[Team Deejay]

@elfdoctors wrote:

Thanks for the link. However, I only get the message “The page cannot be found”.

It works for me, just clicking on the link.

[Team Deejay]

@gotta run wrote:

Thanks for the info.

We had heard about this “through the grapevine” but couldn’t find it anywhere, and we assumed it applied to trad caches which is what all the seed caches we have found have been published as. We thought it was ok to do as an “other” cache according to gc.com guidelines but it became an issue on a proposed cache placement of ours and in doing research we found this thread.

So we just wanted to see if there is a Big Book o’ Rules out there that we missed along the way for our future reference to stay w/in the rules. If there isn’t, I would think it should be added to the WGA “hiding a cache” page and ideally the gc.com cache-hiding page itself, which was just updated end of Feb.

The reality is that the guidelines are changed and revised continuously. I have lobbied to have these changes added to the guidelines regularly, without success.

Another change was the requirement that any caches with “special” logging requirements (ALRs) be listed as mystery caches. The issue here was raised by many people who found caches while traveling only to discover when they got home that they couldn’t log them because they didn’t take a photo, record an altitude or do a happy dance while logging. The thought was that when you find a traditional cache, you expect to be able to find it without reading the listing, but when finding a mystery cache, you will nearly always need to read the listing. Therefore, making caches with ALRs mystery caches gives the finder a fighting chance of knowing about the ALR before they try to log the cache. Consider it an “alarm system”.

[Team Deejay]

Welcome back!

[Team Deejay]

I agree with the bug lady. This is really beyond the mission of the WGA to host a statistics site. If you are looking for a program to do your own statistics (rather than look at other peoples), you might try Cachestats, which is available at http://www.logicweave.com/cachestats.html. This program is produced by a WGA member, and I’m sure they would appreciate your support.

[Team Deejay]

@gotta run wrote:

@Team Deejay wrote:

That is correct. Groundspeak changed the policy around 3 months ago.

Do you know where this is referenced? I can’t find it in the latest 2/21/08 “guidelines” so I fear I’m missing seeing another link that’s out there.

All they did with this update was add the Wherigo cache type. I’ll ask about the update (and complain about the missing “No Hide a Cache ALR” rule.)

Here is what drove this change: in another state (Michigan IIRC), someone placed a cache which required that “you place a new cache which requires the finder to place a new cache”. As you might guess, all of a sudden, there were many of these “hide a cache” requirements popped up in the system, from finders of the initial cache. The reviewer who published the original cache realized he had “created an exponentially growing monster” and cried for help. The powers that be decided the best answer was to not allow this sort of requirement.

[Team Deejay]

“Just when I thought I was out… they pull me back in. “

Welcome back to the addiction!

[Team Deejay]

FYI, the cache (before Jay edited it) had the name of a product in the title (including the ®) , the Hot Wheels logo on the cache description, and a link to the Mattel Hot Wheels site. The key is that the cache cannot be appear to promote any business without preapproval from the home office. It would be ok to say “This cache is placed to exchange die cast cars, like Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Johnny Lightning or other similar toy cars.” But you can’t say “Hot Wheels are the greatest!” or “K-Mart has a great deal on Hot Wheels, so stop by there before you visit the cache”.

We understand the confusion because there are so many cache out there which don’t meet this guideline, and I expect that less than 5% of them were approved by Groundspeak. For future reference, here is a short list of stuff you need to get preapproval for.

• Company or product names or slogans in the cache title
• Use of corporate logos and trademarks
• Advertising, promoting or recommending businesses (yes, including ice cream stands)
• Links to commercial websites
• Requiring use of a commercial website to solve a puzzle
• Requiring a finder to enter a business or interact with employees/owners of a business to find the cache

Remember that you CAN place caches that involve any or all of these, as long as you get preapproval from Groundspeak.

[Team Deejay]

@gotta run wrote:

@Team Deejay wrote:

When I looked at the LB, there were no stamps, but a couple geocachers signed it instead of the real cache.

If there were no stamps, it is not a proper letterbox. Then again, a cacher may have taken the stamp assuming it was swag.

Unclear communications on my part. No stampings in the book. There was a stamp in the container.

