Why Don't Some Active Caches Use The Forums?

[+Milbank]

I won't say any name, but there is a really active cacher in my area that has placed many great caches and found even more that does not use the forums.

 

I really enjoy finding his caches. We have emailed each other a number of time and talked on the phone once.

 

I'm sure I will run into him someday as we tried once but it did not work out.

He called me on the cell phone one weekend when he was about to go through my town and I was out of town caching close to his home area, lol

 

Anyway he tells me he does not use the forum.

I check the link in his profile "See the forum posts for this user" and there are no post made by him.

 

I have never come right out and asked him why, but I could not imagine being as active of a cacher as he is and not using the forums here.

 

Do you know of any really active caches that don't use the forums?

Do you know why they don't use them?

 

Maybe I use them to much

[+Nurse Dave]

Most caches I know don't have arms. Just a hinge or a burping top.

[+EraSeek]

Yes, I know a few. They don't use the forums because of the politics, personal wars, and personality conflicts that can arise. And they are right. People need realize there are many personalities out there. Some a bit fussy, others just hanging out just to start a conflict for who knows what reason. A lot of people just don't need the hassle of dealing with them.

[+robert]

I'm a forum junkie (I read 5-6 different forums per day, some days more than that). Some people just don't like forums (aren't interested). Some have been turned away by the people here for one reason or another (though most of those would have some posts--some get turned away after lurking a short while).

 

For the most part I'd say it's the idea that people just aren't into forums or they prefer to lurk rather than post.

[+Milbank]

Most caches I know don't have arms. Just a hinge or a burping top.

 

LoL,

 

If I could only read and write I could get a real job.

[+Renegade Knight]

Yes, I know a few. They don't use the forums because of the politics, personal wars, and personality conflicts that can arise....

I've heard this echoed a few times by active Idaho cachers. This is from the ones that actually took time to look at the forums.

 

There are even more who enjoy caching but forums in general are not their cup of tea and so they havent' even looked.

[AC Student]

There are even more who enjoy caching but forums in general are not their cup of tea

That's it I think. Forums aren't for everyone. One of the great things about this game is that everyone can pick the aspects of it that they enjoy - Micros, locationless, virtuals, benchmarks, long hikes vs. drive ups, forums, group events ....

 

I like to lurk in the forums and post occasionally. Others like to just lurk or to post frequently or to stay out of the forums completely. On the other hand I never participate in group events, which I know that many others enjoy.

[+Imajika]

I won't say any name, but there is a really active cacher in my area that has placed many great caches and found even more that does not use the forums.

 

I really enjoy finding his caches. We have emailed each other a number of time and talked on the phone once.

 

I'm sure I will run into him someday as we tried once but it did not work out.

He called me on the cell phone one weekend when he was about to go through my town and I was out of town caching close to his home area, lol

 

Anyway he tells me he does not use the forum.

I check the link in his profile "See the forum posts for this user" and there are no post made by him.

 

I have never come right out and asked him why, but I could not imagine being as active of a cacher as he is and not using the forums here.

 

Do you know of any really active caches that don't use the forums?

Do you know why they don't use them?

 

Maybe I use them to much

No one else from my team (Team Yatta) reads the forums at all. I guess it is just a personal preference. I have always been active in a lot of forums specific to my hobbies (geocaching, artist trading cards, EQOA, etc.). I just like to see what other people have to say. Some people find forums incredibly boring...to each his own I guess.

[dampeoples]

I would have to say that it's not important to use the forums. On any forum there are the already mentioned problems, some just choose to ignore them, some dive right into the middle, and some cause them.

I do my best to ignore them, it's easier if you don't get an email reply to every thread you place your $0.02 in

[+leatherman]

I keep telling my retarded friend to visit the forums. Especially when he asks me questions that are answered over and over in here.

I even told him he doesn't have to post, just search for info. He seems to be intimidated by the forums.

 

:oops

Edited June 26, 2004 by leatherman

[+Team GPSaxophone]

In my state, there are only 2 regular forum junkies. Some of the other cachers in my area lurk from time to time, but when I've asked them why they don't use the forums the answer is usually something like "I don't have time to read that much information"

So to answer your question, too much of a good thing can be bad.

[+Alan2]

When I first got my digital camera, I would prowl the digital camera forums. They got boring and I was wasting a lot of my time so I stopped.

 

Now I just shoot pictures.

[+Rogue_monkey]

There are even more who enjoy caching but forums in general are not their cup of tea

That's it I think. Forums aren't for everyone. One of the great things about this game is that everyone can pick the aspects of it that they enjoy - Micros, locationless, virtuals, benchmarks, long hikes vs. drive ups, forums, group events ....

 

I like to lurk in the forums and post occasionally. Others like to just lurk or to post frequently or to stay out of the forums completely. On the other hand I never participate in group events, which I know that many others enjoy.

i think that about covers it, different people have different tastes. bob likes micros bill doesn't, bill likes the forums and bob doesn't. i need not say more the quoted poster said it quit well.

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

I've met a lot of our local cachers. They seldom post anything and most never post. Their reasoning seems to be the amount of whining that goes on in the forums, the requests for new rules and other silliness.

