Candidate Question: Quality Caches?

[bartrod]

How can the WGA promote more quality caches…emphasis on ‘quality’?

Oconto...the birthplace of western civilization:)

[maskinwi]

I think it’s hard to try to promote quality caches in my own opinion. The one way we can better educate on caches and placements is in our education of geocaching 101. When we teach a 101 we can emphasis on what cachers like to see in a cache and a log. Every cacher is different on what they like and how they find and how they sign. Some people like PNG’s some like hikes some love the power trails. So as a way for the WGA to help promote quality caches is through education. Thank you

All opinions, comments, and useless drivel I post are mine alone and do not reflect the opinions of the WGA BOD.

[Kelly King]

I want to start by saying that “a quality cache” is different to each cacher. To one cacher it may be a long hike, a bike ride or kayak trip leading to an ammo can or bigger sized container. The next cacher may think a quality cache is one that requires risk, such as climbing a tree. Yet another cacher defines a quality cache as one they can do easily because they have health or mobility issues to contend with.

With that in mind, for the purpose of this question, I am going to consider “a quality cache” a cache that is in good condition. This would mean that the container is not missing or in poor repair. It is a full container with a log that has room to be stamped or signed. The cache page is up to date, has accurate attributes listed and has maintenance preformed on a regular basis.

I think the WGA can share information and help educate the membership through our wonderful Website, either as front page stories or as a forum topic. We can utilize our Face Book page to post tips and reminders for maintaining a quality cache. A great outlet would be for members to contribute articles to our quarterly newsletter talking about what makes a quality cache and how to keep it that way. We can also ask one of our valued reviewers to talk at an event again, reviewing the policy and procedure of placing a cache, maintaining your own cache and also how and when to add a maintenance log to a cache this is not in good repair.

 

 

Disclaimer : All posts are the opinion of the poster and do not in any way reflect on the WGA Board of Directors

[zeeman_clan]

I’m going to try my best to interpret what a “quality cache” might be. To me, a quality cache is one that the hider put time, effort, and above all their love of the game into it. It might be one that takes a cacher to a spot that is special to the hider. A landmark that they are proud of, maybe a secluded spot that holds a special meaning to them. The hider may have a passion for spectacular containers and they enjoy the accolades received from their creativity, whether its from the artistic side, or maybe technical side of a gadget cache. Above all, I feel a hider who has put their passion into a cache is willing to maintain it so that it doesn’t become a cracked piece of tupperware, half filled with water, and a black log sheet that doesn’t preserve the history of the hide.

For as long as I have been a member, the WGA has had the Cache of the Month. This program was designed to highlight the caches that the membership felt were of superior quality that they would like to share with others, even if they weren’t WGA members. Caches that win the designation of COTM are given the privilege of a banner telling everyone who visits the cache page that the members of the WGA believed it was a quality cache.

This seems like a very good way to promote quality caches to others, but it leaves some very large holes in my opinion. The first is that it relies on the membership to not only nominate caches, but they also have to vote. With limited member involvement in the website, it is very hard to even post a single nominee for each region, much less get votes that represents the membership. The second issue I see is that the program rewards the cache more than the hider. There is a banner for the cache page that may result in more finders and favorite points. This would reward a hider that is interested in statistics, but not the hider that is just doing it from their love of the game. It sounds contradictory, but I believe there should be some reward for someone who has put in the effort to better our game.

Quality caches are going to be dependent on how much effort hiders want to put into their hides. The WGA can only help to facilitate the recognition of those quality caches and the hiders, but its up to our membership to take on the challenge of making our state a great place to cache as well as a place of great caches.

My posts should in no way be considered as the views or opinions of the WGA or its Board of Directors. All posts made under my name are my personal opinions only.

[graphicsgirl19]

“Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” – Margaret Wolfe Hungerford (or in this case QUALITY)

My opinion of a quality cache is more of who put it out. Are they taking care of it? Did they put in a location that is appealing to people like us? Do they make an effort to help someone who may be struggling with finding it or solving the puzzle? Personally, I think the Cache of the Month is a wonderful and fun thing for the WGA to help promote the quality of geocaches. However, like I mentioned in another post, I think the website needs a face-lift to help better keep existing members interested in voting for them and getting involved with the process.

[AuntieNae]

Ah, with the question on quality caches, can I suspect you too have experienced days of finding nothing but junky containers?  At one time, I used to joke that there was a community nearby that only had 35mm film canisters but at least they were placed everywhere.  I think a key thing to remember is that the WGA as an organization is not the “geocaching police” but rather an organization to promote geocaching.    A way to promote quality caches is through education and encouraging members to encourage other members.  It takes a community to have quality.  Members writing articles about memorable geocaches they have found or even articles about cache maintenance would be a place to start.   

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