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Why premium member only caches?


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Hi all,

 

I am premium member, so it is not an issue for me personally, but what is the idea behind premium member only caches? It's just anoying, because now I have to split caches to do between friends that are premium member and those that are not. Sure, they can just become premium member... If financial status permits then... But is that the only idea behind it? To get more members to pay for membership?

 

Who decides what is premium and what not? If the premium caches were something special, I could understand, but most I found until now, are plain ordinary.

 

So, what's the idea behind premium member only caches

 

Best regards, Peter

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It's just anoying, because now I have to split caches to do between friends that are premium member and those that are not.
Actually, you don't. Basic members can log PMO caches that they find with you. For example, see this thread:

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=267682&view=findpost&p=4597879

 

Personally, I tell the basic members who accompany me to PMO caches to use http://www.geocachingadmin.com/ to post their logs.

 

But is that the only idea behind it?
I don't think there is a single idea behind making caches PMO. Different cache owners make their caches PMO (or not) for different reasons.

 

Who decides what is premium and what not?
The cache owner decides. The owner's reason(s) may have nothing to do with the quality of the cache.
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but what is the idea behind premium member only caches?

 

Way back when, it was one of the first Premium features. It may have been the first, I'm not 100% clear on that.

 

If you're caching with Basic Member friends, they cache from your gps device and log per niraD's post. No problem really.

 

It can be used to keep caches out of the beginner's list and the intro app (now renamed).

 

I changed one of my caches to PMO after having to do frequent maintenance following phone app finds. They were either moving it closer to the trail, or failing to close the ammo can. Sometimes both.

 

I made 3 maintenance trips in a short period to deal it, then made it PMO. Haven't had to service it in the 2 and half years since.

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...I am premium member, so it is not an issue for me personally, but what is the idea behind premium member only caches? It's just anoying, because now I have to split caches to do between friends that are premium member and those that are not. Sure, they can just become premium member... If financial status permits then... But is that the only idea behind it? To get more members to pay for membership?

 

Who decides what is premium and what not? If the premium caches were something special, I could understand, but most I found until now, are plain ordinary.

 

So, what's the idea behind premium member only caches

Groundspeak still says,"Premium Member Only caches are exclusively placed by Geocaching Premium Members." with, "This makes you a VIP in the caching world." and "Geocaching Premium Members experience geocaching at its fullest and finest...", as part of its marketing spiel.

- I guess some actually believe the hype.

Like you, we've yet to see a pmo cache that was any different than your standard, and everyone we know says PQs with gsak, and notifications were their main reasons for pm.

 

I think many today list their cache pmo just so it doesn't show on the intro app, which may be a good idea, as it's possible free and full apps seem to be headed towards a premium membership instead of ten bucks n done.

The outdated audit function might be another reason, but it hasn't been accurate for some time.

- most reasons seem to be about taking control of your caches.

 

And yeah, I agree with niraD. :)

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I use it to keep new cachers using the free app away from my caches, as many of them have no idea what the rules in geocaching are.

 

It also keeps invalidated users away from my cachers, as I have a real problem with cachers that can't be contacted via email.

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I've made most of my best caches PMO since the advent of the free app and the random letter logs, smiley-face logs, even rude logs I was getting. I've kept a couple of them open to the general public as examples of what Geocaching can offer beyond LPCs, guardrail, and stop sign hides and hopefully avoid some of the other issues that allowing casual day-cachers can promote.

 

Some use the PMO option to enable the "audit trail"... anybody that views the cache page will show up on a list that the cache owner can see. Personally, I find that feature to be useless.

 

 

But of course, the main reason for making my caches PMO is to be an elitist VIP. :lol:

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I don't have very many caches and haven't had to make any of them premium yet, but if I end up doing regular maintenance on the ones in town, I will probably do so. I live in a rural area, so the kids with iPhones who don't know what they're doing are at a minimum, but that could change.

 

One hopes that if someone cares enough to pay $30 to play the game, they at least know something about it.

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I use it to keep new cachers using the free app away from my caches, as many of them have no idea what the rules in geocaching are.

 

It also keeps invalidated users away from my cachers, as I have a real problem with cachers that can't be contacted via email.

 

Nailed it!

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Many good points already posted here, so I'll reiterate some:

 

Typical PM cachers understand and respect the game and effort of placing caches more than the "typical" phone/intro app folks. I hate the thought of the possibility that any new caches I place will be trashed the way I've seen many around here with the advent of the unvalidated e-mail folks.

