+Moosiegirl Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 We are on the verge of really "organizing" in the Austin, TX area. What I would really like to see is a way to pull a list of each cacher who has logged anything on a cache in the last month within 'X' miles of a set of coords ... so we could find everyone who is actively cacheing in Central Texas, for example. Then (to protect their privacy), we'd need a page for a "broadcast message" that could be sent to multiple userIDs at once, for the purpose of sending out local/regional information, invitations to upcoming event caches, publicizing new "rules" issued by government entities, etc. One of our big problems right now is figuring out how to educate new cachers on the rules that our local parks and preserves have, so they won't step on toes that are currently happy about geocaching. So Jeremy, is this anything you have considered? Could it be something added to the custom query page without too much trouble? Happy Trails, Candy quote:... I can quit any time I like ... really, I CAN!! Candy (Moosiegirl)http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CentralTexasGeocachers/ Link to comment
+Mr. Snazz Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 ...was through word-of-mouth. Initially I just posted on the northwest forum, then anouther local cacher took the initiative of going through and pasting a form letter to all the active cachers that they could find (by checking various local caches, etc). It spread as cachers talked to other cachers, visited local caches on which we have placed links to the site, etc. Of course, this was just for Central Oregon, which I suspect might have fewer cachers than the Austin, TX area, but it worked well for us. The tools you suggest do sound nice, however I would like to also suggest that if Groundspeak does implement a mass-mail feature, that it only be offered to pre-approved users (ie. those recognized as organizing local cacher groups). It would really be annoying for somebody to get into a snit with anouther local cacher, and end up having them e-mail remarks about the cacher to the rest of the local cachers using the mass-mail feature. Certainly, someone could go in by hand and do that anyway, but giving them a "mail everybody in my area" feature would make it all the more easy, and thus more tempting for abuse. Link to comment
+Mopar Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Post your 1st meeting as an event cache. Not every cacher reads the forums (most dont), but they all check for new local caches. If they arent checking the page for new caches, then they arent really geocachers, are they? The mailer idea is a poor one. Mass email should ALWAYS be something you have to opt in (sign up for). Unsolicited mass mail is called spam, and is never welcome here. Once you have your meeting and set up a group, there are plenty of free mailing list programs, and if your group sets up their own website, people who visit your site and are intrested can be invited to join the list. Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon. Link to comment
+Mr. Snazz Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 Be sure to let Jeremy & Co know the URL for your group site and the area that it serves, they've been putting links to local caching orgs/groups on to the State Search pages for a while now (eg. if you search for Oregon caches, you get a link to COGEO, etc). Link to comment
+Markwell Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 We have a pretty strong Chicago area group. The way we do things is to have a Yahoo Group for mass mailings (that way people can either check the board, receive daily digests of all messages sent to the board that day, or receive individual e-mails). I know Yahoo Groups tend to "draw air quickly as if through a straw" but they do serve their purpose. We also have our own Chicago site, but before we did that, we just used the Yahoo Group as our Regional Website. Then the key thing was a logo (small and recognizable) and provide an easy HTML link for everyone to include on their cache descriptions. Our logo was approved by Jeremy, and many of the Chicago caches have an icon with a link to the Chicago Geocaching pages. BTW - our Yahoo Group still exists, and links on the main page to the ChicagoGeocaching.com site. The ChicagoGeocaching.com site also references the Yahoo Group for discussions. That way you've got everything covered. People see the link on the area pages (like an advertisement) and can decide their level of involvement in the local group. Also, be sure that your event caches also show the link to the group - prominently. The last step is that when you have a web-presence (either discussion forum or actual website), I agree - let Jeremy know so that he can include it on the minimalist state page. Markwell Chicago Geocaching Link to comment
+The Leprechauns Posted January 21, 2003 Share Posted January 21, 2003 See this thread in the Northeast forum where several ideas are discussed, including my suggestion to use Dan Miller's stats site as a way to follow geocacher activity by recent logs in your area, and his leaderboard for your area. Thank goodness the stats site is back in business for purposes like this one! Good luck with organizing your group. x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x If there's no accounting for stupidity, then why do I need to file a tax return? Link to comment
+Moosiegirl Posted January 22, 2003 Author Share Posted January 22, 2003 I had not thought of the abuse possibilities, thanks for bringing them up. Guess since I wouldn't do it, I don't expect others to do it. I know about that stats list, and that would be a great way to get names. We already have a discussion list on Yahoo and I will make certain it is listed in the States thingy (hope I'm not getting to technical ... coffee hasn't kicked in yet! ). Guess since nobody else has done it, it's time to set up an event for the sole purpose of "organizing". Thanks for all the suggestions! Happy Trails, quote:... I can quit any time I like ... really, I CAN!! Candy (Moosiegirl)http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CentralTexasGeocachers/ Link to comment
+Web-ling Posted January 22, 2003 Share Posted January 22, 2003 Check the Stats Site for Austin... If you get a chance, you might want to make the trip north to one of NTGA's meetings. Good luck! Link to comment
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