I'm disapointed...

[toczygroszek]

There is so many difficult requirements to do before your EarthCache will be published but there is lot of EarthCaches where is just nice spot and nothing else. There is just just few words about geology in whole description and questions about strange non-geological things. Whole description is about a form what it look like, but nothing about its origination - what should be most important, most interesting and most educational part of EarthCache. There is nothing more than ordinary virtual at picturesque spot. Most interesting things at this spot are not mentioned, I think people just want receive another icon in their stats of placed caches or just easy place a cache in another country without problem with maintenance.

 

Please dear GSA reviewers - be less restrictive (official) with permission to public lands and be more restrictive with earth science in EarthCache.

 

Thanks.

[+narcissa]

Most Earthcaches I've been to have been great, but there are a handful that were very poor quality. There's a particularly bad one near me where the description is nothing but the text from a plaque. It's a real insult to those of us who have researched, spoken with experts, and taken time to write the cache descriptions in our own words (as required by the guidelines). These Earthcaches reflect badly on all of us, and give ammunition to those who would love to see us relegated to Waymarking.

 

I'd like to see the Earthcaching team tackle these low quality Earthcaches instead of generating confusing nuisance guideline changes that aren't even enforced.

[+GEO WALKER]

I understand the perspective of the prior comments as to ECs not being challenging.

 

My particular point of view for this issue is somewhat different.

ECs are created to educate others, in the area of geology and earth science. Not all of us have the same background and understanding in these fields. What may be viewed by one as “overly simplified”, may be the initial EC for someone with no background in these fields. This type of EC is not intimidating to a novice and could then lead to discovering other ECs as that persons understanding and confidence grows.

Case in point, my latest EC was literally thrown together base on the location of a 10-10-10 Event. In my opinion, a very simple approach to understanding gain size and roundness. Basically Sedimentology 101, and it never was that exciting to me. The true valve in all of this lies in the understanding that was gained by those who went through the exercise. I can only draw one conclusion…. “That is what this is ALL about”…

 

Perhaps those who do not appreciate ECs can tell me just what in the heck they learn from finding a container or reaching into a guardrail???

[+narcissa]

I understand the perspective of the prior comments as to ECs not being challenging.

 

My particular point of view for this issue is somewhat different.

ECs are created to educate others, in the area of geology and earth science. Not all of us have the same background and understanding in these fields. What may be viewed by one as “overly simplified”, may be the initial EC for someone with no background in these fields. This type of EC is not intimidating to a novice and could then lead to discovering other ECs as that persons understanding and confidence grows.

Case in point, my latest EC was literally thrown together base on the location of a 10-10-10 Event. In my opinion, a very simple approach to understanding gain size and roundness. Basically Sedimentology 101, and it never was that exciting to me. The true valve in all of this lies in the understanding that was gained by those who went through the exercise. I can only draw one conclusion…. “That is what this is ALL about”…

 

Perhaps those who do not appreciate ECs can tell me just what in the heck they learn from finding a container or reaching into a guardrail???

 

I don't think a geocache needs to be challenging or difficult in order to be good. It should, however, engage people with some aspect of earth science at the site, even if it's in a very simple way.

 

(It should be noted, however, that the guidelines state the following: The educational notes must be written to a reading age of an upper middle school (14 year old) student.)

 

My concern is the unfortunate prevalence of Earthcaches that offer no geological information whatsoever.

 

The educational validity of physical geocaches is irrelevant because physical geocaches do not have an overarching educational aim. Earthcaching does.

[+AndrewRJ]

I would add that what irks me is a EC i have done in the last year that is just plain wrong. It misidentifies what you are seeing as something else. I have e-mailed the cache owner with the usual lack of any response on his part. The humorous part is he only need to remove the incorrect word and add a hyphen and the word "like" to fix the listing.

 

Real details removed to protect the guilty.

[+narcissa]

I would add that what irks me is a EC i have done in the last year that is just plain wrong. It misidentifies what you are seeing as something else. I have e-mailed the cache owner with the usual lack of any response on his part. The humorous part is he only need to remove the incorrect word and add a hyphen and the word "like" to fix the listing.

