kwikstix

The idea of a better (or more accurate) way to quantify true Caching Karma was discussed in this thread...

All excellent suggestions!! I will follow them: arrive early and set out various cache containers (which I've received permission to do), and stock some of them with some trade items. (I plan to give each student a trade item to take with them and remind them that they have to "trade" something in.) I've found some decent illustrations online, so I'm planning to print them out to help with the brief explanation. Thanks again for the tips - they've been very helpful.

I've been asked to take my son's kindergarten class on a geocaching adventure. Due to transportation logistics, we'll be visiting a geocache that happens to be hidden within a very short walking distance of his school. I'd like to know if anyone has done any caching with a group of young children (there will be around 15 of them). Any advice? Ideas of how to explain what a GPS is and how it works? I thought of going into the fact that satellites are orbiting the earth, and this little device can figure out exactly where it is based on the signal it receives from each of those satellites. Perhaps that's too much information? Any similar experiences you can share would be helpful!

Nope I think he meant screen saver (It would help if I would read the entire post before replying - it was past my bedtime!)

Yeah, there's a bunch at http://www.geocaching.com/goodies/.

I'm wondering if the OP actually meant "wallpaper" rather than "screensaver"? It's a commonly mis-used term, but "wallpaper" refers to the background image on a person's desktop (that image behind the icons when no programs are open). "Screensaver" refers to the series of images or animations that kick in after a period of inactivity. Assuming the OP meant wallpaper, my suggestion would be to create your own using Photoshop Elements, GIMPshop (an open-source alternative to Photoshop), or some other graphics development program. Grab some images (of your own caching experiences, from the web, etc, but watch that you adhere to copyright and logo usage guidelines), and create an image that matches your monitor's resolution (typically 1024x768 or 1200x1024).

It would be nice if this could be an option (perhaps put an "Include Decoded Hint?" checkbox on the notification page. For FTFs it might be nice to have, but for some may still prefer not to include the hint in the notification.

I like the general idea, but I think there are some wasted characters in there. Having said that, I would also like to see the cache type: GCXXXX: Cache Name Traditional, Small, 2.5/2.5 100.2mi SE N37 14.234 W 86 10.352 I believe a maximum of 60 characters would be used for the non-cache name details (I used the longest combinations I could think of), leaving 80 characters for the name (should be long enough, but perhaps it should be coded to truncate at 80 to be sure). IMHO, the publish date isn't important, nor is the website. I have wap.geocaching.com in my mobile bookmarks, as I suspect most FTF hounds would. As long as I have the container size, the difficulty, and of course the coords, I would have an idea of what I was looking for.

There was a fairly remote cache around here that had an unactivated unique geocoin in it as a FTF prize. Why did you do that? The FTF Prize doesn't require a trade...

A good discussion - my horizons have been broadened! The root of my initial disagreement was not really in the logging of a PMOC by a non-PM, but in their ability to seek it in the first place (unless, as I mentioned before, by accompanying a PM). I guess my opinion was (and perhaps still is) that the purpose of making a cache PMOC is to limit, primarily in quantity, but also perhaps arguably in quality, the geocachers who are able to seek the cache. For instance, I am working on an earthcache which would be on private property (the owners of which I know fairly well). The requirements of the earthcache would certainly be met (including the requirement that the earthcache be for a unique or unusual geologic feature), but there is no signage, no visitor's center, indeed no markings or indicators at all that would provide any guidance to seekers. Due to some concerns from the landowners, I planned to make this earthcache PM only, under the assumption that fewer people will seek it, and those who do will likely be more experienced, or at least more dedicated geocachers, and therefore will be more likely to take better care of the site. (Again, this may be an arguable point - I'm sure there are exceptions, but it seems logical.) I'm still not quite sure what all the backdoor entails. Does it give non-PM cachers the ability to see the coordinates of a PMOC, or does it merely provide the ability for them to log the PMOC (meaning they would still need to get the coords from a PM)?

Thanks for your thoughts. My next question was going to be, "Well, then, what are PMOCs for, anyway?" I can see your perspective. I guess it's all a matter of how strict the cache owner wants to be with the logging. As I've mentioned before, I don't have any PMOCs, so I guess I don't have any real-world experience - just thoughts about how I would hypothetically handle the situation. I had also previously thought (before reading this thread) that there was really no way for non-PMs to access the coords for a PMOC cache unless they get them from someone else, which I figured was a violation of the guidelines. I also was unaware of a backdoor that would allow PMs to log a PMOC cache.

I guess I see two situations, one of which I wouldn't have a problem accepting a non-member to log, and one of which I would: Acceptable: Several geocachers are searching together, at least one of which is a Premium Member, and at least one of which is not. All sign the log, making the find using the premium member's coordinates. All log online as well. Of course, it would be courteous of the non-members to either ask permission first, or include a brief explanation in their logs. Not Acceptable: A non-premium member geocacher somehow gets the coordinates, either by asking for them from a friend, or some other way, then goes out alone, finds the cache, and logs it without requesting permission to do so.

