988-3ad5-4bee-975b-d254a5b8cac3.jpg

 

I'm impressed. I don't think I've ever seen anyone stir the pot quite as well, and I thought I was good :)

 

When I was in college in the mid-late 80s (OK that dates me :) ) there was a fraternity that did the same exact spoof of the National Lampoon cover. A poster said if you less than x number of people went to their party......

Edited by HaLiJuSaPa
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...Thanks for posting the scan, Lego Fans! I think that proves this is much ado about nothing. People are really going to cancel their subscription and write the editor and the advertisers... because of THAT? Go geocaching, people. You need to get out of the house if you're taking this that seriously!

 

John Brandon lives in Minnesota. He has a geocache within a mile of his house. Maybe it's one he moved for kicks and you will do it soon? :)

 

Don't be silly. Knowschad lives about 90 minutes away and knows who it is. Why would they do that? :)

Edited by 4wheelin_fool
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Oh oh... get your emails ready again... this time National Lampoon magazine is gonna shoot a dog!!!

 

2f1a8988-3ad5-4bee-975b-d254a5b8cac3.jpg

 

I'm impressed. I don't think I've ever seen anyone stir the pot quite as well, and I thought I was good :)

 

When I was in college in the mid-late 80s (OK that dates me :) ) there was a fraternity that did the same exact spoof of the National Lampoon cover. A poster said if you less than x number of people went to their party......

 

I was just waiting for the "its going to ruin my kids for life" bunch. I have no problem with the Lampoon they have truly funny stuff and have been doing it for a long time. It just seem that there is a contingent here that gets all up in arms whenever anything offends their personal sensitivities. I had some friends visit me when I was living in the Philippines (no I was not in the service there, I lived amongst the natives) and their little girl freaked out at seeing dogs hanging in the butcher shop: a local delicacy. I just have a very warped sense of whats funny, some people say its "dry" but I think that warped describes it better. Didn't the Lampoon start as a Harvard paper back in the late '60s (talk about dating oneself), seems a lot of people thought it was quite counter-culture when it started. :lol:

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each cache is owned by someone and there are laws about removing someone else's property from it's intended place. it's called theft, petty or otherwise. I hope one of these pranksters gets caught so they can find out that this magazine just told them to do something that carries penalties.

Just my 2 cents.

 

Mike

Zazth

You're crazy. No one is going to get in trouble for stealing a cache. It's called ABANDONED PROPERTY. No one would ever get prosecuted for cleaning up trash left in the forest.

 

"Crazy" is a little harsh. Especially since you are wrong. Caches are not "ABANDONED PROPERTY"; they are placed property. If the guidelines are followed and permission is obtained from the property owner, the cache is placed with a purpose and maintained. If you park your car in a long term lot it is not "ABANDONED PROPERTY". The only thing about which I agree with you is that there is little likelihood that a cache thief will be prosecuted; even if they steal it out of your parked car.

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Oh oh... get your emails ready again... this time National Lampoon magazine is gonna shoot a dog!!!

Yeah, but that magazine says Lampoon right on the cover. I've noticed that some people need to be told explicitly if something is meant as a joke. :) Right in these forums I've seen people criticized for not putting a emoticon on their post B) Maybe WIRED should have put an emoticon on that article :). Maybe we could all use more smileys :)

 

Almost forgot this one :)

 

That's why I make liberal use of icons. :lol:

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Oh oh... get your emails ready again... this time National Lampoon magazine is gonna shoot a dog!!!

Yeah, but that magazine says Lampoon right on the cover. I've noticed that some people need to be told explicitly if something is meant as a joke. :unsure: Right in these forums I've seen people criticized for not putting a emoticon on their post :) Maybe WIRED should have put an emoticon on that article :unsure:. Maybe we could all use more smileys :)

 

Almost forgot this one :)

 

That's why I make liberal use of icons. :unsure:

 

As did Shakespeare. No, wait... B) I mean, Herman Melville. Oh? He didn't? :lol: OK, then Tennessee Williams. :)

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Today I found in the November 2007 WIRED Magazine a small column

entitled "Be a GPS Prankster" (page 48). Among other malevolent

activities the following is suggested:

 

Move a Geocache

Look up the locations of geocaches - packages stashed for GPS treasure

hunts - and move them. Stake out the old spot and watch players go mad

with frustation.

