Terracaching Anniversary

Today is my second terracaching anniversary. What began as a promising endeavor has turned into nothing more than disappointment. There are no caches within an hour of me. Nevertheless, over these two years I have sought several caches elsewhere. The Mystic Island cache is very good. Some others were fine, but nothing to compel the several hour drive. Many others were disappointing.

At this point, there is nothing drawing me to the site.

AK has not posted in more than two and one-half months. All we hear is that he is working on a new version of the site. Yet, when folks dig, all the new version appears to be is a cosmetic change. Perhaps John’s proposal for TPS will be adapted, but as I have demonstrated, that doesn’t even remedy the overriding issue. Even so, there are no caches to hunt.

I went through the place them and they will come period. Frankly, I have held on much longer than I anticipated. The ratings system discourages placing caches. One cacher is able to cause a cache’s MCE to lose 18% of its value. Another cache that had languished despite two finders’ excellent ratings is now back to normal. It took several posts to point out the problem. I believe someone intervened to move the stuck formula. There is no other way to explain it, but again, no one ever says anything.

There are problems everywhere that are ignored. The sponsorship mechanism doesn’t work correctly. The premium membership mechanism doesn’t work properly. The perception is still that the site is a renegade site (reg, req.). Others perceive the game to be just about dead (reg. req.). That fits with others who do not expect the site to last. Casual observers (reg. req.) note that cross-posting is undesired, yet when it happens (reg. req.), sponsors state there is no reason to refuse a cache.

The system is built for a 100-cache area. That most areas are not there after two years is not a concern. The system works “properly” if enough caches are placed. If an area has not caught on, TC.com offers nothing but discouragement. That’s it in a nutshell.

The only reason I am still logging in there is to approve caches of my sponsorees. I am running a contest for these folks that will last until St. Patrick’s Day. Once that is over and I complete the obligation I have there, I do not expect I will be active. Some of my caches will be converted to other listing sites and a few will be archived. Should I be notified someone places a terracache in my area, I will seek it, but I don’t expect that to be actually occur.

Yes, on this two year anniversary, expectations are low for this alternate caching site.

Also blogged on this date . . .

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