+Bjorn74 Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 For the moment, I am hosting a forum at: COG Forums In a few weeks we should have a fully qualified domain and even a site to go with it. Please take it easy on the Mods and the topics. We're just getting started. I'm doing this to streamline what had previously been happening via face2face and phone tag meetings. Well, there you go. Welcome. Please use your Geohandle when registering. Thanks! Quote Link to comment
+Bjorn74 Posted December 4, 2003 Author Share Posted December 4, 2003 I feel like I should denote the differance between our site and other regional sites. This started as a fun thing for me. To this day, no one has stepped up to say that we're the "official" leadership in Central Ohio. I'm actually happy with that. We're kind of the wild west here. We needed a better way to communicate, though. So, I made a quick logo and set up some forums. We aren't planning to make any formal decisions through the site. Just talk about local interests. No big deal. I'm admining the site since it's my company's server, but I'd rather be out logging finds... Enjoy. Quote Link to comment
+BVCY Swim Posted December 4, 2003 Share Posted December 4, 2003 I registered yesterday on the COG site, but never got a confirmation email with my initial login information. Quote Link to comment
+Bjorn74 Posted December 4, 2003 Author Share Posted December 4, 2003 Shoot me a note at geo@benbash.com if you have a problem. We'll get it resolved. Quote Link to comment
+BVCY Swim Posted December 5, 2003 Share Posted December 5, 2003 Sent a message to you yesterday at the above address. Quote Link to comment
+xenophon10k Posted December 6, 2003 Share Posted December 6, 2003 I just signed up this morning, and I noticed some topics don't have moderators yet. I'm a willing volunteer if you need me. Quote Link to comment
+Bjorn74 Posted December 12, 2003 Author Share Posted December 12, 2003 COG should have a dedicated domain by the end of the weekend and a Real web site next weekend. Swing on by our forums if you ever think you'll end up on a layover in CMH or just need another web site to frequent. Other than Rabid Bunnies, we don't bite... We don't bite the bunnies, they bite people... That's what I hear, anyway... Never mind... Quote Link to comment
+Rabid Bunny Posted December 12, 2003 Share Posted December 12, 2003 We don't bite the bunnies, they bite people... That's what I hear, anyway... Yeah, poor Jimmy Carter Quote Link to comment
+Bjorn74 Posted December 16, 2003 Author Share Posted December 16, 2003 To go along with a really lame cache I placed last week, COG has a really cool Forum Series now hosted on a really cool domain and a really lame front end to it. Central Ohio Geocaching I'll get right to work on puting up something else. Wait... I just remembered I have a job and I've been here for 14 hours today.... Good. I have something else to do... Going home is over-rated. Quote Link to comment
+Mr. 0 Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 Bjorn74, Thanks for doing all this forum stuff. I think that it's been and will continue to be a big boost to the Central Ohio geocaching community! Quote Link to comment
+trippy1976 Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 Dude... you guys in Ohio have NE Ohio cachers, Central Ohio cachers, Cincy area, OKIC and I think there might even be a columbus group Just zap the "central" from your name. It's time! .......For everything, turn, turn, turn... ..../ Quote Link to comment
+Bjorn74 Posted December 16, 2003 Author Share Posted December 16, 2003 Well, you're probably right.... but... no one wants to be declared King in a city of assassins, right? You did leave out a group. There is a West Central Ohio group that has a Yahoo group as well. Oh, and we are the Columbus group... We just don't like to admit it. I'm thinking about adding another group. I think it will be the SECCWTBITC (SouthEast Columbus Cachers Who Think Bjorn Is The Coolest), but that's only because I don't want to have to manage any users... Cheers! Don't drink to many Beers! Quote Link to comment
+trippy1976 Posted December 16, 2003 Share Posted December 16, 2003 Who're the assassins? Maybe ask one of them to be king Seriously though, I've wondered why Ohio hasn't tried to congeal a little. A more centralized group would allow for better progress on stuff and better communications. With the volume of groups that are already going, there'd likely be little difficulty finding help. Quote Link to comment
