Auld Pharrrt
-
Posts
118 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Auld Pharrrt
-
-
I think the solution will be to add the SPOILER to the cache description with the black place holder shown there and linking to the actual photograph, much like I have done in the example above ... thank you everyone for taking the time to get involved, but I suspect I have just answered my own question!
Ron.
At the time I started the thread I was under the impression that I'd seen this in a galley for a cache, now I think it might have been a senior moment and what I've seen was probably in the description.
-
This is something like what I saw ... and if you click on it it will show a photograph ... in this example I have it linked to a photo of ma wee dug. This is what I need to figure out how to get on my cache listing's gallery page!
-
I have an old computer program called Picture It that i use to edit images that i've taken. There were a couple of times that i wanted to post a picture so i used that program to hide whatever i didn't want people to see. I've never used html for this.
Here's an old picture dating back to 2004...
I would imagine there might be an app out there that can edit pictures but i have never went and looked.
Yes, I have seen a few done in this way, but it doesn't suit my needs I want to blank out the whole picture ... personally I use Paint Shop Pro for editing the majority of my graphics, I've been using it for so many years that I am pretty familiar with it now.
-
I think some of the responders are imagining someone attaching such a picture to a log entry, but you seem to be talking about how you, as the CO, could put such a picture in your description. I can't see why anyone would complain about that or think it's a bad idea.
So while you should be able to do that -- it sounds like just a simple link named "spoiler" pointing to a JPG file -- I'd like to mention that it won't be of any use to anyone that can't display pictures out in the field which is still many of us. So I encourage you to try to clarify the location verbally in the hint instead of trying to do it with pictures. And even if pictures are available to the seeker, a good written description based on things that won't change with the seasons can help even more than a picture taken too far in the past.
A very good point you raise there re. making a more precise verbal description. Although the co-ords for the actual cache are very good and it is a part of a forest which has a clear view of the sky for satellite reception so far only two people have logged a DNF (1 finder did mention there was a lot of snow) so it isn't really that difficult. But, I'm concerned about how difficult it will be to see the hint item (a large egg shaped lump of granite) if/when the grasses grow and had intended including a photo which will narrow down the search area considerably for anyone who wanted to use it. I have included a photo which shows the rock, but, as you say, not everyone has the means to view pictures in the field.
However, a quick search through another 4,000 photo's hasn't helped me locate the thing I'm looking for, but I do know I have seen it and am now fairly certain that it was a mystery cache (or series of) where I noticed it.
I'm a stubborn Auld Pharrrt and will find it again eventually................... I hope.
Ron.
-
Sorry, couldn't get back to the keyboard, I had visitors ...
What I saw on a cache listing was as I described ... a black rectangle/square which had the word SPOILER in white text. If you clicked on it you then see the photograph load in the normal way. I don't see that it would be of interest to TPTB, but I could be wrong.
The reason I want to do it is quite simple really, none of my hides are meant to be very difficult to find but the one I want to use it on is where I have hidden the container under a small stone beside a larger boulder, the area is littered with boulders which makes it more difficult to locate. The actual boulder I mention in the title and hint is quite distinctive but ... and here's the rub, when I placed the hide the grass and foliage was withered back quite a bit but in the summer it will be very dense, also if there has been snow then the thing will be buried. I'd like to put a photograph of the location in the description which will make life easier for anyone who is struggling to find the hint item, I'm not spoiling someone else's hide by posting a spoiler pic but I would emphasise that the spoiler pic will reveal the location and should only be viewed as a last resort and only if the cacher wants the extra help ... this cache is #7 in a series of 15 and I personally would feel disappointed if I'd walked almost three miles to get there only to have a DNF.
I know, and can see from other replies, that a lot of people won't like the idea, but it's a matter of choice in my book, and my choice is to make it possible for cachers to find my hides rather than leave feeling disappointed. I intend to make another series which will have novelty containers, puzzles and harder to find hides, but anyone looking for them will be aware of the fact that they won't be my normal easy hides.
If I manage to come across one of the listings I have seen which include what I am referring to I will post a link here for anyone interested in it.
I guess I'd better start trawling the site until I come across it again, I had been hoping that someone on the forum would have a link to one of them, |I've certainly seen it at least 3 times since I joined, but I'm darned if I can remember where.
Ron.
P.S. Personally, I think it's a simple placeholder for a photograph which links to the genuine photograph, but since I'm not that good at HTML it's easier for me to copy it from somewhere than to write the code myself ... now that I'm almost halfway through my 60's I find writing code a lot less enjoyable than I did 20 years ago.
P.P.S. So far I've trawled through 3,764 photo's from 1,000 cache listings near my home and no joy, but I n ow think it might have been a mystery caches and I only looked at Trads ... time for another hunt.
-
Do you have an example cache page?
Erm, no. That's what I was asking for in item 2. If I can find an example again I can easily copy it and edit it to suit my needs, but thanks for looking.
I guess I didn't explain it very well ... I've seen it on some cache pages, but I can't find one when I need it.
Ron.
-
Ok, this is probably basic HTML but I've been trying to figure this one out and can't, nor has any of my searches helped.
I have come across a few cache gallery photographs which have been "hidden" behind a black square with the word SPOILER in white. Sadly, when I want to find one (to copy the code,) I cannot, does anyone either :
1. Know how to do it?
2. Have a link to a cache listing with photographs like this in the gallery? (I can copy and edit the code to suit.)
Thanking you all in anticipation 'coz I'm sure someone will have the answer.
Ron.
-
That's crazy and sad that people would rune the fun of this game by keeping them or false logging. I found my first TB and was so excited the person wanted it to be put by the library so I made a trip especially for them.
I agree that it is sad when people remove trackables from the game intentionally, but I accept the fact that accidents happen. The person might have lost it and is too embarrassed to admit it, or, for some reason has never been able to return to the game to drop it off. My very first geocoin was picked up from it's first cache by a woman who logged it as picked up, after months of "visiting" other caches I asked her if she would drop it somewhere and she told me that she had dropped it ages ago but she doesn't like to log where she drops a TB to prevent people from going hunting for them! It has never seen the light of day since.
I have another which was picked up some months ago by a father and daughter team from Germany. They logged it and mentioned they'd take it back to Hamburg to help it on it's way, they've never logged back into geocaching since ... I'd hate to think that something serious happened to them during their visit to Scotland or their return trip home, I prefer to think they forgot about it or lost it ... I'll give it a year and if it doesn't resurface I'll send out a copy.
As for people making "false" or virtual logs ... I don't like those logs myself, but when I first joined I did "discover" about 12 on Google, like you I thought finding the real thing, or even a copy, is exciting (I love the TB side of the game) but I deleted every one of my virtual logs about a month later as I didn't feel there was any fun in them, in fact I felt mildly embarrassed by them.
Now however, I will delete virtual logs from my own TB's (though not genuine discovery ones) and I accept the fact that there are people who like to play this game in their own way, just because it is NOT my way doesn't make it wrong.
Happy caching.
-
Or we can form a TB Brute Squad. Nothing physical, just mass flooding his/her inbox with RELEASE THE HOSTAGE!
This would be considered harassment and is against the terms of use of the geocaching.com website. Please read the terms of use here.
Obviously, I cannot speak for anyone other than myself, but I think when TAF posted that message (with the inclusion of the smiley face) he/she was joking. Although I have to agree that DOING it would obviously be harassment (something I'd never take part in,) I'd like to think that having a laugh about it is simply freedom of speech.
-
For me its numerous things, most of which have been mentioned above.
But I'd add that as an older member of the community, living on his own now that my daughter has flown the nest, and after too many years in a sedentary job (trucker) and, who used to have an extremely active lifestyle when he was younger ... it's the opportunity to get up off his bum and do something.
