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Thread: Candidates views on the "minor" listing sites

  1. #1

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    Default Candidates views on the "minor" listing sites

    I'd like to thank Maple Leaf for keeping opencaching.org.uk forums updated with GAGB election matters - indeed, the forums there are so quiet that her posts form the major part of the activity .

    Can I ask the candidates about their views on listing sites other than Groundspeak please? Sites such as opencaching.org.uk, TerraCaching and Garmin opencaching (and NaviCaching I guess, though that is effectively dead in the UK).

    Many thanks,

    Andy

  2. #2

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    I often take a quick glance at other listing sites to see what's happening on them and if there are any new ones being published in my area. I'm a member on all of them including Navicache, but I only visited it once after I realised there wasn't much on it for UK cachers.

    Along with those more commonly known listing sites I also use http://cistes.net/index.php (A "cist" is just like a geocache) after we accidentally found one in Belgium, and letterboxes on http://www.atlasquest.com/ (Although my last attempt to find a local one failed!).

    I particularly like the variety of cache types on opencaching.org.uk as there are some really interesting ones (podcast, moving and educache). I also like Garmin's idea of allowing every single cache on their site to be downloaded straight to your GPS, and that you can download pictures from the listings straight to your GPS when you pull down the file. They seem to have made some great improvements to the site and the caches that I download from there look great on my GPS. So I always keep a stock of them on my GPS for when I'm out caching just in case I pass by one.

    So my view on the other listing sites is that although I primarily hunt Groundspeak caches when I'm caching there are some great features on other caching sites and they definitely have a place. In my view the GAGB doesn't just serve cachers on Geocaching.com but if cachers from any of the sites need help and advice then the GAGB is there for them too.
    My Geocaching Blog: http://geocass.wordpress.com

  3. #3

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    I don't use any of the other cache listing sites and although I have a Munzee account I don't use it that often. I've only been interested in finding caches listed on the Geocaching.com site and have never even looked at most of the other sites available apart from Open Caching.

    If the membership are interested in representation with the other listing sites then I think it's something the GAGB should definitely look into although I would think it would be something best done by someone who is already fully converse with those listing sites rather than a complete newbie attempting it.
    Last edited by Fudgeman; 17th November 2013 at 07:01 PM. Reason: Spelling mistake

  4. #4

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    I've looked occasionally at the other listing sites including very briefly the Munzee site but geocaching.com is my preferred website.

    I agree with Fudgeman that if GAGB would like to link up with the other sites then that is something the committee should definitely consider doing so however I don't know much about them so would have to research into each site accordingly.

  5. #5

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    Thanks for the replies so far. I think it might be helpful to clarify what I'm looking for. I'm NOT expecting candidates to come up with any specific policies or actions, all I'm hoping to understand is the candidate's attitude towards the other sites, as that will determine their likely reactions to future issues that we don't necessarily know about yet.

    Specifically I'm hoping that candidates, automatically and without having to consciously think about it, associate the word geocaching with all geocaching, and not exclusively with Groundspeak caching. But having said that, I value honesty even more, so please don't let your comments be influenced by what you think I want to hear .

    Thanks,

    Andy

  6. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by amberel View Post
    Thanks for the replies so far. I think it might be helpful to clarify what I'm looking for. I'm NOT expecting candidates to come up with any specific policies or actions, all I'm hoping to understand is the candidate's attitude towards the other sites, as that will determine their likely reactions to future issues that we don't necessarily know about yet.

    Specifically I'm hoping that candidates, automatically and without having to consciously think about it, associate the word geocaching with all geocaching, and not exclusively with Groundspeak caching. But having said that, I value honesty even more, so please don't let your comments be influenced by what you think I want to hear .

    Thanks,

    Andy
    I know of them but have never used them other than the Munzee site. I've just not been interested in using them myself

  7. #7

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    For me, most of the geocaches in my area are listed on geocaching.com although it has been about a year since I last checked. I do have accounts with all of the geocaching websites, I just don't log onto them very often.

  8. #8

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    I kind of touched on my position in my CV, I only cache on geocaching.com as that is the site I was introduced on and there are more than enough for me to go at on there.

    However I absolutely do not view geocaching.com as the owners of geocaching. I recognise that the committee is there to represent all players of the game. I did look at opencaching once and didn't find it easy to navigate but dare say I didn't with geocaching.com to start off with... I'd be happy to learn more about the other sites and converse with their players.

  9. #9

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    I've done a cache on terracaching and one on navicaching, and a munzee, and I'm a member of opencaching too. Oh and there are a couple of sites which are individuals cache pages that I occasionally have a nosey at.

    But 99% of my day to day cache related surfing is gc.com. Think I'd visit the others if there were more than a scattering of caches in Scotland, and if they did events.

