SSO JOAT
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Posts posted by SSO JOAT
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Rules are Rules
Yes, they are. Let's look at 'em...
Geocaches can be logged online as Found once the physical log has been signed.
If a basic member signs the physical log in a PMO cache, they can log the cache online. That's about as straight forward as a rule can get.
I like this part... "Cease deleting logs based on additional logging requirements." Requiring someone to be PMO to log a cache that they've found is clearly an ALR, which is prohibited.
I also like how the "rules" allow you to Transfer a Premium Membership to another person. So, if you think about that for just a second, you have 1 PM account for the household and you are transferring it between family members as each one takes control of it to write their log.
I can't seem to find any "rules" that say anything about basic members not being allowed to log PMO caches. Got a citation for that?
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The PMO backdoor is a GOOD thing. There is no reason why GS should screw over the immediate family of a Premium Member. I already pay my $30, so why would I have to pay $90 in order to have my wife and the dog enter logs on the PMO caches we go to together? They never cache without me, the premium member, and we only need a single PM account for access to all the other PM features. I don't need 3 separate PM accounts to all have PQ's to generate. Only 1 PM account is needed per household.
It's really not much different than those who make a team name that is composed of a group of people. Just in this case, each individual member of the household can write their own log and keep track of caches independently.
As for entering the logs, the method described a few posts ago of logging out and logging back in is by far the easiest method for getting the basic account setup for entering the PM log. If you have your browser setup to remember passwords, it takes all of 15 seconds, 6 mouse clicks, and no typing to switch between accounts during the logging process (yes, I really timed it to come up with 15 seconds at the long end... connection speed will vary that, of course).
As stated, after the PM finishes their log and returns to the cache page, click on the "log your visit" link again. Click the logout link at the top right of the page. If you are using FireFox and have it remembering your logins/passwords, just double click in the username field and you'll get a list of all the usernames you've stored on the computer. Click the one you want to use and click the login button. Ba-da-bing... you're back at the log entry screen under a new username and ready to hand the keyboard to your "basic" family member. It couldn't be easier (and it WAYYYY easier than trying to copy/paste that stupid ID number between cache listings and across multiple login accounts).
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That's essentially what people mean when they refer to CAPTCHA. <snip> You want to add the burden of a validation code for each cache?Simply add a validation code entry box to all the log entry pages. Ta-da! Bots are stopped.You can see an example of one on pages like this...
http://geocheck.org/geo_inputchkcoord.php?...e3-134b2afbe676
Do you really want to do that every time you log a cache?
So you want to inconvenience/punish tens of thousands of cachers in order to stop one bozo?????
That is even more onerous, and horrible, than asking the CO's to delete the bot's logs.
What is wrong with asking GS to take complete ownership?
Yes. I don't have a problem with entering a "captcha" thingie while logging every cache. The fact that there are a handful of people who are so concerned about racking up cache counts that they need to go out and find 60 caches per day doesn't bother me. Why does the majority have to pay for the convenience of the few?
It's not "punishment" and there are certainly thousands of these anti-caching "bozos" out there that need to be dealt with. It is just a smarter way to do business in this age of widespread evil.
What I'm hearing is that people don't want to take some simple security measures to prevent problems and they'd rather have the company (GS) respond in superhero fashion to clean up the mess, but only after the bad guys have done their damage.
That is akin to being too lazy to lock the front door of your house and then expecting the government to respond after the place has been burglarized to not only hunt down the perpetrator, but also clean and fix your house up. If there were better door locks in the first place, you probably wouldn't have to clean the house and waste tax-payer money on chasing down the perps. (Sure, there are a couple dedicated criminals who could still get through a locked door, but the locks will stop the majority).
And if the Found and Note logs are deemed to be insignificant, but the NM & NA logs are now being used with greater impact to the system, then just add the captcha gizmo to those log types.
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Here is a free access video on bear behavior out of Canada. We use this one as part of the bear training for our employees every spring.
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Why so much consternation over something that is so simple to fix?
Simply add a validation code entry box to all the log entry pages. Ta-da! Bots are stopped.
You can see an example of one on pages like this...
http://geocheck.org/geo_inputchkcoord.php?...e3-134b2afbe676
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Now using an Oregon 450, which makes the old 2003 version of the Etrex Vista look like an abacus, compass and divining rod, all bound with duct tape.
OMG... I literally fell out of my chair LMAO! That is just brilliant
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Here's an example of a "TB Hotel" that folks are free to copy from (it's mine). I do need to update the text on the "dipping" method (thanks for the reminder, I'll work on that tonight). This particular cache is very easy access, yet is in a spot that would be extremely rare for a muggle to be wandering around. It lies in the treeline next to a pullout along one of the busiest highways in the state, yet is very remote from the big city. I put it out because I'm always looking for places to drop off bugs during my travels and there isn't an easy access trading sized cache within 50 miles of this spot (at least when it was placed, there are a couple more ammo can sized caches that have popped up since, thankfully).
