Quick. Fill up any available space.....

[+Pink Paisley]

Railway stations, village signs, churches, lay-bys, supermarkets, milestones.....

 

We are getting so many 'series' emerge that geocaching is going to reach saturation point as pointless and dull geographical and man-made features become 'series' just because there is a space.

 

Public toilets anyone? Random bus stops?

 

Will the world ever run out of film cannisters?

 

PP.

[+Roman!]

I rather enjoyed this public toilet.

[+jellis]

I have a few series. One is called LKA (Little Known Airfields) They are not at all close together but mostly in different cities. The final in another city across the delta.

Then I have one I am still working on with no final, based on some of the vagrant birds I've encountered in the SF Bay Area. Some are in the locations where the birds were spotted and some I had to place closer so I can maintain them easier.

[+Seaglass Pirates]

I read your profile - exhausting.

 

It's horses for courses. You don't like them don't do them. Use GSak to filter out the ones you don't want to do ... in between shopping for anoraks lol.

 

EDIT: What on earth. You have 3000 photo records. Most of which is a photo called virtual teaspoon. Please don't say that's your covert "appraisal" photo you post on a caches merits or lack thereof.

Edited September 17, 2014 by Seaglass Pirates

[+MartyBartfast]

Railway stations, village signs, churches, lay-bys, supermarkets, milestones.....

Personally I think the Church Micro series is great, in my experience they're more likely to be good quality than a random standalone cache, and more likely for there to be something interesting to look at, I haven't come across any milestone ones but I could see they could be mildly interesting; railway stations, supermarkets, lay-bys & village signs aren't going to excite me; so I will go out of my way for a the former, and mostly leave the latter unless I happen to be going past. You don't have to do them all, and at least if they're part of a series it gives you a clue what it's going to be about so you can avoid them.

 

 

Public toilets anyone? Random bus stops?

 

 

I think someone beat you to the bus stops idea!

[+redsox_mark]

These type of "series" are very popular in the UK. They are more like "franchises" - someone has an idea for a themed location which recurs throughout the country and individual owners request a number to have their cache part of the series/franchise. The caches are all over and not a contiguous series. The largest of which is the "Church Micro" series. Church Micro Link

 

I'm not sure if the existence of these series is the cause of saturation/lame hides. I think the popularity of the Church Micro series in particular does mean more caches near churches than there would be otherwise. That doesn't make them bad. I don't think the same is true for the Supermarket ones; people would hide them there regardless because they are easy to hide and find.

 

In some ways, being part of a series helps. If I see the cache is named "Off Your Trolley" (Supermarket series) then I know most likely it's not very interesting to me. While "Little Bridges" (which are hidden near footbridges; mainly in the countryside) tend to be interesting. My wife isn't such a keen Geocacher but likes visiting churches, so Church Micros are useful there.

 

But yes, the theme of these series is a bit like categories in Waymarking.

[+narcissa]

You can use the available filtering features to quickly sort out the caches that are more interesting to you.

[+sbell111]

There have been a few times that I've wished that there was a 'public toilets' cache nearby.

 

That being said, if one didn't want to find these caches, there certainly is an easy peasey solution.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

You can use the available filtering features to quickly sort out the caches that are more interesting to you.

 

Except that the available filter features do not adequately filter out a series of caches one might not want to find. We can't filter out cache by name. We can't filter out caches by owner or a series attribute. We can filter by size, but that's going to exclude every other cache of that size that is not part of a series.

 

None of the filtering features available will stop 100 notifications in my email inbox if someone places a 100 cache series within my notification area.

[+narcissa]

You can use the available filtering features to quickly sort out the caches that are more interesting to you.

 

Except that the available filter features do not adequately filter out a series of caches one might not want to find. We can't filter out cache by name. We can't filter out caches by owner or a series attribute. We can filter by size, but that's going to exclude every other cache of that size that is not part of a series.

 

None of the filtering features available will stop 100 notifications in my email inbox if someone places a 100 cache series within my notification area.

 

The filtering could be better.

 

Complaining about the placement of caches is not the answer to the issue.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

Bring'em on !

[team tisri]

Railway stations, village signs, churches, lay-bys, supermarkets, milestones.....

Personally I think the Church Micro series is great, in my experience they're more likely to be good quality than a random standalone cache, and more likely for there to be something interesting to look at, I haven't come across any milestone ones but I could see they could be mildly interesting; railway stations, supermarkets, lay-bys & village signs aren't going to excite me; so I will go out of my way for a the former, and mostly leave the latter unless I happen to be going past. You don't have to do them all, and at least if they're part of a series it gives you a clue what it's going to be about so you can avoid them.

 

I used to really like the Church Micro series, even though my general dislike of micros is no secret the CM series usually involved a location that was interesting. For me they started to lose their appeal when they took in churches that had nowhere suitable to hide a cache nearby, so they turned into "visit church, note down numbers, then half a mile away there's a nondescript film pot under a stone at the base of a post".

