Rules for hiding a cache question ?

[+Mirage29]

My friend runs a corn maze and other activities durning the fall and winter. He wants to place a cache in each of the 2 mazes. I read the rules for hiding a cacheand have a few questions:

 

1. He plans on moving the cache after the maze is over, so it will not be a temporary cache so is he OK there?

 

2. They say you can't put a cache in for commercial purposes. I have a question about that one. If one is on an island that can only get there by ferry boat, isn' that a commercial cache ? If one is placed in a metro park, isn't that a commercial cache? He's not doing it to make extra money, just as a fun add on to the things he has.

 

3. How long after I submit the cache will it pop up on the website?

 

I do have a couple really unique caches for him and would really like to help him with this.

 

Your thoughts ???

 

Thanks,

 

Mirage29

[+buttaskotch]

If your friend is collecting cash for these mazes then yes, its a commercial cache. Your analogy of what you are proposing with an island or a metro park is flawed. If the island is a public space then its not commercial. (Not understanding the ferry boat issue but if I am reading this correctly, One can operate their own boat to the island and not use a ferry service). A metro park is city owned or a public place. Most parks do not charge for entry, and those that do are usually state owned and are placed with implicit permission.

As for a temporary cache? Those are usually frowned upon.

 

Good luck with future placements!

[+Mirage29]

Thanks for the quick response !!!!

 

I understand your responses, but ....I can't afford a boat...so I would have to take the Ferry over to the island to find the cache. And not to say the parks are doing it to bring extra money in (like it would be alot anyway !!! LOLOL), but again you have to pay to get in to find them.

 

If I don't want to pay, I don't have to go looking for them correct ??? He just thought it would be a nice add on to what he has. Can't it be put in the description that it is part of a maze with times and dates. Like I said in the first post, he understands that it can't be temporary, so ho would move it a couple hundered yards to public property after the event.

 

Thanks again

Edited August 23, 2010 by Mirage29

[+tozainamboku]

My initial guess is that this would not be approved. However exceptions are sometimes made. In the case of the commercial guideline your friend would likely have to contact Grounspeak directly to workout how such a cache could be setup.

 

1. He plans on moving the cache after the maze is over, so it will not be a temporary cache so is he OK there?

If he moves the caches it's not really the same cache. It would be better to see if Groundspeak might make an exception to the usual rule that you plan on keeping the cache active for at least 3 months. Or if the caches is placed somewhere where it can still be hunted after the corn maze is no longer there, then you wouldn't have this problem.

 

2. They say you can't put a cache in for commercial purposes. I have a question about that one. If one is on an island that can only get there by ferry boat, isn' that a commercial cache ? If one is placed in a metro park, isn't that a commercial cache? He's not doing it to make extra money, just as a fun add on to the things he has.

The cache would likely be advertising his corn maze. Groundspeak makes some of its income selling advertising on the website. They are not going to give away advertising space on cache pages for free. However they sometimes make exceptions if they feel it is in the interest of geocaching do so. The ferry boat argument is specious. Perhaps someone can take their own boat to island, so you're not really required to take the ferry. But even if you are, the ferry is considered public transportation even if it is operated by a for profit company. So long as the ferry company is not hiding caches as a way to advertise the ferry service, a cache on the island would likely get approved. Caches in public parks and facilities like museums and zoos with admission fees are generally not considered commercial caches if they are operated by grovernment agencies or non-profit organizations. Can your friend really say that listing a cache on Geocaching.com really isn't meant to advertise his maze and drum up more business? He could always hide caches in the maze and not list them on Geocaching.com.

 

3. How long after I submit the cache will it pop up on the website?

Reviewers will try to review caches within 72 hours of submission. In many instance caches will be published on the website within 24 hour or less of the time they are submitted. Caches that raise questions about the guidelines, like these would, take a lot longer, if they get published at all. Getting an exception from Grounspeak to the commercial guideline can take substantially longer even if the exception is granted. Edited August 23, 2010 by tozainamboku

[+briansnat]

Thanks for the quick response !!!!

 

I understand your responses, but ....I can't afford a boat...so I would have to take the Ferry over to the island to find the cache. And not to say the parks are doing it to bring extra money in (like it would be alot anyway !!! LOLOL), but again you have to pay to get in to find them.

 

If I don't want to pay, I don't have to go looking for them correct ??? He just thought it would be a nice add on to what he has. Can't it be put in the description that it is part of a maze with times and dates. Like I said in the first post, he understands that it can't be temporary, so ho would move it a couple hundered yards to public property after the event.

 

Thanks again

 

Taking a ferry because you don't have a boat is no different than taking a bus to a cache because you don't have a car. The method of transportation does not turn it into a commercial cache.

 

There is nothing keeping your friend from setting up a free corn maze and putting a cache in it. That would probably be published without question. But being that his maze is likely a business, that is not permitted without express permission from Groundspeak. Your friend can write them at contact@geocaching.com

to obtain permission.

 

As far as moving a cache a "few hundred yards", then it is no longer the same cache experience and the reviewer will probably suggest he archive it and submit a new one.

Edited August 23, 2010 by briansnat

[Motorcycle_Mama]

Thanks for the quick response !!!!

 

I understand your responses, but ....I can't afford a boat...so I would have to take the Ferry over to the island to find the cache. And not to say the parks are doing it to bring extra money in (like it would be alot anyway !!! LOLOL), but again you have to pay to get in to find them.

 

If I don't want to pay, I don't have to go looking for them correct ??? He just thought it would be a nice add on to what he has. Can't it be put in the description that it is part of a maze with times and dates. Like I said in the first post, he understands that it can't be temporary, so ho would move it a couple hundered yards to public property after the event.

 

Thanks again

 

Others have addressed the rest of the issues, but with this point, he would be better off placing it in that location to begin with.

 

And to reiterate, public parks and non-profit locations are treated differently than commercial locations even if the public parks charge a fee.

[+roziecakes]

It seems like at the most basic level this violates the cache permanence guideline. A suggestion might be to place the cache on the same grounds as the corn maze, but not actually *in* the corn maze so that people can be aware of the area, but the cache can be there all the time.

 

As for temporary caches, you could organize an event where people could come do the maze, and place temporary caches just for the event that are not published on geocaching.com

 

And that's a third option... just don't publish them on geocaching.com Geocaching.com is just a site for listing caches, and you can make geocaches that aren't published whenever you want and give people coordinates. They just won't be able to log them as as smiley on this site.

 

Hope that helps.

[+GeoGeeBee]

You've gotten a lot of good advice in the thread so far.

 

If it was my friend, I would suggest to him that he place a cache on his property, but not in the maze. Put it in a place where it can be available year round. In fact, I'd put is someplace where a person finding the cache would be sure to see the sign advertising the corn maze.

 

But I wouldn't mention the corn maze on the web page. Or if I did, it might be something like "This can be a quick park and grab as you can drive very close to it 10 months out of the year. But during October and November you won't be able to drive up to it because of the corn maze, so you'll need to park at the suggested parking coordinates."

 

If the cache page write-up talks about the corn maze it's very likely to cross the advertising line.