Geogamer.com -- anyone else seen this yet?

June 9, 2002

I received an email inviting me to take part in a "new sport" called geogaming. Did anyone else get this? What do you think? Are these the same people who conducted the telephone conference calls a few months back? It looks like someone is trying to muscle in and make some money beside Jeremy. I'm not making a judgment... yet. Just calling it to the attention of my fellow geocaching.com forum users. Here's the email I received:

-------------------

A special invitation from GeoGamer

Dear fellow Cacher,

As you know, the sport of Geocaching has been exploding in popularity throughout the world. After interviewing hundreds of players across the country, we found a common interest among devotees of the sport. Cachers are looking for a game where they can participate in competitive caching activities with an online scoring and ranking system.

On June 1st, GeoGamer.com launched a new dimension to the GPS sporting community and we invite you to become an integral part of the game¹s initial rollout. GeoGamer is currently recruiting caching enthusiasts who are active in the sport to become a ³CacheHost².

Please visit www.GeoGamer.com to find out all the details and secure your player name by registering on our site. As a special bonus to our friends here at the Inland Empire Geocachers Picnic, go to http://www.GeoGamer.com/secret to order your first set of CacheHost stickers FREE!

Sincerely,

GeoGamer.com

[This message was edited by Ken & Robin on June 09, 2002 at 06:21 PM.]

June 9, 2002

Yeah I got that today too! I went ahead and registered and applied for the stickers just to see what happens.

I don't think they got my address at least, from Geocaching. I think they spidered it from a geocaching web page I maintain.

Besides, thier "game-play" sounds like more effort than most folks want to put into. I mean, buying stickers for caches at 6 bucks a pop (can't place one without it), snail mailing coins back...etc.

Mike (The DirtMan) Pellerin

aka Badger

dirtman@iname.com

Jason Dobson

aka "Jay" "J"

Myth8499@aol.com

June 9, 2002

For anyone who b|tches about the commercialization of Geocaching.com in relation to "memberships", this GeoGamer looks to be the complete commercial side of this coin.

They are all about "pay-to-play" and as far as I can tell, there is no other way to participate.

Sad but true... someone was bound to try to steal Jeremy's fire... part of a free-market system!

----------

Lori aka: RedwoodRed

KF6VFI

"I don't get lost, I investigate alternative destinations."

GeoGadgets Team Website

Comics, Video Games and Movie Fansite

"Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm. And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is." - Yoda, Jedi Master from Star Wars - Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back

June 9, 2002

Something else that I'm curious about...

Could pre-existing caches become cross-overs? You know, listed on both Geocaching.com and GeoGamer.com?

It seems that the only thing to stop it is lack of fundage to place the coins and sticker inside the cache...

3.1k · June 9, 2002

I checked it out and wasn't impressed. It's very commercial for certain. Now I don't mind paying for things but, I want something in return. I did a search for caches and found NONE in Oregon. It seemed to me there were only 5 listed in the United States.

Never Squat With Yer Spurs On

3.5k · June 9, 2002

There's zero caches in Texas! Geocaching.com has a big head start on them.

June 9, 2002

I'm wouldn't assume that just because there are no caches listed in my state (Wisconsin) that geogamers.com will fail. After all, when I started with geocaching.com, there were only 2 caches in Wisconsin.

June 9, 2002

I wouldn't touch this with a 10-foot pole. It actually reminds me of an elaborate pyramid scheme. Like a pyramid scheme, the cache placer buys the initial product ($6 coins) and then convinces as many people as possible to participate in the dissemination of the product thereby earning a share of the profit gained by each recruited participant (In this case, points for 'valuable' merchandise earned by visitors to your caches collecting and returning the coins.).

The caches already in place are mere teasers. They've all been placed by one individual and visited by the same four people. They're all placed in locations designed for a high volume of visitors guaranteeing maximum accumulation of points for the 'valuable ' merchandise.

Clearly, the impetus behind all of this is to have as many cachers visit your caches as possible. That's where the competition they so proudly tout comes in. Quality of caching experience is not an element of this game. The best (most visited) caches are bound to be the ones placed on busy freeway exits.

