OPENCACHING NORTH AMERICA

OK...I have to ask the question.

The other main listing site has a regulation against placing caches near schools/government buildings/railroad tracks...etc. The only structures I see mentioned in the rules here are "dry stone walls", and a general note about historical sites.

I am a bit concerned that, without some sort of guidance, folks may now start placing caches in such locations. While, for the most part, this will not cause any issues, the first time it does, it will be a black mark on the whole community...not just OCUS.

I never understood not allowing virtual or webcam caches on the other site...but many of their placement rules (for the other types of caches) are there due to past issues.

It might be worth your while to make specific notes about such sites and what the expectations are (distances from...approaches to...etc). It could avoid some problems in the future.

And yes...I know there are currently no reviewers here...that we rely on problem reports from finders to indicate issues...but stating up front that some locations are simply off limits, could make things a bit easier for everyone.

Just my 2 cents.

Czar7

I completely agree. The hope is that those people that choose to use OC.us will be established enough in the hobby to respect those boundaries. Though this may work in the beginning, when the site starts to attract more and more first time cachers, if they don't know the general rules, they will not know they are doing anything wrong. And then there are those cachers that just feel they should be able to hide something wherever they want to. The thing with the placement restrictions on GC.com is, they are not necessarily created by Groundspeak. A lot of those regs came from dealing with communities and government agencies.

http://wiki.opencaching.us/index.php/Conditions_of_Use

4.5 Caches may not be placed in facilities and in areas which forbid trespassing or which forbid placing traditional geocaches. This applies in particular to strict nature reserves, federal parks, national parks, national forests or private property. Caches may not be placed in a way that could result in a damage of a historical or architectural area during the search. In addition, other than virtual, caches may not be placed directly in birds nests and tree hollows suitable for habitation by birds, also outside the breeding season, in monuments, and in their protection zones. Caches at cemeteries or places of worship may not violate the peace of the places. It is strictly forbidden to bury a cache in the immediate vicinity of a tomb.

I have added bolding to the part of particular interest.
I does go on to say most locations that are banned. Schools I'm sure are for the safety of the children. Government buildings are just common sense, but I feel should be listed as being off limits as well. Railroad tracks are a safety hazard. Placing a cache close to one would amount to putting a cache in the median of a state highway. What a lot of people do not realize about trains is that now days you can't necessarily hear them until they are next to you. Many of the rail systems have been redone to eliminate the click-clack most people think of. The welds are now smooth which make the trains quieter. If anybody want to read more on the subject, it has come up in the benchmarking forums on other sites.

If you would, please make a list of what we need to add and I will get it done. Thanks for all your input!

I started a wiki page on this topic:
http://wiki.opencaching.us/index.php/Ca ... Guidelines

Right now it only has a few things that I could think of on my lunch break. It needs work. I think it will be a good place to capture everyone's input. Then, after it has been fleshed out a bit, Jerry could find an appropriate place to link to it.

I like it ijeep! Possibly add under the Quality section, containers subsection:

Will the container be able to withstand being exposed to the elements for an extended period of time?

Examples of poor containers:
-plastic bags used as the actual cache = breaks down quickly
-glass jars = can shatter and cause cut hazard
-tins (ie: breath mint container) = rust through very quickly
-ammo cans still bearing military wording/symbols = cause panic/confusion

Feel free to modify any or all of the wording. That was just the best way I could express my ideas for additions.

It's been added...

First, I appreciate the concerns for safely placed and safely designed caches. I strongly believe that the quality and care of cache placement needs to be improved (before we draw the ire of local governments).

So let me asked. I started caching after virts went away. I know that the pre exising virts in national parks still exist. And I understand why you are not suppose to put cache *containers* in national parks.

Are virtual caches banned from national parks?

Specifically, I think virtual caches are a great way to tour a place. Living in DC I was thinking of creating some virts along the national mall. I looked for clarification as to whether virts along the national mall would be permissible - and its not clear.

The Lost Dogs

Virtual caches are fine in National Parks.

RVRoadTrip wrote:Virtual caches are fine in National Parks.

And I'm not really sure how / why they'd ban virtuals from anywhere there is public access. All a virtual cache really amounts to is a way to tell people about a place they would visit. I would just be sure to reference any access fees, restricted hours, etc. The cache page should even have a not automatically posted to it that it appears to be in a National Park.

So far, I've listed OCUS virtuals at Gettysburg National Battlefield and on Fort Belvoir (VA). I've also visited one at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine.

I do try to avoid using the words "placed" or "hidden" with virtuals, especially in otherwise restricted areas, to avoid giving the impression that I have actually put anything there.