South Lyon Trekkers
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Posts posted by South Lyon Trekkers
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Since the new Lists came out I have been using them more and thus find features I'd like to see. I've been keeping some notes and am finally getting around to posting them here. Sorry of these have been mentioned before, I put them all here since they all deal with Lists.
I'd really like to see the Ignore List done away with and any list allowed to be toggled to ignore. There are caches I ignore for different reasons. One reason is seasonal. River caches near me are not typically accessible during the winter. Making a list and being able to toggle it to ignore gets them out of the way during the winter. I can then add them back in the summer. And back to ignore in the winter when I end up not getting to them.
This may be a phone app issue. On some of my Lists I alter the title of the cache to order them or add a note. This does not appear on the phone app.
Another phone app item related to Lists. The description added to caches on a list do not appear on the phone app. I'd like to be able to see it.
I'm a list person in general. More than a 100 lists would be nice.
Convert a PQ to a list.
Search within a list by keyword.
A toggle between downloading all caches in a list and unfound caches in a list.
Allow to order a list by description.
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I like the Geocache of the Week and often will look for those caches when caching in an area. It seems like I have not even seen a post for Geocache of the Week in a long time and found that I was missing new ones being added, and maybe still am. Still going or not, the Lists people kept were often not up to date. Can an attribute be created to tag the Geocache of the Week caches?
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I guess I missed that. My phone is pretty old and doesn't have a GPS chip. Another reason to upgrade, I guess.
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Does anyone know, especially have used, the Geocaching app with a Garmin GLO 2? Does they work together?
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I like the idea here. I really would like to see my Unfound caches in a list. So if I'm keeping a list of caches on GeoTour, I can just pull up the ones not found. Also, exporting the filtered caches to a Pocket Query would be fantastic. Not sure if it does now, I have not tried to export Found caches.
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I have been reviewing caches on my Lists that have Personal Cache Notes. In some cases, I removed the Personal Cache Note completely, but the icon remains on the Cache Type icon in the List.
The picture attached here shows the small Personal Cache Note icon over the Cache Type icon. None of these caches actually have a Personal Cache Note.
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I was reading about that. I have not tried that, but was thinking of doing so. A question I have about the extension is: does that extension add the county info to the PQ, or does it just add it when viewing on a map within Project GC or Geocaching.com? Right now, with GSAK, I can load the original PQ from Geocaching.com in to GSAK, then run the macro to add info to the PQ. Lastly, I load the PQ into a GPSr through GSAK. Ideally, I'd like to avoid all the processing and just have it there.
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I use GSAK to add additional information to a log of each of the caches I am looking for, when using my GPSr. One of those pieces of information is what county a cache is in. Having the county information already on the cache page and in the GPX file would be very helpful. It would also appear on the app. I would really like to see this information added to the cache information.
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Yes. kunarion pretty much explained it. I keep a few starting sentences or paragraph that apply to the day and add something cache specific at the end. If what I paste in is long enough, I can't see the bottom of the text to add to it.
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When using the app for a day of caching, I will often type a log in a note app. I then copy the text from the note and paste it into the log when I find a geocache. I then type something cache-specific at the end of the pasted text. A problem occurs when a lengthy log is pasted and I add to it. The log will not scroll up and the text is not visible due to the on screen keyboard. I would like to see this bug fixed.
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Please put a link to the Gallery at the top of the Your Profile page.
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What do you like most about challenge caches?
I am a big fan of challenge caches. I have been hunting them since they started appearing. I like using them to set goals and to shape the way I do caching. Often I am asked by a challenge to look for caches I might not normally hunt and go out of my way for, which is a good thing. I enjoy tracking my progress on challenges caches. I enjoy perusing the GSAK forums looking for macros that help identify caches used in completing challenges. That also helps me find new challenges to work for.
What do you not like about challenge caches?
The cache portion to a challenge should be a formality. It is disheartening when I complete a difficult challenge, but the cache is stupidly difficult to get or put in place that is not easily accessible, especially someone from out of town. I know some will disagree with that, but I am thinking more about ones where access is limited by hours or specific days. Even worse when the cache is missing.
Some challenges are set up in response to a group of cachers that just happened to complete an obtuse task. The challenge becomes more or less impossible and is designed solely for others in said group.
