Question 7: Other 'location based' activities...

[Bear and Ragged]

Question 7: Other 'location based' activities...

Groundspeak is the 'main' geocaching site.
Are any of the candidates aware of, or even members -and active participants- of other sites?
(Including other 'location' activities such as Munzee, sighter, or view finder.)

Sort of follows on from Saza36's question/response:
https://www.gagb.org.uk/forums/showt...ge-in-the-GAGB

[Saza36]

An interesting question (incidentally the title needs changing to question 7 - it was initially set up as "Question 3: Other 'location based' activities..."

My view is that having Geocaching within the acronym means that the organisation links to Geocaching only and that the M word (along with any others) does not apply. I don't think we should try to be the solution to many things - we should focus solely on ONE and get things in order on that.

This is why I challenged the inclusion of other Geocaching listing sites on the GAGB website. Mention them for sure but only in passing - do not major on them.

[border caz]

We are the Geocaching Association of Great Britain so I tend to agree with Chris that Munzees, Pokemon Go etc are outside our remit.

I am a member of Open Caching and Terracaching, as I joined them when I first started geocaching - but I have never searched for any of their caches as there are so few about. I also belong to Trigpointing and have claimed a few finds on there that I have found whilst geocaching!

I think it is important that we do draw cacher's attention to the other geocaching listing sites as otherwise they would not appreciate that we are independent of Groundspeak (Geocaching.com) who are a commercial organisation.

[Griff Grof]

I agree with Caz and Chis - the GAGB is an Association set up to support geocaching, and not any other outdoor location-based game.

There are three main geocache listing sites in the UK - Geocaching.com, Opencaching and Terracaching. I am very aware of the existence of these sites, and know of several cachers who actively use them. A UK-based cacher who I know well regularly shares pictures etc. from his Terracaching adventures on Twitter. In the past five months, seven new caches have been published on Opencaching UK. So it is definitely untrue to say that the latter two sites are not used!

Personally, I am a member of all of them except Opencaching (not sure why - I might go and sign up now!). I am yet to find a Terracache, simply as there are none near me, but I would never rule it out.

I have always made the greatest effort to emphasise that there’s more than just one listing site. As admin of the CacheWalker forum, I included fields for people to input their usernames for each of these sites - so they could join without necessarily being a member of GC.com. I authored the GAGB’s ‘Getting Started’ page, in which it is made clear that there are several sites, all with their own advantages. Our leaflets for newbies say “geocaches are listed on several websites”.

I believe that it absolutely imperative for the GAGB to remain completely independent and not promote or affiliate itself with any one of these listing sites. The Association exists to support geocaching as a hobby, as a pastime - and no one listing website owns the game itself. We can still continue have great relations with Geocaching HQ, supporting them and standing up for the interests of UK cachers if ever required - but without forgetting the others.

For newbies, at introduction to geocaching events, we naturally might have to encourage them to download the GC.com app as it’s the quickest and easiest way to get started. We already focus on GC.com on our ‘Getting Started’ page and event display boards, purely as it is used by more people. But I believe the GAGB should never explicitly or implicitly suggest that there is only one that should be used and explored. At the end of the day, it’s up to the individual cacher.

[geocaching womble]

I spent 7 years on the Opencaching UK (OCUK) management team prior to my election to the GAGB
So I have a good background and a good working relationship with OCUK if any problems were to arise regarding them. In that time I also reviewed for OCUK
So I haven’t always focused on solely on groundspeak
But I try to support all of them where applicable as part of the GAGB but I have never used terracaching or navicaching or munzee myself despite being aware of them

[Saza36]

Personally, I am a member of all of them except Opencaching (not sure why - I might go and sign up now!). I am yet to find a Terracache, simply as they are none near me, but I would never rule it out.

As this follows a paragraph referring to the three sites that the GAGB mention I assume this means that you currently subscribe to two but haven’t found any local caches on one.

Add Opencaching (where the UK only has 1.5k from memory) and I still question why we do not favour just one!!

As an organisation who should look to attract new geocachers why should we promote two further sites to confuse them?

As previously stated - I believe we could/should mention them in passing but major on GC. This is where most will go and why most will have found the site.

Always consider the end user. Surely when the GAGB was formed it had a mission statement.




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[Saza36]

We already focus on GC.com on our ‘Getting Started’ page and event display boards, purely as it is used by more people. But I believe the GAGB should never explicitly or implicitly suggest that there is only one that should be used and explored. At the end of the day, it’s up to the individual cacher.

I tend to disagree - we open the getting started page by stating that there are multiple sites and we have no affiliation but then go on to dismiss the GC site because most functionality requires premium access.

This page need a complete rewrite so as to draw new users.

