+Paul Ag Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Just curious to know all the competitors and associations out there trying to get a slice of Jeremy's pie. How big is the list. In Texas, one we have http://www.texasgeocaching.com/index.asp Is there a list out there? Or should we make one now? Quote Link to comment
+DapperDanMan Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 www.microsoft.com Maybe not now but they always get their fingers in everything. Quote Link to comment
+woodsters Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 I wouldn't say that the Texas Geocaching Association is trying to take a slice of the pie. Many states have formed associations. It just networks cachers from certain areas, whereas Geocaching.com is worldly based. But i am sure some one will attempt to run with this site somewhere and perhaps call it something besides geocaching. I imagine there will be a falling out somewhere here. It happens nearly everywhere on the internet. Just have to stay on your toes is all. One slip and and they got a foot in the door. Next thing you know they wil lbe up and running and will have some followers go with them. Brian Wood Woodsters Outdoors http://www.woodsters.com Quote Link to comment
+southdeltan Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 State organizations can hardly be viewed as competitors. Every state organization that I have seen are there to help geocachers in their state and to provide a way for them to keep in cotact with each other and socialize. All of the state websites I've seen seem to be used to enhance the www.geocaching.com website. They provide resources that www.geocaching.com cannot provide currently and likely won't attempt to since that would require more hours than the site admin have. There are other websites that use geocaching.com information to help geocachers, such as the ranking site. There are a few 'rival' sites that imho pale in comparason. The existance of these sites prove that a 'split' has already happened. southdeltan "Man can counterfeit everything except silence". - William Faulkner Quote Link to comment
+Paul Ag Posted July 1, 2003 Author Share Posted July 1, 2003 I disagree. They do compete a little. If I buy a hat from Texasgeocaching and not Jeremy, Jeremy is losing a dollar. Quote Link to comment
+woodsters Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 But why wouldn't you buy a hat from Jeremy? The sale of Association labled products is entirely different from Geocaching.com . I don't think that Texasgeocaching tells you not to buy a hat from Jeremy and only buy theirs. They sell their own products to support their own missions. If you are a member of Texasgeocaching and use their website and other things, then it would be nice to help support them as little as you can. Jeremy does have a Premium member thing to help out costs, but it's never enough. The purchase of the other products help out just as much. No one is telling you to buy a hat. Buy a hat from who you want and for whatever reasons you want. You can come to my site and buy a Woodsters Outdoors hat, t-shirt, underwear and more. I have a Geocaching forum on my outdoors site. Am I competing? Not even the slightest bit. I can't. Brian Wood Woodsters Outdoors http://www.woodsters.com Quote Link to comment
+Bull Moose Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Message Deleted Never mind. Had a question, but re-read the NW Outdoors piece and that answered it. Quote Link to comment
+woodsters Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Read the history on the About Us page... Brian Wood Woodsters Outdoors http://www.woodsters.com Quote Link to comment
Cracker. Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Paul Ag '94:Just curious to know all the competitors and associations out there trying to get a slice of Jeremy's pie. How big is the list. In Texas, one we have http://www.texasgeocaching.com/index.asp Is there a list out there? Or should we make one now? Jesus!....so now Jeremy is the be-all-end-all geocaching god?....I suppose he invented it, huh? And I suppose we all need to bow down and worship him like the good sheeple we are.... Art www.yankeetoys.org www.BudBuilt.com www.pirate4x4.com Quote Link to comment
+Brian - Team A.I. Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 No, he isn't the be all, end all of geocaching. But before you climb up on your soapbox to b$*#* us out over our freely expressed opinions, where would you be, and where would this sport be if people like Jeremy didn't take the helm and ran with the sport and this site? We'd probably be left with a hodgepodge of sites that are so loosely affiliated that you'd have to look in 17 places to find the 3 caches that popped up <2 miles from your home. Unless of course, you choose to prove me wrong, and take over the site and all subsequent expenses. ...Don't bite the hand that feeds you comes to mind... Now, to get back on topic. This thread answers a number of those questions about state/region specific geocaching sites. Brian Team A.I. Quote Link to comment
Cracker. Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Sorry. I DO VERY much appreciate the work he has done, and the way GC has furthered the activity. But there were other people involved who started and continue to advance the activity. To make a statement that Jeremy/GC did it all by himself/theirselves is just ignorant. I never said anyone should not express their opinion. I did jump in roughly, but I also have the right to express MY opinion. I never said mine was better than anyone elses. I made a disparaging remark with heavy sarcasm. What sets me off is when people express an opinion like that as if it is fact, and blindly pay homage to something because its the most popular something. Hence, where the term "sheeple" comes from... I apologize Paul, for being a jerk and hijacking your thread spouting off the way I am, but I am also allowed an opinion. Now, back to our regularly scheduled topic. If anyone wants to flame me, please start another thread... Art www.yankeetoys.org www.BudBuilt.com www.pirate4x4.com Quote Link to comment