There is absolutely nothing said about caching etiquette and land stewardship. If your introduction to caching came from this website then you'd have no way of knowing which lands are appropriate for caching and which are not.

This whole thing stinks and the more I think about it the more pissed off I get....

June 9, 2002

That's the kind of feedback I was interested in seeing. I tend to agree with your assessment.

June 9, 2002

www.geogamer.com is a beta site. Just launched. I got the same email mentioned above. The site loads very slow (especially the forums) and doesn't have much to offer, unless you 'register'. I registered today and there were just three of us in the forums debating what will become of that site. It definately has that 'marketing' stench to it.

Buy coins and redeem then as points toward gifts. They don't come right out and explain the coins, but you buy them for $2 a piece and put them in your cache ... or take them out of your cache ... I don't know - it's still pretty confusing. The site content doesn't explain it well. If you've registered, you can check out all the lovely merchandise you can get from the paper coins you mail into them!

June 9, 2002

I went and checked it out.

June 9, 2002

I went and checked it out. anybody that goes to that site is wasting there time and cash.

I pay enough for gas and the cost to put a cache out..last thing I want to do is pay six bucks plus shipping buy a coin to redeem stuff from a dollar store.

Why dont I just go straight to the dollar store and buy sick bucks worth of stuff.

That sounds like a better plan to me.

June 9, 2002

I'd like to see the site succeed. Wouldn't it be great if somebody could earn a living doing what I think about (obsessively?) in most of my spare moments. I also get a kick out of the competive potential of the game (The Search geocaching fundraiser was a great adrenaline rush!). While I am reluctant to shell out dollars for geocaching, it could be a new and fresh way to meet my caching fix and feed that monkey on my back. We'll see how far it goes. I'm not likely to dive in too far, however, since there are no caches yet in my state. Think I'll take a wait-and-see approach.

June 10, 2002

Anyone else read Kim(KabKar)'s story about finding a cache? It is 'this weeks story' [sic].

If you haven't read it yet, i'll give you the gist: Kim is wearing a plaid flannel (read: rugged yet feminine credibility), but had trouble figuring out how to use a gps. 'But i was having a totally blonde day' she says in her weak attempt to validate the whole virgin-whore dichotomy that demographically tempts the 18 to 34-year-old males. Our little Alice in Wonderland then resorted to 'playing with it, praying, and cussing' before an anonymous stranger (a 'gentleman,' in this case) showed her how to use it.

As a feminist, this offends me for obvious reasons.

As an english major, this offends me because ripping off Carrol is so transparently banal. geogaming dot com is no freaking john updike.

As a normal guy, this offends me because i'm pretty sure that Kim's story is methodically designed to make me think that caching via their website will facilitate meeting hot young girls out in the woods looking for direction. It's an insult to my relative intelligence.

June 10, 2002

Interesting, she got her GPS, didn't read the manual, just went to look for the cache. Question, if she didn't read the manual, how did she enter the waypoints? This isn't something that is self expanitory. Sounds like a made up story from the owners of the site.

June 10, 2002

Man, I wish some of the locationless fans would wonder over there and let these geolamers have it.

I can see it now:

Locationless fan: Why'd you deny my cache?

Lamer: Well, it dont exist

Locationless fan: Hugh?

Lamer: It dont exist, how can you put our little coins in it if it don't exist?

Locationless fan: Ya but its really cool!

Lamer: Thats not how it's played...

Locationless fan: Ya but its a YELLOW jeep! Get it, Y-E-L-L-O-W, Cool hugh?

Lamer: Butt...

Locationless fan: I'm gonna submit this again. Fascist.

Lamer: *runs away screaming*

A few doses of that and these dorks would never darken your emailbox again.

June 10, 2002

Hey no one loves the book "Atlas Shrugged" more then me, but this new site does not offer anything to excite me away from the Geocaching site.

I agree with the earlier comments about the system the site uses does not promote anything other then people trying to place caches in the most visited of locations. Since my favorite caches are the ones that are the hardest to get to, this is completely backwards to my thinking.

That said, I do like the idea of trading something of value. For most part the stuff in caches stink. There are exceptions, but they are few. Travel Bugs are very cool, but I do think it would be cool to be able to leave something like gift certificates to Geocaching.com that you could accumulate. Not that I really want it to become about the money. But there have been times that someone put SOOOooo much work into a cache that you want to thank them for the wonderful time you had, and at the same time reward them so they have encouragement to create more.

