Events: two-week term

[+-CJ-]

I've organized a couple of events at this website and numerous other events (earlier) at our national geocaching website. As we all know, an event cache should be published not later then two weeks before the date. This can be explained by letting all interested people in the area to read, think, post "will attend" logs and prepare for the event.

 

In some situations two weeks term seems to be too long. I'm going to visit one foreign country; this will be a business trip but I'll have some time to meet local geocachers and probably hunt a couple of caches with them. However my bosses told me about the trip just few days ago so I'm unable to publish an event due to the known rule.

 

There might be different situations when a meeting, a joint trip or a walk in a city centre with fellow geocachers cannot be announced so early. Of course it is possible to use other ways like contacting local geocaching community or write personal emails to people. My questions:

 

- Are there any other reasons for this limitation?

- Does anybody else feel uncomfortable with it? (Perhaps I'm the only one)

[+redsox_mark]

Well I sympathise as I sometimes travel on short notice for work; though I've never thought about hosting an event myself while traveling.

 

Some minimum period is needed for the reasons you give. 2 weeks allows for the event to be included in the weekly newsletter and have that come out at least a week before.

 

I guess it could be changed to something like 2 weeks recommended, 1 week minimum.

[+wimseyguy]

I don't see any problems with the current two weeks guideline.

If your true intent is to meet other geocachers and not just grab a quick smiley, then social media can accomplish the same goal. Most places now have regional Facebook groups. Just post your plans there.

[+Corp Of Discovery]

I'd be quite fine with the 2 week recommended/1 week firm option. I had an event denied because it was submitted only a day or two late. I think the reviewer could have granted a waiver but it really wasn't worth fighting for at that point- I had a trip to Hawaii to finish planning.

 

I think early on the 2 week minimum was necessary since this website was pretty much it for getting the word out. With all the various social media outlets available, now there are plenty of vectors for people to know about an event. The explosion in number of players and proliferation of flash mobs also plays in to why I think a shorter period should be allowed.

[+-CJ-]

though I've never thought about hosting an event myself while traveling

 

So did I. But this summer I was in Helsinki and planned to go to Tallinn. Checked geocaching.com and discovered that there was an event there. Some cacher from Germany suggested locals (and all those who were interested) to meet at the central square at 19:00 on the given day. That was unusual but I came. Not many geocachers came but it was a wonderful small international meeting, very interesting conversation; then we walked to one tricky cache that we had failed to find earlier and managed to get it alltogether. That German guy said he used to announce events when traveling and made many interesting acquaintances with local geocachers.

 

Most places now have regional Facebook groups

 

As I said, I know this way. I can even try to get through posts in Finnish or Norwegian language (that I sadly don't know), ask local administrator to let me in (if the group/forum/chat/anything is moderated) and explain people what I want. Most probably my plans won't be seen by other travelers who happen to be in the same area at the same time. I'm a pretty persistent guy who can prove that my intent is true Aren't events at geocaching.com designed for this?

 

Your plan will not work in Russia, for instance.

 

Again, what are the reasons for this limitation? Anyone will publish events daily to get quick smileys?

Edited September 18, 2013 by -CJ-

[+-CJ-]

With all the various social media outlets available, now there are plenty of vectors for people to know about an event

 

Geocaching.com will probably loose some points if people find that using other media is more quick/comfortable way to arrange meetings then to announce events at the website itself.

Edited September 18, 2013 by -CJ-

[+lamoracke]

Personally I would rather attend an event while traveling than attempt to host an impromptu event in an area I am not familiar with in an attempt to maybe meet one or two local cachers. Perhaps do a forum page for the locals or find their local FB group or even ask a CO or two who have caches in that area. The events that I have personally attended that were hosted by folks traveling were sparsely attended and not as organized, planned or that interesting compared to locals doing it. So, in my opinion, I would not want the event guidelines changed to accommodate on the fly traveling events.

Edited September 18, 2013 by lamoracke

[+-CJ-]

The events that I have personally attended that were hosted by folks traveling were sparsely attended and not as organized, planned or that interesting compared to locals doing it

 

Maybe. Don't you think that this could be improved by educating people how to organize an event instead of imposing limitations that prevent them from publishing their events on the website?

