I am just curious are any Georgia Geocachers doing this? http://www.terracaching.com/

Not until you brought it to my attention. I'm signing up to see what it's all about and if there are any caches in our area. Are you trying it?

I was intested but didn't know anyone using it.
Without knowing how many caches they have listed, I figured it was not worth it (seemed like another navicache).

A comment by BrianSnat in the groudspeak forums:

briansnat

quote:

Terracaching adds a few twists to geocaching. They actively promote competetion by ranking geocachers and caches. This site has long shied away from that. Terracache also promises a higher quality cache. Another difference is that membership is by invitation only. Like Navicache, Terracache doesn't have a lot of listings, but its a relatively new website and seems to be growing at a far quicker pace than Navicache.

Neither site holds a candle to this one as far as number of listings, or quality of website and features.

I like the statement that they "promise a higher quality cache".
If someone is in or gets in and can vouch for some other GGA'rs, please respond as I'd be interested in how many listings they have (GA and elsewhere).

Kenneth

I ran across it several months ago, CoyoteRed mentioned it to me. But at that time I figured if I stayed in the mountains I would be ok without using it. Now with the problems of placing geocaching.com caches in the Georgia National Forest, this might be a way to go under the radar.

Well I got curious and had to see for myself...
Just got my comfirmed membership after seeking sponsorship by two current TerraCache members. I had four offers of sponsorship in the time it took me to shower and make a spaghetti dinner, including offers from johnnielacy and trez.
Thanks, guys!
Once I was confirmed then I was finally 'allowed' to view the available caches in Ga... Both of 'em! Yup, and they're both up by Fort Oglethorpe in NW Ga.
The thing Kenneth may find alluring about TerraCache is their cache rating system. They claim to be going for quality instead of quantity and each cache has a cryptic bunch of descriptive numbers that supposedly let a cacher know whether the cache is worthy or not.
The whole deal seems too complicated & exculsive to me and almost smacks of cache snobbery. Maybe I'm just not getting it, and I wasn't looking to jump ship, but I'll stick to the original good ol' Geocaching.com, thankyouverymuch.

quote:

this might be a way to go under the radar.

TerraCache can't permit you to place any caches anywhere that already doesn't allow geocaches. Private property without permission, state or federal parks, etc. So you can forget that. A cache is a cache is a cache no matter who sponsors it.
-JB

quote:

Originally posted by kennethpruett:
<clip> ... A comment by BrianSnat in the groudspeak forums:
briansnat

quote:

Terracaching adds a few twists to geocaching. They actively promote competetion by ranking geocachers and caches. ...<clip>

Kenneth

This part turns me off, so I'm not interested. I've been 'torched' in the past for my views regarding numbers, ranking and competition.
To each his/her own.
Just not my 'bag', man.

quote:

Originally posted by phat.bak:

quote:

Originally posted by kennethpruett:
<clip> ... A comment by BrianSnat in the groudspeak forums:
briansnat

quote:

Terracaching adds a few twists to geocaching. They actively promote competetion by ranking geocachers and caches. ...<clip>

Kenneth

This part turns me off, so I'm not interested. I've been 'torched' in the past for my views regarding numbers, ranking and competition.
To each his/her own.
Just not my 'bag', man.

Well if the ranking is for find counts then I agree that it's not for me.
I'm more interested in the rating of the actual caches and jb confirms that.
Hmmmm...

Kenneth

I signed up and quickly got sponsors, also.

But because I rarely have the chance to cache outside of my immediate area, and the lack of "Terracaches" IN my immediate area, I wasn't able to actively pursue any of the ones thay had listed for GA.

And then, I'm assuming because of my lack of participation, my sponsorship was repealed by one of my sponsors.
But immediately was offered by others. But I never accaepted the offers.
Because, I'm like several of the others.
I'm perfectly satisfied with the services of geocaching.com and the cache quality provided by most of the caches in our area.

Technically someone from Terracache.com could say I'm part of the problem since I don't go out and hide some caches to promote a more active participation in my area.

I guess that could be true.

But being fairly new to the "sport/hobbie/way of life" of Geocaching, I'd like to take things one at a time without having to learn new set of rules for every cache that I want to hide/hunt depending on which site I happen to be using on that trip out.

So, at least for the time being, I'll just stick to the site that has the most to offer.

Which is Geocaching.com.

D-man

I took a look at it several months ago and decided it was not for me. You can actually be your own sponsor and cache approver once you get in - it's a long twisted tale, suffice it to say you can fire your original sponsors, sign up a couple dummy accts and voila!

They also have very lax rules about where you can place a cache. If you are your own approver and, let's say, have a bent view on what should be allowed and where (railroad train bridge, base of dam, National forest/park, private property, etc... as long as it's approved (and you are your own approver or maybe the people who sponsored you don't care - they just want the #'s) anything can go. That was what turned me off - I can see this hurting our game, after all in a Muggles eyes (the general public) a cache is a cache is a cache no matter what game system you play.

My .02

quote:

Originally posted by Thorny1:
I took a look at it several months ago and decided it was not for me. You can actually be your own sponsor and cache approver once you get in - it's a long twisted tale, suffice it to say you can fire your original sponsors, sign up a couple dummy accts and voila!

