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Glenn

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Everything posted by Glenn

  1. It's your cache. I wouldn't feel guilty deleting the log and Groundspeak policies support you in this case. That being said, I'm sorry to say that I think the days of keeping the surprise aspect of a cleverly hidden cache are gone. With the proliferation of cameras on smartphones it's too easy for someone to make a quick spoiler video. There are many spoiler videos on youtube. If you have a particularly clever or evil cache hide you should, unfortunately, expect it show up, without warning or your permission, on sites like youtube.
  2. 1. Do you have any results from a controlled study to prove your claim? I don't think so. 2. I'm pretty convinced that a high end smartphone today has better gps qualities than a handheld gps from 15 years ago. 1. Please read the first post in this thread and follow the link. 2. I can't tell if you have problems with reading comprehension or you're just trying to troll. This is exactly right. For geocaching it really doesn't matter. Smartphones are accurate enough.
  3. This is not true. Got any examples of a smartphone outperforming a handheld GPSr? I don't. Don't go comparing last years technology to this years technology or saying that anecdotically your smartphone got you closer to a cache than your friend's GPSr. In multifunction devices there is always going to be a compromise made to support the other functions of the device.
  4. I wouldn't go as far to say that the last to find it moved it as "In a different spot" is a little vague. It could have been moved before they found it and because of your really good hint they found it in a different spot than they expected. It really doesn't help that the user has no way to be contacted. Maybe you can relist the cache but this time make it a mystery cache with the mystery being the exact hiding place for the cache. When someone with a validated email finds it you can ask them where it is. Then retrieve the cache, put it back in it's proper place, archive the mystery and relist as a traditional. Repeat as necessary.
  5. I sure hope that there will be a way to "turn on and off" each system individually. I hate to have to buy a new GPSr because one of those systems was malfunctioning or intentionally sending bad position data. I'd be surprised if the original chips where installed on IC chip sockets. Even if they were the manufacturers would insist for the upgrades be done by them. I imagine the reason for that line is to let GPSr manufacturers know that no new hardware engineering is required to put the new chip in their production lines. A savings in time and money like this makes moving to the upgraded chip preferable over staying with the current chip or moving to another chip manufacturer. Why not? It sounds like a great selling point. It probably would only add a couple of dollars to the per product production cost but allow them to increase the per product price by tens of dollars, if not more.
  6. Any device specifically made for one function is always going to be optimized to outperform a devices made for multiple functions. But that isn't the question that was asked. What was asked was "Can a Smartphone Replace a Dedicated GPS?" and my answer is it already has. What it comes down to is is the device's performance acceptable for what you want it to do. While a highly accurate device is desirable for geocaching it isn't a necessity. If accuracy was an absolute necessity we'd all have surveyor model GPSrs. Smartphones have reached the point where their accuracy is acceptable for finding geocaches. Apps like paperless geocaching apps and map apps satisfactorily mimic other popular functions of GPSrs. Let's take this question a step further. Will Smartphones make dedicated GPSrs obsolete? I don't believe so. Just like there will always be people who would rather buy a really good knife instead of buying a multitool or Swiss army knife there will always be those who just prefer the simplicity of a dedicated GPSr over a Smartphone.
  7. I think what a lot of people who have the same view as you are forgetting or may not realize in the first place is that the caches listed on Geocaching.com are not owned by Groundspeak. They were not placed by Groundspeak employees. Groundspeak doesn't pay anyone to place caches. The caches are paid for, placed, and maintained by individuals. What is being said is that cache owners, who spend their own time and money to place and maintain these caches, would simply like a way to be able to send a message to people who visit their caches. This is particularly true when the person seems to be having trouble finding the cache.
  8. Not everyone is going to respond the same way you do. Whether you realize it or not your argument is; because I'm not an extrovert I think no one should be getting emails inviting them events. Emails can easily be ignored by those who choose to do so.
  9. No elevation gain shouldn't be a factor. To list a cache you are required to provide latitude and longitude but not altitude. Without knowing the altitude it will be very difficult for a cacher to differentiate between two caches that are placed at the top and bottom of a ravine or top and bottom of a tall building.
  10. The WTC, as in world trade center? I am in NYC and was in SoHo about a half an ago and can confirm that the WTC buildings are no longer there. Elevation *could* factor into whether or not a cache was published that was within 528' of another cache if the reviewer considered it to be a significant physical barrier. At the end of the day it's up to the reviewer, though their decision could still be appealed by Groundspeak. Caches that are published within the 528' limit should be considered the exception rather than the rule and I would suspect that you'd have to have a compelling reason (and cache quality can not be one of them) in order for an exception to be granted New York isn't the only city with a World Trade Center. Also, isn't the new tower they are building in New York going to be a World Trade Center tower?
