mvhayes1982
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Posts posted by mvhayes1982
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I appreciate DCondon up there being 28 so that my 35 year old self isn't the youngest on this thread. I have no desire to climb trees, so I suppose that aspect of youth is wasted on me. I often get jealous of the "well-seasoned" folks that whose logs I read in my area... The ones that I know are retired and have generally unlimited caching time. Between work, 2nd job, coaching my nephews baseball teams -- it gets extremely difficult to make time for more than a simple Park and Grab (A cache that is easily accessible, just a short walk from a safe place to park your car.)
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Pardon me for using "all" when I definitely meant "most".
I assumed it wasn't an acronym, but couldn't figure out why else it might end up as SWAG so often.
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The threads on this forum about the quantity and quality (or lack thereof) swag in caches are numerous (and all exactly the same).
My question is, why in the heck do we all capitalize SWAG every time we type it?
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On 5/15/2017 at 6:08 PM, jefflebow said:
Hello everyone,
I am new to geocaching and have a question concerning the app. For the last (and first) week i have used c:geo and I could do every cache except the premium caches of course. Now I have downloaded the official geocaching app and I can't even view mystery caches anymore? Do I really have to buy premium to do that, or what am I doing wrong? I originally downloaded the official app because someone said that you can only do a limited number of caches per day. Is that also true? I just want to be sure, so that I am not disappointed when I buy premium.
I am looking forward to your answers!
Yes - to have full access to Geocaching through the official geocaching app, you have to upgrade your membership to premium. There are other ways to access everything but Premium Member Only caches -- 3rd party apps, using the website and a GPSr.
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On 8/5/2017 at 1:15 AM, noncentric said:
This is interesting. I've thought about it and can't figure out a reason to have the "Auto" setting. Not trying to bash your idea, just trying to understand how that would work.
Would "Always Posted" show posted coords for all caches, even if those caches have corrected coords? That makes sense to me.
Would "Always Solved" show the solved locations for caches with corrected coords, and then would caches without corrected coords be shown at all?
My idea was a two-way toggle:
- ON = caches with corrected coords show at corrected locations, with puzzle icons - all other caches show at posted coords with standard cache icons
- OFF = all caches show at their posted coords, with standard cache icons
I'm not sure if you're referring to just the Android app or the website as well. There wouldn't be much reason on the app to ever show the found caches back at their posted coordinates -- but for the website map...
I see GeoArt. I solve puzzles in the GeoArt - cache location moves to solved location. I find caches in GeoArt - Smiley appears on map, reconstructing the GeoArt as I find each cache. After finding the caches, I have a nice Smiley GeoArt on my map. While perhaps not "useful" in any practical manner, I do enjoy seeing this on my map.
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1 hour ago, dubidubno said:
Why is there a yellow dot on the menu / profile picture? It is not present on the website. I have no unread messages and no drafts.
App version 5.6.1.Click your profile picture in the App. Likely, you have new souvenirs. Viewing your souvenirs will likely make the yellow dot go away.
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3 minutes ago, dubidubno said:
I don't, because surely publication time can be scheduled? It should be easy enough for Groundspeak to implement.
What would be the purpose of scheduling publication time? Reviewers publish caches when they have the time to review and publish them. To schedule publication to accommodate an individual (or a particular group) of cachers would only invite MORE claims of bias (and perhaps claims with actual basis, unlike the claims made here).
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1 hour ago, niraD said:
I think it would be much more interesting to create another "everyone gets FTF" cache than to create one that is deliberately annoying.
Please elaborate -- this does sound much more interesting.
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OP hasn't posted in this thread since its inception -- Yet we've all done a fantastic job of rough drafting their business plan for them, identifying the obstacles, designing package services, identifying the variables that might create price points.
Well done, folks. Well done.
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7 hours ago, Mama514 said:
In 17 years, has this ever happened? Anyway, how would someone who didn't place the cache remove the red wrench? The cache owner gives the company worker their info? Nope.
I'm not saying your reply was dumb (please believe that) I just think that the whole idea of this paying someone to fix your cache is dumb.... To the point that I believe the OP was joking.
The cache owner would go in and enter the "Owner Maintenance" after the company had serviced the cache.
7 hours ago, WarNinjas said:My question is still what does everyone think the cost would be to make it profitable for the person doing it? Figuring that they say min wage will soon be $15 a hour. You couldn't just do a 10 mile radius around your house and expect many customers so it would have to be a wide area. The time it would take to get the request, Get the container together, even a basic container might take some thought at times to get. Then drive there and possibility hike a bit or climb a tree or kayak. Take pictures of it as others have mentioned. Send them over. Figure out how to get the payment.
Then I would also factor in that maybe 1 out of every 10 jobs done there might be a unhappy customer because the cache had the same original problem and went missing before someone found it and you might have to give there money back.
My guess would be around 2 hours per cache serviced. Plus container and gas and all. I think that would put the average cacher out of wanting to use the service. Not that I think this would work for many other reasons. If someone wanted to just do it for fun but I can't see it being done for profit.
Minimum wage wouldn't matter, unless this thing got so successful that the Cache Maintenance Service had to hire additional employees. I picture the company offering two levels of service:
Basic Service: Generic Containers, little hiking/biking/kayaking/bushwhacking involved. T3 and below. Quick and easy and low impact. (Think power trails/geo-art/etc)
Extreme Service: Custom and/or specific styled containers. T3.5+, Greater time commitment.
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1 hour ago, Schirf said:
I have one that requires the cacher to pour a half gallon of water into it and it's been rejected by more places than I care to remember. It's designed to be wet.
https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC2TGXF_archimedes-my-kind-of-guy We have one like that in Louisville. It is one of the very few gadget caches I've ever found, but definitely one of my favorite caches ever.
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9 hours ago, narcissa said:
There have been some attempts at businesses that place and maintain caches on behalf of others, but now that I think about it they have all been in conjunction with outside businesses and organizations. ... There was one around here that sold subscriptions to small businesses all over the region. . . . I recall another group trying to organize meetings for a similar venture. . . . Again I think they were trying to get small businesses and organizations to subscribe and it just wasn't feasible.
I don't think I have seen anyone with a business that attempted to sell maintenance to other geocachers.
1 hour ago, RufusClupea said:???
Isn't that what we're talking about?
? Could you please clarify; that appears self-contradictory with the previous statement.
So I haven't gotten the hang of this multi part quoting in the new forums, so forgive me...
I *think* what Narcissa was trying to say is that the groups/business she's seen try this service have been marketing the service to other businesses. Not to individual cachers. Companies/groups that would try to use cache placement as a marketing platform -- which, is basically impossible due to the commercial restrictions on cache listings.
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46 minutes ago, J Grouchy said:
"Good spots" is a subjective term. Is your definition of "good spots" limited to wooded hikes or are you open to a greater variety? If the latter...well, I can tell you there is no end to "good spots". You just need to go exploring a bit.
You're not at all wrong. I'm open to a great variety. My greatest obstacles are my overall lack of creativity and... call it shyness or whatever, but just figuring out (once I find a spot) how to ask for permission to place the hide.
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I know this is an old thread -- but I thought I'd throw in my 2 cents.
I'm 7 days into a run at 366 days, aiming to fill in my calendar grid and beating my previous high streak of 31 (Thank you Groundspeak for the 2013 August souvenirs). November 25th will be my 6th anniversary as a cacher, and I'd like to find 261 caches before then. That'll get my overall "Finds Per Day" up to 0.5. And lastly, I'm trying to figure out where the heck to hide a cache. No skirt-lifters. While I certainly find those and log them -- I don't want my hides to be the "well, here was an empty spot". The problem I face is that there are some awesome cache-owners (both the creative and the prolific) in my neck of the woods, so many of the good spots are just gone.
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4 hours ago, SeattleWayne said:
If you cache falls apart while you're on holiday just write a note saying you're on vacation, and you'll tend to your cache once you're home. If you're gone for longer then a month, just update your cache log with another note saying you're on vacation so people know what's going on. Pretty easy. No need to pay someone for anything in this game.
There is definitely no NEED to pay anyone for anything in this hobby. But that doesn't change the discussion as to whether or not there are those who would WANT to pay for such a service.
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This can't come quick enough!! Definitely looking forward to this update!
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13 hours ago, Max and 99 said:
I totally understand the thought behind this post. Last week I found a micro almost 12 miles from the posted coordinates, even though the new cacher insisted her coordinates were right. Don't worry-I've been helping her since then.
But my favorite puzzle cache of all time was a FIRST cache created by a college student. It was fantastic! I might not have gotten to enjoy that one if a min. # found was required before placing a cache.
12 miles??? how on Earth did you even find it?? This is a story that I think we all deserve to hear.
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I'm really conflicted on this one -- on one hand, I'm all for MAINTAIN YOUR OWN DOGGONED CACHES OR ARCHIVE THEM IF YOU CAN'T BECAUSE COMMUNITY MAINTENANCE HURTS THE GAME....
