Dave from Glanton Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I don't post much on these forums these days...don't get much time for actively going out and caching for that matter, but I do use the forums to keep in touch with what's happening out there in the world of geocaching. Moss Trooper has set some great caches - indeed I made a point of saving one of his for my 100th find. I met him at a couple of North East get-togethers and I have to say I found him to be a great bloke...and very passionate about this sport/passtime. It's interesting to reflect on how much geocaching has grown in the UK - thanks, in no small part, to the efforts of Ian back in the early days. So, I just wanted to say ta-ta...sorry to see you go. It's a shame that someone who's done so much for geocaching doesn't seem to get as much respect as they deserve :-( But of course you won't be on these forums any more, so I don't suppose you'll get to read this anyway.... Ho hum... Quote Link to comment
+mtn-man Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 (edited) So, I just wanted to say ta-ta...sorry to see you go. It's a shame that someone who's done so much for geocaching doesn't seem to get as much respect as they deserve :-( But of course you won't be on these forums any more, so I don't suppose you'll get to read this anyway.... Ho hum... Don't worry. He has said that before. By the way, if you want to come in and chat, you can feel free. If you come in to push personal agendas, then that is different. You can criticize "Powers To Be" if you want, but if you are pushing a personal agenda in the process then that topic might be closed. There have been many topics critical of the way charities are handled. There was even a relaxation of the guidelines regarding that. There is a right way and a wrong way to do things. The wrong was was chosen over the past few days by a couple of people. Mandy has proved that it can be done in a right way. Sorry, but it is what it is. Edited February 11, 2009 by mtn-man Quote Link to comment
Beefy4605 Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 I don't want to stir up a hornets nest here (sorry but you know what I mean )but there are a couple of things I'd like explained . Firstly- If Groundspeak is happy to sell tracking numbers to put on a geocoin which is being used to raise money for charity why will it not allow a thread where a geocacher is trying to raise money for the same charity? To most people this will seem like double standards GSP is happy to make money from tracking numbers but won't allow any publicity for the charity from anyone else. Secondly - If the persons involved had approached the moderators before posting the threads with their intentions would a "proper " "I'm doing this for charity " thread have been allowed? In other words if the individuals concerned had approached the Mods and said we are doing this can we advertise what we are doing and why before going public with it would it have been allowed? I understand this will be difficult to answer due to the circumstances we now find ourselves in. By asking these questions no one should assume that I am on one side or the other . I have no intrest in the " history " of anyone involved and am just trying to sort a few things out in my own little world. Quote Link to comment
+BlueDeuce Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 By asking these questions no one should assume that I am on one side or the other . I have no intrest in the " history " of anyone involved and am just trying to sort a few things out in my own little world. I think MissJenn covered most of what you are asking in this post. Quote Link to comment
Beefy4605 Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 By asking these questions no one should assume that I am on one side or the other . I have no intrest in the " history " of anyone involved and am just trying to sort a few things out in my own little world. I think MissJenn covered most of what you are asking in this post. A cut and paste answer is not really what I want . If that is all that can be provided then perhaps the Moderators can refer it to someone higher up .If no one wants to answer in open forum then they can drop me a confidential pm .As you have pointed out I have no agenda here. Quote Link to comment
+sTeamTraen Posted February 11, 2009 Share Posted February 11, 2009 If Groundspeak is happy to sell tracking numbers to put on a geocoin which is being used to raise money for charity why will it not allow a thread where a geocacher is trying to raise money for the same charity? Groundspeak doesn't care why you're selling your coins - that's why there's fewer restrictions on what you can say in the coin forum. If you're selling a Groundspeak trackable coin for charity, you can say so. (At one point, you couldn't do so. The rules were relaxed when it was realised that the "no solicitations" rule was in conflict with the "it's OK to sell" rule.) To most people this will seem like double standards GSP is happy to make money from tracking numbers but won't allow any publicity for the charity from anyone else. I don't see any double standard here. Groundspeak is a business which sells not only tracking numbers, but also advertising. Allowing people to advertise free would be contrary to their interests, which is why you can't put ads on cache pages. Allowing charitable solicitations comes down to the same thing. You might see someone on "Celebrity Who Wants to be a Millionaire" make 50,000 pounds for cancer research (while working for free and generating six times that amount in revenue for ITV during the ad breaks), but if you give ITV a call and ask them if you can broadcast an appeal for cancer research in a prime-time slot, I'm guessing the answer will be 'no'. There is also the question of scalability. There are 400,000 registered members of this forum, and I'd bet that at least 3% of them raise money for charity in a given year. That's potentially 35 new charity threads per day, which I don't want to wade through. You don't see the problems which you don't have, and right now, we don't have the problem of dozens of charitable threads. If they were freely allowed, you would do. One of the fundamental laws of economics is that if some good or service is provided free and in unlimited quantities, it will be abused. Quote Link to comment
