Thanks Thanks:  11
Results 1 to 21 of 21

Thread: Terracaching and Landowner Permission Issues. TC Liasion request

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    North Wales
    Posts
    675

    Exclamation Terracaching and Landowner Permission Issues. TC Liasion request

    In several topics on this board it has been stated by Terracaching Members that if there is a issue with a cache, initial contact must be made with the cache owner and if this fails with that persons Sponsors.

    As a GC Reviewer I act at times as a liaison between the Landowner and cache owner. The Landowner having contacted Groundspeak or occasionally GAGB, after finding one or more caches on their Land without permission. In some cases I have been able to get retrospective permission for those caches, by working with the landowner, I usually start of by apologising for the placement of the caches without their permission which makes a good opening with them. On one occasion the cache in question after much research by both Groundspeak and myself ended up not being a GC cache or a Navicache [both sites web addresses were in the log book, but no logs]. The assumption being it was a container placed but never submitted on GC at least, which resulted in a upset Landowner who uplifted the container.

    As the Terracache members have clearly stated there is no other way of contacting a cache owner apart from the above or going on to the TC forums in hope that the owner or someone in contact with this person see's the post. Which is not something you can expect off a Landowner, as they would have to join the site just to try and find out who owns the cache.

    Will one of the TC members step forward and be prepared to act as Liaison with Landowners in the event that a complaint is made that a cache which turns out to be a TC one is found by the Landowner. The idea being that they will work with the Landowner in confidence [a example of a recent issue, I was contacted by a Landowner who had found out about 2 caches on land owned by this person. This person was happy for the caches to remain provide contact details for the owner were provided. The cache owner was wary of providing the details to someone unknown, and the landowner was not prepared to provide theirs to someone who had placed caches on their land without asking them first. Acting as a intermediary I was able to resolve the issue to both partys satisfaction]. So is a TC Member willing to come forward and publicly act as such a contact. This person would have to be willing contact the cache owner and sponsors about the cache on behalf of the Landowner, this person would be contacted directly either by the GAGB Committee, the GC UK Reviewers or by Groundspeak in the case of any complaint we receive from a Landowner where we believe the cache in question is a TC one. Any takers from the TC Membership.

    This is a genuine request, to benefit the UK caching community, and is not a wind up!

    Deceangi
    My post is my personal opinion and as such you do not have my permission to quote me outside of these forums!

    Dave
    Brenin Tegeingl
    Formerly known as Mancunian Pyrocacher on GC

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Church Warsop, Notts
    Posts
    518

    Default

    Is this really necessary? Why would there be no e-mail or phone number in the cache?
    Surely if the cache has been left with no contact details, no easy way for the GAGB to contact the owner, and no permission, then the landowner can simply muggle it. In effect, it's abandoned.

    There may, of course, have been a misunderstanding on the permission (e.g. permission was granted, but the person finding the cache didn't know). But, when giving no contact details, you're almost asking for a confiscation to take place.

  3. #3
    Icenians Guest

    Default

    Given that the total number of terracaches in the UK is 150 and there are less than a dozen active Terracachers in the UK I really think that the likelyhood of a cache placement issue is far greater in the the GC direction rather than TC

    And no, I'm not volounteering. With my tack and deplomacy skills I could destroy caching for all very quickly

    Kev

  4. #4
    Icenians Guest

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Mancunian View Post
    As the Terracache members have clearly stated there is no other way of contacting a cache owner apart from the above or going on to the TC forums in hope that the owner or someone in contact with this person see's the post.
    Or he could simply contact the cache owner from the contact details on or in the cache.

    I don't quite see how a landowner expects to contact www.geocaching.com when we all place the web address www.terracaching.com on or in our caches.

    Any landowner that is happy to go beyond the website, search for caching in general, find geocaching.com, report the cache, and get beyond an "it's not one of ours" response is probably capable of whacking out an email to the contact on the cache.

    Kev

  5. #5

    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    North Wales
    Posts
    675

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Icenians View Post
    Or he could simply contact the cache owner from the contact details on or in the cache.

    I don't quite see how a landowner expects to contact www.geocaching.com when we all place the web address www.terracaching.com on or in our caches.

    Any landowner that is happy to go beyond the website, search for caching in general, find geocaching.com, report the cache, and get beyond an "it's not one of ours" response is probably capable of whacking out an email to the contact on the cache.

