+Harrald Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 When the admins and cache approvers for this site decided on the tenth of a mile guideline it was to stop people from over saturating an area with caches. There was no way for them to foresee someone placing a string of caches like this. Can you imagine if there was no guideline? If you are unaware of the spirit of the game, go back and read some of the threads the one tenth guidelines spawned. The spirit of the game is not to rack up numbers. That has been stated by the admins on this site for quite a long time. This thread asked for opinions. I gave mine. I feel this type of caching cheapens the game. I made no attempt to try and sway anybodies thoughts on this form of caching. In fact I stated that “if you like it then more power to you.” Link to comment
+PandyBat Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 I can only believe that, no matter how you may justify the "experience", its just for the numbers. Period. I guess your response to me, as it has to others, would be "Well then don't do them". Believe me, I won't be doing them. But that dosn't eliminate the concept. How soon until these become the new "rage" causing more and more "Power trails" becoming filled wth poor hides, lousy containers, soggy logs, and frequent muggling. How soon until we debate the need to increase the distance between caches just to keep the numbers crowd from creating lame "Power Trails" just to up their counts. I guess if your playing for numbers, those of us who play for the experience don't matter much. But heaven forbid if anyone bad mouths a numbers player. Good points! I wouldn't do one either. It would always be tempting to me, because I think there is a little "numbers player" in all of us. But in an effort to keep these from popping up all over the place and ruining the original concept of the game, I would put in my 2¢ on the concept by NOT doing it. Link to comment
+briansnat Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 A while ago someone here (Bassonpilot I think) made the tongue in cheek suggestion that someone should drive down a highway and place a cache at every .1 mile marker. At the time it seemed so far fetched that it got a good laugh. Now it doesn't seem all that silly and I wouldn't doubt it if someone is out there planning something like that right now. Link to comment
+Markwell Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 Did y'all miss what Hemlock posted back on the first page of this thread? On the same note, don't go cache crazy and hide a cache every 600 feet just because you can. If you want to create a series of caches, the site approvers may strongly encourage you to create a multi-cache. And he took that from the cache listing requirements page. Link to comment
+Ian5281 Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 This is the future of geocaching, and it's stupid. These people are sooooo missing the point. It's because of the fools who post a zillion micros like this, that my search page is solid lame-o micros. It's really getting hard to find a truly traditional cache among the geo-litter. Just because one CAN hijack the nice sport of geocaching and make it your own, does not mean you should. Some folks seriously need to get a life. New cachers are most likely going to get thier first taste of caching on a lame micro now, and conclude that the sport is for lame dorkwads, and quit. Thanks! Link to comment
+PandyBat Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 Dan-oh....where is this power trail located? The trails are located in La Quinta, CA which is situated Southeast of Palm Springs. Search zip code - 92253 Holy cow, you guys! Go do a search on that zip code. If I decided I wouldn't do this power trail, I would be ticked as heck for all those micros to keep showing up on my searches with no way to get them off. I looked at 10 pages straight of them before I quit looking. Most of them are right on top of each other. Who approves this kind of thing?? I feel sorry for the people living in that zip code. Link to comment
+Polgara Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 Can someone explain this whole geocaching thing? What is it man? I just don't get it. Link to comment
+Harrald Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 I see a whole new way to play this game coming very soon. No longer will you find a cache. You will have to find a place to hide a cache. People will be able to proudly proclaim thet have found a place that was 528 feet from any other caches. Link to comment
+Doggiewoggie Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 (edited) Salvelinus put it so beautifully and concisely, and I thank him for his post. It gave me a lot to think about. I think Salvelinus and I are on the same page when it comes to what geocaching means to us. Unfortunately, "the spirit of the game" and what people get out of the game are different for different sorts of people; we can whine about hyper-active, insecure people whose egos are tied to happy faces, but we can't tell them not to play. They have an itch that they need to scratch, just like I do, and they have a right to satisfy whatever yearning this game fulfills for them--to pursue their own personal happiness, even if it appears to be a knucklehead kind of happiness. As long as they do it with consideration to all involved, and take care not to mess up sensitive environments, and log their finds and DNF's like they ought to, they have a right to be lame. As for the future of geocaching? I'm wondering if there isn't some way that we can differentiate between "scenic, historic, interesting" places, and "power grabs" (or both) on the cache search page. Like, maybe, a new symbol? That way, we could pick and choose, instead of studying the logs to see if the place is worthwhile or not. Edited June 24, 2004 by prettynwitty Link to comment
+Quest Master Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 I'm not getting this "powercaching" thing and I don't understand the concept of these "cache machines" and "power trails". I guess I'm old school. I never did more than 10 caches in one day and now I'm afraid to do any more than that. It might be that 11th cache that sucks me in to this weird cult of numbers-obsessed cache-baggers. They appear to be perfoming some kind of strange religious rite or a penance ritual as they stop every 528 feet along some trail to find a film canister and sign the sacred scroll to gain the indulgence of some unseen internet entity. It is something similar to the way Catholics say their "Our Fathers" and "Hail Marys" after confession but it isn't quite that. I don't know if this bizarre behavior is confined to the California or the west coast but I suspect that it has already spread elsewhere. I really do hope that they will go the way of the Heaven's Gate people but I know that I cannot count on that. Many will yield respect to these cultists for their superior hide and find counts but the rest of us will be laughing at the sheer absurdity of their antics. It won't be so funny when our search listings fill up with garbage like those poor folks in La Quinta, California but there is precious little that we can do to stop them. If we dare to complain they will put their hands over their ears and chant their most sacred mantra, "If you don't like them, don't hunt them... If you don't like them, don't hunt them... If you don't like them, don't hunt them..." Can geocaching survive? Link to comment
+SixTen Posted June 24, 2004 Share Posted June 24, 2004 Although I am still very new to this, I see the problem in these "power trails"...to me it seems just like a person who may cheat at a video game just to get a high score...maybe I am wrong here, but I couldn't help draw that similarity... For me, geocaching has been a great way to get out and do something active...it has allowed me the opportunity to revisit some parks and trails that I have known about...but have forgotten...it has also allowed me to visit parks and trails that I didn't even know existed...I think the real essence of this sport is just that...a family friendly activity that allows us the opportunities to view and appreciate some great parks that a lot of us would never have taken the time to go see...it also lets us do this sport in the company of people close to us...family and friends... That being said, I think this "power trail" idea kind of takes away what it is that draws most of us to this sport. also, if we are looking at our GPS units every 500-600 feet...how much of the scenery around us are we missing??... Just my thoughts... Take care, SixTen Link to comment
+Dan-oh Posted June 24, 2004 Author Share Posted June 24, 2004 Well, it looks like everyone has an opinion on this one. Prolly a good time to end this party before Aunt Betty gets drunk and trips down the front steps again. Link to comment
Recommended Posts