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

Personally I would rather attend an event while traveling than attempt to host an impromptu event in an area I am not familiar with in an attempt to maybe meet one or two local cachers. Perhaps do a forum page for the locals or find their local FB group or even ask a CO or two who have caches in that area. The events that I have personally attended that were hosted by folks traveling were sparsely attended and not as organized, planned or that interesting compared to locals doing it. So, in my opinion, I would not want the event guidelines changed to accommodate on the fly traveling events.

 

My three "What the Heck is a Quahog..." events have been quite successful. (Nebraska, Ohio& New Hampshire)

 

Contacting locals for a good place to host an event like this helps, but a little Googling and some phone calls were all I needed for Ohio (GREAT mac & cheese!). None were fancy - just simple meet, eat & greats.

[cezanne]

Personally I would rather attend an event while traveling than attempt to host an impromptu event in an area I am not familiar with in an attempt to maybe meet one or two local cachers. Perhaps do a forum page for the locals or find their local FB group or even ask a CO or two who have caches in that area. The events that I have personally attended that were hosted by folks traveling were sparsely attended and not as organized, planned or that interesting compared to locals doing it. So, in my opinion, I would not want the event guidelines changed to accommodate on the fly traveling events.

 

While I'm not in favour of changing the 2 weeks guideline, I see some issues with your suggestion about using local FB groups or forum pages. First, not everyone is willing to use FB and second, and more important, in many cases there exists a language barrier. Via gc.com it is much easier to attract the attention of those who are proficient in English. If one is not fluent in the language of the country one visits, even finding local forum pages or FB groups can be very hard - for example, the by far most active Austrian geocaching forum is not openly viewable. One needs to register first and in order to find the forum you need local advice.

 

What you suggest might be easier to use in North America than in Europe with its many different languages.

 

Cezanne

[+nthacker66]

With all the various social media outlets available, now there are plenty of vectors for people to know about an event

 

Geocaching.com will probably loose some points if people find that using other media is more quick/comfortable way to arrange meetings then to announce events at the website itself.

 

Also there are still many cachers who don't use social media to communicate gatherings. I don't have an issue with eh 2 weeks, personally (it keeps people from deciding to run over an event who are just trying to be mean) but Iwouldn't mind seeing exceptions given for good reason (like the one mentioned by the OP).

 

It is also not of use using a social media outlet to organizing a caching event if, well, you don't know anyone in that general area. The whole point of events is not just to have a gathering of people you know, but people you don't know, sharing in a a comment interest. I think events like that are awesome when someone is traveling on business and hosts a meet and greet at a local establishment.

Edited September 19, 2013 by nthacker66

[+cerberus1]

Geocaching.com will probably loose some points if people find that using other media is more quick/comfortable way to arrange meetings then to announce events at the website itself.

How?

Granted, arrangements could be made quicker, not that quicker would mean more people attending.

Many, besides the social draw of events, want that smiley for attending.

- Something they wouldn't be given with a meet-up on a social site.

[+nthacker66]

Geocaching.com will probably loose some points if people find that using other media is more quick/comfortable way to arrange meetings then to announce events at the website itself.

How?

Granted, arrangements could be made quicker, not that quicker would mean more people attending.

Many, besides the social draw of events, want that smiley for attending.

- Something they wouldn't be given with a meet-up on a social site.

 

i dont see what is so wrong with awanting the smiley aspect of the social event...if people are that hard up for smileys, just look for a wal mart - you will find a smiley in any given lamp post ;-)

[+lamoracke]

It just depends what you want. Assuming I am not in favor of impromptu events (not that its a big deal to me), I think there are other ways of meeting locals if you are traveling than hosting your own event on the fly. Social media may work in isolated circumstances. The PNW region definitely has such a group but no, have never seen it used for out of area groups unless its someone who has been here before. However, in other areas, the cache Necropolis of Britannia Manor has its own Facebook group. By joining that, I was able to get some connections in advance of my journey there (they contacted me when they heard I was going) and scored even a PAF # of one of the owners and even met 2 of them on the journey. When I went to Nevada, I talked to a number of the puzzle gurus in the area and while asking for hints on a few of the puzzles that seemed interesting, I was given their PAF #s if I ran into difficulty.

[+The_Incredibles_]

I think it should be 1 month. Events should be events, not just casual, short-notice get-togethers. Like someone said, if you just want to meet some locals, you can arrange things by Facebook.

[cezanne]

I think it should be 1 month. Events should be events, not just casual, short-notice get-togethers.

