So! What Is Geocaching?

[+rutson]

Yep, been there done that, is it a sport, hobby etc. ? After Birders post this morning we have a new candidate, lunatic perversion!

 

So is Geocaching:

 

i) a sport

ii) a hobby

iii) an addiction

iv) a lunatic perversion

v) a lifestyle

vi) all of the above

 

Discuss....

[Deego]

Think I would have to go for vi) All of the above.

 

If I am not caching I am working on G:UK or posting on here :D Even when I *Should* be working.

 

Then when I have some free time I am planning my next caching day My Girlfriend hates me and this addiction

[+steviep]

i) a sport = trying for a first to find

ii) a hobby = when you enjoy it

iii) an addiction =when you want "just one more today"

iv) a lunatic perversion =[edited]

v) a lifestyle =nothing else to do

vi) all of the above =yes probably

[+Brenin Tegeingl]

Geocaching is

ii) a hobby

iii) an addiction

iv) a lunatic perversion

v) a lifestyle

 

ii) Hobby, in that it fills in time which otherwise I would be doing nothing.

iii) Addiction, defiantly, as the consensus seems to be, if you find 10, your hooked.

iv) Lunatic Perversion, once again defiantly, how else can you describe, shooting out in the pouring rain, and at night, to get a FTF, actually getting a DNF, and going back the next morning to get the FTF.

v) Lifestyle, yep! When you spend 20 hours a day(well I do have to sleep), either out caching or on the forums.

vi) Confidence Booster (as quoted in the article in Computer Active magazine, about Geocaching, and the affects the first article had)

 

i)Sport, No. As I'm not in competition with anyone.

 

Dave the lunatic perversion, who's hobby is a addictive lifestyle .

[+MarcB]

It's got to be all those things and more

MarcB

[+Cave Troll and Eeyore]

i)Sport, No. As I'm not in competition with anyone.

 

And this from the man who wants to get somewhere anywhere before us

 

Joan

 

[+Birders]

One word is sadly missing from this thread - FUN! :-))

[+The Forester]

i) a sport

ii) a hobby

iii) an addiction

iv) a lunatic perversion

v) a lifestyle

vi) a game

vii) all of the above

 

Answer: vii

[+Roberts-tribe]

Another possibility -

 

an incentive to exercise.

[+Brenin Tegeingl]

One word is sadly missing from this thread - FUN! :-))

Whose got time for fun?

 

I'm in serious competition with CT & J ! And any way I thought everyone already had tons of fun, getting, cold, wet ,riped to pieces by thorns, and all in search of a missing Ammo can, so it didn't need mentioning !

 

Dave who always arrives second

[+Cave Troll and Eeyore]

Dave who always arrives second

Awwwwww poor fing, you beat us to log P&T's new event now as for actually arriving first if we get up with the lark, you'll have to get up with the owl

 

Joan

 

[+klaus23]

It's a mixture between a hobby and a game.

 

A 'sport' is just not really my definition - it implies competitiveness

[+Laughalot]

I can go with all the above descriptions - they are spot on.

 

I would like to add that for me personally it is also......

 

Interesting and fascinating, to me and certainly to those I tell about it.

 

Addictive - yep sure - I didn't think I had an addictive nature but geocaching is proving me wrong.

 

It is a great social tool - not only through the internet but also through the events and meeting fellow cachers in the field or through mutual agreement (thanks pyoung1s)

 

It gives me a great excuse to get out in the fresh air with purpose.

 

And much much more besides....

 

All in all I'm loving it ........ and long may it continue to be a joy for me and to everyone that is doing it or starts to do it.

 

Laughalot

[+capsecum]

Geocaching for me is neither a sport or a hobby but a reason

 

It started out as ...

A reason to go for a nice walk.

A reason to find new places

A reason to get out of the house.

 

It is slowly becoming...

A reason to move small objects with dog tags from place to place.

A reason to walk through woods subversively while talking into a GRPr every time someone comes near.

A reason to book hotels on business near to caches and not to meetings

A reason to regard everyone outdoors on a cold and wet day as a potential cacher.

 

Does this mean I'm hooked?

[+rutson]

Does this mean I'm hooked?

Well let's look at the evidence:

 

You've got 19 finds under your belt.

 

Applying the 1st rule of Geocaching addcition

 

If n >= t then ADDICTED

 

Where n = number of finds

t = addiction threshold (a function of personality, usually around 10)

 

Yep, looks like yer stuffed

[+davy boy]

Its got be all of them.