I enjoy:-
The planning.
The hunt, including the exploration that often is part of the hunt.
The discovery.
The thought that some of my swag might bring a smile to a young person.
Meeting the occasional fellow cacher.
Putting out my own hides.
Watching people's responses to having found one of my hides ... (I'm currently planning another series, this time novel hides.)
Discussing the positive & negative aspects of the game.
Helping other people get into the game.
Trawling charity shops for swag and travelling companions for my TB's (indirectly helping those charities.)
The hours I have spent solving puzzles, especially during poor weather or during times when getting out caching wasn't possible.
More recently, helping other people get their own hides published and helping other people get MIA TB's back on the road by making basic copies for them.
Yeah, on the whole I'd say that Geocaching is, without doubt, something I wish I'd found out about a lot sooner than a few months ago!
Happy caching folks.
Oh, nearly forgot watching my TB's travelling the planet and looking through the photographs people post of their adventures.
-
I usually check the inventory to see if there are TB's that appear to have gone missing also I try to drop TB's only in premium member caches. I own 30 caches and only 2 are non-premium ... I've not had any bother with them except the only one non-premium big enough to take TB's ... the first 2 TB's I put in it went missing.
-
Grab it from his inventory and make a copy to re-release ... you own the tracking number.
I like this idea very much. I have one question. Lets say you grab it from where ever and release a proxy and the original pops up again 5 months later. What do you do then?
It's quite simple really. When you release a proxy, edit the TB's homepage so people know it has been done. Now, let's say your proxy/copy has been dropped in Mickey Mouse in Orlando and you discover that the original has resurfaced and has been logged into Bugs Bunny in Arizona. You know the proxy is in MM so you write a note in the logs for MM asking the next person to find the proxy to please destroy it as the original has re-surfaced. You also post a note on the TB's page to the same effect, mentioning that the original has resurfaced. Once someone let's you know they have destroyed the proxy then re-edit the TB homepage back to the original.
How dose the mileage work? or will that be skewed? I assume you have done this many times. How do you find getting the proxy destroyed?
Yes, I assume the mileage would be affected, but you could always delete any logs to reset it if you wished, but most cachers wouldn't appreciate you deleting their logs ... less important for a TB than a cache IMHO.
No, I've only released one proxy for a coin of mine which went missing from the first cache I placed it in, so mileage isn't a concern in this particular case. However, I have made proxies for 17 other people's TB's and released them in caches local to me in Scotland, that will have affected the mileages, but personally having the TB in circulation is more important to me than the mileages it covers ... however, it would be a simple process to keep a note of the mileage clocked up by the original, then ditto for the proxy etc., either or both could be included on the TB's webpage for anyone who might be interested in either.
As yet I have never had to ask someone to destroy a copy, but I did come across a log somewhere (I cannot remember where, forum thread I think) where this was what happened ... but let's face it, in reality, there aint many TB's that are going to resurface after going MIA, I know it does happen, but it's an incredibly small percentage that re-appear.
Thank you for the idea.
You are very welcome ... I particularly like the trackables side of the game and will happily help anyone if/when I can.
-
Grab it from his inventory and make a copy to re-release ... you own the tracking number.
I like this idea very much. I have one question. Lets say you grab it from where ever and release a proxy and the original pops up again 5 months later. What do you do then?
It's quite simple really. When you release a proxy, edit the TB's homepage so people know it has been done. Now, let's say your proxy/copy has been dropped in Mickey Mouse in Orlando and you discover that the original has resurfaced and has been logged into Bugs Bunny in Arizona. You know the proxy is in MM so you write a note in the logs for MM asking the next person to find the proxy to please destroy it as the original has re-surfaced. You also post a note on the TB's page to the same effect, mentioning that the original has resurfaced. Once someone let's you know they have destroyed the proxy then re-edit the TB homepage back to the original.
How dose the mileage work? or will that be skewed? I assume you have done this many times. How do you find getting the proxy destroyed?