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Take the webpage address of your image, including the http:// part, and place it in between this
<img src="
and this
" />
with no spaces between the quotes and the image address.
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Pssst... here's a little secret....
The FTF on every cache is...
The Cache Owner.
The next one who shows up is actually... "second"
;-)
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Ha, you guys talking about "old" Legends... LMAO
My first GPS was the Garmin GPS-40, circa ~1992 or there abouts. No maps. Nothing fancy. You turned it on and about 10 minutes later it told you what your location coordinates were... plus or minus about 300 feet (remember SA?). You could save waypoints and it would point which way to go to get back to them. And it would leave the "breadcrumb" track logs as you moved, though it wouldn't hold very many track points, so if you spent all day traveling across the wilderness and then tried to backtrack via the tracklog, about 3/4 of the way back the track log would suddenly disappear as the first part was being overwritten by the most recent points. Had to carry paper maps and compass as the GPSr alone wouldn't give you all the info you needed. Good times in the woods.
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Ya'll are just perpetuating the anti-bear myth. Even the link provided with the "list of bear attacks" proves my point. According to your own citation, over the last 10 years there have been 31 fatalities due to bears. More people die in car accidents every 6 hours than were killed over an entire 10 year period.
Bears are not a problem. I deal with bears all the time, especially at work, and people always overreact to the sight of a bear. The bears are always interested in getting away from the people. Bear attacks happen when people corner bears into a self-defense situation (sow w/cubs or a bear on carrion). It is extremely rare to find a bear that will seek out an encounter with a human.
Learn bear behavior. Make noise. Travel in groups. You will NEVER have a bear problem if you follow these couple simple steps.
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Bears are media and grandma hyped up to be a problem, but they are not. The only bears that would present a real problem are garbage bears on the fringes of a city that are habituated to people providing them food. Real bears who grow up in the wilderness will not mess with people. They are out there, but unless you happen to sneak up on one, you'll rarely see them. The fact is, animals will hear you coming and take off long before you get there. So, to avoid wild critter encounters in the woods all you need to do is make a lot of noise.
I've lived in the heart of bear country for decades doing paramedic and search & rescue type work. Just about two weeks ago I had to deal with a guy that got "mauled" by a brown bear. Now, before you think this seems to contradict my prior assertion that bears won't mess with people, let me fill you in on the rest of the story...
The guy was fishing late into the evening until it was getting dark. He has a 12g shotgun loaded with birdshot and is walking back up the trail from the river to the parking lot. Quite some distance up the trail, he sees a large brown bear (grizzly) heading toward him. The bear sees him about the same time, stops, and then leaves the trail off to one side. Now this guy stands there quiet and motionless listening to the bear skirt around through the brush. As the bear is passing by just a few yards off the trail, the guy raises his shotgun and blindly fires a round of birdshot at the bear. Within a couple seconds of shooting, the bear pounces out of the brush and proceeds to beat the living $@#& out of the guy. When the guy "plays dead", the bear leaves and continues on down the trail.
Here's the lesson... the bear was trying to avoid the encounter. The human was in the way, but the bear altered course to get around him. Then the stupid human stings the bear with his boom stick. The bear is now highly ticked off at being stung for no good reason and lets the stupid human know just how upset he is about that. After a good beat down, the bear continues on his way down to the river to get some salmon for dinner.
There are very, very few situations where a gun is the appropriate tool for a bear encounter. And in order for that gun to be effective in those very few situations, the operator needs to be well trained and practiced in its operation. And the gun needs to be big enough to do the job. That means big-bore, Dirty Harry pistols or better yet, big bore rifles, like a lever action 45-70 or similar hand canon. The casual hiker shouldn't carry a gun (at least not for bears; I worry more about predatory people than animals). Pepper spray is fine, but the best thing you can do is bring one or two friends who like to talk and sing. For the record, bear attacks on groups of 3 or more are non existent.
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Talk about role reversal. A guy is out caching and locates what he thinks is a geocache only to discover that it is actually a real pipe bomb.
Now, one has to wonder... with all the caches that have been mistaken for a bomb, what are the chances that it was pure coincidence that a real bomb was located in what appears to be the area of a geocache?
http://www.theworldlink.com/news/local/art...1cc4c002e0.html
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What's the deal with the practice of virtually dipping coins into caches using a note that is advertising the sale of said coin style?
When you visit the coin's page, it is setup as a channel for selling the coins.
Doesn't sound like it fits into the guidelines to me, so I'm ready to delete the note for the coin visit.
Thoughts?