+woodsters Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 But we prefer this thread Cracker...lol I think the point being is what website and where do people turn to for Geocaching? Who has set the medium? Now for a different view. There's no reason why others can't have their own GPS treasure hunts. They can freely start their own website and start a system to track them and peoples finds. One day there will be these places. There will be high stake gambling ones, adult ones, commercial ones (like Magellans?) and etc. It's bound to happen and one day it will. This(Geocaching.com) has only been around for what, 3 years? The funny thing is that I've never heard of it till about 6 months ago. Brian Wood Woodsters Outdoors http://www.woodsters.com Quote Link to comment
+GeneralBracket Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 The way I read it, Cracker's problem is with the viewpoint that some people take of Jeremy being the ruler of all things caching. "If he didn't say it, it's not a rule!", and such. I as well have a problem with that point of view. That's hardly Jeremy's fault. Jeremy Irish is a business man running a business, not that much different from Google, Yahoo or and other web portal. It's nearly impossible to control the perception others have of you. But it really rubs me the wrong way when someone says "Hey! Jeremy said no this or that in a cache!", or "Let's just ask Jeremy and settle the dispute over this or that rule.". Those people can just blow me. Jeremy Irish can stop me from doing anything he wants on his site, but that hardly stops me from doing anything I want off of it. GC.com isn't the center of all things geocaching any more than ESPN is the center of all things football. On a similar note, I must commend Mr. Irish for so far (that I've seen) not playing to the role of god-of-all-things-geocaching that so many people put him in. Good form Jeremy. Now the topic at hand... Around here we have AZGeocaching.com. However I'd hardly call them a competitor. They're listed here on the Arizona page as a local organization/complimentary site. It's mostly just for stats and other things not provided on GC.com. Quote Link to comment
+welch Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Woodsters Outdoors:Now for a different view. There's no reason why others can't have their own GPS treasure hunts. They can freely start their own website and start a system to track them and peoples finds. One day there will be these places. There will be high stake gambling ones, adult ones, commercial ones (like Magellans?) and etc. It's bound to happen and one day it will. This(Geocaching.com) has only been around for what, 3 years? The funny thing is that I've never heard of it till about 6 months ago. I think that day may be closer than you think. Quote Link to comment
+Brian - Team A.I. Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 I second that. Jeremy has taken the helm of what has become a hugely popular sport/hobby/pasttime for a planet of people. Granted, it isn't as popular as say...NASCAR, but each day the sport grows with more and more people discovering that technology CAN get you into the outdoors. I respect him for what he has done, and continues to do. With the recent changes made to the site and the immediate influx of negative reports, he and the other admins kept their composure in responding to complaints, and ended up making the site even better than before. Brian Team A.I. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Geocaching.com is only one of several websites that act as listing services for this sport. Local geocaching websites aren't exactly the competetors of this website or the others. Geocaching.com is by far the most popular of the listings services and for good reason. It's packed with a lot of great features. Jeremy and Groundspeak don't pretend to be the "be all and end all" of this sport, but they do the best job of servicing it. Just go to one of the other websites and see for yourself. "Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry Quote Link to comment
motoXman Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Funny timing on this post, just yesterday I accidently stumbled upon an "adult oriented" geocache site in a search for "geocache". Don't worry, I'm not gonna post a link, I'm sure that would start some kind of war here. (and the site is pretty lame anyway) It seems they feel they have gotten around the issue of minors getting the coords off the net by making puzzles out of the caches...you have to fill in the blanks of the coords by getting the numbers from inside various bars/clubs/over 21 establishments and the caches must be in "remote" areas (not in parks etc..) Brings to mind another post..."what will geocaching be like in the future" hmmmmmmmm...... someday we'll look back on all this and plow into a parked car. Quote Link to comment
+DapperDanMan Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Other sites may start but I think it would be very hard to make it more popular than this site. Usually the first site that has a strong following will win. Look at www.ebay.com - It was pretty much the first auction site and dominates the online auction market. The same with geocaching.com - When I want to search for caches in one area, I don't want to have to go to multiple sites and combine them all together. I want all the info from one site and that one site right now is geocaching.com - plus there are a lot of caches out there right now that say "www.geocaching.com". This site is here to stay and if geocaching is as popular 10 years from now as it is today, I feel this will still be the site that people will come to for their geocaching needs. Jeremy has put a lot of work into this site and I am sure that it is finally starting to pay off a little for him and there is nothing wrong with that. Quote Link to comment