Yes, I assume the mileage would be affected, but you could always delete any logs to reset it if you wished, but most cachers wouldn't appreciate you deleting their logs ... less important for a TB than a cache IMHO.
No, I've only released one proxy for a coin of mine which went missing from the first cache I placed it in, so mileage isn't a concern in this particular case. However, I have made proxies for 17 other people's TB's and released them in caches local to me in Scotland, that will have affected the mileages, but personally having the TB in circulation is more important to me than the mileages it covers ... however, it would be a simple process to keep a note of the mileage clocked up by the original, then ditto for the proxy etc., either or both could be included on the TB's webpage for anyone who might be interested in either.
As yet I have never had to ask someone to destroy a copy, but I did come across a log somewhere (I cannot remember where, forum thread I think) where this was what happened ... but let's face it, in reality, there aint many TB's that are going to resurface after going MIA, I know it does happen, but it's an incredibly small percentage that re-appear.
-
Grab it from his inventory and make a copy to re-release ... you own the tracking number.
I like this idea very much. I have one question. Lets say you grab it from where ever and release a proxy and the original pops up again 5 months later. What do you do then?
It's quite simple really. When you release a proxy, edit the TB's homepage so people know it has been done. Now, let's say your proxy/copy has been dropped in Mickey Mouse in Orlando and you discover that the original has resurfaced and has been logged into Bugs Bunny in Arizona. You know the proxy is in MM so you write a note in the logs for MM asking the next person to find the proxy to please destroy it as the original has re-surfaced. You also post a note on the TB's page to the same effect, mentioning that the original has resurfaced. Once someone let's you know they have destroyed the proxy then re-edit the TB homepage back to the original.
-
For instance ... take a look at the logs for this TB
The owner posted a photo on it's page on 7th Feb
Owner dropped it in a cache on 8th Feb
Look at the discovery logs on it BEFORE it was even put in a cache ... then look at all the discoveries and it's never been moved from it's original drop ... I bet not all those cachers have visited the cache, if any!
-
Hello all ! I just got a few trackables and am getting them ready to send out and noticed the lock it feature do I lock them? Or will that prevent them from people being able to add info ?
Lock it to prevent any logs from being added. As with the "Collectible" checkbox, most people won't need to use this feature.
I don't understand why a trackable sent out into the wild would be locked. What's the point?
If I mark a trackable as "missing", at least it can be revived. If I mark it as "locked", and it gets found again, what happens if someone finds it and gets it moving again?
Colour me confused.
B.
It's unlikely that you would use the lock function if the TB was on the road ... but with so many people using apps which will add a "visited" log everywhere you go unless you change it I'd like to see a lock visited option, but there are many newbies who accidentally showed the tracking code in the photo and all hell breaks loose as people make virtual logs on their, not yet released, TB!
The most recent 2000 photographs uploaded to geocaching show up in a log for TB's (less for caches I think) and anyone can view them.
This is the TB's pages - https://www.geocaching.com/track/gallery.aspx
Off the top of my head I can't remember where I found the one for caches but if you run a pocket query then click on Gallery for the caches in the query you will see all the photo's for those caches ... I'm positive I came across a "live" page or pages same as the TB's one, but can't remember how or where.
-
Or we can form a TB Brute Squad. Nothing physical, just mass flooding his/her inbox with RELEASE THE HOSTAGE!
:lol: -
We have released our TB in August 2011.
He traveled 34413 km and was picked by a user im May 2015 (in New Mexico, USA). From this point, this user holds our TB and is not releasing it.
I have tried to contact the user 2 or 3 times, but he is not answering messages (GC messenger or mail).
Any idea what else I can do to get in touch with the user so he releases our TB?
Thanks in advance.
AlGaAlOz
Try to contact HorseGirl10109, she found some caches together with GWC5.
Will try that, thank you....
Regards
If that fails, "grab" it from their inventory and make a proxy/copy and re-release it ... you own the tracking code number and are entitled to do this.
