kantear

if you find a cache and then for some reason (like batteries die in the phone) you don't log it till after midnight ... on either the puter or the phone ... the date will roll forward on the dropdown. you can edit these to keep your logs correct. what do you mean by "category" ... find streaks are listed on the stats page (that's as long as g.s. hasn't taken that away... oh wait ... you're a p.m. , so yes, stats page.

oh hey ... on the original topic ... wherigos are an excellent way to create self guided tours ... and places like national parks, or outdoor museums could totally exploit this type of thing. it could be used for commercial routing ... or route 66 tours ... etc . many possibilities there. if g.s. was interested in expanding their customer base further (they wouldn't even have to require non members to sign up to use a cartridge) they would so be all over this like a insurance salesman on a teenager trying to licence (not sell, that would be a bad idea) it to the parks department(s). doing something like that would force the electronics companies to pick it back up too.

i think both of these are understatements. ... i have, somewhere around one of the threads i threw fuel on (maybe even started i don't remember) first hand seen a moderator "badmouth" the developers of cgeo (or someone to that effect) ... it seemed personal . i do not know more than that. that being said ... if we can use it to promote, play, use, and participate with their product they should stop the whining ... HOWEVER! ... (before someone flips out on me) ... steps should be taken to compromise a suitable noncompete between the two of them. this ... i meant ... how do other programs get info from gs without scraping the site? and ... for that matter ... if the program interfaces through an individual's account ... isn't it just doing what they would do via the website anyway? ... if i zoom waay out on the map to look at caches doesn't that alone cause some insane bottleneck somewhere? someone somewhere please explain this scraping thing.

this ofshoot is hijacking this thread. i quoted only part of what you said because that's all you said on this specific subject... "it's illegal" ... which isn't entirely true because google /and/or/ the cell carriers wouldn't allow the app on (through) their network(s) if it was. the only thing that would be "illegal", would be if cgeo used stolen or cracked gs code in their product which would allow other programmers to strip the code from the program via "open source". ... i believe the only thing that makes it violate the tos is the scraping... which still has yet to be explained. how do any of the other free programs do it then? can this hijack be separated ?

i think this is getting off-topic ... but ... i was under the impression that the reason it's considered against gs tos is because it scrapes info from pages ... while i have very little understanding of what this means, i think it may have something to do with multiple query threads slowing down the servers ... but i'm sure i'm wrong, or at least a little inaccurate. what i interpret you are trying to say is the fact that they share their programming (ala non-compete) with anyone who wants to use it, tweak it, improve it ... makes it illegal? ... apply that thought to automobiles and you outlaw racing. i don't see how sharing technology with anyone who can improve on it can be illegal ... but i do understand how slowing down a server by forcing multiple requests could violate terms of service. ... gs could use an opensource program and add their own features to it and then charge for the program ... i.e. "android" from "linux".

this is what i was thinking but could not figure out how to say it. as far as the nanos ... i've seen some nice hides with them ... like on an extremely target rich utility cluster on a small business plaza, or on a park bench posing as a bolt. even those bolt caches could fit in a "nano" category, those are getting popular.

i'm pretty sure there has been talk of the need for a new size category for a while now. people want to add "nano" to that list since the those tiny button caches have been getting more popular. i think this is one of the things gs has either held off on or doesn't find important enough to change.

android is a linux based os ... linux for the most part is open source... there are free versions, and tweaked not free versions. if i run an open source firmware on my phone are you saying i'm not allowed to cache ... or something much more long winded?

i found it ... ok then ... maybe all the settings options need to be in one place instead of on two or three different screens. also ... it only has options for notifications, not e-mail ... but that can be set up as the main and notifications set as optional. thanks for the heads up.

awesome! a useful response ... i thank you and appreciate your consideration ... and i apologize if that sounds like sarcasm, it even looks like it is to me, but really it's not. where is this setting?

hey ... nice sift and shift there ... i hope you're a politician, or someone else who needs that ability. i take it since at least 3 other people do not have this problem then the problem i have doesn't exist, is that it? i typically state my thoughts on a least effort straight forward basis ... if the actual content sounds abrasive, or maybe you just don't understand what i mean, you're reading it wrong or incompletely. ... anywhoo ... yes i use sms for notifications ... it would be nice to continue this option for new listings, and have the ability to get "contacted" by another player via straight e-mail. this way important messages, like someone asking me for help (or similar), get saved without rolling off the end of my message history in sms and being lost. data isn't always an option, i am not always in my home area or in an area where i get data for that matter. sometimes i can only get texts. which is one of the reasons i switched it to text in the first place. a short text notification is good enough to alert me of something i may want to look at now or later. my phone retrieves e-mail once every 3 or 6 hours (what i have it set to to conserve battery power). e-mails are often longer and because of that, do not always download to sms.

