alsterdrache

Das Problem wird ja genannt: keine anonymen Proxies. Entweder surfst Du also über ein Programm, was Dir einen anonymisierten VPN-Tunnel oder dergleichen aufmacht (dann bringt das mit dem Router-Reset nix) oder Du wendest Dich an Deinen Provider, wobei das sehr unwahrscheinlich ist, dass der von sich aus anonymisiert ...

Groundspeak wertet die Veröffentlichung von Tracking-Codes als "Missbrauch seines Angebots" und hat in etlichen Fällen die entsprechenden TB- oder Geocoin-Listings für weitere Log-Einträge (teilweise sogar dauerhaft) gesperrt. Man wird sogar dazu aufgefordert, veröffentlichte Tracking-Codes zu melden, damit entsprechende Maßnahmen eingeleitet werden können ...

Thank you, tozainamboku, for this both elaborate and considered contribution which I really enjoyed reading. Groundspeak is the leading platform for geocaching on the Internet and they just try their best to develop the game. In the early days, one needed to have a GPSr device, very expensive and available only for a small elite. Nowadays, after the invention of smartphones, geocaching has become a hobby for the masses. I personally consider that to be great that it has lost its elitarian character but for others, this is the pure decline of the West (I exaggerate, you know what I mean.) Along with all this, newer features like souvenirs which you reject or Challenges (those abolished in December 2012), or Challenge Geocaches are simply parts of keeping the game attractive to a broader audience. While I give all inventions at least a try before I judge on them, some people simply want to old days of, say, 2000 to 2004 back but that will not happen. Asking for having Challenge Geocaches their own icon and sub-category is a consequence of their existence that would help some people to identify them easier on the interactive map and others to avoid them in a quicker way. And yes, if there were a new icon for a "new" geocache type, some people would probably just place such a geocache in order to have that icon on their owner's list, ok, but isn't that true with all invention, use and (at least "felt") misuse, I wonder? Although that was way before I found my way to this hobby, I am really convinced that there were great, good, average, and very bad geocaches already in the early years ... Am I right, asking you as one of the pioneers? Take care & regards to Sherman Oaks! I used to live there (Hazeltine Ave.), a long time ago ... Alex

I really enjoy the vivid discussion here but don't get lost in minor or technical details, guys ... Have a great weekend everybody!

Jeeez! I wouldn't have approved that one. How does it go along with this excerpt from the guidelines "A challenge geocache needs to appeal to, and be attainable by, a reasonable number of geocachers." ? I then understand very well why some geocachers don't like Challenge Geocaches but this one above seems to be an exception ... There are simply great Challenges (that show you nice places, let you do enjoyable activities, or anything positive like that) and there are - ehm - rather unusual Challenge Geocaches that let me personally come to the conclusion that some GCOs might only want to brag with their achievements. But all this doesn't have to do with the idea of giving them their own (sub-)category and icon in the end. We should differentiate here.

Am I right that you're exaggerating and that those Challenge Geocaches don't exist? Otherwise, please provide the GC codes, at least for the two bold ones, since such requirements are simply not realistic to reach ... For me, a serious discussion implies that we take only such listings as the basis for any argumentation that positively passed the review process.

... und genau das wäre meine Empfehlung: Baust Du einen Geocache so um, dass sich (zumindest teilweise) etwas Neues ergibt, würde ich erwägen, das alte Listing zu archivieren und ein neues "drüber" zu legen. Zumal sich bei einem neuen Final vielleicht ja auch die D-/T-Wertung verändert; diese Diskussion hatten wir hier auch mehrfach schon. Für manche ist "FTF" etwas sehr wichtiges, mir isses schnuppe, aber aus dem Bauch raus würde ich außerdem sagen, dass es das nur einmal geben kann, nämlich der erste Fund nach dem Publishing.

