+WRASTRO Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I think I might like a black border around the entire exterior and then the black x running through the diagonals. I am sure some of you art gurus can make something if you think it is viable. Quote Link to comment
+Woodstramp Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I like the design. The cross bars reminds me of the British "Union Jack". Maybe you could call your new flag the "Geo-Jack"? Quote Link to comment
+CanDMan47 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 You know what? I think I agree with less white.Less white it is. My reaction to the very first picture you posted was "hey, cool". To this one, "eee-ew, no way" Just one voice amongst many. +1 Quote Link to comment
+Knight2000 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Well, I've just realized that the colour arrangement in my flag is also the colour arrangement in the favicon you see when you go to Google. And since Google is the #1 search engine online, and Geocaching is the sport where you're the search engine, the colour scheme seems even more appropriate. Yahoo isn't those colors though. Quote Link to comment
Clan Riffster Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) Of all the listed pictures, I like the first one the best. I played with it a bit to make it more appealing to my own biased aesthetics: (silly rules aside...) Edit to add: Sorry about the crummy graphics. MS Paint is all I got to work with. Edited October 7, 2009 by Clan Riffster Quote Link to comment
+HouseOfDragons Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) Mute down the colours, add thin black outlines to the coloured wedges and ditch the black cross entirely. Ask 100 cachers, get 100 different responses! Edited October 7, 2009 by HouseOfDragons Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 What a cool idea! I just now made my own. Don't vote on it, it's just for fun, but I thought why keep it all to myself? It's got an original "G" logo, colors need work. And I got metal in your tincture, which I deeply regret. Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) Same thing with the good ol' G. Edited October 7, 2009 by kunarion Quote Link to comment
+Steellord Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 What a cool idea! I just now made my own. Don't vote on it, it's just for fun, but I thought why keep it all to myself? It's got an original "G" logo, colors need work. And I got metal in your tincture, which I deeply regret. Actually I think you hit the colors pretty close. In the Groundspeak logo the colors I see are yellow, green, blue, & orange. Quote Link to comment
+Knight2000 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 What a cool idea! I just now made my own. Don't vote on it, it's just for fun, but I thought why keep it all to myself? It's got an original "G" logo, colors need work. And I got metal in your tincture, which I deeply regret. I like this one much better. Instead of the G in the rose, can you put a leatherman g in there? Quote Link to comment
+HouseOfDragons Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Same thing with the good ol' G. I like this one. (and you didn't say not to vote for this one!) Quote Link to comment
+ChannelFadge Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 This is how I would like to see it...maybe with the white X more defined.... and the garish colours muted a little bit... and not done as terribly as mine (i knocked it together in 2 minutes on mspaint) Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) Instead of the G in the rose, can you put a leatherman g in there? Something like this? This thin "g" doesn't lend itself to a cutout effect like the bold one does. I could add the extra circle to the compass rose, if the "g" isn't enough. Edited October 7, 2009 by kunarion Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I like that. It's much easier on the eyes than the wide black & white bordered version was. It also reminds me of a Simon game -- remember that follow-the-beeps electronic game? I always enjoyed it. Quote Link to comment
+ArcherDragoon Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Of all the listed pictures, I like the first one the best. I played with it a bit to make it more appealing to my own biased aesthetics: (silly rules aside...) Edit to add: Sorry about the crummy graphics. MS Paint is all I got to work with. Either one is more along the lines of my first impression as well...not sure which one I like better... I appreciate what the OP put together...but the shift from White to Color (without the black border) seemed sort of odd...visually... Quote Link to comment
+proimion Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Next topic: is it legal to fly these flags from lamp posts? Sorry, couldn't resist. Quote Link to comment
+Sol seaker Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 rrrrm....I don't like the small X. I'd still like to see it with black trim on all four colors and no other black lines. I agree with this poster and the other one who suggested this in the first place. Why follow some long forgotten rules that make the asthetics awful? I am all for the white cross with black borders around all the colors. Let's see that one and take a vote on it. Good job otherwise. You put a lot of thought into this obviously. A good idea really. Quote Link to comment
