Jump to content

Bush_Doc

+Premium Members
  • Posts

    19
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Bush_Doc

  1. This may be a good idea or a bad idea. Only half baked. Just throwing it out there for discussion.  

     

    Everybody loves a new cache; FTF s etc.  But as a cache owner a placed cache gets a flurry of finds soon after placement, mostly from local 

    cachers and then the find rate settles to a more or less constant rate depending on where it is.  The main reason (as I see it) is that once you find a cache there is no on-line incentive to go find it again. What if Groundspeak would provide a reason for re-finding caches?   What if we could get credit for a second, third, four, etc find on an obviously older cache.  This gives more incentive to keeping old caches going.  There  would have to be rules such as a time span between re-finds (perhaps 1 year). It might include stats for the cache on how many re-finds the cache has or how often one cacher has re-found it.  Also incentive to revisit a TB hotel other than just picking up a tb. I think it might bring a whole new aspect to the game.  As I said -just a half baked idea. All comments welcome but please try to be constructive.  

    • Love 1
  2. I was getting the same messages as above.  I have been using GSAK under 2 user names and it appears it was messing with the new API token generating the "unauthorised" error.

    If you check under the "new" Geocaching.com access tab (Version 9.0+) at the bottom you can see how many user names you are trying to access geocaching.com from GSAK.  The new API will only work with one user name.  If you have more than one you will have to remove all but one of the accounts.  Worked for me.  

  3. No, you need to clear the cache of the page in the browser, which you can either do through browser settings or by pressing Ctrl + F5 (or command + shift + R for those who use a Mac).

     

    I'm using Google Chrome as a browser and was having the same problem. Ctrl + F5 appears to have fixed it.

  4. I'm going to be in Paris for a week in September. I know from looking at some of the cache listings that there are a few challenge caches. One of them is close to the place where I'll be staying and pretty on may to where I'll be working a couple of days. I'm pretty sure that I haven't already met the criteria for the challenge but it's pretty achievable (though, it would be pretty difficult if I don't go to an area about 35 miles from here to do some caching). So, are you saying that I shouldn't find the physical container and sign the log even if I happen to be passing within a couple hundred km from GZ?
    I wouldn't. You could try to fulfill the requirements beforehand though.
    I could, but it's unlikely that I'm going to travel the 3600 miles back to Paris if I complete the requirements after I've returned from my trip.
    There are plenty of other caches around so I wouldn't worry about a missed challenge (or other cache for that matter).
    Sure, there are other caches around, but for me, there are very few challenge caches in my area (last I checked, there were 3 within 40 miles and I've already done two of them). When I travel I typically have very little time to do any caching so one that happens to be close to where I'm staying or enroute to places I'll already be going is one that I'm likely going to try and find. Even if it happens to be a challenge cache I may still take the opportunity to find the container when I'm close to it and may never have to opportunity to do so again.

     

    Hey NYPaddleCacher. If you want challenge caches take a drive to Hamilton Ontario, Canada (we call it "Challengeville"). We even have a challenge trail about 10 miles long with nothing but challenge caches. This is a case in point. There are some 50+ challenge caches on the trail. If you were to have to meet the requirements before physically finding and signing the physical log you would be biking (or walking) the trail (it's rail trail) you would likely have to make the trip multiple times which is not practical and most cachers (that I know) would not do it that way.

     

    Bushman002

  5. We need new type icon for challenge caches. We have many Challenge caches with mystery puzzle icon, how can I recognize challenge better?! NEW ICON!!!

    Search for Mystery caches with "challenge" in their name. :unsure:

     

    Hans

     

    You'll get quite a few false positives that way. There are quite a few mystery caches with challenge in the title that are not "challenge caches".

     

    Would you mind providing a few examples please.

