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I hope a lackey will chime in on this one. I am well aware that the guidelines forbid events that are just to get a group together for caching. However, I've seen many event pages that include text like "for those interested, we'll go caching afterwards..." or something like that. I recently submitted an event (duration 90 minutes, at a restaurant) with such wording and the reviewer shot it down - he would not let me mention geocaching at all on the event page. Is this an over-reaction on the part of the reviewer, or is this how most reviewers interpret the "Cannot be set up for the sole purpose of finding geocaches" guideline?

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Most events I've attended with a similar "after event" option with others,  mentioned it while at the event, not on the event page.

"We're gonna go for ... afterwards if anybody's interested" kinda thing.

Those who are regularly saying that at their events, most already know what to expect afterwards, if they'd like.

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43 minutes ago, The Snowdog said:

 I recently submitted an event (duration 90 minutes, at a restaurant) with such wording and the reviewer shot it down - he would not let me mention geocaching at all on the event page. Is this an over-reaction on the part of the reviewer, or is this how most reviewers interpret the "Cannot be set up for the sole purpose of finding geocaches" guideline?

 

If one can't mention geocaching at all, we'd lose a lot of really helpful geocaching 101 events.  Some bring new people to caches close by (often in the same park)  so they can take their new skills and apply it (with help if needed).  :)

Sure that's all there was to it ?

 

ETA: Checked a few that I know used to have "similar" wording , and they still say the same for new ones out.  Maybe it's just in how you word it , or possible that it could have been added later.

Edited by cerberus1
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I doubt a Lackey will chime in, but maybe a Moderator will.  It might be a regional or local issue.  Like cerberus1, our area tends to be a bit more relaxed.  On a whole, if the focus of the Event is to socialize, and not to gather folks for an organized hunt, it usually is OK.  I imagine that if the Description talked nothing but about nearby caches and meeting times at various checkpoints, it might get some pushback.

 

If it were me, I would comply with the Reviewer's wishes and not quibble over it too much.

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Locally for me, it seems it's just understood that folks will cache their way TO an event, and usually cache their way home after an event.  Some make arrangements to carpool , and end up meeting other groups at nearby caches.  At the event itself (a meet & greet, have a pizza and share stories, swap trackables, win a FTF pre-publication cache, etc) arrangments are often made to go find a group of caches together.

 

An event is a meeting of geocachers, to socialize or CITO or whatever - I think it's just understood that geocaching is going to happen - you don't need to make that part of the event.

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Locally, I have often seen geocaches published at the same time and in the area of an event, and this mentioned on the cache page.    The way I look at these (and I think our reviewers too) is that the event isn't created to find these caches, but the caches are hidden as a "bonus", and as a sort of extra incentive to encourage cachers to attend.  Obviously, most people attending the event will also find the new caches.

 

I have also seen events which were linked to some planned caching afterwards, and the cache page mentions it.    Interestingly, this recent one https://coord.info/GC7NVT5 says "Some will be doing a further trip to Melksham by water", without mentioning that there are 9 geocaches along that stretch of river, and that is the reason for the trip.   Perhaps the owner was advised not to mention geocaching.

 

So maybe you can say "after the event some of us are planning a walk along the blah blah trail"...... and not mention there are caches there.

 

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1 hour ago, redsox_mark said:

Then there are events like this, which are generally allowed (and I think Groundspeak would encourage).     This event had a social aspect, but was mostly about introducing new people to geocaching.   Geocaching Fun - Around Longrun

 

That sounds like the type of event where the placement of new caches for the event serves an educational purpose rather than just an incentive to get people to attend the event.  I would think that type of event should be allowed and encouraged as well. Back when GS allowed multiple found it/attended logs (not too long ago) the practice of placing multiple temporary caches, and allowing attendee to post an "attended" log for every temp cache found (would could be 100 feet apart), the event was just a means for attendees to increase their find counts.  To me, geocaching events should be about the social aspect, education, or promotion of the game (through CITO efforts).  These are things that I think strengthen the community  I don't know why some can't seem to give up a few finds to add to their find count to help build and enhance their local geocaching community.  

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So here is my problem im trying to give people reasons to go geocaching by publishing a CITO and now i am told no after it was all set up to have bags and grabbers and the trash picked up when we are done. And now the reviewer says i cant do it because there are other events going on that weekend and they are not even other CITO events. Why do you want to discourage us from putting on events giving people reasons to help out the community, is that the reviewers job to discourage us from publishing events. I wonder if i stop hosting events if someone else would take my place? I wonder if I could find something else to do with my time and energy?

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There have recently been three such events in my area, including one hosted by myself. The listings all stated unequivocally that the event was a general meet-and-greet after which folks would be going on an optional planned hike to find caches. In all cases, the meet-and-greet portion functioned pretty much the same as any of our other non-hike-related events, with attendees discussing caching in general and other personal matters. There was actually very little discussion of the upcoming hike, so it was just another event for those not going on the hike.