+careygang Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 I think that sums it up nicely. Quote Link to comment
+mtn-man Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Indeed. Here here. Quote Link to comment
Beefy4605 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 After nearly 24 hours 1 Premium member has attempted to answer 1 of the 2 questions I asked .Another Premium member agrees and a moderator adds 3 words. While I appreciate your reply sTeam Traen I'd question what you know about the inner thoughts and workings of GSP. I was hoping for an intelligent thought out answer from at the very least a mod , but would have prefered a charter member or above to have answered. I guess it was to much to ask for . Good luck Moss Trooper I wish you all the best in the future. Quote Link to comment
+mtn-man Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 (edited) After nearly 24 hours 1 Premium member has attempted to answer 1 of the 2 questions I asked .Another Premium member agrees and a moderator adds 3 words. While I appreciate your reply sTeam Traen I'd question what you know about the inner thoughts and workings of GSP. I was hoping for an intelligent thought out answer from at the very least a mod , but would have prefered a charter member or above to have answered. I guess it was to much to ask for . Oh man. If you could only hear me chuckling. sTeamTraen is a reviewer and a forum moderator, but that is his player account. He certainly knows the "inner thoughts and workings" of Groundspeak. He is a very thoughtful person and a great contributor here and does an outstanding job in all aspects of his volunteer service. His post above was so well said that I could not add anything to it. It is another great example of his contributions to the forums. He also participates in the GAGB Forums, as many in there probably are aware. I think you need clarification on another point. The only difference between a Charter Member and a Premium Member is the day they paid for their membership. Charter Members are recognized as people who paid within the first year that paid memberships to the site were offered. I am a Charter Member. A Charter Member's opinion is not "above" anyone else, and is most certainly equal to others who post in these forums. While the web site appreciates those who pay to support the site, that does not diminish the opinions of anyone who is not a Charter Member or a Premium Member. Just because you might have some financial hardship that does not allow you to pay for a Premium Membership doesn't mean that your opinion is thought of any less than anyone else's (added... or just choose for not to pay for whatever reason, it doesn't matter). Perhaps you did not understand what the "membership" terms mean, and I hope this clarifies both items for you in the future. Edited February 12, 2009 by mtn-man Quote Link to comment
Beefy4605 Posted February 12, 2009 Share Posted February 12, 2009 Fair enough - I offer my sincerest appologies to sTeam Traen and mtn -man . I did not realise that sTeam Trean is a reviewer in another part of the forum. And again thanks for clearing up my confusion to the differences between charter members and premium members. And just to clarify my position - I'm not in any financial hardship - I have been around nearly a year trying it out so to speak and like the game . I will be signing up for a premium account in the next week or so. Thats what I like about here - you learn something every day Quote Link to comment
+mtn-man Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 No apology needed. Always happy to help. Quote Link to comment
+careygang Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Fair enough - I offer my sincerest appologies to sTeam Traen and mtn -man . I did not realise that sTeam Trean is a reviewer in another part of the forum. And again thanks for clearing up my confusion to the differences between charter members and premium members. And just to clarify my position - I'm not in any financial hardship - I have been around nearly a year trying it out so to speak and like the game . I will be signing up for a premium account in the next week or so. Thats what I like about here - you learn something every day I/We only became Premium when we moved on from the faithful Yellow and wanted to go paperless, hence the Premium Membership in order to do PQs etc... Quote Link to comment
Beefy4605 Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 I/We only became Premium when we moved on from the faithful Yellow and wanted to go paperless, hence the Premium Membership in order to do PQs etc... Thats why I'm going PM -won a Garmin nuvi 765T in a Garmin competion before Christmas and have just discovered the macro that loads the cache to the unit .So much easier when you have 2 young( 8 +4 year old) children in tow.I had previously found all my caches with a mobile phone and was semi paperless . Now only puzzles and multi caches will be printed out if they warrant it. Quote Link to comment
+Jacobite Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Definate Beefy, paperless is the way to go! I bought myself a PDA a couple of years ago, and as soon as my wife saw it in action, guess what she wanted for her birthday........ Sorry, I'm off topic again! Quote Link to comment
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