[Az-Geocaching] Geocaching.com administrator questions whether my museum caches are really "geocaches"
listserv@azgeocaching.com
listserv@azgeocaching.com
Thu, 26 Sep 2002 13:01:39 -0700 (PDT)
--0-695717399-1033070499=:81290
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Hello Geocachers,
While traveling out of the state in the past two weeks, I stopped and visited two small historical museums, one in southeastern Utah and the other in northwestern Oklahoma. I made virtual geocaches from these museums, similar in style to the six that I have currenlty active in eastern Maricopa County.
Geocaching administrator erik88l-r approved these two new virtual geocaches, but upon doing so he sent me this note, which I have pasted below:
User erik88l-r has contacted you with the following message:
Hi,
I posted your caches, but have to ask before others attack you for it in the forums - are all these museums really "geocaches"? Don't get me wrong, I love museums, but is a GPS required to find them? I just don't want to see you going overboard on something that might result in a backlash. Sometimes too much of a good thing results in that reaction. ;) My suggestion would be to hide a physical cache near such places in the future - that way people will visit the area without questions about whether something should or should not be a virtual cache.
All the best,
erik - geocaching.com admin
I replied to Erik that these museum geocaches are very popular among geocachers in Arizona. It is great to introduce people to places where they can learn about local history and bring the entire family for little or no cost, and they are particularly great to visit on hot summer days because they are air-conditioned.
It is true that you don't need a GPS to find these museums, but I argue that one can find many virtual caches without a GPS, because they are typically large items like statues or historical markers that are out in plain view in public places. Also, what is wrong with having some virtual geocaches where a GPS is not mandatory - not everyone has a GPS, so this opens up our activity to people who can't afford to own a GPS.
Also, I disagree with his suggestion to place a physical geocache near these museums. Most of these museums are located in highly visible areas where there is no good place to put a physical geocache.
What do Arizona geocachers think about the comments of Erik and myself? Should I continue to create virtual geocaches at museums? Remember, these are not the easiest caches to complete fully - typically I have six or seven questions that requires one to visit every part of the museum, and as many of you are aware, some of the answers are not easy to find.
Ken (a.k.a. Highpointer)
--0-695717399-1033070499=:81290
Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii
<P><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT color=#000000>Hello Geocachers,</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT color=#000000>While traveling out of the state in the past two weeks, I stopped and visited two small historical museums, one in <A href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=37740">southeastern Utah</A> and the other in <A href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=37738">northwestern Oklahoma</A>. I made virtual geocaches from these museums, similar in style to the six that I have currenlty active in eastern Maricopa County.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P>Geocaching administrator <FONT face=Verdana><A href="http://www.geocaching.com/profile/default.asp?A=4285">erik88l-r</A> </FONT><FONT face=Arial>approved these two new virtual geocaches, but upon doing so he sent me this note, which I have pasted below:</FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT color=#000000>User erik88l-r has contacted you with the following message:<BR><BR><EM>Hi,<BR></EM></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT color=#000000><BR><EM>I posted your caches, but have to ask before others attack you for it in the forums - are all these museums really "geocaches"? Don't get me wrong, I love museums, but is a GPS required to find them? I just don't want to see you going overboard on something that might result in a backlash. Sometimes too much of a good thing results in that reaction. ;) My suggestion would be to hide a physical cache near such places in the future - that way people will visit the area without questions about whether something should or should not be a virtual cache.<BR><BR>All the best,<BR>erik - geocaching.com admin<BR></EM></FONT></FONT><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT color=#000000><BR>I replied to Erik that these museum geocaches are very popular among geocachers in Arizona. It is great to introduce people to places where they can learn about local history and bring the entire family for little or no cost, and they are particularly great to visit on hot summer days because they are air-conditioned.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT color=#000000>It is true that you don't need a GPS to find these museums, but I argue that one can find many virtual caches without a GPS, because they are typically large items like statues or historical markers that are out in plain view in public places. Also, what is wrong with having some virtual geocaches where a GPS is not mandatory - not everyone has a GPS, so this opens up our activity to people who can't afford to own a GPS.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P>Also, I disagree with his suggestion to place a physical geocache near these museums. Most of these museums are located in highly visible areas where there is no good place to put a physical geocache.</P>
<P>What do Arizona geocachers think about the comments of Erik and myself? Should I continue to create virtual geocaches at museums? Remember, these are not the easiest caches to complete fully - typically I have six or seven questions that requires one to visit every part of the museum, and as many of you are aware, some of the answers are not easy to find.</P>
<P><EM><STRONG>Ken</STRONG></EM> (a.k.a. <EM><STRONG>Highpointer</STRONG></EM>)</P>
<P><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT color=#000000> </P></FONT></FONT>
--0-695717399-1033070499=:81290--