 

I'd forgive a traditional CM for being a micro - I can forgive any micro if the location is interesting.

[Andronicus]

...I'd forgive a traditional CM for being a micro - I can forgive any micro if the location is interesting.

Forgive? Or Absolve?

"I'd absolve a traditional CM ..."

Maybe only the Catholic CMs get absolved, while Protestant CM are forgiven.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Andronicus

[nonaeroterraqueous]

...I'd forgive a traditional CM for being a micro - I can forgive any micro if the location is interesting.

Forgive? Or Absolve?

"I'd absolve a traditional CM ..."

Maybe only the Catholic CMs get absolved, while Protestant CM are forgiven.

 

A Protestant would say that the Church Micro is justified. It may not be sanctified, though. Are we allowed to discuss soteriology in here?

Edited September 19, 2014 by nonaeroterraqueous

[team tisri]

...I'd forgive a traditional CM for being a micro - I can forgive any micro if the location is interesting.

Forgive? Or Absolve?

"I'd absolve a traditional CM ..."

Maybe only the Catholic CMs get absolved, while Protestant CM are forgiven.

 

Maybe I'll stick with "bother to seek". Although even that sounds vaguely theological, so perhaps "leave off my ignore list" works better. Amen.

[+ras_oscar]

I believe the phenomenon you dcescribe is nothing more than the increase in popularity of the hobby. Moe people wish to participate. That's a good thing. People place caches and the space fills up. I'm sure if you want to place a cache you will be able to find an open spot. You just need to travel a little farther.

[+Pink Paisley]

And the game has taken another step into the surreal and daft.

 

We now have a series 'A Nice Pair' where a red telephone box and a red post box are within 20 feet of each other. Neither are particularly rare in the UK.

 

So now it's time for 'Drains where you can see a blue garden gate', 'Traffic Lights where you can see a church with bells, 'Police stations within a stones throw of a roundabout' and Bus depots with big doors'.

 

The hobby being increasingly popular is only a good thing if:-

 

a. You are Groundspeak and your income increases, or

b. It doesn't make it crappy.

 

PP.

Edited December 29, 2014 by Pink Paisley

[4wheelin_fool]

And the game has taken another step into the surreal and daft.

 

We now have a series 'A Nice Pair' where a red telephone box and a red post box are within 20 feet of each other. Neither are particularly rare in the UK.

 

So now it's time for 'Drains where you can see a blue garden gate', 'Traffic Lights where you can see a church with bells, 'Police stations within a stones throw of a roundabout' and Bus depots with big doors'.

 

The hobby being increasingly popular is only a good thing if:-

 

a. You are Groundspeak and your income increases, or

b. It doesn't make it crappy.

 

PP.

 

The game is actually becoming popular with the obsessive compulsive. Many of these series are created by, and for, just those people. So yes, it is like Waymarking. Waymarks are often created to mark and identify every spot, whether or not anyone would have a reason to go there. Doing a power trail of clone hides over and over is a good example. Many get turned off by this, but some people love it. Some OCDers have to clear their home radius. Others have to get every D/T combo, but don't care if the rating is anywhere close to accurate. Some hide every cache back exactly the same way, by leaving a little showing. Regular people may get turned off by this, but others find their niche.

[+StripyJules]

I'm fairly local to the OP I believe and would also like to know the reason for the virtual teaspoon, as it was in one of the first caches I found and I've seen it many places since!

 

On the subject: isn't it just a matter of 'something for everyone'? I've spent a few days over the holidays pottering around some brilliant churches and thoroughly enjoying it. I'm never going to be able to trek up a mountain, crawl through a tunnel, scuba dive or - as somebody elsewhere in the forums seems to want to do - skydive down to a cache.

 

If I want to collect Church Micros/Village Signs/What Have Yous, what's the harm?

 

Set your own targets and avoid/ignore those that don't appeal, same as any other aspect of the game. A cache is a cache, there's no rule says they have to appeal to everyone all the time...

[+Team Dredd]

And the game has taken another step into the surreal and daft.

 

We now have a series 'A Nice Pair' where a red telephone box and a red post box are within 20 feet of each other. Neither are particularly rare in the UK.

 

So now it's time for 'Drains where you can see a blue garden gate', 'Traffic Lights where you can see a church with bells, 'Police stations within a stones throw of a roundabout' and Bus depots with big doors'.

 

The hobby being increasingly popular is only a good thing if:-

 

a. You are Groundspeak and your income increases, or

b. It doesn't make it crappy.

 

PP.

 

Wha . . . .????

[+GrayHawk613]

...I'd forgive a traditional CM for being a micro - I can forgive any micro if the location is interesting.

Forgive? Or Absolve?

"I'd absolve a traditional CM ..."

Maybe only the Catholic CMs get absolved, while Protestant CM are forgiven.

:laughing: