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roziecakes

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Everything posted by roziecakes

  1. As a web developer I often try to bring a developer's perspective to these kinds of posts, as many on this forum know. That being said, I have a few points: It's good to get the perspective of new site users, especially in this day and age of social networking. If a lot of newbies complained about the usability of one of my sites, I would probably look into it. Everyone's perspective is valid, no matter how long they've been using the site. I would email your concerns and suggestions to Groundspeak. They will probably give them some thought. I can assure you though, that Groundspeak has been working with its clientbase for a long time, and I also know from being around here a while that this is NOT a social networking site, and a lot of the functions that social networking sites have are probably not going to be integrated into GC.com I'm personally not too bothered by that. I'm fine with it not being a social networking site; and I like social networking! I love the opportunities that facebook has given my clients, also twitter, and blogging to an extent. I love being able to provide those options to my clients and expand their customer base. However, I just don't see those things as being that useful here. I will address some of your points inline below: 1) The seek a cache page starting with the maps. Not everyone uses the maps to search for caches. I notice that you are a basic member, so you don't have the luxury of pocket queries, but honestly, I would say the greater majority of premium members use pocket queries to hunt for caches. For folks who have a long day of 20+ caches in mind, going directly to the maps just doesn't really cut it. Personally, I feel for a basic member, being able to find the nearest caches in my area by a certain mile radius would probably be the easiest thign to do. That's what I did when I was a basic member. Granted, I do still use the maps for hunting caches, but they aren't always my first choice. I think if a new user were just presented with a map and not any other option, a less computer savvy person would be intimidated. I like that the map exists as a choice rather than a default. 2) Profiles: I agree with t4e that I really don't find it necessary for profiles to be a "feast for my eyes." Functionality and efficiency are the best options there, and I'm glad that the site sticks with that. Personally, I'll take functionality and speed over bells and whistles any day. I honestly think that sites that are flashy, or overly visually aesthetic load slower, and in this day and age especially with people using their phones to do a lot of their browsing, that a marriage of functionality and aesthetic is key. But given the choice, I'll take the uglier site that works better. Any day. By the way, who says your profile has to be boring? If you look at mine, I have put all kinds of interesting stuff on there, including information from the stats program that I use (although I may stop using that soon, since they're integrating with gc.com soon. Way cool.) Granted, I know HTML, but frankly, one could find tutorials for basic HTML all over the internet, and in a few minutes one can learn enough to spruce up their profile some. That being said, not everyone wants to put all kinds of information about themselves out there. Geocaching typically hasn't been the kind of activity where people tend to share all that kind of stuff. A lot of cachers don't even share their real names with people. There are those who enjoy the 'covert' nature of the hobby. When we started playing the game this was more so, but there are still some who do. It's just not really the kind of thing where people come to share all that jazz. If you want to, you can, but I don't think it necessarily needs to be part of the site. I feel that if I want to offer up that info on my profile, I can, but I am glad I don't have to go through a form first to do so. It's a) slow, frustrating, and if they made those fields required I would be really irritated. 3) Facebook integration. Completely unnecessary in my mind. I would have a lot less friends on facebook if it meant I had to read everyone's cache updates on facebook every time they log a cache. I have some friends who are really heavy cachers, much more high volume than myself; I have one friend who has over 13,000 finds and finds more basically every day, would I want to see a FB notification or wall post every time he found a cache, heck no! I'd just turn that feature off, therefore rendering it useless; and I know that a lot of other folks would be in the same boat. 4) PM/IM. I am SOOOOO glad that there is no IM on this site. Oh boy am I so glad. There is enough "instant pestering" as I call it in this world. Putting it on geocaching is just unnecessary and uses up precious bandwidth and server space. No no no. I think that most will agree with me. I have too many IM/chat options as it is. I did like the 'like' button that was on some cache pages for a while, but honestly, I feel like the new favorites system fills that gap quite well (again since the OP is a basic member they may not know about the favorites system). In conclusion; there are some navigational issues about the site, but I think that over time you'll get used to it. There are so many friendly folks who will help you out with questions that you may have. Also, one thing you may not know since you are new is that Groundspeak *has* been doing a lot to improve the site, and they constantly work on it to improve it. I think they have the good of their clientele in mind throughout the entire process. There are GS employees are cachers themselves from what I know of them. You say it looks like something from 10 years ago; honestly it doesn't look that bad, and is a far cry from what it looked like even five years ago when I started. I don't think it's that bad. The colors are pleasing to the eye, I think. Personally, I find the site to not be the most important part of caching. What is? Caching!! That's the important part. I'm grateful that the site exists and functions as well as it does to list the caches that make up my favorite hobby. I'm glad that gc.com is here, even if it's not perfect. I love going out and caching. I love coming on the forums, I love looking at other players' profiles, and going to events. Because I get so much joy out of this hobby, I'm willing to lighten up and go with the flow, and not be so critical when it comes to the gc website. I'll work with it how it is.