-
Grab it from his inventory and make a copy to re-release ... you own the tracking number.
-
Hello all ! I just got a few trackables and am getting them ready to send out and noticed the lock it feature do I lock them? Or will that prevent them from people being able to add info ?
As I understand it, the "lock" feature is to help the owner preventing "virtual logs" being made on their TB's. A common mistake is when you take a photograph of your nice, shiny, new TB and upload it to the webpage for your TB ... BUT YOU HAVE TRACKING CODE NUMBER VISIBLE IN THE PICTURE ... There are a number of people who like to log this as a discovery if they see it on the interweb (a popular hobby in Germany I believe.)
The general advice is to NEVER show the tracking code of ANY trackables in any photographs you upload to the website, whether you own them or not.
P.S. ... When you are ready to release your TB's, don't make them too pretty either, they'll probably go missing sooner rather then later..
-
I pretty much agree with luckytwo ... but some people don't seem too happy about being nudged, no matter how polite or diplomatic you might try to do it. In the few times I've tried to nudge someone, I carefully looked at their profiles and logs to see if they appeared to be (for lack of a better word) responsible members, but it still doesn't mean that they will take kindly to you prompting them to drop off your TB.
All my attempts to get my very first geocoin released by the first person who found it ended up with me being slated for making her look like a thief!!! She claimed that she prefers to move trackables without logging them into where she drops them so people can't go "hunting" for them, so they just hang about in her inventory until she logs a drop at any random cache! (or someone does find them.) Suffice is to say that my brand new coin has never seen the light of day again.
I released a proxy copy shortly after as I am convinced it will never surface again (normally I would wait at least a year before making a copy.)
-
Hi everyone I read that the number is still yours from a travel bug and or track able so you can write etch or what ever on something else and send it out. Is this true?? I know that the one you sent out is kinda loved lol but at least the memory and mission will live on right?!?!
Yes this is perfectly true ... frankly it amazes me that people don't simply revive their long lost trackables after they have been missing for a reasonable length of time. Most cachers agree that waiting a year at least is reasonable, but personally I think it depends upon the circumstances, though I would normally wait a year myself, then release a revived version ... for my own I simple engrave the tracking code onto a blank dog tag (available on Ebay) and attach a laminated tag with details and a wee travelling companion and off it goes on the road again.
For other people, I make a laminated tag using any photographs I can find of their original and/or photo's from the interweb to make a laminated tag, I add a tag with info and a random travelling companion (usually sourced from local charity shops) and I drop it in a cache nearby ... usually one of my own caches. Although most cachers are happy to move a proxy/copy on it's journey I know some cachers don't like the proxy versions very much, but I would never release an original geocoin into the wild as I lost the very first one as soon as I placed it in a cache.
-
I would happily release some in Scotland if anyone is interested ... PM me through my geocaching profile if you need me.
-
Super kind of you ! That is fantastic. It's nice to know that a lot of people want to add to this game. If you would like to send a few to Arizona I would be more then glad to send them out around here.
Thank you for your kind comments, but in order to keep my costs down I only release them in Scotland unless the owner asks me to post them out to them (at their expense.)
However, I will keep you in mind and just MIGHT send you some of my own to launch them across the pond, but I'd be more likely to use one of the Stargate caches to do that.
I'd like to start a Stargate cache of my own (the nearest one to me is 350 miles away) but sadly, the guys who organise them have a minimum distance of 500 miles so I wouldn't qualify.
:lol:
Spoiler Pic
in How do I...?
Posted · Edited by Auld Pharrrt
No, I don't have anything like greasemonkey running on my computer, I see the same as you do when I view the gallery, but what that page has under "owner images" is exactly what I was looking for and had seen, once again you have provided me with what I was seeking (I think this is the 3rd time you've solved my problem!)
I enjoy caching far too much to risk doing anything "hinky" and getting myself banned, but more important to me is NOT spoiling anyone else's fun.