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Ever host an event and no one showed up?


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I'm going on a cruise in the near future and see there are zero caches at one of the ports.  I was wondering, if I set up an event and no one came, is it still a valid geocache for me to log?  Just curious if anyone else has ever done this.  It would be great if someone attended but looks like the there are few geocachers in this area.  

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7 minutes ago, Twinklekitkat said:

I was wondering, if I set up an event and no one came, is it still a valid geocache for me to log?

 

At least you will be there, so... YES.

As a matter of fact I did saw Events during cruises with zero Attends, because the ship can't reach the port on time. :)

Edited by RuideAlmeida
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If I hosted an event and I was the only attendee, I'd just archive it sans attended log. I have seen that once. Guy hosted a CITO, nobody came (listed right at 14 days, and on the same weekend as big annual recurring event)  I wouldn't list an event if i thought there was much of a risk that no one would come.

I see events hosted in assorted cruise ports that clearly are really just temporary virts, so the event host can log a find in that area, or for that day.  No serious thought at all that anyone will come, just needing a free smiley for the day. 

Some cruise ports do okay for events, Key West comes to mind, generally the crowd will be small, but there will be some people Like RuideAlmedia, I've seen hosts from cruise ships not make their own events;  ship was delayed. Those I've seen logged host log attended anyway, even though they were not there....

 

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2 hours ago, Twinklekitkat said:

I'm going on a cruise in the near future and see there are zero caches at one of the ports.  I was wondering, if I set up an event and no one came, is it still a valid geocache for me to log?  

You're entitled to log an event you created. 

I feel it would be a cheesy thing to do, if creating an event ( realizing it's possible no one will attend ), just to be able to log an attend in another country/state that has no caches. 

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4 hours ago, Twinklekitkat said:

I'm going on a cruise in the near future and see there are zero caches at one of the ports.  I was wondering, if I set up an event and no one came, is it still a valid geocache for me to log?  Just curious if anyone else has ever done this.  It would be great if someone attended but looks like the there are few geocachers in this area.  

I know of a geocacher in Ethiopia that has created several events that only he attended.  I wanted to attend one of them (it was a WWFM event) but was on an airplane enroute to Addis Ababa when the event occurred.  If I ever go back (and there's a reasonable chance that I will) I'm going to create an event cache there just so that I can meet the guy.

I had also planned on attending an event in Cancun on the way to Cuba.  It was created by someone in France that worked for an airline but had his flight cancelled a couple of days before the event.  I offered to host it for him but the decided to archive the listing instead.

Hosting an even at a cruise port might not get any local geocachers but there may be other geocachers on the cruise, especially if it's a large ship.

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32 minutes ago, Twinklekitkat said:

Thanks for the input all.  I think I will just hold off on creating one for that specific port.  It is doubtful anyone will attend.  

 

Key West sounds like a better option anyway.

It's unfortunate you let a select few discourage a completely viable idea.

I held an event once 15 miles south of Houston, a metropolitan area of more than 5.7 million people. No one showed up.. apparently too chicken to visit an oil town. I logged the event as attended and I don't care what a single individual here in the forums thinks about it.

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If you're convinced no one will attend, then it sounds like you're holding the event just so you can get a find there, and if that's the case, then don't.

But actually, rather than discouraging you from having an event, I'd encourage you to be more optimistic and start assuming someone will show up. On a recent cruise I took on a relatively small boat, I was thinking I was the only geocacher until I saw someone from my boat looking for a geocache I'd found earlier. And in ports with larger boats docked, I've noticed several logs filed for that day on nearby caches. So I don't think the problem will be no geocachers, it will be that they don't hear about the event.

The bottom line is that you can't find out if anyone will show up if you don't hold the event.

I've always wanted to stumble into an event on a cruise, so I always check for them before I leave. But so far the closest I've come is missing an event in the morning because my boat didn't get there until the afternoon.

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This almost happened to the organizer of a CITO event we attended in the Shenandoah Valley years ago.  The organizer was a Girl Scout and was hosting a CITO in pursuit of a badge.  If we hadn't showed up, it would have been just her and her parents, also geocachers.  It was certainly an intimate event, but we enjoyed it.

33 minutes ago, dprovan said:

The bottom line is that you can't find out if anyone will show up if you don't hold the event.

I absolutely agree.  Hope for the best, go prepared to host an event and meet other geocachers, and hopefully it'll work out.  (If no one shows up, you can make your own decision on whether or not to log it.)