 

As long as the listing is clear that the post-event outing is optional, I don't see how it could violate the quoted guideline.

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On 5/10/2018 at 8:35 PM, The Snowdog said:

I hope a lackey will chime in on this one. I am well aware that the guidelines forbid events that are just to get a group together for caching. However, I've seen many event pages that include text like "for those interested, we'll go caching afterwards..." or something like that. I recently submitted an event (duration 90 minutes, at a restaurant) with such wording and the reviewer shot it down - he would not let me mention geocaching at all on the event page. Is this an over-reaction on the part of the reviewer, or is this how most reviewers interpret the "Cannot be set up for the sole purpose of finding geocaches" guideline?

 

Having looked at other examples (like the one A-Team posted above),  your case does seem to be a somewhat unusual interpretation of the guideline, if you can't mention any optional geocaching happening later at all.   

 

Reviewer judgement comes into play here, as well as the precise wording you use.   

 

If you can't work it out with your reviewer, you could send it to appeals; that will get a Lacky to assess it.  

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2 hours ago, A Team Vallejo said:

Well.i went to appeals not sure why it was published appeals said they didnt do it. Its a mystery! Maybe someone here knows what changed their mind?

 

Glad you got it published.

 

Side question.  I was looking at your events.  Unlike all the other events I've seen, the logs for GC7NW14 aren't visible on the cache page.  There is only a link at the bottom of the page to "View Logbook," which opens the logs on a different screen.  Why is that?

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6 hours ago, hzoi said:

 

Glad you got it published.

 

Side question.  I was looking at your events.  Unlike all the other events I've seen, the logs for GC7NW14 aren't visible on the cache page.  There is only a link at the bottom of the page to "View Logbook," which opens the logs on a different screen.  Why is that?

I saw the same thing on a cache page earlier today. An F5 refresh returned the page to the usual view.

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15 hours ago, K13 said:
21 hours ago, hzoi said:

Glad you got it published.

 

Side question.  I was looking at your events.  Unlike all the other events I've seen, the logs for GC7NW14 aren't visible on the cache page.  There is only a link at the bottom of the page to "View Logbook," which opens the logs on a different screen.  Why is that?

I saw the same thing on a cache page earlier today. An F5 refresh returned the page to the usual view.

 

Refreshing doesn't affect it for GC7NW14

 

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

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I would just post an announcement once the event is listed stating that anyone could join in caching afterward.

 

As long as the event isn’t specifically set up for the sole purpose of getting a caching group together, it shouldn’t be an issue. Some reviewers are more strict than others.

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On 5/17/2018 at 8:32 PM, Rapaladude said:

I would just post an announcement once the event is listed stating that anyone could join in caching afterward.

 

As long as the event isn’t specifically set up for the sole purpose of getting a caching group together, it shouldn’t be an issue. Some reviewers are more strict than others.

Why can't you just get together to meet other Geocachers?

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30 minutes ago, Elektrazz said:
On 5/17/2018 at 7:32 PM, Rapaladude said:

I would just post an announcement once the event is listed stating that anyone could join in caching afterward.

 

As long as the event isn’t specifically set up for the sole purpose of getting a caching group together, it shouldn’t be an issue. Some reviewers are more strict than others.

Why can't you just get together to meet other Geocachers?

 

You can, nothing stopping you.

 

If however, you want to list an "Event" cache type on gc.com it needs to meet the guidelines.  The guidelines state that the event can't be for the sole purpose of meeting others to go out geocaching. 

 

For example. 

 

I'm meeting a bunch of cachers at 9 am to do the XYZ series.  An event at 9 am at this location will not meet the guidelines unless if the sole purpose is to do the series.

 

If however, doing the XYZ series is incidental to doing the XYZ series, then it may meet the guidelines.

 

Semantics?  Probably, so choose your wording carefully.

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1 hour ago, badlands said:

I'm meeting a bunch of cachers at 9 am to do the XYZ series.  An event at 9 am at this location will not meet the guidelines unless if the sole purpose is to do the series.

 

 

I never quite understood why this was part of the guidelines at all. I mean, I follow them because I want to have a positive relationship with the reviewers and other cachers, and I like having my geocaches actually get published. But why you can’t set up an event to go out Geocaching with other cachers is beyond me. Seems a little odd to me. If you or anyone who reads this knows why this is part of the rules, please explain?

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9 minutes ago, Rapaladude said:

 

I never quite understood why this was part of the guidelines at all. I mean, I follow them because I want to have a positive relationship with the reviewers and other cachers, and I like having my geocaches actually get published. But why you can’t set up an event to go out Geocaching with other cachers is beyond me. Seems a little odd to me. If you or anyone who reads this knows why this is part of the rules, please explain?

 

Why would it be necessary to have an event to go caching?  Going caching is what we do.  Events are for sitting around and talking about it.

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1 hour ago, K13 said:

Why would it be necessary to have an event to go caching?  Going caching is what we do.  Events are for sitting around and talking about it.