+Sol seaker Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 YES THIS IS IT!!! Love it!!! Perfect!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment
+DragonflyTotem Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 The proportion of this flag is the golden ratio, said to be the most beautiful ratio in the world, and that symbolizes the beautiful things you can find on a cache hunt. Each colour used on the flag is used at least once on the flag of each country of the world, symbolizing the worldwide nature of this activity, and the arrangement of the colours reflects the same arrangement in the geocaching.com logo. The black saltire symbolizes the act of homing in on a specific location, sometimes from many directions, and finding something (think "X marks the spot"), and the logo in the gold portion of the flag is the public domain geocaching logo. The black border on the yellow portion is just to satisfy the heraldic requirement "never put colour on colour, nor metal on metal". Nice design, I like it. Are you putting this in the public domain? Or do you intend to sell related merchandise? No opinion either way, just curious. I think Groundspeak would have issue with someone selling something for profit with their logo on it. Nope, that's the good old public domain Geocaching logo. Hammered out in these same forums many years ago. They don't own the word Geocaching. Although some say they once tried. Actually, I did a search with the USPTO and see that they do in fact have the word "Geocaching" as a REGISTERED US Trademark. That is Registration #2619174, Serial #78045228. It is registered in two different classifications -- for clothing and educational services. Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Actually, I did a search with the USPTO and see that they do in fact have the word "Geocaching" as a REGISTERED US Trademark. That is Registration #2619174, Serial #78045228. It is registered in two different classifications -- for clothing and educational services. So does that mean you can't sell T-shirts with the word "Geocaching" on them? Which search did you use? I tried http://www.uspto.gov/ and it comes up with no matches. Quote Link to comment
+tekkguy Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Actually, I did a search with the USPTO and see that they do in fact have the word "Geocaching" as a REGISTERED US Trademark. That is Registration #2619174, Serial #78045228. It is registered in two different classifications -- for clothing and educational services. So does that mean you can't sell T-shirts with the word "Geocaching" on them? Which search did you use? I tried http://www.uspto.gov/ and it comes up with no matches. There is an active trademark. It belongs to Groundspeak. Quote Link to comment
+DENelson83 Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 YES THIS IS IT!!! Love it!!! Perfect!!!!!!!! So, like this, right? Quote Link to comment
+bittsen Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 There is an active trademark. It belongs to Groundspeak. Yup, it appears they do. Now about the second part of the question. Do I need to get permission from GS to make Tshirts with the word Geocaching on them? Quote Link to comment
+tekkguy Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 IANAL ... so ... dunno. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 So, like this, right? I prefer this one to the original. I can see the reason behind the design rules - the black on blue is not easy on the eyes. Quote Link to comment
+DragonflyTotem Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Actually, I did a search with the USPTO and see that they do in fact have the word "Geocaching" as a REGISTERED US Trademark. That is Registration #2619174, Serial #78045228. It is registered in two different classifications -- for clothing and educational services. So does that mean you can't sell T-shirts with the word "Geocaching" on them? Which search did you use? I tried http://www.uspto.gov/ and it comes up with no matches. Yes, just go to there -- select Trademarks, then the Search TM database search, then New User Form Search, then type in "Geocaching" and click Submit Query. And in the results, there will be 4 records, select the first one and click on the "TARR" field for the easiest to read results. I'm not an attorney but as a "layman" who has directly filed and been awarded numerous successful trademark registrations...I would think that you can't sell t-shirts with the term. And the second class they have it in would seem to me that you can't use it on web sites that provide any information about geocaching. Which is interesting as there are like a zillion of sites that do that in conjunction with other commercial usages. If that were my trademark I'd be worried about it being invalidated based on generic usage. But again, I'm not an attorney so this is just my personal opinion. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Maybe someone want to let these guys know? http://shop.cafepress.com/geocaching IANAL and all the TV / Holiday Inn stuff, but I think Groundspeak would have a hard time challenging usage of the word "geocaching" as a verb and not in reference to a company. Nor do I think they would, but then again, I'm the last person qualified to speak for them. In other words, my 2 cents may not even be worth that much Quote Link to comment
