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Why not a bookmark for all of them?
Those are great examples…
of geocaches placed by people who know what the Wow factor is and what geocaching used to be about.None of those caches were placed in the last 2 1/2 years.
Of course newbies had to place caches, the game had to start somewhere. But now that we’re nearing geocache saturation in some areas, we all need to consider our hides carefully and be sure the quality is worth a “GC” number.
A geocache rating system is the answer to crappy caches.
I usually would agree it helps to actually do some caches before you go out and place one, but here is a great exception. looks like the owner hasn’t done any caches, and only owns this one. This is a challenging location that defiantly gives the WOW factor.
“Dane County Mountain Climbing GCVENG”
I was a newbie once. My caches were fine for other newbies to find but probably wouldn’t be of much interest to a seasoned geocacher. They have since been archived, and I won’t place another until I can come up with something I will be proud of.
I refuse to judge people by their finds, but I might judge them by the caches they place. It’s the nature of the…. oh wait….
the Cathunter.We have all seen lousy caches and we have seen wonderful caches as well. Rating the caches after they have been placed will not change its quality. It has already been placed. I am not pointing out the bad examples, only pointing out that newbies are as likely to come up with a winner as the seasoned pro is. I don’t believe that we should be putting restrictions on who can and who cannot make their contributions to the game. Newbies should be afforded all the rights and privileges that every other cacher has.
I do not see restricting newbies as bringing any improvement to the game. Nor do I see a rating system as being a positive influence. I believe that if we want to see improvement in the quality of our caches, then we need to extol the virtue of those that are good. Cache-of-the-Month, honorable mention list, favorites lists go a long way toward achieving this end. Let’s try to put more emphasis on what is being done right and relegate admonishments to e-mail rather than the forums.
JMHO ~tb
No argument here.
Let’s take out the “newbie” term and apply the thoughts shared within the thread to all new cache placements irregardless of the past experience of those who place them.
It’s all about location. I’ll take a “WOW” please.
@trudy & the beast wrote:
I do not see restricting newbies as bringing any improvement to the game. Nor do I see a rating system as being a positive influence. I believe that if we want to see improvement in the quality of our caches, then we need to extol the virtue of those that are good. Cache-of-the-Month, honorable mention list, favorites lists go a long way toward achieving this end. Let’s try to put more emphasis on what is being done right and relegate admonishments to e-mail rather than the forums.
JMHO ~tb
That pretty much sums up the opinion of Jeremy Irish as well. A rating system has an inherent problem in that different people like different kinds of caches. Think about the differences of opinion we’ve seen on these kinds of caches: micros, long hikes, puzzles, cemeteries, just to name a few. People who hate them are going to give them low scores, people who love them will do the opposite.
Now think about if there was a ratings system in place and someone set out a mediocre cache. I think it would be a rare person indeed who would take a low rating as merely constructive criticism and not get defensive or offended. That just won’t generate any good will, especially for newbies who would feel judged and have their new-found enthusiasm squashed like a bug.
We just need to continue setting a good example by placing quality caches and letting the cream rise to the top through the methods mentioned before.
@LightningBugs Mum wrote:
That pretty much sums up the opinion of Jeremy Irish as well. A rating system has an inherent problem in that different people like different kinds of caches. Think about the differences of opinion we’ve seen on these kinds of caches: micros, long hikes, puzzles, cemeteries, just to name a few. People who hate them are going to give them low scores, people who love them will do the opposite.
If a geocacher doesn’t like micros, why would they do micros? If I don’t like puzzle caches, I don’t do them? Assuming you couldn’t rate a cache unless you post a find or a no-find; the people that don’t really like that kind of cache wouldn’t be voting up or down anyway. A rating is not a vote on liking a style or type of cache. Its a vote on the quality of the cache itself. Obvisouly bias toward personal caching preference will be present in the ratings; however, this will be the case for all caches being rated– a moot point.
@LightningBugs Mum wrote:Now think about if there was a ratings system in place and someone set out a mediocre cache. I think it would be a rare person indeed who would take a low rating as merely constructive criticism and not get defensive or offended. That just won’t generate any good will, especially for newbies who would feel judged and have their new-found enthusiasm squashed like a bug.
How exactly do people know when they have placed a mediocre cache? I’m sure I’ve placed mediocre caches, but I really don’t know which one(s) they would be. All of my logs say the same things! A rating system gives new and veteran geocachers a goal to reach when placing a geocache. If their first cache is a real stinker, then maybe they will go out and figure out why people didn’t care for it. If a low rating on their “best ever first cache ever hidden even though I’ve never found one” is enough to push away a newcomer, they would more than likely be easily pushed away by something else eventually anyway. Maybe they would think twice before hiding that first cache and not embarass themselves that way.
@LightningBugs Mum wrote:We just need to continue setting a good example by placing quality caches and letting the cream rise to the top through the methods mentioned before.
There isn’t enough cream rising to even recognize it as such. Even our 135 Honorable Mentions and 51 past winners comes to roughly 5% of the caches placed in the state.
I want to spend my precious free time with my family finding quality geocaches, not crap. A rating system is only one more piece of information I can use to help me plan my day to avoid the cache types I don’t care to do and to find the cache quailty I’m look for. I agree that we do need to keep using the methods that are currently in place to recognize the best of the best. I just believe that we need to do more.
$.02
We are getting too far off topic. The need for a rating system should be addressed in a separate thread.
The original issue was that there are a number of caches that are poor, and that there are a number of caches that are poorly cared for. Is there a correlation between these and experience of cachers. Then if there is, should the right to hide caches be dependent on level of experience.
I do not believe there is enough evidence to support such a correlation, nor do I believe that we can justify restricting anybody’s right to place a cache.
We have this nice new web site so how about creating a section on how to place and maintain a cache. Granted, people have to take the time to read it in the first place, but if it was done well, I think it would be a nice addition to help both new and “experienced” cachers alike.
Don
@astrod-team wrote:
We have this nice new web site so how about creating a section on how to place and maintain a cache. Granted, people have to take the time to read it in the first place, but if it was done well, I think it would be a nice addition to help both new and “experienced” cachers alike.
Good idea Don. We already have a Wiki page named Hiding A Cache that lists some of the rules, regulations, and tips to be considered when hiding a cache. We brought this information over from the old website but we are currently in the process of revising it (mainly to address changes due to the new DNR rules). Note that we will also be adding a link to it from the Main Menu block in the upper left hand corner so it will be easier to find in the future.
Note that this Wiki page is currently locked, so it can only be edited by Board members and myself. If you have material you’d like to see added, just send it to me or a Board member, or we can create a second hiding a cache page with member contributed tips (maybe information on which types of containers hold up best, suggestions for swag items to put in a cache, etc.).
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