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Ragnemalm

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Posts posted by Ragnemalm

  1. On 6/21/2024 at 9:36 PM, talk2azs said:

    Hi all,

     

    I too came up with a new MOB service right as the existing MOB event caches were being archived. I was also going through the vetting process, which I was given the thumbs down. The issue with new MOB services is that GCHQ has to follow laws by protecting online privacy. This includes any personal data that gets sent by a users device. Sent data includes live GPS coordinates. Yes the end user has to give permission to allow the sending of a device location, but under GCHQ interpretation of the law, end users giving permission to send GPS information does not constitute legality in this case. Things may change in the future, but for now we must respect GCHQ rules in these matters. 

     

    This is the first time I see any clear data about what the rule actually is. It is crazy that we can't send coordinates if they (1) do not include identification and (2) the user has given permission. Even crazier is that I asked the support about this twice and never got a clear answer. First I got a copy-paste and the second time they didn't respond at all.

     

    OK, so the rule is that no locations are to be sent to the server? But what if we don't send coordinates to the server but process them locally? The coordinates never leave the user's device? That must be legal.

  2. 3 hours ago, arisoft said:

    It is all about data collection. So a statement that no user data is collected is what resolves all issues?

    If that would be the case, it would be wonderful! I don't need to collect data to make a fun myst based on an online solution.

  3. "www.geocaching.com says

    You're about to leave Geocaching.com.
    Please note: External links have not been reviewed by Geocaching.com."

     

    Isn't this all Groundspeak needs to be safe? We are visiting all kinds of pages when solving mysteries. We are allowed to link to external pages, right? As long as they are not full with ads? Or not?

     

    So if I make a mystery that links to my JavaScript game, it is not OK? Or my own myst checker?

     

    Where is this rule actually stated in the guidelines?

  4. 2 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

    I had a little trouble understanding how they arrived at the conclusions in the blog post, liked the true DNF rate:

    • Actual DNF rates were 3–5 times higher than what was reported in online logs, with some countries showing true DNF rates near or above 20 percent (compared with 6–8 percent in online logs).

    Absolutely. What does this mean? What are the "actual DNF rates"? Is someone counting DNF-style "note", or "found it" that should be DNF? Sounds like an impossible job.

    • Upvote 1
  5. 2 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

    This is a DNF that was recently logged on one of my multis:

     

    image.png.79a14c698dbcf9d6921dfea05300ecda.png

     

    Is that a valid DNF? I think it is because the logger had been trying to find the cache but didn't succeed in getting her name in the logbook. The DNF also puts a blue frowny on her map as a reminder to come back and try again sometime. I would hope that, if a DNF like this resulted in a CHS ping, the reviewer would at least read the log before deciding whether to take further action.

     

    More problematic is this one though, also on one of my multis:

     

    image.png.cf6ebde5d243c34609fdecd90bdfb52f.png

     

    I messaged the logger to try to find out more information and they said they'd gotten to WP6 but then decided they weren't adequately dressed to head off-trail into the scrub to get to GZ.

     

    DNF logs can cover a broad spectrum of scenarios so something more than just "DNF" is needed to be helpful to the CO, other searchers and the reviewers.

    I think both your cases are good examples of bad DNFs. The first is "didn't really search - DNF", the other is "didn't find"- what? I got a DNF of a multi I have with four stages and final. I messaged the person logging DNF for some detail, no response.

     

    There is a broad spectrum, and I include cases in that spectrum where the DNF really isn't called for.

     

    But I must say that there is definitely the opposite case, especially "found it" when you didn't find it. I had one just a few days ago. Found my birdhouse, "there was no log in it", wrote a signature on the outside of the birdhouse! I definitely would have preferred a DNF there. Yes, there was a log, and I had to take down the birdhouse to paint over the incorrect log. On the positive side, it could use the paint. :)

  6. Isn't it annoying with official blog posts that just isn't accurate? This blog post is one of them, IMHO.

     

    The blog encourages DNFs any time you didn't find a cache, regardless of what the cache is. I quote:

     

    "Maybe they think they didn’t spend enough time looking, or they only log a DNF if they feel certain the cache isn’t there."

