Event caches

The Spindoctors · Post by **The Spindoctors** » 19 April 04 11:36 pm

What's the deal with event caches once they've happened and everyone has logged their find? Does the owner archive it? or does it stay?

On a related topic, could a travel bug visit a caching event?

Richary · Post by **Richary** » 19 April 04 11:55 pm

I believe they are usually archived after a week or two to give people time to log them.

On the 2nd query, no problem with TBs visiting I can see. The last Adelaide one we had about 20 that were part of the Dutch TB race. We all picked them up from the event cache.

With other TBs, perhaps leave them there while you hand it to someone else who can grab it.

As a side topic, we were wondering about starting a geocache 4WD club. Every club meeting and trip could be an event cache

Team Piggy · Post by **Team Piggy** » 20 April 04 12:18 am

I usually archive my event caches a fortnight after they have finished, it saves taking up space then.
Same goes for stuff on this forum, I often clean up the SA boards, to weed out the old stuff.
In regards to events for every club meeting of a 4wd club, it seems a bit too much like some people are desperate to get points for cache finds.. I think the approvers would have a problem with approving multiple event caches like that.
And it becomes quite one sided as we have seen some 4wd events become in Aust. Not all cachers have 4wd's remember..

I am not trying to start an argument or flame war, but I like to believe I think in everyones way.. Geo-politically correct is the word.

Anyone who attended The SA Normanville Cache event will know just how far I think in all directions, so everyone is welcome and can compete & Enjoy..No matter what they drive, or their age and capabilities.

Richary · Post by **Richary** » 20 April 04 12:30 am

It was a discussion over a few beers around the non existent campfire we weren't allowed to have

More for a laugh than anything else, though at tonight's (real) club meeting we had Raider, Stargazer, Langy, Gunnell, Skippy and myself. Almost getting enough cachers with 4WDs to start a club!

I would actually be interested as a side topic to know how many cachers do have 4WDs. Have people bought GPSr's specifically to cache, or like me have one anyway for something else (4WD, fishing) and came across the hobby.

The Goog's trip was a combining the 2 hobbies. Yes, we wanted to conquer the track as 4WDers. At the same time we were going to hit as many caches as possible on the way. Would it have been planned if there weren't caches there? Unlikely. So I think that one was valid. Only one car of the four weren't already caching and they have since joined.

And I know you weren't having a go!

swampgecko · Post by **swampgecko** » 20 April 04 7:27 am

Event caches, I like to leave the event cache up untill I either know everyone who attended has logged it or a month has passed since the event... as a reviewer I would also look at event caches that were past their prime and ask a question like....

Are the tents dry enough now to put away? for a camping cache

Or I think we have overstayed our welocme here at the resturant....

something really inane to get the cache owner's attention that the event cache maybe should be archived now..

AS for the 4x4 question, start a new threat and poll people about it... I am hoping to soon join the 4x4 brigade, I have actually wanted a 4x4 since I lived in Townsville, just nevergot around to getting one....

Ebenezer · Post by **Ebenezer** » 20 April 04 12:28 pm

On archiving event caches, it is a bit frustrating when you search for the closest un-found caches from a particular spot to see an event cache in the results, but when you click on the link you find out that it was 12 months ago.

SNIFTER · Post by **SNIFTER** » 20 April 04 1:15 pm

The reason I like caching so much is that there are no "club" things with it. When you start to have presidents , members etc then things can turn nasty as the heads get fatter. Have a group outing sure but I don't think that a "club" is necessary.
As for archiving an event cache give it about 4-6 weeks so that everyone who did and didn't go to the event gets a chance to read the logs and view the photos.

hardunits · Post by **hardunits** » 20 April 04 2:44 pm

I think the biggest thing with event caches is they should be inclusive.

It should be something that is open to all cachers. There should not be over the top equipment, money or time requirements.

It should be something that any cacher could turn up at. IMHO things that are just for a small group should not be an event cache. If you want to get a group of friends together surely there are other ways to organise it.

swampgecko · Post by **swampgecko** » 20 April 04 4:30 pm

SNIFTER wrote:The reason I like caching so much is that there are no "club" things with it. When you start to have presidents , members etc then things can turn nasty as the heads get fatter. Have a group outing sure but I don't think that a "club" is necessary.
As for archiving an event cache give it about 4-6 weeks so that everyone who did and didn't go to the event gets a chance to read the logs and view the photos.

I am not picking on you here, Snifter, this just gives me the opening I need to bring this up......

Thats fine while we are underground, but sooner or later geocaching in Australia is going to have to formalise itself. The liability questions and permission issues that I have seen from a reviewer's point of veiw, that are taking place in the rest of the world are going to catch up with us here in Australia big time one day. I am afraid that the head in the sand attitude that is the norm for Aussie geocachers and NSW geocachers in particular will bring us undone. I know that it is taboo to discuss NSWNPWS in here but sooner or later someone in that organisation will take a very close look at the website and go ballistic. And what will happen then? I have asked via the reviewers forum for the guidelines and such that geocaching associations else where work by and how they deal with the governmnet bodies, I got little response. Even NZ leads us in this. People if you want this sport to survive in the future, within Australia and in particular NSW we are going to need a governing body and SOON. Now go ahead and flame me people but I have seen the otherside via the reviewers forum and what they are doing in other parts of the world is to make geocaching(in all of it's forms) a legitament sport. What is the downside? at the worst maybe 75% of all NSW geocaches might get archived with the owners all being fined.

The Spindoctors · Post by **The Spindoctors** » 20 April 04 4:55 pm

Sad, but true.

EcoTeam · Post by **EcoTeam** » 20 April 04 8:42 pm

swampgecko wrote: Thats fine while we are underground, but sooner or later geocaching in Australia is going to have to formalise itself. The liability questions and permission issues that I have seen from a reviewer's point of veiw, that are taking place in the rest of the world are going to catch up with us here in Australia big time one day. I am afraid that the head in the sand attitude that is the norm for Aussie geocachers and NSW geocachers in particular will bring us undone. I know that it is taboo to discuss NSWNPWS in here but sooner or later someone in that organisation will take a very close look at the website and go ballistic. And what will happen then? I have asked via the reviewers forum for the guidelines and such that geocaching associations else where work by and how they deal with the governmnet bodies, I got little response. Even NZ leads us in this. People if you want this sport to survive in the future, within Australia and in particular NSW we are going to need a governing body and SOON. Now go ahead and flame me people but I have seen the otherside via the reviewers forum and what they are doing in other parts of the world is to make geocaching(in all of it's forms) a legitament sport. What is the downside? at the worst maybe 75% of all NSW geocaches might get archived with the owners all being fined.

As usual, I'll stick my neck out and give my two cents worth

My opinion is that a formal organisation will not work for a few reasons:
- You would have a hard time finding enough cachers keen enough to get involved. Just take a look how many people will reply to this thread, let alone want to be involved in running and organising some official thing.
- The NPWS and government bodies couldn't give a toss about the sport. There are too few of us and the sport is too "gimicky". Yes I know that is what an organisation is supposed to fix, but it will still be a gimicky sport which no government body in this country would dare take seriously.
- There is only one thing that a formal organisation would be good for, and that is trying to force NPWS to officially approve Geocaching. That simply will not happen. The act is in place, and they only review it every so often, and even then we have buckleys chance of changing their mind.
- The only thing a formal organisation will do is to waste the time and money of the people who choose to take part. No one is going to listen to a bunch of geocachers.

So what things could happen?
1) Nothing, things continue as they are. Great, everyone happy.

2) The reviewers are told to rigidly enforce the rules from now on, old caches stay put. Most of us would live with it, and probably try to find ways around it... Those who want to place alternative caches will do so by some other means than gc.com.

3) The reviewers are told to rigidly enforce the rules and archive many existing caches. This would be bad news, but the majority of us would probably live with it. Although this may be the spur needed to form our own local gc.com equivalent.

4) NPWS take a look at the website and go ballistic. Unlikely. No one bar one famous NPWS person could care less about the sport. They have more important things to manage. The most they can do is ask gc.com to archive the caches and inform the owners, nothing more.

5) We form our own gc.com equivalent with no rules, they way it used to be... Not everyone would be happy, as gc.com is such a nice interface, but it might just catch on.

I'd be willing to bet that you'd find more people interested in forming our own local gc.com equivalent than you'd find who'd support an official body of some sort.

Liability is red herring. A disclaimer is sufficient with our new liability laws.
If GC.com somehow force this issue in a direction we don't like then we'll go elsewhere.

Heck, give me 5 minutes and I'll happily generate a web page with a bunch of GPS co-ordinates on it. Liability? - Zip. Rules? - Zip. NPWS Involvement? - Zip

Geocaching is and will always be an unregulated sport, at least in this country. That is the nature of it.

I think this is the most important issue in geocaching, so it probably deserves it's own thread.

EcoDave

Bronze · Post by **Bronze** » 20 April 04 9:06 pm

Who's been reading our minds -
Exactly what we were talking about round the campfire last night.

Bronze.

Team Geo-Nads · Post by **Team Geo-Nads** » 20 April 04 10:57 pm

Once it starts to get to formal then internal politics will take over and it is all down hill from there. I have seen this happen in many clubs. The longer we leave it the way it is the better

Richary · Post by **Richary** » 20 April 04 11:07 pm

Have been through this before to some level with 4WDing. In Sydney we had a great informal group that grew to close to 200 members all via the net. Closed for 2 reasons - 1 the trips got unmanageable, 2 the worry about insurance. If we aren't a club with insurance but someone tags along and kills themselves/someone else/their car the organiser is liable for organising the trip. Despite disclaimers about look after yourself.

Caching? OK - it's an individual hobby even if we hunt in packs at times. The danger comes from placing one. Most of mine are on relatively easy terrain. But look at Barraranara which nobody has hit since October. Semi serious 4WD track at Arkaroola which I had no drama with in the Grand Vitara. So it's not that hard. Arkaroola rates it high clearance only.

So JoeBloggsCacher team goes out on that track and rolls their car. Not impossible, it's fun but not serious if you know what you are doing. Some steep bits. Next thing I know they sue me because I put a cache there and that's why they went. Sure, they are unlikely to win because I have put suitable warnings in the notes. But how much in time & money will it cost me to defend? That's the scary bit.

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