Quote Originally Posted by firefighterjake View Post
Wolf . . . I apologize if you were offended. As mentioned, it just seemed that we were getting a bunch of folks coming on here to hawk their stuff with little interest in geocaching.

However, I still stand by my statement . . . in all other forums that I am a member, it is rare to see someone come on board and in their very first post list something for sale . . . I don't think there is any written statement prohibiting this . . . it's just considered good BBS etiquette . . . it's akin to someone joining a site and then posting something inflamatory in their very first post . . . in either case folks will wonder what is behind the person's intent . . . are they truly interested in the BBS or are they simply there to sell an item, stir up trouble, etc.

After reading your thread here I think it is clear that your post was in no way meant to stir up debate or start up a "career" selling merchandise on line . . . it was simply a way to list an item that you thought geocachers would be interested in.

I for one obviously judged your post too quickly and so again I apologize.

I was being sincere however in welcoming you to the forum and from the sounds of it you have been and will be getting into geocaching . . . I truly hope you don't stay a stranger . . . even if it is to post a quick note . . . because the folks here are a good lot who have helped me out immensely.

I will also point out that judging folks too quickly can be a two-way street . . . you may find that myself and others at this forum are quite friendly and in fact very accepting of new members (I mean if we accepted Hiram, trust me you can't be any worse . . . and yes, this is a joke.) The problem as mentioned earlier is that first impressions -- whether in person or through a post in a forum -- can sometimes be wrong impressions.

I personally feel that all members who join and actively contribute to this site are valued members . . . for me personally, geocaching and geocachingmaine.org is not all about the numbers (well other than this past weekend with Hiram and Medawisla since I was specifically working for some numbers) or what can I personally gain . . . for me it's about seeing new places in Maine and the world . . . it's about being brought to a scenic area or a historical site that I never knew about . . . it's about the thrill of finding a cleverly hidden cache . . . it's something that I truly hope you get to experience as well.

I suspect that once you get to know the personalities here and perhaps even in person you'll discover that the folks here are truly caring folks . . . some of whom you might even become good friends with . . . at least I know personally I have made some good friends . . . close friends, such as Hiram and Medawisla, whom you will learn you can trust implicitly.

Also, for the record, you don't need to post finds on line . . . in fact I have met geocachers that do not post their finds for whatever reason. I suspect that some simply do it for their own personal enjoyment and don't feel compelled to keep a tally -- whether as a competition against others or for their own sense of accomplishment. Do not feel compelled to post on-line, but definitely take some time in your busy schedule if at all possible to go out and explore what Maine and geocaching have to offer.

Finally, how many posts are required before you can offer something for sale??? Well, you've got me there . . . zing . . . I for one can't really answer that since there is nothing, absolutely nothing that says you can't or shouldn't post something for sale in the 1st, 5th or 50th post. I guess all I can say once again is that my past experience with BBS is that most folks will post at least a few other posts before they offer something for sale . . . this shows an actual interest in the activity and shows that the person is real and not simply someone looking to sell something.

Again, just to make this absolutely clear . . . I apologize for my post . . . but was also very sincere in welcoming you to geocaching and geocachingmaine.org . . . I truly hope you will not be a stranger and will come to enjoy geocaching and may even come to like some of us.


P.S. I'm like you in one way . . . I don't like big crowds and tend to be a bit anti-social that way, so you'll rarely find me at events . . . however as you may have noticed I do tend to get a bit verbose when typing on-line.


Verbose,,,I didn't even notice..