  2. You are probably right. I don't know as I don't own any caches. But I was under the impression that every find log generated an email to the owner. What I am suggesting is that an email be generated only if the finder chooses to post the optional log. Otherwise they just check "found" and you get emailed the stats once a week. You are right, every log does generate an email to the cache owner. I actually like getting them
  3. I think you mean that re-enabling the cache does not automatically clear a NM attribute. Posting an Owners Maintenance log does, as far as I can see. That, however, is the step that I was neglecting. Yes, sorry, that is what I meant.
  4. After knowschad's post I went to go see if I myself have any attributes to clear, and I realized that I haven't gotten any NM logs on any of my active caches, but I did look on a couple of my archived caches from when I lived in Denver, and yes, it's true, the NM attribute does not clear automatically when you post an owner maintenance log... I honestly can say I did not know that!
  5. You can also use the program Cachemate on your PDA. We use it, and we love it. It's really easy to use.
  6. I've never needed a code, I dropped a TB off today and whilst I was on the new cache page, I selected 'found it' and the TB that was in my possession showed also with a dropdown that enabled me to drop it off whilst on the cache page. If I'm doing something wrong someone tell me? The TB is showing as being in the new cache so presumably that's OK? They would need the code to retrieve it from the erroneous cache to then drop into the correct one. The poster who said to email the owner, is the best option you have. If you don't hear back from the owner, you could make a note on the cache pages of the two caches explaining the situation to the next finders, and whoever picks up the TB can log it as "retrieving it from somewhere else." You get points for honesty!!
  7. yep, try traditional caches first (yes, the green box icon); and try caches that are larger in size, like smalls or regulars with lower difficulty / terrain combinations. Once you get those down, try for more difficult ones. I also recommend HeadHardHat's Geosnippits videos on YouTube, he has some great videos that will give you an idea of what you might be looking for out in the field. best of luck!
  8. Put it on your watchlist and see if anyone else DNFs it, since you're the first person to DNF. If someone else logs a find go back and try again. That's what I do if I can't find something, otherwise I might be wasting my time going back to a cache multiple times if it's not there. At this point I think it's too hard to tell if it's actually missing.
  9. There have been several posts on this topic already, and they've been locking the duplicate ones. I think this is the one they're keeping open: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=272744 hope that helps...
  10. There are definitely a lot of stump hides here in Oregon... we have a lot of GRCs though too.
  11. He suggested that 3 months after you are emailed if you have not responded that GS automatically puts your cache up for adoption. Since GS doesn't own the cache, how can they put it out for adoption without your permission? This is the reasoning currently being given for not allowing adoptions without consent from the current owner. okay, I gotcha. That is a good point, since it is just a listing service. I would say maybe an automatic disabled listing of the cache in question then would be a logical next step? And then if they don't take care of it it would get archived... the only problem there is the possibility of geotrash being left at the site.
