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Is it just a game?


IdleLad

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I've been cacheing now for about a year. I really enjoy it and like to have a walk with the kids and try to include some caches on the route to keep things interesting. I've placed a few and found a few. I hope I'm wrong but I sense there is a bit of a clique to this game In jokes etc.. Facebook forums are a good example. Am I wrong? ��

Edited by Dewey1000
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You can make of it what you want to make of it. Groups of geocachers do get to know each other, and any group of friends will develop in jokes.

 

Events are a great way to get to know other geocachers. The folks I've met around here have generally been friendly and open to newcomers.

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Part of geocaching's appeal is that you can make it whatever you want it to be. You can go years without attending events, posting in social media or going out caching in a group. It's not team sport where you need to join a team to play, yet you can have much fun traveling from cache to cache all day with a car full of friends. You can use geocaching as your vacation travel guide in unfamiliar places, or you can stay close to home and clear out your home area's unfound caches. You can do all that alone, with your family, or with people you never would have met if it weren't for geocaching. And, if you don't like one group of people's style, you can find another group.

 

It's a recreational activity, a sport and a hobby all at the same time. It's a RASH.

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a clique to this game In jokes etc.. Facebook forums

 

There are people who've been doing this for years, met 12+ years ago through geocaching. When they interact on social websites or even at events, the new folks are apt to feel left out.

 

But if you bring the conversation back to the common interest of geocaching, you'll find yourself among friends.

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I've been cacheing now for about a year. I really enjoy it and like to have a walk with the kids and try to include some caches on the route to keep things interesting. I've placed a few and found a few. I hope I'm wrong but I sense there is a bit of a clique to this game In jokes etc.. Facebook forums are a good example. Am I wrong?

Wrong about what? No, you aren't wrong in observing that geocachers are people, so sometimes they favor friends over strangers. In geocaching, though, I've found that conversion from a stranger to a friend takes no more than saying "Hi". The clique is based on a common interesting geocaching, so you already qualify to join! And even if you remain a stranger, about the only bad effect I've seen is hints that are useless when you don't have the necessary local knowledge.

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Joined this user group only a few days ago and I have been attempting to get educated on the ins and outs of geocaching. This place seems like a fantastic resource for all things related to geocaching. It seems to me that, like all pursuits, you can engage at a casual level all the way up to the fanatical. I think this is one recreational activity I'll try hard to keep at the "fun" level...not so casual that I don't care if I find the cache or not, but not so serious that I experience frustration at failing to find the hidden cache.

 

I love to be outside, and this sport may encourage me to go outside more this winter than in previous years when I had no particular reason to put up with the cold.

 

Looking forward to learning from you folks.

 

Best regards,

 

FGF

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Responding to the hand grenade of 'it's just a game' thrown into these forums. :)

 

I consider geocaching an enjoyable pastime which has got me out of the house and finding stuff I wouldn't have seen otherwise. While I acknowledge and adhere to the spirit of it, I cannot bring myself to take it so seriously that I get too upset about how other people play it.

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The group I cache with is a clique! We hide some caches that are placed in honer of another one in our clique. Sometimes we put out funny found it logs for someone in our clique. However our clique is often changing. Some bail out and new ones join in. There is in no way we don't want others to be in it! Neither do we want anyone to leave but some do. It is just all the local cachers who like to play the game. Nothing more.

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I have only been doing it for a few months, introduced to the "game" by a friend living thousands of Kilometres away who came back to visit. I have told him on several occasions over the phone he is dead meat for doing it! Seriously, for me it is a relief from being a full time carer for my wife and I am glad my friend introduced me to the "silly thing" as my wife calls it. I have taken to researching local places to hide caches, rather than travel the distance to find new ones, distance can be a problem when caring. So, no, it is not just a game, it is an excuse to enjoy yourself!

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I see cliquish behavior all the time. Many times at events, locals gather together and pretty much ignore other people nearby. I hate to see this but at the same time, i realize this is human nature and for the most part, no one is purposely trying to be mean or rude. It just happens. Of course i have my closer friends as well but i do think about this. I tend to go the opposite route by making it a point to try and visit with everyone, especially people i haven't met before.

 

One thing is for sure, the drama does get out of hand on fb. I sure wouldn't worry about what you see and read on that website.

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I have several hobbies and you'll notice in most social circles that friends who have known each other a long time may have their own in jokes etc, but it's not that they mean to exclude newcomers.

Sometimes a person's mood or intention doesn't translate well into written posts on internet groups and facebook but I've generally found that anyone who has a mutual interest in something will be happy to chat about it. From the events I've been to and people I've met on the trails I can say that geocachers are a very friendly community. :)

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I move around every couple of years, so I get to be a brand new cacher pretty often, even though we've been at it since 2007. Without fail, every community we've moved to (Germany, Virginia, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas so far) has welcomed us, and we've made ourselves a part of the group. Even when we were in Germany and didn't speak much of the language, folks were friendly and accommodating. I've not found cliques to be an issue so far.

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