6NoisyHikers

I think the Summer Road Trip is not about challenges; it is a collection of caches that encourage players to use the new search engine to find caches that fit those parameters.

Thank you, Geobain! Agree 1,000,000%

I notice, and actively look for, favorite points. But i also make sure to read logs too. For example, favs mean nothing to me if they were put on a cache soley because of it's age. A cache placed in 2000 or 2001 doesn't automatically equate to being a good cache. Many times the listing is the same but the cache has been replaced, moved, or changed in size and is nothing like it originally was placed. What others have said,, writing up a good log with a few details on what you liked about the cache is probably a better way of showing gratitude. Doing this also gives useable information, along with a nice read, to future finders. How do you know why someone put a favourite point on a cache? Exactly - you don't. Unless you want to take the time to cross-reference the list of who favourited a cache and the logs they wrote, which might give you some inkling of the why. I have given away nine totally irrelevant favourite points - one for each 100 cache milestone. I know a lot of people will give a favourite point just because they are first to find. The OP is suggesting that basic members can earn a favourite point for every 100 caches found (instead of every 10), which sounds reasonable to me and doesn't seem too infringing on PM benefits. However, maybe Pup Patrol has a point: What if the next request is one pocket query a week? I'm not sure that would concern me either, but I appreciate that it would bother others.

That is a great article! Thanks Keystone for the link and extra thanks to the Blorenges for writing it. I learned something new about the app today.

You've done about as much as you can by contacting the cache owner. The Seaglass Pirate is right that a reviewer will eventually notice the long-term disable and give the CO a nudge. I've never used the ignore feature - does this remove the icon from the map? Is it possible to both ignore and watch a cache at the same time? I know this sounds odd, but it might help with the visual irritation while keeping the door open for a notification when something happens with the cache.

That sounds like a reasonable idea to me. In the meantime, one of the best ways you can thank a cache owner is to write a really nice log telling them about your adventure and how much you enjoyed yourself. A favourite point is a marker, but it doesn't tell anything about what made the cache your favourite. In some cases it will be the view, in other cases it may be the container or the challenge of the find or if it is a special milestone for you.

Then why on earth would you suggest that people defer to flat aerial images on a computer screen that can be hundreds of feet off from actual coordinates? Narcissa, do you have any information to add to this topic?

I read about a cache like this awhile back. The CO had a sticker on their vehicle with coordinates to a final location where the cache was placed. He/She described where the vehicle was *usually* parked (at work/home) but essentially people had to find the car to in order to find the cache location. Of course, permission would be a major issue to put any sort of sticker on a bus. I think I would be evil and have the north coordinates on one car and the west coordinates on the other car. Eventually people just end up sharing the coordinates with each other but it would be fun to see who manages to be first to find it. I love the idea of a sticker with coords on our car. What do you think the difficulty rating should be on a cache like that?

Apparently I am too ninja for Roman Let me quote my earlier post to re-establish my position: It is always good to have a discussion about appropriate containers and hear facts about potential environmental impacts. However, a solid plastic, waterproof BOX, which has not been used for food, is an extremely low-risk container. With regular maintenance checkups and some education in the community about appropriate swag (ie: no candy or anything scented), there should be no harm to the creatures in that environment. It might be useful to consider what type of animals live near a cache location and whether they might be drawn to certain elements of a container. I believe there was a discussion a while back about some rodents likino the adhesive on the camo duct tape sometimes used to wrap containers. We should also be aware of touching a container and its contents with trail-mix and granola bar sticky fingers!

Now that's enough from you too, Whoseyerman. Respect now or I'll turn this thread around and we'll all go home.

Guys, seriously, we can have a discussion about the environmental impact of containers. Even if you think the OP is a troll, it's still a valid discussion. Those who feel there is trolling going on, you are welcome to ignore or bow out. Those who are interested in the discussion can continue on topic.

Can anyone post some gallery pictures of existing caches in West Ireland so we can see what the OP is concerned about? It is always good to have a discussion about appropriate containers and hear facts about potential environmental impacts. However, a solid plastic, waterproof BOX, which has not been used for food, is an extremely low-risk container. With regular maintenance checkups and some education in the community about appropriate swag (ie: no candy or anything scented), there should be no harm to the creatures in that environment. It might be useful to consider what type of animals live near a cache location and whether they might be drawn to certain elements of a container. I believe there was a discussion a while back about some rodents likino the adhesive on the camo duct tape sometimes used to wrap containers. We should also be aware of touching a container and its contents with trail-mix and granola bar sticky fingers!

