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VAVAPAM

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Posts posted by VAVAPAM

    Some COs don't take kindly to NM, and then the NA (because the NM was ignored)

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    6 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

    Yep.

    Similar, we don't understand why someone would want to be so involved,  to actually keep track  of a cache's time-frame to finally put that last nail in it's coffin.

    Log that NM and move on with your life. 

     - It'd be different if those same people were interested enough that they're heading out to pick the cache up too...

     

    That might depend on whether they actually logged a Found It or not.  If not found, one doesn't necessarily have to "keep track" of it.  Unless the cache is marked Ignore (which I almost never do), it'll keep showing up on PQs.  Generally, I will look to see if it's become findable again.  A couple of times this has happened to me.  A cache [in my area] that I'd marked NM a few months prior had a continued string of DNFs or FIs reporting problems, with no response from CO and no follow-up NM or NA logs.  Nobody was willing to pull the plug so I did the dirty deed (logged NA), even though I'd been the one to log the NM months before. 

    That was before the cache health thingy was instituted. 

    Cachers not answering questions

    in EarthCaches

    Posted · Edited by VAVAPAM
    none whatsoever

    1 hour ago, brendan714 said:

    I recently deleted such a pair of logs and said they should at least TRY to answer all the questions as part of the EC.

     

    Answering all the questions of an Earthcache is tantamount to signing the log.  They didn't do that, so it's reasonable and you were well within your rights to delete those logs for not completing the questions.

     

    1 hour ago, brendan714 said:

    Would you re-delete?  Or just shrug it off?

     

    I would urge you not to allow a few shirkers to cause you to change what you feel is important; however, it's what you think and how you feel doing it that matters.

     

    If you are concerned about seeming "difficult", you could either 1)let them know that answering the questions is required to log and invite them to appeal your deletion if they wish, and give the link for doing that, or 2) do as Arisoft suggests and get your Reviewer's take on it before taking another action.  (Frankly, I would expect the Reviewer to uphold your decision if it's the same as when he/she published the cache.)

    • Upvote 2

    International EarthCache Day 2019

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    4 hours ago, The Jester said:

    That sounds like a very interesting place - too bad I'm almost 3000 miles away - but I do get out that way every few years...

     

    Yes, Hanging Rock State Park is a wonderful spot for any outdoors-loving cacher.  There's miles of hiking trails - the NC Mountains-to-Sea Trail passes through there - of  varying intensities, rock climbing, beautiful vistas, and there's an access point to the Dan River at the northern end.  (Most of the paddle caches are upstream, though.)

    Besides that bendy-rock Earthcache, there's an old Virtual (2002) and three other Earthcaches, one of which requires visiting all *5* waterfalls located within the park. 

    Here's the park map: Hanging Rock Map

     

    • Upvote 1

    Some COs don't take kindly to NM, and then the NA (because the NM was ignored)

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    7 hours ago, Mudfrog said:

    OP, you do know that it's the finder's responsibility to maintain power trail owner's caches, right?

     

    I came across a cache description [ yes, one in a power trail] that included that the cache was "self-maintaining".  Spot checking, I didn't find that statement in the other cache descriptions, so I couldn't decide whether that meant what Mudfrog jokes about, or whether it might be a hint about its appearance.  (I didn't go to find out.)

    Improve privacy - hide finds in profile

    in Website

    Posted

    Stalking implies repeated following over a period of time. 

    8 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

    As for using others' logs to enhance my experience, suppose I was planning a trip to Hawaii and on some caches I saw that Touchstone had a great time doing them so I might look to see what other caches they did while they were there. If they all turned out to be really great, I might even send a message saying how helpful those logs were in planning my trip.

    ^^  This is not stalking.

     

    1 hour ago, MartyBartfast said:

     

    There was a situation several years ago where a woman was being stalked by her ex-husband, she had deliberately used an anonymised username but he had managed to find out what it was through mutual friends. I don't know the precise details but she was very concerned, he could potentially use that to work out what part of the country she had moved to, maybe see that she was frequently going to another town (if she started a new relationship).

    Admittedly it's an edge case but there is potential for harm, even if that harm is confinded to pushing someone out of the game for fear of what might happen.

     

    ^^ This is stalking.

