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Mob and 3 Word Caches


Biker64

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Ignore them if you don't like them. I ignore pretty much all caches in parking lots, on road signs, on the side of the road, etc ... as those are things I'm not interested in.

 

3 words is an easy puzzle to solve, much better than many puzzles I've seen. The mob cache I'm biased on, as it uses one of my sites I developed.

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It's not the "direction" we're going - it's just one type of cache. Caches requiring technology are not new, it's just that new ones emerge as technology changes. Traditionals remain as the main type.

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So something a more unique than an ammo can at the base of a tree, or 500 pill bottles in a row is bad?

 

These are both simple caches. The puzzle doesn't even seem very hard if you can follow directions. I've placed puzzles with much less info than that, and people have still found them. Some people like solving puzzles (some even solve puzzles caches around the world without going to find them after.) And the mob, is different, and creative.

 

Like ChiliHead already said, if you don't like them, then don't look for them.

 

I'm actually impressed by ChiliHead. That's a cool concept, not only on your cache, but making it available for others as well. I might have to do something with that.

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Geocachers are always innovating. That's what makes the game interesting.

 

If these particular caches are not interesting to you, don't do them. No reason for this judgmental shaming, sky-is-falling attitude every time there is something new. There are literally millions of caches out there that you can find instead.

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What's up with this? is this the direction that our hobby is going?

Yes. As a technology-based game, it can't be surprising that technology is being used to make caches that are more than just going and finding a box at the posted coordinates. As new technologies become available to the masses, it's only natural that someone will try to create a cache that utilizes it (or in the case of ChileHead, create a technology to be utilized for geocaching!).

 

If the part you're concerned about is the use of smartphones, that shouldn't be surprising either. They're so prevalent these days that needing a smartphone for a cache is pretty much a non-issue for most people. In fact, I suspect the majority of new cachers are picking up geocaching because they have a smartphone. A cache can't require the use of a specific app, but it can require the use of an app if there are multiple ones available (e.g. bar code scanning apps). FWIW, what3words doesn't require the use of an app; puzzles using that system can be solved using a website alone.

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People have been trying to get me to play the "with friends" game for awhile now but it's just not something i'm interested in. This being the case, the mob cache would not be something i'd be interested in. But,, at the same time, it's good to see different ideas like this come about. Keeps geocaching interesting. Will add though, sure hope we don't see this kind of stuff take off like them power trail thingys did. :blink:

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I like the idea of the mob cache, maybe it should be a new type to distinguish it? The problem being that I tend to prefer caching in areas without data coverage.....

 

The idea for a mob cache is interesting there is one in my area that was placed last April associated with an event. It has 32 found it logs and as far as I can tell, every one of them was from someone that attended the mob...I mean event or got the coordinates from someone that was in the mob. It is, for all practical purposes, a temporary cache that can only be found if one has attended the event. Some times life gets in the way and we all can't attend an event (I was in Cuba the day of the event) and I don't believe that finding a physical cache should be contingent upon attending an event.

 

 

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Most of the mob caches on this list:

https://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.aspx?guid=f0f07ff9-7936-49a4-b004-1904fb8902be

 

have a good number of favorites. People like them. But I admit it's gimmicky and after 1 or 2, they don't have the same appeal anymore. I wouldn't want to see a bunch in an area all at once.

 

Most, as NYPaddleCacher has said, are put out right before or during an event, so that you already have a mob ready to go. After that it definitely becomes more difficult to get a group together.

 

For the one I put out, I did have it come out during our summer picnic when we had 50 people or so. The mob cache required at the time over 10 people I think. After the event was over, I changed it to a lower number so that it didn't require an event full of people to find it.

 

This was originally developed as a concept for a lab cache, at least one of many experimental directions lab caches could go.

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The idea for a mob cache is interesting there is one in my area that was placed last April associated with an event. It has 32 found it logs and as far as I can tell, every one of them was from someone that attended the mob...I mean event or got the coordinates from someone that was in the mob. It is, for all practical purposes, a temporary cache that can only be found if one has attended the event. Some times life gets in the way and we all can't attend an event (I was in Cuba the day of the event) and I don't believe that finding a physical cache should be contingent upon attending an event.

Just because that mob cache so far has been found only by an event's attendees doesn't mean it is contingent upon attending an event. It appears that if someone can organize a sufficient number of geocachers to search for it, then they could find it anytime they want.

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They're puzzle/mystery caches. And?

 

Wherigo, or any of the beacon/chirp caches require phones too.

 

Though I don't care to cache only with my phone, I also realize that I don't need to do all caches. :)

 

In the interest of accuracy, a smartphone is not necessary to find a chirp cache. Perhaps my favorite cache of all time, GC3ECVM, was found using the chirp feature on my Garmin 78sc

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They're puzzle/mystery caches. And?

