[FEATURE] new "cache" type ?

[+kantear]

ok ... not so much a cache but a coordinate based suggestion or request that will show on the map or in a search (with a bigger radius than the .25 mile maybe) that points out an area that could use a cache to the local players. like "hey there's some nice space over here"!

 

the other day i was in a heavily traveled area where the nearest cache was 1.9 miles away ... i was done working for the day and would've appreciated a nice quick one within a bit closer area. i did post notes to 2 of the nearby caches that it would be nice to have a cache near where i was. maybe someone will see that.

 

thanks.

[+niraD]

Around here, a lot of these "nice spot for a cache" logs would be for parks that already have a mystery/puzzle cache.

[Keystone]

The area may be free of caches because it is off limits to geocaching (either per the guidelines or because of a land manager policy). It would be confusing for the listing service to say on its maps "hey, nice area for a cache" and then have the cache reviewer say "sorry, caches are not allowed here."

[+kantear]

i'm specifically NOT talking about any one 500 foot area or "there abouts" ... i AM however talking about ANY area that is not a military base or school grounds and is near acres and acres of public property ready willing and able to accept a cache, and that is heavily traveled by thousands a week if not more.

 

the particular area i did mention, just happens to be a truck stop and a cache doesn't need to be placed directly on that property for me to call it "nearby".

 

oh ... and as far as mystery caches nearby ... no, there weren't any of those either.

Edited January 1, 2012 by kantear

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Spoil-sport opinion here....

 

Just because there is no cache close, is not necessarily a reason to have a cache there.

 

There needs to be a "little more to it" than that!

[+kantear]

ok... let's be more specific then ... it's the pilot truck stop in newburg ny

 

-pilot-

41.520917,-74.112954

 

there is a real good possibility that the toll bridge on i-84 interferes with the game, it's west of this location and the truck stop on the other side of it has caches. ... it's also isolated to the south by an airport ... to the east by i-87 ... and to the north by ... well, nothing.

 

-ta-

41.503732,-74.22079

 

there's your "little more to it".

 

if i could put a "dot" on the map, and say ... "hey i woulda got it if you had placed something here" ... it would help point out a new or missed "audience" for a placement.

Edited January 1, 2012 by kantear

[+The Frosties!]

Maybe others feel the same? Maybe you could place a cache there next time you're passing through?

[+kantear]

that wouldn't work ... as i am not from the area and not there often enough to maintain one.

 

how do i change this to a feature? anyone know?

Edited January 2, 2012 by kantear

[+kantear]

bump

[+Lil Devil]

This is a silly idea. Having the map say "place new cache here" would result in even more caches in bad areas than we have now. There is no substitute for a human being doing proper research and hiding a cache where it's appropriate and desirable.

[+kantear]

i'm suggesting access for cachers who would otherwise not be at an advantage due to transportation and or legal reasons ... such as a truck driver, who is legally obligated to fulfill a certain amount of consecutive "off duty" time... these cachers do not have the ability to just "up and drive" to the nearest cache, that may be considered a bit more than "walking distance" from where proper parking is. ... (look up "jason's law")... all has to do with access.

 

while this may be a small geocacher demographic, there are still enough to be heard.

[+Treknschmidt]

This is a silly idea. Having the map say "place new cache here" would result in even more caches in bad areas than we have now. There is no substitute for a human being doing proper research and hiding a cache where it's appropriate and desirable.

 

AMEN and I don't think this feature is necessary at all.

[+kantear]

define "bad area" .

 

oh ... and "human being" .

[Keystone]

define "bad area" .

Any area that violates the listing guidelines would be a good start. And that would be impossible to code into the mapping tool. Is there a Cracker Barrel restaurant next to the truck stop? Their property is off limits. Is there a mailbox at the truck stop? You can't hide a cache on the mailbox, so draw an off limits circle around that. Are there railroad tracks, an airport or a highway bridge nearby? Draw buffer zones for those.

 

I don't speak for the developer team, but as a reviewer I don't see your idea being implemented. I expect the reviewer team would oppose it for the reasons noted in my prior post and in this one.

Edited January 7, 2012 by Keystone

[+kantear]

well then i guess it's for the best then seeing how noone commenting here seems to realize what i mean.

 

thanks for playing.

[+kantear]

a mailbox is not an "area" ... and for that matter any of the regular rules would still apply, it's odd that you should go there right away ...