Thanks for this reply but I was rather thinking of a general poll that reaches all, for example when you log in, you have to cast a vote (then, or later on after having made up your mind, or with the option not to take part in it, too) which is internally combined with your profile that makes sure that you can't cast a second one. The invention of a new icon is too seldom and too important just to ask those who are active here (which I assume to be a rather small fraction of all users). Technically, all this is no deal; that's why I can't go along with your "limited ressources" argument: I bet that the invention of a whole new platform for GC Labs (which is great) took/takes way more capacities. But by simply allowing something like challenges as puzzle geocaches in the past and giving them their own rules, Groundspeak itself paved the way to the second stage which is from my personal point of view to separate them from regular mysteries and promote them by inventing a new icon. I know that polls have been abolished some time ago but wouldn't it be really interesting to see what the results were if you ask (and reach) almost all players by my suggested announcement/poll after their login? All in all, we're just thinking of how to develop the game ... Making Challenge Geocaches visible on maps and filterable in PQs would be 2.0!

These wise Canadians! The statement above is so true! It's up to you how you do geocaching ... Just to mention my main points again: A new icon (recycle the old one for it!) and a sub-category under puzzle geocaches both make sense since Challenge Geocaches have their own rules in the guidelines while other kinds of puzzle geocaches don't. That's why an attribut is just not enough. Moreover, the argument for a quicker selection on the interactive map is another important aspect. And it works both ways: Those of you who want to ignore Challenge Geocaches could then identify them much quicker as well as also those of us who like Challenge Geocaches and are actively looking for them on the map. Right now, you have to read at least the title or name of each mystery geocache (but I've seen that the adding of the suffix "[Challenge]" doesn't work corectly in all cases) in order to find out what each individual geocache is about. As I said, a poll would be a great idea ... Thanks to everyone for this great and vivid discussion that was triggered! I explicitly include the negative criticism into my appreciation,too. It's always fruitful to exchange different opinions.

Siehste Frau Lebbetter, old bug - still there: Sagte ich Dir gestern ja, dass das doch noch nicht behoben wurde. Aber Danke schonmal für die Auskunft, dass die Geräteliste künftig wegfällt.

Das ist mit Sicherheit das Klügste! Ich war gute 6 Monate Basis-Mitglied, bevor ich vor meinem ersten MEGA mir Premium zulegte. Es gibt auch die Möglichkeit einer Testmitgliedschaft, die variiert in der Dauer (je nachdem, wer die vergibt), ist vielleicht aber auch eine gute Idee, z. B. im Sommer oder vorm Urlaub, wenn man Zeit hat, alles selbst gut auszutesten und danach weiß, ob man dafür langfristig Geld ausgeben will oder nicht. Wenn Du daran Interesse hast, schreib mal 23Hunter an, der vergibt Testmitgliedschaften über geopt.org (meine ich zu wissen, just ask him for it). Happy Caching!

Right, and I might add, that some people might think that they need to hurry to fulfill all requirements but I say: Vice versa, take your time, guys. Some logging requirements can only be met after a year or two of regularly visiting events (i. e. to get actively involved into the GC community) or some traveling in order to visit all European kingdoms and so on. That is what I call a real challenge, literally. And isn't it great to really have future aims by accepting those challenges? And those folks who say, nay, I'm out: fine, put them on your ignore bookmark list. That's its purpose. My opinion is that this puzzle geocache type is an enrichment of the game. And well, there are good and bad challenges as there are good and bad geocaches, too. Once again, in the end, it's just a game ...

... wobei ich beim Thema "30 Euro"-Verteuerung noch einmal klar herausstellen möchte, dass bei einem Abo (recurring membership) es immer beim Betrag bleibt, der gegolten hat, als diese Premium-Mitgliedschaft erstmals erworben wurde, sofern diese ununterbrochen weitergeführt wird! Dieser Punkt geht bei der ganzen Debatte leider total unter, bedeutet aber, dass der höhere Satz von 30 Euro nur für neu abgeschlossene Premium-Mitgliedschaften gilt, nicht für alte, bereits bestehende. Wer's mir nicht glaubt (...), findet hier die klare Aussage von Jon dazu vom April 2013.