 

Wherigo, or any of the beacon/chirp caches require phones too.

 

Though I don't care to cache only with my phone, I also realize that I don't need to do all caches. :)

 

In the interest of accuracy, a smartphone is not necessary to find a chirp cache. Perhaps my favorite cache of all time, GC3ECVM, was found using the chirp feature on my Garmin 78sc

 

Yeah, my Oregon handles Chirp and Wherigo just fine. I've never figured out how to use Wherigo on my phone.

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They're puzzle/mystery caches. And?

 

Wherigo, or any of the beacon/chirp caches require phones too.

 

Though I don't care to cache only with my phone, I also realize that I don't need to do all caches. :)

In the interest of accuracy, a smartphone is not necessary to find a chirp cache. Perhaps my favorite cache of all time, GC3ECVM, was found using the chirp feature on my Garmin 78sc

And a smartphone isn't required for Wherigo caches either. I've found all my Wherigo caches using my old Garmin Oregon.

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While I love to use and will continue to use my Garmin eTrex 20 for geocaching, I do usually also have my smartphone on me. I'm all for anything that adds a little something else to the game, variety if you will. If it's something I don't particularly care for I'll probably just skip it. After all, there's over 10,000 caches just here in NH. I'm not planning on getting them all anytime soon.

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The idea for a mob cache is interesting there is one in my area that was placed last April associated with an event. It has 32 found it logs and as far as I can tell, every one of them was from someone that attended the mob...I mean event or got the coordinates from someone that was in the mob. It is, for all practical purposes, a temporary cache that can only be found if one has attended the event. Some times life gets in the way and we all can't attend an event (I was in Cuba the day of the event) and I don't believe that finding a physical cache should be contingent upon attending an event.

Just because that mob cache so far has been found only by an event's attendees doesn't mean it is contingent upon attending an event. It appears that if someone can organize a sufficient number of geocachers to search for it, then they could find it anytime they want.

 

It is certainly possible that someone could organize a sufficient number of cachers (that had not attended the event and found the cache) to search for it. The fact that it's never happened in six months after the cache was placed leads me to believe that it probably won't ever happen.

 

 

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They're puzzle/mystery caches. And?

 

Wherigo, or any of the beacon/chirp caches require phones too.

 

Though I don't care to cache only with my phone, I also realize that I don't need to do all caches. :)

 

In the interest of accuracy, a smartphone is not necessary to find a chirp cache. Perhaps my favorite cache of all time, GC3ECVM, was found using the chirp feature on my Garmin 78sc

 

Yep, lots of caches require something that someone may not have. I really want chirp capability for my iphone, but apparently you need an accessory (Wahoo ANT+ key) that is not available for lightning adapter phones.

 

Here's another example of a smartphone-only cache (and a concept which I haven't yet seen done elsewhere) - GC6EPH8 :) I was asked if it could be possible to do something like that; I pondered, and worked it out. And so far the logs from people who did what was necessary are quite entertaining :)

 

The best thing is - if you don't have the right tool to complete a cache puzzle/task, you can simply find the cache with someone else who has done it.

 

Even mobs. If you don't have a phone, you can join the mob anyway, then go hunt the cache. There's no requirement that someone have a phone to be able to find the two caches in the OP. But, certainly, not having a phone does remove some of the charm of completing the cache in full.

Edited by thebruce0
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It is certainly possible that someone could organize a sufficient number of cachers (that had not attended the event and found the cache) to search for it. The fact that it's never happened in six months after the cache was placed leads me to believe that it probably won't ever happen.

More likely the people excited about it attended the event, so it will take a while for a new crop of people to get excited about it and organize to get it. That's what happened in my area. The mob caches weren't attached to an event, but, still, the people that were intrigued organized and went out the first week or 2. Then there was a lag of several months before other groups got around to getting together to do them. Remember, for a mob cache, the finds are automatically going to cluster. If a traditional is found once a month, a mob requiring 6 people will be found twice a year, but by 6 people on the same day.

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Here's another example of a smartphone-only cache (and a concept which I haven't yet seen done elsewhere) - GC6EPH8 :) I was asked if it could be possible to do something like that; I pondered, and worked it out. And so far the logs from people who did what was necessary are quite entertaining :)

 

Ah yes. Carni asked if I would share some code for that one as I did this as well, but I only saw his note months later and by then he found a more responsive person. :)

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For the one I put out, I did have it come out during our summer picnic when we had 50 people or so. The mob cache required at the time over 10 people I think. After the event was over, I changed it to a lower number so that it didn't require an event full of people to find it.
It could be interesting to see the requirements change automatically.

