Geocaching Encyclopedia

[+Lunaverse]

This idea came up as a side-discussion in another topic. We were discussing the need for a niche how-to, in this case, "How to spot a meth-lab while caching (and what to do about it)". There are hundreds of little how-to's like this that have not yet been covered on geocaching.com, geocacher-u.com, and other good sites.

 

Therefore, I would like to propose the creation of a geocaching wiki (encyclopedia).

 

[Definition section: A wiki is an online documentation system which allows its users to edit and create new documents. All users become contributors to the system. Examples would be Wikipedia and software documentation.

 

Advantages include: Free volunteer slave labor, collective knowledge pooling, typo editing, quick creation and editing of pages (without the need to upload files), a decent search engine, and easy access to data.

 

Vandalism is self-regulated, as a ruined page can be easily restored. Edits are logged, so offenders can be banned from editing.]

 

***Something like this would NOT be intended to replace existing education Geocaching sites.*** These are great sites. Instead, this wiki would contain the summarized knowledge of experienced geocachers, filling niches that are not currently filled.

 

Imagine the facts and how-to's you read in the forum, organized, quick to skim, and easily searchable.

 

I'm envisioning something like Wikipedia, with "neutral point of view" articles that read like an encyclopedia or software documentation.

 

Examples from off the top of my head:

 

When it comes to the question of which container to use, one must consider the environment.  The most commonly used container is the ammo can, however many geocachers feel these are insufficient for some purposes.

 

and...

 

Here are some steps to approaching a puzzle cache:

 

1) Glance over the puzzle.  Look for familiar signs.  Have you ever seen a puzzle like this before?

2) Does it seem like an encryption?

3) Are there any trick questions?

4) Look at the owner's other caches.  What kind of puzzles have they used before?

...

 

This is different from the forums, because it can collect all the knowledge from an entire thread (or several duplicate threads) into a concise format. But it's not static either, allowing new ideas or knowledge to be added later.

 

To give you an idea of the scope, here are some example topics that would make great articles [my comments are in brackets]:

 

*GPSrs [Overall topic for GPSrs]

*Garmin eTrex Legend [Articles on specific models]

*Garmin eTrex Legend Field Guide [A mini-manual covering features of this model, and how they are specifically applied to caching]

*Garmin eTrex Legend Troubleshooting [Common problems with this model, and how to solve them]

*Dogs [The overall topic of dogs and geocaching]

*Dogs and Muggles [specific concerns of having dogs around muggles]

*Dog Training [Training dogs to find caches]

*CITO [Overall]

*CITO Events, Hosting [info on how to host a CITO event]

*CITO Events, Attending [What to expect when attending]

 

You hopefully get the idea of how this could be useful.

 

For the nuts and bolts, this is not too difficult to set up. There are several free (open source) wiki platforms available. (I am most familiar with MediaWiki (used on Wikipedia). I set one of these up for personal use.)

 

It would require:

 

1) A domain name.

2) Hosting (Someone has already volunteered some hosting for a while -- feel free to chime in.)

3) Installing and/or setting up a wiki on the website.

a ) This doesn't need to be too fancy at first. Wiki's dynamically generate the sites, and come with a basic template that looks good without graphics. But graphics *can* be added if desired.

b ) The main part of this requires making decisions -- i.e. what wiki to use, what will the editing rules be, how will security be handled, who will be the admins, what will happen if someone vandalizes, can anonymous users have edit writes or not, etc.

4) Write the rules and meta-documentation (how to write a good article, how to handle disputes, how to use the wiki system, etc). Much of this can be borrowed from Wikipedia, so long as we use the GNU license.

5) Place "seed" articles, which could simply be a table of contents listing some topics of uncreated articles, to get people started.

 

Once it's set up, we talk Geocaching.com into linking to us (hehe), and we set volunteers loose to fill in the content.

 

Here's the catch -- I will admit right up front that I'm just the "Idea Man" .. err, woman. I'm really great at thinking up ideas like these, but then I get started on a couple of them and my time gets all filled up. I'm currently in the middle of a lot of projects so I will probably not be able to spearhead this or take much action.