    What's *not* premium now?

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    On 9/12/2019 at 9:32 AM, rapotek said:

     

    No, they cannot. They can see a PMO cache information (excluding listing and coordinates) on the list of nearest caches (https://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?lat=...&lng=...), but not on a map.

     

    15 hours ago, Blue Square Thing said:

     

    Only when you zoom far enough out - which is pretty much useless for anything (although sometimes you can see a whole set of caches that are in a gap or anything).

     

    Logging in to the website means that I can see any non-PMO cache on the map and all caches will appear on lists, bit clicking on a PMO one brings up a page which just tells me I need a PM to see any more details. The app is where the extra restrictions appear to be.

     

    OK, thanks to you both.  It may be that I was [fuzzily] remembering the ability to see the icon on the map when using an app (not the official one). 

    Quite some time ago, so may be fixed.

    Thanks again.

    What's *not* premium now?

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    3 minutes ago, rapotek said:

     

    I was addressing the website list and maps. I do not know how does it look in the app, I do not use it. The only greyed-out icons visible on map for basic members are temporarily disabled non-PMO caches.

    OK, thanks.  Really not trying to be difficult; just trying to understand:  So basic members CAN see the icon of a PMO cache on the map?

    What's *not* premium now?

    in How do I...?

    Posted · Edited by VAVAPAM
    also too

    7 minutes ago, rapotek said:

     

    Just to clarify more, a basic member can even see a PMO cache on the nearest caches list on the website, with its name, type, D/T, size, placed date etc., but cannot access its listing, including official coordinates. A basic member cannot see a PMO cache on both browse and search maps.

    Thank you for that!  I was just going to ask if that were still the case. 

     

    Is that the case on the website, too?  I seem to recall being able to see a greyed-out icon on the map which, if clicked, simply stated that it was PMO without details.  That was quite some time ago, so maybe it has changed?

    Why choose to make a cache Premium only?

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    On 9/11/2019 at 2:28 AM, frostengel said:

     

    I had a long answer written and when I wanted to send it the forums were down for maintenance and the post was gone. :-( Little shorter version:

     

    [Explanation of calculations used to arrive at # of Premium Members using colleda's stats]

    Ouch! This hurt my head; I needed another cup of coffee before I tried that again.  ;) 

     

    What you did there makes sense; however, for my area that formula does not give a true representation of active Premium vs. Basic Members.  (Here, I'm using "active" as any logs in the past couple of years.)

     

    Keeping in mind that our population (thus, caching community) is pretty sparse, as far as I can tell, I'm the only full-time resident who's an active PM in my home area of 20 mi radius.  (There are two more who visit so frequently that I'd call them part-time residents.)  Increasing that radius to 20-50 miles out, though, the percentage of PM/M (I see why you used that single initial there - ha!) jumps significantly.  This is where most of the PM logs come from.  Other PM logs are from cachers who happen to be traveling through on their way to the mountains or to a major geocaching event. So the majority of cachers here are newer, basic members.

     

    It was that "calculation" on my part that drove my decision to make two caches in residential areas PMO:  I knew that it would impact the flow of cachers searching for the cache.  This made the residents much more comfortable with the idea.  (Now, they ask me where all the cachers are.  :) Kinda cool.)  Also, the PMs that frequently hunt caches here are sensible and respectful, so I had less worries about the horror stories of PMs' actions expressed by others .

    Improve privacy - hide finds in profile

    in Website

    Posted

    If you don't want your "last activity" to reflect your use of the website, just use the app for your geocaching activities. 

     

    Yes, if you insist on posting photos and logging your finds, those will show up under your profile's sublistings, but the "last activity" date on the main page won't change.  Perhaps the interested party wouldn't go any further after seeing no change in the activity date.

     

    Really, if this is about somebody actually making sock puppet accounts just to follow your activities, it might be time to follow the guidance mentioned in the link provided by Touchstone. "If someone is harassing you or you feel unsafe, contact your local authorities." 

    Report a missing cache

    in How do I...?

    Posted

    6 minutes ago, jocke92 said:

    It thought the "Last activity" included logins to the APP too

    Nope. It's exactly as cerebus1 said. 

