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Does California Need Another Reviewer?


wildlifeguy

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First question I have is....How many cache reviewers/approvers does California have?

 

Not to start a flaming the approver session, it seems to me that it takes a little longer here in California to get our caches approved than the rest of the country. Am I right in this assumption? Will having another approver help relieve the load off our already overworked and overloaded reviewers? Do they want the help??? I really appreciate all the hard work they do and was wondering if I could or would be up for the task?? It seems like one heck of a committment (should they be committed :o ) and I don't know if I would even want to do it. Would any of you?? I am a stay at home dad and have the time (kinda). I am familiar with GPS/GIS, arcview, arcGIS, TOPO, and have always been interested in maps and orienteering thats why I got into caching. Having lived up and down the state I am very familiar with all the terrains, habitats, cities, and various locales almost all of the caches have been placed in. Yes I have even driven Usal road on the dreaded page 62 of the Del Lorme challenge back in 1992. So for me it is not a question of whether I can do the job but would I want to have the added responsibility and constant bashing the approvers recieve???

 

I know I had someplace I wanted this thread to go but can't seem to find it right now, So, any and all civil comments and constructive critisizm (sp?) will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks for your time and of course....

 

Peace!

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The reviewers and GC.com are good at picking out new reviewers when they need to. When SoCalAdmin was the sole reviewer for my half of the state, my caches were typically reviewed within 24-48 hours, which I considered exemplary. My one cache in Northern California was attended to by Hemlock promptly. Since WestCoastAdmin stepped in, I've never had to wait longer than overnight for cache approvals.

 

I still think they're all crazy for volunteering, but they seem to be doing an OK job by my judgment.

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Thank you for your responses. So I guess the answer is 3. DO the approvers feel this is enough? Do they feel overloaded? I have no complaints about our approvers, I really think they are doing a good job. I guess I was wondering if they hear that enough and if there is anything we could do to help them to make their, what I would assume to be, hard task any easier? Approvers???????

 

Peace!

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The less caches any reviewer has to work with the more time they have to do the job. The job seems to include checking on diabled caches, reacting to SBA logs, and other issues that creep up.

 

The only real drawback to more reviewers is that you have to coordinate them all, plus weed out the ones that are not up to snuff. A small staff can only handle so many reviewers before you have to add staff.

 

There is a balance to maintain. Or at least a balance to strive for.

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I only know of two California approvers (plus their back ups) and both are doing a super job. I pat them on the back because they do approve caches in a reasonable amount of time with due care for each cache. This is not to mention the fact that they are doing it as volunteers (is that unpaid?!). Also, they are cachers and really do go out looking for caches (even though neither have attempted my Watermark cache - LOL).

 

I'm sure if either where tired and/or needed help they could pick up the Geophone and Jeremy would get what they need.

 

And lucky for me, I kind of know how approvers are chosen so I know how to discount myself from the pool. :P

Edited by Green Achers
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California currently has 4 approvers - more than anywhere else in the world. Typically approvers handle several states - I handled 3 when I started, but the volume increase we have seen here in CA has made it quite challenging. WestCoastAdmin and I both handle California from 37 deg on down. We have just added another approver in the last week or so to help out Hemlock. As he gets up to speed, I think you'll see approval times decrease in the northern part of the state.

 

If you ever have a cache that you think may have slipped under the radar, feel free to contact any of the approvers directly via email and ask (nicely! :o) if they have had a chance to look at the cache yet. In a pinch, we all help each other throughout the state and around the world.

 

Yes, we are unpaid volunteers. In addition to the approvals, we have to deal with lots of email, SBA notifications, long-term disabled caches, general housekeeping, etc... so there is quite a bit to the job. Dealing with emails takes up at least half the time we put into it. But we all love geocaching and are happy to be able to give back. :(

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California currently has 4 approvers - more than anywhere else in the world. Typically approvers handle several states - I handled 3 when I started, but the volume increase we have seen here in CA has made it quite challenging. WestCoastAdmin and I both handle California from 37 deg on down. We have just added another approver in the last week or so to help out Hemlock. As he gets up to speed, I think you'll see approval times decrease in the northern part of the state.

Is the name of the fourth California approver public yet? Or do we just have to submit a cache to find out? :(

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