112-541: TFTC may refer to: "Thanks For The Cache", a phrase commonly used in geocaching "Thanks For The Chapter", a phrase commonly used on on-line fiction sites Tales from the Crypt (disambiguation) , a horror franchise originally published by EC Comics during the 1950s Truth for the Commoner, a media company focused on Bitcoin and political commentary Topics referred to by
224-434: A Travel Bug (the first geocaching trackable item in space), which stayed on the station until it was brought back to earth in 2013. Due to fire restrictions on board the station, the geocache contained no official paper logbook. As of June 2024, only one confirmed geocacher (on November 17, 2013) has actually found the geocache, although others have claimed to have found it providing varying amounts of evidence. To commemorate
336-464: A geochecker in which users can put their name into an algorithm to see if they qualify without the need of physically checking all of one's previous finds. These geocheckers can be requested using the ProjectGC forums where volunteers can write and create scripts for specific challenges. Groundspeak also has been more strict into what types of challenges are published. For example, prior to 2017 it
448-445: A 'puzzle cache', players might need to solve a puzzle or bring a special tool to reveal the next waypoint or final coordinates. Most often, the final container is not at the posted coordinates which is noted in the cache description. Some puzzles can be easy and involve basic math operations or they can be quite difficult, with some of the more challenging ones requiring a firm understanding of computer programming . Geocaching Toolbox,
560-518: A GPS-located cache took place on May 3, 2000, by Dave Ulmer in Beavercreek, Oregon . The location was posted on the Usenet newsgroup sci.geo.satellite-nav at 45°17.460′N 122°24.800′W / 45.291000°N 122.413333°W / 45.291000; -122.413333 . Within three days, the cache had been found twice, first by Mike Teague. According to Dave Ulmer's message, this cache
672-410: A Reverse cache, a locationless cache is similar to a scavenger hunt . A description is given for something to find, such as a one-room schoolhouse, and the finder locates an example of this object. The finder records the location using their GPS receiver and often takes a picture at the location showing the named object with their GPS receiver. Typically others are not allowed to log that same location as
784-474: A Wherigo "cartridge" to guide players to find a physical cache sometime during cartridge play, usually at the end. However, not all Wherigo cartridges incorporate geocaches into gameplay. Wherigo caches are unique to the geocaching.com website. Wherigo is a GPS location-aware software platform initially released in January 2008. Authors can develop self-enclosed story files (called "cartridges") that are read by
896-611: A certain cache a long distance from home, or to travel to a certain country, or to travel faster and farther than other hitchhikers in a race. Less common trends are site-specific information pages about the historic significance of the site, types of trees, birds in the area or other such information. Higher-value items are occasionally included in geocaches as a reward for the First to Find (called "FTF"), or in locations which are harder to reach. Dangerous or illegal items, including weapons and drugs, are not allowed and are specifically against
1008-598: A charter, a rationale, and a moderation policy if the group is to be moderated. Discussion of the new newsgroup proposal follows, and is finished with the members of the Big-8 Management Board making the decision, by vote, to either approve or disapprove the new newsgroup. Unmoderated newsgroups form the majority of Usenet newsgroups, and messages submitted by readers for unmoderated newsgroups are immediately propagated for everyone to see. Minimal editorial content filtering vs propagation speed form one crux of
1120-603: A cross post to the *.answers group at the head of the hierarchy seen by some as a refining of information in that news group. Some subgroups are recursive—to the point of some silliness in alt.* . Usenet was originally created to distribute text content encoded in the 7- bit ASCII character set. With the help of programs that encode 8-bit values into ASCII, it became practical to distribute binary files as content. Binary posts, due to their size and often-dubious copyright status, were in time restricted to specific newsgroups, making it easier for administrators to allow or disallow
1232-457: A disproportionately high volume of customer support incidents (frequently complaining of missing news articles). Some ISPs outsource news operations to specialist sites, which will usually appear to a user as though the ISP itself runs the server. Many of these sites carry a restricted newsfeed, with a limited number of newsgroups. Commonly omitted from such a newsfeed are foreign-language newsgroups and
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#17327798923651344-408: A find. Since 2005, all locationless caches have been archived and locked, meaning they are unable to be logged. However, with geocaching's 20th anniversary in 2020 Groundspeak decided to publish a special locationless cache for geocachers to "find" at various Mega- and Giga-Events around the world. The first locationless cache in 15 years (GC8FR0G) required finders to take a picture of themselves with
1456-412: A geocache and a letterbox in the same container. Letterboxes involve a rubber stamp and logbook that are not supposed to be traded and taken instead of tradable items, but letterbox hybrids may or may not include trade items. Letterboxers carry their own stamp with them, to stamp the letterbox's logbook and inversely stamp their personal logbook with the letterbox stamp. The letterbox hybrid cache contains
1568-417: A geocache without a physical printout of the cache description. Traditionally, this means that the seeker has an electronic means of viewing the cache information in the field, such as pre-downloading the information to a PDA or other electronic device. Various applications can directly upload and read GPX files without further conversion. Newer GPS devices released by Garmin , DeLorme , and Magellan have