 

I don't see where's the fun in ruining someone else's outdoor

activity. I was about to fire off a nastygram to editor at wired dot com, but

I think it might be more effective with concerted action. Any

suggestions?

 

That is an incredibly poor business descision. For one most Geocachers are computer literate and many are probably readers or at least potnetial readers, why would a magazine irritate a large body of potential readers. Secondly the magazine may have legal liability for anything that might happen to someone acting on their suggestions. REading many of the posts here I don't think it's a far stretch of the imagination to find someone getting the crap beat out of them staking out a site to get their laughs watching Geocachers get stumped because of their actions. I knwo their insurance company would not be terribly pleased.

 

I suggest that Geocachers contact them to explain their poor choises in article selection. What's next booby-trapping caches? I find it hard to believe that a credible magazine would do something like that. Their editor shoujld find another job, maybe working in a joke shop!

 

You have got to be kidding me. People are responsible for their own actions. If someone does this, and gets the crap beat out of them, it ain't gonna be Wired's problem to deal with. Ever see the movie Jacka**?? All kinds of people decided to follow that lead. ANd guess who paid for that? Not the producers or anyone affiliated with the movie.

 

SOme of you people take this crap WAYYYYYYYYYYY too serious!!!

 

Please don't take this too seriously but how about if I go move one of your caches?

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I wonder how they would like to play, 'Be a Wired Prankster' and hide every mag they put out under the storeroom shelves for 6 months. Bet they wouldn't.

 

Ha, you read my mind. This is what I posted at a geocache forum I frequent...

 

I know myself, I'm a prankster. I love hiding wired magazine behind other magazines at the newsstand.

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I wonder how they would like to play, 'Be a Wired Prankster' and hide every mag they put out under the storeroom shelves for 6 months. Bet they wouldn't.

 

Ha, you read my mind. This is what I posted at a geocache forum I frequent...

 

I know myself, I'm a prankster. I love hiding wired magazine behind other magazines at the newsstand.

Of course they wouldn't like it. But just like the GPS article, it's simply a funny idea that no reasonable person would really do because of the real consequences (people deprived of the magazine they like, the store's business hurt -- much more so than Wired).

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Where in Minnesota does he live? Does anyone know his caching name?

 

A google search of his e-mail address (from his website) gave indication that he was from Fergus Falls, MN - which is right up Rt. 94 from where you are in the Minneapolis area. Perhaps you could find out his caching name? :huh:

 

Another quick search showed a residence in St. Paul., so maybe I'm wrong...

 

http://web.public-records-now.com/(S(4eiqs...andon;;;;MN;;;;

Edited by 4wheelin_fool
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Where in Minnesota does he live? Does anyone know his caching name?

 

A google search of his e-mail address (from his website) gave indication that he was from Fergus Falls, MN - which is right up Rt. 94 from where you are in the Minneapolis area. Perhaps you could find out his caching name? :huh:

 

Another quick search showed a residence in St. Paul., so maybe I'm wrong...

 

http://web.public-records-now.com/(S(4eiqs...andon;;;;MN;;;;

 

Heck, if its him in Fergus Falls, I have phone and address! Not that I'd really bug the prankster... whacky guy that he is.

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Some people are like Slinkies.

They serve no real purpose but still give you moderate

satisfaction when you push them down the stairs.

 

Uhhhh, you may wanna give some thought to changing your tagline. Somebody might actually begin pushing people down the stairs if they read that! All it takes is one person doing it to ruin the entire Slinky brandname! :lol:

 

Too late! I read that a long time ago and NOW every time I think about slinkies I want to push people down stairs. That jingle really gets in my head and now I'm a serial pusher all because I read that sig line. (psst! just setting up my defense and civil case.) :huh:

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This is beyond the pale as I find this to be tantamount to encouraging theft. This is telling WIRED readers to steal someone else’s property, which they spent time and effort in creating the cache, selecting a place to hide the cache, just for the enjoyment of other fellow hobbyists.