How so? Everyone I've seen is a numbers/grid-filling game. Find 100 LetterboxersFind 100 Letterboxers in 10 different countiesFind 100 Letterboxes in 5 different countriesFind 100 Letterboxes where D/T combined equals 5 or more Due to the current guidelines, all Challenge Geocaches have to have an affirmative aim. That is a factual limitation of options, but I understand (and go along with) this rule though. Therefore, in the end, all Challenges have something to do with a certain amount of geocaches that has to be found, yes, BUT on the way to it, one can find really creative ones. Some examples: - find a geocache in all 16 federal states of Germany within 24 hours (I personally wouldn't do that one since it's not very environmental friendly to waste gas on that but many people like such a challenge since that requires a lot of brainwork beforehand and planning: How many cars, who sleeps when, where to take a break - it is a real challenge!) - find an earth-cache from each earth age (First, you have to find out what earth ages there are, then where you can find fitting ECs, and third, you have to collect them almost in all over Europe ... A nice task for your next summer vacations with the kids!) - Log a geocache in all European capitals (loevly challenge since those tiny kingdoms and principalities like Luxemburg, Liechtenstein, Andorra, The Holy See, San Marino, Monaco and so on are tricky indeed - it might take years to fulfill such a task but it's worth it) - 360° degree challenge:find at least one cache on each degree around your home zone (that's a tricky one) - my own newest Challenge requires to find Waymarks and to get accostumed with this other Groundspeak project that looks a bit old-fashioned in the age of smartphone apps but still has a lot of potential in it, e.g. for solving puzzle geocaches ... - A-Z challenge: find a geocache for each letter of the alphabet - another one of my own challenges requires at have found at least one geocache in Spain - quite an easy task. But the coordinates of the final are hidden in a hand-written Spanish text which makes it harder to use Google Translator but you have to use your own language skills (or the help of a waiter at your favorite tapas bar) instead to find the final! Just have a look at several bookmark lists of Challenge Geocaches in Europe like this one. You might not understand all the languages in the listings (alternatively, pick lists from the United Kingdom like this one or this one!) but try to figure out the aims and you will be surprised to see that not all require BS like to visit 100 events (which is, in fact, my first own Challenge Geocache -> I try not take myself too serious!) You should give that all a try at least! It's a game, not the United Nations or so ... Regards, alsterdrache

Die Premium-Mitgliedschaft lohnt sich aus verschiedenen Gründen: Der wichtigste ist, dass man selbst PMO-Geocaches sehen kann (loggen kann man die auch als Basis-Mitglied; wie das geht, erkläre beispielsweise ich im 4. Absatz meines Profiltextes). Für wen Statistiken wichtig sind, kann häufig Drittanbietertools nur mit Premium-Status nutzen, beispielsweise bei den grandiosen Schweden von project-gc.com oder Verwaltungstools wie geopt.org (genial für den schnellen Upload von Fotos oder zum loggen von Geocoins) - und jetzt im Februar konnten auch nur Premium-Mitglieder Lab Caches erstellen bzw. es wird auch künftig immer mal wieder Funktionen geben, die nicht von Basis-Mitgliedern genutzt werden können. Und obwohl ich die 23/30-Euro-Verteuerungsdebatte verstehe, gebe ich persönlich für andere Hobbies noch sehr viel mehr Geld aus, aber das ist ein anderes Thema, was vermutlich keinen hier interessiert ...

Das ist ein Fehler bei der Website, der längst behoben sein sollte ... denn es wird zwar ein Captcha abgefragt, aber keines angezeigt. Bitte etwas Geduld, ich kümmere mich mal um die Sache.

Ok, hat sich das Problem inzwischen gelöst? Richtig ist, dass man für jedes Profil eine unterschiedliche E-Mail-Adresse benötigt. Und manche Profilnamen sind nicht wählbar, beispielsweise solche mit NS-Bezug. Das sind aber nur wenige Ausnahmen, deswegen vermute ich, dass es daran liegen könnte, einer E-Mail-Adresse zwei Profile zuzuweisen. Gib doch bitte mal ne Rückmeldung hier.