  12. Absolutely. I just like the traditional nano being the high side standard now that the super tiny nanos are out. I gotcha; makes sense
  13. This is so true! Actually, I really like what you've added here. Why should you go out publishing more caches when you can't take care of the ones you've already got?
  14. I think that what constitutes a nano is fairly subjective, and you'll probably get different answers from different people.
  15. Sounds good until someone's emails go to their junk folder and their cache gets adopted out or a myriad of other unforeseen problems cause active cachers to lose their caches. It's a person's own responsibility to put emails from GS on their whitelist so that they don't go to their junk folder. That's what people do for email addresses that they want to make sure to stay out of the spam folder. It isn't that difficult to do. How about the #1 issue? Groundspeak doesn't own the caches. They just list. I'm pretty sure I read that in the earthcache section as the argument against adopting out 200 caches. I don't understand what Pokerluck's suggestion has to do with GS owning caches... Anyway, back on topic: I think the NM log is a good idea in theory, but you're right, the way it has been implemented over time is a failure. It's just another one of those things to add to the list of things to teach new cachers when they first join. This has got me more and more thinking about how Geocache mentors are a good idea; but I'm not sure how to implement a concept like that on the larger scale. I personally do my best by trying to educate new cachers the best way I know how...
  16. Sounds good until someone's emails go to their junk folder and their cache gets adopted out or a myriad of other unforeseen problems cause active cachers to lose their caches. It's a person's own responsibility to put emails from GS on their whitelist so that they don't go to their junk folder. That's what people do for email addresses that they want to make sure to stay out of the spam folder. It isn't that difficult to do.
  17. A cut and paste log is when you post an online log, and then copy it and paste it for all of the other caches you've found for that day. As for finding 50 caches in a day, I DO find it enjoyable, and I'm not competing with anyone. I just like the adventure of it. When I first started I never imagined how anyone could find 15 in a day, and that's a fairly regular day for me nowadays. It's okay that you don't want to find 50 in a day, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you should assume it's competition. We all play the game differently. Anyhoo, I'm personally not bothered that much by cut and paste logs as long as they say something interesting. I try not to use them, but yes, I do sometimes; and when I do, I try to say something nice; and add a little bit of unique info for each cache after I paste.
  18. Hey wow! I really like this idea, especially since it gives the person a whole three months to renew their cache. There are a few really awesome caches in this area that have very poor maintenance records (owner hasn't been on since 2008 and doesn't answer emails.) that I'd LOVE to adopt. I love it!
  19. yes! Crow T Robot said this much better than I did. Again, unless you directly talk to the person and work it out, you're only telling yourself stories in your head and making mountains out of molehills (or "picking gnat poop out of pepper", love that).
  20. I personally do not own an Explorist GC, but I have heard a lot of good reviews. I personally think that the best paperless bang for your buck would be that. try Ebay though first...
  21. I would call them a nano. However, they all have the rating of micro, and I think if you do mention it in your cache page, you don't have the use the word nano if you can't decide; you could say something like "smaller than the usual micro" or something like that.
  22. I can't think of any cons. It's a fantastic deal I think. $30 for a whole year, is really quite affordable for most people, I think. You spend that much on a dinner and a movie date in one night. $30 for a whole year for tons of opportunities for my husband and I to have great adventures? Heck ya! The things I like best: *Supporting the website and keeping it running. *Pocket Queries. These alone make it for most people, and they are just fantastic. They make caching SO MUCH easier. *Premium Member Only caches. Okay, so this one's not as important to me, but it is nice to have access to all caches all the time. *Notifications: I love getting notified about new caches and events in my area. I'm not much of an FTF chaser, but it's fun when I can!
  23. I admit, I have actually found an ammo can that was FULL of water. Why? Well, ammo cans have a rubber seal on the inside, and this one was just so old it was worn out... also, it was hidden under a water fall. Bad combo.
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