 

Which means, if you're a good leader, feel free to "steal" this idea -- I'd rather have it see the light of day than keep it under a bushel just because I want credit and glory.

 

With that caveat given, I release this to the forums to be attacked and torn to pieces!

 

Luna

 

P.S. I'm not on here 24/7, so I will likely go all night, and some of the morning, before reading and responding.

[+Renegade Knight]

GPSgames.org had a wiki at one time. However I sure can't find it just now to link to it. (If you can't find it, it doesn't do you much good). Go for it.

Edited May 17, 2005 by Renegade Knight

[+Team HHD1]

wow... and I was just tryin to find a cache.

 

*throws rock at next poster*

*hides behind chair*

*runs and jumps out of open window*

*yells "SUCKERS!*

*chute doesn't open*

*feels lucky*

 

Edited May 17, 2005 by Team HHD1

[tossedsalad]

I'm envisioning something like Wikipedia, with "neutral point of view" articles that read like an encyclopedia or software documentation.

Why not start there? I have never posted to Wikipedia, but I don't know of any restrictions. The only issue with me would be that it is yet another account I would have to set up and maintain.

 

Any chance a wiki can be added to geocaching.com?

[+Lunaverse]

I'm envisioning something like Wikipedia, with "neutral point of view" articles that read like an encyclopedia or software documentation.

Why not start there? I have never posted to Wikipedia, but I don't know of any restrictions. The only issue with me would be that it is yet another account I would have to set up and maintain.

 

Any chance a wiki can be added to geocaching.com?

Wikipedia has some articles on general geocaching, gpses, etc. However, they are not interested in specifics or how-to's, only on general encyclopedic knowledge. For instance, they might accept articles on specific founders of geocaching, including a bio, but they (they being other wikipedia users) would remove an article about how to place a cache or types of walking sticks to use while caching.

 

I'm still being tempted by my hyperactive ADHD side to "Just do it", but my older, wiser, more experienced side is realistically warning me against it.

 

Since we don't have many volunteers, I guess we'll have to wait and see which side wins. haha.

 

Luna

[+Lunaverse]

Domain name ideas (available):

 

gcwiki.com

cacheopedia.com

cachopedia.com

cachepedia.com

cacherpedia.com*

wikicoords.com

cacheknowledge.com*

cacherwiki.com

wikicacher.com*

seekerpedia.com*

cacherintherye.com (sorry, couldn't help it)

 

Items with *'s are my favorites. I like the generic aspect of the words "cache" and "seeker" over "geocache" as it leaves things open for Terracache, letterboxing, et al.

 

Domain names that are taken Most are being cybersquatted.

 

wikicache.com

geopedia.com

geowiki.com (mapping wiki, cool!)

lostwiki.com

knowledgecache.com

 

Luna

[tossedsalad]

Ok, so wikipedia might not be a good idea. But what about adding a wiki to this site? It really doesn't need a new site. I would prefer to keep things as central as possible and use the same login for all of this.

[+soreyes]

Look, it's already started for you. Just add your info and ideas:

 

Wikipedia - Geocaching

[+Miragee]

Domain name ideas (available):

 

gcwiki.com

cacheopedia.com

cachopedia.com

cachepedia.com

cacherpedia.com*

wikicoords.com

cacheknowledge.com*

cacherwiki.com

wikicacher.com*

seekerpedia.com*

cacherintherye.com (sorry, couldn't help it)

 

Items with *'s are my favorites.  I like the generic aspect of the words "cache" and "seeker" over "geocache" as it leaves things open for Terracache, letterboxing, et al . . .

I like:

• cacheopedia.com
  

And, I think it is a great idea. Go for it, lunaverse.

[Jeremy]

We have one we use internally. I'm not firmly opposed to them but the ones that aren't used as often can be easily defaced.

[+Lunaverse]

Ok, so wikipedia might not be a good idea. But what about adding a wiki to this site? It really doesn't need a new site. I would prefer to keep things as central as possible and use the same login for all of this.

