Let's Speculate on the Next Groundspeak Reward

[+Team Hugs]

As long as we're making wild wishes about what we'd like to see ...

I remember visiting my daughter's fourth-grade classroom one morning, just before we were leaving to chaperone a field trip.   There seemed to be a fair amount of chaos in the room that morning to this unskilled observer ... but even I could tell that the teacher was struggling a bit with a high spirited room.   

Then the teacher turned to the class and said "Joyce and David, please come forward and take 5 Bonus Bucks from the prize box."   See, Joyce & David were at their desks doing what they were supposed to be doing.   The teacher had set up a system of rewards for students Doing The Right Thing, paying good students off randomly with Bonus Bucks that could be used periodically to buy (donated) prizes from the prize box.   Not surprisingly, the class settled down quite quickly after that reward, seeing good behavior being rewarded.

(Okay, I was a little proud that Joyce was my daughter.  )

It looks like Groundspeak is doing things like this, in the same unannounced manner:

• Be a valued volunteer or have a really high CHS?   Get a Virtual (Cache) Reward.
• Own a cache that contributed to 3M active caches?   Get a unique souvenir.

So ... let's "reward" people that do things that improve the health of the sport.   (I think "reward" == "souvenir", but other definitions are possible.)

• Give out a "reward" to cache owners who regularly post Owner Maintenance (and/or Notes) to their own caches to show that issues are being addressed.
• Give out a "reward" to cachers who regularly post Needs Maintenance or DNF logs that let cache owners know of potential issues with their caches.
• Give out a "reward" to cachers who regularly create ordinary events that draw in people in their communities.   (I'm not just talking about the Giga or Mega events; I'm talking about the simple events that bring together a dozen people in a coffee shop.)

Now, for any of those things to work, the Frog can't announce ahead of time that it's doing those things.   Hint that one of these specific behaviors will be rewarded and you'll see a flurry of spurious OM, NM, and DNF logs.   The value of this suggestion only is realized if nobody knows the reward is coming.

So, that's what I'd do.

[P.S. Oh, and I'd also give a Virtual Reward to forum participants who suggest new plans for rewarding cachers.  

Had to be said.   ]

 

[+kunarion]

16 minutes ago, Team Hugs said:

As long as we're making wild wishes about what we'd like to see ...

 

I'm hoping for a Lamborghini.  I dunno, for my cool Beetles series, whatever.  Surprise me!

 

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

2 hours ago, kunarion said:

 

I'm hoping for a Lamborghini.  I dunno, for my cool Beetles series, whatever.  Surprise me!

 

 

Some people will do anything to win the FTF race.  

[+noncentric]

7 hours ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

10 hours ago, kunarion said:

I'm hoping for a Lamborghini.  I dunno, for my cool Beetles series, whatever.  Surprise me!

 

Some people will do anything to win the FTF race.  

I'd prefer a helicopter, with pilot. Will make it a lot easier to get to some of those high T caches. 

[+NLBokkie]

Not sure if GS should hand out rewards based on an algorithm (which are sometimes not even welcomed or wanted by their owners). But I would be happy if they would allow anybody to send in ideas and plans for new webcam caches (including technological information and a signed ok from the owner of the webcam), and select some of the most interesting ones to be actually created and published. We're running short on them, and the list only gets shorter . . .

[+simpjkee]

On 10/21/2017 at 6:48 AM, thebruce0 said:

I know if I find an old cache, and it's not in the best shape, but still quite findable and a great experience overall, I'm less likely to log a NM then if it were close to the city with an owner I know to be active. But it really does depend on the situation.  If I can't do a little good deed and clean it up a bit, and I think it really needs maintenance, especially if it has a recent history of repeated community upkeep, I'm more likely to consider the NM and let destiny take its course. It's a tough judgement call to make; sometimes yes, sometimes no.

I love maintaining my caches. If any maintenance is needed, I want a NM logged. I hate the idea of someone trying to 'help' me by doing stuff to my caches. and all but one of my caches require a substantial hike to get to them.

