How about a database of who to ask for permission?

[Guest y2kmagazine]

While I am extremely jaded to government bloat and beaurocracy, I do want to try to follow the law / rules as best I can (while not losing my sanity or patientce trying to deal with the bloat & beaurocracy. There are several threads on the site now dealing with getting permission, government policy / stance about 'caching, etc.

 

I want to place some caches and while the notes (rules?) say to ask for permission, I envision a morning of phone calls - for the town, is it the rec department? public works, police, clerks office? And even whenyou get someone to say OK, who is really able to say that someone higher / in another govt. department / agency will overrule them - 'sure you called the rec department and they OK'd your cache.... but they only oversee ongoing events. Your cache is not ongoing (in my department's eyes) and as such is abandoned property - effectively littering.. so even though you DID spend a monring on the phone calling everyone else in the town / county / state, I feel left out and need to flex my authority and tell you that you don't have MY permission and here is a summons for littering - see you in court! Since no one department or agency has total control / jurisdiction on a park, that really isn't unrealistic. Same thing at the county or state level - who do you call to get a FINAL answer? Some of us are much more patient that me. Check the diatribe CaptHawke got from the NPS at:

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000003.html

 

And Quella got a ticket! for caching:

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000278.html

 

I saw that Jeremy has instituted a requirement that all commercial caches supply written permission to him that the cache is allowed:

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/ubb/Forum22/HTML/000009.html

 

Not to burden Jeremy with entering the data for non commercial caches, (but maybe just for having to create this addition): but how about a database of who people contacted and the type of park the cache is located in? So when someone else looks up that park, or even just to say their cache is going in, say, a rockland county park, maybe someone else has already placed a cache in a rockland county park, the 2nd person can look up the contact and call / write that person. Saves the 2nd and following people more time. Maybe notes about the process - need to fill out for xyz, just a call, fax the request, etc... And that would help later when someone else in the rockland county gov't picks on cache hider #10. He can bring to court his permission from the gov't employee that gave the OK, and also know that this same employee OK'd 9 others and that rather than fine hider #10, someone needs to inform that employee OK'ing all those caches that he either doesn't have the authority, or MAYBE EVEN get the nice guy to rein in the maverick giving out tickets?!

 

A long winded description of a way to know how to get permission, keep the game on the up and up with authorities and most of all - free most of us up from winding our way around the gov't bloat and go straight to the decision makers in gov't?

[Guest ClayJar]

Okay, okay, okay! I'll hurry up with the GADB prototype.

 

Seriously, I've got a project running called the "Geocaching Authorization Database" which should fit the bill for what you're wanting. I don't have the prototype live yet, but it's almost there. Basically, it'll be a hierarchal directory of geographic locations and their information on geocaching (or whatever). You'll be able to look up, say /US/NPS (which will basically say the equivalent of "Ichabod!" [where is the glory? or, no glory]) or "US/Louisiana/Chicot" (which will hopefully say something to the tune of "Bring it on!")

 

Anyway, considering the number of posts that have mentioned wanting something like this, I think I had better hurry up and get this thing running ASAP. As always, comments, suggestions, et al are welcome.

[Guest ClayJar]

Okay, okay, okay! I'll hurry up with the GADB prototype.

 

Seriously, I've got a project running called the "Geocaching Authorization Database" which should fit the bill for what you're wanting. I don't have the prototype live yet, but it's almost there. Basically, it'll be a hierarchal directory of geographic locations and their information on geocaching (or whatever). You'll be able to look up, say /US/NPS (which will basically say the equivalent of "Ichabod!" [where is the glory? or, no glory]) or "US/Louisiana/Chicot" (which will hopefully say something to the tune of "Bring it on!")

 

Anyway, considering the number of posts that have mentioned wanting something like this, I think I had better hurry up and get this thing running ASAP. As always, comments, suggestions, et al are welcome.

[Guest y2kmagazine]

Thanks... But I was realizing - these could be fields in the hide a geocache form - for permission, who did you talk to, phone number, did you have to explain the process or were they aware of it, did you get it in writing, do they want requests written, faxed, mailed, what was the fax or address, and one that irks me: what is your confidence level that this person really has the authority to make the decision! Being extremely jaded to government, there is someone else waiting in the wings wanting to show their political / beaurocratic muscle to say no. knowing that person's confidence level was low might spawn someone else to look elsewhere for permission and see if it winds back at the first person. Either way, more effort than I feel we should have to go through to use a public park... but that is the bloat in gov't.

 

Thanks for the efforts and yeah, unfortunately, it seems like this is very much needed.

[+adomatis]

I think thought this was a really good idea when I first read about it (nearly a year ago). Does anyone have an update or know of a simular effort going on?

 

- Doug Adomatis

Travel by GPS

[magellan315]

Going to the head of any beaucratic organization is not always the best way to start, its easyer for them to say no and they very rarely use the areas that they are responsible for. Instead do what I did, I found the manager responsible for a specific park, made an apppoinment with him so he could see a Geocache and I could explain to him about the sport. Not only did he let e place a cache he drove me around for 45 minutes and helped me find a spot.

[+adomatis]

There is a discussion regarding this subject at

Geocaching.com Discussions

Comments and suggestions are welcome.

 

- Doug Adomatis

Travel by GPS