Virtual Caches

[+ratcliffe]

Can you still place virtual caches, or are they frowned upon nowadays ?

[+Delta68]

No you can't*

 

 

 

 

*not on www.geocaching.com anyway

[+ratcliffe]

A nice easy answer there then, I did wonder why there were only about 200 virtual UK caches. I did my first virtual at the weekend and I was wondering why there were not more.

Thanks!

[+The Blorenges]

There's a strong possibility that Virtuals will be returning to the geocaching.com site in some form or another. Whether their return will be greeted with celebration and cheering or groans of despair will likely depend on exactly what the new form is!

 

MrsB

[+Bear and Ragged]

There's a strong possibility that Virtuals will be returning to the geocaching.com site in some form or another. Whether their return will be greeted with celebration and cheering or groans of despair will likely depend on exactly what the new form is!

 

MrsB

... Just off to throw some old trainers into a tree, for when the virtuals return...

 

[+The Blorenges]

There's a strong possibility that Virtuals will be returning to the geocaching.com site in some form or another. Whether their return will be greeted with celebration and cheering or groans of despair will likely depend on exactly what the new form is!

 

MrsB

... Just off to throw some old trainers into a tree, for when the virtuals return...

 

 

That's what I like about you ... You have such class... such style.

 

MrsB

[Ephemeral Moment]

There's a strong possibility that Virtuals will be returning to the geocaching.com site in some form or another. Whether their return will be greeted with celebration and cheering or groans of despair will likely depend on exactly what the new form is!

 

MrsB

... Just off to throw some old trainers into a tree, for when the virtuals return...

 

 

This is Britain, wouldn't a public school boy have to be attached to those trainers, or would it be a pair of knickers in a layby???

 

Or you could always make a Shrubbery

[+Bear and Ragged]

There's a strong possibility that Virtuals will be returning to the geocaching.com site in some form or another. Whether their return will be greeted with celebration and cheering or groans of despair will likely depend on exactly what the new form is!

 

MrsB

... Just off to throw some old trainers into a tree, for when the virtuals return...

 

 

This is Britain, wouldn't a public school boy have to be attached to those trainers, or would it be a pair of knickers in a layby???

 

Or you could always make a Shrubbery

Most laybys already have a throw-away film tub near by... Proximity guidelines come into play.

[Ephemeral Moment]

There's a strong possibility that Virtuals will be returning to the geocaching.com site in some form or another. Whether their return will be greeted with celebration and cheering or groans of despair will likely depend on exactly what the new form is!

 

MrsB

... Just off to throw some old trainers into a tree, for when the virtuals return...

 

 

This is Britain, wouldn't a public school boy have to be attached to those trainers, or would it be a pair of knickers in a layby???

 

Or you could always make a Shrubbery

Most laybys already have a throw-away film tub near by... Proximity guidelines come into play.

 

Ah, but then the shoes could have a nano inserted into the lace tip (with a suitable difficulty level) - would hate to see the opportunity for a nano passed up...

 

[+Bear and Ragged]

Ah, but then the shoes could have a nano inserted into the lace tip (with a suitable difficulty level) - would hate to see the opportunity for a nano passed up...

BUT.

A log to sign means it's not a virtual cache...

[Ephemeral Moment]

Ah, but then the shoes could have a nano inserted into the lace tip (with a suitable difficulty level) - would hate to see the opportunity for a nano passed up...

BUT.

A log to sign means it's not a virtual cache...

 

Exactly why have a Virtual if you can have a nano

[+Bear and Ragged]

Ah, but then the shoes could have a nano inserted into the lace tip (with a suitable difficulty level) - would hate to see the opportunity for a nano passed up...

BUT.

A log to sign means it's not a virtual cache...

 

Exactly why have a Virtual if you can have a nano

... Whether their return will be greeted with celebration and cheering or groans of despair ...

I take it you maybe one of the latters...

 

[Ephemeral Moment]

Ah, but then the shoes could have a nano inserted into the lace tip (with a suitable difficulty level) - would hate to see the opportunity for a nano passed up...

BUT.

A log to sign means it's not a virtual cache...

 

Exactly why have a Virtual if you can have a nano

... Whether their return will be greeted with celebration and cheering or groans of despair ...

I take it you maybe one of the latters...

 

 

Actually no - I love virtuals (and the idea of viruals) as I love Earthcaches, just making fun of nanos

[+maxkim]

As a cacher who got refused 6 virts as part of a multi in yorkshire in the week they were stopped (submitted when ok... refused when not... a week is a long time in caching!!!)) I would welcome their return... all on historic monuments as well... Hopefully just shows if you wait long enough things come around...