 

May I ask how you define event and differentiate it from a get-together (two weeks is not really short notice in my opinion)?

 

Like someone said, if you just want to meet some locals, you can arrange things by Facebook.

 

Apart from the fact that one needs to be willing to use Facebook, it also requires knowledge of the local language in many cases just to identify the right group or forum page if open reachable at all. Via a listing on gc.com you can reach a much wider audience including those who are not reachable via the mentioned alternatives and one can filter already to those who speak a common language.

 

I rather would like that events lose their smilies, but that the rules are relaxed.

 

Cezanne

[+Don_J]

I think it should be 1 month. Events should be events, not just casual, short-notice get-togethers. Like someone said, if you just want to meet some locals, you can arrange things by Facebook.

 

This is the way I was thinking. Groundspeak doesn't want every time two or more cachers get together to be an official event cache. I think that they would rather have them planned and organized as opposed to an impromptu, I'll be at the airport for an hour next Tuesday, let's have an event.

 

Of course, the 31 day Flash Mob marathons from last month kind of send a mixed signal.

[+The_Incredibles_]

I think it should be 1 month. Events should be events, not just casual, short-notice get-togethers.

 

May I ask how you define event and differentiate it from a get-together (two weeks is not really short notice in my opinion)?

 

For me, an "event" is a gathering that requires some type of special planning, for instance activities, doorprizes, new caches, that sort of thing. Not just "I'll meet you at the pub at 5pm for a chat". 2 weeks is hardly enough time to advertise if you want to maximize attendance. It takes people a while to find out about it, then it takes them time for them to RSVP and invite their friends.

Edited September 19, 2013 by The_Incredibles_

[+redsox_mark]

An geocaching event is "the geocaching version of a party. "

 

(Reference http://www.geocaching.com/calendar/guide.aspx )

 

Some parties/events have games, prizes, etc. Others just invite people to gather at a place and time and socialize.

I've been to many events which were simply "meet at this pub from 8 PM on for a chat". These had great attendance and resulted in geocachers meeting each other and talking, which is what it is about.

 

I agree there needs to be a minimum time period, but I don't see a need to make it longer.

[cezanne]

For me, an "event" is a gathering that requires some type of special planning, for instance activities, doorprizes, new caches, that sort of thing. Not just "I'll meet you at the pub at 5pm for a chat". 2 weeks is hardly enough time to advertise if you want to maximize attendance. It takes people a while to find out about it, then it takes them time for them to RSVP and invite theirfriends.

 

I agree with your latter statement, but I prefer to attend events with no such activities. In particular, even if I do not attend an event I'm against cluttering up the area around the event with caches. If I attend an event, I find it annoying if the participants run around to find caches instead of being available for chatting. If I want to find caches, I can do that on my own. If I decide to visit an event, I want to meet certain people.

 

Cezanne

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

If I attend an event, I find it annoying if the participants run around to find caches instead of being available for chatting. If I want to find caches, I can do that on my own. If I decide to visit an event, I want to meet certain people.

 

And that is why I no longer list new caches just before my events.

[+briansnat]

With all the various social media outlets available, now there are plenty of vectors for people to know about an event

 

Geocaching.com will probably loose some points if people find that using other media is more quick/comfortable way to arrange meetings then to announce events at the website itself.

 

Nah, people will always want that smiley. If there is no +1 involved good luck getting much of a turnout.

Edited September 19, 2013 by briansnat

[+-CJ-]

I cannot take an arguement like "a good event must be prepared for no less than 2 weeks" a reasonable statement. There may be people with better organizing skills that can prepare a great event in shorter time. There may be other people who can waste three months with very poor output. Some number of events just cannot be (for different reasons) announced two weeks prior to their dates. It may be a short stroll in the city centre, or a couple of hours of nice chat in a pub, or a good hike, or a small CITO event, please add any kind of event you prefer - we all have different tastes. They won't appear at the website due to that limitation. This is what we probably loose. I believe there should be some reason for paying such price. Please explain me what is it.

 

Few words about Facebook. Hope you pardon me if I suggest a short list.

 

1. "Want to organize a geocaching event? Consider Facebook". Were geocaching events at geocaching.com specifically designed for geocachers to meet and enjoy the game alltogether?

 

2. Not all of us (who would probably attend an event) use Facebook.

 

3. Local geocaching communities may have no Facebook page.

 

4. If they have, there could be a language barrier between you and those locals who've used that page/community for years to chat/communicate with each other.