1680-408: A geocache. It consists of a container with a log sheet, and is located at the posted coordinates. Cache containers come in many different sizes. These caches are intended to be found at night, usually by use of a UV torch. These caches include at least one stage in addition to the physical final container with a log sheet. The posted coordinates for a multi-cache are the first stage. At each stage,
1792-657: A geographic area based on criteria such as ZIP code or coordinates , downloading the results as an email attachment on a schedule. In recent years, Android and iPhone users can download apps such as GeoBeagle that allow them to use their 3G and GPS-enabled devices to actively search for and download new caches. A variety of geocaching applications are available for geocache data management, file-type translation, and personalization. Geocaching software can assign special icons or search (filter) for caches based on certain criteria (e.g. distance from an assigned point, difficulty, date last found). Paperless geocaching means hunting
1904-578: A moderator must bear the Approved: header line. Moderators ensure that the messages that readers see in the newsgroup conform to the charter of the newsgroup, though they are not required to follow any such rules or guidelines. Typically, moderators are appointed in the proposal for the newsgroup, and changes of moderators follow a succession plan. Historically, a mod.* hierarchy existed before Usenet reorganization. Now, moderated newsgroups may appear in any hierarchy, typically with .moderated added to
2016-499: A news server might attempt to control the spread of spam by refusing to accept or forward any posts that trigger spam filters , or a server without high-capacity data storage may refuse to carry any newsgroups used primarily for file sharing , limiting itself to discussion-oriented groups. However, unlike BBSes and web forums, the dispersed nature of Usenet usually permits users who are interested in receiving some content to access it simply by choosing to connect to news servers that carry
2128-687: A newsgroup under the Big Eight which contains discussions about children's books, but a group in the alt hierarchy may be dedicated to one specific author of children's books. Binaries are posted in alt.binaries.* , making it the largest of all the hierarchies. Many other hierarchies of newsgroups are distributed alongside these. Regional and language-specific hierarchies such as japan.* , malta.* and ne.* serve specific countries and regions such as Japan , Malta and New England . Companies and projects administer their own hierarchies to discuss their products and offer community technical support, such as
2240-399: A picture which can be developed and uploaded to a geocaching web site listed below. Also common are objects that are moved from cache to cache called "hitchhikers", such as Travel Bugs or geocoins, whose travels may be logged and followed online. Cachers who initially place a Travel Bug or Geocoin(s) often assign specific goals for their trackable items. Examples of goals are to be placed in
2352-561: A place that requires people to pay a fee to visit such as airports or theme parks may get the Adventure permanently removed from the Adventure Lab app. There are several kinds of events geocaches. While encouraged, events do not require visitors to sign their name a logbook to prove they attended an event. Attendees of event caches can log that they 'attended', which will increment their number of found caches. Event caches can be of
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#17327798923652464-457: A player can type into the RWIG cartridge. Instead of following a story or interacting with characters, and RWIG gives you the distance to the final cache, but not direction. It requires geocachers to get closer to the final geocache by process of elimination. Once you are within 25 metres, the final coordinates are given to provide a more accurate location for the geocache. This is a combination of
2576-412: A readership which is potentially widely distributed. These protocols most commonly use a flooding algorithm which propagates copies throughout a network of participating servers. Whenever a message reaches a server, that server forwards the message to all its network neighbors that haven't yet seen the article. Only one copy of a message is stored per server, and each server makes it available on demand to
2688-706: A server, just (local) telephone service. The name Usenet comes from the term "users' network". The first Usenet group was NET.general , which quickly became net.general . The first commercial spam on Usenet was from immigration attorneys Canter and Siegel advertising green card services. On the Internet, Usenet is transported via the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) on Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) port 119 for standard, unprotected connections, and on TCP port 563 for Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encrypted connections. Usenet
2800-411: A small battery, it is able to transmit a signal detectable on Garmin devices. The Chirp stores hints, multicache coordinates, counts visitors, and can confirm the cache is nearby. These caches caused considerable discussion and some controversy at Groundspeak, where they were ultimately given a new "attribute". These types of geocaches can also be listed as a traditional, multi-cache, or letterbox. It
2912-457: A takedown petition to be most effective across the whole network, it would have to be issued to the origin server to which the content has been posted, before it has been propagated to other servers. Removal of the content at this early stage would prevent further propagation, but with modern high speed links, content can be propagated as fast as it arrives, allowing no time for content review and takedown issuance by copyright holders. Establishing
3024-528: A telecommunications service, and assert that they are not responsible for the user-posted binary content transferred via their equipment. In the United States, Usenet providers can qualify for protection under the DMCA Safe Harbor regulations , provided that they establish a mechanism to comply with and respond to takedown notices from copyright holders. Removal of copyrighted content from
3136-418: A tree-like form. When a user posts an article, it is initially only available on that user's news server. Each news server talks to one or more other servers (its "newsfeeds") and exchanges articles with them. In this fashion, the article is copied from server to server and should eventually reach every server in the network. The later peer-to-peer networks operate on a similar principle, but for Usenet it