    Kev
    Sorry but experience has shown me that not all cachers put any sort of contact information in or on their caches, to believe that all cachers do so is naive.

    Can you with 100% certainty state that every TC cache listed on that site in the UK at the moment or in the future has or will have contact details on or in the container? As the No of UK TC caches increases, the likelihood of caches with no contact details increases. Just as the likelihood of Landowner issues increases with the increase in No's.

    As for determining who owns a GC cache, as long as a Reviewer has the coordinates of the container even if they are approximate, we can check to see if who owns it. Please remember we can see the hidden waypoint details for stages and finals of Multi Caches and Puzzle caches.

    Deci
    My post is my personal opinion and as such you do not have my permission to quote me outside of these forums!

    Dave
    Brenin Tegeingl
    Formerly known as Mancunian Pyrocacher on GC

  6. #6
    fraggle69 Guest

    Default

    ok i'll do it. I can see you're trying to build bridges here. As I understand it, you want someone to identify it as a terracache and locate it's owner, positively getting the land owner to agree to keep the cache in place and prevent bloodshed?

    put me down for 6months and we'll look at the situation in say late august?

    as

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Wiltshire
    Posts
    5,520

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by fraggle69 View Post
    ok i'll do it. I can see you're trying to build bridges here. As I understand it, you want someone to identify it as a terracache and locate it's owner, positively getting the land owner to agree to keep the cache in place and prevent bloodshed?

    put me down for 6months and we'll look at the situation in say late august?

    as
    Thanks for that offer! I've got a great deal of experience at being "piggy in the middle" between landowner and cacher in these situations, so feel free to contact me if you run into any problems.
    ​​Do not go gentle into that good night.
    Rage, rage against the dying of the light. (Dylan Thomas)​


  8. #8

    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    North Wales
    Posts
    675

    Thumbs up

    Quote Originally Posted by fraggle69 View Post
    ok i'll do it. I can see you're trying to build bridges here. As I understand it, you want someone to identify it as a terracache and locate it's owner, positively getting the land owner to agree to keep the cache in place and prevent bloodshed?

    put me down for 6months and we'll look at the situation in say late august?

    as
    Thank you for stepping forward :cheers:, hopefully you'll never have to act in the role. But it's good to know that the potential contingency is covered if needed, rather than have to scramble around reacting after the fact. The more professional a image we present to Landowners,the more they will be prepared to work with us.

    And yes before anyone comments, at times we are anything but professional .

    Deci
    My post is my personal opinion and as such you do not have my permission to quote me outside of these forums!

    Dave
    Brenin Tegeingl
    Formerly known as Mancunian Pyrocacher on GC

  9. #9

    Join Date
    Jun 2007
    Location
    Warfield, Berkshire
    Posts
    436

    Default

    I've discovered this thread after it's a done deal, thanks Fraser for stepping up.

    I would concur with Deceangi that incorrectly or unlabelled cache containers create the risk of reputational damage to our game irrespective of where they are listed, so I think this is something where GAGB could help to field inbound queries. After all there is a committee phone number precisely for this purpose.

    First, I would suggest that every cache should be identifiable as such from the outside. Over 18 months of caching I've discovered that the vinyl labels are durable but the "permanent" marker pen to provide identification on them is not, so I'm switching to laminated identifiers fastened with double-sided carpet tape on larger caches and self-adhesive heat-printed plastic labels for small ones.

    Secondly, there is really no excuse for NOT having a stash note inside the cache. These should provide owner contact information in addition to the usual text for accidental finders. Mine include my postal address, email address, web site address and the URLs of all the listing sites I use, so the same standard stash note serves all. These are also laminated to make sure they are still fully serviceable even in if the cache gets soggy.

    However, stating the way things should be does not solve the problem of all the caches in the field that are not properly identified. To this end I would suggest a standard GAGB stash note that can be added to any cache that is found to be unidentifiable. By carrying GAGB contact details it can be used at any cache in UK. Carrying a modest supply of such laminated stash notes whilst caching is not exactly a burden. The cache ID and owner caching name can be written with permanent marker on the back of the stash note when it is left so that any enquiry fielded by GAGB has sufficient information to identify the cache in question.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •