The Clique That Will Not Say Its Name….

Posted on January 15, 2005 in Geocaching Social Media

In every group I’ve ever breezed through or got to know, I have noticed the presence of people who feel it is their job to police others. These seem to get nervous at the thought of a constant stream of newcomers, so they start trying to enforce unwritten codes.

Among Southern California geocachers, for example, there are those who have taken it upon themselves to tell others the “one and only true way to geocache”. They tell us “no one should hide a single cache until he has found 100 caches.” Like all parlor-room zealots, they forget their own past youth and enthusiasm. Or perhaps they are ashamed that they themselves went through the period. Some of their being upset is understandable: one can find only so many caches crammed into road signs. On the other hand, the core group wants to run all the shows, lead all the groups, etc. As “senior cachers”, they conclude that they know everything there is about the sport and no newcomer can possibly teach them anything new.

I nearly died of laughter when, in a chat room, one of these complained about cachers from another area being “cliquish”. When I reread and think about that line, I realize that what this person stands for is an invasion of private lives and private decisions regarding the sport. A clique is an aggregation of individuals who have made a conscious choice of who one hikes, bikes, walks, exercises, drives, rides, or explores with. Am I supposed to seek the approval of certain self-important caching doyens? I think not.

Thankfully, this sport isn’t like a MUSH or a MUD where an angry god can reach out of nowhere to destroy your online life. Thankfully, the folks at geocaching.com — for whatever flaws they otherwise possess — understand the importance of personal choice and independence. Upon this, the survival of the sport depends. We haven’t developed professional caching leagues, thankfully and I am not a big fan of the numbers game that some play. For me, the joy is the adventure, the journey, the trip to the spot. Even if I were somehow banned, I still would find plenty of ways to enjoy my GPS. This isn’t a call for revolution: just a statement that I am an individual. And those who can’t handle that, well, they made the choice to suffer over that didn’t they?