>From: "Regan Smith" After meeting a couple of interested in what was going 
>on people last night,
>I decided to do some research so I could better inform them in a coherent
>manner what was going on and I found this neat good read
>http://geocaching.gpsgames.org/history/

I really dont think that is a good reference to show first timers getting 
into the game! :) It looks like a history of the monopolistic ways of Jeremy 
Irish and Geocaching.com.... not a history about geocaching! Some good 
reading though, indeed! :) :) :)

Very interesting stuff. I hadnt seen that article before. I particularly 
found it interesting how gc.com trademarked the word 'geocaching'. I believe 
the term geocaching should be a generic term for the game. Kinda lame how 
Jeremy chose to snub off all the other websites that provided data and maps 
and such (and were not listing sites) as well.... much like 
azgeocaching.com. I always thought those sites would only help the main site 
by providing additional stats and rankings and such that would only improve 
the game and get more people involved and keep them involved. Apparently, 
Jeremy wanted that stuff on his own site. I've said it once and I'll say it 
again though, azgeocaching.com's team specific data was the easiest, user 
friendly system on the net for retrieving team specific cache data. One 
click and I had my team specific list of caches ready for my GPS and my PDA 
and in 5 minutes, I was out the door.

Apparently who ever wrote that article doesnt like gc.com! Love him or hate 
him, Jeremy has created a great website and developed a great business that 
only seems to be getting better and better and and I certainly respect him 
for that. He had a business plan and went with it... and look where he is at 
today. He has kept the game free for those that choose to play that way and 
provided additional benefits for those that choose to upgrade to a premium 
membership. That there is a fine line. Make it membership only site and sure 
enough, another site will emerge that WILL become just as large that doesnt 
require a fee to play. So while keeping it free, he has also found a way to 
profit greatly from it. He has taken the game to a new level from its 
underground roots to something much bigger.

Of course, I would like to see it return to the old days when it was still 
an underground game.

Scott
Team Ropingthewind


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