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Post by AB4N on Jun 14, 2005 21:57:03 GMT -5
What is your opinion on members only caches?
Because of some strange activity lately with several caches I made many of my caches members only today.
I did this for two reasons. One is that members only caches allow you to view a log of who is looking at the cache listing. And two is that with recent media exposure I am concerned that there might be less than honest people out looking for caches. It would be somewhat nice to know that all of this strange activity was due to ordinary muggle activity, but I am starting to doubt that is the case.
Who knows if this will help, but it is an attempt.
I would like to offer to anyone who is not a premium member of gc.com and would still like to hunt and log my members only caches to contact me. I will be happy to arrange it so that this is possible.
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Post by Xangxa on Jun 15, 2005 7:36:55 GMT -5
Heel`n was a member's only cache. But it is also a 1/1 difficulty plainly visible from several feet away. But "obvious" is different for a cacher actively looking. For muggles it should blend in and be invisible, but maybe I'm deluding myself.
Anyway, I don't have a problem with member-only caches. But it may be a subscriber doing this weird stuff.
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Post by eclose on Jun 15, 2005 16:32:55 GMT -5
I also have no problem with members caches. It would be a shame if we have fellow cachers who would damage or take a cache from a site. If this starts taking place I may just look for benchmarks.
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Post by James On The Elk River on Jun 15, 2005 22:26:11 GMT -5
Early last year (Jan-Mar'04) there were some major problems with caches being stolen or vandalized around Nashville and the MTGC area. I do not remember the details or the resolution, but I do remember there was some discussion on the MTGC Message Boards www.mtgc.org/mtgc_forum/index.php (check the "Old Forums" first thread "Comments") and on the Groundspeak South and Southeast Forum forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?act=SF&f=22&st= for the Jan-Feb'04 timeframe. I seem to remember that several cachers made some/all of their caches as 'member only caches', but I don't think that did much to resolve the thievery. Might be worth checking out those threads. And while I would like to believe that there are no unscrupulous people lurking around the local geocaching community, unfortunately as with any type of group, it is quite possible and maybe even probable that there are some around these parts who are petty enough to deliberately cause the "strange activity". 'Nuff said. I personally do not have a problem 'subscriber only' caches because I am an annual subscriber, but it seems that making a lot caches available only to subscribers, especially really well done caches, cheats the new and recent cachers out of some of the best local caching experiences. Just a thought. |
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Post by James On The Elk River on Jun 15, 2005 22:39:48 GMT -5
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Post by Hilltop Hiker on Jun 16, 2005 7:21:41 GMT -5
I don't really have any problems with MO caches... I'm a member and I can go after them, but like Xangxa says, Heel'n was an MO cache. That being the case, making caches MO may not protect them from vandalism or theft, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.
Sorry for the rambling and wishy-washy reply, but there is no easy answer.
One thing I can do is redouble my efforts of being aware whenever I'm around caches that I have found and aware of muggles when I'm on the hunt.
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Post by TeamBearCat on Jun 16, 2005 13:59:11 GMT -5
What is your opinion on members only caches? Because of some strange activity lately with several caches I made many of my caches members only today. I did this for two reasons. One is that members only caches allow you to view a log of who is looking at the cache listing. And two is that with recent media exposure I am concerned that there might be less than honest people out looking for caches. It would be somewhat nice to know that all of this strange activity was due to ordinary muggle activity, but I am starting to doubt that is the case. Who knows if this will help, but it is an attempt. I would like to offer to anyone who is not a premium member of gc.com and would still like to hunt and log my members only caches to contact me. I will be happy to arrange it so that this is possible. We are premium members, so its fine with us -- your offer to the non-premium folks is quite generous and should avoid any 'hard feelings'. We tend to agree though, that being an MO cache does not avoid danger from muggles or maintenance/groundskeeper crews! In the case of Heel'n -- wonder if it was the landscaper/groundskeepers there? We have had more 'damage' or loss done by those folks than muggles, by far. (Probably not being malicious, just basically doing their duty... anything that they don't recognize or that looks suspicious (ammo-boxes...) or trashy (soiled-looking rubbermaid container) is going to be removed.) Even when we have talked with the property owner/manager, it can still happen; the word doesn't always get down to everyone who works or mows in a park area. |
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