 

5. It will take you additional time to get acquainted with the guidelines of the local resource before posting anything to it. (We started with the idea that we may lack time).

 

6. Non-members of this resource will most probably not see your event. It won't be displayed at geocaching maps or uploaded to GPS receivers/smartphones. You won't get an email notice there's a new event organized in the area.

 

I'm not trying to speak against Facebook. Moreover, I used Facebook and geocaching.com event page simultaneously at the last CITO meeting I organized in Moscow region in June 2013. Facebook proved to be nice and efficient way of dissemination of CITO news. If I'm advised to use Facebook instead of geocaching.com to organize "short-term" events I won't argue. I will follow this advice and consider focusing on Facebook for all of my events making Facebook my first choice. Just to let people know (for sure) that they can find all information at Facebook and only part of it at geocaching.com. Why not? However, I'm still interested in finding an answer what was the true reason for that 2-week limitation.

Edited September 19, 2013 by -CJ-

[+Ambrosia]

It just depends what you want. Assuming I am not in favor of impromptu events (not that its a big deal to me), I think there are other ways of meeting locals if you are traveling than hosting your own event on the fly. Social media may work in isolated circumstances. The PNW region definitely has such a group but no, have never seen it used for out of area groups unless its someone who has been here before. However, in other areas, the cache Necropolis of Britannia Manor has its own Facebook group. By joining that, I was able to get some connections in advance of my journey there (they contacted me when they heard I was going) and scored even a PAF # of one of the owners and even met 2 of them on the journey. When I went to Nevada, I talked to a number of the puzzle gurus in the area and while asking for hints on a few of the puzzles that seemed interesting, I was given their PAF #s if I ran into difficulty.

Huh, I didn't know that Necropolis had it's own facebook page, and I've visited that cache twice. I've never heard of a cache having it's own facebook page. Is that common, or is it only because it's such a popular cache?

[+lamoracke]

 

Huh, I didn't know that Necropolis had it's own facebook page, and I've visited that cache twice. I've never heard of a cache having it's own facebook page. Is that common, or is it only because it's such a popular cache?

 

No idea, but the funny thing was, I was told by someone from Washington who has never even found that cache that it existed and I joined up. He's in that group as its just a cache he wants to do some day.

 

Have never heard of a group but I imagine some challenge caches could have some, or maybe those cool Raven puzzles in Prescott, but its the only one I personally know.

Edited September 19, 2013 by lamoracke

[+The_Incredibles_]

I cannot take an arguement like "a good event must be prepared for no less than 2 weeks" a reasonable statement. There may be people with better organizing skills that can prepare a great event in shorter time.

 

Sure, you can do the work to organize a good event in less than 2 weeks. However, you need time to advertise. It takes time for your event to show up in the Groundspeak newsletter and for people to find out about it. 2 weeks is minimum. If you want optimal attendance, you should start advertising even further in advance.

 

As for my Facebook comment, Facebook was just one example of how you can organize a last-minute get-together. There are local geocaching forums, other social media, personal emails etc.

[+-CJ-]

Sure, you can do the work to organize a good event in less than 2 weeks. However, you need time to advertise. It takes time for your event to show up in the Groundspeak newsletter and for people to find out about it. 2 weeks is minimum. If you want optimal attendance, you should start advertising even further in advance.

 

I've done some small events in less then 2 weeks (including advertising). In some cases I used forums, social media, mailing lists, personal emails, website announcements, telephone calls to get people involved. Every event is specific. I can understand 2 weeks minimum as a recommendation. Frankly, I worked out similar approach when I wrote recommendations for organizing CITO events in regions (for the Russian geocaching community). However these recommendations have never been mandatory. Each CITO may be different. For instance, some communities in small cities consist only of few geocachers. They don't need to wait for any newsletter to be informed; they used to call each other by phone (because they know each other well). So, if they decide to publish an announcement of their CITO meeting next weekend, I won't be against that - and they will have a wonderful small event, small but productive and encouraging.

 

A strict universal minumum of 2 weeks for different (uknown) events in different circumstances still seems strange to me.

[+wimseyguy]

I've re-read most of the posts in this thread, especially those of the OP. While I see his side, and he does make a valid point that "A strict universal minumum of 2 weeks for different (uknown) events in different circumstances" is a bit over-simplistic, I still think it's the best approach. It doesn't make enough sense to say 'simple get-together events can have one time frame, regular events should have another one, and more complex ones a third.' Sometimes the KISS approach does work best.