3248-404: A trial version with limited functionality. The site promotes mobile applications, and lists over two dozen applications (both mobile and browser/desktop based) that are using their proprietary but royalty-free public application programming interface ( API ). Developers at c:geo have criticised Groundspeak for being incompatible with open-source development. Additionally, "c:geo - opensource"
3360-413: A virtual cache generally requires one to email the cache hider with information such as a date or a name on a plaque, or to post a picture of oneself at the site with a GPS receiver in hand. As of 2005, new virtual caches are no longer allowed by Groundspeak as it is considered a legacy cache. On August 24, 2017, Groundspeak announced "Virtual Rewards", allowing 4000 new virtual caches to be placed during
3472-532: A walking tour of a city or park. An example would be Route 66 or the Lincoln Highway , which are a nationwide series of Adventure Lab sets of 10 that stretch the entire route across the United States . Adventure labs were first introduced in 2014 as a way to test market ideas through Groundspeak. Initially, geocachers would find a key word at a designated site where they could then enter it onto
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3584-436: A website dedicated to create and solve puzzle geocaches, provides a comprehensive list of common puzzle cache ciphers. There are also some subcategories of the mystery cache, which are normally listed as a Mystery Type, which are listed below. This requires a geocacher to complete a reasonably attainable geocaching-related task before being able to log the cache as a find online. It does not restrict geocachers from finding
3696-513: A website to claim "credit". Soon after, they were made available to "find" at select Mega-Events. In 2020, Groundspeak released the "Adventure Lab" app, separate from the geocaching app. The app made it possible to enter a geo-fence when, once inside, a question will appear that can be answered either in the form of a written answer or a multiple choice answer. This question can be answered at anytime once activated, however, some Adventure Labs must be completed sequentially implying that one must answer
3808-405: Is a free opensource full function application for Android phones that is very popular. This app includes similar features to the official Geocaching mobile application, such as: View caches on a live map ( Google Maps or OpenStreetMap), navigation using a compass, map, or other applications, logging finds online and offline, etc. Usenet Early research and development: Merging
3920-405: Is also used by individual users to store backup data. While commercial providers offer easier to use online backup services , storing data on Usenet is free of charge (although access to Usenet itself may not be). The method requires the uploader to cede control over the distribution of the data; the files are automatically disseminated to all Usenet providers exchanging data for the news group it
4032-495: Is composed of all Wherigo application developers who, up until that time, had been acting and developing separately. Their goal is to provide a consistent Wherigo experience across platforms, connect Wherigo applications via an API , and add modern features to the Wherigo platform. While Groundspeak is aware of this project, the company has yet to take a position. An RWIG provides three lines of code composed of 9 digits each that
4144-403: Is contained within nine hierarchies, eight of which are operated under consensual guidelines that govern their administration and naming. The current Big Eight are: The alt.* hierarchy is not subject to the procedures controlling groups in the Big Eight, and it is as a result less organized. Groups in the alt.* hierarchy tend to be more specialized or specific—for example, there might be
4256-480: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Geocaching Geocaching ( / ˈ dʒ iː oʊ k æ ʃ ɪ ŋ / , JEE -oh- KASH -ing ) is an outdoor recreational activity, in which participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or mobile device and other navigational techniques to hide and seek containers, called geocaches or caches , at specific locations marked by coordinates all over
4368-504: Is normally the sender, rather than the receiver, who initiates transfers. Usenet was designed under conditions when networks were much slower and not always available. Many sites on the original Usenet network would connect only once or twice a day to batch-transfer messages in and out. This is largely because the POTS network was typically used for transfers, and phone charges were lower at night. The format and transmission of Usenet articles
4480-476: Is one such web based front end and some web browsers can access Google Groups via news: protocol links directly. A minority of newsgroups are moderated, meaning that messages submitted by readers are not distributed directly to Usenet, but instead are emailed to the moderators of the newsgroup for approval. The moderator is to receive submitted articles, review them, and inject approved articles so that they can be properly propagated worldwide. Articles approved by
4592-624: Is posted to. In general the user must manually select, prepare and upload the data. The data is typically encrypted because it is available to anyone to download the backup files. After the files are uploaded, having multiple copies spread to different geographical regions around the world on different news servers decreases the chances of data loss. Major Usenet service providers have a retention time of more than 12 years. This results in more than 60 petabytes (60000 terabytes ) of storage (see image). When using Usenet for data storage, providers that offer longer retention time are preferred to ensure
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4704-749: Is published not by a local reviewer, but by a volunteer regional reviewer associated with the Geological Society of America . The geocacher usually has to perform a task which teaches an education lesson about the geology of the cache area. Visitors must answer geological questions to complete the cache which can be as simple as describing the color and thickness of layers in an outcrop or can be as complicated as taking measurements of stream velocities or fault offsets. Earthcaches covers geologic topics such as: rock formation , mineralogy , earthquakes , fluvial processes , erosion , volcanology , and planetary science (among others). Otherwise known as
4816-491: Is similar to that of Internet e-mail messages. The difference between the two is that Usenet articles can be read by any user whose news server carries the group to which the message was posted, as opposed to email messages, which have one or more specific recipients. Today, Usenet has diminished in importance with respect to Internet forums , blogs , mailing lists and social media . Usenet differs from such media in several ways: Usenet requires no personal registration with
4928-513: Is similar to the game letterboxing (originating in 1854), which uses clues and references to landmarks embedded in stories. Geocaching was conceived shortly after the removal of Selective Availability from the Global Positioning System on May 2, 2000 ( Blue Switch Day ), because the improved accuracy of the system allowed for a small container to be specifically placed and located. The first documented placement of
5040-400: Is sufficient storage allocated to handle the amount of articles being added. Without sufficient retention time, a reader will be unable to download all parts of the binary before it is flushed out of the group's storage allocation. This was at one time how posting undesired content was countered; the newsgroup would be flooded with random garbage data posts, of sufficient quantity to push out all
5152-425: Is the second most logged geocache in history. The second published locationless cache since 2005 (GC8NEAT) required visitors to take a photo of them picking up trash and cleaning up their local area. geocachers were able to log this cache from 6 February 2021 through 31 December 2022. It has been logged over 33,500 times and holds the title for the most "found" geocache. On 17 August 2022, Geocaching.com made available
5264-575: Is up to the cache owner to designated the cache type for wireless beacon caches. This is an official geocache located inside the Groundspeak headquarters office in Seattle, Washington . It is technically classified as a separate cache type under mystery caches, with its own unique icon both on the geocaching app and on one's profile statistics tab. Since publication in 2004, it has over 20,000 finds as of June 2024. A multi-stage cache hunt that uses
5376-560: Is usually used. The Wherigo site offers a builder application and a database of adventures free for download, though the builder has remained in its Alpha version since its last release in May 2008. The official player is only available for Pocket PC . A built-in player is available on Garmin Colorado and Oregon GPS models. The Wherigo Foundation was organized in December 2012. The group
5488-502: The alt.binaries hierarchy which largely carries software, music, videos and images, and accounts for over 99 percent of article data. There are also Usenet providers that offer a full unrestricted service to users whose ISPs do not carry news, or that carry a restricted feed. Newsgroups are typically accessed with newsreaders : applications that allow users to read and reply to postings in newsgroups. These applications act as clients to one or more news servers. Historically, Usenet
5600-515: The GPS stash hunt or gpsstashing. This was changed shortly after the original hide when it was suggested in the gpsstash eGroup that "stash" could have negative connotations and the term geocaching was adopted. Over time, a variety of different hide-and-seek-type activities have been created or abandoned, so that "Geocaching" may now refer to hiding and seeking containers, or locations or information without containers. An independent accounting of
5712-425: The sci.* hierarchy. Or, talk.origins and talk.atheism are in the talk.* hierarchy. When a user subscribes to a newsgroup, the news client software keeps track of which articles that user has read. In most newsgroups, the majority of the articles are responses to some other article. The set of articles that can be traced to one single non-reply article is called a thread . Most modern newsreaders display
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#17327798923655824-414: The "wheelchair accessible" attribute. A bonus cache requires the finder to have found an amount of caches, usually by the same hider, before finding the bonus cache. The cache can be any type, however a bonus cache cannot be required for a second bonus cache. These were found at a listed set of coordinates. The finder hides the cache in a different location, and updates the listing, essentially becoming
5936-452: The (typically local) readers able to access that server. The collection of Usenet servers has thus a certain peer-to-peer character in that they share resources by exchanging them, the granularity of exchange however is on a different scale than a modern peer-to-peer system and this characteristic excludes the actual users of the system who connect to the news servers with a typical client-server application, much like an email reader. RFC 850
6048-583: The 2001 remake of Planet of the Apes . There were 14 APE geocaches placed around the world and each one contained a prop from the film. As of 2023, only 2 APE caches are still active with one near Seattle, Washington ('Tunnel of Light', GC1169) and the other in Brazil ('Southern Bowl', GCC67). Of those two, the Brazil APE cache is the only surviving original APE cache because GC1169 was muggled in 2016. However,
6160-789: The Original Stash Tribute Plaque, now sits at the site. Geocaching company Groundspeak allows extraterrestrial caches, e.g. the Moon or Mars , although presently, the website provides only earthbound coordinates. The first published extraterrestrial geocache was GC1BE91, which was placed on the International Space Station by Richard Garriott in 2008. It used the Baikonur launch area in Kazakhstan as its position. The original cache contained
6272-558: The Usenet community. One little cited defense of propagation is canceling a propagated message, but few Usenet users use this command and some news readers do not offer cancellation commands , in part because article storage expires in relatively short order anyway. Almost all unmoderated Usenet groups tend to receive large amounts of spam . Usenet is a set of protocols for generating, storing and retrieving news "articles" (which resemble Internet mail messages) and for exchanging them among
6384-515: The Wherigo player software, installed on either a GPS unit or smartphone. The player and story take advantage of the location information provided by the GPS to trigger in-game events, such as using a virtual object or interacting with characters. Completing an adventure can require reaching different locations and solving puzzles. Cartridges are coded in Lua . Lua may be used directly, but a builder application
6496-429: The ability to read GPX files directly, thus eliminating the need for a PDA . Other methods include viewing real-time information on a portable computer with internet access or with an Internet-enabled smart phone. The latest advancement of this practice involves installing dedicated applications on a smart phone with a built-in GPS receiver. Seekers can search for and download caches in their immediate vicinity directly to
6608-403: The application and use the on-board GPS receiver to find the cache. A more controversial version of paperless Caching involves mass-downloading only the coordinates and cache names (or waypoint IDs) for hundreds of caches into older receivers. This is a common practice of some cachers and has been used successfully for years. In many cases, however, the cache description and hint are never read by
6720-400: The articles arranged into threads and subthreads. For example, in the wine-making newsgroup rec.crafts.winemaking, someone might start a thread called; "What's the best yeast?" and that thread or conversation might grow into dozens of replies long, by perhaps six or eight different authors. Over several days, that conversation about different wine yeasts might branch into several sub-threads in
6832-425: The cache and signing the logbook at anytime. However a geocacher is not allowed to log a find on the geocaching website unless they qualify for the challenge specified in the cache description. Examples include finding a number of caches that meet a category, completing a number of cache finds within a period of time, or finding a cache for every calendar day. Since 2017, Groundspeak has required new challenges to have
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#17327798923656944-447: The content to be suppressed. This has been compensated by service providers allocating enough storage to retain everything posted each day, including spam floods, without deleting anything. Modern Usenet news servers have enough capacity to archive years of binary content even when flooded with new data at the maximum daily speed available. In part because of such long retention times, as well as growing Internet upload speeds, Usenet
7056-435: The creation of 1 set of 5 waypoints, with each of the 5 waypoints counting towards a cache find. If selected, Adventure Labs can be created using the Adventure Lab builder. Adventure Labs, unlike all other geocaches, are not subject to review and are published at will by the creator. However, Adventure Labs can at anytime be archived by Groundspeak if they are in violation of terms of use. For example, placing an Adventure Lab in
7168-559: The data will survive for longer periods of time compared to services with lower retention time. While binary newsgroups can be used to distribute completely legal user-created works, free software , and public domain material, some binary groups are used to illegally distribute proprietary software , copyrighted media, and pornographic material. ISP-operated Usenet servers frequently block access to all alt.binaries.* groups to both reduce network traffic and to avoid related legal issues. Commercial Usenet service providers claim to operate as
7280-442: The early history documents several controversial actions taken by Jeremy Irish and Grounded, Inc., a predecessor to Groundspeak, to increase "commercialization and monopolistic control over the hobby". More recently, other similar hobbies such as Munzee have attracted some geocachers by rapidly adopting smart-phone technology, which has caused "some resistance from geocaching organizers about placing caches along with Munzees". For
7392-494: The entire Usenet network is a nearly impossible task, due to the rapid propagation between servers and the retention done by each server. Petitioning a Usenet provider for removal only removes it from that one server's retention cache, but not any others. It is possible for a special post cancellation message to be distributed to remove it from all servers, but many providers ignore cancel messages by standard policy, because they can be easily falsified and submitted by anyone. For
7504-529: The feeds they want. Usenet is culturally and historically significant in the networked world, having given rise to, or popularized, many widely recognized concepts and terms such as " FAQ ", " flame ", " sockpuppet ", and " spam ". In the early 1990s, shortly before access to the Internet became commonly affordable, Usenet connections via FidoNet 's dial-up BBS networks made long-distance or worldwide discussions and other communication widespread, not needing
7616-399: The files reaches a server. Binary newsgroups can be used to distribute files, and, as of 2022, some remain popular as an alternative to BitTorrent to share and download files. Each news server allocates a certain amount of storage space for content in each newsgroup. When this storage has been filled, each time a new post arrives, old posts are deleted to make room for the new content. If
7728-403: The finder. Aside from the logbook, common cache contents are unusual coins or currency , small toys, ornamental buttons, CDs, or books. Although not required, many geocachers decide to leave behind signature items, such as personal geocoins , pins, or craft items, to mark their presence at the cache location. Disposable cameras are popular as they allow for anyone who found the cache to take
7840-419: The following types: GPX files containing information such as a cache description and information about recent visitors to the cache are available from various listing sites. Geocachers may upload geocache data (also known as waypoints ) from various websites in various formats, most commonly in file-type GPX , which uses XML . Some websites allow geocachers to search (build queries) for multiple caches within
