I'd obviously put a disclaimer on the description that non-member
cachers should check the webcams (and link to them) to make sure
there's a member in the space before making a special visit.
(On the offchance people don't know what geocaching is: the really
simple explanation is "a treasure hunt using GPS satellites".)
--
Katie Sutton
http://tajasel.org
"The ‘Net is a waste of time, and that’s exactly what’s right about
it." ~ William Gibson
Would anybody awfully object if I placed a geocache in the space?
(And if not, would anybody mind helping me work out a suitable place
to hide it?)
I'd obviously put a disclaimer on the description that non-member
cachers should check the webcams (and link to them) to make sure
there's a member in the space before making a special visit.
(On the offchance people don't know what geocaching is: the really
simple explanation is "a treasure hunt using GPS satellites".)
How about popping it into a willing members box? That should be out of
the way, and won't get muggled.
Paul, if it's in the car-park then people have no excuse to come and
have a look at the space and maybe become members.
Ciarán
I think that's kind of the point of geocaching...
I'm not personally thrilled by the idea of encouraging random
strangers to rifle through the members boxes looking for a geocache.
(I'm quite possibly missing the point, here)
Z
Good point Zac. I assumed they would head straight to the correct box.
Ceiling space with some kind of logo on the outside would probably be
a good idea.
Would slightly defeat the point but would be worth writing this up on
the wiki so that if there is some restructuring in the ceiling space
members might know what it is.
Ciarán
That was one of my lines of thought (and I'd be quite happy to make my
box the cache). I don't (currently) need a box at the space, so I
could slap a big Geocaching sticker on the side of it to mark it as
the cache, and then hide it on the shelves.
> Paul, if it's in the car-park then people have no excuse to come and
> have a look at the space and maybe become members.
Also what I was thinking.
I was thinking of it being a larger cache than that. London is full
of micros and nanos (film canister size and smaller) - it'd be nice to
have some more larger ones.
(I realise I probably sent my last email as you were writing yours,
but see that one for suggestion to fix the
people-rifling-through-boxes problem - a geocaching sticker to
identify my own box as the cache.)
Luke
What if the description clearly says to look out for a Geocaching.com
sticker and I put several of said enormous stickers on multiple faces
of the box to identify it?
People are bad at following instructions - especially instructions they
read several hours ago, at home - and when confronted with a wall of
60-100 boxes when you're looking for a specific one, people may
instinctively rummage. Given that Hackspace members could be working on
things that are fragile, dangerous, and/or expensive, I'd rather see a
solution that avoids increasing the change that people fiddle with the
storage boxes.
--
Alex Pounds .~. http://www.alexpounds.com/
/V\ http://www.ethicsgirls.com/
// \\
"Variables won't; Constants aren't" /( )\
^`~'^
Fair point (though most cachers I know either use an app to look at
cache details, or take printouts with them so they have a copy of the
instructions/hint).
So:
* somewhere near the space (so we can encourage people to come in) but
not actually inside, to prevent rummaging of members' stuff and allow
24/7 access even when there are no members in the space.
* somewhere I can hide a large-ish cache (I want to go for at least
'small' sized, e.g. a little bigger than a handspan) so that it won't
be easily found and stolen by non-cachers.
It also needs to be very local to the space as geocaching.com rules
state that permission of landowner/building owner has to be sought and
given. If it's within the boundaries (ish) of the space then
permission is granted by (presumably) Jonty/membership as a whole -
hence starting this email thread - whereas if it's in the carpark, it
would presumably fall to Workspace Group to grant permission. I had
enough trouble convincing Greenwich Council to let me plant a nano
(film canister) size one near my home; I don't want to do that all
over again with the building managers...
+1 to 'not in the boxes, please', though in principle a Geocache is a great idea to get people to find out about the space.
Dave
Okay, well, I don't know the space very well yet, hence asking for
advice from those who do. As above:
> So:
> * somewhere near the space (so we can encourage people to come in) but
> not actually inside, to prevent rummaging of members' stuff and allow
> 24/7 access even when there are no members in the space.
> * somewhere I can hide a large-ish cache (I want to go for at least
> 'small' sized, e.g. a little bigger than a handspan) so that it won't
> be easily found and stolen by non-cachers.
>
> It also needs to be very local to the space as geocaching.com rules
> state that permission of landowner/building owner has to be sought and
> given. If it's within the boundaries (ish) of the space then
> permission is granted by (presumably) Jonty/membership as a whole -
> hence starting this email thread - whereas if it's in the carpark, it
> would presumably fall to Workspace Group to grant permission. I had
> enough trouble convincing Greenwich Council to let me plant a nano
> (film canister) size one near my home; I don't want to do that all
> over again with the building managers...
Of course, if people are happy to have the cache inside the space,
that's fine too. But we need to come to a consensus about *where*
inside.
Some suggestions, feel free to add votes or shoot them down as you wish:
- the balcony
- somewhere in one of the workshops/quiet room
- kitchen area
- entrance area (maybe with some method of detecting the cache has
been opened, so the space can speak to the cacher to congratulate them
and encourage them to stay a while?)
Ooh, idea:
A sign outside the door, which says "Congratulations, you found the
cache! Knock on the door to come inside, sign the log and see what
Hackspace is about" or similar.
And then we have a labelled box/something inside the space (near the
door) which a member can hand to the geocacher, negating the need for
rummaging amongst members' stuff - this will contain a "visitors book"
or something, and any other trinkets, etc. that cachers want to leave.
Or something that requires a magic knock to open?
Some kind of waterproof container is generally preferred even within
hatches etc. for obvious reasons.
You'd think that, but I've seen many wet cache logs in supposedly
watertight locations.
A box keeps the log together with provided pencil, trinkets, etc.
inside the hatch too.
*shrugs* I can provide a box (I already have several ideal ones picked
up for hiding caches) so it's no big deal, as long as it fits in the
hatch (and I have multiple sizes, so probably have one the right
size).
> stay classy dave ;)
Agreed. And a tiny edit to the subject line may make this a bit more classy and fun - and should keep us occupied for quite a few evenings,
Dw
Already done: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=611d0635-a1cf-41bc-a0cc-a6038ae288d5