This topic contains 23 replies, has 10 voices, and was last updated by 
Thraxman 23 years, 7 months ago.
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I stumbled across this link on alt.rec.geocaching. has anyone else heard about this?
http://www.geocaching.com/subscribe/If I read it correctly, the site would still be free but there would be a “members only” section with special perks and Members only caches.
What does everyone think?
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Originally posted by sylvanis:
What does everyone think?Hmm, this is the first I’ve heard of this. I figured it might be coming eventually. I don’t know what to think. $30 is certainly worth it for the enjoyment I’ve gained from doing this for the past year. I almost feel I have to pay to keep up with everyone else.
We love it, and signed right up! First, its nice to see the J-Man getting something out of it, we think it makes it more likely he will stick with the activity. probably see some quicker improvements too. Plus, this answers our topic on the Help forum regarding how to prevent ‘above average content’ caches from being plundered. Just make them a ‘Member Only’ cache. Then, at your whim, you can later change them to a general cache. I tried it out, member only caches still show up in the search pages, just listed as member only caches. Its just a checkbox on the edit page to turn the feature on and off.
It’s late and I’m tired, but right now my feeling is: to heck with the pay-more area. Maybe all of us in Wisconsin can boycott and promise to post all our caches in the “free” area.
I dunno. Maybe I’ll feel differently tomorrow.
quote:
Originally posted by kbraband:
It’s late and I’m tired, but right now my feeling is: to heck with the pay-more area. Maybe all of us in Wisconsin can boycott and promise to post all our caches in the “free” area.I dunno. Maybe I’ll feel differently tomorrow.
I dunno… I just checked it out. It has always been free, but I can understand why he is doing it. Running a high traffic website gets EXPENSIVE!
Now, if I found out that Jeremy was making gobs of cash already off the site without implementing the pay option, I would feel different, but I am guessing that he isn’t.
I will probably join tonight, purely because I never actually purchased anything off the website that would have generated any cash flow for him, nor have I sent any donations.
hey Thrax!
The J-Man had posted in a thread that the T-Shirt sales weren’t cutting it anymore. Four servers plus the bandwidth plus the support time were getting expensive. Somewhere recently I saw a post on how many millions of hits he was getting in a month.
Now, if I found out that Jeremy was making gobs of cash already off the site without implementing the pay option, I would feel different, but I am guessing that he isn’t.
I don’t know… if $3/month is all I have to pay for the fun I’m having, and even then paying is an option, I guess I couldn’t care less if Jeremy became a millionare from it. Its unlikely, but if it happened, more power to him. What is wrong with him profiting from running his site? Its not Geocaching per se that he would be charging for, but rather for the tool he provides. No one has to use the tool he offers us… we could use navicache, or we could just post co-ordiantes on the GPS newsgroups just like how caching got started before Jeremy’s site existed.
kbraband,
I hope you do feel differently this morning. As I for one can’t figure out why Wisconsin Cachers would want to boycott this. Is it the $3/month that’s too much? Is it the Member Only caches (which are very similier to what we talked about on the Help forum related to invite only caches) you don’t like?Personally, I think trying to start a groundswell effort to boycott Jeremy’s membership option is not called for. If an individual doesn’t want to participate, fine, use the site like you always have and don’t become a member.
[This message has been edited by CacheCows (edited March 07, 2002).]
After reading Jeremy’s input on the groundspeak forum, I have no problem with paying the 30 bucks. I think it’s money well spent.
quote:
Originally posted by CacheCows:
kbraband,
I hope you do feel differently this morning. As I for one can’t figure out why Wisconsin Cachers would want to boycott this. Is it the $3/month that’s too much? Is it the Member Only caches (which are very similier to what we talked about on the Help forum related to invite only caches) you don’t like?Personally, I think trying to start a groundswell effort to boycott Jeremy’s membership option is not called for. If an individual doesn’t want to participate, fine, use the site like you always have and don’t become a member.
[This message has been edited by CacheCows (edited March 07, 2002).]
I admit I do feel more amicable toward the idea this morning. I’ve wasted $30 bucks on worse things, so what the heck. Maybe it will turn out to be a good thing for those who have had caches stolen in the past. BTW, I don’t feel I’m a geocaching cheapskate. I have donated to Jeremy’s site several times. I’m just a curmugdeon when it comes to being required to pay more for things that used to be free. As far as it being an option, maybe it is now but we can all see the writing on the wall. In the near future the “good” caches are going to be those available to members only.
I think $30/year is reasonable for us ‘serious’ cachers. My big concern is that requiring people to pay will slow the growth of the sport. If all the good caches are for ‘members-only’ then newcomers who decide to try out the sport before becoming a member will be disappointed. Hopefully a large number of caches will remain free to help lure others in…
It’s nice there is a $3/month membership trial option, but in some cases even this small amount (and the hassle of signing up) may be a deterrent to new cachers.
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Originally posted by jvechinski:
My big concern is that requiring people to pay will slow the growth of the sport. If all the good caches are for ‘members-only’ then newcomers who decide to try out the sport before becoming a member will be disappointed. Hopefully a large number of caches will remain free to help lure others in…Now I’m no psychic (perhaps psychotic!), but I’m betting that the new mocaches will be very far and few between. Why?
Consider all the hype and flaming on the forums regarding people that don’t log caches on the website… Why so much controversy? Its because most cache owners live for the recognition their caches get in being hunted. There are few things more exciting than that e-Mail ‘Someone found your cache!’.
I’ll bet that it will take special circumstances indeed for someone to use the ‘Members Only’ option on a cache, knowing full well it will greatly decrease the number of people that can hunt the cache. Sure, at first there will be a flurry of new feature-itis with folks trying out the new feature, but this will fade and expect to see many mocaches turned back into regular caches.
Plus, some of the caches that warrant being mocaches will probably revert back to regular caches once the good stuff is gone…
quote:
Originally posted by CacheCows:
Quote:There are few things more exciting than that e-Mail ‘Someone found your cache!’.If you believe that I KNOW you’ve really got to get out more!
[This message has been edited by kbraband (edited March 07, 2002).]
quote:
Originally posted by kbraband:
If you believe that I KNOW you’ve really got to get out more!Okay, there is one thing more exciting… when you’re hunting a cache, you see it peaking from under a log, you reach for it and…
Your alpha pager goes off with the message ‘Someone found your cache!‘
Now THAT’s FUN!
I thought about this today, and although I must consult with the rest of my team (mainly my wife ^__^ ), I have come to the conclusion that $30 for a year is not much at all. Many people have said it, but I feel an attack of the redundancies coming on: I’ve spent $30 on things that have brought me less enjoyment. Why just a while ago Sara & I went out to see a movie. Tickets, burnt popcorn, drinks and candy ~$30 for 2+ hours of “enjoyment”
Just learned of another great feature given to Members:
Members can now temporarily disable their caches, and then re-enable them on their own. So if you are working on your cache, you can let folks know not to hunt it.
Click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the screen to see what a disabled cache looks like on the serach pages.
Then click on my Beulah Land cache to see it in action.
Wow, a lot has happened since I was out of town! I’ll pay my money. I’ve seen the need for some time. Now, we are customers and not just guests. I’ve appreciated what Jeremy has been doing but did feel uncomfortable being in his debt.
Steve Bukosky
Waukesha
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