I haven't heard Jeremy saying that he doesn't want them to have their own sub-category or icon; these are just rumors. And I wish Groundspeak would consider a public poll on that to simply ask the community what they want or don't want. My personal perception is that mainly "old geocachers" are against all kinds of innovation in general, not only in this thread (cf. Lab Geocaches or Souvenirs for example). For me, geocaching is "young," "innovative," and yes, it started to change a lot by the development of smartphones and the GC app. That's both a simple and irreversible fact, so we all have to look forward and move on with it to "Geocaching 2.0:" I used to dislike Challenge Geocaches until I discovered that they have more potential for creativity than just "Find 100 Letterboxes" or so. And I was surprised to see at my Maker Madness Challenge Geocaches theme event last Sunday how many new Challenge Geocaches are already in preparation by the attendees of the event: roughly 40 new ones just for northern Germany. That's amazing and shows that they're becoming more and more popular (at least here). Creating an own category and icon would be the logical consequence if this turns out to be a general tendency within the community. Thanks for listening.

LOL, ja, meine eigenen Dosen musste ich auch schon selbst suchen, das stimmt. Und auch ich habe zwei Adoptivkinder, die ich vor der Adoption ganz normal gesucht und gefunden habe. Warum sollte man solche Funde später löschen, nur weil man die Verwaltung der Dosen übernommen hat? Als ich die beiden Geocaches gesucht habe, wusste ich ja noch gar nicht, dass ich die mal übernehmen würde. Insofern habe ich die natürlich bestehen lassen. Doppellogs findet man übrigens hervorragend mit dem Tool "Finde schlechte Logs" (was für eine süße wörtliche Übersetzung!) von project-gc.com.

Also, keine Panik, Du hast Dich einfach verklickt. Als erstes "Move to Inventory", dann ist er aus der Collection raus und Du kannst ihn irgendwo mit einem Log per drop ablegen und bist das Teil los. Ganz einfach.

Kann mich nur anschließen. Eigene Geocaches zu loggen ist zwar nicht verboten, aber doch reichlich seltsam, da ich als Owner ja weiß, wo die Dosen jeweils sind, und wenn ich nix suche, kann ich auch nix finden. Bei Events ist das anders: Da heißt es "attended" - und das hab ich ja! Gruß von HH nach HH :-)

No, you got me wrong. If you log the HQ geocache, for example, it will show up as a sub-category of your mystery geocaches. Or the event category has three sub-categories split into regular events, CITOs, and MEGAs.

Yesterday, we had a cozy "Makers Madness Theme Event" that ended up with a petition for a sub-category for Challenge Geocaches. And we want them to have their own icon, too. Our proposal is to recycle the old Challenges icon. Our little petition: http://imgcdn.geocaching.com/cache/log/964ae66f-40bb-4d37-a2d7-04a9da93a855.jpg And that could be the proposal for a suitable icon: http://img.geocaching.com/cache/02b35e55-504d-4db7-bcc1-783c8c60f620.jpg Cheers, alsterdrache

Hi guys, today, we had a nice, cozy, outdoor Maker Madness theme event in Hamburg, Germany. Our topic was "Challenge Geocaches." Almost all participants agreed on the proposal that they should become a sub-category of Mystery Geocaches and deserve their own icon. I know that this has been up before but there is no reason not to post it again here ... And this is the petition: http://imgcdn.geocaching.com/cache/log/964ae66f-40bb-4d37-a2d7-04a9da93a855.jpg Cheers, alsterdrache

EEwwww, ok. Das is ja dann schon eher ein klassischer CITO ... Also Ufer saubermachen. Jo. Dann klär mal die Frage der Besitzverhältnisse und auf geht's. Verpflegung erwartet keiner, aber ich hab im 1-€-Schop letztes Mal einen Packen Greifer besorgt und (natürlich zum Selbstkostenpreis) abgegeben an die, die keinen hatten. Das kam gut an. Wenn Du den CITO machst, poste doch mal den GC-Code hier, dann freuen wir uns mit Dir! Viel Erfolg!