June 10, 2002

Sounds like they are spamming people to me

I haven't received an e-mail from them, yet, but I see no difference from them and the million other "companies" that send e-mail for profit. I checked out the site myself and on the "about us" page I saw words like "valuable merchandise, online catalog, $6 (plus shipping)". You can even go to the "Adventure Shop" for "all the details." If that is what you find on the "About us" page, then that MUST be what they are about!

KYtrex

[This message was edited by KYtrex on June 10, 2002 at 04:44 AM.]

[This message was edited by KYtrex on June 10, 2002 at 04:51 AM.]

June 10, 2002

Sounds like they are spamming people to me

I haven't received an e-mail from them, yet, but I see no difference from them and the million other "companies" that send e-mail for profit. I checked out the site myself and on the "about us" page I saw words like "valuable merchandise, online catalog, $6 (plus shipping)". You can even go to the "Adventure Shop" for "all the details." If that is what you find on the "About us" page, then that MUST be what they are about!

KYtrex

[This message was edited by KYtrex on June 10, 2002 at 04:44 AM.]

[This message was edited by KYtrex on June 10, 2002 at 04:51 AM.]

5k · June 10, 2002

quote:
Originally posted by oregone:
...caching via their website will facilitate meeting hot young girls out in the woods looking for direction...

No kidding? I gotta check this out!

Jamie

5k · June 10, 2002

quote:
Originally posted by oregone:
...caching via their website will facilitate meeting hot young girls out in the woods looking for direction...

No kidding? I gotta check this out!

Jamie

June 10, 2002

I will never leave geocaching.com over a other website..

I support this website dearly.. It's really great.. and there are many things yet to come.. This website will always stay the biggest geocaching related website..

I will support it and i will be a charter member in a few months..

Irresisti

N12º 55.475

E100º 52.865

June 10, 2002

#1 reason I don't like geogamer --> you HAVE to register.

I don't like to register first before knowing the content of a website. That's why I like geocaching.com. You don't have to register if you don't want to. I visited geocaching.com a few times before I joined and all the personal information I had to input was my zipcode. Sure, it's nice to have a listing of the caches I've found, sure it's nice to give input on the forums, but I didn't -have- to. In addition, I didn't -have- to become a charter member, I could have remained at the geocacher level. I chose to become a charter member because I want to support Jeremy's efforts in this website and in expanding geocaching in general. I don't geocache to make money. I believe any attempt to do so will fail.

1.8k · June 10, 2002

Well Miss Kim @ Geogamer.com i'm laughing at ya bimbo. This is sure to be a fabricated story. If she didn't know how to use her GPS how did she end up in the wilderness looking for a cache. Entering a waypoint is most basic and essential befor hitting the trails. What she just happend to stumble upon the cache area and nice man to help her, give me a break! I have been caching out here in Bay Area for 3 months now and have yet to stumble across a fellow geocacher to lend me a hand not that I ever needed help. I support geocaching.com only. I am a charter member and intend and on staying that way. Hea Jeremy need more money, we have some. Also not all women with blonde hair are that stupid. I am a woman and have blonde hair with 50 plus finds under my belt. Beat that Kim if you can figure out how to work your little GPS.

Team SuperGenius

Pepper

Horizontals where it's at!

June 10, 2002

Just a word of warning.

Don't register your name on there using your geocaching.com name and the same password you use on here.

Alex.

June 10, 2002

Here is a response from the www.geogamer.com admin, to a comment made by one of its new members in their message forum:

"... I can assure you that this isn’t a “Test” and no one is making a marketing guinea pig out of anyone. We have done a lot of research and found that some cachers not only wanted to have fun, but were also interested in a way to be “rewarded” for their caching activities. And we hope that this site will provide a fun way to do it.

The CacheCoin concept came about as a means to track activity, add value to the game and to support prize awards. The CacheHost idea was meant to get as many people involved as possible who already had caches stashed. You don’t have to hide special “GeoGamer” caches (although some players might do just that in order to collect more game points). All you have to do is place a CacheHost validation card in your existing Geocaching cache (or any other registered site cache) and list them on GeoGamer. To get players started, I can provide some free CacheHost stickers (while supply lasts) if you send me an eMail with your mailing address.