Edited October 29, 2017 by simpjkee

[+thebruce0]

On 10/29/2017 at 1:55 AM, simpjkee said:

On 10/21/2017 at 9:48 AM, thebruce0 said:

I know if I find an old cache, and it's not in the best shape, but still quite findable and a great experience overall, I'm less likely to log a NM then if it were close to the city with an owner I know to be active. But it really does depend on the situation.  If I can't do a little good deed and clean it up a bit, and I think it really needs maintenance, especially if it has a recent history of repeated community upkeep, I'm more likely to consider the NM and let destiny take its course. It's a tough judgement call to make; sometimes yes, sometimes no.

I love maintaining my caches. If any maintenance is needed, I want a NM logged. I hate the idea of someone trying to 'help' me by doing stuff to my caches. and all but one of my caches require a substantial hike to get to them.

Indeed, and that's great; but again, this is the difference between "throwdown for missing", "broken container", and "logsheet damp", to name a few circumstances. To some COs, they are all the same, warranting only CO maintenance - in those cases, I'd suggest the CO add a note to the cache page requesting that no one, under any circumstances should do anything to 'help' improve the cache's condition, no matter how small the good deed may seem.  There are plenty of legitimately good-willed people who are willing to add a blank logsheet, or re-attached a container, or dump out water, or add a few trinkets, or patch a container with a strip of tape, or what have you. And if the CO would rather prefer that even those actions aren't taken but rather a NM posted, then the CO should make sure cachers know not to.

Those aren't the same actions as a throwdown container placed because the cacher thinks it's gone missing due to a critter carrying it away. In that case, the cache hasn't been verified as missing by the CO, and the throwdown could be an extra container that deceives followup finders. Even in the case where a CO gives permission for a temporary cache container, unless the hide spot can be described and the CO remotely confirms it absolutely is missing from as it was intended to be found, the replacement could still be a duplicate.

 

In short, there are cachers who will do anything for the smiley; and there are cachers who in good conscience will do "minor" fixups to help a CO having received permission or not (I find these are in the majority of cachers). From what I've seen most CO's don't mind the latter; but if you do, best to let cachers know that you want to be the only person doing any form of maintenance, if necessary, on the cache.

Edited October 30, 2017 by thebruce0

[+Great Scott!]

On 10/22/2017 at 5:34 AM, noncentric said:

What about -- A 'loyalty' reward, awarded to cachers that are currently Premium Members and have been PM's for 5 consecutive years.  Maybe they get a Souvenir, or better (IMO) 3-months of Premium Membership added to their accounts.  Cachers that have been PM's for 10 consecutive years could get 6 months added.  Charter members could get 9 months added, since they've been PM's for 15 consecutive years.

The awarding of 6-month and 9-month rewards would only happen in the initial rollout. Ongoing rewards would be 3-months only.

• Someone currently at 12 years would get 6-months now and then another 3-months in 3 years.
• Someone currently at 8 years would get 3-months now and then another 3-months in 2 years. 
• Cachers that don't yet have 5 consecutive years (like me) would get 3-months free when we reach the 5-year mark, and another 3-months for each 5-year mark thereafter.

This would be a reward that isn't based on any subjective algorithm or health score, so it's unlikely to result in the types of discussions that happened after the Virtual Cache Rewards. Actually, this is the Forums, so there will still be complaints.  Someone that was PM for 3 years, then went Basic for 2 years, then back to PM for 4 years will say that they should get 3-months free because s/he paid for 7 years of Premium Membership. But they'll just have to wait a year.  At least they aren't completely locked out of a reward and at least they know what needs to be done to get a reward. Two big distinctions from the one-time Virtual Cache Reward.

So I would save a few dollars as a reward.  Would rather have something that would be recorded in my profile.

[+noncentric]

On 11/5/2017 at 11:46 AM, Great Scott! said:

So I would save a few dollars as a reward.  Would rather have something that would be recorded in my profile.

Some cachers want public recognition (visible on their profile) - others don't care so much about such recognition.