[+The Bongtwashes]

Could this mean a virtual return to caches in the Royal Parks?

[+Bear and Ragged]

There's a strong possibility that Virtuals will be returning to the geocaching.com site in some form or another. Whether their return will be greeted with celebration and cheering or groans of despair will likely depend on exactly what the new form is!

 

MrsB

 

It seems in order to get more Cachers doing Waymarks, Groundspeak have decided the new Virtuals have to be submitted as Waymarks.

 

Once accepted as a Waymark (In whichever category applies -statues etc) you can then apply to Groundspeak to get it listed on the caching site, with the extra icon as a Virtual cache.

 

Cachers wanting to claim the Virtual icon have to 'visit' the Waymark, and then claim the Virtual geocache icon.

Deleting the Waymark visit deletes the Virtual icon too.

 

 

 

[+NickandAliandEliza]

There's a strong possibility that Virtuals will be returning to the geocaching.com site in some form or another. Whether their return will be greeted with celebration and cheering or groans of despair will likely depend on exactly what the new form is!

 

MrsB

 

For film pot in ivy covered bush in uninteresting area, see;

 

The co-ords take you to a random uninteresting road, where you have to find the number painted on a random lamppost to claim the cache.

 

Virtuals were good years ago when generally more effort was put into caches / cache logs. It's a bad idea to bring them back.

[+burtsbodgers]

Am i missing something.

What is the difference between a virtual and an earthcache and YOSM?

to my thinking it is only the location.

All the virtuals i have done have taken me to places of interest as have the others, surely they are really the same.

Aren't virtuals supposed to take you to a place where a traditional can not be placed, such as a SSSI?

[+The Other Stu]

Earth Caches are all managed by Geoaware.

They have to have certain attributes - i.e. they have to have some sort of geological significance.

 

A virtual (grandfathered*) takes you to absolutely anything - it could be a statue or a building or anything that is natural or man-made.

 

A YOSM (grandfathered*) is usually a trig-point. Yes, it could also be a virtual (well, no it can't because you can't have another cache 0.1m etc etc)

 

*grandfathered means that it still exists under the old rules, but it wouldn't be allowed today as a new cache.

Edited September 21, 2010 by The Other Stu

[+Delta68]

A YOSM (grandfathered*) is usually a trig-point. Yes, it could also be a virtual (well, no it can't because you can't have another cache 0.1m etc etc)

 

 

YOSM is just a moving Virtual owned by OutForTheHunt.

No proximity rules apply. A trig pillar can be a YSOM and have a micro stuck in the hole on as well

eg

GC1NEDD is a Micro

YSM188 is the YSOM at the same pillar

 

 

Mark

[+burtsbodgers]

Earth Caches are all managed by Geoaware.

They have to have certain attributes - i.e. they have to have some sort of geological significance.

 

A virtual (grandfathered*) takes you to absolutely anything - it could be a statue or a building or anything that is natural or man-made.

 

A YOSM (grandfathered*) is usually a trig-point. Yes, it could also be a virtual (well, no it can't because you can't have another cache 0.1m etc etc)

 

*grandfathered means that it still exists under the old rules, but it wouldn't be allowed today as a new cache.

 

This i knew.

But what is the difference.

An earth cache requires you go to a location take a picture and answer a question.

These are still allowed.

A virtual cache requires you go to a location take a picture and answer a question.

These are not allowed.

Generally its only the location type that is different.

IE. Earthcache is at natural feature in the landscape of some significance.

Virtual should be at a manmade feature of some significance.

Surely we should be able to mark areas of significance with something, after all this is one of the reasons i got into this obsession, especially if we cant put a traditional in the location due to it being a SSSI or a royal park etc..

[+Bear and Ragged]

Earth Caches are all managed by Geoaware.

They have to have certain attributes - i.e. they have to have some sort of geological significance.

 

A virtual (grandfathered*) takes you to absolutely anything - it could be a statue or a building or anything that is natural or man-made.

 

A YOSM (grandfathered*) is usually a trig-point. Yes, it could also be a virtual (well, no it can't because you can't have another cache 0.1m etc etc)

 

*grandfathered means that it still exists under the old rules, but it wouldn't be allowed today as a new cache.

 

This i knew.

But what is the difference.

An earth cache requires you go to a location take a picture and answer a question.

These are still allowed.

A virtual cache requires you go to a location take a picture and answer a question.

These are not allowed.

Generally its only the location type that is different.

IE. Earthcache is at natural feature in the landscape of some significance.

Virtual should be at a manmade feature of some significance.