+SherwoodForest Posted December 21, 2003 Share Posted December 21, 2003 While I too would like to see some centralized (not central, since that's already being done) Ohio geocaching group, having all the regional groups really helps. Yes, it would be nice to be able to discuss with the Cinti and Columbus people about geocaching topics that affect the whole state, but given that even just in our NEOGEO (NorthEast Ohio) there has been a concern about encompassing too large an area, with smaller localized groups forming within the larger NEOGEO group. With having as many members as we do just in NorthEast Ohio, it's gotten really ahrd to organize an event because of concerns of having people drive in form the west side or the east side, or coming up from the south, and that we can easily have more than 40-50 people show up just for a dinner get-together. So, a statewide group will never, nor should it, supplant the regional groups that really let everyone congeal more as a group. In fact, I've always wondered why Michigan has just the one group, since the state is so large, but that's just me... But I think for planning/assisting for larger statewide/regional events (those on the order of 300+ people), it would be great to have some place where we NEOGEOs can plan and chat things out with the COGs or the OKICs, the WCOs and the NWOGeos. Anyone know if there is a group for Southeastern Ohio -- then again that is the most sparesly populated part of the state? So think regionally, act locally, right? Seriously, I think an Ohio Caching group would be a benefit, as long as it limits itself to truly state-wide concerns, and leave the local concerns to the local groups. Quote Link to comment
+trippy1976 Posted December 22, 2003 Share Posted December 22, 2003 A state-wide group has been very beneficial here in Michigan. With the politics of geocaching being so new, it has allowed us to formulate one centralized strategy and execute it locally well. It has also brought us closer together accross our state. You get to know people locally anyway, but the only way I've met people from accross the state is through our forums and state-wide events. My fear is exactly the opposite of yours. Without a strong central organization, the smaller area groups become more and more balkanized and the right hand never knows what the left hand is doing. Soon, groups are approaching the same parks systems with different messages. I know in Michigan, having one central organization parks people can speak with about concerns has been a huge benefit. If there was a SE Michigan Cachers group and and Oakland County Cachers group and a Lake Orion cachers group all talking to Oakland County parks and our Metroparks about geocaching, I'm certain the progress that has been made this year with those two agencies would not have been made. There's nothing stopping a central group from setting up committees or chapters on a regional or local level. Having a central group to facilitate communications between the local and regional groups and also to help formulate a central strategy for approaching parks and coordinating or tracking who is doing what would probably help progress along in some of the efforts I see taking place. Quote Link to comment
TimSkells Posted January 1, 2004 Share Posted January 1, 2004 Dude... you guys in Ohio have NE Ohio cachers, Central Ohio cachers, Cincy area, OKIC and I think there might even be a columbus group Just zap the "central" from your name. It's time! .......For everything, turn, turn, turn... ..../ hmm we dont have an OHIO one yet mabey I should create that Quote Link to comment
+xenophon10k Posted January 2, 2004 Share Posted January 2, 2004 My fear is exactly the opposite of yours. Without a strong central organization, the smaller area groups become more and more balkanized and the right hand never knows what the left hand is doing. Soon, groups are approaching the same parks systems with different messages. I know in Michigan, having one central organization parks people can speak with about concerns has been a huge benefit. If there was a SE Michigan Cachers group and and Oakland County Cachers group and a Lake Orion cachers group all talking to Oakland County parks and our Metroparks about geocaching, I'm certain the progress that has been made this year with those two agencies would not have been made. Well, each state has different issues. In Ohio, ODNR has already established a geocaching policy we can live with, so the largest government body we have to deal with are county governments and city Metroparks. So far there isn't much overlap in that area, though if a county halfway between Cleveland and Columbus were to consider banning geocaching in a local park, I imagine COG and NEO, and quite possibly NWO would work together to present a single, clear case for us cachers. Other than that, it just doesn't seem likely that two groups will be approaching the same park system. Quote Link to comment
+trippy1976 Posted January 3, 2004 Share Posted January 3, 2004 Organizations serve more roles than just working with parks systems. MiGO plays as much or more of a social function in Michigan as we do a policy function. Pooling resources allows us to do much more with our big events than we could otherwise, for instance. We also serve as an information clearinghouse for anything going on in the state geocaching related. I think I can safely assume that cachers are all pretty mobile people. Just because things happen locally does not mean they don't have a more far reaching affect. If something is going on in another part of the state, chances are high that I'm eventually going to cache there and it will affect me. As a neighbor who has seen a central group reap some pretty excellent benefits, I would just encourage you not to discount the idea. It may not have merit for the same reasons as it does here, but I believe you will find it beneficial for many other reasons. Quote Link to comment
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