[+-CJ-]

I've re-read most of the posts in this thread, especially those of the OP

I appreciate this.

doesn't make enough sense to say 'simple get-together events can have one time frame, regular events should have another one, and more complex ones a third.' Sometimes the KISS approach does work best.

Actually, I didn't mean proposing different regulations for different purposes.

 

My first point was to know the reason for this limitation. I'm far from calling myself an experienced user here so I hoped to get answers from other cachers. Something like "This guildeline was stipulated ... years ago because someone nicknamed TheMostUglyCacher started publishing events every time he went outdoors to walk with his dog and Groundspeak found no better decision then to impose a 2-week limit for all events". This could explain the issue. When people say "you need at least 2 weeks to organize any event properly" I still see no reason (sorry). It sounds like "you need at least 300 words to make a good cache description".

 

My second point is if there's no other reason but to take care about the quality of organization of events then this limit could be a recommendation but not a rule. I understand however (and this discussion helped me too) that people at this forum may not support this suggestion if I post it in a proper thread "as is"; so I might think about some compromise like 1 week (as it was suggested above). Or use Facebook and other media instead.

[+niraD]

Back when the weekly newsletter listed all the events in the area, two weeks made sense just for letting people know about events before they happened:

 

Day 1: I receive the weekly newsletter.

Day 2: An event is listed for Day 9.

Day 8: I receive the weekly newsletter. It's too late to plan to attend an event that is tomorrow.

Day 9: The event is poorly attended.

 

As opposed to...

 

Day 1: I receive the weekly newsletter.

Day 2: An event is listed for Day 16.

Day 8: I receive the weekly newsletter. I have more than a week to plan to attend the event.

Day 15: I receive the weekly newsletter. I get a reminder to attend the event.

Day 16: The event is well attended.

 

Of course, now that my newsletter is filled with "31 Days of caching + day 50" flash mob events, this makes less sense.

Edited September 20, 2013 by niraD

[+-CJ-]

Thank you. So, as The_Incredibles_ said, it was because of the weekly bulletin.

[+wimseyguy]

Except the two week guideline was around before the weekly bulletins were created.

And since the recent 'upgrade' to the bulletins only shows one week of upcoming events, this logic is also flawed.

Edited September 23, 2013 by wimseyguy

[+Don_J]

Except the two week guideline was around before the weekly bulletins were created.

And since the recent 'upgrade' to the bulletins only shows one week of upcoming events, this logic is also flawed.

 

How did people get the word out before Notifications and the Newsletter?

 

When my friend started hosting our monthly Meet n' Greets, I noticed that as soon as it was published, (usually the after the last event), the same cast of characters would almost immediately post a Will Attend. Obviously, we have a notification for Events. Then, the next week, it would be at the bottom of the newsletter and we would get a few more. Next week, higher on the list and more WA log, until it was near the very top of the list and we would get a flurry. Because of the changes in the Newsletter, our August event never made it to any of my versions of the newsletter. If I was new, or a basic member, I would not know that an event was being held 2.8 miles from my house.

 

Another friend had an event for next Saturday published three weeks ago. No activity so he started emailing everyone he could think of. 20 WA logs in one day most saying that they had no idea that there was an event planned, many saying that they "didn't see it in the weekly email".

[+fuzziebear3]

Because of the changes in the Newsletter, our August event never made it to any of my versions of the newsletter. If I was new, or a basic member, I would not know that an event was being held 2.8 miles from my house.

 

 

Yes, what happened to the newsletter? It used to include all of the 'nearby' events and newly published caches. Now it seems that it only includes about 10, and often misses ones that are closer than others. I thought maybe it was just a glitch, but this has been happening for about a month now.

 

Please, can we make sure the newsletter includes all of the events within the radius?

[+cerberus1]

I noticed it was going by dates, but seemed to, "run out of room" when it finally got to PA.

Why should a cacher in PA be notified of events in Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia first?

[+cerberus1]

How did people get the word out before Notifications and the Newsletter?

About a Month ago, when some weren't even getting the newsletter and I was receiving notifications of events for States other than mine, I just started going back to "Newest in..." and looking for events there, like we used to.

That's how we knew - we looked.

- I don't remember a newsletter when we started. Was there one?

