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Ike 13

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Everything posted by Ike 13

  1. Just curious if permission was obtained do you think the bomb squad would check with the Welcome Center first? I don't think they would. I feel like once they get a call of a suspicious package they just jump into blow it up mode and almost nothing can stop that.
  2. Neighborhood hides are not my favorite due to issues like this. I don't know if attributes or description changes will do much as many people ignore those. I would generally avoid a cache in a neighborhood at night, but not all cachers use common logic.
  3. That is not common in most areas. Wet logs sure. Leaves, rocks, twigs and cheap business cards used as sig items are common. But I almost never find food (and I always remove it when I do) and have never found porn or other nefarious things. Remove any stuff that seems like trash or inappropriate and help out. Some owners don't believe in maintenance others dropped out of the game long ago so sometimes trash does build up.
  4. Once solved I enjoy them, but when all you have is red herrings it can be a slight pain. I have found that those of us who enjoy puzzle solving are also really good at seeing patterns that were never intended by the creator. I have come up with a few good puzzle ideas by trying to solve someone else's puzzle and following the wrong thread. In fact I have a puzzle that is full of red herrings. I give the correct last 3 digits of north and west but not the order. The page has like 14 permutations of these digits all hidden in puzzles (some obvious others very obscure) and one of them is correct.
  5. Yes that is true. But let's think about why so many feel that there may be more issues with the App crowd. 4 years ago to find a cache you had to come to this site, sign up with your email, purchase a GPS, research how to use it, and at least browse cache pages. Now you can just click an app and hit route and not know anything other than there is something "small" here. There is no longer any time spent doing any beginning research that IMHO made caching easier for me and eventually more enjoyable. As far as issues with missing trackables and messed up hides, let's say 4 years ago there were issues with 5% of new cachers. Even if that percentage remains the same with the App crowd the sheer increase of people having access to that would increase the number of potential issues. I do think there is the potential for new cachers who use the App to hurt the hobby even if it's due to just ignorance (we were all there at some point). I think a little education through the App is a great way to make caching more enjoyable which increases the likelihood of them sticking around. Plus it will eliminate those potential issues. That's a win-win. Heck videos like this one in the newsletter are already out there and should be integrated into the App fairly easily
  6. A thought just came to me. I've seen a lot of discussion how the young crowd would never use the site, have email, etc. and just rely upon the App. I won't disagree with that. BUT I do think that that is a very small section of the long time growth. I'm 29 I have rarely met an active cacher younger than me (I know that is skewed since smartphone apps just took off in the past 2 years). Most of my friends and younger colleagues seem interested in what I do but if they try it it's only for a short time. As I said in a past post I feel Groundspeak makes most their money from people who stick with the hobby for more tha a year actively caching, attending events, buying trackables, and paying PM for PQs. From traveling to events and megas and browsing these forums it seems the largest demographic that actively caches are middle age and retired. So I guess Groundspeak has to think about if that 18-25 demo is what they want to focus on. I think improving the App should be done and there are lots of great suggestions. Educating new cachers in an easy way is something I think everyone can get behind. Many of us have expressed the wish that we had learning about this hobby easier. It's good that the LilyPad is paying attention and hopefully adds some of these features.
  7. I feel like most reviewers know who the best hiders in each region they monitor are (I can easily name them for all my nearby population centers) and ask if they would be willing to hide a few of these Intro Caches. I could see them being different types mostly low difficulty that highlight some of the common aspects. I like this idea!
  8. I'm 29 is there really that much of a gap already Maybe follow the FB and youtube trend: validate with phone number and/or real name?
  9. I usually start off my log with a one or two sentences explaining why I was there and what the day was like. Then I write a unique log. It is sometimes annoying to see logs that just say caching with x, y, z and nothing about the actual cache when you need a hint but as a CO that is still a little better than TFTC
  10. I do not think any of my caches have been hurt by free app users yet, but I know that over the past few years trackables have been pointless to release and that I have seen more people come and go then come and stay. After reading the first page here's what I suggest: Required email validation (It's good to hear that is coming) A short video or written instructions on finding a cache before they pull the data on the first one so they are at least somewhat educated. In any game you usually have a walk through before playing level one why should we be any different. When they click on a cache a tip is displayed for 30 seconds (How to re-hide, What a trackable is, display info on the nearest upcoming event, etc have like 10 of these). After a certain number of free finds (10) they should either go to the website and fully activate or have to pay for the full app. I understand the importance of quantity, but if that destroys the quality users who hid and maintain excellent caches then you will lose many more users than you hope to gain from the free app. I would be willing to bet that Groundspeak makes most their money from long term cachers who have been around for multiple years, who buy coins, and buy PM every year and should look at how many of these App users last more than a month or two.