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Puzzles... I just love it when someone posts a DNF log on a puzzle saying they searched all over and couldn't find it. So they not only don't read the listing, but they don't even pay attention to the cache type. I have no sympathy whatsoever.
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I find it ironic that my most recent cache publish was delayed because I stated in the listing that the cacher needs to have a signature in the log to make it a valid find. I was told that could be construed as an ALR and to change the wording so it didn't say "signature". So, apparently the CO can no longer control "what" they put in the log. They could just put an "X" in the corner and that would suffice. Of course, I was using "signature" in a generic sense and didn't actually intend that they sign it like a check or anything.
Want a new twist on this... what if a muggle finds the cache and makes a log entry. They are not a geocacher and they can't log online. Does that still count as a "find". What if the muggle was ftf? What if the muggle stole the swag and any TBs? What if the muggle moved the cache in a malicious attempt to foil future cachers? Is it still a "find"? Different rules, but they are still being broken.
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Cachers come in all shapes and sizes and I for one am not going to build my hides to target the lowest common denominator. If they don't read it, they are missing out on half of the experience. I write my listings to provide extra info about the location. If a cacher wants to go in blind, not enjoy the location and the history, and then spend 5 minutes doing copy-n-paste TFTC logs for the 50 caches they did today, then I don't have the time of day for them.
They will ignore posted signs at the cache site as well. I have one cache at a DOT viewpoint that overlooks a "national critical infrastructure" location. The access road to the viewpoint is a couple hundred yards up the highway. The highway has "no parking" signs every hundred feet due to the nearby "infrastructure". My listing says don't park on the road, take the access road up to the viewpoint where you can park legally. There is even a child waypoint for the access road. But guess what? Idiots still park on the edge of the highway and climb up the hill to the viewpoint. I've had logs stating that they figured out there was an access road after climbing up to the cache. Duh.
I'm proud to say I've never hunted a cache without reading in advance what the CO took the time and effort to say about the cache and location. Even if I'm on the road, there is plenty of time between caches to read the next description in the Palm Pilot. That's what PQ's are for... you get the entire description along with the coordinates. Then you can load all of that into a $20 pocket computer. There is no excuse for not having access to the listings.
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Easier still... when you make the waypoint for your first spot, enter a proximity of 0.10 miles. The GPS will draw a tenth-mile circle around the cache on the map screen. Walk until you cross that circle. Look for your next hide.
Also, if you take all your local caches (in a GPX file) and load them in MapSource, you can select all and set the proximity for every cache to 0.10 mile. Load them to your Garmin and you'll have a saturation circle around every cache on the map. Makes it very easy to rule out areas without even visiting them.
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If folks would have read my second paragraph, they wouldn't have had to quote only my first paragraph to try and tell me I'm wrong. ;-)
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Contrary to some folk's belief, a hole in a tree doesn't hurt the tree. A tree can be half ripped out of the Earth by a wind storm and it just keeps on going. Birds and critters bore holes into trees all the time. Tree keeps on going.
That said, the problem with this cache is that it is not a traditional. It should have been published as either a multi or puzzle cache. And then he should have used a different means of hiding the cache. Drilling a hole in a tree is prohibited by cache placement guidelines. Doesn't mean the guy needs to be "banned", it just means he needs to read the cache placement guidelines. I expect they are available in Spanish?
I would enjoy that hunt. The use of pictures to guide the cacher to a location is a nifty idea. Maybe I'll add that to my list of cache ideas...
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Although the cache placer makes a common mistake by not reading the guidelines. He has it as a 5/5. it is actually a D=1, T=5. The same as a large container on top of Everest would be.
No, this cache is rated correctly. I'm sure we'd all agree that the terrain is easy to rate a 5 (though it should be a 6) since you'll need an orbital space craft to get there. The difficulty rating is more encompassing than just how hard it is to find the box once you've reached the site. It's common fallacy that the difficulty only relates to the "camo". I've put out a 5-star difficulty puzzle cache that doesn't require a fraction of the mental and physical preparation, education, and training that is needed for the trek to the ISS cache. The difficulty rating on getting to the ISS is at least 5 stars. If anything, I'd call this cache under-rated in both categories.
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If you don't have MapSource, I would recommend that you just use the freeware program EasyGPS to upload your GPX or LOC files.
<Just had to find & reply to a really, really old thread after the single thread postings stating that we should NOT do this>
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There is no GS or HTML-imposed limit as to how many names the CO can list as the FTF on a cache page. This argument is bunk.
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What is "poison ivy"???
</Alaskan>
Non PMO Logging PMO Caches
in General geocaching topics
Posted
LOL... "implied"?!?
As I posted a short while ago... the actual logging "rule" directly states that anyone who signs the physical log gets to enter an online log. There is nothing implied about that rule. It's clear as a bell. Plain as day. Black and White.
Next topic.