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Temporary return of the locationless cache type?


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Ok, since nobody seems to have mentioned that here (or didn't dare to mention it) I'll have a try:

 

What do you think about a temporary return of the locationless cache type as long as Corona is keeping many stuck at home? HQ have revived the type this year albeit with a different idea as a "once in a lifetime come back" for this year as part of the 20 years celebration. But wouldn't it be great to have a couple more of these where HQ requests geocachers to be as creative as possible while staying at home? I think it would be a great way to still make geocaching possible and keep the community alive now outside geocaching is hampered and events to get together are not allowed either.

 

Thinking of some creative ideas for this would be:

- A locationless cache where you show in photo's what kind of cache you're creating for once the corona virus is gone,

- A message for all other geocachers stuck at home too.

- Adding a fun text to the quote "You're a real geocacher stuck at home when . . ."

Etc.

 

What do you think? And what idea would you like to add for a locationless cache?

Edited by NLBokkie
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I'm getting a bit tired of all the suggestions for caches you can not visit then couch log, events you can not go to but couch 'attend' .

Aside from commercial considerations for Groundspeak to make, to deal with loss of revenue , why  on earth do some people feel we need these ?

 

Geocaching is an outdoor sport /game/hobby . The point of it is to visit locations, find stuff and sign a log , or for virt's and ECs, answer questions based on that location .

What I think about caching when we cannot leave home to visit places where caches are is pretty much the same as I think about camping or any outdoor sport : I can't do it for a while, but with luck I shall be able to do it sometime in the future. Meanwhile, I can plan and wait (cleaned and reproofed my waterproofs, got the thorns out of my boot soles, patched 'em with shoe goo , now need to think about some puzzle caches and sort out some lists ) so when geocaching becomes possible again , I will be ready to go.

 

For some cachers  it seems like  cold turkey is kicking in, and they are desperate for a hit of the smiley drug, got to keep that streak going, must maintain the statistics, fill the dates cached grid, increase the smileys. Will the next stage be acquiring some perspective about what is important in life ?

1 hour ago, NLBokkie said:

 

- Adding a fun text to the quote "You're a real geocacher stuck at home when . . ."

 

"... you don't couch log  anything."

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Hmmmm, I don't think people get my intention with this post. All I wanted to do is try to get the creative juices flowing, thinking about a potentially fun way to pass this time, connecting us to the game we all like to play and see possibilities in that. But apparently this idea is only seen as another option to score another point, another smiley instead of another smile? Come on, try to come up with a fun idea here instead of the constant "can't do", "won't be allowed", "you're only couch logging" etc. Where is the fun in that? That's really not why I like this game. I dare you all to see the possibilities and try to come up with something fun and interesting. Even if it will never materialise.

Edited by NLBokkie
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I don't think the OP understands what Locationless Caches were. There were more like Waymark categories. You still had to go somewhere and find something.

 

Now what this would be a good time for is Groundspeak to promote Waymarking and improve the website. Most places that are shut down don't prohibit people from going outside to get fresh air and excercise, and Waymarks are nearly all outdoors. They're virtual so you can find them while social distancing and not have to touch a container or logbook/logsheet.

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1 hour ago, NLBokkie said:

Hmmmm, I don't think people get my intention with this post. All I wanted to do is try to get the creative juices flowing, thinking about a potentially fun way to pass this time, connecting us to the game we all like to play and see possibilities in that. But apparently this idea is only seen as another option to score another point, another smiley instead of another smile? Come on, try to come up with a fun idea here instead of the constant "can't do", "won't be allowed", "you're only couch logging" etc. Where is the fun in that? That's really not why I like this game. I dare you all to see the possibilities and try to come up with something fun and interesting. Even if it will never materialise.

 

I appreciate the effort.   There must be some sort of game we can play that is based upon geocaching but isn't geocaching (and increases our find count).  Some sort of interactive mystery cache for example.  

 

Somewhat related...I am a big college hockey fan.  I have had season tickets for the team for the university where I work for the past 10 years.  This year both the men and womens teams were ranked number one in the country when covid-19 terminated their season just before the conference playoffs started.  While other sports have had their games cancelled, the timing for college hockey (and NCAA basketball) could not have been worse.  So what happened?  A couple of organizations used statistical systems to simulate the playoff games as if they were played (and posted the results at the time when each game was originally scheduled to play).  After each simulated game a "game summary" was posted describing the highlights and outcome.   The summaries accurately described how I would have expected some of the games to go.   It wasn't a real game, but it was brilliantly done, even if my team got defeated the game before the frozen four.

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1 hour ago, JL_HSTRE said:

I don't think the OP understands what Locationless Caches were. There were more like Waymark categories.

 

Yep.  In the geocaching wiki it says that "Locationless caches have evolved into Waymarking", and "as Groundspeak changed it's viewpoint on what defines a geocache, locationless caches were one of the first to be eliminated."    :)

 - We have a couple found, if someone wants to check our profile for reference.

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3 hours ago, NLBokkie said:

Ok, since nobody seems to have mentioned that here (or didn't dare to mention it) I'll have a try:

 

What do you think about a temporary return of the locationless cache type as long as Corona is keeping many stuck at home? HQ have revived the type this year albeit with a different idea as a "once in a lifetime come back" for this year as part of the 20 years celebration. But wouldn't it be great to have a couple more of these where HQ requests geocachers to be as creative as possible while staying at home? I think it would be a great way to still make geocaching possible and keep the community alive now outside geocaching is hampered and events to get together are not allowed either.

 

Thinking of some creative ideas for this would be:

- A locationless cache where you show in photo's what kind of cache you're creating for once the corona virus is gone,

- A message for all other geocachers stuck at home too.

- Adding a fun text to the quote "You're a real geocacher stuck at home when . . ."

Etc.

 

What do you think? And what idea would you like to add for a locationless cache?

Seems like a good idea to have a few temporary locationless caches for those of us who can't leave their homes to go geocaching and are watching their "Slumps"  increasing all the time, but I don't suppose it will happen unless the USA has complete lockdown and cant go out geocaching as well.

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3 hours ago, NLBokkie said:

What do you think about a temporary return of the locationless cache type as long as Corona is keeping many stuck at home? HQ have revived the type this year albeit with a different idea as a "once in a lifetime come back" for this year as part of the 20 years celebration. But wouldn't it be great to have a couple more of these where HQ requests geocachers to be as creative as possible while staying at home? I think it would be a great way to still make geocaching possible and keep the community alive now outside geocaching is hampered and events to get together are not allowed either.

 

I didn't care for "bringing back" locationless for the celebration.   There's plenty of other "touchless" cache types around, thanks...

 - The cache type asked for some time by others  (mostly folks who started well-after the cache type ended),  just to add into their "stats".

Guess I thought that since this is now a game for many, there's simply some things you'll lose out on. 

Isn't that how a game is played ?

 

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3 minutes ago, Moore4us said:

Seems like a good idea to have a few temporary locationless caches for those of us who can't leave their homes to go geocaching and are watching their "Slumps"  increasing all the time, but I don't suppose it will happen unless the USA has complete lockdown and cant go out geocaching as well.

 

Guess you don't understand locationless.   You still need to go outside to find an example.  It wasn't a couch-logged cache type...

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2 hours ago, NLBokkie said:

Hmmmm, I don't think people get my intention with this post. All I wanted to do is try to get the creative juices flowing, thinking about a potentially fun way to pass this time, connecting us to the game we all like to play and see possibilities in that. But apparently this idea is only seen as another option to score another point, another smiley instead of another smile? Come on, try to come up with a fun idea here instead of the constant "can't do", "won't be allowed", "you're only couch logging" etc. Where is the fun in that? That's really not why I like this game. I dare you all to see the possibilities and try to come up with something fun and interesting. Even if it will never materialise.

 

I've set up something fun and interesting for my local caching friends to do on their daily , government approved , single exercise period (length not specified)  in the outdoors. Something they can do if they are walking familiar streets near home. It is between us, it wouldn't be extendable to anywhere outside suburban Britain, and won't score any smileys , and couldn't be scaled up, so there is no point whatsoever to sharing it on a geocaching platform.

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3 hours ago, hal-an-tow said:

 

I've set up something fun and interesting for my local caching friends to do on their daily , government approved , single exercise period (length not specified)  in the outdoors. Something they can do if they are walking familiar streets near home. It is between us, it wouldn't be extendable to anywhere outside suburban Britain, and won't score any smileys , and couldn't be scaled up, so there is no point whatsoever to sharing it on a geocaching platform.

 

Still a good and fun idea though, even if it can't be scaled to Geocaching.com size. Nice!

You do make me wonder what exactly it is that you've got arranged though :)

Edited by NLBokkie
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3 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

 

Guess you don't understand locationless.   You still need to go outside to find an example.  It wasn't a couch-logged cache type...

 

Any idea here, whether locationless or not, would be fine. I suppose going outside for a bit is fine too, as long as the goal of the cache is attainable in or around the house.

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1 hour ago, NLBokkie said:

I suppose going outside for a bit is fine too, as long as the goal of the cache is attainable in or around the house.

Have you considered solving local puzzle caches, so you'll have a bunch of them that you're ready to find once the "shelter in place" order is lifted?

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19 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

I didn't care for "bringing back" locationless for the celebration.   There's plenty of other "touchless" cache types around, thanks...

 

If Locationless had been given out like Virtuals that would have been a mistake.

 

A single time-limited, on-theme Locationless was a good way to do it.