 

For example, right after a mob gets the coordinates, the minimum mob size could be reset to 10. The next day, it would automatically drop to 9. The next day, 8. And a week later, it would drop to 3 and stay there until another mob got the coordinates.

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For the one I put out, I did have it come out during our summer picnic when we had 50 people or so. The mob cache required at the time over 10 people I think. After the event was over, I changed it to a lower number so that it didn't require an event full of people to find it.
It could be interesting to see the requirements change automatically.

 

For example, right after a mob gets the coordinates, the minimum mob size could be reset to 10. The next day, it would automatically drop to 9. The next day, 8. And a week later, it would drop to 3 and stay there until another mob got the coordinates.

 

It's easy enough to have the cache owner edit it. For the one I put out, the first group of 15 people or so found it, then later during the event there were smaller groups that wanted to find it. So I reduced the number to something like 4 while I was at the event.

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Here's another example of a smartphone-only cache (and a concept which I haven't yet seen done elsewhere) - GC6EPH8 :) I was asked if it could be possible to do something like that; I pondered, and worked it out. And so far the logs from people who did what was necessary are quite entertaining :)

 

Now that right there is very, very clever - hats off to you for that one B)

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Here's another example of a smartphone-only cache (and a concept which I haven't yet seen done elsewhere) - GC6EPH8 :) I was asked if it could be possible to do something like that; I pondered, and worked it out. And so far the logs from people who did what was necessary are quite entertaining :)

 

Now that right there is very, very clever - hats off to you for that one B)

Clever but tedious. I could have been doing something wrong or maybe not exactly right. Got to where it showed "Ain't yada yada yada" and then gave up. Of course, i'd still be at it if i were close enough to actually try for the cache. :D

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Now that right there is very, very clever - hats off to you for that one B)

-Thanks!

Clever but tedious. I could have been doing something wrong or maybe not exactly right. Got to where it showed "Ain't yada yada yada" and then gave up. Of course, i'd still be at it if i were close enough to actually try for the cache. :D

Easier for some, more tedious for others ;) It's a tough balance, deciding when to show the updates; the first one comes pretty quickly as a nod that you're doing something right.

But yep, supposed to take us back to the good ol' tedious days :P Now if only javascript had access to the mic to sense blowing on the phone... lol

 

(and yes, technically that 2nd cache in the OP doesn't require a smartphone, it just requires internet use at some point)

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They're puzzle/mystery caches. And?

 

Wherigo, or any of the beacon/chirp caches require phones too.

 

Though I don't care to cache only with my phone, I also realize that I don't need to do all caches. :)

In the interest of accuracy, a smartphone is not necessary to find a chirp cache. Perhaps my favorite cache of all time, GC3ECVM, was found using the chirp feature on my Garmin 78sc

And a smartphone isn't required for Wherigo caches either. I've found all my Wherigo caches using my old Garmin Oregon.

Thanks gang ! :)

Still using a 60cxs (that still runs like new...), but still shoulda known that the newer models would work. :D

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People like them. But I admit it's gimmicky and after 1 or 2, they don't have the same appeal anymore. I wouldn't want to see a bunch in an area all at once.

 

After reading the cache page, that sums up my feeling too. Of course, I feel that way about most different/new type caches -- when they're first new and unique they are fun but once everyone gets in on the "me too" bandwagon they get old quickly. I can add challenge caches, geoart, power trails, parking lot micros, etc. to the that list.

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After reading the cache page, that sums up my feeling too. Of course, I feel that way about most different/new type caches -- when they're first new and unique they are fun but once everyone gets in on the "me too" bandwagon they get old quickly. I can add challenge caches, geoart, power trails, parking lot micros, etc. to the that list.

That's bound to happen with everything.

I'd dare say that challenge caches, geoart, power trails, parking lot micros, etc, also became popular because the people who desired to place them possibly felt that long hikes into the woods for traditional containers got boring or tiresome as well.

 

It's a natural progression of any concept that becomes popular. More people do it, it becomes normal, then stale, until some new idea comes along sparking excitement in many. That doesn't necessarily mean that everyone think the old idea is boring or stale, but the influx of new ideas (and retention of old ones by those who do still enjoy them) provides an enormous and continually growing variety of experiences - as long as everyone can respect the fact that they can all exist for the fun of anyone who enjoys them :) And the ones that aren't enjoyed by enough people will naturally fade away.

 

..whether they're challenge caches, 3 word puzzles, device-dependent tasks, powertrails, lengthy hikes, geoart, skirt-lifters, micros in woods, etc...

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No, it is not the direction of geocaching. Excluding Wherigos, I've seen probably three caches similar to this in all of my 11,600 or so finds.

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