This topic contains 31 replies, has 12 voices, and was last updated by 
Walkingadventure 9 years, 2 months ago.
-
Posts
-
The only thing I miss from the old website is the county stats/map.
If the correct term for missing content is “modules” then one that I can think of is the personal milestones module. I liked to use it to track my milestones cuz Groundspeak does a terrible job of it. It is not even close to correct and now that the WGA website no longer has it, I’ve basically forgotten what most of them were. Quite a few cachers used it too…and it’s probably the reason why the Milestones, Congratulations, And Other Pats On the Back thread is so infrequently used now.
There also was a module that had lists of various caches (historical, etc.) that were started by individuals but never updated. It was an interesting one that caught my eye when I originally started caching but there was no way to access it to add to them or delete archived caches on it. The individuals that started the lists apparently didn’t keep up with it. I can see why it was discontinued…too bad. I like lists of especially good caches…maybe the WGA could create and maintain links on the website to WI caches with high favorite points???
Oconto...the birthplace of western civilization:)
I think the photo albums are gone, too. There were individual albums as well as one maintained for WGA events.
Yes they are T&B. Only the webmaster has access.
+ is that few were ever updated. Before the website changed I tried resurrecting them but most were several year old.
– is that old pics from previous events are locked away and not easily accessed.
We have been trying to come up with a different way to store pictures for the members but have not settled on the best way.
Drop box, picasa, google, Flickr and all the other web photo hosting locations are all being considered but we keep running into roadblocks and having someone to lead this. I think we’d all like access for members to share photos.There was a all geocaching social network that was created ( Cache Face ) that I know several members were using to host their photos.
This would be a great thing for someone that posts many photos to help us with.
Following the signals from space.
When does the Annual Meeting Agenda come out?
I’d Rather Be Lost Geocaching, Than Found At Home!
Here’s an idea that would work with each of the State Parks where there is an existing WGA State Park Cache.
State Parks with coordination of the WGA could develop a Park Passport for let’s say, 10-20 the WGA member/sponsored caches with the park. The park office staff would verify all caches were found by the cacher providing their verification of finding the cache. The WGA would have an incentive for those who completed the passport book of caches. (mail a pathtag?) I’ll bring an example to the BOD meeting.
I’d Rather Be Lost Geocaching, Than Found At Home!
I’m pulling all the topics together now including what is here in this thread. My guess is Wednesday, no latter than Thursday evening I’ll have it ready.
I also need to pull up our agenda from last year to see What We Did compares to What We Said We Would Do.
Not having to go to Indiana this weekend so that may open up a little more time to spend on this.
Following the signals from space.
Here’s another thing to discuss that was briefly touched on when we were on the committee working on the WGA State Parks Series…
There are many properties that were once state parks (or that people think are state parks) that are now part of the Wisconsin State Forests. (Think Kettle Moraine, Lapham Peak, Pike Lake…) There are 14 state forest units and nine state rec areas that could be combined into another WGA cache series for people to work on in their travels around the state. That would be a total of 23 for completion (the parks series is 47), and electronic art badges could be awarded for completion of the forests, the rec areas, and then for finding all 23.
Wisconsin State Trails is another series that could be worked on, except there are a lot more of those to identify and work with, and right now quite a few trails already have caches and/or power trails on them to entice cachers to use those properties.
Here’s an idea that would work with each of the State Parks where there is an existing WGA State Park Cache.
State Parks with coordination of the WGA could develop a Park Passport for let’s say, 10-20 the WGA member/sponsored caches with the park. The park office staff would verify all caches were found by the cacher providing their verification of finding the cache. The WGA would have an incentive for those who completed the passport book of caches. (mail a pathtag?) I’ll bring an example to the BOD meeting.
Linda, maybe the WGA could work with the DNR to develop a regular (not just for caching) passport book that can be published and sold at any Wisconsin State Park and property. They could have stamps in offices for visitors (not just cachers) to use in their passports to signify their visit to those places, like we do for the National Parks and properties. The WGA could include some brief information about geocaching and our organization in the passports, but this would be for anyone who visits the parks, not just for geocaching, and it might be less labor-intensive for the park workers if they didn’t have to verify cache finds, etc. Could be another way to solidify the relationship between the WGA and the DNR, too…
Along the lines of the State Park discussion, another thing the committee had discussed briefly was figuring out a small number of state parks that could be designated as demo parks. Parks with some GPS units to loan out could connect with a couple of area cachers as contact persons to offer some geo 101 workshops, thus helping toward the WGA mission of working with local agencies and the general public to build awareness.
The “worms” are out! Kevin Fiend, Pattison State Park Superintendent, had just contacted me for the list of Geocaches in Pattison for inclusion in “The Visitor” newspaper of the Park. So I would think, he would be supportive to make the ideas of a Demo Park a reality for a Passport Idea or other Geocaching education project.
Another partner possibility are organizations such as: Trees for Tomorrow at Eagle River, Conserve School of Land O’Lakes, Cable Natural History Museum of Cable,, Great Lakes Northern Visitor’s Center of Ashland, TreeHaven of ?, etc. where there are usually Naturalists or Educators on Staff who may be interested in partnering with the WGA for geo-educational opportunities. I have worked with the Cable Natural History Museum and they have about 10 GPS units. Other organizations might have GPS units and therefore they may already have these capabilities in place.
I’d Rather Be Lost Geocaching, Than Found At Home!
We did something similar in one of the Michigan State Parks and received a non-trackable geocoin after completing the passbook. The geocoin was redeemable at the State Park office during regular business hours.
I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.
-Henry David Thoreau
I thought the state parks did have a passport book. I know that we have a stamp at Copper Culture State Park that visitors sometimes use to stamp a book.
Oconto...the birthplace of western civilization:)
I’ll be tossing together the agenda and sending this to all BOD. While we encourage more discussion here and throughout the year, it now looks like a 12 hour meeting in a 9 hr time frame.
Awesome stuff and so exciting to hear all these great ideas.
Following the signals from space.
To follow-up on bartrod’s question,
I suspect most of the content that existed before the rebuild is still on the site, it’s just that it is no longer presented in that same summary fashion, in a way that allows you to scan through it as cohesively as you once did. Formerly, if I visited the recent posts, I was presented with a single line summary and could see perhaps 30 threads. I might be scanning for a thread title that I read or contributed to months ago and could easily recognize it in that list. Now, I am only presented with a half dozen or so thread summaries, each containing 3 lines of information that I don’t need to see initially to get me stared. This is THE primary reason I don’t go in the site anymore, I just don’t have the patience to work my way through it anymore.
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.