I just want to go on record as a supporter of the new Message Centre who is looking forward to promised updates and follow up on suggestions (quit rolling your eyes you guys!) First priority: send the whole message in the notification email. This immediately solves the concerns of users who require the message management structure of proper email software. (And while you're at it, switch back to plain text messaging )

Actually, that was me. I asked for it. A message centre that connects through the website and apps was the best way to reach the notorious Intro App users. And (once features are finalized), this type of platform will work best for me because I visit the website almost every day but I could go a week without checking email. A straight-forward solution for users who prefer email contact is to include the entirety of the message in the notification email. Follow that with three links: Reply through Message Centre, Reply via Email (if the user has shared it), and Sender's Profile. Job done.

I noticed two issues: 1. I'm not getting the little yellow circle stating that I have # of new mesages. Using the latest Firefox browser. 2. My Samsung Galaxy tablet running the latest Jellybean OS doesn't like the message centre at all. It gives me a communication error. BUT - I much prefer this style of messaging platform. As it is in beta, I hope to see a near-future increase in the character limit and the entire message sent with the email notification.

That is exciting! I hope it's not a joke, too.

Samkalpa - my only suggestion is to clear the caches from your unit, reload fresh versions of the pocket queries, and go out caching again. When you've spent enough time outside, turn off your unit, then turn it back on again and see if the cache files are still reading. If so, don't worry about it until October.

Driving through Ontario... no matter how long you're on the road, you're always still 300kms to Sault Ste. Marie...

Nice to meet you, Breaktrack! It's great to have a Charter Member join the conversation. I think this was brought up a while back in some long-gone thread but wouldn't it be nice to have a pinned list of members who were "dedicated practitioners" or "specialists" in geocaching who would be considered the people to talk to about certain facets of the game? A pinned thread at the top of the three major subforums could be entitled "Ask A Cacher" and contain the names, profile links and contact info (if offered) of people willing to be a direct resource to their fellow cachers. Breaktrack, for example, if he were willing, could be the go-to guy for questions and insight into Virtuals. NeverSummer might be listed under "Friendly Neighbourhood Cacher". PupPatrol would obviously be "Guideline Guru". The value of "old-timers" in caching is dependant not on their longevity but on their activity. Are you passionate about your role as a player? Do you want to be a part of the geocaching community or play on your own (which is okay too)? I think sometimes people forget that geocaching isn't Groundspeak. Geocaching is us. It is what we choose to hide, what we choose to find, and what we choose to share. Thanks for checking in, Breaktrack. I'm off to stalk your profile and plan my next adventure!

Not only do we CITO on a regular basis, we also take care of a street in our neighbourhood. The city made us a road sign that says "This street is maintained by 6NOISYHIKERS"

Any chance the downloaded file needed to be unzipped?

Just a note from a Canadian: Please include our provinces and territories in the first search page parameters. Right now, neither BC or British Columbia works to set a center point. You can, however, choose "Vancouver" as a city and it gives me results in Vancouver, BC. What results do the cachers in Vancouver, Washington get? Being able to default to our home location would be great - maybe just a check box on the first page that says "search from your home coords". I didn't realise I could type HOME in the search box until I read it in this forum. Otherwise, the filters are great. Now we just need to increase the search radius to 20,000km and add a link at the bottom of the results and on the map that says "Create Pocket Query". Edit to add: A center point of "Maple Creek" gave me results in Wisconsin instead of Saskatchewan. More edits: "Maple Creek, SK" gives me results in Saskatchewan, but "SK" gives me results in Slovakia!

Over here in BC, we never meet in parking lots. That's dangerous - all those cars coming and going. We meet at picnic tables.

This may be the first post by narcissa with which I can agree. (and that's likely because it is in juxtaposition to the views of cezanne) Maybe. This may be the first post I have ever seen you write. Who keeps track?

Before your next event, print out some business cards with your caching name and email and advertise yourself as a tree climber. Hand them out to all those old fogey cachers and tell them to call you next time they need a hand with a D4 cache.