 

When all you do all week is to plan in your head how to explain to the other half why we are going there on sunday!!!!!!

 

Even though you got earache on the sun before.

[nobby.nobbs]

yeah i'd go with all of the above with reason to exercise. i need the incentive to keep going to beat the chronic fatigue i suffer from. so it's a good reason to go that little bit further.

[+Birders]

<<When all you do all week is to plan in your head how to explain to the other half why we are going there on sunday!!!!!!>>

 

And when the other half is at least, if not more, enthusiastic.......???

 

Don't worry, they'll come up with a vaccination one day - "Now line up children for your anti-geocaching injection.."

[+Simply Paul]

Don't worry, they'll come up with a vaccination one day - "Now line up children for your anti-geocaching injection.."

Isn't that also know as having an Xbox jab?

 

SP

[+CuplaKiwis]

Isn't that also know as having an Xbox jab?

Yeah, I had one of them near the start of the winter... unfortunately quite effective for preventing onset of Geocaching (either that or it's the icy wind )

 

I afraid I'm a bit of a fair weather cacher!!

[+The Forester]

A 'sport' is just not really my definition - it implies competitiveness

Here are a couple of interesting definitions of the word 'sport' from the Oxford Dictionary:

 

Noun:

success or pleasure derived from an activity such as hunting.

 

Verb:

amuse oneself or play in a lively way.

 

Both definitions of the word 'sport' sound like good definitions of geocaching to me.

 

 

Cheers, The Forester

[+Cryptik Souls Crew]

A 'sport' is just not really my definition - it implies competitiveness

Here are a couple of interesting definitions of the word 'sport' from the Oxford Dictionary:

 

Noun:

success or pleasure derived from an activity such as hunting.

 

Verb:

amuse oneself or play in a lively way.

 

Both definitions of the word 'sport' sound like good definitions of geocaching to me.

 

 

Cheers, The Forester

I agree with klaus23, a sport is commonly accepted as an activity with a competetive element, I'm sure the Oxford dictionary features this in it's definition somewhere. More importantly, I'm sure the average person in the street would assume that a sport would involve competition.

 

I would pigeonhole geocaching as a game or hobby, official geocaching stickers state that the cache container is a "game piece"

[+klaus23]

A 'sport' is just not really my definition - it implies competitiveness

Here are a couple of interesting definitions of the word 'sport' from the Oxford Dictionary:

Noun:

success or pleasure derived from an activity such as hunting.

Verb:

amuse oneself or play in a lively way.

 

Both definitions of the word 'sport' sound like good definitions of geocaching to me.

 

Cheers, The Forester

No, you're quoting out of context. Oxford Definition

 

Why not say that a sport is a form of informal greeting between Australian Men?

 

The first definition on that page is:

 

An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.

 

Dictionary.com does it slightly better.

 

An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often undertaken competitively.

 

It is for the "competitive" slant that I disagree with calling geocaching a "sport". If you take the sentence "An activity involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules" then that is a definition that I agree with - but we are not competing against one another, merely practising a shared hobby.

 

Now, if you go to the definition of "game" on Dictionary.com, it substitutes the competition reference with the word "contend". If you search for the definition of "contend" it makes a reference to "compete". So in the Dictionary, it seems to be a softer word for sport.

 

If you check the reference for "hobby" on Dictionary.com, you get:

 

"An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure."

 

and if you merge that with the definition for "game", and leave out "contend":

 

"An activity or interest pursued outside one's regular occupation and engaged in primarily for pleasure, involving physical exertion and skill that is governed by a set of rules"

 

And that is my own, personal definition of what geocaching encompasses, a mixture between "game" and "hobby". In the end, I did have to go to the point of outlining the thought process behind what I said, but what can you do?

Edited January 5, 2005 by klaus23

[+The Forester]

Why not say that a sport is a form of informal greeting between Australian Men?

Because I don't think that that definition is in any way relevant to geocaching.

 

The two Oxford definitions of geocaching, sorry, sport, which I quote are a very good fit.

 

"success or pleasure derived from an activity such as hunting" and "amuse oneself or play in a lively way"

 

Yup, that just about sums up geocaching.

 

I don't think geocaching needs to be competitive, though I do recognise that some geocachers do become quite fixated on score keeping and score comparing.

 

Cheers, The Forester