Best Kept Secrets

[+tozainamboku]

I'm fed up explaining that the idea of the Best Kept Secrets category was to replicate some the features of the old virtual caches. It doesn't get many submission and recently there are just for miscellaneous places where there isn't another category. The submitter will say "this places isn't very well known" and expect that makes it a best kept secret. And who can blame them. There are probably dozens of waymsrkers who don't even know what a virtual cache was. There are probably geocachers with no idea as well.

 

We were going to call the category "Wow" waymarks or "Virtual Caches". Jeremy was the one who suggested Best Kept Secrets. I think he should be the one to tell grandmabetsy why the trail she submitted is not a best kept secret. I'm tired of doing this.

 

While there continues to be occasional threads asking to bring back virtuals, IMO there doesn't seem to be anyone who actually wants to create anything that approaches what made a virtual different from the average waymark. 9 years ago I though I could use the Waymarking site to carve out a niche category that was not just a category to list item but would be a kind of virtual geocache replacement. There is no interest in doing that here. So I give up. If someone want's to manage a Best Kept Secrets categories for grandmabetsy's secret trail or the cold war era spy headquarters in Prague, just drop me a line and you can take it over.

[+lumbricus]

Perhaps it will help if you change the category name? Checkmark or Waywizard can do this. We should discuss if it make sense to change it. I have no problem with a change. I'm not sure if the submitters will do better if it's called "Wow" category?

[+PISA-caching]

I think the category needs a new name (like lumbricus suggested 6 years ago) and/or a new description. I have no idea what creates a "wow" in the officers or visitors brains. For me, the existance of an information board disqualfies a waymark for this category. Maybe this is why the cold war era spy Headquarters doesn't qualify, but I don't know.

I once posted this waymark and there is no information about it to be found. It is attached to the most famous cathedral in Wien (Vienna) and hundreds or thousands of tourists used to pass it every day, but I don't think that anybody knows about it, because I have seen numerous documentary movies about St. Stephans cathedral and read many webpages about it, but I have never seen any Information about the 15 chronograms on this epitaph. This makes it a very well kept secret. It creates a WOW in my brain, but I doubt that others will give it a high value. Therefore I haven't even tried it.

[+ScroogieII]

Hang on for a bit tozainamboku and I may be able to help you out with a solution.

 

I'm just now talking with a member who may be able to help you out.

Failing that, I just may be willing to take over for you, as I consider Best Kept Secrets both an interesting and potentially valuable resource for the deposition of information otherwise potentially lost, buried under the sands of time.

Keith

Edit: Though I'm not a Geocacher, I was once involved in the activity as half of BK-Hunters, now T0SHEA. I hadn't even looked at the category before replying, but I suspect that my vision for the category is not far disparate from the original.

 

OOPS!!!

I got caught out, once again, through inattention of my own making. After only partially reading the post by "The Big D" I succumbed to the belief that the OP was quite recent. Turns out it was no less than six years old. Hopefully that may teach me to pay more attention to ALL the details of ALL posts in the future.

My not realizing that the OP was NOT recently placed caused me to believe that the plea was, at least, somewhat contemporary, which wasn't at all the case.

 

Hence my reply, above.

 

In the immortal words of Brent Leroy (paraphrased as I can't, at this specific moment, recall his original phrase):

"I've gotta pay more attention to those around me."

 

In any event, Good Luck with said category, Torgut. I hope you are able to lead it onward and upward to ever greater heights of notable and award winning Waymarks. It actually has the potential to produce some truly GOOD Waymarks.

Edited November 3, 2020 by ScroogieII
Inattenation

[+PISA-caching]

In the category description you find "definitions" that future waymark owners and/or the officers can't judge on a comprehensible basis. Defintions like "enough general interest for most people" or "must be relatively unknown to most people". Also I find the continous comparison with "the very best virtual geocaches" confusing. Even if the category creator knew, what he was talking about, I don't (exactly) know it and I'm unable to learn it from the category description.

 

And Keith, tozainamboku hasn't logged on for the last two years. So, his idea(s) for the category are gone. I think somebody should have a strategy for this category and make it clear by changing the description to a more precise definition. Torgut is the new category leader, so he should discuss that with the other (active) officers.

[+ScroogieII]

On 11/1/2020 at 4:33 PM, PISA-caching said:

In the category description you find "definitions" that future waymark owners and/or the officers can't judge on a comprehensible basis. Defintions like "enough general interest for most people" or "must be relatively unknown to most people". Also I find the continous comparison with "the very best virtual geocaches" confusing. Even if the category creator knew, what he was talking about, I don't (exactly) know it and I'm unable to learn it from the category description.

 

And Keith, tozainamboku hasn't logged on for the last two years. So, his idea(s) for the category are gone. I think somebody should have a strategy for this category and make it clear by changing the description to a more precise definition. Torgut is the new category leader, so he should discuss that with the other (active) officers.

 

Your comments are well taken here, but, unfortunately, I have, at present, nothing to to with the category. Here (on the Canadian side)  we've had some private discussions about the category, with regard to your concerns expressed here. Possibly the present leader, Torgut hisself, could log in and engage in a discussion here. I would welcome that, as, I suspect, would you.

 

Calling Torgut - Calling Torgut - Calling Torgut - ... ...

 

"And Keith, tozainamboku hasn't logged on for the last two years" - Yeah, I know, [NOW] (see above) -  Yeah, Rub it in, Andreas!!!   !!

Edited November 3, 2020 by ScroogieII

[+Torgut]

Oi. I am reading, letting the debate ripe. If any direct questions arise, I will answer if I can. This is such a low profile category with so few submissions that I don't spend much energy thinking about it. I approve most of the submissions as I consider myself a very liberal officer and as the category is so wide in definition, everything that I perceive as interesting (in liberal way) and well hidden and not suitable for any other category is OK.

 

References to "virtual" things are a bit absurd in my opinion but as I didn't create the category myself I rather not mess a lot with description and expressed conditions, specially as it doesn't harm anyone.

 

Overall, when I look to the contents, I mean, the existent waymarks, I am generally happy with the ultimate results of the whole thing. 

Edited November 3, 2020 by Torgut

[+ScroogieII]

Well, if you're happy, then who are we to complain? 

[+PISA-caching]

Well, if it were clear what to submit (see Max and 99's question above), the number of submissions would probably increase. As it is now, I will just post one waymark in that category and go. Fortunately, I have a visit in that category already.

[+PISA-caching]

Just copy the encrypted text and paste it on https://rot13.com/ and you have it.

[+ScroogieII]

On 4/1/2021 at 9:45 AM, Max and 99 said:

I'm so confused! 

Here's a Best kept secrets waymark that I just saw today. I was trying to find the question you're supposed to answer and when I click on decrypt I get a different waymark. What is going on?

https://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/wm1422K_The_Cottonwoods_near_Shoshone_Idaho_USA

 

You can go to any Best kept Secrets Waymark, click on that decrypt link (when it exists) and you'll be taken to the same WM.

Since the big "D" is a geocacher, I suspect that she knows it is ROT 13, so I didn't mention it.

Edited April 4, 2021 by ScroogieII

[vulture1957]

On 4/1/2021 at 11:45 AM, Max and 99 said:

I'm so confused! 

Here's a Best kept secrets waymark that I just saw today. I was trying to find the question you're supposed to answer and when I click on decrypt I get a different waymark. What is going on?

https://www.Waymarking.com/waymarks/wm1422K_The_Cottonwoods_near_Shoshone_Idaho_USA

my guess is that they are expecting the photo alternative.