[Az-Geocaching] A comment on statistics

[Brian Cluff]

> I for one DO NOT like the new statistics.  I had the most fun Geocaching
> from the beginning of July (when we found out about Geocaching) through
the
> beginning of September (before the stats showed up).

Well, if you would give me your IP address that you browse from, I would be
happy to make our website not show up for you :) <grin> (My 3rd internet job
was in content filters, specifically blocking porno)

> Geocaching has been around since mid 2000.  I had no problem with starting
> out knowing I had only X number of caches.  I didn't even give a (fill in
> word) that people like Bob Renner etc. had numerous more caches than we
did
> - since he has been geocaching from the beginning and we had just started.
> There wasn't a problem until September with people complaining about
others
> finding their own cache, finding a cache more than once, etc.  Nobody
cared
> until September 4th.

Actually if you look at the logs, you will notice that people brought up the
same question on the main geocacing list, and I don't think they were in
reference to any stats.  That was/is a valid question, stats or no stats.

> Now it is a big competition (maybe not for the females, but statistically
in
> Sociology, men are BIG on competition).  Who has the best
difficulty/terrain
> number? (not fair to those who are handicapped or who are not mobile
enough
> to hit 4's and 5's).  Who has hidden the most caches (gee, I don't have a
> job as I was laid off, but to be competitive with team X, I had better go
> hide 15 caches to keep up).

You know, if everyone in the world had to be able to take advantage of
anything that anyone made or setup, nothing would even be done.  Take a
ergonimic mouse for instance.  I find them horribly uncomfortable because I
tend to hold the mouse different than everyone I know.  That doesn't make it
a crappy mouse.. just not the mouse for me.  Those mice also don't take in
accout for people with only one finger.....
Just because people with no legs can't "win" marathons, doesn't seem to keep
them from entering, and them not being able to win doesn't seem to make
anyone less proud of their time it took or how far they were able to run.

> And last but not least, who has the best cache
> karma? (Do you even know what Karma is?  Is it even a part of your
> religion?)

What does this have to do with the price of beans?

> Like I said, I will probably be beat down for this, verbally attacked, or
> just shunned by the popular, but I don't care.  I do not like the
statistics
> at all.  We can all come up with our own statistics gathering if that is
> what we are concerned with, or just find caches and have fun.  Geocaching
> was much more fun before statistics.

We are not trying to ruin your fun, or anyone elses fun.  If you will look
back at the list archives you will notice that the list has been around
since feburary where it was getting about 10 messages a month, mostly jason
letting people know that there was a new Garmin file ready, back when he was
still doing that by hand.  If you look at the list today, there is over 150
messages so far this month, with still a few days to go.
You will also notice from the archive that there really havent been any
message were people have said something to the effect of "Whoooo hoooo,
check out our stats baby!..  You guys are all gonna eat our wake."
When it comes down to it, the stats are mostly meaning less.  They are
highly inaccurate and can't really be used for anything solid.  If people
wanted to they could just start logging caches as if they had been to them
without actually going to them to crank up their finds.  The stats also dont
take into account at all the cachers that never log anything.  For all we
know there is a person/team out there that has found more caches than Team
Wyle E, but has never logged their cache.  I know the caches that I go back
to check on usually have 2 or 3 times the log entrees on the log book then
they do on the website.
If we wanted to make it truely competitive, we would setup games that people
would have to enter into.  Then pick a half dozen caches that are fairly
close to each other, but dont have to be and set a date when people should
start looking for them... The first team to find them all is the winner, but
they have to prove they were at all the caches on the day they were supposed
to be, by possibly taking a picture of the cache with that days newspaper in
the picture...... we will might do that if there is demand for it, but like
I said, I really don't like compition at all... and hate traditional sports,
but I do like having information to talk about and frankly the geocaching
scene was kinda dead in that area before the stats... although funny enough
people aren't talking about the stats what much.

Brian Cluff
Team Snaptek

Please don't take anything I have said here too seriously.  I really don't
want to start anything.  I'm just feeling a little cranky today, and
underappriciated for sevral months worth of work.