 

I don't like the idea of not being able to contact the person that may have had something to do with the last sighting of a cache or may know something of it's demise. It's bad enough that the last cache I archived was taken by a PM cacher with no response to my inquiries as to where they placed it. At least with a PMO cache I have the chance to eliminate not even being able to contact a cacher (and I use the term lightly in this case) that isn't even required to EVER sign on to the site or even create an account.

 

With that said, I've no problem with non PM members finding or even logging my future PMO caches as long as they can be known to play fairly and respectfully. I'll be glad to help them out. I cache with some good folks that aren't PM and have let them know.

 

Maintenance is/was a huge consideration when planning the series I'm currently working on as well.

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Thanx for all the replies. I was not aware of the problem with trial user messing up things. I had one hide and that got stolen so often I archived it in the end. I do feel it a bit like cheating having to use a backdoor to log PMO caches as a non PM. But I will give it a try with my non premium fellow members. The way it is used is, in my opinion, tying the horse behind the wagon. I would suggest to Groundspeak to have the trial app only find caches that are marked "free" or "trial" or whatever in stead of having to hide your cache from them by making it premium.

 

Thanx for clearing thing up though!

 

Happy caching,

 

Peter

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I would suggest to Groundspeak to have the trial app only find caches that are marked "free" or "trial" or whatever in stead of having to hide your cache from them by making it premium.

Who do you think would place these "Free" or "trial caches", some lackey for Groundspeak?

Fact is, caches are put out by members, with ratings of 1-5 in terrain and difficulty.

The lower D/T traditional hides are on the free app.

If folks who place these simple, low D/T hides want to protect them at all, an option is make 'em pmo.

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I do feel it a bit like cheating having to use a backdoor to log PMO caches as a non PM. But I will give it a try with my non premium fellow members.

I believe the "back door" logging method was created so families who have older kids wanting their own, separate account, can log pmo hides without the burden of paying thirty bucks for each additional family member.

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Thanx for all the replies. I was not aware of the problem with trial user messing up things. I had one hide and that got stolen so often I archived it in the end. I do feel it a bit like cheating having to use a backdoor to log PMO caches as a non PM. But I will give it a try with my non premium fellow members. The way it is used is, in my opinion, tying the horse behind the wagon. I would suggest to Groundspeak to have the trial app only find caches that are marked "free" or "trial" or whatever in stead of having to hide your cache from them by making it premium.

 

Thanx for clearing thing up though!

 

Happy caching,

 

Peter

 

No need to feel the least bit guilty about using the "backdoor" method. It exists because of item #4 of this post: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=11

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I do feel it a bit like cheating having to use a backdoor to log PMO caches as a non PM. But I will give it a try with my non premium fellow members.

I believe the "back door" logging method was created so families who have older kids wanting their own, separate account, can log pmo hides without the burden of paying thirty bucks for each additional family member.

If I recall correctly it was a software bug that Groundspeak decided not to address when it was discovered, because they saw the benefits you mention.

Edited by briansnat
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I do feel it a bit like cheating having to use a backdoor to log PMO caches as a non PM. But I will give it a try with my non premium fellow members.

I believe the "back door" logging method was created so families who have older kids wanting their own, separate account, can log pmo hides without the burden of paying thirty bucks for each additional family member.

If I recall correctly it was a software bug that Groundspeak decided not to address when it was discovered, because they saw the benefits you mention.

Seriously?!? You mean, everything that I thought I knew about it was wrong? It has nothing at all to do with Jeremy's promise to keep Geocaching free? :huh:

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So far, I have to hear a compelling argument in favour of PMO caches. I don't really care one way or the other since it doesn't affect me, but it's not a feature I would ever use.

 

Nah, I think the argument that it protects the more intricate/expensive caches is a sound one.

 

For me, currently working on a gadget birdhouse cache, the notion of making it so that only "committed" cachers will find it makes a ton of sense. This cache has cost quite a bit in terms of materials and time put into constructing it,. When I release it into the wild, I certainly don't want to see it randomly trashed, or have the contents raided by someone who downloaded an app because they saw a cacher and thought "hey, am a bit bored today so why not look into it, but really can't be bothered." Nor do I want to see any travel bugs that end up there grabbed by people who are only "test driving" geocaching, and may take them and toss them in a drawer somewhere, never to see the light of day again.

 

Of course the opposite end of that argument is that I brought my nephew and niece caching a few weeks ago, we found a gadget cache (GC4T09C) and watched them fall in love with the hobby (sport? pasttime?) before my eyes. So the notion of as many people finding it as possible in the hope that it makes people appreciate and embrace geocaching is pretty appealing too.