It doesn't sound like you disagreed with my point. My point was that non-Member finders shouldn't assume that they have the right to log Member-only caches. As I mentioned, given a good reason (several have been mentioned), and given that permission was asked before logging the find, I would likely make an exception and allow the find to be logged by a non-member. However, that's different than what KoosKoos suggested, which is that owners shouldn't mind if non-members log unless they specifically forbid it in their cache's description page.

I don't have any PMOC caches yet (I've got two in the works that will likely be PMOC), but if a finder would contact me before logging the find, I would likely make an exception. I believe that is different than circumventing the system to log a find, and assuming the cache owner won't mind, or even worse, expecting that they should allow it.

Unsubscribing from this topic... ... I'm tired of reading discussions involving people complaining about micros. I'm with Drooling - just don't seek them out. If you want more non-micros in your area, hide them!

I agree 100%. The fact that a cache owner made the cache a "Members-Only" cache should be enough to clearly communicate the owner's desire that only members log the find. Spelling it out in the cache description is redundant. That's the same kind of logic that leads to ridiculous warning labels like "Allergy alert: may contain nuts" (seen on a can of Planters Mixed Nuts) or "Not to be used for trimming hedges" (seen on a push mower) or "Caution: contents may be hot" (seen on a McDonald's coffee cup).

As the father of a 5 year old, I've learned the importance of distraction and diversion. I've taken him hunting with my numerous times, and to him, almost as disappointing as a DNF is finding a micro, since it can't hold swag. Therefore, I typically try to avoid most micros while caching with him, but I don't avoid micros hidden in nature. The reason I make an exception for "nature micros" (as opposed to "urban micros" is that I can easily distract him from the hunt (and the periodic DNF) by "exploring", and excitedly pointing out various aspects of our surroundings. One day we saw a train of ants carrying larvae, apparently moving their colony. Another day he had fun pointing out all the squirrel nests he could find, having recently learned how to spot them. We've picked up litter together, as he has learned the importance of not dropping trash on the ground. These are reasons I like forest hides, whether they be micros or otherwise. Of course, I always peruse the logs before I start out, and if there are several recent DNFs, I'll skip it to avoid wasting time.

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=180419 http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=177672

I've got a nuvi 350, and I actually use it primarily for geocaching. (of course I used the "never getting lost again" argument to help justify the purchase to my wife!) I've got over 250 finds - not exceptional, but certainly a significant number. I've cached with friends who have the handheld, non-touch-screen types, and while their GPSrs have some nice features that mine doesn't have, I've found that I seem to be able to access many of the most important features (accessing the list of POIs, entering coordinates, etc) much more easily and quicker than they can. There are some features that the nuvi doesn't have that many of the "hiking models" do, for instance the ability to record a track. However, I haven't found any of those missing features to be show-stopping while geocaching. I typically use the "Fastest Route" mode to drive to the parking area, then switch to the "Off Road" mode (which basically draws a straight line between my current location and the coordinates) to hike to the cache.

I don't know for sure the process the macro takes to read the HTML, but according to the status that is displayed while the macro is working, it appears that the process you outlined is what is happening. The macro doesn't literally open a web browser on my computer and visually select the information, but essentially that's what it is doing to get the text of the log itself.

Thanks! I should've re-checked the macros page before I posted. I found a macro that does exactly what I was looking for - very slick! I wouldn't call it probing. The macro seems to be "reading" the HTML (no more than a web browser would) and simply using only the data needed to update the information in the cache's record in the GSAK database.

I know something similar to this has been discussed in topics before. If there is an existing topic that addresses my specific question, please point it out. I use GSAK, but for the first several months I was geocaching, I hadn't yet discovered it. Well, I have two cache hides that have 30+ finds, but only the last 20-couple logs are included in the cache record in GSAK. (The first 10+ logs for each cache were not imported into GSAK due to the 20 log limit in individual cache GPX downloads). Is there any way to put those logs into a GPX file? I looked into manually editing the GPX files to add the log entries, but I couldn't find any way to determine the all-numeric logID, so the GPS file couldn't be imported into GSAK. There's got to be a way to somehow manually load those oldest logs into GSAK. In case you're wondering, my primary reason for wanting this is to have a complete record of the finds for my cache hides in the GSAK database, to keep accurate statistics of my caches' finds.

Perhaps one example is a cache I placed just today. It is on university property (a different university than the one I previously referred to earlier in this thread). I contacted the university to inquire about a cache placement policy, and was sent this email in reply: You'd almost think the university official was reading this thread! For this cache placement, it probably wouldn't be appropriate to use that graphic, since only implicit permission was given. Maybe there should be two seals - one stating "Permission Granted" and one stating "Permission Implied" (or "Explicit"/"Implicit" or whatever).

Where is this from? I'd be interested in using a "seal" graphic like this. However, if I use it on some of my caches and not on others, wouldn't that imply that the ones on which it isn't used were placed without permission?

Thanks! I did mention that I had received permission in the Enable Listing log, as well as in a note that was posted subsequently. I also relayed TPTB's request that the cache only be sought during the day, and additionally specifically requested that all cachers respect the instructions of any LEO they encounter, even if asked to leave. Seeing as how the security company is an outside agency, not all their employees may be aware of the cache's existence, and its permission to be there. Do you folks think that stating something like that (view log here) discourage some cachers from seeking the cache?