     

    This is exactly how you should think! If you didn't find a D4 after just searching a short time, a DNF is just harmful because:

     

    "Some fear their DNF log will be the reason for a cache’s archival (it won’t)."

     

    Yes, it will! It definitely will! I have seen caches archived by reviewers after as little as two DNFs (that is warning + archive), and we are talking about pretty hard caches.

     

    "Not surprisingly, countries with more engaged cache owners have lower actual DNF rates on caches."

     

    Yes, but if you make tough caches, you get both DNFs on caches that are there, as well as the equally annoying "found it" by people who saw the cache but didn't sign it because they could not reach it.

     

    I strictly avoid DNF and NM on very old caches where the CO has quit. I don't want a 20 year old cache to be archived just becacuse the log book is a bit damp or because the locaction has gotten a bit harder, or it gets DNFs by people who didn't search well. I rather, if needed, try to do "non-owner maintenance" to keep it alive. Sadly, if such maintenance counts is totally up to the reviewer and AFAIK it doesn't raise the health score and the DNF lowers it.

     

    So, my point is that things are not as simple as this blog says.

    • Upvote 3
    • Funny 3
  7. On 4/13/2023 at 1:38 PM, JL_HSTRE said:

    Only if your goal is numbers.

    That is certainly one pf the advantages, but not the only one. Even if your goal isn't to log a lot fast, you get pretty intensive action. Mixing a multi-stage multi and a Wherigo doesn't give you more logs that two traditionals but a lot more things happen on that way there. ALC's, however, are very much constructed for numbers as goal.

  8. On 4/13/2023 at 11:34 PM, colleda said:

    I've had pending caches archived, without notice, by a reviewer a couple of times. The last was a mystery but it was in a spot which compromised an existing D5 mystery.  I had a sentimental reason for the spot I had chosen for my mystery but I had a suspicion it was close to the 161m of the D5. I thought my pending cache would be ok until I could solve the D5 and re-adjust my coordinates. As I suck at puzzles, I made almost no headway solving the D5 but I would periodically return to it. My cache was in place and was actually found by Lee737 IIRC. All came to an end when a reviewer archived it. I've now given up on it.

    So how long had it waited until it was archived?

  9. My top priorities:

    1) Tree climbing at T3-T4 = free climbing on moderate difficulty. Definitely my #1!

    2) Other "sweet spot" caches, T3-T4, D2-D3. Not trivial, takes a bit of effort and can be a bit tricky but it usually works out. Fun stuff!

    3) High FP caches. (High Wilson score.)

    4) Old caches.

    5) High T that look possible. I don't dare the most extreme T5's any more. It was close enough once...

    6) Smart mysts that are not wild guessing and not plain time wasters.

    7) Lab caches - and I mean the real ones, temporary, usually physical and often very original caches at mega events.

    8) FTFs. They are not super important but it can be fun to be first once in a while.

     

    I opt out of

     

    - most challenges, since the new ones are not challenges at all. Many old ones are good.

    - ALCs, since they mess up my lab cache statistics and the concept is flawed anyway.

    - JiGiDi puzzles. No thinking, just mechanically spend too much time.

    - Most 1.5/1.5. Default D/T is a warning signal, can be a careless CO.

    - Power trails. Feels like working.

  10. On 12/13/2021 at 10:53 PM, JL_HSTRE said:

    While they don't technically block the space, placing a Traditional that's near an EarthCache AND an Adventure Lab seems kind of unnecessary. Cachers already have two reasons to visit the location. 

    That is usually considered an advantage.

    • Surprised 1
  11. On 12/5/2021 at 10:43 AM, Max and 99 said:

    6.16. Unpublished geocaches may be archived

    It’s good etiquette to submit your cache page for review within three months of creation. Inactive and unpublished cache pages may delay the review of newly submitted geocaches. To prevent this, inactive cache pages that are older than ten months may be automatically archived.
     