What would you like to see changed about challenge caches?
The challenge is the challenge and not so much the cache. I would not be opposed to to a number of possibilities. I would like to see a separate icon. (Overall, there should be more cache types. It keeps the game more interesting.) Maybe a badge system for earning challenges that replaces finding an actual cache. I do not think challenges should be demoted to some pseudo cache type like Lab Caches or the old Challenges. While I use GSAK over Project Geocaching, I would like to see an automated challenge checker possibly tied into the latter.
If a badge system was used, one issued by Geocaching.com, then I would like to see the major challenges such counties, Delorme, 366, Fizzy, Jasmer, to be restricted. One per state or one for everywhere. A badge system would remove distance restrictions. For example, in Michigan we have multiple county challenges due to the distance needed to travel to get the challenge cache. There is one in the north and one towards the south. With a badge, the cache could be earned upon completion of the challenge.
If you could describe your favorite challenge cache type, what would it be?
I like the challenges that require some traveling. The County and Delorme challenges are very straight forward, have macros in GSAK to track progress, not easily accomplished, and enjoyable to do.
What types of challenge caches do you avoid?
There are few challenges I do not like. I do not like ones that are very convoluted. For example, find all the caches in a town. Many maps are not clear on town boundaries and this can be a pain to figure out. Or, the requirements change as new caches are added or subtracted.
Other challenges where one needs a PhD in Linear Algebra and the free time of a monk to complete are not fun. Really any challenge that requires hours to figure out if I qualify. Nor do I like streaks; caching for so many days in a row. However, I avoid them, but do not have a problem with them existing.
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There is nothing here or that I can think of that I am super eager to see, but there are a couple I would use from time to time.
Ability to follow a cache placer and be alerted of new caches they hide. This could be useful. I am not much of an FTF hound, but this could be fun.
Ability to detect and add friends from other social media accounts. No interest.
See nearby friends on the map. Intriguing, but not sure what I would be looking at. Needs more explanation. Is this where the live? Last logged a fine?
Get alerts or newsfeed content when your friends find caches or Trackables. Could be fun.
See which of your friends have found a cache or Trackable. Could be fun.
Friends leaderboards. Leaderboards in what? How fine tuned could it be? Could it be a designated are such as a park?
Collaborate on lists with friends. Yes. This could be useful.
Compete against friends for an achievement. Yes, but more curious about the achievement.
Compare your stats with friends.Sure. I look like at stats anyway.
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The maps generally do what I need them to do. What I would like most is a map that uses the actual cache icon for the type of cache it is. The virtual icon is used for EarthCaches and webcams. That is very annoying. Expand the color palette as well. I realize that would mean shades of various colors, but enough differentiation can be made.
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Basic Details:
Title: Important
Cache Type: Important
Description: Important. Would be more useful if more cachers used this as described.
Coordinates: Important (UTM coords not so much)
Location: If this is the state/country, yes it is important. I do not use it a whole lot, but when I do it takes a moment to find it. I would like to see it more prominent.
Difficulty/Terrain: Yes, but still needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
Size: Yes. I absolutely hate “other”. Get rid of it. Every cache has a size. And like Virtual, make an event size. Wouldn’t hurt to make it automatic. It’s about time nano became a size.
Favorites: Yes. Not very important to me, but I am starting to use it more.
Hint: Important. I appreciate a quality hint. I detest “none needed” and the like. Caches go missing and I often use the hint to double check.
Map (overview): Not important. Not very useful.
Map (larger, zoomed-in version): Important. I use it and also use it to access the map.
Additional Details:
Cache Owner: Important.
Date Hidden: Important, but I don’t understand the point of making this different than the published date. They should be the same.
Distance from Home Location: I don’t use often use it, but it is helpful for the few times I do.
Corrected Coordinates: I don’t use it. I run everything through GSAK anyway and correct coords there.
Quick Link: Not sure what this is a reference to.
Print Friendly: Not important.
Driving Directions: Not important.
Send to GPS: Important, although I don’t use it often. Great when I need it though.
Disclaimer: I get it and I ignore it.
Personal Cache Note: I really like this feature and use it. Be great to be able to pull up all my notes.
Photo Gallery: Important. I use it occasionally. I liked it when it was part of the home page too and I could click when I saw something interesting.