[Team Deejay]

Well, you can do anything you want with your property, but you would need special permission from Groundspeak to list a buried cache on geocaching.com. Becky or I couldn’t approve it for you. This is one of those guidelines that is there for a reason. One of the running battles we have with land managers is overcoming the misconception that geocaches are buried. And while obviously you are the manager of your own property, the problem is that ,as soon as you place it, 2 dozen other people will run out and create their own buried cache in Whitnall Park, or Lapham Peak or wherever and THEY won’t tell us that the caches are buried. And then we will have a big problem with Milwaukee County Parks, or the DNR, or whoever runs the land. I actually received complaints about a cache I approved where the cache was a nano container attached to a nail stuck in the ground about 1/4 inch, the complainers indicating they felt it was buried.

Additionally, remember that there are a lot of issues with having a cache in a residential neighborhood. You will have people in your yard at all hours of the day and night, including 5AM and Midnight. Your neighbors also may not be happy with the steady stream of people wandering off into their yard, expanding their search. A typical traditional cache in Milwaukee county gets visited 30-40 times the first month and then probably 20 times the following month and decreasing from there. Is this level of visits to your property going to make you happy?

So, if you want to do this:
1. Contact Groundspeak at [email protected] and get preapproved.
2. Think about what sort of restrictions you want to place on the hide (hours, parking locations, etc.) Be sure to include this in your listing. It won’t stop everyone from coming at 3AM, but it might cut it down a little.
3. Make sure all relevant neighbors are informed, so we don’t get people calling the police thinking that you have some sort of drug or pornography operation going on in your backyard.
4. When you submit your listing, be sure to attach the email from Groundspeak indicating their approval, or we will just have to send it back to you.
5. Make sure your coordinates are spot on, provide a useful hint and give your property address and a description of the house. We do NOT want people wandering onto private property if their signal is off by a few feet.
6. Finally, in your cache description, be sure to note that you received a special guideline variance from Groundspeak and give the email address for anyone contemplating a similar hide.

If this sounds like a pain in the neck, well, it is. Buried caches are generally bad news, and neighborhood caches take a lot of patience from their owners. Combining the two isn’t going to be pretty. When you find 20 three foot deep holes dug all over your yard, just remember that I tried to warn you.

[Team Deejay]

Actually, with regard to commercial caches, that is the one standard we don’t have the ability to adjust based on circumstances. If you want to place a cache promoting a business, product or other commercial enterprise, you need permission from Groundspeak. I have no way of knowing how they determine which commercial caches are acceptable and which are not, but we do NOT archive caches when they come in with commercial content. We always DISABLE them and instruct the owner to get permission so that we can complete the review. In some cases, like the “ice cream store” example given, we tell the person that “if you just strike that one sentence” it can be published now, but in reality, we aren’t even supposed to do that. The mandate is to send the person to Groundspeak to get permission without providing any guidance.

And understand that each cache must stand on its own with regard to the guidelines. If you are offended by the commercial aspects of the cache you found in Kentucky (and I do agree it shouldn’t have been published unless they obtained permission, which they might have done), please send your complaints either to the reviewer publishing the cache or to [email protected].

[Team Deejay]

I just wish these guys would not place their letterboxes right on top of geocaches. There is a cache out near Johnson Creek (Two Ponds) which has a letterbox so close that they are literally touching. I did check and the geocache was there first, and is a 4″ x 12″ PVC pipe container. There is no way the LBer didn’t see it. When I looked at the LB, there were no stamps, but a couple geocachers signed it instead of the real cache.

Oh, and they are probably right that some of us couldn’t find our way out of the woods without a GPS. 😀

[Team Deejay]

@rogheff wrote:

Why not cross post the events on sites other than Groundspeak and post the temps where they’re allowed. You want to log the temps – go right ahead.

You have to understand why people post temporary finds to understand why this wouldn’t actually work. There are several websites out there (besides geocaching.com) which people use to compare their “numbers” to other people. Zuma mentioned one above along with the Grand High Pobah and It’s Not About The Numbers sites listed on the left. These sites all depend, one way or another, on getting their data from GC.com. If the temp finds were posted on Navicache or Terracache, these tracking sites would not count those logs.

Now, maybe the question you should have asked was, “Can we get the WGA events crossposted to Navicache as I prefer to log my finds there?” Assuming you are actually planning to attend the event, I’d suggest you direct this question to the event chairman, who might very well be able to accommodate you.

[Team Deejay]

There is no nomination. If a cache hasn’t been found for a long time, it makes the list. Assuming no one goes out and finds it in April, it should be on the May/June list.

[Team Deejay]

And Cheeto is the winner of an unactivated Signal CITO geocoin. Congrats and PM me your address so I can send it to you.

[Team Deejay]

@LDove wrote:

This is just one of my favorites. It should be on the lonely cache hunt, but I don’t know how to get it there???

The owner would need to activate it for one thing…

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