 

There is a potential side issue -- if the port is some exclusive area that is only open to cruise ship passengers and employees, the event may not be publishable under the commercial guidelines.  So you might have to do a little homework on the port in case the reviewer has issues.  But again, you won't know unless/until you submit the event.

 

Hope it goes well, and enjoy the cruise!

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When I went to Iceland I posted an event, hoping to meet some locals. By the trip, it seemed like 3 maybes.  At the event, 1 person showed up. We had a great chat over lunch about the country and geocaching, then grabbed a couple of caches around the block.

If you really are not just hosting the event to get the smiley, then host it. You never know who might show up (and some may not even log the WA) - but even 1 person can make the event worth it :)

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22 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

If you really are not just hosting the event to get the smiley, then host it. You never know who might show up (and some may not even log the WA) - but even 1 person can make the event worth it :)

People do make events worth it. But if you host an event for a smiley, I have no problem with that. The notion that someone has to think a certain way, your way (the collective saying to not host it for a smiley), is not what makes us a diverse group of individuals.

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53 minutes ago, bflentje said:

People do make events worth it. But if you host an event for a smiley, I have no problem with that. The notion that someone has to think a certain way, your way (the collective saying to not host it for a smiley), is not what makes us a diverse group of individuals.

I didn't say don't host it if just for a smiley. Read again. I just said if you're not hosting it merely for the smiley, then host it (ie, even if you think no one will show up). Big difference.

I too have no problem if someone wants to host one just for a smiley. Doesn't affect me. But if you doubt you should host it if you think no one will show up, I'm encouraging you to host it regardless! :) Don't be dissuaded by potential lack of numbers.

 

28 minutes ago, Twinklekitkat said:

Thanks for all the insight.  Everyone makes very valid points to consider.  If I hold an event I will resurrect this thread and let you know what happened. :)

Awesome!

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I just submitted a CITO on Power Island in Michigan.  The event is scheduled for October 14th.  The ranger will remove the dock the weekend before.  So we will almost certainly be the only people on the whole island.  But I figured we could still pick up trash while hiking to the caches on the island.  So I am glad to hear there is precedence for events where no one or very few have attended.  

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8 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

I didn't say don't host it if just for a smiley. Read again. I just said if you're not hosting it merely for the smiley, then host it (ie, even if you think no one will show up). Big difference.

I too have no problem if someone wants to host one just for a smiley. Doesn't affect me. But if you doubt you should host it if you think no one will show up, I'm encouraging you to host it regardless! :) Don't be dissuaded by potential lack of numbers.

 

Awesome!

No need to read it again. I qualified my statement with "the collective saying to not host it for a smiley". Perhaps you should reread my comment.

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Well then we had a miscommunication. You said "your way". It's not "my way". If by "the collective saying" you essentially meant "generic you", then I didn't get that.  I also didn't read anyone here saying the event shouldn't be hosted if just for the smiley, so I'm not sure what "collective" you were referring to.  But anyway, no one appears to be saying that, so the point is moot. Moving on...

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5 minutes ago, bflentje said:

Isonzo Karst implied that you shouldn't do it.

cerberus1 says do it, but then casts a judgement on those that do.

Sorry, but cerberus1 didn't say "do it", but merely that you're allowed to log an event you created...

However, I still think creating an event just to get a smiley with no caches in the area is cheesy.  :)

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21 minutes ago, bflentje said:

Isonzo Karst implied that you shouldn't do it.

cerberus1 says do it, but then casts a judgement on those that do.

1. Two users is not "the collective"

2. "You" is not me.

So let's see... I said "No one appears to be saying [the event shouldn't be hosted if just for the smiley], so the point is moot."

3. Isonzo Karst: "If I hosted an event and I was the only attendee, I'd just archive it sans attended log. ...  I wouldn't list an event if i thought there was much of a risk that no one would come."

... foiled.  It's his opinion about his own actions and choices. Not a declaration that no one should do it.

4. cerberus1: "You're entitled to log an event you created. I feel it would be a cheesy thing to do, if creating an event just to be able to log an attend in another country/state that has no caches."