+southdeltan Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Paul Ag '94 I disagree. They do compete a little. If I buy a hat from Texasgeocaching and not Jeremy, Jeremy is losing a dollar. Erm.. perhaps - but from what I've seen State organizations such as Texas Geocaching are nonprofit orginaztions who use their profits to pay for the website and any cost associated with their organization. A lot of the state orginazations I've seen are much like this website: You don't have to pay but donations (in this case premium memberships) are greatly appreciated. This website may not have been the first but from what I've seen it is BY far the best. No other cache listing service lists one within 270 miles of my house. Actually I don't think there's even one from MS listed on the ones I've looked at. I'm also not sure why everybody gets so worked up over the fact that this website sells merchandise or has premium memberships. You don't have to do either to use and enjoy the site. southdeltan "Man can counterfeit everything except silence". - William Faulkner Quote Link to comment
+Cat'N'Geo Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Granted I have a huge wealth of experience here with 5 whole caches in our mitts, but I think I'm gonna follow the example of my grand parents. Grandma was Baptist, grandpa was Jewish. On christian Holidays, we followed the Preacher, on jewish holidays, the Rabbi. Soooo, when I chase a cache from this site, I'll follow Jeremy's rules. When I chase a cache from elsewhere, I'll follow theirs. If I can't figure out which rules to follow, I'll throw the cache up in the air, what God wants, he keeps. They say this universe is bound to blow, I say we crank up the Calypso Control! ~Jimmy Buffett ~Someday I Will~ Quote Link to comment
+Polgara Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 I like what geocaching.com has going in geocaching regardless of competition...could you imagine what it would be like if it was controlled by other companies...POPUP ADS everywhere, not to mention all that other bulls--t thrown at you, it would probably take a year and a day to look up a cache with all that crap popping up in your face all the time. I could just see some little kid trying to click on a cache and winding up in Betsy's Big B--bs website. "The more I study nature, the more I am amazed at the Creator." - Louis Pasteur Quote Link to comment
+Paul Ag Posted July 1, 2003 Author Share Posted July 1, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Cracker7M: Jesus!....so now Jeremy is the be-all-end-all geocaching god?....I suppose he invented it, huh? And I suppose we all need to bow down and worship him like the good sheeple we are.... Jeremy didn't invent geocaching and he is not God? My world has now been turned upside down. I never knew. The facts are simple. This site, these posts has done alot for geocaching. Jeremy is not God. The cache hiders are gods. If geocaching.com went down tomorrow, geocaching would still exist somewhere. It may be at the association levels or navi-what-ever site but it would come back. Also, for the record though, despite what anyone believes the associations are still competing (a little). They sell stuff, have their own discussion groups, give advice, and list caches (using geocaching.com queries) PS Thanks Brian for the thread listing the associations. Quote Link to comment
+pnew Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Ok just for the record naming texasgeocaching.com as a competitor of geocaching.com is absurd! The whole point of texasgeocaching.com is to localize the geocaching scene so those geocachers in Texas can get to know each other. I don't understand your point when you say if someone buys a hat from txga.com Jeremy loses a dollar. Doesn't every hat seller in the world lose the business of that one customer because now his hat needs have been met by one seller. Believe me there is no competition. txga may link to specific geocaching events and caches but I don't think thats competition. I want you to go straight over to the txga.com boards and post this topic. See the response there... The Department of Redundancy Department A geocache a day keeps the debtors away (cause your never home to take the call...) Quote Link to comment
+Navdog Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Paul Ag '94:I disagree. They do compete a little. If I buy a hat from Texasgeocaching and not Jeremy, Jeremy is losing a dollar. I find it a little odd that you are worried about Jeremy losing a dollar when in another thread you say you are to cheap to pay for a premium membership, yet you have been a cacher for two years and have used this website to post 30 of your own caches. Don't you think it's time to show a little support of your own? I think local caching organizations are something that is valuable to the growth geocaching.com itself. The adventures of Navdog, Justdog, and Otterpup [This message was edited by Navdog on July 02, 2003 at 12:22 AM.] Quote Link to comment
Dinoprophet Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 All the local sites are listed on this site, so I have to think Jeremy doesn't consider them to be "competition". (Where are they listed, you may be asking? Do a search by state from the main page and you'll get links to all of that state's organizations.) Well the mountain was so beautiful that this guy built a mall and a pizza shack Yeah he built an ugly city because he wanted the mountain to love him back -- Dar Williams Quote Link to comment
