Geocaching in the Media

[Lime]

Okay, lets try this again. I recently saw an article on Geocaching in my local paper. My question is, should we promote Geocaching through the media?

[+jhwf44]

Well, I voted yes, because I think it would be good to have more cachers out there, and more caches to find. The only bad thing about it is that if we get to many cachers, and people start getting cheap, cahces will lose there value and interest, and it could create more noticable destructions of nature...hmm...I think I should have voted no. Well I guess we can let teh media spread it, but not too much...well then again you can't control the spread of a RASH too well

 

jhwf4

[+culpc]

More media would mean more caches and better awarness on the part of the public for caching. There would be some dilution of the quality of the caches, but there would also be more caches in more places, which would mean more scenery to see!

 

Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son!

[+culpc]

More media would mean more caches and better awarness on the part of the public for caching. There would be some dilution of the quality of the caches, but there would also be more caches in more places, which would mean more scenery to see!

 

Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son!

[+GPComd]

I voted no on this.

 

On the one hand, as stated earlier - more cachers will eventually equate to more caches. This is definetely a good thing.

 

More cachers will also mean more 'unofficial' cachers - folks that get the coords, go out, and trash the cache. Considering how well most of the caches are hidden, and how hard they are to find when I'm LOOKING for it, I find it beyond mere coincidence the number of caches that get trashed. Someone purposely goes looking for a cache to steal/vandalize it. There's not that many hunters wandering the backwoods of the world who accidently find a tupperware container buried under a pile of leaves.

 

I've been spreading the word with friends at work - people that I know won't trache a cache. A couple of them have started up with their kids.

 

Of course, I started caching from an article I read in a magazine - so maybe I'm wrong about the whole thing. After all, if 20 new people in the area start, and put out 40 new caches, only a few of those are going to get ripped. End result is still more caches to find.

 

ARRRGH. This is like:

The following statement is true:

The previous statement is false.

 

GPComd

Contents under pressure, do not puncture.

[+GPComd]

I voted no on this.

 

On the one hand, as stated earlier - more cachers will eventually equate to more caches. This is definetely a good thing.

 

More cachers will also mean more 'unofficial' cachers - folks that get the coords, go out, and trash the cache. Considering how well most of the caches are hidden, and how hard they are to find when I'm LOOKING for it, I find it beyond mere coincidence the number of caches that get trashed. Someone purposely goes looking for a cache to steal/vandalize it. There's not that many hunters wandering the backwoods of the world who accidently find a tupperware container buried under a pile of leaves.

 

I've been spreading the word with friends at work - people that I know won't trache a cache. A couple of them have started up with their kids.

 

Of course, I started caching from an article I read in a magazine - so maybe I'm wrong about the whole thing. After all, if 20 new people in the area start, and put out 40 new caches, only a few of those are going to get ripped. End result is still more caches to find.

 

ARRRGH. This is like:

The following statement is true:

The previous statement is false.

 

GPComd

Contents under pressure, do not puncture.

[+culpc]

Great thought-"Don't trache a cache"

 

Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son!

[+culpc]

Great thought-"Don't trache a cache"

 

Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son!

[+briansnat]

I first found out about Geocaching in a local newspaper. From what I've seen a lot of people found out about it this way. We do need fresh Geocachers joining the sport, or else our caches will sit out there, lonely, after all the local regulars have found them.

 

On the downside, publicity brings our sport to the attention of the authorities, which has led to it's banning by some inflexible and unimaginative land managers. In this respect, it was probably better when we were under the radar screen.

 

More cachers also mean more bad caches and more bad cachers (I mean the type who have no regard for area around a cache, or the cache itself...by leaving it open, or unhidden, or filled with broken McToys and other garbage) and more plundering. So media epxosure is a trade-off, but in the end we need it to keep the sport growing.

 

"Life is a daring adventure, or it is nothing" - Helen Ke

[+Sabaharr]

it can only help our cause. Park officials that see GOOD articles are more inclined to be cooperative and less negative. If they never heard about us they usually think you are some individual wacko and blow off your request to hide a cache in their park. I carry positive articles in my pouch for just such occasions. Also, an article in my local paper in early 2001 is what informed me about geocaching. Had it not been for that I never would have known.

 

Sabaharr

[+RobAGD]

Well rather intresting that I just had an intresting little phone interview with a local county paper about geocaching. She has a few finds herself and is writing about it and geocaching.

 

With my current sport of choice being paintball I have seen how it has grown with very little outside influance. Back in teh day we were considered weird old guys that were praticing war in the woods using paintball guns. We wanted to change this view, so off came the comos and on went the bright jerseys and bright colored gun played on big open fields. The indrustry has seen growth for several years where the $$ was doubling.

 

The down side is that we have more retards running around shooting people & property with paintball guns and hurting the sport overall.

 

I think you will see the same thing to some extent but if you want it to be more popular and have more things to do then you have to take the good with the bad.

 

BTW - I learned of geocaching from /. as I recall it seems like a long time ago before the site was www.geocaching.com. In fact the one cache I kinda went after actually had 2 sets of instructions, 1 for using GPS the other for using a compas.

 

-Robert