Cache Liberation Front

Hi all, A couple of years ago my wife and I wanted to invite some local geocachers along on the American Heart Association 5k we run/walk for charity. We figured since we're running it, we might as well invite fellow cachers and make an event out of it. We never mentioned a word about "money" or "fund raising" or anything commercial (though are "charity" and non-profit orgs considered "commercial"?), yet we were denied the event since it was piggybacking on a pre-existing, non-geocaching event. Apparently by our creating said caching event, we'd of been indirectly associating geocaching with an outside enterprise (in this case the AHA), and thereby indirectly promoting an agenda. Oh well, I understood the explanation, though I thought it was a petty excuse. We tried again to create a geocaching event around the non-profit org's "Keep Riverside Clean" clean-up (run by the actual city, itself), and again we were denied. Well just the other day there was a CITO event in the California desert. Read the description at: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...3b-7cccaa08eef6 and you can clearly see this was a geocaching event piggybacking on a pre-existing, non-geocaching event. So what's up with the double standard? Is this another case of Groundspeak saying "Do as I say and not as I do" (like their Garmin Colorado promotion event in the Bay Area recently, a clearly commercial event if there ever was one)? Mr. Wisearse.

I've already created two text-based caching video games (one is make-believe, the second is a actual replication of downtown Riverside, CA, apparently I beat Wherigo to the punch ), and the third text game I'm on working on is a historical education game. I'm also in the works of create a 3d fantasy caching video game as we speak. I have the terrain and envt (world) almost built now, next onto the mobs and quests. MrW. PS: See the bookmark list at http://www.geocaching.com/bookmarks/view.a...ac-ce44490a2c55 for more text games.

I've been using Google Calendar since the day it launched, and would love Groundspeak to created a calendar we all could add to our "Other Calendars." MrW.

Hmm, I'm liking the "&output=kml" trick. However, the route I created in Google Maps seems to get truncated somehow when I try and save it as a kml and open it in Google Earth. Here's the route: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&...p;z=10&om=0 when I appended the "&output=kml" and open it in Google Earth, the route ends at my point B instead of J. Any tips? Thanks for the fun discussion, MrW.

The old ones were grandfathered in, but they no longer allow the publishing of new ones. You have to go to Waymarking.com to pursue similar such endeavors, now. MrW.

I've heard similar such excuses made for poor business practices in the past. But in all honesty, it's a straw argument. The folks FIXING the problems are rarely the ones who are REPORTING/COMMUNICATING about the problems. Most business do have more than one or two people working for them. Therefore the act of reporting/communicating isn't detracting from the act of fixing. MrW. That's true in some cases. However, the ones REPORTING/COMMUNICATING about the problems have to get their information from the ones FIXING it. I work in the IT industry. When those who are the front line of communication stop me to get a status update, they stop me from working the problem just like someone who is a general user. Craig C&S 143 Then is sounds like you really need to work on your lines of communication (as does Groundspeak). You learn that kind of stuff in Business 101. MrW.

People love drawing false dichotomies: you're either for or against us! Bah. Life's more complex than that. We ALL love geocaching. That goes w/o saying, folks. And the folks here complaining about the servers being down are doing it from a place of love (for the game). If we didn't love the game than we wouldn't care if the servers were down and hence we wouldn't complain. So please don't try and depict those complaining about the servers here as some kind of "haters." Also note the argument "the servers are up MOST of the time" doesn't fly. If *I* only worked "most of the time" when I was supposed to, I'd only get SOME of the pay coming to me (or worse, sacked!). Just some perspective. MrW.

I've heard similar such excuses made for poor business practices in the past. But in all honesty, it's a straw argument. The folks FIXING the problems are rarely the ones who are REPORTING/COMMUNICATING about the problems. Most business do have more than one or two people working for them. Therefore the act of reporting/communicating isn't detracting from the act of fixing. MrW.

I have 2 caches I've created, but haven't activated yet. Are there any backdoor links to caches in our own queues so I can further edit them and then submit for approval? MrW.

Great idea. So many folks go back much later and add their photos, I'd love notification of such an occurrence on my caches. MrW.

I can hide caches (though it's supah sluggish), but I still can't get to My Account. MrW.

Just adding my two cents that geocaching.com is unusable at the moment. MrW.

My folks are in town visiting, and we're just now testing out wap.geocaching.com on the Kindle. The login process was a piece of cake and worked fine, but Viewing or Finding caches is proving more difficult. MrW.

Many times while trying to rush out of my house for a FTF but not being able to find my keys I've shouted: "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!" Mr. Wisearse. PS: Many times I've witnessed people go on and on and on and complain about all my puzzles, yet when asked directly they then say "Oh, I don't mind them, they're just not for me," but they then go on and on and on complaining about them. To them I've often said: "Me thinks the lady protests too much" (Shakespeare's insight into what later psychologists would call "reaction formation" is brilliant).