one method i use to determine robot spam from actual human interaction, is that i do not capitalize my name (or just about anything else for that matter) in anything ... this way i can tell by the subject, if it has my name in it, weather it's auto-generated or not ... sometimes ... this is not true and i still have to make that determination manually. i have one e-mail address that i use, i have had it for many years. it does what i need it to do because that what it does ... not because i spent hours adding filter words and a dozen different folders. i do not care to add additional loopholes, red tape and security breeches to my current personal spam avoidance "firewall" system. it's bad enough i have to weed through one or two e-mails an hour to get to the one i want every two or so weeks in addition to the hundreds already automatically sent to my spam folder that i still have to manually empty once in a while. i also have no desire to collect any more useless addresses than i really need. i also do not trust that messages being forwarded from a -not always realtime system- through a -not always realtime system- to another system which is almost completely signal dependent ... i'm also trying to help cut down on lag that could be the difference in a ftf (not that i go for many of them myself) which is why i switched notifications to my phone in the first place... as suggested by some of the forums, and some of the g.s. how-to's. i merely ask here because of this site's already included ability add more than one e-mail address ... and, with it, the suggestion that it somehow benefits me to list more than one e-mail address. with as many convenience features added lately, including some not so convenient (like removing stats from non-paying members pages) this didn't seem like much of a burden to ask. this would be a nice "tweak" to the system that would make things easier on members. ... what is the point of having the ability to add additional e-mail addresses to my gs account anyway? what do you need it for?

i currently have my phone as my primary e-mail ... as in ... i get a text message for every notification, message and even anything from this post. often times i get a message failure (not necessarily gs's fault, i am in and out of signal quite a bit) and have to download what is hopefully a notification, and not someones attempt at trying to contact me ... as sometimes a longer message cannot be retrieved. on more than one occasion i have also received "ghost" or false messages. or, occasionally, the message i am currently focused on runs out of my "texts received" cue before i can fully deal with /or/ respond to it. it would be nice to have the ability to route different messages to different addresses ... i.e. ... new listings to one address, "contacting" messages to another ... so-and-so "posted a note" to another ... etc ... etc. ok, maybe not a million different e-mail addresses, but more i think i've made my point. another nice option here would be maybe a truncated message, with just one link and no log entry, to text ... to notify something like, someone found one of my hides, or someone posted a note to something on my watchlist ... where i do not need to see the full message right then if i can just look it up later. (i like to see those on the website anyway). thanks.

maybe just add a separate optional "finder rating" completely independent of the posted rating. ... but ... bias works both ways - a new cacher may find something harder, or an "old" cacher may not like the terrain... this could also include attributes. sometimes a rating combined with another "hint" embedded in a cache page is a clue. ... on and on. i don't think this will fly. too many more places to go from there, over-complicating something that's just part of the game in the first place. but ... i think some kind of clinical input by finders could help new hiders understand some of the concepts, (yet another but) but ... this could just as easily be covered with appropriate logging.

i only wanted the sling pack for the ease of access, it's quicker to wear, and quicker to remove... like for instance ... in a tree http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/public/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif and ... this one has a speed clip at the bottom of the strap so i don't even have to put my head through, i just wrap it around and clip it. i think i've only got about 20 pounds into it. the only thing i noticed on a long-ish walk with it was i was warmer, but i would expect that with almost any pack ... where/how i have the duct tape in it can make it uncomfortable on the back, and the strap was against my neck a couple times but it's easy enough to move it away. i'm more of a city/state park less than 5 mile kind of cacher around here though too, i think it would be different in a national park 10 plus mile, overnight camping etc. type situation.

thank you. ... i must not have use the right search terms.

