Geocaching is the use of an electronic device to find a location on the face of the Earth. It is no different than using a map to find a location, or word-of-mouth. The basic premise is the exact location someone would like you to visit is communicated to you, you visit that location, and let the original person know you were there.

So what is being outlawed with the virtual caches in this case, freedom of movement, or freedom of speech? Is this what we’ve fought horrific wars for, this sort of freedom? We can’t even tell someone, “This monument has a lot of meaning to our country; it’s at W321.789 N54.654.” Shouldn’t these select few in government, who oversee most of the public monuments, be happy that people are paying attention to them? Instead they’re saying we can’t visit a monument dedicated to the founders of this country, veterans, and others? Since we, essentially, are the government (of, by, and for the people), shouldn’t we be able to visit the monuments we paid for, placed, and dedicated?

What if the monument is a headstone? Should we not remember those people too? Who says games can’t be played in graveyards? That’s not disrespecting the dead any more than disrespecting the living. Spitting on someone’s grave is disrespectful. Being happy in a graveyard isn’t. Most of us are sad that a person we’ve enjoyed knowing has died, but remembering the time we spent with them makes us happy. We tell stories about their character and personality, and often those stories make ourselves and others laugh–is that wrong? Burying someone and forgetting all the accomplishments they’ve worked for is disrespectful, remembering them is not.

It wouldn’t be such a big deal if we picked up our beer bottles and quit wearing goth makeup. But seriously, this is just another in a long line of government misdeeds “on our behalf”. Something happens, a sign goes up. The white zone is for loading and unloading only. It is being legislated because small-minded people feel more comfortable having the government handle it than dealing with someone face to face.
When I was climbing hard, the state closed a couple of cliffs at Devil’s lake citing “climber impacts”. A study proved that we were some of the more responsible users of the area, and one cliff was opened, one remained closed. There was always talk of permitting us too, but enforcement seemed to be a hassle. There’s always been talk of registering whitewater kayaks too. Why? There’s no precedent, but they would fee us and the money would probably almost entirely go to hiring somebody to enforce the mess.
As geocaching becomes more popular, and it will, it will invite more scrutiny from people who can’t believe we’re allowed to conduct ourselves without oversight. It’ll be something insane like what we’re seeing in SC, or perhaps because we’re pinpointing coordinates in potentially sensitive areas, who knows. The human imagination is limitless, and as long as there’s an idea these days, we need a law to cover it. Thanks for taking my two cents. Put it in the WGA defense fund.

You’re absolutely right that we need to be proactive. I’m sure it’s one of the reasons this organization was founded. To give us a voice. It’s just frustrating to see everything regulated in minute detail.
I’m not going to begin a screed against our government. I believe in it still. But one of the hallmarks of a totalitarian regime is running the peoples’ lives for them in every tiny detail so that they come to depend on the government for what they think & feel. Sometimes I just feel boxed in in the silliest ways.

Fence sitter here. I have to weigh each side of the story, though we should be asking for permission to place caches in public places, the process is going to get bogged down. Besides they ARE public places and we {Well most cachers} have respect for the area, by keeping it clean, neat and things well hidden. I waited 2 months+ to get a responce form one place. Do we need to educate the general public more?

As for the cemetary issue. Hubby and I Often times just walk the old cemetaries to look at the oldest birth/death year on the markers and take time to wonder how they may have passed, what life was like then, etc. Is this disrespectful?? It is no different that caching through.

I’m gonna have a big fat sign on my stone saying

CACHERS WELCOME
Come find me, in my cache
“HEAVEN”
coords are N77 77.777

[This message has been edited by Cache_boppin_BunnyFuFu (edited 07-11-2005).]

Thanks to rpaske’s post of GeoRadio. Episode 1 outlines some of the benefits of geocachers and graveyards, like finding lost graveyards and the history of markers without inscriptions.

I don’t think posting the GPS location of any monument is a bad thing. Nobody is going to send a missile from another country with a GPS as the guidance system to blow up a statue. The biggest monument I can think of is Mount Rushmore, and the most sensitive is the White House. GPS coordinates can be taken secretly by anyone walking up to it, but all the bombings so far have been very low-tech, and very effective. Terrorists don’t need GPSr units, or even a map. People need to use their brains and band together instead of cowering. If we all stood against terrorism and didn’t act terrified we wouldn’t be a target.