Sure, having it off this site would be just peachy -- but that leads to several possible issues:

 

1) Convincing the Groundspeak/gc people to put it up

 

Well, that's the biggest issue, actually. There may be technology issues, such as whether their servers will run MediaWiki, but that shouldn't be a problem as they're running PHPBB (this forum).

 

Luna

[Jeremy]

Yes. We have discussed this internally. We may try it in a beta form to see how effective it could be. However, Wikipedia is the more obvious solution since it exists and is managed quite well. Just build off of the existing pages.

[+sept1c_tank]

Wikipedia is great, but a site devoted to geocachingpedia would be the cat's meow.

[+Lunaverse]

Yes. We have discussed this internally. We may try it in a beta form to see how effective it could be. However, Wikipedia is the more obvious solution since it exists and is managed quite well. Just build off of the existing pages.

Hi Jeremy!

 

The problem with Wikipedia is that most of the types of articles we would want, Wikipedia would not want.

 

I spent a lot of time last fall editing and writing for that site, and there are some very specific guidelines on what is acceptable. They are more interested in articles that appeal to a general audience. If someone wants more detailed information, they should seek another source.

 

They also don't take How-To articles, or "What is the best x for y" articles. For example the topic that sparked this idea, "How to spot a meth-lab while geocaching, and what to do about it", would be totally deleted on Wikipedia. As would "Steps to placing your first cache", an article on using a Dell Axim for geocaching, and troubleshooting bad readings.

 

Luna

[+Renegade Knight]

Luna, your idea is sounding better and better.

[darwinmay]

Yes, something like wiki.geocaching.com or www.geocaching.com/wiki would be nice.

[+DavidMac]

I posted this in the other thread, too, but this one seems more relavent. I have some webspace on a server that would support a wiki style engine (at least it should... I have php and mySQL, not sure what else it would require) and can set up a subdomain if needed. It would still have my domain name in it so it would be something like "cacheopedia.gsmhiker.net" but it saves you from having to pay to register a domain and get server space. I now have lots of free time, so if you would like my help, please get in touch with me and I'll see what I can do.

[tossedsalad]

For that matter, I can host a new domain name with unlimited traffic. But my preference is still to keep it at geocaching.com.

 

Like I said, I can provide the web hosting, but I have never set up a wiki, so someone else should probably manage it.

[CoyoteRed]

My only problem with a Groundspeak hosted wiki is it would likely be a Groundspeak-centric geocaching wiki. While it is well and fine for one to assume that because the majority of the geocaches are listed on gc.com, there are other ways to do the same thing and other sites have differing sets of guidelines.

 

For instance, one site might require a certain distance between geocaches. Why? Could be because folks might find a different geocache than the one they thought they found and log the one they were hunting, not the one they found. The cache owner comes along, audits the logs, and deletes that person's log because they didn't log the proper cache. Then the offended cacher comes whining to the forums about it being too easy to find the wrong cache and log it under the wrong cache page. Thus one site's solution might be to simply forcefully seperate the caches.

 

Another site's solution might be to advocate marking the cache and logbook with the cache name. If someone mistakenly logs the wrong cache and gets their log deleted, then the community has no sympathy because they should have been paying better attention. After all, the cache was prominately marked with the cache name.

 

If you don't want to have your cache found accidentally by someone looking for another cache, don't hide it too close. To take care of poachers, the community would ignore a poacher's caches and maybe blackball the poacher.

 

See? Two different solutions to the same problem.

 

Anyway, if you guys want a geocaching dot com wiki, then request to have it hosted here. If you want one to be for geocaching in general, look elsewhere. I'm sure you could find someone like terracachers.org, geommunity.org, or geocacher-u.com to host it. Point it, it would need to be site neutral.

[+BigWhiteTruck]

I have a dedicated server that I use to host a few sites.

60 gigs of disk space available and 600 gigs of transfer a month.

One more site wouldn't hurt.

