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Sandy

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Everything posted by Sandy

  1. This is not necessarily the case. One reviewer published this one event. We are discussing.
  2. Sandy, thanks for your reply. I'm well versed in the "no precedents" rule. However. The issue has always been that we have been told by our reviewers that Camping events were NEVER allowed to be only for campers because it was a rule that had been set in stone by America. That there was no possibility of this ever not being the case because the Americans just didn't understand what the British camping events were like. That there was no point trying to explain it to them and get them to change THEIR rule because it just wouldn't make sense to them. The really great news is, now that they obviously DO understand what it's like, there should be absolutely no reason whatsoever for our reviewers to either just go ahead and do the sensible thing and allow camping only events or AT THE VERY LEAST make immediate representations to Jeremy to clarify this situation before any more UK camping events are held up or not allowed due to, what has obviously been a misunderstanding of a rule that doesn't seem to exist. So this is great news Hope that clarifies that particular point The concern is that you are pointing to this one cache in the hopes that it means all practices in your local region will change. That is not necessarily the case. This cache seems to be based on a specific concept, which may have meant that it was published with the added stipulation by the cache owner. This is not typical, but one cache publication. Generally speaking, those who attend an event - even part of an event - should be able to log it. Nowhere in our current logging guidelines do we require the signing of a logbook to log an attended at a cache event. To be clear, excluding cachers from 'attending' an event because they cannot camp overnight, is not in keeping with our guidelines. We will consider your point and confer with the UK team, but our general stance is that events are 'open'. From our guidelines, "Event caches are gatherings that are organized by geocachers and are open to other geocachers."
  3. Importantly, each cache is assessed on its individual merits. Please understand that a decision by one reviewer about a particular cache takes all factors into account, and this is one of the reasons we do not have pre-filled proformas for cache page contents. Please do not take this one cache event as a precedent for publishing others like it; we do not give pre-approval for caches. All subsequent submissions for events will be assessed on their own merits, taking into account all local factors.
  4. WOW! Now that is extreme, and i am really amazed that a GC.com employee or Lackey would even say these words to the geocaching community. I'm sorry i even clicked on the link and peaked at this topic! I agree though, just like Admins reviewing caches. Are they really going by the guidelines, or by how they interpret the guidelines! For context I should have started with, "We created this playground for you to play in. We do want you here; we do want your contributions." And the aim is consistent interpretation, so thank you for this thought.
  5. why?...the forum guidelines say just the opposite...or "edit" equates "removal"? i agree that is your "playground" but citing unrelated forum guidelines in a warning or a suspension makes no sense i have personally seen a few of the guidelines, and most often the one about "sock puppets" being interpreted in a million different ways depending on who's at the receiving end ...either sock puppets are allowed or not...there is no such thing as "different shades of sock puppet" as i was recently told "In the unlikely event that we do edit your post and you do not like the changes, we can delete the message at your request." And we will be updating the guidelines in the coming weeks, as the current practices of users have necessitated that we revisit them. A timely comment, t4e, and I hope you read the rest of the post with as much interest. Cheers.
  6. Update for the users here: You may have seen more moderation of our public forums in the past months/year for a few reasons. We had a forum software update about a year ago whereby we now have a forum report center which is far more user-friendly and clearly shows all pending reported threads and posts. This means that designated Mods in each forum section or Lackeys can easily respond to these reported threads and posts. They also receive email notifications about these reports. There are far more users in our forums than ever before. More user activity means more inappropriate behavior, more reports and more moderation. We have added to our moderator team to handle the increased need for moderation and in doing so are addressing best practices of 'consistency' and 'applying the forum guidelines'. We are not always getting it right, but we are working towards a goal of consistent moderation. What some users will consider 'heavy-handed' is either Groundspeak or a Moderator removing content that violates the forum guidelines. If something is moderated, it is because it has been reported and the moderator or Lackey has assessed that the content does violate one or more of the guidelines. Essentially, this is our back-yard, and we welcome you to play in it, but we want you to play by our rules and be nice to the other kids. If you don't, you may get a time-out, we may clean up after you, and in extreme cases you will be asked to leave the playground for good. I understand that the opening poster thinks that things are being made to mysteriously disappear, but this is not the case. This X-File can be closed.
  7. These are the first 5 forum guidelines: 1. Forum courtesy: Please treat Groundspeak, its employees, volunteers, fellow community members, and guests on these boards with courtesy and respect. Whether a community member has one post or 5,000 posts, they should be treated fairly. 2. Foul language and obscene images will not be tolerated. This site is family-friendly. All forum posts must conform to a family-friendly standard and contributors must act accordingly. 3. Personal attacks and inflammatory behavior will not be tolerated. If you want to praise or criticize, give examples as to why it is good or bad. General attacks on a person or idea will not be tolerated. 4. Sock puppet accounts are not permitted. A sock puppet is an account made on an internet message board by a person who already has an account for the purpose of posting anonymously. Use your own account for posting personal opinions. Posts from known sock puppet accounts may be deleted and both the puppet and actual account may be banned from using the services of Groundspeak. 5. Keep on topic: Responses to a particular thread should be on-topic and pertain to the discussion. Users should use the New Topic button to start a new discussion which would otherwise be off-topic in the current thread. Threads that veer off topic may be closed by a moderator. Posters in this thread violated 1, 2, 4 and 5. I cleaned up, even though it was closed for this activity, as this thread may be revisited by some readers. Please stay on topic, refrain from ranting at each other, and be respectful. All opinion can be expressed as long as they are done so respectfully. Name-calling, sarcasm, accusations, suppositions, rants and laughing at each other are not permitted.