    Not being the most technical, it was 7 years before I dared try GSAK, I'm kinda entrenched with gc.com as I can use it. Now I have a decent mobile then munzees are now doable for me too.

    I'm all for the other listing sites, I just don't always understand them
    Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. - Samuel Beckett

  10. #10

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    All of our caches found and hidden have used Geocaching.com, I have looked at the various sites as they were introduced over time but as there were very few to none in my area of S. Wales I stayed with what was available. We have found one munzee but that hasn't raised my interest very much so far.

    However I am aware that there are other listing sites and during GAGB Committee meetings over the last two years consideration and discussion has been made to include them as and when necessary.

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by amberel View Post
    I'd like to thank Maple Leaf for keeping opencaching.org.uk forums updated with GAGB election matters - indeed, the forums there are so quiet that her posts form the major part of the activity .

    Can I ask the candidates about their views on listing sites other than Groundspeak please? Sites such as opencaching.org.uk, TerraCaching and Garmin opencaching (and NaviCaching I guess, though that is effectively dead in the UK).

    Many thanks,

    Andy
    Of choice I use Groundspeak's site but I don't have any issues with working with users of any of the other Geocaching websites as Geocachers should be free to make their own choices about how they take part in their sport.

    The important issue would be to get the promoters of these other websites to work to the same standards that GAGB promotes through its code of conduct.

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by Poole_Man View Post
    Of choice I use Groundspeak's site but I don't have any issues with working with users of any of the other Geocaching websites as Geocachers should be free to make their own choices about how they take part in their sport.

    The important issue would be to get the promoters of these other websites to work to the same standards that GAGB promotes through its code of conduct.
    Paul - if you have never used any of the other sites how do you know that they are not already working to the same standards that the GAGB promotes?

  13. #13

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    Andy
    I use the Geocaching site 99% of the time, but I am also a member of Opencaching and I have found a couple of their caches, but there are so few locally. I am also a member of Terracaching but again so few caches I haven't yet made a find.
    The GAGB should represent all type of Geocaching and should include all the other caching sites in the UK.

  14. #14

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    Like others, Ii tend to stick to geocaching.com - I agree we need a stronger presence on them all - if only to see if they mention something that could be helpful to us.

  15. #15

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    I like the majority use geocaching.com I have ventured in to munzees.
    the GAGB encompasses all caching sites, we can offer the hand friendship to other sites like open caching ect, but some may not chose to accept it. we are there for cachers not caching sites..

  16. #16

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    Many thanks to those candidates who have responded.

    My question was not intended to elicit the names of those who actually use the smaller sites, or to favour the candidates that do, or to persuade anyone to use them - it was mainly to raise the awareness of candidates that other sites do exist, albeit on a much smaller scale, so that when matters arose in the future they would be willing and ready to consider them from the viewpoint of all cachers and not just Groundspeak cachers. This is because a great many Groundspeak cachers do unintentionally but frequently conflate caching with Groundspeak even if they know about the other sites.

    Regarding other sites adopting GAGB standard, this used to be the case with opencaching.org.uk. However, it became apparent that matters were being jointly decided between GAGB and Groundspeak reviewers, so by accepting GAGB guidelines were were implicitly accepting Groundspeak guidelines, while not having been consulted about them. We therefore drew up our own guidelines, which while a little less strict in some areas, actually go further than GAGB guidelines in others. I should declare, for those who don't already know, that I am on the opencaching.org.uk committee, though reluctantly because I'm not at all a committee type of person. Speaking personally, and not for the committee, I am not against collaboration with GAGB on guidelines, etc., but consider this - if both Groundspeak and opencaching.org collaborate, would Groundspeak be willing to accept UK guidelines that were heavily influenced by opencaching.org.uk?

    In response to the candidate who pointed out that GAGB does not exist for the benefit of the listing sites, I wholly agree, but have never seen any suggestion by myself or anyone else that this is or should be the case. But it should exist for cachers who use listing sites other than Groundspeak, and that won't necessarily be so if when they SAY caching, people actually THINK Groundspeak - and this is extremely common.

    Incidentally, while Groundspeak is a commercial, profit making company charged with maximising return on investment to its shareholders, opencaching.org.uk is more like GAGB in that it exists only to benefit cachers. It is an expense to those who run it, but costs nothing for those who use it (and I do understand, of course, that an infrastructure the size of Groundspeak could not be supported on that model).

    One further clarification may be useful. I know many people who use the smaller listing sites, but I don't know anyone that doesn't also use Groundspeak - the smaller sites simply don't list sufficient caches to fully occupy a serious cacher. So we are not actually talking about a completely different set of cachers, but a subset of cachers who have wider interests than just Groundspeak.

    Thanks again to those candidates who have taken the trouble to respond.

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