caderoux
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Posts posted by caderoux
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The problem (while perhaps not simple) HAS been solved in GSAK/GPSBabel for a couple versions now and does not rely on any mapping provider. It will be as accurate as the set of points which you give it.
You can compensate for inaccuracy in the number of points by using a greater radius.
And a big radius with a whole lot of over-compensation is exactly what people are ALREADY doing now on gc.com - they use state (based on a user-set criteria which requires no calculation) or a large circle - that's a route with one point and a real big radius. They take all those into GSAK and let it do the work.
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It all depends on the crime and the punishment. If they quit, that's different from being banned, too. Did they threaten to quit as part of their misbehavoir and then were banned? - that doesn't count as quitting.
If they harrassed someone, were they forced to make amends - apology, compensation, or what?
I think people who commit a crime and paid their penalty can be allowed to continue. Obviously the penalty on subsequent offenses should be higher and at some point, there would be a lifetime ban or whatever. If the offense is severe enough, then a lifetime ban without parole may be a suitable punishment.
It's not going to stop them caching, but they won't get to use the #1 service - that's a punishment, but there may need to be some compensation to the people they may hurt.
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It's the people trading who are the problem, eliminate the bad traders and you eliminate the bad trades:
Make them multis or puzzle caches - only the dedicated seem to hunt those - a lot of people filter them out and don't even start to attempt them
Make the difficulty and terrain high
Make them members only
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There's a number of reasons for it. I've never hidden one, and I don't think I've ever found one.
But I'm thinking of making all my future geocaches members only caches. Hopefully this will reduce the low quality trades, reduce the vandalism and business card stuffing etc., by people who don't have much long-term commitment to the sport.
This may cut down on the number of users finding the cache, but it may improve the quality for those who do, and make maintenance easier. Heck, even making a multi or puzzle massively cuts down on the number of users who attempt them.
Not that $30/year is a big commitment to support this site - but it's something which means casual users can't just get the coordinates. This won't stop a determined cache pirate which some areas seem to have.
One thing I'd love to see is some encouragement for users to log all their caches online. If there's one thing that infuriates me more than anything, it's people who don't log their finds online - but they sign the log. I understand some delay, but it's very annoying when they take TBs and never log or even sign the log or trade without logging here.
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There is also the problem of retrieving the dry cache and then getting moisture inside from your hands or other things dripping into the cache before replacement. This is the same as caching in the rain - it's just a bad idea.
That's not to say that there's really anything wrong with underwater caches - just expect a lot of maintenance.
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I think he meant all programmers are tools.
Hard to dispute that (me included)
Programmers are the tools which computers use to do the things which they can't yet do.
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It sounds like most people here would categorize it as a moving cache, so outside the guidelines.
You could make it where they are all fixed and then the other players can move something around the other caches like a token. Once you find the token you can move it on to another cache and log the cache. You could put a locked box inside the main cache with a verification code. The key could be hidden in one of the other caches. As long as the key gets put back in one of the micros, you're good. Make quite a few copies of the key and definitely keep a backup for yourself. Since the stages of the cache do not move, I would think that design would be within the guidelines (all stages would need to be > 0.1 miles from any other caches but not from themselves).
See GCJK6X for a star topology cache which is sort of like this (I've only done one stage), except the final stage is unknown. There are several variations. Another thing where people could interact more is if maybe they could change the combination or something like that. In an historical setting or cemetery, perhaps they could choose something based on a monument (would still have to be fixed to a single coordinate, since even virtual stages are stages and moving ones would probably violate a strict interpretation of the guidelines) to determine which cache has the key.
(If your planned design is not possible here based on the approvers' judgment, and you absolutely want to have that design without compromises, you could still probably list the cache on an alternative listing site.)
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In all calmness, I have read of a multitude of NET related problems. Many people despise it. How come this site isn't running off of Linux then? Thanks
The .NET architecture is made up of a lot of different pieces. It is also possible to run .NET applications on Linux using Mono.
Since .NET is a whole framework and Linux is an operating system, they aren't really comparable.
Like Jeremy said, there are alot of pieces involved in any web application system, from the JavaScript level and browser requirements you're going to demand on the frontend to the web server, the application framework, and the database server, all on top of server OSes (that's the only Linux part).
And this is all before you have your own stored procs and domain-specific code, and then the logistical issues like scheduled jobs, maintenance and backups, load balancing for web servers and database servers, and high availability considerations.
If you want to start from the backend as an starting example for evaluating the options, I don't personally think MySQL (the leading open source database - assuming we are trying to bias everything towards Linux since it's "free" - free software is software which has freedom, NOT zero cost) is anywhere near Sybase, SQL Server, DB/2 or Oracle in terms of functionality for large databases. Now you can run Oracle on Linux, but are you going to pick Oracle because it runs on Linux (it also runs on Windows) or pick Oracle because it has the features you need/like based on all the myriad requirements you known and don't know yet. So you look at all the combinations as best you can and you pick one which you think will work the best for your requirements.