Ouch! Being your own approver would not be good.
Becoming your own sponser would also not be good.
I hope someone on the site watches for dummy accounts and deals with them enough to keep them few and far between.

quote:

They also have very lax rules about where you can place a cache. If you are your own approver and, let's say, have a bent view on what should be allowed and where (railroad train bridge, base of dam, National forest/park, private property, etc... as long as it's approved (and you are your own approver or maybe the people who sponsored you don't care - they just want the #'s) anything can go. That was what turned me off - I can see this hurting our game, after all in a Muggles eyes (the general public) a cache is a cache is a cache no matter what game system you play.

My .02

Ok..follw me for a second or two.
So you approve your own cache.
When the first and/or second cachers visit and see there are legal issues with the cache, can't they request it be archived/disapproved? And repeat offenders de-sponsored? and watch for them to sponsor themselves back in and kill their account?

Kenneth

There was a link on the terracaching.com website to GeoRadio.
Neat idea of hosting a internet radio show about geocaching (saved mp3s you can download later...aka podcasting if you haven't heard of it).

In episode 3, they talk with AngryKid who started terraching.com.
It is about 35 minutes long and the real talk about it starts around 22 minutes in.
He mentions the basics and a few other highlights.

• caches can be auto-archived as the average rating falls below a limit
  
• they support locationless caches, but he notes alot fall victim to auto-archiving
  
• do not list caches listed on other sites (community enforced but could change)
  
• they currently list about 600 caches, most in Western US but growin in the East
  

If you listen to the whole interview, you'll hear him mention one of his favorite caches being a cache he found in Valdosta a couple years back while down here for a business trip.
He couldn't remember the cache name though.
He said it was the only cache in Valdosta then, so maybe the first?
Anybody from down there know which one he might be referring to?
He used to go by Skydiver on Groundspeak (may not have been his login id).

Kenneth

What I think I know about terracaching, is that skydiver (now banned from gc.com), use to run Skydiver's Geocaching Point System. But while he got a lot of the information need to run the point system via pocket queries, he did some web scrapping of gc.com which got him banned. So he started Terracaching.

By looking at the geocaches skydiver found I think the one he is talking about is Bethel Cache, this is skydiver's log.

Yep...he's the man.

Except I think the cache he mentions was Geocache Miller/Strom
His log mentions picking up a TB that needs to go to his cache in Montana.

Allen, I'd think you'd like his system as harder terrain caches get more points (translate into finds for gc.com).

Kenneth

But I don't care about "points". I just like a fun geocache. If the national forest ban will get straighten out, I have several places in mind for geocaches to list on gc.com.

I don't care about points either.
Those are easy enough to ignore.

I do like the desire to keep quality caches and those not up to snuff are removed.

They do say you can list caches on their site that are listed elsewhere, but only if your sponsors support this. They also mention that usually it reduces the rating of your cache.
Hey, if it is placed well enough I think it'd stay on Terracache too.
If the ban gets lifted, I'd approve your gc.com listed cache on Terracache if I was your sponsor.

Kenneth

See, my only issue is that if you played your cards right, you could beat the system.

1. Set up a newbie account. get sponsors and become active.
2. Set up another newbie account, use your first account to be one of the sponsors of the second. Once they are in, kick out one of the sponsors of the first, and replace with the second.
3. Set up a third account. Have this account sponsored by the other two, and have it sponsor both of those accounts.

You have just beat their system.

This does assume that their system allows recursive sponsoring.

quote:

Originally posted by AllenLacy:
<snip>
But while he got a lot of the information need to run the point system via pocket queries, he did some web scrapping of gc.com which got him banned. So he started Terracaching.
<snip>

According to the forums in Terracaching, he says that he was banned due to issues of copying Geocaching.com's "Terms of Use" document and changing it to meet Terracaching's needs.

He used two attorneys before doing this who informed that it was normal practice to do so and such documents are not usually copyrighted since they are not "intended to protect a specific form of creation or artistic expression". They also backed him up with references to documentation of legal proceedings when Geocaching.com contacted him accusing him of "illegal copyright infringement".

He did not back down and change his document, so they banned him.

Kenneth

quote:

Originally posted by MariettaGecko:
See, my only issue is that if you played your cards right, you could beat the system.

1. Set up a newbie account. get sponsors and become active.
2. Set up another newbie account, use your first account to be one of the sponsors of the second. Once they are in, kick out one of the sponsors of the first, and replace with the second.
3. Set up a third account. Have this account sponsored by the other two, and have it sponsor both of those accounts.

You have just beat their system.

This does assume that their system allows recursive sponsoring.

I don't think those who "beat their system" are doing anything great.
If you then list caches (of course you can approve yourself if you sponsored yourself) and the caches are illegal or just generally stink, people will rate them badly and they will get archived.

I believe the sponsor system has two goals.
1) to make it harder to gain anonymous access to the system
2) encourage accountability amoung cachers who don't try to go around goal 1.

Just a guess, but I bet they have ways of finding sock puppet accounts.
Scripts that check logs for login to multiple accounts from the same IP address would not be hard to write.

Kenneth

quote:

Originally posted by AllenLacy:
But I don't care about "points". I just like a fun geocache.

Amen, Brother

quote:

Originally posted by CharlieP:

quote:

Originally posted by AllenLacy:
But I don't care about "points". I just like a fun geocache.

Amen, Brother

I concur. So ...

Word to your Mother!