 

It's all about the smilie count.  Count the event and increment your attended number by one.  (I'm not in favor of this by the way, but that's one reason attempt to list outings as events)

Edited by badlands
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57 minutes ago, badlands said:

 

It's all about the smilie count.  Count the event and increment your attended number by one.  (I'm not in favor of this by the way, but that's one reason attempt to list outings as events)

 

 

I've held events to go after a series of caches (like this one).  We all had to meet up a a central location to head out, so might as well make it a meet-up where we can eat. That way, we all get at the right spot at the right time, and even the locals that won't or can't make the cache trip has an excuse to stop by and talk for awhile. As a personal guideline, I've never logged "attended" on events that I host, so it's never a "numbers" benefit to me.

Edited by Pork King
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12 hours ago, K13 said:

Why would it be necessary to have an event to go caching? 

 

One could argue that an event is the ideal way to organise things so everyone knew when and where to meet, the thing is visible on geocaching.com so everyone who's interested can see it and decide whether or not they want to go. There is no other platform which all cachers are guaranteed to have access to, so organising via Facebook etc might be missed by some who might want to go.

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, MartyBartfast said:

One could argue that an event is the ideal way to organise things so everyone knew when and where to meet

 

Right, one really could argue that way. Sometimes an event is used exacly that way. For example when arraging a meeting to set up an geocaching association. But geocaching with a large group is practically some sort of "spoiling". You join only to get finds with minimal effort (with good company) and draw maximal attention to this (stealth) hobby.

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4 hours ago, arisoft said:

But geocaching with a large group is practically some sort of "spoiling".

Not necessarily. Some of us play with the "huckle buckle beanstalk" method rather than having the first person to spot the cache "spoil" it for everyone else.

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7 hours ago, MartyBartfast said:

One could argue that an event is the ideal way to organise things so everyone knew when and where to meet, the thing is visible on geocaching.com so everyone who's interested can see it and decide whether or not they want to go. There is no other platform which all cachers are guaranteed to have access to, so organising via Facebook etc might be missed by some who might want to go.

 

Yep.

Not on faceboook or similar, one can view the Event in notifications and see that there's something special coming up.

For example,  our (very) lengthy paddle-to was done in a large group spending most of the day in the area afterwards, with no Event. 

Set it up on faceboook/emails.  That same day and the next,  others chimed in and said they'd have relished the thought of going with that group (safety reason mostly) but didn't know it was happening.

In another state, an entire day was spent on rope use for beginners, with a CO offering equipment and time to access one of his caches.  More would have shown up, if nothing else but to have that experience maybe once in their life, but again, didn't know it was happening because not everyone's on faceboook.  :)

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I have seen unlimited number of events which are direcly connected to finding more geocaches but the topic of the event is to meet before or during this activity at some place. I just picked the nearest one as an example https://coord.info/GC7MG4P

 

Maybe there are some secret rules what you can tell in the event description about you plans and what you are not allowed to tell, but I have thought that the subject of the event can not be finding caches but it is allowed to tell what are you going to do after the event.

Edited by arisoft
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2 hours ago, arisoft said:

I have seen unlimited number of events which are direcly connected to finding more geocaches but the topic of the event is to meet before or during this activity at some place. I just picked the nearest one as an example https://coord.info/GC7MG4P

 

Maybe threa are some secret rules what you can tell in the event description about you plans and what you are not allowed to tell, but I have thought that the subject of the event can not be finding caches but it is allowed to tell what are you going to do after the event.

 

Maybe the text of that event has changed in the last 2 hours, but as of me writing this there is NOTHING on that event page which mentions going geocaching.

 

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1 hour ago, MartyBartfast said:

Maybe the text of that event has changed in the last 2 hours, but as of me writing this there is NOTHING on that event page which mentions going geocaching.

 

This is just what I meant. It is not mentioned straight but I am sure that the intention is to find more geocaches with other "geocaching tourists". Everything is fine as far it is not mentioned too clear.

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On ‎5‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 2:35 PM, The Snowdog said:

I hope a lackey will chime in on this one. I am well aware that the guidelines forbid events that are just to get a group together for caching. However, I've seen many event pages that include text like "for those interested, we'll go caching afterwards..." or something like that. I recently submitted an event (duration 90 minutes, at a restaurant) with such wording and the reviewer shot it down - he would not let me mention geocaching at all on the event page. Is this an over-reaction on the part of the reviewer, or is this how most reviewers interpret the "Cannot be set up for the sole purpose of finding geocaches" guideline?

We just had an event at our local ice cream shop,we do it once or twice a year.Or at a park or restaurant.

Edited by horses11
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17 hours ago, MNTA said:

I'm not a big event person, but saw this that might give you some ideas. https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC7P0Y0_vancouver-wa-cache-machine-ii-dinner

 

This is for the dinner event after a full day of optional caching. Which they do mention.

But note that these events are after the caching, so there is no way it is to gather to go caching...

 

And, besides, the whole cache route is orginized in the NW forums, seperate from the event.

 

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