Friends and the LCG

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:16 pm

Lonely Friend Questions (likely an old line of questioning, but what the heck):

1) Should we actively promote and recruit out-of-state 'WGA Friends?' (Facebook is perhaps a step in that direction.)

Why/Why not? Please support your position. If pro, what would you do, or like to see done, to accomplish this?

2) Should we promote 'WGA Friend' participation in the Lonely Cache Game?

[Why ask? There are a lot of great WI caches - many Lonely - along the WI/MN and WI/UP borders. In many cases, they are more accessible to potential out-of-state Friends, which might drive more caching visits to these caches, including the Lonelies.]

Please support your position. If pro, what would you do, or like to see done, to accomplish this?

________________________________________________
Thanks to all, in advance, for addressing these questions.

(Moderator: please take literary license to help these questions meet the rules and spirit for this forum.)

Posted: Tue Jan 03, 2012 5:50 pm

This is the kind of question where I would seek input from members/BOD members, and possibly out-of-state cachers.

We go on the honors system of submitting LCG/CR finds and, other than a bit of "sniping", it works quite well. I would prefer to police our own state by offering the LCG and CR to WGA members, as exclusivity encourages membership growth, to some extent.
I'm hoping that some of the new members attend the LCG Event to find out more about how the game adds to the quality of the Wisconsin caching experience, as well as keeping the geotrash out of the woods.

As for soliciting out-of-state friends, I was wondering why there ARE out-of-state friends! Is the WGA the "place to belong" for some online cachers? It's good to see, and something to keep in mind before hitting that 'Submit' button on the kneejerk reaction posts! There are the Groundspeak Forums, which I rarely visit, to keep us informed of issues across state lines, too.

An interesting question, that breeds more questions, HP2! And hard to pick pro or con without more information (I don't like straddling the fence on an issue, but I don't like to commit to an answer without full knowledge of the finer points!). I'll think on it some more, and add comments if a light bulb goes on.

Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2012 9:01 pm

Would we have to let the Minnesotans in?

I don't see why any registered user (Member or Friend) shouldn't be allowed to participate in the Lonely Cache Game. There doesn't seem to be a down-side.

I think the Wisconsin Lonely Cache Game is one of the best if not THE best run, best maintained and has better participation from members than any other organization's LCG. This is something that the WGA sould be proud of and allowing out of state "friends" to participate is a way to show others what we have going on.

Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 8:17 am

I would say that as long as the people who participate in the LCG have no issues with allowing friends of the WGA to participate I really see no reason for not allowing friends of the WGA to be involved as well.

Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 3:52 pm

1: Actively recruit out-of-staters? Probably not. Let them in? Most definitely. We're a group that promotes caching in Wisconsin. If people from other states find that caching in Wisconsin is a highlight for them, let them come.

2: WGA Friends playing the LCG and doing Cache Rescues? Sure, why not? If they're willing to help us keep up the caches in Wisconsin, let them. Besides, they can bring a little spice to the LCG competition.

Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 7:28 pm

I think having WGA friends as part of the game is a good thing. When you look at caches in the southwest and all the way up the western border of the state as well as the UP border, there are a lot of potential caches that can be taken care of by our friends. It doesn't look like the same density as other parts of the state, but any little bit helps.

I also don't think it's something that needs to be actively recruited on the other state boards, but if they want to play, that means even more caches can be checked. I don't see a downside.

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 2:50 pm

Quote:

1) Should we actively promote and recruit out-of-state 'WGA Friends?' (Facebook is perhaps a step in that direction.)

Why/Why not? Please support your position. If pro, what would you do, or like to see done, to accomplish this?

2) Should we promote 'WGA Friend' participation in the Lonely Cache Game?

I look at this in the same way I look at space exploration. Why look elsewhere when we don't have a good knowledge about our own place.
Millions of dollars spent shooting things into space while we don't know what's is at the bottom of our own oceans.

By that, I mean that we (the WGA as a whole) need to recruit and promote the organization to those within our ranks, our state. I know that there are former members that have left for one reason or another and that there are Wisconsin cachers that do not know anything about the WGA.
There is a membership committee that can use some ideas on how to do this task. The BOD will be looking for members to add to this group so, if you are interested, contact any current BOD member.

Out of state Friends, no problem. We welcome your friendship.

OOSFriends and the LCG - why not. the purpose of the LCG is to clean up and maintain those caches that haven't been found in a period of time. Unfortunately, there are those cache owners who have put out a cache in an obscure location that is difficult to get to and then drop out of the game while not adhering to the rule that they are responsible to maintain or remove the cache.
If we have Friends that want to venture out and seek those that our members are not local to, more power to 'em. I would welcome their assistance.

Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 7:20 pm

1) Should we actively promote and recruit out-of-state 'WGA Friends?' (Facebook is perhaps a step in that direction.)

Yes, I think we should actively promote and recruit out-of-state cachers. I think we should set up a Facebook account managed by the WGA. There we can post things like upcoming events or questions or we could even set up challenges too for example: go to every WGA sponsored event in the state this year and receive a prize like a WGA coin, shirt, or something. We can even have something like “Coming to Wisconsin?” or “Need a caching partner or local guide?” posted on the Facebook page and people can respond to it. We could do something like need a hint, ask a cacher in Facebook and people can help. Even twitter we can make announcements or ask daily question.

2) Should we promote 'WGA Friend' participation in the Lonely Cache Game?

Yes, I think we should but maybe make a separate category for friends of out-of-state cachers. That will help get the WGA out there and noticed by out-of-state people. It will also get caches found and maybe make it more of a challenge for the in state players to find the caches before the out-of-state people find them.

Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:19 pm

I am not sure it is necessary to recruit out-of-state WGA Friends, however, I personally do not see any drawback to allowing WGA Friends from playing the LCG. The more help maintaining caches, the better - especially for those far to reach places!

Should it matter what side of the state border a LCG player is from? I don't think so, but that could be a question to ask WGA members for input. To encourage this type of game participation, we might explore adding another award category specifically for WGA Friends/out-of-staters.