... foiled again. Who cares what cerberus thinks? He even states that you are allowed to log your own event. And I would agree with his sentiment - if you were creating an event just for the smiley knowing (or hoping/expecting) that no one would show up, yeah, that would be a cheesy thing to do. So? Do it anyway. Who cares what we think? Heck I might even do it (though I'd certainly be hoping someone would show up). Lots of things people do in geocaching are cheesy. Everyone's got an opinion. Don't let'em get you down. Logging your own event if you're the only attendee affects absolutely no one. So do it.

 

Edited by thebruce0
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3 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:

1. Two users is not "the collective"

2. "You" is not me.

So let's see... I said "No one appears to be saying [the event shouldn't be hosted if just for the smiley], so the point is moot."

3. Isonzo Karst: "If I hosted an event and I was the only attendee, I'd just archive it sans attended log. ...  I wouldn't list an event if i thought there was much of a risk that no one would come."

... foiled.  It's his opinion about his own actions and choices. Not a declaration that no one should do it.

4. cerberus1: "You're entitled to log an event you created. I feel it would be a cheesy thing to do, if creating an event just to be able to log an attend in another country/state that has no caches."

... foiled again. Who cares what cerberus thinks? He even states that you are allowed to log your own event. And I would agree with his sentiment - if you were creating an event just for the smiley knowing (or hoping/expecting) that no one would show up, yeah, that would be a cheesy thing to do. So? Do it anyway. Who cares what we think? Heck I might even do it (though I'd certainly be hoping someone would show up). Lots of things people do in geocaching are cheesy. Everyone's got an opinion. Don't let'em get you down. Logging your own event if you're the only attendee affects absolutely no one. So do it.

 

You replies to my first post and the defensiveness thereafter are too comical. Thanks for the morning laugh.

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I have some friends who were travelling, and attended an event in a foreign country.  They were the only ones who attended.  The event owner set up a series of events in every major city along his trip.  frequently, he was the only one to attend.  And, yes, he logged 'attended' on the one he did not show up for.  His travels must have been delayed.

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Several months ago there was a souvenir for attending an event on Donerstag.  The nearest events were over an hour away and my daughter was driving 7 hours to spend the weekend with us, so I organised an event locally.  My daughter and I were the only attendees.  That's the closest I got.

When i was researching a holiday I noticed that someone had organised a "Come and meet the travellers" event at 9pm in bar of their hotel.   I checked up on that event and found that they had organised a similar event every day of their holiday.  Wherever they were planning to stay, there was an event.  An easy way to keep a streak going, I guess.

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I've hosted a ton of events and I have had an event where no one showed up. It was in my own hometown and for whatever reason, people never showed up. I still logged an attended as I was there.

To me, it's about intention. If the intention is to host an event so others will come, that's one thing. If the intention is to host an event just to get the smiley, that's a different story.

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To extend it ever further, if your intent is to host an event just for a smiley, then as long as you show up, because others might show up, then that's fine. But if your intent is just the smiley, then you'd better show up nonetheless. (well, you'd better show up if you're host whatever your intent was :P barring unforseen circumstances).

Perhaps it's more that in listing and hosting the event the only intent that's important is your intent to show up. I don't think intent for creating the event is really of anyone's concern. And who shows up is entirely out of the host's control.  So the only matter of control is what responsibility you take on by creating it. And that is - actually showing up to host the event.

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We've hosted over 100 events under different community names for various groups. We have done them overseas and for every event under the sun that HQ offers a  souvenir. I don't see a single thing wrong with you setting up an event that only you attend. Here is why, you set it up. That is it. Many people won't even do that so your 20 miles ahead. Who cares, your not calling people names, your not making holes in telephone poles or hosting events at sexy coffee shops....oops, yea I did that. But you get it, there is to much real stuff in this world to worry about, than if no one attends your event. I canceled one event because we only had a single "will attend" log. I never heard the end of it, so never cancel. Though I've never hosted an event where there weren't at least 4 other cachers, but who knows it could happen this weekend! 

Just have a ball!

Happy Caching!!!

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If you feel it is weird to host a event and log it if no one shows up then just throw it out there. Make it for a short time (whatever the shortest time window is) so you don't waste a lot of time waiting to see if anyone shows up.   If no one shows then don't log it.  If someone shows up then it was a event and log it.

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Some time ago I've gone for a short trip by plane with 5 years old son, and set up an event at small airport, some 30 kilometers from city.
Got some 3 or 4 'willAttends' , so expected maybe one, maybe two local cachers.
But over 20 people arrived in bad weather Saturnay morning :) so this was a pleasant surprise.

 

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