  11. I never owned or used a geomate jr. but wasn't that a GPS with preloaded caches? Didn't you still have to access the webpage to get the latest caches? That's one of the issues identified with the intro app. It either doesn't at all or doesn't adequately let intro app users know that there is an entire geocaching community. Geocaching isn't an entirely solitary activity. People hide, care for, and care about the caches they place. These caches are not hidden by some faceless corporation who doesn't care if they are found or not.
  12. Because something "always is" or "always was" then we are supposed to just roll over and accept it? I don't think that is a good opinion to have especially when where have been many great ideas floated here on how thing could be changed for the better.
  13. GO back and reread some of the posts in this thread. It is from personal experience. I totally agree, if cache owners aren't having fun anymore then they will pack up there caches and leave. How fun would geocaching be without geocaches to find? I know this is an extreme view of the situation and I highly doubt that cache owner will even leave en mass. However, a lot of cache owners in this very thread have said that they have made all their existing caches PMO and will make all future caches PMO too because of inability to contact intro app users. It's on iTunes here https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/geocaching-intro/id329541503
  14. I agree. However, the information is there and if they look around even a little they will find these things. Does the intro app make the users aware that there is a website, and a Geocaching 101 section, and forums, and other geocachers willing to help them if they need it? To me it seems that people who are using the intro app are being isolated from everyone else. I don't think that is a good thing. I don't understand the argument that just because someone might not respond to an email that we shouldn't be able to contact anyone via email. Sure some people don't check or respond to email but if you don't ask anyone for their email address then NO ONE is able to be contacted via email.
  15. how about don't stomp down flower beds? don't log NM or NA just because you couldn't find it. Exactly right. Sometimes people need a little reminder to be respectful. Common sense isn't all that common. Nobody's prefect.
  16. If you don't ever want to be contacted then this might not be the hobby for you. You are finding caches that are were placed and are owned by other people and not by some faceless corporation. While this isn't the most social of hobbies some interaction is occasionally necessary. If you are going to be involved in a hobby were your actions can affect others then you should have a way that you can be contacted by others in that hobby. I don't check my email daily but it is a way that I can, eventually, be contacted. That's important. Sure, some people are hyper-sensitive to email advertizing but that's not a good reason to not require email validation. Besides, real spam from those you do business with doesn't happen all that often. Businesses have learned that the little bit of money they get from advertisers isn't worth ruining their relationship with their customers and getting such a bad reputation that they can't attract new customers.
  17. Nor do I but there are some cache owners who would rather not have their cache listing viable to Intro app users. At least not until the issues with the Intro app is fixed. Those CO's are opting to make their cache listings PMO. Is this really a good option? Maybe for the short term but what impact will this have if this becomes a long term solution?
  18. ...I think Intro App users are simply an easy target to blame for any problems. Trouble is that all these problems existed long before there was an Intro App. Groundspeak may have statistics to show these problems are worse since the Intro App or worse in areas with higher numbers of Intro App users. I don't suspect that will be shared. All I see is speculation or anecdotes. Hey, there's a new group to blame for all our woes. There are a couple of issues here. Intro app users are separated from the rest of the geocaching community. This has the potential of setting up a dangerous US vs THEM mentality. What is frustrating is that there is no way for those of us who want to reach out to Intro app users to do so. We don't even know if the Intro app users are being made aware that there is a geocaching community that is willing to warmly welcome them in and offer mentoring. How will they know to seek us out of they don't know that we are here? Perception is reality. One of my mentors told me this and it rings true in many circumstances, including this one. The perception is that Intro app users don't care about the hobby or the environment. The reality is that the Intro app is very successful in exposing a lot of people to geocaching. While it is bring a lot of people who respect the hobby and the environment it is also bring those who don't. The more successful the Intro app is the more of both type of people will show up. But that only increases the number of people who use apply the scorch-the-earth style to geocaching. In fact, it reenforces the perception that Intro app users use a scorched-earth method to find geocaches. The Intro app appears to be a victim of it's own success. So, maybe, it would help to have a way to prevent overly casual use of the Intro app. Make the Intro app cost something to download. It can a very little amount, like 99 cents. If I see a free app and I think I'm even a little bit interested I'll download it. If it turns out that I don't like it I can always remove it. If the app needs to be bought, even if it is something as little as 99 cents, I at least give it a little thought and maybe even read some reviews to see if this is what I really want. When my kids ask me to download an app and it's free a might glance at the description quickly but I don't think I've ever not allowed them to download a free app. If the app cost money, even 99 cents, I take a closer look. If it turns out that it is something I don't think it is appropriate from their age or that they will get board with it quickly I tell them no. If it is something that I think we should be doing together then I tell them to wait until we have time together before downloading the app.