did a quick search for topic ... didn't find it ... so apologies if this is somewhere else. ok ... recently i came across an archived cache in my g.p.s. (that i didn't know was archived), and later noticed that the c.o. had archived a bunch of caches in the area (i think because they moved), stating in a log "if you find it, go ahead and take the container and recycle it" (paraphrasing) ... so then, (while out more recently) while grabbing a cache for the day, i noticed i was within close proximity of one of these archived caches, with trackables in it. it happened to be a tree climbing cache with sort-of a spooky climb (short story - turns out someone already took the cache). this tree inspired me to assemble a light pack of essential "gear" useful for any given minor random caching situation. the next day i went to the mega-lo mart and got one of those sling packs (it's a one strap backpack). it's a decent one in camouflage, with good multi-pockets and a couple of clips to hang stuff off it. then loaded it with some items from the same, and other stores, and some things i already had. here's my list so far- bug spray duct tape (2 different patterns) batteries (of course) a flashlight (this might turn into 2 when i find my other one) spare lanyards (these are for the kids to use or for trades) a handfull of small printed log sheets for replacements (going to have to put writing utensils in there too) some random baggies that i rounded up (replacements) a lighter (not sure why, but i though it should go in there) a long hemostat (like tweezers) 30 feet of 1.5" climbing webbing (useful for a short harness or a ladder ... etc) 2 standard 3000kg carabiners (eventually there will be) sunscreen a large baggie of dollar store trade swag a roll of twine and a couple small containers (for replacements/repairs) and i usually carry a small pocket knife too. and since i often do birding while caching ... a pair of binoculars ... but these might not stay, because of the extra weight and because i rarely use them. ** the light "climbing gear" is more or less "safety equipment" for a 40+ year old guy to feel safe climbing something that an ambitious kid could climb without it, and not meant to be actual "climbing gear" ** (i take responsibility for my use of it.) i'd like some actual "climbing gear" at some point, but it's a bit cost prohibitive at the time. anyhow ... what's in your random minor light caching pack? ... or what types of things should go in one, that someone who wants to assemble one, might not think of?

well then ... either there isn't one ... or the silence is it.

what's g.s.'s official stance?

or state in the description "cache is located near..." or "cache is about 90 feet from..." or "don't touch the hieroglyphs because the oils in your hands will destroy them". *edit* - point of interest is an excellent idea as well. i was sort of going a little towards being able to list a cache with little to no description and just a title... in a manner that would work for all those "why did you send me here" or "why should i go there" types... (not putting that down, i do that too sometimes, it's just different from the "get a cache every day" type, or the "be the first one to get it" type, or the "get every cache in the world today" type.)

has my vote ... past logs often indicate cache condition and are useful for someone doing a "cache a day" like i do. ... sometimes i only go after a cache if i am confident it's findable. but ... i don't think a "refind" should add to your count. sort of like a "owner maintenance" log but a "random cacher maintenance" or a "re-found it" or an "existence confirmation".

roadside attraction would be a good one too... this is what i meant when i said it would open opportunities for more additional attributes.

ah, do copy. however, while archaeological locations should be preserved, they are useless unless someone knows about them .. thus the point of "historical" anything. ... but guidelines could be reformed to define a clear cut radius of say 50 to 100 feet from erosion sensitive archives. for example ... "cadillac ranch" in amarillo tx (didn't look and don't know) could have a cache placed directly on one of the cars without issue ... but it would be a bad idea to encourage traffic in the "la brea tarpits" (first thing that popped in there sorry).

i apologize if i'm repeating anything here ... but i didn't find anything previous, asking specifically for a "historical attribute". the thought briefly crossed my mind for a "new cache type" ... and as other suggestions of that type often get responses that moan and complain, or may even offer good counterpoints that oppose the idea for logical reasons. ... so i quickly decided not to say "new cache type" - as this would only add more stress to the forum. however ... if attributes were added that could further describe a cache, this would be cool. yeah yeah ... i get that we can write about it in the cache description, but an "attribute" would almost be like an acknowledgement from g.s. that it's worthy of mention however minor. another current thread asks for a "type" for "envirocache" which aside from "agenda" (as mentioned) complicates the idea with multiple sub-types (also mentioned). these things could easily be added as attributes ... like "agendacache" or "politicache" or "religicache" ... well ... maybe not specifically these "attributes" but, you get the point (maybe). as far as "historical" those too, could contain agenda or bias in any direction... but i feel this is a realistic request for a useful attribute, and an opening for additional attributes in the future. a "historical" attribute could be posted to an actual "historical marker" related cache, or even a cache related to local folklore, or "forgotten history" such as an old buried canal route or unmarked roadway, like parts of route 66 (which i would be totally interested in). thanks, in advance, for listening.

you can ignore your own listings, there's a click for it.