Once we have time to go to events again, we'll just put it on calendars in the phone and maybe a tickle file on the pc.

Now I look to see what the newsletter's subject matter is and delete w/o looking at the rest.

[+Ambrosia]

Except the two week guideline was around before the weekly bulletins were created.

And since the recent 'upgrade' to the bulletins only shows one week of upcoming events, this logic is also flawed.

 

How did people get the word out before Notifications and the Newsletter?

 

When my friend started hosting our monthly Meet n' Greets, I noticed that as soon as it was published, (usually the after the last event), the same cast of characters would almost immediately post a Will Attend. Obviously, we have a notification for Events. Then, the next week, it would be at the bottom of the newsletter and we would get a few more. Next week, higher on the list and more WA log, until it was near the very top of the list and we would get a flurry. Because of the changes in the Newsletter, our August event never made it to any of my versions of the newsletter. If I was new, or a basic member, I would not know that an event was being held 2.8 miles from my house.

 

Another friend had an event for next Saturday published three weeks ago. No activity so he started emailing everyone he could think of. 20 WA logs in one day most saying that they had no idea that there was an event planned, many saying that they "didn't see it in the weekly email".

I would look regularly at the nearest caches list for new caches and events (well, really, my MIL and I were pretty much the only ones to host events for years). Since there were so few caches around, you could go many miles in just a few pages. When we hosted events, we usually emailed all the locals that we knew of and invited them.

[+mmacgown]

Frankly, I am very disappointed that I don't receive the newsletters anymore except for one a couple of weeks ago. I used to look forward to seeing upcoming events along the east coast, because it would give us a reason to make plans to visit an area. Now if I plan a trip, the only way I find out about an event is to ask a local if they know of any upcoming events in their area. But, I liked the idea of the list showing them. A huge disappointment for me and I know a number of others. I really don't care about the newest listings since you can get them with a query. But to me events are important as a way of meeting new people.

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

Now if I plan a trip, the only way I find out about an event is to ask a local if they know of any upcoming events in their area.

 

Why not look at each state's Newest Listings page (Rhode Island's for example)? New events are always at the top of the list. This list is accessed by going to Play / Hide & Seek a Cache / By State/Province (after you select the appropriate state or province).

[+Manville Possum]

I think it should be 1 month. Events should be events, not just casual, short-notice get-togethers. Like someone said, if you just want to meet some locals, you can arrange things by Facebook.

I agree with you, but I'm fine with the two weeks limit also. There are FB geocaching groups out there almost every place and here in the forums if you want to meet locals.

[+-CJ-]

I would add that very few geocachers here read newsletters published in English language only and telling mostly about events in the US and Western Europe.

 

There are FB geocaching groups out there almost every place and here in the forums if you want to meet locals.

 

Perhaps it works for the US but doesn't work here. There's no Facebook group about geocaching in Russia. There are a couple of local forums but they are in Russian language so I doubt that people from abroad will feel comfortable there. This forum? Maybe next year or later, but nowadays I appear to be the only Russian geocacher active here. So, it happens that the only way to know about a short event for a visitor today is to follow the map at (or download a pocket quiery from) geocaching.com. Since evets are limited in the way we know, there are no chances left for people to attend there events.

 

What I say is that the local policy of the site seems to push cachers towards Facebook and other media.

[+Don_J]

I would add that very few geocachers here read newsletters published in English language only and telling mostly about events in the US and Western Europe.

 

There are FB geocaching groups out there almost every place and here in the forums if you want to meet locals.

 

Perhaps it works for the US but doesn't work here. There's no Facebook group about geocaching in Russia. There are a couple of local forums but they are in Russian language so I doubt that people from abroad will feel comfortable there. This forum? Maybe next year or later, but nowadays I appear to be the only Russian geocacher active here. So, it happens that the only way to know about a short event for a visitor today is to follow the map at (or download a pocket quiery from) geocaching.com. Since evets are limited in the way we know, there are no chances left for people to attend there events.

 

What I say is that the local policy of the site seems to push cachers towards Facebook and other media.

 

You just made two very strong arguments as to why you shouldn't be allowed to create events with less than two weeks notice. In your area, you have fewer venues for getting the word out to the local cachers as well as those that may be traveling to the area for other purposes.