Lastly, if this concept works out (like we expect it will), GeoGamer will be able to help caching clubs and other organizations run their own caching events as fundraisers. We can produce custom gaming supplies, provide access to our online prize catalog for event winners, and help with online advertising ..."

June 10, 2002

After reading the quote that Jackabcd2 just posted, I am more annoyed than I was before. I hope that the rest of you will join me in boycotting their operation.

The Kim story is surely fake and the whole thing has a bad stench. I know that they put a lot of work into it, but that's tough. Boo hiss...

Seth!

June 10, 2002

I think I'll register under an assumed name and trash them in their own forums. Muah hah hah hah haaaaaaah! }

June 10, 2002

I think I'll register under an assumed name and trash them in their own forums. Muah hah hah hah haaaaaaah! }

June 10, 2002

Geogaming is marketing.

a) Research a new trend. (geocaching)

Discover where potential for profit is being neglected. (By making geocaching competitive, people will pay for the means to track their success)

c) Invent a hook attractive enough that people will part with their money. (Website, coins, labels etc.)

d) Provide sufficient infrastructure to give the appearance of legitimacy. (Forums, group activities, prospect of charitable donations etc.)

This is geocaching back-asswards.

What personally angers me about this (and I don't expect anyone else to share my ire) is the base commercialization of an activity I've enjoyed in large part because of its grassroots community oriented origins.

The only way I would view Geogaming with a less critical eye is:

1. Produce the research that says cachers really want this.

2. Give us the geocaching.com web names of each founder of Geogaming so we can view the number of finds and hides and type of log entries they've made. After all, the founders of Geogaming must be active participants in Geocaching.com. How else would they know the game as well as they say? They must be active respected members of the geocaching community that want nothing more than to improve the game. Surely they're not in this for the money because (being such informed members of the geocaching community) they clearly understand how jaundiced an eye we cast at commercialization of our activity.

June 10, 2002

I went and read this story. It reminds me of a letter to Playboy. (I only read for the pictures ) Hi, my name is Kim, and I love to geogame. I am 34-24-34 and love to hunt for caches in my underwear. Sometimes I can be found applying skin-so-soft to help keep the mosquitos away. If you join now, you might just find me and help me apply the lotion.

Maybe we could follow their lead and start several sites like this, if there is so much demand. How about geoTV. You can now be competetive in how much TV you watch. Watching TV for free is not that much fun. First, buy our TV coins and then watch some TV. Send in one coin for each show you watch and we will credit your account. Then get your friends to buy some of our coins. Or, maybe GeoStickball/basketball. If playing sports with your friends for free is boring. Buy or Geo sports coins. Then organize a game of street hockey and send in a coin for each goal you make. If you buy enough coins we will mention your name on the website and send you a sticker. Next, GeoLunch. You can eat anywhere you like, just send in a coin for your meals and tell your friends. The possibilities are endless. No more boring activities that you formerly did for free.

Everywhere that cache is found,

Bound to Cover Just a Little More Ground.

-Dru Morgan www.theheavenlyhost.com/dru

June 10, 2002

I went and read this story. It reminds me of a letter to Playboy. (I only read for the pictures ) Hi, my name is Kim, and I love to geogame. I am 34-24-34 and love to hunt for caches in my underwear. Sometimes I can be found applying skin-so-soft to help keep the mosquitos away. If you join now, you might just find me and help me apply the lotion.

Maybe we could follow their lead and start several sites like this, if there is so much demand. How about geoTV. You can now be competetive in how much TV you watch. Watching TV for free is not that much fun. First, buy our TV coins and then watch some TV. Send in one coin for each show you watch and we will credit your account. Then get your friends to buy some of our coins. Or, maybe GeoStickball/basketball. If playing sports with your friends for free is boring. Buy or Geo sports coins. Then organize a game of street hockey and send in a coin for each goal you make. If you buy enough coins we will mention your name on the website and send you a sticker. Next, GeoLunch. You can eat anywhere you like, just send in a coin for your meals and tell your friends. The possibilities are endless. No more boring activities that you formerly did for free.