 

I would love to do this. I think the wiki is a great idea, and I'm sure I can set it up. I think cacheopedia.com is the best name, but there's no reason we can't also register similar one's too, at $7.95 per year, how can you go wrong?

 

Basically I can contribute:

-The hosting, space and bandwidth.

-Domain name setup.

-Wiki setup and file-level administration (mucking around with install, etc.).

-Site-level administration (whatever needs to be done through the actual wiki pages by admins on a regular basis).

 

What I don't really want to do:

-Be the only "admin".

-Write all the articles.

[+sept1c_tank]

I will help.

[+Lunaverse]

Spiffy keen. BigWhiteTruck, I can help admin it, and also help with article writing. I think once it is seeded with enough articles (and a list of proposed articles) that people get an idea of what it's about, there will be lots of writers.

 

Once you have it up, I'll jump in there and import the appropriate "Help" articles from Wikipedia.org so people can get their bearings. And start a "Proposed Article" list, or Table of Contents.

 

Luna

[+BigWhiteTruck]

www.cacheopedia.com/wiki/

 

Let's get crackin'

[+sept1c_tank]

OK, I'm registered. Let's see a "proposed article list," Luna.

This promises to be fun and very educational.

[+Marky]

Pretty cool. I've been talking about setting something up like this. I wonder how local groups could utilize the wiki to store relevant local information.

 

--Marky

[+BigWhiteTruck]

I've put up a guide to creating articles. I've never used wiki before, and I am very pleasantly pleased at how easy it is. Basically, you can create a link to an article by simply enclosing the article's name in double square brackets anywhere you are typing. If that article doesn't exist, anyone who clicks the link can create the article.

[+sept1c_tank]

This is great. I've always been fascinated by dictionaries and encyclopedias. I'm sure this will develop into a great tool for the geocaching community. And it's going to be fun!

 

It seems like a daunting project now, but with a little audience participation, it's destined to become a wealth of information (if the forums are any indication).

[+DavidMac]

Thanks for setting this up, BigWhiteTruck. I've created an account and brainstormed to add a few topics to the article requests list.

[Jeremy]

Sigh.

 

Just so no toes feel stepped on, if geocaching.com does set up a wiki and doesn't acknowledge yours, understand now that we have considered such a thing and may create one in the future. So don't be stunned when one appears someday, k?

[+sept1c_tank]

So Jeremy, when might we expect this new feature to be available?

Sigh.

[+soreyes]

Sigh.

 

Just so no toes feel stepped on, if geocaching.com does set up a wiki  and doesn't acknowledge yours, understand now that we have considered such a thing and may create one in the future. So don't be stunned when one appears someday, k?

If gc.com sets up a wiki, the leg work towards the content for this one would not be wasted. From my experience with wiki's in the workplace, its best to encourage content development and contributions even if the wiki being worked may not be the wiki most used in the end. Copy Paste.

There is also the possibility that this non-gc.com wiki ends up much better than the officially sanctioned wiki for this reason and that... well who knows.

[+sept1c_tank]

If gc.com sets up a wiki, the leg work towards the content for this one would not be wasted.  From my experience with wiki's in the workplace, its best to encourage content development and contributions even if the wiki being worked may not be the wiki most used in the end.  Copy Paste...

Exactly. Any research and writing efforts would not be wasted.

[+Lunaverse]

Sigh.

 

Just so no toes feel stepped on, if geocaching.com does set up a wiki and doesn't acknowledge yours, understand now that we have considered such a thing and may create one in the future. So don't be stunned when one appears someday, k?

I'm not worried about toe-stepping at all. Me personally, I just wanted to see this come into existence to help people learn more about all the various aspects of geocaching.

 

And as others have mentioned, I don't think this would be wasted time, even if GC.com did this officially. I'm assuming we're doing this under the GNU license, probably copying the Wikipedia license over nearly-verbatim.

 

Meaning articles written are not the property of anyone. Meaning if gc.com wanted to copy them (and agreed to follow the GNU license) they totally could.

