get a fake gold travel bug when you hit 100 cahces???? good or not

[bardmin12]

get a fake gold travel bug when you hit 100 cahces???? good or not

 

a member of team harrald

[+Roadster]

I think thats an ideal

 

I'm only have 92 to go

 

The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.

 

[This message was edited by Roadster on March 02, 2003 at 06:31 PM.]

[+The Leprechauns]

One of the best things about this activity: there are no winners and losers. It really isn't about the numbers, it's about getting outdoors and spending quality time by yourself and/or with those you're close to. When I describe geocaching to muggles, I am often asked "who wins the game?" and "how do you keep score?" and it is fun to see the look on their faces when I answer "everybody wins" and "there is no score."

 

So, I voted no. Even though I'd be entitled to two of these pins, and that I've made big celebrations out of our 100th and 200th finds. I don't want to have any official recognition other than the find count on the site. They are all just geocaches, whether it's one of my 3/3 or 4/5 finds, a multicache with a puzzle to solve, a quick 1/1 cache in a park I didn't know about, a virtual cache that made me say "wow, cool!", or an urban microcache that had me going around in circles for 45 minutes.

 

If we start handing out pins, I think we'd see more people slanting their find counts and going after quantity rather than quality in their experiences. We'd see people complaining that so-and-so didn't really "earn" their little badge because they mainly found virtuals, or micros, or whatever. There's enough of that going on already, myself included. (Not that I've ever faked a find, but it sure is fun to watch the total jump up by 15 or 20 after a marathon day of caching!)

 

If you wanted to make up a pin, a t-shirt or a hat that said "100 FINDS!" I would say go for it, and congratulations on your achievement. But don't make it some official thing.

 

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I was formerly employed by the Department of Redundancy Department, but I don't work there anymore.

 

[This message was edited by The Leprechauns on March 02, 2003 at 05:27 PM.]

[umc]

Maybe after a 1000 finds but not 100.

 

______________________________________________________________________________________

So far so good, somewhat new owner of a second/new Garmin GPS V 20 plus finds so far with little to no problem. We'll see what happens when there are leaves on the trees again.

[+ClayJar]

It's not the quantity, it's the paddling.

 

Assigning a number is not exactly logical, really, since it wouldn't be compatible with the way many of us cache. I don't often say, "Oh, look, a cache near me!" and run out the door. I usually spend a few hours with Watcher going through five states of cache pages to find the few that *really* interest me, and then I sometimes might take a whole weekend to do just one.

 

For others, perhaps numbers are more applicable.

[+DBleess]

No, never. Keep score out of it, keep rewards and compensation out of it. Keep any motivation or temptation for cheating and the causing of confusion out of it. Keep geocaching as informal and as unorganized in that respect as possible. There are already threads filled with flames from those who have taken geocaching too seriously, personally, and competitively. No need to make it worse.

 

SA / PP-ASEL-I

[+DustyJacket]

I would say not.

The reward of Geo-caching is the activity.

 

Plus, there already seem to be more than enough folks logging false "finds". You would make the cache owner verify each name? I don't think so......

 

DustyJacket

...If life was fair, a banana split would cure cancer.

[+Roadster]

I think it would be nice to have something to show how many caches you have found, maybe at every 100th. BUT! if this was to makes people want to cheat then that would stop the fun of it, or make it Not a hobby anymore. mmhhhhhh, I think you talked me out of it.

 

dadgum I'm too easy!

 

The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.

[+briansnat]

Numbers are important to many of us. Some of us may not admit it, or even realize it though. I was never a numbers person, but when I saw I was over the 90 mark, 100 became a goal. When I reached it, I had a sense of achievement.

 

If geocaching.com sold patches for 100 cache finds, I think that would be great.

 

A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away. -Barry Goldwater

[+Dave_W6DPS]

You can chase numbers if you want, but pardon me for not being really impressed.

 

Some of us have jobs and/or lives that allow a lot of time for geocaching, others don't.

 

Some of us live in areas with hundreds of caches close to home, and some of us don't.

 

Some of us are into travel bugs, and some of us are not.

 

I don't see the point of tying a travel bug to found numbers, anyway. Now maybe "buy ten bugs get a gold colored one free", or something similar would be interesting.

 

Dave_W6DPS

 

My two cents worth, refunds available on request. (US funds only)

[+MaxEntropy]

quote:

---

Originally posted by BrianSnat:

If geocaching.com sold patches for 100 cache finds, I think that would be great.

---

 

I think that Brian has it. When you hit landmarks, buy a patch, perhaps a 200, 300, 400 etc arc. It would be for personal bragging rights and perhaps promoting the game. I'd sew it on my back pack.

Of course it would be unnecessary for the site to verify these claims before selling them, that would lead to problems. If someone wants to lie about it, let 'em.

It would benefit the site if they were sold in the Geocaching.com store.

 

Mickey

Max Entropy

More than just a name, a lifestyle.

[+Divine]

My opinion goes pretty much with Dave_W6DPS here. Some people have 1000+ caches within 100 mile radius from their home. That's about the total number of caches in whole Sweden. It's also about 8 times the total number of caches in Finland. The prize would probably increase the amount of fake finds in general.

 

OTOH, I'd have nothing against it if Groundspeak sold some milestone trinkets for people's personal celebration.

 

- All you need is a sick mind and a healthy body. -

[+Planet]

Because the cache finds differ from area to area. Go to parts of California and you can hit 100 in a week. Other places 100 can take a year or more. Now maybe for 1000 finds, there are some who have hit this mark. And then are you awarding the bug for traditional, virtual, locationless, benchmarks, mystery? It's just not a fair number, reward, or goal. And for some folks (like our friendly neighborhood dress wearing lumberjack) there are only 239 caches in the whole state.

 

Cache you later,

Planet

 

I feel much more like I do now than when I first got here.

[RastaDave]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Roadster:

The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.

[This message was edited by Roadster on March 02, 2003 at 06:31 PM.]

---

...and you can't add chlorine, either.

[BassoonPilot]

This has been discussed before, and I agree that a geocaching dog tag/pin/patch for the 100, 250, 500, and 1000 levels would be nice, especially for the younger crowd.

 

Sure, the items would be purchased and worn by a few people who had not earned them (not unlike military emblems and paraphenalia), but those people also wouldn't take the pride in them that a young person perhaps realizing their first personal achievements would.

 

Such items might also motivate some young people to 'get out more.'

[+Harrald]

I think this is going to end up costing me money. Is the Bardmin trying to drop a hint?

 

I like the idea of being able to buy a nifty item to celebrate a milestone. I wouldn't wear it but I guess someone will.

 

On another note. Use spell check!!!

 

====================================

As always, the above statements are just MHO.

====================================

[+Marky]

quote:

---

Originally posted by bardmin12:

get a fake gold travel bug when you hit 100 caches???? good or not

---

What do I get when I hit 1000?

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

[+wimseyguy]

because as has already been said here-it's no about the numbers. Yes I'm getting close to my 100th and will try to pick a special cache for that one just for my own kiks and giggles. But no because- I found four this past Sunday and walked away from the last two feeling like I had eaten some snackwells (not markwells-they are very satisying). I had a better time spending 2+ hours looking for one that had me way out in the woods last fall than I did just parking and grabbing on Sunday. Will that stop me from doing so, well probably not but don't give me a merit badge for it. Now 1000 is a different story; maybe a free gold plated CAT scan or MRI would be in order for that level of ________(insert your own definition here).

 

These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes;

Nothing remains quite the same.

Through all of the islands and all of the highlands,

If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

[+Roadster]

I just can't understand why people would want to cheat, they are cheating themselves in a way, who cares how many you have, I love the adventure and the exercise! A patch would be good at every 100th and a party for every 1000th!!

 

quote:

---

...and you can't add chlorine, either.

---

That is so true!!!!

 

The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.

[OntarioGuy]

hmmm

 

[+Team Boogidy]

quote:

---

I just can't understand why people would want to cheat, they are cheating themselves in a way, who cares how many you have, I love the adventure and the exercise! A patch would be good at every 100th and a party for every 1000th!!