 

so we're back to the definition of "bad area"

 

the first rule of placing a cache -before gc.com even gets involved at all- is the placer's discretion and knowledge of the rules. and then when the listing is posted it is subject to the scrutinizing of further rules, proximity markers and blah blah blah ... and gets reviewed by (trustingly) an unbiased and all seeing overseer. these things are not in question at all.

 

a placed cache is both an offering to the community to have a find available in a particular combination of location, or "for the numbers" or in the case of a truck driver, a reason to go for a walk ... AND (i kinda look at it in this instance) as bait, to catch as many sigs as can be done with a placement in a high volume location.

 

i would think it would be desirable to the placers in a neighborhood to at least get a "heads up" on a potentially "hot" area, and i think i've mentioned that before.

 

and i define "area" as bigger than a city block by the way. ...

 

oh ... and "human" by the person placing the "request".

Edited January 8, 2012 by kantear

[Keystone]

If your request is implemented, and if Geocaching.com's map shows a "please place a cache here" icon at that truck stop, and someone places one at a location in or near the truckstop that's prohibited by the guidelines, the reviewer is the one who will receive a faceful of blowback. That is one of the reasons why I'm strongly opposed to your suggestion. I have enough blowback from cache hiders in my life already, thank you very much. Most of it comes from owners who do not read and understand the guidelines prior to submitting a cache.

[+kantear]

now that's a constructive response.

 

thank you keystone.

 

the reason i suggested it the way i did is because i get notifications of published caches in an area within x amount of miles ... it would be as easy to implement a notification to specific area cachers of a particular audience they may be missing. ... if it could be done differently that would be fine ... i just don't think it's a completely courteous idea to be posting notes (as i did) on nearby caches saying "hey, the cache you placed way over there is cool ... but what about me?"

 

my crude description of what i'm trying to say does not prevent gs from applying something that is a bit more professional.

[+kantear]

perhaps ... making it so the "dot" i place on the map can only be placed on a street, or at an intersection, and can be virtually signed by passers by.

 

there you go ... a "virtual cache" (though not by that name) that expires when a "physical cache" is placed in an area. ... problem refined.

[+tozainamboku]

This suggestion also seems to go against the guidelines for challenges and that use to be in place for ALRs. You can't have a cache requiring a person to hide ache. Cache should be hidden by people who want to hide a cache where they want to hide a cache and where they can maintain the cache.

 

Now I realize the idea is use to this only to suggest places to hide caches. But if you were to make a cache type for available place, people would find some way to log a find. Perhaps keeping count of how many "suggestions" they completed.

 

That said you could probably create a challenge to hide a cache but it would likely get flagged as inappropriate. A better alternative would be to see if there is a local forum for the area and suggest places for cache there.

 

I personally don't see the point of pointing out a truck stop or rest area that doesn't already have a cache. If a local wants to hide one there, it will eventually get a cache. It's more than likely that it had a cache at least once in the past. Depending on the muggle activity and grounds-keeping, it could be that the cache kept getting muggled. It may not be the great place for a cache you think it is. What I do like is the ability to share a new park or trail that people haven't become aware of yet. If this was in an area too far for me to maintain a cache I might find a way to mention it to some locals to see about placing a cache there. Of course there may not be caches there for some other reason (land manager restrictions or there's already a puzzle there blocking other placements).

[+doug_hollyNKC]

I see a state forest just barely 2 miles to the west of the area that has nearly 100 caches. One direction I see a good sized airport, another I see what appears to be a private lake community and then a whole bunch of residential.

 

Maybe that area and the cachers around there aren't the park & grab / lpc type folks, so that would be the simple reason there aren't any in your 2 mile circle.

[+kantear]

sure, the ability to abuse something like a unverifiable "virtual" would be a factor ... but "completed suggestions" would work. that could in it's self be a cache "type" like a "suggestion cache" that could collect those suggestions, which would still be legitimate even if logged from another location.

 

commercial vehicles are not "personal vehicles" ... there are limitations as to how may hours they are operated, what roads they can drive on, as well as a requirement to have a continuous length of off duty time - it's not like once they get parked "for the night", that they can just go driving around just to get a cache ... not to mention the competition for parking which most people are unaware of (especially here in the east). ... again, it's just a matter of access.