Lactodorum
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Posts
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Posts posted by Lactodorum
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I wonder If the new Reviewer has a 'Reviewing' name yet?
It's me! I'm back
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As Lactodorum and The Hornet are virtually identical twins I doubt you'll notice the difference
What he said!!!
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Hello, and goodbye. After a great deal of thought I have decided to resign from my position as a Volunteer Reviewer for the UK and as Moderator of the UK forum. This decision is final and irreversible. No one thing has made me decide this, rather a gradual change in how things needed to be done. As a volunteer I did the "job" in the way that I thought benefitted the UK caching community and Groundspeak. This worked for several years. However Geocaching has grown in those years and it has become apparent to me that my way of doing things may not now be seen to be appropriate. I therefore felt it best for me that I stop now and make way for someone who will be more comfortable doing things the way they need to be done now.
Over the years I have been involved, I have found Groundspeak very supportive of me and I have enjoyed what I did. I thank everyone at Groundspeak for five very interesting and worthwhile years. We may not agree on everything but I hope we can continue to respect each other.
Finally I would like to thank all of you for the kind wishes that have been expressed both publicly and privately. Whatever your views now, I would urge you to consider what you are typing before hitting the "submit" button!!
Although Lactodorum is now bowing out, be assured that The Hornet will now be taking his place by contributing to the forum discussions and maybe will have more time to hunt Tupperware in the woods.
Thank you and goodbye. Peter - Lactodorum
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Mandy, I am extremely sorry your excellent calendars have been caught up in this. As you know I have always been a supporter of them and have taken delivery of a couple. However as Deceangi has stated, we have no leeway here. You should apply to contact@geocaching.com for permission to post details of any calendars from now on. We do not have the authority to make exceptions in this matter.I would like to know if my calendars will still be allowed to remain, I normally only do one calendar a year this year being an exception as I will be doing 2 one for The UK's Mega event and the yearly one I normally do.I had permission to use logos and images on the calendar last year from Groundspeak so they are well aware of the calendars.
Can any of the UK Moderators let me know if they know the answer to my question and if not which of the Lackeys I need to contact to find out
And also what about the Mega Event Calendars, I already have permission to use the GC Logo on these for this years calendar, althought they could be a totally different matter as the money from these are not going to charity but to the Event Committee.
Mandy
I have been told who to contact thanks for the info
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Best chuckle I've had for ages
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Am I the only one who agrees with Groundspeak ?
(should I run for cover now)
No you are not alone. I am still not sure what this is all about but think we should let our reviewers represent our views rather than stir the pot ourselves.
But how can they represent our views when we can't make them known cos not everybody knows what's going on!
Hazel, and others, please understand that certain discussions must take place in private. Any outcome will be made known in due course so please let things run their course.
I would also urge anyone contemplating adding to this discussion to think logically and do not resort to cheap insults (no I'm not pointing any fingers yet so don't read anything in to that which isn't there).
I'll leave the thread running to allow for rational debate but I will not hesitate to close it myself or request another moderator, from elsewhere if necessary, to do so if it degenerates.
Many thanks, Lactodorum
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Chaps and chapesses - Chill
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Miss Jenn is a Groundspeak employee and has a legitimate role in ensuring Groundspeak's policies and guidelines are adhered to. The same applies to Michael who has removed some other similar threads from this forum.My concern is why the us mods intervened when it could have been sorted by one of our uk mods???????? Perhaps someone could answer that????? -
Would people stop posting messages that could be construed as being charity related for the moment. Although these have been allowed here for a long time it seems there is now a problem. I am trying to get to the bottom of it right now.
Thanks, Lactodorum.
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Yes!
I thought that, although it's the book Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption that springs to mind more than the film though. The part where he is instructed to look by a wall in a field for a stone which has no right to be there.
I wonder if it had the official Groundspeak logo on it.....
Mark
I hope it wasn't a Dry Stone Wall
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I wouldn't presume to comment on how the guidelines are interpreted in other parts of the world.
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As this has already sold I'll just close it now but in future please keep such posting to the UK Geocaching Car Boot Sale thread.
Thanks
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http://www.Waymarking.com/Excuse the stupid question, but...What IS Waymarking?
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However, like it or not, we (the reviewers) have been told:Losing web-cam caches would be no great loss anyway
Maybe not to you.
(my emphasis)Grandfathered caches are not adopted. This includes Virtual caches, Moving caches and Web cams.Note: this is not a guideline. This is a policy. which means that this the way it is to be done.
I think this is clear enough, (even for me
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If you think about it, the same comment could be made about geocaching. Let's not criticise anybody for their chosen hobby. The OP mentioned Waymarking as a possible solution to a problem they perceived with placing physical objects at locations they felt inappropriate. By all means point out why you agree or disagree with church based caches but please don't fall into the trap of indulging in childish "name calling" - "My hobby is better than your hobby".A complete waste of time and effort and totally pointless. -
Please keep your whingeing on topic by restricting it to geocaching moans.Ok, yet another whinge.Quarrying. In a national park. Sat on fairly hard by local planning dept. Decision overturned by High Court Judge who appears to have missed the point and, presumably, actually *wants* the picturesquely wild bits of the Uk to be blighted by big holes in the ground.
Nice precedent for the rest of our National parks. Not.
Ggggrrrr. <*bites*>
(http://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/t.php?t=295649&v=1#x4383625
http://www.thebmc.co.uk/News.aspx?id=2512
Btw, if you're at all interested in hill-walking, the BMC *is* relevant - they don't just deal with vertical rock, walking's within their remit too! I have a regular camping spot within sight of Longstone Edge, have walked over it many times and seen the quarrying getting more and more extensive, well hacked off.)
Thanks
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An interesting and well considered reply, much of which I would personally agree with. However I will leave it to others to discuss.
NB: There is a blanket ban on caches in graveyards in Tennessee, see this thread So if you're thinking of placing one there, think again! It's illegal! 
That's right, they have different laws and customs elsewhere which is why Groundspeak uses Local reviewers who are aware of local circumstances when applying the general guidelines.
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Groundspeak has decided, with immediate effect, to change how adoptions of caches are handled. As before, if a cache owner want to allow someone else to take over their cache they can still go to www.geocaching.com/adopt and use the form there. This does not change.
However there have been many cases where a cacher has left the sport and abandoned their caches. In these cases we (the reviewers) could ask Groundpeak to carry out a "forced" adoption. That option has now been withdrawn and NO forced adoptions will be carried out. This includes and caches where the specified 30 day waiting period has been started.
This will come as a surprise to many and I know some will not be happy with the decision but I believe there were legal "ownership" problems which forced Groundspeak's hand. Indeed a change to the Geocaching Disclaimer which is linked from each cache page will be modified to add the following text.
Individual geocaches are owned by the person(s) who physically placed the geocache and/or submitted the geocache listing to geocaching.com.I understand that NO exceptions will be made, even for so called "classic" caches.
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A sensitively placed cache in an appropriate position in or near a church is a completely legitimate location. We are fortunate in this country to have such a wealth of ancient and interesting buildings which are available to visit and admire.
As has been said above, many vicars, PCC's and similar are quite happy to have such caches on the property they are responsible for. Of course there are always exceptions and anything inappropriate we are notified about will be quickly archived.
Be assured that the UK reviewers will not be implementing any blanket ban on caches on church property.
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I've had one for a couple of months and it is the dog doodah's
The integral GPS is very useful and I've subscribed to Viewranger so I can have proper OS maps available (almost like Memory Map) with Geocaches indicated.
The Trimble software is quite useful for any caches you don't have loaded into the phone and has the big advantage of being free.
The GPS does sometimes take time to get a lock but it's quite acceptable. The downside of the phone is battery life. With the GPS going and an Internet connection it only lasts a few hours. I would consider it a very useful standby but would still use a "proper" GPS, even a cheap one, for serious caching.
I have not been caching this Winter and have decided to start now the weather is getting betterI had a look about paperless caching on this forum and was delighted to see there is an alternative to the terribly antiquated
Pocket Query
Gsak
palm or ppc route
I have long thought with modern technology as it is there are too many links in this chain, as Groundspeak has all the available info I think email PQs cachemate etc are unneccasary parts in the chain. (Granted unless you like having a good stat analysis programe and time on your hands.
Does anyone know if the Nokia N95 is as good as it sounds when paired whith the relevant software?
I already have a Decent garmin which I could use aswell, but the thought of being able to go straight from Groundspeak website to portable information holder and wireless is exciting.
I really dont have the time to mess about updating the pqs then loading them onto gsak then onto my garmin blah blah time wasting blah.
I would hope to choose an area then download direct to garmin before setting out and use the phone once I get out in the field.
Or is there anyother way to cut out the GSAK middleman?
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Feel free to add the Additional Waypoints now and help your friendly reviewersThe final of one of my multis was only about 20 metres from another, later, micro - but the multi was approved before the "additional waypoints" bit came in, so there was no way for the reviewer to know where my final was. Makes for some funny logs when people have done the micro, then a few weeks later finished the multi (which starts about 3 miles away)...!!Reviewers can be nice to you too when caches are far closer than 528 feet apart (as the crow flies) but there is a substantial obstacle (like a canal) in the way.....
I have to add - there have never been any bad logs about the proximity issue.......and the area was never in any danger of being "cache-saturated" until recently (sorry folks)
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Can this topic be added to the "Multiple Pinned Topics" thread?
No
If you want to have a moan about my decision I suggest you start another thread
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When reviewing we check that PHYSICAL stages of your new cache are more than the 528ft guideline away from PHYSICAL stages of other caches. Sometimes there's leeway and if in doubt contact your local reviewer.
Although we have some useful tools for checking such locations they are not foolproof, especially where old multi/puzzle caches don't have Additional Waypoints, so there are bound to be occasional irregularities.
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Fine for "urban" caches but for those "in the wilds" don't forget to check out the links further down the left hand side of the page, just before the logs start. I find the Streemap.co.uk particularly useful as it brings up a proper OS map.
Mega Event Calendars
in United Kingdom and Ireland
Posted
Due to unforseen circumstances if anyone has any questions about the remaining calendars could they direct them to me for the next few days.