7952-452: The following year. Each year, eligible geocachers can opt-in to a drawing and some selected with the opportunity to submit a virtual cache for publication. From 2005 to 2017, the geocaching website no longer listed new caches without a physical container, including virtual and webcam caches (with the exception of earthcaches and events); however, older caches of these types have been grandfathered . Similar to virtual geocaches, an Earth cache
8064-400: The geocacher gathers information that leads them to the next stage or to the final container. Multi-caches can consist of physical stages (i.e. the first stage contains coordinates for the next stage and so forth) or virtual stages (i.e. the first stage is a historical marker where geocachers have to answer questions to calculate the coordinates to the final physical container). Also called
8176-562: The geocaching mascot, Signal the Frog, at Mega- and Giga-Events during 2020. The cache was made available to log starting 1 January 2020. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic , nearly all planned Mega- and Giga-events were cancelled for the year, including the planned 20th anniversary celebration event in Seattle, Washington . Therefore, Groundspeak decided to extend the deadline to log this geocache through 1 January 2023. With 22,500 finds it
8288-738: The group concerned; information need not be stored on a remote server; archives are always available; and reading the messages does not require a mail or web client, but a news client. However, it is now possible to read and participate in Usenet newsgroups to a large degree using ordinary web browsers since most newsgroups are now copied to several web sites. The groups in alt.binaries are still widely used for data transfer. Many Internet service providers, and many other Internet sites, operate news servers for their users to access. ISPs that do not operate their own servers directly will often offer their users an account from another provider that specifically operates newsfeeds. In early news implementations,
8400-480: The group name. Usenet newsgroups in the Big-8 hierarchy are created by proposals called a Request for Discussion, or RFD. The RFD is required to have the following information: newsgroup name, checkgroups file entry, and moderated or unmoderated status. If the group is to be moderated, then at least one moderator with a valid email address must be provided. Other information which is beneficial but not required includes:
8512-423: The hider, and the next finder continues the cycle. This cache has been discontinued at geocaching.com and those that have been grandfathered in are solely declining and are being archived. Also known as a wireless beacon cache . This is a Garmin -created innovative on multi-caches using wireless beacon technology. It is a physical game piece, about the size of a half dollar that can be hidden anywhere. Powered by
8624-684: The historical gnu.* hierarchy from the Free Software Foundation . Microsoft closed its newsserver in June 2010, providing support for its products over forums now. Some users prefer to use the term "Usenet" to refer only to the Big Eight hierarchies; others include alt.* as well. The more general term "netnews" incorporates the entire medium, including private organizational news systems. Informal sub-hierarchy conventions also exist. *.answers are typically moderated cross-post groups for FAQs. An FAQ would be posted within one group and
8736-425: The idea in 1979, and it was established in 1980. Users read and post messages (called articles or posts , and collectively termed news ) to one or more topic categories, known as newsgroups . Usenet resembles a bulletin board system (BBS) in many respects and is the precursor to the Internet forums that have become widely used. Discussions are threaded , as with web forums and BBSes, though posts are stored on
8848-620: The identity of the person posting illegal content is equally difficult due to the trust-based design of the network. Like SMTP email, servers generally assume the header and origin information in a post is true and accurate. However, as in SMTP email, Usenet post headers are easily falsified so as to obscure the true identity and location of the message source. In this manner, Usenet is significantly different from modern P2P services; most P2P users distributing content are typically immediately identifiable to all other users by their network address , but
8960-455: The important materials for this. Typically, letterbox hybrid caches are not found at the given coordinates which only act as a starting location. Instead, a series of clues are given as to where to find the cache such as "take a left past the bridge" or "about 25 paces past the big oak tree". Also known as Ape caches , these are a special type of traditional cache that were hidden in conjunction with 20th Century Fox and Groundspeak to promote
9072-435: The local one, while the local server will receive any news its peers have that it currently lacks. This results in the automatic proliferation of content posted by any user on any server to any other user subscribed to the same newsgroups on other servers. As with BBSes and message boards, individual news servers or service providers are under no obligation to carry any specific content, and may refuse to do so for many reasons:
9184-490: The log, the cache must be placed back exactly where the person found it. Larger containers such as plastic storage containers ( Tupperware or similar) or ammo boxes can also contain items for trading, such as toys or trinkets, usually of more sentimental worth than financial. Geocaching shares many aspects with benchmarking , trigpointing , orienteering , treasure hunting , letterboxing , trail blazing , and another type of location-based game called Munzee . Geocaching
9296-444: The logbook and online, but then must return the cache to the same coordinates so that other geocachers may find it. Geocachers are free to take objects (except the logbook, pencil, or stamp) from the cache in exchange for leaving something of similar or higher value. Typical cache "treasures", also known in the geocaching world as SWAG (a backronym of "stuff we all get"), are not high in monetary value but may hold personal value to