  19. Yep, it was a typo/auto-correct error. Although vivacity does kinda fit the situation too. If you have the cache pulled up on the app and you are within' a couple of feet of the cache you certainly are not just wandering past. Anyone with a GPS in hand and that are within' a couple of feet of a cache that they are viewing should be making some kind of log entry whither it be a Note, DNF, NM, SBA, Found It, etc. The intro app should help out new users by at the very least prompting them to leave a note and possibly even do it for them if they neglect to do it themselves. Just because handheld GPS users are able to visit a cache and not make any log entries doesn't mean that it right to do so. I agree. Anything is better than nothing. Intro app users need to be encouraged to make log entries in order to develop good caching habits. If we aren't going to be given the tools to be able to mentor them then the Intro app should be changed to do this.
  20. Exactly. After a few of my listings were trashed by one user that geocached for a month and found less than 40 caches, I made my listings PMO and on my son's basic account he uses a higher D/T rating. Problem solved. I wish that cache owners were given more information about the intro app. I don't care enough to download the intro app and play around with it and I suspect many others feel the same way. So a lot of the "features" are unknown. From what I read here I though that the intro app displays all of caches nearest to the intro app user except for PMO caches. Now I learned that higher D/T rating caches aren't displayed for intro app users. Do we know at what level the cut off is? Is it just D or just T or combination of both? This information would be very helpful when deciding what D/T ratings to give new caches.
  21. NO, I think you are on your own here. What people are saying is "Make the intro app better. Here are our suggestions."
  22. I suppose that if we aren't going to be given tools to help correct this behavior we should at least be able to track it in an attempt to prevent it. The intro app should automatically make two kinds of log entries that can not be edited or deleted by the intro app user. The first is a note log whenever an app user is in the vivacity of a cache. This will allow us know when an intro app user has visited a cache and will hopefully reduce the "witch-hunts" when someone does something inappropriate at a cache location. I suppose after a predetermined time or after a predetermined distance the log could be automatically changed to a DNF log if a Found It log isn't made. There are some caches that are just not appropriate for beginners. If we aren't going to be able to opt-out of having our listing viable in the intro app then there needs be an audit log similar to the audit log for PMO caches. This way a CO can gauge how much interest his cache is getting from the intro app community. This will allow the CO to maintain or alter the cache and cache area appropriately or choose to archive the cache before any serious issues arise.
  23. This is exactly why I think that CO's should have to opt-in to having their caches listed in the intro app.
  24. I agree that the options presented when building a pocket query can be quite daunting to a newbee. In fact the term "building a pocket query" can sound very imposing but it really isn't. Here are some simple steps to building a basic query. I really don't know why there isn't a "one click" download the nearest 500 caches option. This is how do it yourself and it's easy because you only have to change a few options from their default setting. First you must be a premium member, which I see you are, then log in and click here http://www.geocaching.com/pocket/default.aspx. This is the pocket query page. Next click on "Create a new Query" In days to generate select all 7 days so that the boxes next to them all have check marks. The select "Run this query once then delete it" Now scroll down to "From Origin" and select "My Home Location" if you have told the Geocaching webpage your home coordinates or select Postal Code and enter your postal code if you are unsure if you set your home coordinates. Scroll down to "Output To" and if you don't know what a .zip file is then unselect "Compress files into *.zip format (recommended)". Now click on "submit information" Congratulations you just generated a pocket query. Now lets get it on to your GPS! GO back to http://www.geocaching.com/pocket/default.aspx and find the "Pocket Queries Ready For Download" tab and click on it. Now find thew pocket query called "New Query" and click on the name. It should automatically start a download session. Save this file somewhere you know where it is and you can access it. If you opted for the .zip file then unzip the files inside. Now connect your GPS to a USB port. When prompted, on the GPS screen, select “Connect to PC”. Your computer will see your GPS as an external hard drive called Magellan. Transfer the .GPX files from your computer to the Geocaches directory on the Magellan drive. Now disconnect and reboot your GPS. The nearest 500 caches to your location or the center of your zipcode (depending on what you chose earlier) will now be on your GPS. I know it seems quite involved but it really isn't. I wish there was a "Generate a pocket query of the nearest 500 caches" button. Something that that would make it easier to get started using pocket queries.
  25. When you are talking about the kind of change that can't be easily reversed I'd hope that most people would want to err on the side of caution.
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