I'd have to disagree Scott...
I think the article provides newbies a pretty good idea of what can happen if you think about rocking the Geocaching.com boat.
It gives a pretty concise history of the sport and doesn't hide or shrowd the credit for who actually started the game, and who came in with a "Business Plan". How long did the
Geocaching.com's version of the history of the game refer to Dave Ulmer as "someone"? Jeremy doesn't tollerate any deviation from his vision of how the game should be played. Yes, it's his site, but without the contributions of every cacher on the planet, his site wouldn't be what it is today.
I think the article point out that the business model Jeremy has been working with, is seriously lacking a customer service department. Many of his actions have been done with his personal "adminstrator account", when clearly a generic/non-personal account should be created for such actions. The banning of accounts using a personalized administrator account leaves the impression that someone is gloating.
Jake - Team A.I.
On 9/3/06, Roping The Wind <arizcowboy@hotmail.com> wrote:
>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
____________________________________________________________
Az-Geocaching mailing list listserv@azgeocaching.com
To edit your setting, subscribe or unsubscribe visit:
http://listserv.azgeocaching.com/mailman/listinfo/az-geocaching
Arizona's Geocaching Resource
http://www.azgeocaching.com