9408-674: The manual deletion of infringing material using the provisions of World Intellectual Property Organization treaty implementations, such as the United States Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act , but this would require giving notice to each individual news server administrator. On the Internet, Usenet is transported via the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) on TCP Port 119 for standard, unprotected connections and on TCP port 563 for SSL encrypted connections. The major set of worldwide newsgroups
9520-419: The network bandwidth available to a server is high but the storage allocation is small, it is possible for a huge flood of incoming content to overflow the allocation and push out everything that was in the group before it. The average length of time that posts are able to stay on the server before being deleted is commonly called the retention time . Binary newsgroups are only able to function reliably if there
9632-545: The networks and creating the Internet: Commercialization, privatization, broader access leads to the modern Internet: Examples of Internet services: Usenet ( / ˈ j uː z n ɛ t / ), USENET , or, "in full", User's Network , is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived
9744-460: The newly developed news software such as A News . The name "Usenet" emphasizes its creators' hope that the USENIX organization would take an active role in its operation. The articles that users post to Usenet are organized into topical categories known as newsgroups , which are themselves logically organized into hierarchies of subjects. For instance, sci.math and sci.physics are within
9856-545: The occasion, Groundspeak allowed specialized geocaching events to be published across the world, allowing attendees to obtain a virtual souvenir on their profile. The second geocaching trackable in space is TB5EFXK which is attached to the SHERLOC calibration target on board the Mars Perseverance Rover , which landed on Mars on 18 February 2021. Geocachers were given the opportunity to virtually discover
9968-412: The origin information for a Usenet posting can be completely obscured and unobtainable once it has propagated past the original server. Also unlike modern P2P services, the identity of the downloaders is hidden from view. On P2P services a downloader is identifiable to all others by their network address. On Usenet, the downloader connects directly to a server, and only the server knows the address of who
10080-478: The original container was later found by a Groundspeak led survey in April of that year. What remains of "Tunnel of Light" is an "official" replacement of the original ammo can that was left in 2001. This cache type does not contain a physical logbook. They are normally hidden at a rather interesting or unique location, usually with a described object such as an art sculpture or a scenic lookout. Validation for finding
10192-432: The question to move on to the next waypoint. Many Adventure Labs caches have a physical bonus cache associated with them that are listed as a "mystery cache". Coordinates to the bonus cache, if applicable, can be seen in the journal entries once a user has correctly answered the question at a waypoint. Geocachers can create their own Adventure Lab, but must first opt-in to receive an "Adventure Lab credit" which allows for
10304-491: The rise of the World Wide Web (WWW), web front-ends (web2news) have become more common. Web front ends have lowered the technical entry barrier requirements to that of one application and no Usenet NNTP server account. There are numerous websites now offering web based gateways to Usenet groups, although some people have begun filtering messages made by some of the web interfaces for one reason or another. Google Groups
10416-514: The rules of most geocache listing sites. Food is also disallowed, even if sealed, as it is considered unhygienic and can attract animals. If a geocache has been vandalized or stolen by a person who is not familiar with geocaching, it is said to have been "muggled". The term plays off the fact that those not familiar with geocaching are called " muggles ", a word borrowed from the Harry Potter series of books which were rising in popularity at
10528-405: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title TFTC . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=TFTC&oldid=1258032763 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
10640-545: The same time geocaching started. Geocaches vary in size, difficulty, and location. Simple caches that are placed near a roadside are often called "drive-bys", "park 'n grabs" (PNGs), or "cache and dash". Geocaches may also be complex, involving lengthy searches, significant travel, or use of specialist equipment such as SCUBA diving , kayaking , or abseiling . Different geocaching websites list different variations per their own policies. Container sizes range from nano , particularly magnetic nanos , which can be smaller than
10752-518: The seeker before hunting the cache. This means they are unaware of potential restrictions such as limited hunt times, park open/close times, off-limit areas, and suggested parking locations. The website geocaching.com now sells mobile applications which allow users to view caches through a variety of different devices. Currently, the Android , iOS , and Windows Phone mobile platforms have applications in their respective stores. The apps also allow for
10864-435: The server and newsreader were a single program suite, running on the same system. Today, one uses separate newsreader client software, a program that resembles an email client but accesses Usenet servers instead. Not all ISPs run news servers. A news server is one of the most difficult Internet services to administer because of the large amount of data involved, small customer base (compared to mainstream Internet service), and
10976-544: The server sequentially. A major difference between a BBS or web message board and Usenet is the absence of a central server and dedicated administrator or hosting provider. Usenet is distributed among a large, constantly changing set of news servers that store and forward messages to one another via "news feeds". Individual users may read messages from and post to a local (or simply preferred) news server, which can be operated by anyone, and those posts will automatically be forwarded to any other news servers peered with