[+Melrose Plant]

I used to come to the forums a lot. Right up until the time I got called back to work. Employment is a good thing in today's economy (or any economy for that matter), but some things had to go, as 9 1/2 hours of every weekday are now exclusively booked. Reading and posting here every day was one of the things.

[+welch]

What Alan2 said.

 

You can spend a lot of time crusing the forums and its may not do you much good. And if you get sucked into one of the repeating (or any really) debates, you can waste a lot of time on that. If rules change or something 'important' happens, someone will let those that don't visit know (ie: the forums crash there is page posted about, or a rule changes so the approve tells them this at their next related cache submission).

[+PandyBat]

There is hardly anyone from my area that uses the forums. Some pop in every once in a while but not often. If they are here, they must only lurk.

GeoTrailblazer was the only one posting I recognized when I started posting. Then GentleWhisper started in right after me. I've seen a few others from our last event joining in here and there lately. So I think they are slowly growing into the forums from around here.

[+BadAndy]

I would say the majority of active local cachers around here stay out of the grounspeak forums.

[+Sparky-Watts]

Only two or three from the entire Wheat State post in here. When I started caching, the old forums had just gone kaput! so I didn't try coming back in for a month. I don't know why I started, and at times I wish I hadn't. I think there was an email sent out or something stating the new forums were online.....anyway, that could have been a reason why some never started posting. Some folks just don't like message boards.

[+Team DEMP]

The cacher might actually read the forums and not post. There are many lurkers. Some don't feel comfortable posting and some have seen the ugliness that can occur out of the simplest post and don't want to be bothered.

[+Sparky-Watts]

The cacher might actually read the forums and not post. There are many lurkers. Some don't feel comfortable posting and some have seen the ugliness that can occur out of the simplest post and don't want to be bothered.

Ugliness?? What ugliness?!?!?!? Go blow it out your........oh, never mind!

 

J/K, Team Demp!

[+Mechanics Hands]

The cacher might actually read the forums and not post. There are many lurkers. Some don't feel comfortable posting and some have seen the ugliness that can occur out of the simplest post and don't want to be bothered.

First off LOL @ sparky

 

But seriously, sadly I can see why so many stay out of the forums. Look at the 2 ongoing threads with a war in them and its easy to see why people would stay out of the forums

 

For me I like to be involved with the community of whatever hobby I am doing. I also enjoy the interaction and learning from others and thier experiences.

 

Sometimes it seems the world would be a better place without people, but then at other times very thankful and wonderful they are there.

 

MH

[+Sparky-Watts]

The cacher might actually read the forums and not post. There are many lurkers. Some don't feel comfortable posting and some have seen the ugliness that can occur out of the simplest post and don't want to be bothered.

First off LOL @ sparky

 

But seriously, sadly I can see why so many stay out of the forums. Look at the 2 ongoing threads with a war in them and its easy to see why people would stay out of the forums

 

True, but I've been to many message boards over the years, and this is like Romper Room and Mister Rogers compared to the majority of them out there. I've never seen one that didn't have it's share of fighting, and if people don't have a thick enough skin to overlook the occasional fights, then the forums aren't the place for them. Heck, the real world isn't the place for them. Ya can't spend your life in a plastic bubble fighting over "Moops" with stocky balding men in cheap suits!

[+W8TVI]

I lurk mostly. I only post when I have something to say,

[+15Tango]

I used to come to these forums daily, but our local geocaching association, Minnesota Geocacher's Association, has it's own forums, and those cover anything I'd be interested in. I don't even lurk here except for maybe once a month or so, or someone on our local forums will reference a thread here.

[+garri]

I am the only one who use that forums in my country. The spanish talk forum is usually empty.

 

It is an aadvantage, it helps me to take and mix some ideas for my caches (like the only night caches) , and even due to my ignorance of enlglish language and don't understand you at all helps me to form an incorrent impression of your ideas and consequently your ideas turn into a completely different and cool idea.

 

The most active geocacher of my area (82 caches) has never use the forums

[+Metaphor]

As a forum lurker/occasional poster, I waste a lot of time reading over stuff here. Sometimes, it is because I like to watch the fur fly in arguments, other times because of a legitimate interest in the topic, or moments when sheer ennui (like right now, when I am doing everyting possible to delay starting the graduate paper due Monday). Forums aren't for everyone, and if we all were avid posters, I'd probably drop out. Too much static, too much extra opinion, too much too much. However, that being said, there are cachers who I like to read for both personality and content and others I pretty much ignore for the same reasons. The more I watch, the less I read, it seems.

Now, I pick and choose what interests me, and really appreciate specific post headlines. "Guess what I did?" is a lousy headline, but "I set up a kayak cache today" will spark a hit from me. Secondly, I use the search feature if I need answers to a question, and though not always accurate, it sometimes can answer a question. If not, I'll post a query in the forums, not looking forward to the sanctimonius Markwellers, but appreciating the gracious ones.

The other question I have for the mega-posters: "Where do you find the time? I spend an inordinate amount of time (according to my wife-- and to the "to-do" list on the fridge-- and well, if I have to admit it, to myself) on the forums, when I could be doing other things.

[+Torry]

I was caching for a year before I even THOUGHT about checking out the forums. I only started coming here when my caching activities were lessened due to a heavier work schedule.

 

I learn a bit a dnlaugh a lot. It's all part of the game.