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15 hours ago, NLBokkie said:

Any idea here, whether locationless or not, would be fine. I suppose going outside for a bit is fine too, as long as the goal of the cache is attainable in or around the house.

 

if it's available without leaving your house IT IS NOT A GEOCACHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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On 4/2/2020 at 10:36 AM, JL_HSTRE said:

Now what this would be a good time for is Groundspeak to promote Waymarking and improve the website. Most places that are shut down don't prohibit people from going outside to get fresh air and excercise, and Waymarks are nearly all outdoors. They're virtual so you can find them while social distancing and not have to touch a container or logbook/logsheet.

God, yes, this. I've been using this time to get into all the different types of location-based games. I think Waymarking is such a cool idea, and I would love to see more support for it. If they could just get the word out about it, maybe more people would look into it which would hopefully give Groundspeak a reason to improve upon it once this quarantine is finished with

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9 hours ago, pixelteer425 said:

 I've been using this time to get into all the different types of location-based games.

I think Waymarking is such a cool idea, and I would love to see more support for it.

If they could just get the word out about it, maybe more people would look into it which would hopefully give Groundspeak a reason to improve upon it once this quarantine is finished with

 

Possible, but I feel that gate might have been closed when Waymarking became a separate hobby, with "finds"  not counted to a geocacher's "smiley" total.  

There's quite a few people who'd like to see Wherigo improved first.   :)  

 

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4 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

 

Possible, but I feel that gate might have been closed when Waymarking became a separate hobby, with "finds"  not counted to a geocacher's "smiley" total.  

There's quite a few people who'd like to see Wherigo improved first.   :)  

 

That makes sense. I know I personally would rather see Waymarks added to the app above all else, but that’s just one opinion out of many

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1 hour ago, pixelteer425 said:

That makes sense. I know I personally would rather see Waymarks added to the app above all else, but that’s just one opinion out of many

 

Locationless caches were one of the first caches to be eliminated when the site changed it's view on what is a geocache.

IIRC, Locationless cache owners had the option of changing them to Waymarking.com waymarks, or seeing them archived.

I don't believe the Waymarking.com site would ever be "added" to the Geocaching.com app .   They're two separate sites.    

Supposedly MrCachly   is working on having an iOS app for Waymarking soon.    :)

 

 

Edited by cerberus1
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8 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

Locationless caches were one of the first caches to be eliminated when the site changed it's view on what is a geocache.

IIRC, Locationless cache owners had the option of changing them to Waymarking.com waymarks, or seeing them archived.

Yeah, I read about all of the history before when I was learning all the different cache types. I remember thinking that it's a really cool concept and being sad it couldn't be supported anymore, but understanding it was a major hassle for Groundspeak

8 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

Supposedly MrCachly   is working on having an iOS app for Waymarking soon.    :)

This however, this I'm really excited for if it's real. Part of the main reason I want support for it on the app is for me without a GPSr it's a hassle to look them up and then navigate there by using waypoints in the app. If there were a seperate app, I'd be absolutely ecstatic and it would probably help a lot more people get into the hobby

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27 minutes ago, pixelteer425 said:

Yeah, I read about all of the history before when I was learning all the different cache types. I remember thinking that it's a really cool concept and being sad it couldn't be supported anymore, but understanding it was a major hassle for Groundspeak

This however, this I'm really excited for if it's real. Part of the main reason I want support for it on the app is for me without a GPSr it's a hassle to look them up and then navigate there by using waypoints in the app. If there were a seperate app, I'd be absolutely ecstatic and it would probably help a lot more people get into the hobby

That is very true. But I bet when you start in your own town, you won't need coordinates to get to those waymarks!

 

 

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29 minutes ago, pixelteer425 said:

If there were a seperate app, I'd be absolutely ecstatic and it would probably help a lot more people get into the hobby

Although we always welcome new waymarkers, (always!), not everyone thinks a flood of new people to the hobby is a good thing. You'll have to read the thread about this in the Waymarking forum if you want to understand why.

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30 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

Although we always welcome new waymarkers, (always!), not everyone thinks a flood of new people to the hobby is a good thing. You'll have to read the thread about this in the Waymarking forum if you want to understand why.

Thinking about it, yeah, that makes sense. I'm just a bit sad to see Waymarking is pretty much dead in my community, no new waymarks or visits for the past few years from what I've seen. Will have to check out that thread though, thanks!

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1 minute ago, pixelteer425 said:

Thinking about it, yeah, that makes sense. I'm just a bit sad to see Waymarking is pretty much dead in my community, no new waymarks or visits for the past few years from what I've seen. Will have to check out that thread though, thanks!

My city had about 5 waymarks when I first started. Something like that! Now Oklahoma is #7 for the number of waymarks created. 

Don't be sad. Your city is now a GOLD MINE for you!!!