Everywhere that cache is found,

Bound to Cover Just a Little More Ground.

-Dru Morgan www.theheavenlyhost.com/dru

June 10, 2002

It's clear to me that geocaching.com has established a community of loyalty. I've checked out the website and am not offended in the least. If anything, this is one result of the many times I've heard people say, "If you don't like the way Jeremy plays, go buy your own servers, write your own code, build your own database, and start your own geocaching service."

Jeremy has a great advantage over any others willing to try to do this. Geocaching.com has a momentum of its own ... who wants to list their cache on a database that only has five others? It's going to take an excellent design and different approach to make people move or at least re-post their caches elsewhere.

Give others a chance before you "register under an assumed name and trash them in their own forums"

... hopefully Jeremy will recognize that this potential competetive service actually is responding to an unmet demand for "rewards" and build in some similar games. If it's not a real demand, the new site will surely fail.

Time will tell.

2.6k · June 10, 2002

I don't see myself spending any more energy reading their site. If you want to do it. Go ahead. Finding a cache so that I collect coins to redeemed for some trinkets sound so Chuck-E-Cheeze. I can find caches here for the price of gas and a few diet pepsis. I do it for the hunt, not for the stuff inside. Most of the time I don't even trade.

george

Remember: Half the people you meet are below average.

June 10, 2002

I read that story...first...the girl in the picture isn't blonde, but the girl writing the story claims to be blonde. Second, I searched every cache on the site, and that user has not logged a single find. This is definately a sham. I mean fine, you want to start up a site, ok, cool, but don't go creating fake entries, fake stories, and so on, that's just plain dishonest.

ummmm....not sure what to say here....so ummm, well errrr, uhhhh, well I guess that's it.

June 10, 2002

I don't think the statment of having "a blonde day" means literally that her hair turned blonde in color ...

It's as if you need to discount an alternative to geocaching.com for some reason. If you like geocaching.com, do as George (and I) ... stick with what you consider the best service for you. But don't make nit-picky comments about a one-day old alternative. They're just trying to get started. The story by Kim may just be a place holder until they actually have someone who has an experience to tell.

Again, just because geocaching.com has all the data (two whole years of it) doesn't mean we want to stop any potential new services before they can get off the ground.

[This message was edited by DisQuoi on June 10, 2002 at 01:18 PM.]

June 10, 2002

quote:
Originally posted by RAD Dad:
This is definately a sham. I mean fine, you want to start up a site, ok, cool, but don't go creating fake entries, fake stories, and so on, that's just plain dishonest.

I first heard of this site yesterday and poked around a bit.

Honestly I didn't look *THAT* closely until I saw this thread.

Basically I did a search from my zipcode, heard a snicker through my speakers as day-taint-nuffin listed in my area.

At that point I thought I should pop in the forums

Not very many posts at all at that point but since you never know what'll happen in the future I said hello.

I spent about three seconds reading the "Kim" story, didn't give it enough thought at the time to realize it was a put-on.

I used a throw-away email address, and I'm glad I did.

So to make a short story long.... I initially dismissed the site as an honest attempt that has no chance of success. Now I think it's run by a con artist with no chance of sucess.

Since this is already a somewhat downer of a thread....

RAD Dad, do you *REALLY* need that signature?

"ummmm....not sure what to say here....so ummm, well errrr, uhhhh, well I guess that's it."

I'm speaking for myself here and I already have a reputation as being somewhat a loudmouth so feel free to ignore my opinion but.... Gee-wiz can't you alternate or something? I'm getting facial tics everytime I read it.

20.7k · June 10, 2002

I popped over and poked around the site. I yawned and then came back.

I have no specific problem with alternative sites. Good ones will survive and possibly prosper. Bad ones will die a quick and meaningful death.

That being said, I don't see me using that site. Nor do I use the navicache site. They aren't nearly as good as geocaching.com, so why waste my time.

June 10, 2002

Hey! A free source for waterproof containers!

