OPENCACHING NORTH AMERICA

OK...just to get some talk going on the South Atlantic board...

Why Opencaching? Why did you decide to come over and take a look at this site? What is drawing you here and why?

I will start.

Honestly...I have no idea. I have had a couple of issues with GS over the last year+ that I have been in this game and mostly the response is "just deal with it".

They generally have reasons for their decisions, but sometimes, even when there is a logical argument, the answer is simply "No...just deal with it".

Don't get me wrong. There is a lot good with GS. They have very dedicated volunteers. They have a huge number of caches listed. Their site is mature and well run. But I do see why they have driven some folks to create alternate sites.

Are there any issues here...sure I see some. But I believe, over time, as with any good thing, it will evolve and grow and the issues will be resolved.

I am going to cross post two new listings and am currently hunting for a location for a new cache that will only be posted on OC.us. Just need to find the right place. Let's see how it goes.

What say you?

Regards,
Czar7

Why Opencaching? I am interested in any caches I can find, even if they are not listed on GC.com. I've been involved with Navicache and TerraCaching for a while and while I enjoy those sites for what they have to offer, both are working with a handicap when it comes to attracting and keeping new users. OCUS seems to have many of the features that cachers expect now-a-days an that NC and TC lack. Therefore, I think that this site has a better chance of offering a viable competitor to Groundspeak.

I do think that competition is valuable. Generally, if one company too completely dominates a market, the customer eventually suffers.

While, I also have some concerns with certain things Groundspeak does, I still heavily use their site. I simply accept the alternatives and try to support them how I can. I figured that when the chance came up to put my money where my mouth is and help as a moderator, I figured I should step up.

I'd heard of Opencaching before from searching for groundspeak alternatives. When a post was made in the local forum that there was one in the works for the US, I decided to check it out.
I'm all for competition. It forces everybody to work harder to be better. No coasting That, and I've always wanted to be a part of something from the ground up.
I also plan on still using gc.com, but no longer will I be using it exclusively.

I just found this site today. I was looking to see if there were any other caching sites other than gc.com. I thought there might be more caches around that I'm not aware of yet. There are none listed in South Florida on this site yet. I posted elsewhere on this forum to ask if cross-posting from gc.com is allowed. I have a few hidden and would like to list them here as well. Does anyone know if that is permitted?

Kenny

sherken wrote:I just found this site today. I was looking to see if there were any other caching sites other than gc.com. I thought there might be more caches around that I'm not aware of yet. There are none listed in South Florida on this site yet. I posted elsewhere on this forum to ask if cross-posting from gc.com is allowed. I have a few hidden and would like to list them here as well. Does anyone know if that is permitted?

Kenny

There is another thread about cross listing but here is my reply from that thread:

The touchy subject of cross-listed caches... or caches listed on more than one site. Here's our official stance on that:

Ideally, we would like all of our caches to be unique to this site. If you place a new cache, we'd hope that you would only list it here. If you have an existing cache listed on another site, we would like it very much if you moved it to this site. That would all take place in a perfect world, and we all know the world isn't perfect. The cache data belongs to you, the cache owner. You are free to list it anywhere you want and our goal is to offer a place where you WANT your cache to be listed. We want this site to be the "go to" place for cache data that is not outdated, orphaned or otherwise unsuitable. I know I get quite annoyed to pull a query only to find many of the caches no longer exist in real life but continue to be published on that other site.

I hope this clears things up. Feel free to give me your feedback.

Jerry

I know what you mean about missing caches! How do you intend to address that here? If one goes missing, and the owner fails to maintain it, what can you do?

sherken wrote:I know what you mean about missing caches! How do you intend to address that here? If one goes missing, and the owner fails to maintain it, what can you do?

I guess I've been blessed to be in the Maryland / Northern Virginia area. One thing I've not had problems with at GC.com is missing caches that don't get addressed by the reviewers. Although, when I made a trip to Mississippi during GeoWoodstock VII, there was a cache we tried to do that had, apparently, been missing for a long time without the reviewer wanting to archive it.

Why not?
A cache is a cache no matter where it is listed.
I see some great potential in having competition and the opening for more, new, high quality caches.
There are areas where only one cache is permitted under GC due to proximity but there is plenty of room for another that would be permitted under OCUS.
I like the built in rating system (not that a low rating would stop me from finding it) but as the number of available caches grows it will provide a way to select the best choices for an adventure. The rating system should also encourage higher quality caches rather than the proliferation of gaurdrail and lpc caches assuming the users actually rate accordingly. The removal of unmaintained / missing CO caches is also a welcome addition.

While I will continue to use GC for most of my caching as there are so few OC caches currently in place. I intend to list all my future caches exclusively on OC to help jumpstart OC in the Charlotte area. The only significant problem I have noted is the lack of caches available which has also caused those that look at the site and find few if any caches around and decide to disregard the site as an alternative. That will change over time if we can get more people invloved in placing OC exclusive caches. I don't see the crosslisting of caches from GC as much of a benefit since most that would seek the crosslisted cache would have already found it from the other listing.

I am promoting the site within my local organization forum, placing new quality OC caches, recruiting others to join in placing OC caches, linked a GC series to an OC cache and waiting..... for the cache population to grow.

sherken wrote:I know what you mean about missing caches! How do you intend to address that here? If one goes missing, and the owner fails to maintain it, what can you do?

Users can report a problem with any cache, the report can be sent to the cache owner (CO) only or to both the CO and the OC Team (we recommend sending reports to both). If we get a report of a missing cache (2 or more DNFs in a row), we will email the CO immediately and ask that they verify it. If we don't get a reply from the CO with a few days, we will flag the cache as "Temporarily Unavailable". The system will then automatically keep trying to contact the CO and if the CO does not fix the problem, the cache is automatically archived.

Since the site is new and the number of logs is relatively small, I can personally look at them all. However, once the site grows it will not be feasible for me or anyone to read every log that is posted. We will monitor the logs for DNF or Needs Maintenance to make sure issues are addressed by the CO. This is where the ratings and "Report a Problem" feature comes into play as well. Since the users are the ones who discover cache problems, it is up to them to report the problem. The "Report a Problem" button is essential in making sure we don't continue to list abandoned caches.

Nice! Sounds like a great plan!