+Planet Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 For me it's the one and only site. I like the community we have here. It's been a great educational experience as well, beside being a sport/game/hobby. I looked at that other site once, and it didn't excite me. I will be a loyal member for as long as I am physically able. Where else can you be elected the Grande Dame of the OBC without ever campaigning? Cache you later, Planet So many caches, so little time. Quote Link to comment
+woodsters Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 quote:Originally posted by motoXman:Funny timing on this post, just yesterday I accidently stumbled upon an "adult oriented" geocache site in a search for "geocache". Don't worry, I'm not gonna post a link, I'm sure that would start some kind of war here. (and the site is pretty lame anyway) It seems they feel they have gotten around the issue of minors getting the coords off the net by making puzzles out of the caches...you have to fill in the blanks of the coords by getting the numbers from inside various bars/clubs/over 21 establishments and the caches must be in "remote" areas (not in parks etc..) Brings to mind another post..."what will geocaching be like in the future" hmmmmmmmm...... someday we'll look back on all this and plow into a parked car. I'm sure someone will make a website of some sort that requires proof of age, as far as the internet goes, to keep those underage out. The only problem I see and it has been mentioned is the fact that someone might stumble across the cache accidentally. But, I have a view of that differently. Control your kids. They can see or find that stuff anywhere. The parents of their friends may have such stuff and the kids may be sneaking around finding it at their house. Or look at the Catholic church and what is in the news lately. Not sure if it's on the news everywhere, but here in Mass it is. So many bishops accused of molesting, which in my eyes and I'm sure many others, is far worse than them seeing something adult oriented. I think another point is, if you don't let your kids get on the internet, because of fear of them coming across adult oriented things. Then you should be keeping them close under your arms everywhere else, because its out there too. Brian Wood Woodsters Outdoors http://www.woodsters.com Quote Link to comment
+9Key Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 To use a baseball analogy - I feel that local associations are the "farm teams" or the "minor leagues" to the big league club that is gc.com. Pink isn't well - he stayed back at the hotel. Quote Link to comment
solohiker Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 The domain geocache.org is being retired. There is a thread in rec.backcountry with specifics. Quote Link to comment
+Paul Ag Posted July 2, 2003 Author Share Posted July 2, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Navdog:Don't you think it's time to show a little support of your own? I think local caching organizations are something that is valuable to the growth geocaching.com itself. [This message was edited by Navdog on July 02, 2003 at 12:22 AM.] Little support? Posting 30 caches is nothing? Cache hiders is the the key to the sport. The website is the medium. Both are important. That was the point of the original posting. On the local issue, I am pro having local caching organizations. I like them, they more personable. It is the grass roots effort that keeps the sport growing - Throwing picnics (which I started here in Houston), talking to others, etc. Quote Link to comment
Dinoprophet Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 quote:Originally posted by Paul Ag '94:Little support? Posting 30 caches is nothing? Cache hiders is the the key to the sport. The website is the medium. Both are important. That was the point of the original posting. I agree that hiding supports the game, but it's the financial support that keeps the servers running. The game is not Jeremy's "pie"; the website is. The phone system would still exist if there were no Yellow Pages. If you're talking about other geocaching sites simply existing, then there's no issue. If you're talking about sites trying to take over gc.com's dominance as the best overall source for geocachers, well, then I only know of one site that comes anywhere near competing. As far as I know, the other site isn't big on merchandise, so the only loss there is people who choose to use that site exclusively. Well the mountain was so beautiful that this guy built a mall and a pizza shack Yeah he built an ugly city because he wanted the mountain to love him back -- Dar Williams Quote Link to comment
+woodsters Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Point well put Dinprophet The fact is, that it's a free world and sport. So people are going to do what they do. If it didn't happen, then we would all be driving Fords. Brian Wood Woodsters Outdoors http://www.woodsters.com Quote Link to comment
+T10X Posted July 4, 2003 Share Posted July 4, 2003 I am new to geocaching (5 months 30 finds) this is the first site I heard about and use. I think it is great. Recently I heard of a different site and tried to post it to this topic (list of competitors) but it was intercepted by the powers that be and not posted, still waiting for a explanation. Maybe thats why others are tiptoeing around the question of listing competitors. Maybe they are afraid of a little competiton. As I tried to state in my original post, the "other" site brought you to this sites caching page and I questioned why that is so [This message was edited by T10X on July 04, 2003 at 09:28 PM.] Quote Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.