    That is one of the sources I referred to above. It says:

     

    "Inactive and unpublished cache pages may delay the review of newly submitted geocaches. To prevent this, inactive cache pages that are older than ten months may be automatically archived."

     

    Ten months... or three... or one.

    • Funny 1
    • Surprised 1
  12. On 3/18/2023 at 1:49 AM, niraD said:

    Since we're in the "irk" thread...

     

    It irks me when listings are churned, when listings are archived and replaced with new ones, when the caches are essentially the same. Sure, you replaced the container with a different kind of container, or hid it under an unnatural pile of stones instead of an unnatural pile of sticks, but if the reason for the cache is the same (the hike, the view, the historic location, the public art, whatever), then it's the same cache. Update the listing. Don't archive it and relist the same cache with a new GC code.

    I agree with you, but I know people who encourage this, simply because they get more finds.

     

    But in my experience, they don't appreciate it with FPs even if it is enhanced. I had an IMHO pretty good cache that didn't work well since it was too easy to cheat. I archived it and built a better version of it. No, it didn't help. It was just another logg.

  13. It often takes time for me to complete planned caches, so I need to hold the place with an unpublished listing for some time. My caches are often dependent on the location, have to be built, have to be planned in detail...

     

    ...but how long can I hold the place (granted that it was free in the first place) without making reviewer notes, before it is archived? I have seen three different rules:

     

    - 30 days

    - 3 months

    - one year

     

    In case someone else tries to get the place, I will either give it up or complete my cache very quickly. So that is not the case I am thinking of here. My cases are caches in not very busy areas where the location is not expected to be in high demand so there are rarely collisions with others.

     

    So what are the rules?

    • Funny 1
  14. On 1/17/2022 at 10:02 PM, barefootjeff said:

     

    That 3..4/3 was only the average of the six caches I'd done since the start of this year. Overall, it's sitting at 2.08/2.22. One of my caching friends has an overall D/T average of 2.72/2.76 from 1455 finds which is pretty impressive I think!

    It is definitely high. I am at 2.11/2.18 and that is when actively prioritizing high T and D!

  15. On 2/23/2018 at 11:22 PM, Cacheism 500 said:

       I wanted to do one where you have to first find two trads within 60 seconds of one another on foot and upload 'proof.' (161 metres minimum distance, achievable if you leg it!) 

     

      Anyone else had any good but unpublishable ideas? 

     

    Lots and lots of them. Anything that is actually a challenge!

     

    I am totally against the challenge rules. The current challenges are horrible. They are mainly a tool for experienced caches to intimidate the newcomers. New challenge: Old cachers fulfill it immedialtely and it is just another petling. New cachers can not fulfill it withing a year or even five! They are not challenges! A challenge is something you accept and try to fulfill within a limited time.

     

    So my idea about a challenge is almost completely reverse to what we have today:

     

    - Must be actively accepted at a certain time.

    - Must be finished in a limited time, no more than a month. (Long-time challenges are bad and tend to make cachers give up the hobby after finally fulfilling them!)

    - Anything you did before accepting the challenge does not count.

    - Does not require a log in a physical cache.

     

    That's what I call a challenge! Beginner friendly, does not give you a long-time stress, can not be pre-fulfilled.

     

    A checker would be nice, and are not technically impossible to make for many cases.

    • Upvote 1
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  16. On 2/26/2018 at 1:06 PM, Isonzo Karst said:

    The Lonely Cache Challenge (in some areas, Resuscitation) - typically find of a cache that hasn't been found in a year, sometimes more. Or sometimes less - as 4 finds of caches that haven't been found in 6 months, for instance (more suited to large urban areas). 

    This one gets messy , example: cache unfound a year, on one day  5 cachers in two different groups find it - group 1 signs at noon, and group 2, not knowing about group 1, signs at 2pm - did they all find a lonely cache? did only  members of group 1, maybe one 1 member of group 1? . Not all areas have enough caches to support this.