The fact this thread predates my joining geocaching plus $2 will buy you a cup of coffee. How more irrelevant can that factoid be? Either way you slice it, this thread is "Off-Topic," by definition. I come to the "Geocaching Topics" forum to discuss geocaching, not service to one's country. If I start a thread in "Geocaching Topics" about "Donkey Breeding and How You, Too, Can Make Millions!" I'd also expect it to get moved to the "Off-Topic" board. Seems pretty simple to me. Nothing political about it. MrW.

I agree this thread clearly belongs in an "Off-Topic" board (and yes, yes, I, too, "served my country," though in a diplomatic position where I carried pens, good will and handshakes, not weapons). MrW.

As a Premium Member, I really object to having ads pushed on me after already paying for the service. I consider it like double jeopardy. Do one (encourage PMs), do the other (push ads), but doing both seems downright greedy. And please, in rationalizing the change, please don't try and sell it to me as if you're doing me a favor. When you write "we are also trying to increase the relevancy of the ads so that they actually provide a benefit to our members," you're acting really quite condescending to your patrons. Sorry, but I've been watching TV and reading magazines and newspapers and listening to the radio for over 30 years now, and I've been surfing the net before it was cool, using LYNX back in the day, before Mosaic and graphics became cool...and I've YET to buy anything as a result of an ad pushed on me. Sure, sure, we can debate the theory and usefullness of advertising as a medium, but sorry, I'm never going to click on any ads you push on me. So please don't sell your new revenue generating program as something that's good for me. What's good for me is removing the ads. My two copper, MrW.

Although this is not the ideal solution, the quoted info (the &dist= and the fact you could use decimal values) is very, very handy. Thanks for sharing it. MrW.

I love it. It does web (nicely on an 800x480 screen), email, MP3s, Skype, and lets me review my newly-shot digital pictures on a larger screen - all of which I do while travelling. It also tunes FM radio, has a pop-out camera for video-IM, and probably a few other features that I haven't taken advantage of yet. The current models come with the Opera browser, but I've been using the beta version of MicroB, the Mozilla-based browser. Think "Pocket Firefox". The latter works pretty well, except it crashes frequently on Google Reader and GMail (the full version), both of which are torture tests for any web browser. Thank goodness for GMail's mobile version; it's less JavaScript-heavy, so it makes a great backup. GC.com renders pretty well - with some glitches - on MicroB. (That screenshot must've been when I went to a competing website...) I figure, why carry a big laptop? Other than not running GSAK or Google Earth, the teeny Nokia does everything I need. (I did need a pair of stronger reading glasses for that tiny screen, though.) Outstanding info, thanks! I've been eying the 800 model, but the 810 is the latest and greatest, n'est-ce pas? I'm a big fan of both Opera and Mozilla, I figure one of them should execute geocaching.com and gmail.com w/o too many problems. Best, Mr W.

A ) What do you think of the Nokia tablets? I've been thinking of getting one for geocaching in urban areas. B ) The picture on the screen of the tablet is too funny! MrW.

A ) I actually have a printing press, but more importantly... B ) for The Great Esel's sake! I'm just making a point here! I didn't start this thread, I'm just balancing it. I couldn't let the lunacy persist with adding a balance. [edit: added C] C ) I'm not posting this crap in a cache. Folks actively come to the forums to, get this, debate. It's inherent in the word "forum." MrW.

If you'd spend more time studying our Holy Scripture (a derivative of the Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster's "Eight 'I'd Rather You Nots'" called the "Seven 'I'd Rather You Nots'"), you'd know that "heehaw" does in fact translate into English as "Yes, please, more please." As opposed to the infamous "heeeHAW" (note the third "e" and the change in stress to the second syllable) which once translated from the original Greek into Latin then into English means "Please stop that hurts." You see, you have to study these ancients texts very carefully if you want to be a member of our church. Mr.W.

I see this conversation has taken a turn for the worse and probably not worth any further effort. As a Christian I will not attack you or return the ugliness. I will simply wish you the best of this world and much peace and happiness. Hypocrite. By saying you won't attack or "return my ugliness," you're in fact attacking me and indeed calling me "ugly"! You should go back to church and work on that, for you're clearly failing as a Christian. One who'd "turn the other cheek" wouldn't have posted what you posted. One who believed in the basic message of love Christ supposedly spread wouldn't have posted such an "ugly" post. But go ahead and fool yourself into thinking you're a good Christian by closing with wishing me peace and love. *rolls eyes* Mr. Wisearse.

(deleted by moderator, absolutely no call for this in the forums.)

Even in a PUBLIC game/hobby/sport such as geocaching?! I see you and I will never see eye to eye on this, then. MrW.