 

Real details removed to protect the guilty.

 

I hit NA on an Earthcache that was just plain wrong. The reviewer asked for clarification from the cache owner, but didn't get a response and eventually archived the Earthcache.

[+Earl B. Fisk]

I hit NA on an Earthcache that was just plain wrong. The reviewer asked for clarification from the cache owner, but didn't get a response and eventually archived the Earthcache.

 

I've wondered what to do in this case. I was the first to post (FTF if you like) a reply to an EC close to where I live, and answered the pertinant questions in an email to the CO. However the description on the EC page was way off (I've written professional papers dealing with these rocks), so I included a few sentences that would correct several of these issues. Many months later he's never made any changes. He even recognizes someone else as the first to "correctly" log the cache. I wrote him again about the information, but have never received a reply. I'm half tempted to hit NA on this one.

[+narcissa]

I hit NA on an Earthcache that was just plain wrong. The reviewer asked for clarification from the cache owner, but didn't get a response and eventually archived the Earthcache.

 

I've wondered what to do in this case. I was the first to post (FTF if you like) a reply to an EC close to where I live, and answered the pertinant questions in an email to the CO. However the description on the EC page was way off (I've written professional papers dealing with these rocks), so I included a few sentences that would correct several of these issues. Many months later he's never made any changes. He even recognizes someone else as the first to "correctly" log the cache. I wrote him again about the information, but have never received a reply. I'm half tempted to hit NA on this one.

 

Hit NA, and provide a link to the papers in the NA log. The reviewers will give the cache owner time to correct it.

[+Saturnmansc1]

Maybe some of you could help and point me in me in the right direction in regards to Earth Caches. I am considering beginning my own (and my first) EC. First off, where do I find the guidelines?

 

Secondly, I saw some information nearby the geological/hydrological formation I would like to place the EC at. How can I make this informative enough to make it both enjoyable for the beginner and experienced EC hunter without the "he doesn't know anything" attitude I have gathered from this post?

[+Touchstone]

First off, where do I find the guidelines?

 

Earthcache Guidelines

 

And of course, the...

 

Geocaching Guidelines

 

The first is probably the most relevant to getting an Earthcache Published, but the second may have some relevant portions that may be applicable as well.

 

Secondly, I saw some information nearby the geological/hydrological formation I would like to place the EC at. How can I make this informative enough to make it both enjoyable for the beginner and experienced EC hunter without the "he doesn't know anything" attitude I have gathered from this post?

 

Just do your best. The vast majority of people will appreciate the effort. Please don't take the Forums too much to heart. Keep in mind that the folks that post in here are a very small fraction of the number of Geocachers out there, and do not represent the entire Community, who for the most part, are friendly and welcoming. You have only to go to a single Event to find out this is true.

 

Best of luck and thanks for thinking about contributing

[+narcissa]

Maybe some of you could help and point me in me in the right direction in regards to Earth Caches. I am considering beginning my own (and my first) EC. First off, where do I find the guidelines?

 

Secondly, I saw some information nearby the geological/hydrological formation I would like to place the EC at. How can I make this informative enough to make it both enjoyable for the beginner and experienced EC hunter without the "he doesn't know anything" attitude I have gathered from this post?

 

While some of us have encountered Earthcaches that were blatantly incorrect, I think the vast majority of Earthcachers recognize that they're meant to be created and enjoyed by amateurs. Just make sure your research is sound. You said you saw some information near the formation you're interested in - is it a sign? If it's a sign, it will probably tell you who put the sign there, so you could contact them if you want more details.

 

University geology and geography departments can be a good resource. Departments/ministries of natural resources are another place you can look for reputable information. For one of my Earthcaches, I found someone who is conducting long term studies of the feature I was using. He was thrilled to have someone from the general public take an interest in it. He provided me with diagrams, and read over my page for accuracy.

 

Trying to write the Earthcache page so that it's informative without being boring can be a bit of a minefield, but just do your best. If you want help with an unpublished Earthcache, there are always friendly folks in here willing to have a look.

 

The guidelines and some other resources can be found here:

 

http://earthcache.org/