 

I think some people may try to do this very thing, but end up being cachers instead of pirates. I believe once someone goes through the trouble of researching the cache, searching for the area and looking for the cache to steal, they will begin to see the draw this hobby has on people. Rather than becoming thieves, would be geo-pirates could see the fun in the find, and would continue to Geocache for themselves.

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Well I decided to write the editor anyway. I hope some others do as well!

 

------------------

I have been a subscriber to WIRED for years. I have read a lot of articles that I didn't agree with, but it was just a personal taste or opinion issue (which is a sign of a good publication). However I do want to voice my opinion in regards to November 2007's column "Be a GPS Prankster" (page 48).

 

Encouraging any activity that disrupts another person's hobby is very poor taste, especially by moving or stealing personal property. It also disappoints me that WIRED would be so out of touch that they wouldn't realize WIRED readers themselves would be GPS and Geocaching enthusiasts and has lowered my opinion of the publication.

 

Activities like Geocaching are the few, and far between, perfect links between the technology that runs our lives and the natural world we live in. I hope that WIRED takes this in to consideration in the future.

 

-Roger Kovacs

------------------

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Hey, here's a fun prank to do with your computer:

Pick a random magazine author, let's just say, oh (pulls name out of a hat) John Brandon. Then track down all his articles and complain to his editors about how you like all the other articles in their mag except his.

Hahahahahah!

 

Be a John Brandon Prankster:

 

Send him random rambling and annoying e-mails about nothing and everything:

 

johnmbrandon@gmail.com :(

 

Lol that is funny.

 

Unfortunately its harassment and I cant do that. But I got a laugh out of it.

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Well I decided to write the editor anyway. I hope some others do as well!

 

------------------

I have been a subscriber to WIRED for years. I have read a lot of articles that I didn't agree with, but it was just a personal taste or opinion issue (which is a sign of a good publication). However I do want to voice my opinion in regards to November 2007's column "Be a GPS Prankster" (page 48).

 

Encouraging any activity that disrupts another person's hobby is very poor taste, especially by moving or stealing personal property. It also disappoints me that WIRED would be so out of touch that they wouldn't realize WIRED readers themselves would be GPS and Geocaching enthusiasts and has lowered my opinion of the publication.

 

Activities like Geocaching are the few, and far between, perfect links between the technology that runs our lives and the natural world we live in. I hope that WIRED takes this in to consideration in the future.

 

-Roger Kovacs

------------------

 

Hows that for a tech magazine... The online submission came back to my email address as undeliverable to the mailbox specified...

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Heck, if its him in Fergus Falls, I have phone and address! Not that I'd really bug the prankster... whacky guy that he is.

 

Bugging him would be stooping to his level, and that would be wrong.

 

It would not be wrong to notice that every time I refresh the screen at WIRED, the same advertiser pops up to support that page with their dollars, and that is BASF.

 

What would also possibly not be wrong would be to contact BASF and let them know what sort of media their dollars are supporting. What might be wrong is which department to contact at BASF. "Investor relations" sounds promising, since they don't have an email address for "Contact us for poor advertising choices".

 

Investor Relations at BASF is investorrelations@basf.com. I'll bet they would know who to contact. Reckon?

 

Not suggesting anything here, just thinking about sharing information with parties who might be interested. I doubt investor relation hears from the general public very often. It might make their day to get a few emails telling them how to improve their public image. I'll bet they get bored dealing with plain old investors all the time.

 

They might also be interesting in hearing that WIRED has an article suggesting that open businesses be listed online as "closed". Since they are in business themselves, they might have some concerns that they are supporting a media that publishes suggestions such as "Plant bogus info at Waymarking.com: Note a bookshop as out of business or add a nonexistent caf. Surf that line between keeping people away from your favorite establishment and causing it to shut down."

 

Of course, they may not care one way or the other.

Edited by WebChimp
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Today I found in the November 2007 WIRED Magazine a small column

entitled "Be a GPS Prankster" (page 48). Among other malevolent

activities the following is suggested:

 

Move a Geocache

Look up the locations of geocaches - packages stashed for GPS treasure

hunts - and move them. Stake out the old spot and watch players go mad

with frustation.