Will cache for food

June 10, 2002

After reading about "Geogamer" here I had to go and take a look. That's all I did. If they are able to stay alive, so be it however, I could not and would not leave Geocaching.com. Although I don't reply to all the threads listed I am on this website probably 10 times a day, reading and learning from others. Jeremy & CO. have done more for this site and geocaching in general than the "gamers" ever could. Hats off to you guys again for all that you do FOR THE FUN & LOVE OF THE SPORT, GAME, PASSTIME, HOBBY.... Can the "geogamers" say that. Probably not.

June 10, 2002

> d) Provide sufficient infrastructure to give the appearance of legitimacy. (Forums, group activities, prospect of charitable donations etc.)

If you look at their Associations/Clubs page, you'll see some content regarding the St. Louis Geocachers Association (SLAGA). They took a few paragraphs from their FAQ page at www.GeoStL.com and posted it on their site. They never asked anyone from the group for permissions. Not that grabbing info from the public internet is a crime, but if you are trying to get the members of a geocaching group on your side, shouldn't there have been some diplomacy? They make it seem that the group supports the site, when in fact many of them are just finding out about it. (By the way, they listed the St. Louis group under the heading of Illinois. I wonder if they know that St. Louis is in Missouri?)

June 10, 2002

Jeremy & CO. have done more for this site and geocaching in general than the "gamers" ever could

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to reach the conclusion that Jeremy & CO. have done more for geocaching that Geogamer.com. I agree. But to say that they've done more than someone "ever" could? I'm sorry but even if it's proably true, it's an ignorant and stupid thing to say.

"This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." -- Western Union internal memo, 1876.

"The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

"The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea must be feasible." -- A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

"Who the h*** wants to hear actors talk?" -- H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927

"I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper." -- Gary Cooper, on his decision to not take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind."

"A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make." -- Response to Debbi Fields' idea of starting Mrs. Fields' Cookies.

"We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." -- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.

"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." -- Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

"If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can't do this." -- Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M "Post-It" Notepads.

"So we went to Atari and said, 'Hey, we've got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we'll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we'll come work for you.' And they said, 'No.' So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, 'Hey, we don't need you. You haven't got through college yet.'" -- Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and H-P interested in his and Steve Wozniak's personal computer.

"Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools." -- 1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard's revolutionary rocket work.

"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy." -- Drillers whom Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist in his project to drill for oil in 1859.

"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." -- Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929.

"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value." -- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre.

"Everything that can be invented has been invented." -- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

"Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction". -- Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872

"The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon". -- Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873.

"No flying machine will ever fly from New York to Paris." -- Orville Wright.

June 10, 2002

This is a GeoGamer Cache Site - PLEASE READ

Congratulations on finding this GeoGamer CacheBox!

What is GeoGaming all about?

GeoGamer is part of a worldwide game dedicated to GPS (Global Positioning System) enthusiasts. The game is based on a CacheHost hiding a treasure or "cache" (which this container and its contents) along with validation instructions for a point scoring system using CacheCoins™ and posting these exact GPS coordinates on the GeoGamer website. These instructions and clues are provided so that other players can go on a treasure hunting adventure to find caches like this and to earn points that can be toward prizes. (It's kind of like the old "Green Stamp" program).

The rules are simple, if you take something from this cache, please leave something in return and write about your visit in the logbook. If you have CacheCoins to redeem, record the CacheBox I.D. number and the validation coordinates so you can confirm this find on our website and receive game point credits in your account.

Hopefully, the CacheHost who concealed this container has found a good hiding spot on public property. However, sometimes uninterested parties can find caches accidentally. If this happens to be YOU who came across this game cache by accident . . . Congratulations and we cordially invite you to play our game along with us!

All we ask is that you please do not remove or vandalize this container. The real prize here is not in the contents of the cache, but rather with the enjoyment of the great outdoors and having the skills to navigate well enough to find it. The second pleasure is to be able to share your experience with others who may also find pleasure in discovering it on their own adventure.

If the whole idea of GeoGaming sounds like fun to you, go ahead and take something. But please leave something of your own in return for others to find. Then write down your experience in the logbook, and If possible, please let us know that you were here by logging on to the GeoGamer website and sharing your visit with us.