 

Luna

[+BigFurryMonster]

This is a great idea. It should be named www.geocaching.com/wiki , really. If only this would be a link to the real content...

[Jeremy]

No. I'm not saying I have agreed to implement a wiki. Just based on prior bad feelings about things we have implemented (even when we've given loong prior notice to it), I want to make sure that you understand that we may create a Wiki. We have discussed this internally for a while and we already have a Wiki on our "intranet" (if you want to call it that).

 

In fact, we don't talk about a lot of ideas we've thought about because we get the usual question "when are you done?" Nor do I air those ideas in the forums for this reason. I just want everyone to understand that just because you create something off-site we didn't necessarily ask for it, and if we do something similar in the future you should be prepared for it. Just because you create a web site around geocaching doesn't necessarily mean we will work with you. This is the proverbial "you" as in anyone who creates features off-site that we didn't ask for.

 

I'm trying to be proactive. And this is a general comment about any new feature (not just a Wiki). No feelings are meant to be hurt here.

[CoyoteRed]

Other than the obvious control aspect, why not let someone off-site work the wiki much like ClayJar's "Official Geocaching Chat" or CJCRS?

[+sept1c_tank]

Control aspect may be key words here.

 

I agree, CR. An independant site linked to gc.com would be ideal for a pedia.

[Jeremy]

Other than the obvious control aspect, why not let someone off-site work the wiki much like ClayJar's "Official Geocaching Chat" or CJCRS?

There's no "letting someone" do anything. I'm not "letting you" build a home page, web site, or garden shed. You have whatever freedoms the law offers you to do that kind of stuff. What I'm trying to get across is just because you decide to do X it doesn't instantly mean that Groundspeak as an organization will affiliate with you or your site/company.

 

Makes sense, doesn't it? As you mention we do work with some folks off-site (Geocaching University, for example.). It just doesn't mean we're going to work with "everyone" or have to work with "everyone" just because "everyone" wants us to. I'm trying to set expectations here. Consider them set.

[+sept1c_tank]

"Everyone" may or may not really care. But thanks for not misleading any expectations any of us may have.

[+BigWhiteTruck]

I understand what you are saying Jeremy.

 

To all that have contributed so far, keep up the good work. And recruit others.

[+listerine]

You could add another section to the wiki for books and book reviews. Just a thought

[+soreyes]

Just a note that might be obvious or not...

 

A good practice for building a Wiki up is by using it to answer questions. Specifically, if someone asks a question here on the boards, rather than answer it in a reply, take a minute to dump the info into the Wiki and then post the link. The data can be easilly reorganized at a later time if you are not sure where to post it.

Edited May 20, 2005 by soreyes

[+soreyes]

You could add another section to the wiki for books and book reviews. Just a thought

Added Books and Book Reviews.

 

I am not sure if or what we should link to, so i just listed the titles and ISBN of a couple to get started.

[+Camo-crazed]

www.venivediwiki.com?

 

Oh, and BTW, consider me recruited

[+nfa]

I'm in...thanks for the legwork guys, this could be a great resource for geocachers of all flavors.

 

nfa-jamie

[+KoosKoos]

Great start to what could grow into a fantastic resource!

 

I've gone in and added a few news items...and I'll add more when I get a chance. Great job!

[+Lunaverse]

Wow, this is coming along quite well. I'm surprised at the number of articles already written.

 

There are now a couple of help files up, in cause you're new to MediaWiki and don't know how to format things.

 

Also the needed articles list is now very long!

 

Luna

[+nfa]

Hi,

 

The site looks great...I will be putting up some more articles in the coming days...thanks for setting it up!!!

 

I made a few changes to the descriptions of cache types, as they were gc.com-centric as regards locationless and virtuals...I assume that kind of thing will come up a lot in the beginning.

 

Thanks again for the site, it should be fun and a great resource to boot.

 

nfa-jamie

[+AuntieWeasel]

Wait...wait. URL? I've scanned the thread, but I'm too Nyquiled out to spot it.

[+sept1c_tank]

Also the needed articles list is now very long! 

No kidding!