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So far, I have to hear a compelling argument in favour of PMO caches. I don't really care one way or the other since it doesn't affect me, but it's not a feature I would ever use.

 

Nah, I think the argument that it protects the more intricate/expensive caches is a sound one.

 

I see no evidence to support this. A premium membership requires $30, not security clearance.

 

If I wanted to reduce traffic in order to protect a cache, I'd make it a lengthy multi, puzzle, or letterbox.

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So far, I have to hear a compelling argument in favour of PMO caches. I don't really care one way or the other since it doesn't affect me, but it's not a feature I would ever use.

Well, at least two of the previous posters reported not having as many maintenance issues with their premium caches, so I'd say that's some support for the idea that making them PMOs can help protect them from being trashed.

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So far, I have to hear a compelling argument in favour of PMO caches. I don't really care one way or the other since it doesn't affect me, but it's not a feature I would ever use.

Well, at least two of the previous posters reported not having as many maintenance issues with their premium caches, so I'd say that's some support for the idea that making them PMOs can help protect them from being trashed.

 

I don't find their accounts compelling. It's not a feature I would use.

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So far, I have to hear a compelling argument in favour of PMO caches. I don't really care one way or the other since it doesn't affect me, but it's not a feature I would ever use.

Well, at least two of the previous posters reported not having as many maintenance issues with their premium caches, so I'd say that's some support for the idea that making them PMOs can help protect them from being trashed.

 

I don't find their accounts compelling. It's not a feature I would use.

 

Bully for you.

 

Um, folks...by the way...did we ASK what it would take to convince narcissa? I didn't realize we were trying to make a case to her.

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So far, I have to hear a compelling argument in favour of PMO caches. I don't really care one way or the other since it doesn't affect me, but it's not a feature I would ever use.

Well, at least two of the previous posters reported not having as many maintenance issues with their premium caches, so I'd say that's some support for the idea that making them PMOs can help protect them from being trashed.

 

I don't find their accounts compelling. It's not a feature I would use.

 

Bully for you.

 

Um, folks...by the way...did we ASK what it would take to convince narcissa? I didn't realize we were trying to make a case to her.

 

He was replying specifically to my comment suggesting that I should be convinced. I am not.

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It occurs to me that PMO might be a way to minimize nonsense from people without email addresses, based on an an assumption that Premium Members are more likely to have a confirmed email. Something to think about if this message centre silliness persists.

 

There is definitely less nonsense and far fewer of the " Needs to be archived because I couldn't find it " logs which somehow manage to aggravate me. I do find my caches have fared better since being made PMO.

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Can a non-member see cache details on geocaching.com? No. Then why should smart phone users be able to do so? Any app should require registration for accessing gecaching.com data. Virtually everyone has an email adddress. Registration with contact information may not make people responsible geocachers but it may help.

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Can a non-member see cache details on geocaching.com? No. Then why should smart phone users be able to do so? Any app should require registration for accessing gecaching.com data. Virtually everyone has an email adddress. Registration with contact information may not make people responsible geocachers but it may help.

 

Being required to have a validated e-mail address would help in communicating with the 2 find wonder that states that they moved your cache..., or just so happened to be the last one to find your cool container before that looong string of DNF's.

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Recently, I had a cache gone missing, Although the last finder had a validated email I received no answer as to where the cache may have been placed.

Fortunately, after a lengthy search, I was able to recover the cache and restore it to it's proper spot.

It has now been listed as PMO in the hope of limiting access in favor of a more responsible caching community.

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As a premium member since July 2014 I feel a need for MORE caches being placed in the PREMIUM category. With the free app that anyone can use to find and (muggle) caches makes it more risky for the owners or TRUE members to place valuable trackables in the cache. As far as the financial aspect, if new players can't INVEST in this sport/hobby for a mere $30 a YEAR then they shouldn't have access to all aspects of it. After all the cache owners have a lot invested in their hides. We actually try to move trackables to unknown or multi caches that are least likely to be pirated by non-invested players.

 

Hi all,

 

I am premium member, so it is not an issue for me personally, but what is the idea behind premium member only caches? It's just anoying, because now I have to split caches to do between friends that are premium member and those that are not. Sure, they can just become premium member... If financial status permits then... But is that the only idea behind it? To get more members to pay for membership?

 

Who decides what is premium and what not? If the premium caches were something special, I could understand, but most I found until now, are plain ordinary.

 

So, what's the idea behind premium member only caches

 

Best regards, Peter

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