 

I don't see where's the fun in ruining someone else's outdoor

activity. I was about to fire off a nastygram to editor at wired dot com, but

I think it might be more effective with concerted action. Any

suggestions?

 

That would be a long stake out. It's not like cachers swarm like ants on these things. We could stake out the stake out and see how they deal with utter boardom.

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Today I found in the November 2007 WIRED Magazine a small column

entitled "Be a GPS Prankster" (page 48). Among other malevolent

activities the following is suggested:

 

Move a Geocache

Look up the locations of geocaches - packages stashed for GPS treasure

hunts - and move them. Stake out the old spot and watch players go mad

with frustation.

 

I don't see where's the fun in ruining someone else's outdoor

activity. I was about to fire off a nastygram to editor at wired dot com, but

I think it might be more effective with concerted action. Any

suggestions?

I doubt most people would do what that article recommends besides some complete losers. :)
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Those po'd at wired need to think it through a bit. I found it humorus. There is little to no incentive to do any of that. A

 

I wasn't that concerned by the "move a geocache" suggestion, but I was concerned by the suggestion that open businesses be listed on Waymarking.Com as "Closed".

 

As far as the incentive, malicious minds get their incentive from just being malicious. People who key cars, put pins in Halloween candy, or launch DNS attacks aren't doing it because they are logical, reasonable people. They are malicious people outside the realms of logic. Making such suggestions is irresponsible, regardless of the tone.

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Perhaps we should find out who has written the article. Then find his address and put a few caches in his garden, on his car, under his house, on his trash can, on his bicycle etc.. Then put a 20 cache multi in wired magazine's office or have a flash mob caching event there. Just a few ideas to think about.

 

FBC

 

Dont get mad get even!!!!!!!!!!

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Might have been tongue-in-cheek, but it wasn't funny to some people. It wasn't to me.

 

How about this for good comedy... when you pass by a magazine rack, move their magazines to the children's section. Now that's good comedy. :)

It may seem like juvenile humor to ask people to interfere with someone else's hobby. But I suspect the "be an 'x' technology prankster" columns in a magazine like WIRED are more to poke fun at people's reliance on some technology rather that to actually encourage Luddite-like behavior.

 

We play our game based on trust that people are actually hiding caches where they say they hid them and that people don't go stealing or moving the caches they find. So we get very heated discussions when someone asks if its OK to purposely lists bad coordinates or does not actually put the cache out till after the FTF crowd has gone looking for it. And we have have had people who have threaten so-called cache pirates with physical harm if the are caught. I suspect WIRED is really trying to tell us that we need to realize there is alway a small chance that coords are bad or the cache is missing. It may not always be because of a malicious prankster, and thankfully it seems more likely when it happens to be an innocent error with coords or a muggle who found the cache by accident and took it despite the cache letter that may or may not have been in the cache. The best way to deal with cache pirates has been shown again and again to ignore them. Pranksters are looking for attention and to see the reaction of people. If we just go about our business and treat missing caches as part of the game we remove the incentive for people to steal caches for this purpose. Sure some muggles may steal caches as an inexpensive way of acquiring ammo cans or broken McToys, but if you had this situation one would probably start hiding Tupperware container and stocking your caches with dirty golf ball. Threating retaliation to WIRED is just showing them that we missed their point. And they will laugh at us (as nerds are sometimes prone to do) as people who just don't understand the limitations inherent in the technologies (GPS and Internet) that we use to play our game.

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I send in feedback on the article. If Groundspeak handles it it will appear to be one comment from a small group. If everyone who knows about it sends in a comment they will know that they are messing with a lot of people. I imagine many people who cache would also like other articles in their magazine.

 

They are throwing sand in the eyes of their own readers in many cases.

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In my opinion, the problem stems from the geocacher who wrote the article, rather than the entire magazine. He should have known better than to encourage that behavior to a group of people who are not familiar with the sport. There has been problems with people taking caches ever since it started, and this will only aggravate it. A non-cacher would have little or no clue if this is considered funny or not.

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