 

I also apologize as I didn't intend to hijack the thread and make it about the newsletter. What I was getting at is that when events first started, there were no newsletters, notification features or social networks, and I have no idea of what the search capabilities were on the website in the early days of caching. I am assuming that one of the reasons for a two week cutoff was to encourage people to plan and post their events as far ahead as possible so that other cachers would have time to learn about the event and make plans to attend.

 

One argument against the two week limit is that we are now better connected, but with the changes to the newsletter, that is no longer the case, and with your admission that the cachers in your area are not as socially networked as other parts of the world, the argument starts to lose it footing.

Edited September 24, 2013 by Don_J

[+-CJ-]

with your admission that the cachers in your area are not as socially networked as other parts of the world, the argument starts to lose it footing.

 

When we are as socially networked as geocachers from other countries I mentioned, I think that a conversation about events at geocaching.com may lose its meaning

[+Mirage Breton]

I "discovered" the 2-week limitation right before this year's WWFM. I realized there were none in my city (closest was at 60km) despite our strong geocaching community. As it was turning out I was off that day I decided to organize a short event (my first). It was 5 days beforehand. Sure enough it got blocked.

 

However, now that I know about it, I agree with it.

 

Organizing an event shouldn't be about doing it for you but for the others (well ideally it should be for both). They should therefore have some time to arrange their schedule accordingly (not all have 9 to 5 jobs).

 

Concerning "meet & greet" vs. full scale events with caches, I venture that both are valid.

I have fond memories of caching events (we draw the FTF beforehand so people go around in teams and chat rather than make a dash for it on their own) and great memories of gathering around a drink on cool winter evenings when no one really care to set out in the snow.

 

Looking down on "meet & greet" would be an error, imho.

If we had to wait for a full event with 20 caches published to meet, we wouldn't be meeting that much...

 

On the subject of social networks events: I'm definitely against it.

I'm currently organizing a string of international events. After having cached in all different countries I now wish to meet the cachers there, discuss caches, trade trackables and share our common love for the game.

I'm a woman.

Do you really think I'd like to meet with strangers, in a foreign country, that I've "found" on Facebook...?

Not really...

 

As it turns out, the "will attends" have quite a few finds, have already attended events, all talk of trackables and caches... Makes me think they're geocachers and we're going to have fun...

 

Groundspeak has its rules but it gives a frame for sound organization. I would not be surprised if it gets more restrictive in years to come.

[+Don_J]

 

Looking down on "meet & greet" would be an error, imho.

If we had to wait for a full event with 20 caches published to meet, we wouldn't be meeting that much...

 

What is a "full event"? As far as I am concerned, our monthly meet & greet is a full event. I've never understood why someone has to publish caches to get people to go to their event. It all about the numbers isn't it? I won't go unless I have new caches to find for extra smileys, then I attend for just long enough to say "Hi" to the host, post my Attended log, then later the Event holder boasts about how 100 people posted attended logs to his Event when in reality there were never more than 15 people there at any one time.

 

If that's what a "Full" event is, I'll stick with the Meet & Greets.

 

On the subject of social networks events: I'm definitely against it.

I'm currently organizing a string of international events. After having cached in all different countries I now wish to meet the cachers there, discuss caches, trade trackables and share our common love for the game.

I'm a woman.

Do you really think I'd like to meet with strangers, in a foreign country, that I've "found" on Facebook...?

Not really...

 

As it turns out, the "will attends" have quite a few finds, have already attended events, all talk of trackables and caches... Makes me think they're geocachers and we're going to have fun...

 

 

What would a "social network event" be? My comments about social networks were that they can now be used to get the word out about an upcoming Geocaching.com event, where as that wasn't possible ten years ago. When you have your event in Los Angeles, if I am not working at the time, I'll ask on our Facebook Geocaching group page who else is going, do they want to car pool, take the subway, etc. Some will post back that they didn't know about the event and then will make plans to attend. This gets the word out to Geocachers, not the entire Facebook world.

[+Snoogans]

I've never thought about hosting an event myself while traveling.

 

I guess it could be changed to something like 2 weeks recommended, 1 week minimum.

My Snoogandipity events are exclusively held when I am traveling. I like nothing better than sampling the local caching community when I am out and about.

 

I have 2 Snoogandipity events coming up tomorrow and friday in ChIraq. My next one will be in the Detroit area and the next in Boston. The one after that will probably be in Saudi Arabia or Bahrain or both. Oh and maybe London.

 

As long as there is time to plan....