  8. NA logs are sometimes actioned immediately, and sometimes in batches. It is a role that some of our volunteers do, and they have access to the most recent logs via a tool created for this purpose. I am sorry if I was not clear before, and seemed to lump all logs into the 'monthly' basket. My point is that this is a part of a volunteer role, so immediate action may not be forthcoming, situation of the volunteer dependent. In extreme cases, cachers can always email Groundspeak to report caches of grave concern. Suggesting that we close this thread as the point has been addressed, as has the concern about 'languishing logs'.
  9. To be clear, one of the ways that we receive reports from cachers - or non-caching community members - is directly. When something is urgent - and it is reported directly to us via email or phone call - we take the appropriate action. You can consider this particular cache as reported directly. If it was discussed earlier in this thread, that was missed.
  10. Why? It offers an absolutely perfect shopping experience. Just because the cache is illegal to access, as per many of the logs, shouldn't mean anything. Groundspeak has assured us that illegal caches get archived, right? Groundspeak volunteers review Needs Archived logs -usually- monthly. The NA logs posted on that cache page are less than one month old, but we will check in with the local review team.
  11. The only 'threat' to close this thread was to ask people to stop posting off-topic and to be respectful of the content of this thread. We have addressed the general topics in this thread several times, and will not be commenting further at this time.
  12. Posting with a sock-puppet account is not permitted in the forums. Guidelines. Closing this thread.
  13. Turns out the post isn't in keeping with the "you're not welcome around here Sven." policy...Shame they didn't give me the opportunity to rename the post (or perhaps rename it for me....) but then they wouldn't be able to hide behind these excuses now would they. *shrug* The entire thread - content and topic were inappropriate so it will not be reinstated. And this, "you're not welcome around here Sven,"is not the stance that the Moderators - or Groundspeak - is taking. You are to adhere to the forum guidelines like everyone else. If your behavior is sanctioned, or posts removed, it is for that reason.
  14. Closing at the request of the opening poster.
  15. You are correct. In a lawsuit everything is discoverable including forum threads, emails, and even hand written notes. I don't know if anyone else has noticed that this thread is being groomed, but I have known for awhile. The two posts of mine that were deleted (that I know of) contained nothing at all. I had moved the info to the top of the next page to keep it current and not buried a page behind the pace of the discussion. If a lawsuit were to come from this incident Groundspeak would have some 'splainin to do. This is not accurate. Any posts that have been removed do not meet our forum guidelines. And as this conversation is taking place on a privately-owned site, it is reasonable for us to enforce the guidelines of our forum.
  16. This thread is digressing and now includes too many personal attacks between cachers for us to be able to reasonably 'clean up' the inappropriate content. Any more reports of this kind of behavior in this thread and it will be closed. If you cannot add to this thread without being inappropriate or without attacking fellow cachers, we will close it.
  17. I disagree. If Geocaching isn't social activity, than I don't know what is. I was not talking about Facebook-like "wall" of activity, but rather about list of recent friends' geocaching activity. So which caches were found/not found/hidden by your friends. That would make use of this site more fun. We are looking into how to better address this aspect of the game. But refrain from comments, like "this sucks!" as it is not appropriate forum behavior and could mean that you do not get to post in our forums.
  18. The FAQ response on EarthCache.org has been update. Can I develop an EarthCache as part of a museum or other exhibit? GSA strongly encourages the development of EarthCaches outdoors rather than indoors. However, EarthCaches can be developed for indoor locations. Like an outdoor EarthCache, an indoor EarthCache must meet all general geocaching guidelines as posted at www.geocaching.com, as well as all EarthCaching guidelines, as posted at www.earthcache.org. Thank you for those who raised the discussion, and as always each cache is assessed on its own merits.
  19. From the guidelines: #2 You assure us that you have the landowner's and/or land manager's permission before you hide any geocache, whether placed on private or public property. Obtain the landowner's and/or land manager's permission before you hide any geocache, whether placed on private or public property. By submitting a geocache listing, you assure us that you have adequate permission to hide your cache in the selected location. If you are given permission to place a cache on private property, indicate this on the cache page for the benefit of the reviewer and those seeking the cache. The reviewers do not check the physical location, so the onus for being truthful and adhering to this guideline is on the cache owner. There are some places across the world where land policies prevail, and our reviewers are well-informed of these. In cases where a cache is placed upon governed land and the cache owner has not been forthcoming about permission, the reviewer will ask about permission. Otherwise, as we are essentially a listing service, we must take the cache owner at their word. And the final part of that guideline states: "If Groundspeak is contacted and informed that your cache has been placed inappropriately, your cache may be temporarily disabled or permanently archived." To provide more tools to warn other cachers about impending danger is not necessary, as there are many ways a cacher can alert others to an inappropriately placed cache. Groundspeak acts on all reports of this nature, the local reviewer team will, if they are contacted directly, and of course, posting a Needs Archived or Needs Maintenance log on the cache page alerts the cache owner, cachers and reviewers. Please note that even if a Needs Archived log is deleted by a cache owner, it still generates a system notification that is handled by the reviewer team. A reminder that an email to contact@Groundspeak.com will get to a lackey. There is not a need to add to this comprehensive list of ways to handle a cache that does not meet guidelines. Veit, thank you for asking for clarification. We hope that this clarifies our stance. And as we have said, all incidents where cachers are harmed or killed, sadden us greatly.
  20. Groundspeak is not trying to pressure you at all. This thread has been allowed to stay open as we want to provide a place for cachers to discuss this incident. The emails sent between you and I are in fact private and for that reason I will not disclose the contents here as that would not be appropriate. What I can say is that our stance on adding to the guidelines has not changed since the last time I posted in this thread.
  21. Hi all, I removed the link to the external sites from the OP. It appears that this thread is posted in good faith, so keeping it alive.
  22. This topic has digressed and there have been some disparaging comments about the opening poster. Closing it. Everybody be kind, please.
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