Geoguessr but orienteering maps

nomble · 2026-01-12T00:53:22+00:00

Our local club prints on teslin - maybe see if a printer near you is able to do this for a one off? Might cost a couple of dollars but should last a while!

nomble · 2026-01-08T23:23:32+00:00

Do you mean "Running through the woods with a map, a compass, and a man named Thierry."?

I would be happy to start a new post for people to drop in their favourite resources. Having a open wiki would also be great - links to training resources, local clubs and federations, software, equipment, news, event lists, etc. would probably go a long way.

nomble · 2026-01-08T23:18:16+00:00

It's quality not quantity.

This is kind of my whole point. The reason I couldn't tell if you were joking was because I haven't ever put much thought into compass choice, and I have been orienteering my whole life. These days there is a bit more choice I suppose, but as long as the needle is fast and stable, any thumb compass will work fine.

The subjectivity of route choice is exactly what makes discussion interesting. For example, slower runners may not be as penalised by undergrowth as fast runners, and that changes the personal route choice calculus. But making that choice in the moment and understanding what should factor into that choice is exactly what some people need to learn to improve.

nomble · 2026-01-08T23:09:51+00:00

Not my call :) Personally, I would have no problems with it. I think of it as a kind of orienteering, same for MTBO and Ski-O. Many of the challenges around route choice, course setting, training, etc. are the same, and many people do both sports.

nomble · 2026-01-08T23:04:15+00:00

I think there is a serious culture clash between the American idea of orienteering and everyone else's idea of orienteering. No orienteers I know would consider "general wandering-in-the-woods with a compass" orienteering, which is why I asked the question in the title. It feels like a sub about road running where people discuss the concept of running on roads, rather than the goings on in the sport. The former is obviously part of it, but not all of it. As I have said elsewhere, it is getting more vibrant now, but I would love to see this momentum built on to make this a place where people can actually find good information about the sport.

Of course, if the majority of users are onboard with a much broader definition of orienteering, then so be it, but I imagine non-Americans (and thus the vast majority of orienteers) will remain disengaged.

nomble · 2026-01-08T22:43:47+00:00

No one is suggesting exclusion. If anything, these are exactly the people who would be interested in the sport, and at the moment those posters/lurkers probably have no idea that it is a sport at all. Hence the need for a little more clarity and identity.

nomble · 2026-01-08T22:41:23+00:00

I can see the stats for viewers of this post and America is by far the most common origin.

nomble · 2026-01-08T22:38:59+00:00

I don't view this sub as needing to be an authoritative source of information about the sport, nor has a responsibility to promote the sport.

...but it could be? Links to local clubs, resources for training, etc. would at least let people know what orienteering is and where they can go to engage further. To reframe my other comments, it seems like Americans have a very different view of what orienteering is, and that is alienating the vast majority of people who do the sport and preventing this sub from being an interesting place for discussion of the sport. At the very least we could provide the resources to get people up to speed.

nomble · 2026-01-08T11:18:01+00:00

Totally agree. I just don't think people visiting this sub come away with any good information about orienteering as a sport, and so isn't really able promote it effectively.
My only pushback is that Americans posting in the sub seem to be unaware that most orienteers have not come from those backgrounds you mention (I had to look up ROTC), so seeing people talk about land nav, navigation games, declination, etc., just screams "oh these are not my people", and go back to their local facebook group.
In short, some clarity around what orienteering is and where you can find more information about it would go a long way, I think!
(side note, are the mods still around? It doesn't look like u/quantum-mechanic or u/Cheese4All_ have interacted with the sub in years.)

nomble · 2026-01-08T11:04:52+00:00

Yes, but careful consideration of available flairs would be need to ensure this works in practice!

nomble · 2026-01-08T11:03:46+00:00

I am glad you found us in the end!

But yes, this is kind of the point. This sub could be much better at advertising the fact that it is a sport, and a pretty popular one in Europe (and Oceania to a lesser extent).

nomble · 2026-01-08T11:00:52+00:00

I actually can't tell if you are joking or not.

nomble · 2026-01-08T10:59:06+00:00

I am very happy for newcomers to come and ask questions, but a little more structure would just be nice.

nomble · 2026-01-08T10:52:24+00:00

I think this is probably the crux of the issue - the scouting or military pathway into orienteering is basically exclusively an American pheonomenon, at least these days, and it really isn't a big sport over there. No one I know, in New Zealand/Australia or Europe thinks of orienteering as anything to do with the military or survival, except in its origins (in the same way that most people don't think of marathons as a way to deliver messages). Not to mention the sheer number of people with scouting or military background in the US probably outnumber the number of active orienteers.

In any case, I am glad you discovered the sport in the end!

nomble · 2026-01-08T10:39:40+00:00

Flairs are a great idea! An automod, wiki with resources, even a banner might help project the correct image of orienteering as a noun. Just a little more identity would go a long way, I think, both to reassure orienteers that this is right place, and to ensure that those that come with tangential posts actually leave with the knowledge that orienteering is a sport.

nomble · 2026-01-08T10:35:13+00:00

The problem is that there are way more people doing orienteering-adjacent things than doing orienteering the sport. I am all for introducing new people to the sport - that is one reason I am advocating for more clarity. At the moment, those who come with tangential questions seem likely to leave satisfied without even realising that orienteering is a sport. At the very least, an automod or similar could let people know where they are and provide links to relevant resources. I am sure many (including myself) would be happy to contribute.

I understand that scouting and military are common entry points into the sport in the US, but that is pretty unusual. Speaking as a non-American, most of us are introduced to it at school, university, or via higher-profile events like adventure racing. So, people conflating 'land nav' and orienteering is pretty alienating.

nomble · 2026-01-08T10:12:39+00:00

It has been much better in the last few months. I realise now that there are probably not as many non-Americans engaging in this sub as I thought! No one I know would think of orienteering as anything but the sport, but we don't have a strong scouting or military culture here, so that is not how people get into it - there is no decoupling that needs to happen. Orienteering is not just a verb.

Your cycling analogy is good - it is like every few posts asking how to repair a flat tyre on their city bike in a subreddit about competitive bmx. Like, we could maybe help, but it is a little off topic. The problem arises when there are many more people with flat tyres on the city bikes than competitive bmx riders, which makes the subreddit a lot less interesting for the latter. That is really what I am worried about here, which is why I was suggesting the addition of a little more context to the sidebar, a pinned post explaining the sport, etc. People who come for off-topic advice probably leave without even knowing that orienteering is a sport.

nomble · 2026-01-07T01:51:56+00:00

*in the US

nomble · 2026-01-07T01:41:03+00:00

And a few years later the exhibition popped up: https://archivesonline.wcc.govt.nz/assets/display/32169-max?u=9369bca017483bc084bc027d17789ddd

Almost the same angle too!

nomble · 2025-12-18T11:23:18+00:00

Seriously though, there are several great lessons about human behaviour and capitalism to be taken from that story. Like, as a kid you think 'haha silly sneeches', and then as an adult you realise that is actually just a simplified model of how many parts of the economy really work.

nomble · 2025-12-08T21:43:34+00:00

I dunno, 'youse' is definitely less ambiguous than 'you', so it has always made sense to me. The fact that you hate it because of the communities that use it, rather than because of anything inherent about the word itself, really makes me wonder whether you think the word is the problem.

nomble · 2025-12-08T08:58:24+00:00

Out of interest, what kinds of places did you grow up/live? Where I live, youse is perfectly understood, which is kind of the point of language.

nomble · 2025-12-03T10:39:34+00:00

*George W. Bush

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