There's best practices for all these systems and they all have strengths and weaknesses in different areas. I find .NET to be extremely strong in large-scale application architectures - this has nothing to do with the OS, but everything to do with the philosophy behind the framework and the high-quality tools available.
It's horses for courses - eventually anyone may want to switch to something else (Java/JavaBeans/Apache/Oracle/Linux to Ruby/Rails/Apache/Oracle/Linux or PHP/Apache/MySQL/Linux or something more drastic like an Ajax/XMLRPC architecture). But no matter what you pick, the investment to change is often considerable (either way you're switching) and maybe not worth the return.
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...Your cache might not have been approved with the current interpretations of guidelines or a different approver.
Given that the only cache within 528' of the cache that was archived is the archived cache itself it should have been approved.
The other spot is a starting point for the night cache. If the night cache is an honest night cache there is no cache there to block the one that was archived. Huntnlady has not confirmed if the night cache is normal and uses firtacks, UV paint etc. or a cache container (which would not be normal for a night cache).at yet).
I think the OP has stated further up the thread that they are a trail of firetacks and they moved the start of the trail further away. The cacher will probably still park near the micro and walk the same trail, so environmental impact and cache density (physical + virtual) are not actually improved by this workaround - except maybe some firetacks are removed from trees.
My quoted comments were directed at the other poster with the 400 foot difference on another cache (which _was_ approved, and at the time, neither was archived based on my reading of their post) when one conflicting stage was also (in my opinion) pure virtual.
OP's approver considers virtuals a stage (this is correct according to the guidelines) and he/she also considers the firetack trail starting point a stage (what is or isn't a "stage" is not really covered by the guidelines). What approvers have been stating is that virtual caches exclude physical caches and virtual stages exclude physical stages of other multi-caches. My point being that the 400 foot one might not have been approved under these interpretations of the guidelines, since virtuals count.
My personal opinion here is that regardless of the guidelines, there may be real merit to granting a variance in a case like this (and perhaps in all virtual stage cases). But what can you do, it's a creative sport/hobby/pasttime/activity/whatever we do.
For instance, I would imagine two mystery/multi caches can give the same library as a starting point if it's a book-lookup-type cache stage or similar - and I would imagine an approver wouldn't think twice about approving such a cache.
The uncertainty of what will and won't be approved and consulting with your approver before you plan out a mega-multi tour of your fair city means that I'm simply going to list those types of caches elsewhere. It's a lot of work to start with and then after all the recon and prep work you have to go out and adjust everything. Maybe better to simply make a lot of traditionals (better for maintenance, anyway) - but then that might look like a power trail and then you'll be in a whole 'nother world of hurt.
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I got BillsBayou's first sig item from Pursuing Palindrome Parkway (GCPE9M) as FTF prize - it's cool because it's 001, it's a neat clay coin, and it reminds me of this cool multi-cache which also let me do some programming to find palindromic waypoints and a bonus locationless I had never heard of (GC202B).
On the other hand, I have a FTF on a devious Chief's Special which I never turned in to Bamboozle for the prize and a 4th to find on School Days which I also haven't got around to redeeming for its prize.
I left a special FTF in my Lost Cemetery (So Sadly Misted) (GCMMXJ) which was a variation of the seed packets (containing king cake babies and doubloons) in there meant to seed new caches. It had a special king cake pin and extra doubloons. This cache is not designed for trades at all.
I don't want to participate in an argument about how FTF relates to trade items - I don't usually trade myself; I rarely find anything I really want.
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Wired = Conde Nast
As much as I like the mag (it's only $11/year - and has a lot of good writing), it's a lifestyle magazine - you can tell from the car and liquor ads.
Time to Tanqueray...
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I wonder how this may have turned out differently if there had been a polite inquiry to the email address and a polite suggestion made in the forums as to why this would be an extenuating circumstance. It certainly would have warranted more consideration than this.
Most would have turned out differently. If people are given explanations as opposed to orders or angst, it turns out quite better.
I had a cache (now archived) that was about 400 feet away from another, but mine was allowed because the first part had no physical container and the two places (both cemetaries) were physcially separate -- and I actually talked to the cache reviewer.
Your cache might not have been approved with the current interpretations of guidelines or a different approver.
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I see what you're saying: (I changed the new find to a note and now one copy disappears) it counts as two finds so it shows twice (even though both entries are identical in the list) in the preview, but then they are combined in the GPX file since the GPX file can include both found it logs under the same cache, while the preview doesn't have the capability of showing multiple things for the same cache?
On this kind of query, are the records in the preview supposed to be in any particular order - it doesn't seem ordered by any obvious sort - not date I found, not date of the last activity on the cache, not date last found, not date places?