    A project gc checker can't be written for this,  so no Lonely challenges. 

    The people that this appeals to tend to do it with or without challenge log to sign. But that's true of a lot of caching goals.

     

    Lonely Cache challenges are the best challenges of all! They encourage finding old caches, which often leads you to nice, off.trail places. It will give the CO of a rarely found cache more finds. There are some variations of it, like finding a number of caches in one week with 2000 "lonely days" or finding 3 of the 10 "most lonely".

     

    I see absolutely no problem with this as a challenge. It is fun, it is challenging, and it is good for CO and thereby for the whole community. I have logged a few of its kind and I have always finished them in one single day.

     

    I don't know if Project-GC can make a checker but technically it is possible to make one.

  17. On 7/11/2022 at 3:47 PM, CheekyBrit said:

    EG: Remember that one time we hiked 20 miles getting poison ivy exposure, did a 10 mile kayak, then the geocache wasn't there and we got arrested for trespassing. Man that was funny. (made up for comic example)

     

    Wow! That must have felt bad at the time, but something you will never forget!

  18. On 6/7/2022 at 3:35 PM, thebruce0 said:

    Yeah, lots of optional nakedness; heck you could do it whenever it's not illegal and you're comfortable :P.   But "to reach a cache" implied necessity.  Unless you could say perhaps your clothing was hindering your reach, lol

    I meant necessary at the moment for you, not mandatory for the cache itself. Like a cache intended for boat, or bathing clothes, but you had none with you so...

     

    This happened on one of my caches. The cacher had brought wading boots, but it was too deep, so on to solution #2.

  19. On 7/5/2022 at 11:11 PM, GeoTrekker26 said:

     

    I don't know what you mean by this. The only user created item I know that expires is a Pocket Query link to the results.

     

    I mean everything outside geocaching expires. When I left the university, my very personal E-mail address was removed in no time, and when I came back, I had to choose another one. My phone account (including my phone number!) expires if I don't use it for one year. Web domains are promptly deleted and grabbed by someone else if you miss a payment.

     

    If other things, much more valuable than a GC nick, expire that quickly, why would an abandoned GC nick last forever?

    • Upvote 1
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  20. The D/T ratings are shaky, since we all have different views. A cache may seem easy for the CO, who knows how to find/solve it, but others can get sidetracked and it can suddenly be very hard. Also, how hard a physical challenge is depends on COs and visitors shapes. But it is sad that the system in some ways encourage obvious misses, where easy caches are rated higher than the harder ones just because of some trivial tool.

     

    I don't find the island caches too hard to rate. If it is a short swim, safe for most people to swim: T4 or T4.5. If it is a long swim, or you cant reach the cache if you are swimming, then you need a boat and it is T5. However, it is most likely much easier than a T5 where you need rope and harness, and most T4.5s will be harder.

     

    We had a CO in my area who made very hard T5's, very high up in trees, with need for climbing gears and often complicated rigging like double ropes, and also hard to find so you may need to get the rope up several times just locating it. We were disussing putting in special T5 symbols for the different kinds of T5, T5-basic (boat), T5-medium (tough climbs but straight forward so you don't need things like multiple ropes), T5-expert... They were never used though.

     

    Online jigsaw puzzles and rods are two problematic ones. With a rod, you are standing on the ground and the problem is to handle the rod. D or T? Jigsaw puzzles take time, a lot of time, but they are trivial, no mental challenge, you will finish them just by spending time. D1 or D5? Both are commonly used to shortcut the high ratings, not least when doing things like the D/T "bombs", that is areas with all D/T ratings on one trail.

    T5-variants.png

    • Funny 2
  21. On 6/9/2022 at 2:19 PM, ras_oscar said:

    I had a hiatus of several years, because, ya know, life got in the way. I returned and would have been quite upset if my user name (and the attached finds) had somehow been given to another player.

     

    But why? Everything else expire, why not an unused user nick?

     

    The attached finds, of course not.

    • Surprised 1
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