Trackable Inventory: Important, but not accurate due to cachers.
Attributes: Important. Should be required to use when creating a cache.
Additional Waypoints Find (links to nearby caches, way marks): Use it occasionally.
Other Map Links: i don’t use.
Lists: I would use more if there were user friendly. Use tabs to separate.
Watch: Important.
Bookmark: Important.
Ignore: Important.
Owner Tools: Important.
Edit: Important.
Edit Attributes: Important.
Waypoints: Important.
Upload Images: Important.
Archive: Important:
Disable: Important. It would be nice to have a quick link to our own disabled caches. Needs Maintenance too.
Existing Community Requests:
In-house geochecker: I’d like that.
"Last Found” summary: Not sure what this is.
Ability to filter logs by clicking on log type icons: Not important to me.
Add event start and end time fields: Yes and have it work with the Add to Calendar link. I always have to change the time from 3:00 AM in iCal.
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1. What do you use the bio box for? I use the bio box to post stats I generate from GSAK. I have had to play around with GSAK to get some other, added information included. I would like to see two or three bio boxes so I don't have to repost all the information. GSAK stats are a large amount of HTML and I don't like to go back through it to add other things. I just post what GSAK generates.
2. Do you display banners from caches or events on your profile? No How important is it to you that you are able to display these on your profile? Not at all.
3. What do you most enjoy looking at on others' profiles? Stats. I like to see what others are doing and how then went about achieving different goals that may be similar to mine.
4. Below you will find all the functionality that the page currently offers. I
Place the items in a stack ranked list of priority. Things that are most important to you should be at the top. Let us know if there is anything missing from the list. What information isn’t necessary on the page? What is taking up screen space that shouldn’t be? What do you not find useful? Did I miss something? Moving these items around to respond is not user-friendly.
For Profile, I like all that is there. The only thing I do not care about is seeing forum posts. Location, at least state and country, should be automatic.
For Geocaches, I like all that is there.
For Trackables, I am fine with the information, but the list become so long. It would help if there were tabs (user created?) to help sort trackables.
For Souvenirs, consistency in name the souvenirs would be nice. The ones that occur each year are not formatted the same and sometimes are not in order. Separate tabs would be nice too, maybe to sort the state ones and events and special days.
For Gallery, the date the picture is posted should automatically match the date of the log.
For Lists, tabs are necessary. ALL my favorites are listed before my bookmarks. That's a lot scrolling.
For Statistics, I like them and I want more.
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There was a recent update - one that I can not find anymore - that added a whole bunch of souvenirs and came with a cryptic message that, to me and some others, seemed like GC.com was abandoning souvenirs. Will there be more souvenirs? For EarthCache day, GC.com produced what looked like a souvenir. I and many others thought it was and found a cache on that day thinking we were earning one. Alas, it just looked that way and the post I read never indicated it was. Now the same thing for CITO Day. The Latitude 47 Blog has a nice little picture that looks like a souvenir, but the write-up mentions nothing about it being one, just like what happened on EarthCache day. So, if this is not a souvenir, why not?
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Alas, just one of many problems where some people cache with smartphones and some cache with a GPS.
It's hard to see any way to balance the impatience of the cacher wanting to grab the TB right now and the cacher away from home who scattered a bunch of TBs but won't be logging anything for a few days without creating the potential complications of either the TB's actual location being wildly different from its stated location or the very sporadic cacher forgetting to log that they dropped a bug and ending up with the bug locked forever in their possession.
I think that this is a very good suggestion that does try to balance the situation out. It will force the cacher that is trying to grab the bug to be patient but also remind me that I need to check it into the cache where I dropped it, just in case I forgot. If they are really impatient and have tried to grab it before I have even returned home from today's caching adventure, I can easily drop a note on the cache to drop the bug, then delete the note and post my found log when I get time.
I think that this would actually help keep the travels of the trackables recorded properly.
The trouble is not everybody has a device that lets them write logs in the field.
If a cacher away from home drops a travel bug but won't have internet access for several days they have no way of logging the bug drop, so the next person who comes along with their smartphone and tries to grab the bug will have to grab it from the current holder. So you have the problem of the current holder then wondering where it went.