GeoGaming is open to everyone who has access to a GPS unit and posses a sense of adventure. There are similar sites and organizations like ours all over the world. So, if you would like to learn more about the sport, or have any questions or comments for us, please go to:

http://www.GeoGamer.com

Attention Property Owners,

If by chance this cache is located on private property, we at GeoGamer apologize in advance for any inconvenience it may be causing you. If you would like this container removed, please let us know and we will be happy to notify the CacheHost who placed it here so it can be relocated to a more appropriate location.

The CacheHost's Pledge

Once a cache is placed, it is my responsibility to maintain it, as well as the surrounding area. I will return as often as I can to ensure that my cache is not negatively impacting the environment and to ensure that it is in good repair. Once others have visited my cache, I will honor their opinion as to my choice of location and any other concerns they may have regarding it. If the area is becoming overrun or if visitors are disrupting the landscape in any way, I will remove it or relocate it to another more appropriate hiding place.

I didnt know we had to take a pledge.

Are they going to charge association dues to enforce this pledge also.

It appears that someone named netman is the creator of this site. Despite several pleas for him to identify himself in their forums, he wont do it.

Someone needs to do a search to see who owns the website and get the info for the trademarked name of cachecoin.

They are putting a tm after cachecoin so there has to be a paper trail somewhere.

June 10, 2002

here is a link for the patent databasehttp://appft1.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html

June 10, 2002

Recent Caches Found(10 max)

You max out at only being able to find 10 caches.

If anyone is interested you can use the account I set up

username is suckit ...pw is geocaching

June 10, 2002

I think that they have an excellent start for a business. Now, before you begin flaming me, consider this:

They did research, no matter how ill-found or represented;

They have a bee-you-ti-full website, very well crafted and easy to navigate;

They have a good idea to attempt to tap a pre-existing and previously un-tapped market;

They are using forums and email to further their goals...

Many things that are written into business plans and are recommended by business counselors (sp?) as good ways to market a new venture. That website wasn't designed on the spur of the moment. Long-term planning and probably a team of designers went into its production which smells like venture capital to me.

I seriously doubt - though I would love to be corrected - that Jeremy wrote a five-year business plan before launching the geocaching.com website, yet it is successful based on a highly loyal user base and the very addictive game/sport/hobby around which it is based.

If I were Jeremy, et al., I would research this new site and have a copyright lawyer examine the documents and phrasing they are using for copyright violations. Regardless of whether or not they are attempting to augment or steal from geocaching.com, they are a commercial venture and any written content that appears to have been directly copied from this website is a violation.

Hopefully all of their ducks are in the proper rows...

June 10, 2002

quote:
Originally posted by Syn Aka Waynepdx:

It appears that someone named netman is the creator of this site. Despite several pleas for him to identify himself in their forums, he wont do it.

I guess you could ask Smith, Ben

http://www.netsol.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois?STRING=geogamer.com&SearchType=do

June 10, 2002

Disquoi, You’re implying that the promise of this new website may be as substantial as the telephone, the airplane, the Beatles, pasteurization, and brain surgery. All we have to do is wait and see. Your viewpoint is logical but lacking in discernment. The future of Geogaming appears to me to have more in common with Amway or the Publishers Clearing House. Surely you don’t open all your junk mail out of respect for the potential it represents.

Geogaming has a right to exist and its detractors the right not participate in it. But this is implicit in almost all human activity and your vigorous defense of this concept seems unnecessary.

Besides, at one time phrenology, alchemy and the Edsel were all considered to be good ideas.

June 10, 2002

Using the information you provided AllenLacy I found this... PMGI

You'll find Geogamer on this page... Clients

9.1k · June 10, 2002

quote:
They are putting a tm after cachecoin so there has to be a paper trail somewhere.

You don't have to file a trademark application in order to claim common law trademark rights. You can only use the little "R" in a circle if you have a registered trademark. Anybody can put "TM" after a witty catch phrase. Some forum members should consider trademarking their signature lines!

There was also a link to the patent office search engine awhile back in this thread. The right place to search is the trademark database, not the patent database. I just did that, and drew a big fat blank. Neither Geogamers nor cachecoin is a registered trademark.

-- Dave the Leprechaun

Boring attorney by day, adventurous geocacher in his dreams

Geogamer.com -- anyone else seen this yet?

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