Surely we should be able to mark areas of significance with something, after all this is one of the reasons i got into this obsession, especially if we cant put a traditional in the location due to it being a SSSI or a royal park etc..

 

As alluded to in post #5

... Just off to throw some old trainers into a tree, for when the virtuals return...

It got to the stage with some Virtuals that one was placed and the question asked to confirm the find at the co-ords (emailed to CO) was "what brand?"

[+The Other Stu]

Absolutely, as per my post in the other thread.

 

Earthcaches were banned for some time too until The Geological Society of America did a deal with Groundspeak to allow Earthcaches to come back.

 

As you say, there are some ALRs as they are effectively virtual.

 

You can't just "create" one. You have to write to geoaware, explain why you want it, what its significance is and what the unique geological properties are. The GSA then decide whether or not to publish it.

 

Virtuals need policing similarly. Unfortunately, unless someone from English Heritage could produce a budget to employ someone to validate requests, then it's unlikely to happen.

 

This of course means that it then becomes yet another burden on our very hard-working reviewers.

 

If not, then my TV aerial could be a virtual and the fence at the end of the street and that tree down the road that looks like an alien when you look at it in the right light and so on..... which is basically what happened before.

 

As discussed in another thread, different countries play things differently. The Germans used to be known for "armchair caches" i.e. virtuals that you could do from Google Earth or by doing a search on the internet. There are still a few grandfathered ones about (I think). Please note I say "used" to. As Deceangi pointed out the other day, there is a lot of work being done to change this and most of the Germans I have met cache in the same way that you and I do.

 

Which is why it's contentious and there's often ill-feeling about it.

[+burtsbodgers]

Earth Caches are all managed by Geoaware.

They have to have certain attributes - i.e. they have to have some sort of geological significance.

 

A virtual (grandfathered*) takes you to absolutely anything - it could be a statue or a building or anything that is natural or man-made.

 

A YOSM (grandfathered*) is usually a trig-point. Yes, it could also be a virtual (well, no it can't because you can't have another cache 0.1m etc etc)

 

*grandfathered means that it still exists under the old rules, but it wouldn't be allowed today as a new cache.

 

This i knew.

But what is the difference.

An earth cache requires you go to a location take a picture and answer a question.

These are still allowed.

A virtual cache requires you go to a location take a picture and answer a question.

These are not allowed.

Generally its only the location type that is different.

IE. Earthcache is at natural feature in the landscape of some significance.

Virtual should be at a manmade feature of some significance.

Surely we should be able to mark areas of significance with something, after all this is one of the reasons i got into this obsession, especially if we cant put a traditional in the location due to it being a SSSI or a royal park etc..

 

As alluded to in post #5

... Just off to throw some old trainers into a tree, for when the virtuals return...

It got to the stage with some Virtuals that one was placed and the question asked to confirm the find at the co-ords (emailed to CO) was "what brand?"

 

Oh I see

 

So its not the virtuals that are really the problem but the people that set them!

 

So is the traditional to go the same way eventually.... with cachers not really giving any thought before setting.

[+T.R.a.M.P.]

... if we cant put a traditional in the location due to it being a SSSI or a royal park etc..

[blatant cache plug]Can I just say that you can put caches in an SSSI - I just did![/blatant cache plug]

[+The Bongtwashes]

 

So is the traditional to go the same way eventually.... with cachers not really giving any thought before setting.

 

Some would argue that at times this is already the case. (μ in ICT etc.)

Edited September 21, 2010 by The Bongtwashes

[+The Blorenges]

More information in posts from Jeremy here:

 

"The return of Virtuals".

 

MrsB

[+The Blorenges]

...and a little bit more. +#236 +#238

 

MrsB

[+Bear and Ragged]

Why do I have a feeling...

 

Tried looking at Scavenger Hunts over in Waymarking?

(You need to log in, using your caching ID and password)

 

Hope that's NOT the way the new Virtuals are going.

[Jester1970]

Ah, but then the shoes could have a nano inserted into the lace tip (with a suitable difficulty level) - would hate to see the opportunity for a nano passed up...

BUT.

A log to sign means it's not a virtual cache...

 

Exactly why have a Virtual if you can have a nano

 

Why have nanos when we could have virtuals?

[+dfx]

Ah, but then the shoes could have a nano inserted into the lace tip (with a suitable difficulty level) - would hate to see the opportunity for a nano passed up...

BUT.

A log to sign means it's not a virtual cache...

 

Exactly why have a Virtual if you can have a nano

 

Why have nanos when we could have virtuals?

 

Because nanos are caches, and gc.com has been created to list caches.