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1 minute ago, Max and 99 said:

My city had about 5 waymarks when I first started. Something like that! Now Oklahoma is #7 for the number of waymarks created. 

Don't be sad. Your city is now a GOLD MINE for you!!!

That's some really good news! I plan on getting out these next couple of days and getting the coordinates and pictures taken to start posting some waymarks. My goal is once this corona stuff is over to go to some events and spread the good word of Waymarking

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18 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

Possible, but I feel that gate might have been closed when Waymarking became a separate hobby, with "finds"  not counted to a geocacher's "smiley" total.

 

It wasn't about the numbers for me. I had enjoyed logging a number of locationless caches and when they moved over to Waymarking I looked at it but the things that put me off included:

  • The need to go to yet another login to participate.
  • The Waymarking site always seemed "clunky" and not very intuitive to use, and from what I can see it's been pretty much left alone since the start.
  • Because it was a free for all there seemed to be many categories that were fundamentally the same, so choosing/managing categories wasn't straightforward.
  • Again because of the free for all nature we had some really rubbish cagegories - McDonalds & Burger King, really?

If some of the above were addressed I might be tempted to go back, but I don't think Groundspeak see it as part of their primary product set and I can't imagine them putting any effort into developing it,  so I think I'll probably not bother.

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5 hours ago, JL_HSTRE said:

4. Cross-listed waymarks. Right now the same thing is sometimes in 3 or more categories. 

Apparently the issue with this is the fact that different categories are run by different groups. I think the best way to do it is have someone create a waymark, and then have a drop down list for each department for them to select which categories they want to try for it to be. From there it can either be approved or declined by each individual group

Edited by pixelteer425
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8 hours ago, MartyBartfast said:

 

  • Again because of the free for all nature we had some really rubbish cagegories - McDonalds & Burger King, really?

If some of the above were addressed I might be tempted to go back, but I don't think Groundspeak see it as part of their primary product set and I can't imagine them putting any effort into developing it,  so I think I'll probably not bother.

we now have over 1100 categories. Yes, McD's and BK (and Starbucks) are there, but you can pick the categories that interest you, and ignore the rest.

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22 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

Supposedly MrCachly   is working on having an iOS app for Waymarking soon.    :)

13 hours ago, pixelteer425 said:

This however, this I'm really excited for if it's real

 

Veering off-topic (this thread is about Locationless ...) , but if you clicked on the link, you saw it's the same person/group that created the Cachly app for geocaching.

 - So I'd say it's a good bet.    :)

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1 hour ago, cerberus1 said:

 

Veering off-topic (this thread is about Locationless ...) , but if you clicked on the link, you saw it's the same person/group that created the Cachly app for geocaching.

 - So I'd say it's a good bet.    :)

Yeah, we are a bit off topic... I’ll give that thread a read! I completely skipped over the link in your post so I didn’t even think to check it out

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14 minutes ago, Max and 99 said:

I'll get us back on topic. Everything I know about Locationless Caches U learned from Cerberus. Although there were some interesting ones I would have enjoyed finding, I don't think I'd want them back. 

 

I enjoyed Locationless Caches very much.  I found 84 of them!  Always several sitting in my brain.  "There's a turtle!  Let's help him across the road"  Visqueney Dough Boys took a bit of work.  But we found two!  Waymarks are NOT the same thing.  Locationless - Only one cacher could find a particle item.  Waymarking - Everybody can find the same one.  The incorrect 'Locationless' Signal the Frog is actually a Waymark, not a Locationless.  I'm sorry that Locationless are gone, but I don't really want them back.

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25 minutes ago, Harry Dolphin said:

 

I enjoyed Locationless Caches very much.  I found 84 of them!  Always several sitting in my brain.  "There's a turtle!  Let's help him across the road"  Visqueney Dough Boys took a bit of work.  But we found two!  Waymarks are NOT the same thing.  Locationless - Only one cacher could find a particle item.  Waymarking - Everybody can find the same one.  The incorrect 'Locationless' Signal the Frog is actually a Waymark, not a Locationless.  I'm sorry that Locationless are gone, but I don't really want them back.

I know little to nothing about them, so I appreciate that feedback.

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43 minutes ago, Harry Dolphin said:

I enjoyed Locationless Caches very much.  I found 84 of them!  Always several sitting in my brain.  "There's a turtle!  Let's help him across the road"  Visqueney Dough Boys took a bit of work.  But we found two!  Waymarks are NOT the same thing.  Locationless - Only one cacher could find a particle item.  Waymarking - Everybody can find the same one.  The incorrect 'Locationless' Signal the Frog is actually a Waymark, not a Locationless.  I'm sorry that Locationless are gone, but I don't really want them back.

 

Yep.  We found 85, and were surprised how tough it was to find one not found by another.  

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