If you deny the next finder the opportunity to just grab the bug you potentially end up with a situation where by the time the person is back from their break and back online the bug has made two or three more moves, further compounding the issue.
Any method of restricting the grab by requiring the current holder to authorise it could easily result in ongoing delays as people cache on holiday (I like to gather up travel bugs any time I'm going abroad - although I'm rarely offline for more than a couple of days there have been times I've been abroad and had no internet access for a fortnight).
The only other way to avoid it that I can think of is to encourage people not to take bugs away on holiday, which rather defeats the point of travel bugs.
The bottom line is to have communication. Granted, there will always be exceptions. A hand written note may work in the case you described. It might work in the situation I described. I admit not logging caches and trackables for a few days after due to a variety of reasons. Occasionally a trackable does get grabbed from me then. But when my name and date are on the log and the trackable is grabbed the same day, I get irked. I have resorted to copying the trackable code to grab it back. I also write a friendly e-mail to less experienced cachers, sometimes telling them I am grabbing it back and why. (I don't always grab it back.) So far, all have been receptive.
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I am finding more and more often, that cachers are grabbing trackables without trying to notify the cacher who is holding the trackable in his or her inventory. When I started caching the rule of thumb was to give a cacher 24 to 48 hours before grabbing a trackable AFTER sending a friendly e-mail. I know part of the issue is the accessibility of the Internet while out caching, but that does not excuse poor etiquette. Last month, I did receive an e-mail asking me to log a trackable. I appreciated that. However, I received the e-mail no less than two hours after I had dropped off the geocoin and I was still out caching. In fact, it was still morning. I don't see GC.com teaching patience, so... I would like to see a feature where, once the grab is initiated, there is an e-mail automatically sent to the holder indicating the trackable has been picked up and another cacher is waiting to log it. A 24 hour wait period follows (unless the holder accepts the grab) and then the trackable is released. This would not apply to trackables listed in (wrong) caches or unknown locations.
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The "new" maps have been around a while. I thought I remembered, but could be wrong, that the cache type icons on the medium zoom level were going to be separated out into their own icon after the maps were up and running, no more sharing. I would like to see each cache type have it own icon and color on the medium zoom level and own colors on the low zoom level.
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I was looking through my travel bugs and geocoins, which I have not done in a while, and noticed that many are and have been in the hands of cachers for an extended period of time. I would like to see Groundspeak/Geocaching.com take a more active role in reminding people to move the trackables they pick up. Something occasionally in the weekly newsletter would be nice. I really would like to see a simple button a trackable owner could press and generate an e-mail that sent a reminder to the cacher who picked up the trackable. The e-mail would include a friendly reminder, reference to the specific trackable, and link to the trackable's page. A notice on the cacher's profile would be nice as well. The trackable owner could only be allowed to send a reminder every week or two.
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I skimmed through the comments and saw only a brief mention of this and I don't know if this was a recent addition or not.
"Challenge caches relying solely on third-party software for verification will not be published."
Geocaching.com has no way to verify county and Delorme challenges. Thus, county and Delorme challenges are not acceptable. While I realize just about every state, if not all, have these challenges established. If that were to change, a new one could not be created.
I have not seen the Help section before on Challenges caches. I have had not need to look and the Help section has been pretty bad. There are a lot of rules for challenge caches listed there. I understand why for many of them, but it is still a whole lot of micromanagement. There is a reason for the Ignore button. A challenge cache that a cacher does not want to attempt can be ignored.
Furthermore, the Challenges app and the Wherigos could be considered "third-party" apps or, better yet, third party devices. A smart-phone is essentially needed for either.
Geocaching.com sorely lacks consistency and efficacy and it is not just this issue.
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Many cachers have trackables that have gone missing or have been picked up and not put back into circulation. It would be nice if Geocaching.com would help take up the issue of trackables that have been taken and have disappeared. Promote some sort of Trackable Amnesty Day, maybe even encourage events or locations, no questions asked. Ask cachers to clear out, give up, return to circulation trackables they have picked up and to get them going again.
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Pick and choose and make up your own context. You won't find my posts to be very negative. But as I stated at the end of the sentence:"but I am done with at when it comes to the maps."
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Feature: Counties
in Website
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Please add county information/boundaries/label/whatever anyone wants to call it to cache information.