  11. That's not a great rule of thumb. I have 6000+ finds, do a lot of high D/T stuff, have over 100 of every main type, and pursue many challenges. I do qualify for most challenges without doing anything extra but that does not make them all a 1 Difficulty. If I hid a challenge to find 100 letterboxes and listed it as a 1 that is very misleading. It has taken me years and traveling across multiple states to get that, most cachers in my area will not reach that level. Personally I think this reviewer is overstepping their duties. But I do think that challenge finals should be a nice hide in a nice area. I know when I get that final cache to complete Fizzy if I found a LPC for the Fizzy challenge I would rage. (Luckily SC's is on an island and is a true 5)
  12. Guidelines specific to Challenge caches were updated 3/20/12 and the new "date restriction" caused a bit of angst. http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=206 B. Yes I know but I wasn't talking about when they are found, but when they are published. No challenge guideline address published date. So saying 90% of the finds on this challenge cache must be published prior to 9/12/13 is fine. That includes all previous finds.
  13. I do enjoy challenge caches but ones that push me like JASMER, Fizzy, county and Delorme. A challenge to find 30 Z's seems so silly and arbitrary it would not interest me much (not saying I wouldn't work on it). If the owner wanted to prevent this he could have added the common challenge rule that only caches published prior to the challenge count (or even only 10% can be newly published). It definitely looks like this was created to make that challenge go from a 5 D to a 1. That's what happenes when the CO does not put restrictions. Although since 40 people completed it prior to the Z series it was never a 5.
  14. I was at Block Party (and had the pleasure of quickly chatting with most the Lackeys). I like the overall concept of the Lab cache and see the pros and cons. I always search out the unique and awesome and think with the right organizer and team that Lab caches can highlight those things at the Mega or in the nearby city. I know at GWX a lot of peeople spent time doing tours at distilleries and I could see that being integrated into a lab cache. The Freemont one mainly focusedo n public art and some other unique features. I love the idea of using the lab cache to hide a super crazy cache that would not work in the wild (liek the giant walk in ammo can at Block Party). But there are still bugs. I know lots of people shared teh codes and people who have never stepped foot in Seattle logged all 12. Some sort of geolocking should be instituted. With the right guidance I think these can be successful and fun.
  15. How can people who are stopped by VA police not log a NA. These lasted a lot longer than they should have.
  16. I live in Columbia. SC state parks are very cache friendly. I would suggest finding more caches around you to get familiar with containers and hides and GPS usage and then maybe approaching the rangers.
  17. I like to hold trackables until I find a cache that I feel safe dropping them in. Usually that's more than 2 weeks. I usually dip them along the way that way the owner at least knows I still have it and am actively taking it places. Honestly I do not care if someone kept one of mine for a month as long as it moved and was placed ina nice safe cache.
  18. It depends. I only have a couple creative caches and if someone did it and decided they wanted to hide there own version over 100 miles away I would be okay with that. I would prefer they mention my cache as the inspiration or original but would not require it. Honestly we all take inspiration with every cache especially if it's deemed creative in any way. I've traveled a good bit and seen very similar ideas done that were unlikely copied it's just great minds think alike. The fact is with 2 million caches it is unlikely to be completly original. I know almost every puzzle I own has been inspired in some way by one I have done and if it's more of a copy then I give credit to where I saw it but that may have been a copy itself. Yes taking your idea and doing the same thing in the same parking lot is tacky. I'd go out find their version to see how similar it is and maybe send them a message about how you are honored they liked your idea so much they copied it but how you wish they had asked and done it some further distance away.
  19. Faceplamed hard after reading these. Hopefully things will get worked out.
  20. You cannot require them to download GSAK and BadgeGen but your challenge can be based on it. You just need to spell out the requirements and that can be easily done by linking to the More Info about Badges page (http://badgegen.com/badges.html). I have one based on the black belt (http://coord.info/GC399N20 and have considered a Gemstone challenge. On my page I state the exact requirements and have this: If you look closely and are familiar with the old requirements you'll notice I moved some of the mandatory requirements (like owning caches and FTFs) to the optional category to not run into any guideline issues. Looking at the one posted I doubt that my reviewer would be okay with out the things I mention above.
  21. I was able to get all but May 2000 within my travels mainly in the SC-GA-NC area. But last week I did a road trip to The Spot in New York and that's 630 miles from home as the crow flies. Now JASMER is done and I can focus on Fizzy!
  22. I like this. New cachers come in and think a spot is great and don't realize others have tried that area and had to abandon it due to issues. This will alert them of old caches in that area and what happened to them. As long as the notice included links to the full listing I like it!
  23. I understand 20 seems like a TON for someone with only 18 finds, but it's not that many. I peeked at your profile since you mentioned southern city and I see Charlotte. Trust me Charlotte has tons of room (with lots of great hides). Also they were not all put out at once and over a long period of time (5 years) so other people have had plenty of oppurtunity to place caches there.I have found a good number in uptown and they were not bad caches. Sure almost everything is a micro but anything larger will go missing more easily and from my memory most were at least in good spots. I've seen lots worse (and of course better). There's a great trail system near the mall. When I started hiding I put a few out along it and left lots of rooms for others. For the most part people seemed more interested in finding the PnGs at shopping centers then walking a trail and with little exception no one has hidden any more on the trail. So I've slowly added to it hiding more there. I guess I may 'dominate' that area and a good number are micros because the trail is sandwhiched in between houses but I think they are above average caches.
  24. During a CITO I found a shopping bag with eggs. I wasn't careful enough and crushed one and it splattered everywhere. Rotten egg does not taste or smell pleasent.
  25. I usually have to go to the usercripts page to update. Did that and everything worked fine!
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