+ZeroHecksGiven Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) I'm sure if you wanted to make a couple of shirts, no one is gonna complain, to sell a few hundred, well, that's probably a risk.. Edited October 8, 2009 by NWCREW Quote Link to comment
+Cedar Grove Seekers Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 YES THIS IS IT!!! Love it!!! Perfect!!!!!!!! So, like this, right? That's it! Great idea DENelson, and thanks to sbell111 for the tweaks. Quote Link to comment
+DENelson83 Posted October 8, 2009 Author Share Posted October 8, 2009 Just FYI, I designed this flag in an infinite-resolution environment. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 Just FYI, I designed this flag in an infinite-resolution environment. Erm.. meaning vector graphics? Quote Link to comment
+Knight2000 Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 (edited) Something like this? This thin "g" doesn't lend itself to a cutout effect like the bold one does. I could add the extra circle to the compass rose, if the "g" isn't enough. I like this better than the confederate X. I do not like the X. Or maybe the original compass rose with the G in the opposite corner. Maybe the white with the black outline? I wish I had one to fly at our event on Saturday. Is someone saying that the word geocaching has is a trademark? Edited October 8, 2009 by Knight2000 Quote Link to comment
+wickedann Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 These pages might help: Logo Usage and Trademark Information Geocaching Logo Usage Guidelines Quote Link to comment
+DENelson83 Posted October 8, 2009 Author Share Posted October 8, 2009 (edited) Just FYI, I designed this flag in an infinite-resolution environment. Erm.. meaning vector graphics? That's right, as an SVG, using Inkscape. What you might want to do to make that flag look better is put the G logo completely in the white portion of the compass rose, instead of have it protrude out to touch the coloured background. Edited October 8, 2009 by DENelson83 Quote Link to comment
Mr.Yuck Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 (edited) Actually, I did a search with the USPTO and see that they do in fact have the word "Geocaching" as a REGISTERED US Trademark. That is Registration #2619174, Serial #78045228. It is registered in two different classifications -- for clothing and educational services. So does that mean you can't sell T-shirts with the word "Geocaching" on them? Which search did you use? I tried http://www.uspto.gov/ and it comes up with no matches. There is an active trademark. It belongs to Groundspeak. That doesn't work for me, it says the search is expired. Then I can't seem to get a hit on the word Geocaching when I try to do my own search. One thing I do know, the word Geocaching was invented by one guy (Matt Stum) in a Yahoo groups post a few months before this website existed. He's even given credit for it right here on Geocaching.com; and I had heard Groundspeak Inc. once did try to trademark the word, but abandoned that effort after getting flack from some of the pioneers of Geocaching on Usenet and in the aforementioned Yahoo Group. Of course they may have done it silently later. Edited October 9, 2009 by TheWhiteUrkel Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 (edited) What you might want to do to make that flag look better is put the G logo completely in the white portion of the compass rose, instead of have it protrude out to touch the coloured background. I think so, too. My latest version kinda looks like the "G" is in a fight with Batman and Robin, "Ka-POW!!!". I'll fiddle with the sizes, and may try the compass back in black. It would be great to have a little variety of flag designs to choose. Edited October 9, 2009 by kunarion Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 (edited) The link won't work. One must go to the www.uspto.gov site and resubmit the search to find things. Of interest: It was held but abandoned in 2004 by Morris Book Publishing for use with "printed materials, namely, books about GPS based activities" Groundspeak has it now for "Clothing, namely shirts, hats, vests, jackets, [ shoes and pants ]" and "Providing on-line information for a GPS based treasure hunting game". FYI: They (Groundspeak) claim first use of the term on the date August 1, 2000. Sounds like Matt Stum has an issue there if he's claiming first use before Groundspeak. Edited October 9, 2009 by ecanderson Quote Link to comment
Mr.Yuck Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 The link won't work. One must go to the www.uspto.gov site and resubmit the search to find things. Of interest: It was held but abandoned in 2004 by Morris Book Publishing for use with "printed materials, namely, books about GPS based activities" Groundspeak has it now for "Clothing, namely shirts, hats, vests, jackets, [ shoes and pants ]" and "Providing on-line information for a GPS based treasure hunting game". FYI: They (Groundspeak) claim first use of the term on the date August 1, 2000. Sounds like Matt Stum has an issue there if he's claiming first use before Groundspeak. Funny then how Groundspeak themselves admit it was coined on 30 May 2000 themselves in their own version of the history of Geocaching on their own website. Here is the page, along with some of the discussion on the topic. And of course you can search older and newer messages posted to the group from that page. This was actually on egroups.com which was later bought out and integrated into Yahoo Groups. I'm sure Matt Stum isn't saying anything, as he's estranged from this website, just like the guy who invented Geocaching. All in the public domain, I might add. Not unlike this particular flag discussion. Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 (edited) Funny then how Groundspeak themselves admit it was coined on 30 May 2000 themselves in their own version of the history of Geocaching on their own website. I guess they'll have to argue with themselves or whomever they hired to make the TM submission with the 8/1/2000 date. The uspto doesn't make them up themselves. Given the public history, I wonder why they picked that date ... apart from the date that Jeremy picked up the ball was also 8/1/2000, wasn't it? Edit: ran across an interesting take on geocaching history that explains a lot: http://en.allexperts.com/e/d/da/dave_ulmer.htm Edited October 9, 2009 by ecanderson Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Well, this thread sure took an interesting turn. Off topic, certainly, but fascinating to me. Quote Link to comment
Mr.Yuck Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Well, this thread sure took an interesting turn. Off topic, certainly, but fascinating to me. Not really that far off topic considering all the "warnings" that Groundspeak might put the kabash on a public domain Geocaching flag. So we almost seem to have two competing designs here? Quote Link to comment
+DragonflyTotem Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Funny then how Groundspeak themselves admit it was coined on 30 May 2000 themselves in their own version of the history of Geocaching on their own website. I guess they'll have to argue with themselves or whomever they hired to make the TM submission with the 8/1/2000 date. The uspto doesn't make them up themselves. Given the public history, I wonder why they picked that date ... apart from the date that Jeremy picked up the ball was also 8/1/2000, wasn't it? Edit: ran across an interesting take on geocaching history that explains a lot: http://en.allexperts.com/e/d/da/dave_ulmer.htm Having been down this road about 9 times myself, what I know is that you have a date you first came up with it, and a date you first used it in commerce. The date used in commerce is what is required for the USPTO trademark application. Quote Link to comment
PastorJon Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Do you think I could get someone to give me free passage on a cruise in exchange for spending time with paying geocachers? Quote Link to comment
+Knight2000 Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Do you think I could get someone to give me free passage on a cruise in exchange for spending time with paying geocachers? Maybe if you make the new flag to be adopted. Quote Link to comment
Mr.Yuck Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 (edited) Do you think I could get someone to give me free passage on a cruise in exchange for spending time with paying geocachers? If I get banned for bringing this stuff up (I've seen it happen but with other factors too), I will offer a cruise with myself for paying customers to Bermuda. We'll only be able to find Terracaches and Navicaches though. Edited October 9, 2009 by TheWhiteUrkel Quote Link to comment
Dinoprophet Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Well, this thread sure took an interesting turn. Off topic, certainly, but fascinating to me. Not really that far off topic considering all the "warnings" that Groundspeak might put the kabash on a public domain Geocaching flag. So we almost seem to have two competing designs here? And 500 years from now, after centuries of sectarian bloodshed, pundits and talking heads and college professors will point to this thread as the source of the world's problems. Quote Link to comment
+kunarion Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I like this better than the confederate X. I do not like the X. Or maybe the original compass rose with the G in the opposite corner. Here's a version with a cutout G. I'll try a couple of ideas with the G and compass separate, too. The final one would not be so blurry. Must be a jpg compression thing. Quote Link to comment
+ZeroHecksGiven Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Do you think I could get someone to give me free passage on a cruise in exchange for spending time with paying geocachers? Maybe if you make the new flag to be adopted. Is there anyone actually looking to adopt a flag design, namely Groundspeak? Or was that just said as a generality? If so, I think there are some designers here who could really do some work as far as something official goes. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 And 500 years from now, after centuries of sectarian bloodshed, pundits and talking heads and college professors will point to this thread as the source of the world's problems. OK, that definitely belongs to the geocaching as religion thread In the meantime, each group will have a flag (or 4) to gather behind as they prepare to do battle. I know kunarion says not to vote on his design, but there's something about the colors and the angle of the lines that makes it very pleasing to the eyes. For some reason, the compass rose with cutout G reminds me of a tortoise (yes, I know, wrong number of appendages) - and that's not necessarily a bad thing Quote Link to comment
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