---

There is a person or persons out my way that every time they go to a cache they log it as a find. There is one cache they've logged 5 times!!!! Another, 3 times. They log finds when getting a T.B.from a cache they've already logged.

Admittedly, I am looking forward to my 100th, I was happy about my 50th!

 

...Running over the same old ground, what have we found?...

[GRANDMASTER CACHE]

If I was to "reward" anybody, I'd scan over a person/team's logs when they hit "25" HIDES If they are good, and not all film cannisters thrown out the window just for the purpose of a "hide," I'd give them a patch. 25 good hides no doubt helps my site grow. It doesn't take but a few minutes to scan over the caches a person has placed and read the reviews.

 

People like Marky and Joani and Nightracker jump to mind as two "teams" that really set the standards for this game. If everybody followed their lead, I'd have members out the yazoo, and I'd definitely want to somehow show my gratification to hiders like these for making the sport (and my site) possible!

 

Alas, then some folks feelings get hurt, or they want to hide good caches but can't afford it (hey, money's tight for a lot of folks, sometimes) Some might become infuriated because they are denied a "patch" when an approver has to remind them that 25 film cannisters in various parking lot bushes wasn't the "goal."

 

But I hope people in local areas do try and take care of those who invest the real dough into this sport - that of ammo cans and good start-up treats. You know who they are. Post 'em a note, invite them out for a pizza dinner - or a bunch of ya get together and get a couple of sweatshirts printed out for the person/team with their name on it. "Rewards" don't always have to come from an established "organization." Establish your own and chip in for a "reward." Keep it local, and decentralized - that's why a lot of us really enjoy this sport - WE make it what it is.

 

Patches would be cool. If you can buy them for finds, that's great. If you don't want any commemoration - that's fine too; don't buy one. But wouldn't it be cool to have one of those membership dollars go to a nice patch/pin for those who, upon review, deserve thanks for planting the seeds that allow this sport to bloom?

 

And I'm not in any way "self-endorsing" either. We've got a LONG way to go (if ever) we'd come close to the likes of M&J and NightTracker. They're just ultimate "role models" of how caches should be stocked/hidden and people like them (I'm sure every town has 'em, these are just two of the many that come to mind in my area) make the sport what it is. Without 'em, there'd BE no GC.Com. Thanks, awesome hiders!!!

 

If you hide it, they will come.

Grandmaster Cache

Tank at: FISH WHISPERER'S LAGOON

[BassoonPilot]

Grandmaster, I don't disagree with you, but don't most geocachers express their gratitude to cache owners in their logs?

 

Some have even been known to include the words "Thank" and "you" ... consecutively.

[GRANDMASTER CACHE]

Good manners should be expected; it's always nice to recognize the "above and beyond."

 

Of course, reading through most trade-logs, I know that good manners are not the norm, so I'm not going to argue that case, even though I agree wholeheartedly that is indeed a nice gesture to not only thank, but also trade up a person's well-thought/planned cache. Here I go dreaming, again! lol

 

If you hide it, they will come.

Grandmaster Cache

Tank at: FISH WHISPERER'S LAGOON

[+ErSamin]

Granted, I don't have hundreds of finds (around the mid-60's as of now) but what I have heard from cachers around here, and what I did for my 50th was to make that milestone find a particular scenic, difficult or critically acclaimed cache. My 50th was "Survivor Sacramento" and though I have nothing to signify that other than a few pictures and what I wrote in the log, I will always remember it. It's not the outward trappings, but the memories that count. (edited for spelling error...though there are probably more I didn't catch!)

 

"Could be worse...could be raining"

[+Roadster]

quote:

---

Team Boogidy (bottom quote) ...Running over the same old ground, what have we found?...

---

 

"...the same old fears?"

 

The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.

[+Quest Master]

I think that the only reward that one should ever expect receive from finding 100 geocaches is the fun they had finding 100 geocaches. Isn't that reward enough?

 

I do think, though, that there ought to be a Hall of Shame for anyone who finds 100 geocaches and does not support the website by signing up for a premium membership.

 

Johnny

[+JoGPS]

I agree with Quest Master…….JOE