But on the other hand, I have deep respect for people with a hustle -- and if somebody was wiling to pay for a "Cache Maintenance Service" -- is Groundspeak really in a position to deny that? The HOA mandating that you cut your grass, and you hiring the local landscape company is a great analogy.
I was super convinced when this thread started that the OP was going to get roasted and was willing to fan the flames... But The Jester has created a hard question in my mind now.
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14 minutes ago, AntMadeira said:
Hi there.
I was checking my profile page and I didn't find any souvenir regarding the second week of this pirate thing, although I have accomplished the minimum coins and the "team" also got more than 30 coins. Am I missing something here or the souvenir is only given at the end of the "Friend League"?
The souvenir for the 1st week will be awarded tomorrow (Wednesday). The weekly souvenirs will be awarded on the Wednesday following each week of scoring.
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1 hour ago, narcissa said:
If that was true, then there wouldn't be endless threads discussing the false positive issue. The system only sees DNF and is incapable of determining context.
I write DNFs largely for my own benefit as a record of unsuccessful attempts, and yet the forum assures me that I have no business posting DNFs unless I believe a cache is missing. That means that it is nearly impossible for me to qualify to log a DNF by the standards repeatedly underscored by other forum users, since I would never presume a cache to be missing just because I didn't find it.
Since I don't want to cause hassle for cache owners by triggering the email, and since the forum assures me that I was using DNFs incorrectly anyway, I see no point in logging them.
The new logging system also seems to be designed to discourage detail in logs in general, so I think I should take the hint.
While I realize that there are several folks in here who have tried to assert that a DNF [only =] missing cache, there are a few of us, myself included, who have encouraged you to log DNFs whenever YOU want to log your DNFs. If by YOUR definition you conducted a search (whether that occurred at GZ, sitting in the car in the parking lot, somewhere in between, or somewhere even before) then by all means, please log a DNF.
This is a 13 page thread, which is in my mind, much ado about nothing. I've attempted to persuade you to simply enjoy this hobby in the way that is best for you (which, full disclosure, I believe to also be the way that is best for the community). Apparently it is a good thing that I passed on law school, as my ability to make a persuasive argument seems to have slipped.
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5 hours ago, justintim1999 said:
So your saying that dnfs have no bearing on the cache's condition and should be ignored completely?
DNF = problem is not entirely a false notion.
Yes it is. Absolutely yes it is.
DNFs do NOT equal a problem with a cache. Simply put. I fail to find caches on a regular basis that are being found by others. Caches that are in perfect condition.
DNF may possibly be a singular indicator, but the suggestion that they EQUAL (as in, definitely mean there is) a problem with the cache is simply not true.
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46 minutes ago, narcissa said:
The email doesn't address a major issue of concern that people keep bringing up, which is the issue of so-called false positives where the context of a DNF is being totally ignored by the new system. It just underscores this false notion that DNF = problem. Since what I have to say in a DNF is clearly unimportant, why bother logging them?
What you have to say in a DNF is absolutely important to:
You - If you track your DNFs and use them to keep a record of your searching
Me (and many other cachers)- If I come behind you searching for a cache and you've included relevant information in your DNF log that will help me decide a) should I search for this cache b ) where should I start my search c) are there areas I need to take a closer look/possibly not spend as much time on.
Just because the algorithm doesn't take into account the content of your DNF log, does not mean that said content is not important. It just means that the now-known-to-be-fairly-harmless CHS email doesn't take into account the content of your log. I know, for me personally, being able to relive my "failures" in geocaching and to share those trials with other members of our community are worth far too much to simply abandon logging my DNFs.
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I emailed Groundspeak. I've attached their response that "caches will not be archived as a result of these emails."
I hope this helps all of us continue to enjoy this wonderful hobby in a way that is best for you.
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4 hours ago, niraD said:
The information is still available if you hover over the username/avatar. (And someone had to point this out to me too.)
Thank you!
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Isn't that what we're talking about?
time limited challenge caches
in General geocaching topics
Posted
The very distinct difference between Challenge Caches and a Mary Hyde type promotion is that one restricts the ability to "find" geocaches, the other does not. Groundspeak has created a promotion that encourages the finding of caches in a certain time frame. If I do not meet the requirements of the promotion, that does not prohibit me from finding even one single cache.
Prior to the adjustment of the challenge cache guidelines, a hider could place any number of caches in their area, set whatever guidelines they desired for those caches, and basically limit the ability of other cachers in their area to find those caches.
We can debate the good or bad of the new challenge cache restrictions all day... but I believe that trying to compare those restrictions to a Mary Hyde type promotion is as Apples to Oranges Off Topic as you can get.