  6. I have tried the new message center and, in my opinion, in its current form it is next to useless.

     

    1. Messages are limited to 1000 characters.

    2. Anyone I have tried to contact using it either ignores or doesn't see my message.

    3. A 3.4 inch high editing window is ridiculous.

    4. It is next to impossible to read a message received on my phone.

     

    Frankly I don't see the necessity of having Groundspeak regulate any email traffic

    with the exception of the reviewers (which should likely have a regulated system) and

    the possible preference of some cachers who may not want their email addresses made available.

    Anything more is a complete waste of valuable CPU time.

    In my experience most geocaching email correspondence is done outside of Groundspeak and

    more and more is done by text messaging.

     

    I for now will ignore the message center as it provides no advantage to me.

     

    Bushman002

  7. Maybe a silly idea but has anyone considered providing an option to convert the scales on the bar graphs from linear to log (base 10) scale.

    For most cachers the number of traditional caches found typically far outnumber all other cache types so that on a linear scale the bars for the other

    cache types barely show up on the graph. Plotted using a log scale you might allow you to see some of the bars. Just an idea.

     

    Bushman002

  8. This may be a silly question and has been asked before but here goes anyway.

    Can anybody (perhaps somebody in Groundspeak) tell me how many grandfathered virtual caches still remain in the world?

  9. I totally agree with The Seagnoid. We need an up-front reminder that you have Owned caches that need maintenance listed in Profile:Quickiew. I agree that putting together a pocket query is a good temporary option but it requires cachers to be proactive, which, for the garden variety cacher, is not something they are thinking of.

     

    Great idea Seagnoid! You get my vote.

  10. Ok (Scenario) so.. I bought the number on a tag, attached it to some trinket and somebody losses my #$%^& TB.

     

    Now what me do?

     

    Do I just make up another one (duplicate, triplicate, quad, whatever) and drop in in the nearest cache?

    That means I have 2 (or more) TBs out there with the same number assuming the one one shows up...

    Or is there some place on the GC website to log "original gone missing - start over"? <_<

     

    Someone's lost it?

     

    How badly lost?

     

    Lost as in "I know I had it last week but now I just can't find it and I don't know where it can be..."

     

    or lost as in "I took it to Marakesh and accidentally left it there in a taxi..."

     

    or lost as in "It was in my house which burnt down to a crisp last weekend..."?

     

    If you're 100% sure it's 100% gone/destroyed/left the planet then mark it as Missing (if you haven't already done so). Then feel free to create a new tag using the same tracking number to attach to some new item and send it off on its travels again.

     

    If there's a chance that it may re-appear somewhere then it's generally recommended that you should wait at least a year before re-using the tracking number on another TB.

     

    Sometimes TBs reappear mysteriously after months, or years, and nobody ever finds out what happened to them in that strange limbo land.

     

    MrsB

     

    Ok So let me make sure I understand this...

    So my TB goes missing for [say] 2 years, and by "missing" I mean that it was logged into a cache somewhere never to be seen again

    in the two intervening years as noted by several caches visiting the cache saying "your TB is not in that cache".

     

    So ok.. Now I:

    1. Log the TB as missing on the webpage.

    2. Attached the copy tag to a similar trinket.

    3. Drop the copy in a nearby cache and log it into that cache.

    4. Watch the copy go on its merry way.

     

    So now (scenerio) some time after I send out the copy the original shows up again and

    it gets logged into some cache somewhere else and I have to TBs with one tracking number on the loose.

     

    How do (or can I?) prevent this from happening?

     

    Bushman002

  11. I just think it would be handy to know if and when I had seen a given trackable before. I tend to forget these details. My original idea was to take note of the most recent contact, but if it's possible to include multiple contact times and wheather it was "retrieved" or "discovered" would be nice too.

    We actually keep a (notepad on the 'puter) list of all trackables we have moved, by name AND number.

     

    It makes it easy to look back sometimes to see how one is doing.

     

    It has helped (a couple of times only) where somebody down the line has mis-logged one, as most people don't hold the #.

     

    .... just food for thought.

     

    Agreed. I actually keep such a list as do several other cachers I know.

