as77

I suggest you guys read the entire thread before posting, not just the opening post. (Well, provided you read this post...)

Well, since they don't provide anything in return for those trail-goodies (it just says, give me $1 as support, and that's it), it's obvious that it is not commercial. On the contrary, asking for donations is a distinguising characteristics of non-profit organizations. Of course, Jeremy can take the position that it is a commercial site. But I believe he's wrong.

Well, she has 2 finds from March 2003 and that's all. Her last visit to gc.com was in March 2004.

I would make the husband aware that these logs can be misleading. Then it's up to them to decide whether they want to continue logging caches like this.

The reason I though it was not commercial is this sentence: "At cost" means there is no profit for them, doesn't it?

OK, so let's get to the point, guys. Jeremy locked a thread because it promoted the gps-fun.com site, and Jeremy thought it was a commercial venture, solicitation, etc. But looking at that site, I fail to see that it's commercial. It has a good collection of links and then there is this benchmarks stuff but it doesn't seem to be commercial either. So I think Jeremy was wrong. What do you all think?

Well, isn't it a fact that Today's Cacher is sponsored by Groundspeak? If so, would it be surprising if it were a little bit biased?

Take a look at this: http://145.53.24.230/GC.html

Would the interview be marked as advertisement?

Yes, the Invision Power Board (which is the software behind these forums) was a good choice.

Yeah, most people are friendly, except of course those that throw phrases like "quit your whining" at others

Speaking of the Haicoms, the HI-303E and HI-303MMF look identical, but the HI-303E is cheaper. The reason is that the HI-303E uses an Evermore chipset while the HI-303MMF uses a SiRF IIe/LP chipset. The SiRF chipset is superior in comparison with the Evermore chipset: it finds a satellite fix faster, holds it better, has less lag, uses less power and supports WAAS. Therefore, the HI-303MMF is well worth the extra price over the HI-303E. There is also the HI-303S which uses the Xtrac V2 firmware for ultra-sensitivity. This is good for car use but doesn't work very well when hiking: the position is not updated frequently enough.

An important caveat with the cfQue device is that it uses the the Garmin protocol and there is no option to switch it to the NMEA protocol. This means that most third-party GPS software will not work with it. You are pretty much restricted to the Garmin software and maps. There are a few third-party programs that support the Garmin protocol but that is the exception rather than the rule. As for a CF unit, I have a Globalsat BC-307 which worked very well for years. But it looks like finally it has gone south, now it only works with an external antenna. So I'm considering buying a new CF unit and after reading several reviews, the Haicom HI-303MMF is my most likely candidate. The fact that it folds down makes it protrude less when used in the car (a protruding device may obstruct part of the view through the windshield, depending on where you mount the PDA), and it is also more convenient to carry when the PDA is clipped on one's belt.

I noticed that when I write the word Geocaching with a lowercase g in a post, the forum engine modifies it and capitalizes the G. Is this a new setting or I just haven't noticed it so far? (I'm not talking about the capitalization of thread titles; the modification happens inside posts.) And, question two, why does this word have to be capitalized? It's not a proper noun.

I know dozens of names of cachers in my area, and only one of them uses the forums (and very infrequently at that). Try lurking at the forums of local Geocaching organizations, e.g. the Texas one. You'll see that there are a lot of views and opinions that are quite different from what you usually read here. So no, these forums are far from being representative.

This is true. And it also applies to most any instance where moderation might have caused intimidation. Intimidation is perceived. Yep. We don't moderate people for fun, not in the least. It is generally a last resort or is done because of immediate action needed (such as profanity, objectionable photos or links, cross posting messages or spamming with ads, etc.). Or when someone posts something a mod doesn't like or doesn't agree with.

The earth rotates at approx 1,000mph so if I jump up in the air and am no longer physically connected to the earth...yeehaaa!!! If the speed of the rotation changed while you are in the air, your speed would not change together with it.

They can correct for the declination and thereby point to true north.

No, the center of mass of the Earth cannot move because of an earthquake. (Conservation of momentum!) And it's only the center of mass that the satellites "feel". Actually, that's not entirely true because they can also feel the Earth's rotation through the relativistic effect called frame-dragging. But that's so minute scientists are still working to demonstrate its existence (see Gravity Probe B ).

You guys really need so big backpacks and hydration systems for short day hikes? I use a school backpack I bought in Wal-Mart for $5 and as for hydration, I take a 17 to 24 oz. bottle with me.

Actually, it's even more than you'd think. Hungary has 500 caches on the gc.com website but Hungarians have their own website and currently it has 1118 caches. (And they play the game a bit differently, they have their own set of rules, e.g. cachers are required to find a password hidden in the cache in order to log a find.) They encourage the hiders to post their caches on gc.com as well but language is often a problem (and sometimes the different rules, too).

Well, sometimes you see a lot of red padlocks on the thread listing and I guess that's kinda discouraging for some people.

I have also used Vito with satisfaction, it is really easy to use. Navio is another good program. However, GPSTuner may be the best choice because it is being very actively developed; version 4.0 will be released soon and upgrades are free for one year. Also, the author is very responsive to user requests.

Well, they are supposed to be intimidating according to the forum guidelines:

I don't know what percentage of members are premium members but I estimate that about 20% are (probably less in Germany). So think of it: one MOC excludes 80% of the cachers from finding and logging a cache. One anti-MOC excludes only 20%. So what's the big deal? MOCs are still a lot more exclusive (or exclusionary? is there such a word?).