    It's not a guarantee, but looking at the CO's last found logs would give a more accurate idea of whether they're still active.  If they don't log their finds then obviously that won't be accurate, either.

    • Upvote 2

    Mystery caches can no longer be at posted coordinates?

    in General geocaching topics

    Posted

    11 hours ago, BlueEagle23 said:

    The local reviewer is not allowing a Mystery cache to be published because the "final" coordinates are the posted coordinates, and he is requiring it to be listed as a Traditional cache. In this particular instance, the cache container is a puzzle box that requires solving how to open. This is not a simple, traditional cache. Anybody else have experience dealing with this issue?
    <snip>

    Yes, I did have such an experience (though it wasn't a "refusal", but a recommendation - that I followed).  Very much like yours, it required figuring out a lock (in this case, a word lock with the answer "hidden in plain sight" in the description ).  I didn't take issue with it, though, when the reviewer suggested making it a Traditional with Field Puzzle.  I wasn't married to the idea of it being a Mystery cache, though - are you? There are other - possibly equally protective - ways to list the cache.

     

    11 hours ago, BlueEagle23 said:

    <snipped to final comment>
    If this cache is listed as a traditional, it will confuse "newbies" and most likely end up broken as well as receive DNFs saying unable to open.

     

    Nevertheless, it sounds like your proposed cache is, indeed, a Traditional with Field Puzzle. 

    Consider this:  An Earthcache is still an Earthcache, whether you simply have to post a photo or send in a 5-page dissertation. I agree that solving a puzzle box is quite a bit more difficult to retrieve the cache/log than a simple Traditional, find-it-log-it, cache.  That's where the D/T rating, Cache Description and Attributes become so important. You'd be completely justified in increasing the Difficulty rating; in fact, it should have a higher difficulty rating.  This would keep it from showing up for "newbies" in the app.  As others have mentioned: Unless you're intending that puzzle to be a surprise, it would also help to protect it from destruction to mention the need to solve a puzzle upon arrival ... or at the very least, draw attention to the Attributes.

     

    FWIW:  High find count does not always equal common sense - especially with field puzzles. (I've actually had to add instructions on how to properly return a very straight-forward  combination lock to its locked state.)  Keeping it from being found by "newbies" might reduce the odds simply by reducing visit counts, but that certainly doesn't guarantee protection from destruction by clueless cachers more intent on gaining a Smiley than solving a puzzle.

     

     

    • Upvote 1

    Is it just me, or does it seem that COs are pretty terrible at responding to "questions" regarding their caches?

    in Website

    Posted · Edited by VAVAPAM
    *clarify*

    I've only gotten a personal message about my caches twice. *asking for help*

    One was from an experienced cacher, at the just-published cache, having a problem with the lock.  He was quite shocked when I was standing there less than 5 minutes later. (I just happened to be very nearby.)

    The other, "What am I looking for?" regarding a 1/1.5 ammo can in the crook of a tree, took me a bit longer to reply.  First I had to get over being flabbergasted at the question.  Then had to decide if they were actually asking for me to describe the container and where it was hidden.  Finally, I took the time to point out all the clues (from size to attributes, etc.) on the cache page.

     

    I rarely have cell service when out caching, so usually don't even try to message the CO while standing at the cache.  To their credit, most respond quite quickly when I send a photo of what I thought might demonstrate a missing cache or container within a host.  Some never do.  It usually doesn't matter (unless they don't respond *at all*) since I'm home logging my dnfs, so at the earliest it will be the next day before I search for it again, though there was one case when it made the difference between turning around at 1/2 mile away, and finding that day, vs. having to return another time from 30 miles away.

     

    Having said all that, for the most part, I don't carry my cellphone around with me when at home, so I may not even see that there's a message until sometime that night when I get a free moment to check my email.

    Is it just me, or does it seem that COs are pretty terrible at responding to "questions" regarding their caches?

    in Website

    Posted

    2 hours ago, mustakorppi said:

    the only people still logging it are those who got the coordinates from an earlier finder.

    Saw a couple of those in an area I was researching before a visit.  I considered it a challenge.  Thought I had it figured out; got ready to check my coordinates

    ... archived!  :rolleyes:

     

    Ah well, that's what I thought should have happened before I ever saw it.

     

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