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I understand that, but is a cache supposed to show twice (or the number of times you have found it) in the preview? The number of logs in the past 7 days is 1, so that's not causing the cross product.
The only reason I even triggered the GPX to download is so that I could post the problem as accurately as possible here.
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http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.asp...5a-ea588e44be43 (All my found caches in any state with recent activity)
It's a cache (GCK723) I found last year and re-found it again today with someone else after it was moved and re-named.
It's twice in the preview (page 3 and 6 if you run it right now) but looks like it only comes once in the GPX file.
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From what I hear from a local cacher, our approver is not approving terrain 1 caches unless they are wheelchair accessible. He's sending them back to be modified before approving them.
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The conversations seem to go like this:
I heard some criminals watch a box called a teevee which they have to tune in to a particular channel at a particular time to watch. And there are things called commercials used to get money out of people. This sounds like a suspicious activity, and someone really should get to the bottom of this. Glad to be helpful to the police with this tip.
It's kinda funny that the people still don't get geocaching even after reading the faqs and everything. It's kinda sad that the CourtTV forums are filled with people with nothing better to do than... Oh wait, I could be out caching if it wasn't for this thunderstorm...
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This sounds like the best solution if they still allow two different cache names to have the same coords. Theres one around here like that & it works pretty good.
It may also be in violation, depending on the definition of "stage" in that cache.
Two "stages" of separate caches (physical or not) cannot be within .1 miles.
The approver considers the starting point of the nighttime path a stage on the multi (cacher does not consider it a virtual stage, approver does, and even virtual stages count), and this conflicts with the guidelines.
Of course, this also means that any two intersecting multi-caches which have selected a local landmark (or even nearby monuments) of significance for virtual stages should also be disallowed - but guess what, that doesn't happen - Two of the Chief's Special's virtual stages along Jeff Davis Parkway probably intersect, but no one cares and no one notices and no one in their right mind would bother to change such excellent caches based on not being able to look at some carved up bits of granite on a neutral ground because they're too close to some other carved up bits of granite.
It does kind of suck to live in an historical city. You never run out of history, but you can't use it when it's all too close together. I was working on a the first of a "New Orleans Elements" mega-multi-puzzle-cache series, which would have had many virtual stages about the history of city street names (if you've read "Frenchmen Desire Goodchildren" - you'll get the picture), but the caches would never have been approved.
Application of the guidelines are, and always will be (until all the details of every multi are tracked in a database), inconsistent. There's no point arguing about it.
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I used to just use GPXView (I prefer that it doesn't launch Pocket IE) and then write my cache notes in the builtin Post-It Notes - they synced to Outlook and then you can paste into GSAK.
But GPXSonar exports to GSAK and I bring those in automatically.
Of course, there are also firmware upgrades to my iPaq 5555, but who knows if they have anything to do with the problem.
What's really annoying is that the program simply exits with absolutely no error message or anything.
It is actually pretty easy to get it to crash when exporting GSAK, so I normally exit the program (only to the file selector screen) - kill the leftover file-selector screen with End Task (been using Pocket PC ever since it changed its name, and still don't understand why when you X a program, it's really just like a minimize), and then go in fresh and export records to GSAK - this usually ensures that all the notes are written to whatever file stores them. I do this periodically through the day, too, even if I'm not exporting to GSAK yet.
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Don't take it personally: I'm sure it's frustrating because, as you see it, this cache pair is perfectly formed and any of the recommended compromises to fit this listing site's guidelines will make it a lesser cache. But that's not a reflection on your design - your design is just outside the limits of this listing site.
Don't waste your breath: Raising it publicly in the forums is only going to make things worse - it seems to come up all the time in the forum, and the cachers always lose. Unless you like getting beat up in the forums, I don't see what you'll get out of the experience of trying to convince people here. Some will take your side, some won't, but nothing will change.
Keep your eye on the prize: Spend your effort getting it in front of the intended audience instead of working to change site policy. It's your cache, there are certainly other listing sites where you can list the micro and still preserve the experience as you have designed it.
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No, I posted something about this on the GPX Sonar board, but it's not a very active board.
It's a shame it's just flaky enough to be really annoying but not flaky enough to abandon (I like using the timestamps).
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I love GSAK.
ditto
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Got it. That whole projecting a waypoint thing is only good for horseshoes and hand grenades, though. Suprised to see two small basketball players up at 8am.
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If I find it (leaving now), it will be my 400th!
Gpx Suggestion: Include At Least 1 Find
in Website
Posted
Having the entire last found log does have an additional benefit - sometimes the last "finder" didn't really find it, but they log it as found.
Not having that log - still no big deal, you just waste some time searching.
But having a log which shows that they found the remains of a cache or the lid or whatever, will tell you that it is definitely gone and you can quickly do a once over at the site. Sometimes you can pick this up from the subsequent DNF log entries where they will mention it also.
This whole scenario usually only happens on unmaintained caches, and the usual result is eventually an SBA.