    The problem is that I have found /discovered over 1000 trackables and my personal list

    is simply getting way to big to manage. Just sayin that it would be nice if Groundspeak would do

    a bit of that for us on the website.

     

    Bushman002

  12. I would like to ask a question about trackables. I apologize in advance if this was already addressed. I didn't have time to read all the comments.

     

    I was wondering if it's alright to "discover" trackables in previously found caches. If somebody drops a trackable in a cache that I've all ready found, would it be "proper" for me to go to the cache and get the tracking number to discover it? I haven't done this yet, but there are a couple of caches within a few blocks of where I live, and they occasionally have trackables in them. I don't see why it would be an issue, especially if I just discover them and don't retrieve them. But I wanted to double check first. Thanks!

     

    Absolutely!! Obviously you can't claim the find of the cache twice but there is no reason you can't go to the cache to discover or even retrieve the TB or coin.

    I have a list of TB hotels around the country that I frequent all the time trading TB's and Coins. If I visit the cache I simply leave a note on the webpage

    letting everybody know what I've done (Dropped a TB, Picked up a Coin etc).

  13. Groundspeak is interested in finding ways to better educate new geocachers on the proper etiquette for handling trackables. I am personally aware of many incidences of trackables going missing - not through any malice on the part of the bugnapper - rather by simply being misinformed about this one aspect of the game. There is a lot to learn when first starting out, so please help everyone by answering the question:

     

    What should new geocachers know about trackables?

     

    Thanks! :D

     

    I believe one way that would really help out would be to place the "Log Trackables" tab up front on the main page of Geocaching.com. As it is, “Find Trackables” are buried way down in the "Play" tab where it can be really hard to find. Given that trackables are the second most logged item on the site (after caches themselves) I don't understand why they are not on the front page for both awareness and education where newbie’s can easily see and find it. Many of TBs I have lost are sitting somewhere in a newbies desk pocket or desk drawer, because they have lost interest in the game and don’t know what they have. Furthermore, the initial trackable logging screen is not well laid out or intuitive. It’s not obvious what data needs to be entered. For example, it is not obvious that you can enter either a tracking code or TB code in the space provided. Trackables are an integral and interesting part of the game and I think Groundspeak does a disservice to geocachers in general by not having Trackables up from on the main geocaching.com page.

     

    Bushman002

  14. I just think it would be handy to know if and when I had seen a given trackable before. I tend to forget these details. My original idea was to take note of the most recent contact, but if it's possible to include multiple contact times and wheather it was "retrieved" or "discovered" would be nice too.

  15. Hello. I live in Ontario Canada and have noticed lately that the GC.com had recently slowed to a snails crawl recently, particulary mid-day.

    I understand the popularity of the site and the hobby, but having to wait several minutes to load a single map or

    even one cache is extremely discouraging to the point of "I don't want to waste my time anymore" and giving up on geocaching altogether.

     

    I'm sure you have heard this complaint before, but I'm also sure I am not the only one contemplating giving up because they

    simply can't access information on the website.

  16. Ok (Scenario) so.. I bought the number on a tag, attached it to some trinket and somebody losses my #$%^& TB.

     

    Now what me do?

     

    Do I just make up another one (duplicate, triplicate, quad, whatever) and drop in in the nearest cache?

    That means I have 2 (or more) TBs out there with the same number assuming the one one shows up...

    Or is there some place on the GC website to log "original gone missing - start over"? <_<

  17. But is it possible to get a replacement with the same number on it??

     

    not sure what is going on this days, seems that "copy" tags are not produced anymore

     

    if you did get a second tag with your purchase that says "copy" on it, you can send that one out

     

    as for making the person that lost it pay for it that is quite impossible to enforce, personally i would be happy that they were honest and had the courage to admit they lost it

     

    trackables sometimes can have a very short life and you should bare that in mind when you release one, it can disappear without a trace or sometimes show up after years of being thought missing

×
×
  • Create New...