It should open with GC stating that it’s free and easy to use then mention that as people advance there is another level with more functionality that is paid for annually, stressing that most users are happy with the functionality of the free service and that users have a choice.

It should then go on to mention that other sites have subsequently come into being but do not have the same volume of caches (quoting numbers by way
of comparison) within the UK.

That way we remain unassociated (if that’s what we want) whilst providing a clear starting position for new members.



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[richt2000]

Question 7: Other 'location based' activities...

Groundspeak is the 'main' geocaching site.
Are any of the candidates aware of, or even members -and active participants- of other sites?
(Including other 'location' activities such as Munzee, sighter, or view finder.)

Sort of follows on from Saza36's question/response:
https://www.gagb.org.uk/forums/showt...ge-in-the-GAGB

As a cacher, I only hold an account on Geocaching.com and often have a little cry when I find a munzee rather than the geocache I am trying to find . I do play other location-based games but these are outside of the remit of the GAGB. For me, the GAGB should focus on Geocaching but be aware of other caching sites.

As the GLAD manager, I have dealt with a number of queries in the last year which have involved non-geocaching related activity. One was around "Who owns particular pieces of land as I think I might have found some medieval treasure in a river".

if a landowner finds a cache container and I can't find the relevant listing on Geocaching.com then I have consulted the other listing sites such as opencaching.uk

[Moira Crackers]

Personally I don't use any of the other sites. I am a member of geocaching.com and find the fact I have to use a different app to find lab caches annoying, having to switch between the two apps so know it would stress me out even further if we even considered doing any others........ but this does not mean I am against anyone else doing so.

[Jennthefunkyranger]

I have many finds on GC.com, but have never really looked at any of the other caching sites - to me there doesn't really seem much point. Pokemon GO and Munzee both have their own followers, and there often is crossover. But they are not caching, and so shouldn't really come into it. I've never been out Pokemon-ing, I have found a few Munzees, but only now when I stumble across them, I certainly don't go out looking for them.

The only other location based activities that should really come into it are ones that are already linked with caching, such as Wherigos, and now the new Lab Adventures (counting these separately since they both need their own apps - and wouldn't it be great if there were one app that ran all three together!)

[Maattmoo]

Like many of the others...
Yes I aware of other options, but its all about geocaching for me.
Geocaching has the stronghold over the "caching" side of location games. And is dabbling in other versions of the game...
Garmin ceased their rival a few years back and now seems partnered with GC.

I have found ONE munzee and for me I don't have the attraction of scanning QR codes.
Pokémon, Harry Potter, and other augmented reality games I think will become more involved over time... maybe cross overs in the future.
Although there are already a handful of AR geocaches which seem to work well (all be it from another app)

I enjoy Wherigos, and love Lab Adventures... and the multiple app thing isn't a worry for me. Just time and there just doesn't seem enough time to enjoy the game in winter. But who needs daylight anyway?

[happygirlie]

I spent a day doing munzee when I was in an area where there were no caches but after scanning 20 bar codes on benches I soon got fed up and never bothered again.
I do wish the adventure labs were incorporated somehow on the same app as geocaching as I often forget to even look and see if there are any where I am going. My experience of wherigo is absolutely awful, after doing a terrain 5 and nearly having a heart attack from climbing up an animal path up the side of what seemed like a small mountain, I had the final in my hands but the app wouldn't recognise I was there to let me open it! Hence I tend to avoid them now
I've tried Pokemon but got bored with it, so for me it's geocaching all the way, it's my sight seeing tool when going somewhere new

[amberr.merry]

Personally I only use geocaching.com / the app, I think its easier if everything is in one place - but that may just be my personal opinion, I think its great if you want to use others, however I feel content with how I am doing it!

[Jennthefunkyranger]

My experience of wherigo is absolutely awful, after doing a terrain 5 and nearly having a heart attack from climbing up an animal path up the side of what seemed like a small mountain, I had the final in my hands but the app wouldn't recognise I was there to let me open it!

I don't bother with the final codes, I just log them as finds on the caching website.

They can be a fantastic tool for sightseeing in a new place. I did two good Wherigos in Bratislava that took you round the old town, and one had some really inventive tasks in, like dancing outside the opera house, or tuning the cathedral bells (I imagine that bit would be hard for non-musical people though - a local cacher helped me with a prior stage I was stuck with, and said he'd had to brute force the bells bit, whereas with an A level in music I found it straightforward). Then two in Prague a day or so later, which meant I managed to sightsee the main part of the city centre in a day.

I also like the I *city name* Wherigos that are becoming more popular as a way of sightseeing. Maybe this is something the GAGB could get on board with to help with tourism in an area - bring in people from other parts of the UK, help visitors from overseas, and even get to know your local area better.