11088-416: The third locationless cache to be logged since 2005 (GC9FAVE). Instead of finding Signal or picking up trash, this cache encouraged geocachers from around the world to share their favorite geocaching story. This geocache was archived and locked on 1 January 2024. A type of virtual cache whose coordinates provide the location to a public webcam . The finder is required to capture an image of themselves through
11200-806: The tip of a finger and have only enough room to store the log sheet, to 20-liter (5 gallon) buckets or even larger containers, such as entire trucks. The most common cache containers in rural areas are lunch-box-sized plastic storage containers or surplus military ammunition cans. Ammo cans are considered the gold standard of containers because they are very sturdy, waterproof, animal- and fire-resistant, and relatively cheap, and have plenty of room for trade items. Smaller containers are more common in urban areas because they can be more easily hidden. Over time many variations of geocaches have developed. Different platforms often have their own rules on which types are allowed or how they are classified. The following cache types are supported by geocaching.com. The simplest form of
11312-528: The trackable after the WATSON camera sent back its first photographs of the calibration target that contained the tracking code number. The code is printed on a prototype helmet visor material that will be used to test how well it can withstand the Martian environment. This will help scientists in creating a viable Martian spacesuit for future crewed missions to Mars . The activity was originally referred to as
11424-490: The traditional geocache, a geocacher will place a waterproof container containing a log book, often also a pen and/or pencil and trade items or trackables , then record the cache's coordinates . These coordinates, along with other details of the location, are posted on a listing site (see list of some sites below). Other geocachers obtain the coordinates from that listing site and seek out the cache using their handheld GPS receivers. The finding geocachers record their exploits in
11536-516: The traffic. The oldest widely used encoding method for binary content is uuencode , from the Unix UUCP package. In the late 1980s, Usenet articles were often limited to 60,000 characters, and larger hard limits exist today. Files are therefore commonly split into sections that require reassembly by the reader. With the header extensions and the Base64 and Quoted-Printable MIME encodings, there
11648-405: The webcam for verification of the find. New webcam caches are no longer allowed by Groundspeak as it is a legacy cache. Webcam caches are a category at Waymarking.com. A type of virtual cache that typically consists of a set of 5 waypoints, with each waypoint counting as a "cache find". The waypoints usually have an overall theme such showcasing the history of a small town and are often created as
11760-418: The world. The first geocache was placed in 2000, and by 2023 there were over 3 million active caches worldwide. Geocaching can be considered a location-based game . A typical cache is a small waterproof container containing a logbook and sometimes a pen or pencil. The geocacher signs the log with their established code name/username and dates it, in order to prove that they found the cache. After signing
11872-411: Was a black plastic bucket that was partially buried and contained various items, such as software, videos, books, money, a can of beans , and a slingshot . The geocache and most of its contents were eventually destroyed by a lawn mower , but the can of beans was the only item salvaged and was later turned into a trackable item known as the "Original Can of Beans". Another geocache and plaque, called
11984-515: Was a new generation of binary transport. In practice, MIME has seen increased adoption in text messages, but it is avoided for most binary attachments. Some operating systems with metadata attached to files use specialized encoding formats. For Mac OS, both BinHex and special MIME types are used. Other lesser known encoding systems that may have been used at one time were BTOA , XX encoding , BOO , and USR encoding. In an attempt to reduce file transfer times, an informal file encoding known as yEnc
12096-466: Was associated with the Unix operating system developed at AT&T , but newsreaders were soon available for all major operating systems. Email client programs and Internet suites of the late 1990s and 2000s often included an integrated newsreader. Newsgroup enthusiasts often criticized these as inferior to standalone newsreaders that made correct use of Usenet protocols, standards and conventions. With
12208-638: Was conceived in 1979 and publicly established in 1980, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University , over a decade before the World Wide Web went online (and thus before the general public received access to the Internet ), making it one of the oldest computer network communications systems still in widespread use. It was originally built on the "poor man's ARPANET ", employing UUCP as its transport protocol to offer mail and file transfers, as well as announcements through
12320-429: Was introduced in 2001. It achieves about a 30% reduction in data transferred by assuming that most 8-bit characters can safely be transferred across the network without first encoding into the 7-bit ASCII space. The most common method of uploading large binary posts to Usenet is to convert the files into RAR archives and create Parchive files for them. Parity files are used to recreate missing data when not every part of
12432-403: Was possible to create a challenge cache to find 10 caches that have a food item in the title. Under current guidelines, this is no longer allowed because it restricts geocachers to find specific geocaches. Instead, Groundspeak has encouraged new challenges to be more creative. Acceptable challenges include finding caches in 10 states, finding 100 traditional geocaches, or finding 1000 geocaches with
12544-450: Was the first formal specification of the messages exchanged by Usenet servers. It was superseded by RFC 1036 and subsequently by RFC 5536 and RFC 5537. In cases where unsuitable content has been posted, Usenet has support for automated removal of a posting from the whole network by creating a cancel message, although due to a lack of authentication and resultant abuse, this capability is frequently disabled. Copyright holders may still request
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