Zop
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Posts posted by Zop
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I stuck with dial service for as long as I could, but they stopped supporting it here in California a few decades ago. I never minded dialing to begin with, but it was especially delicious because they charged extra for touch tone for many years even though it cost them way more to support that handful of dial lines they were charging less for.
HUH? I was still using my Western Electric 302 rotary until just a few short years ago when I finally got fed up with all the robocalls. Tempted to hook it back up on my other line.
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Dear Community,
If you dont happen to have a pen, which I do 90% of the time, is an emailed photo of the cache to the cache owner also an acceptable form of proof of finding it.
Thank you.
-Tim
This depends entirely on the placer. Some will not mind at all, others will actually audit their logs and delete any that aren't physically verifiable.
As for mine, if you're geocaching and finding one of my caches, odds are good that you are already pretty well scraped up so just find a twig and sign in blood! That's what we usually do
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This seems like common sense to almost everyone?
However, where I am right now, it seems that no one bothers to read descriptions.
They look at compass on phone or GPS device and go there. And then post 'better' co-ords to prove it was not +/- 3m from where it said it was. Eek!
Behaving like newbies yet they all have more than 2k finds. Wierd folk around me.
"Get to 10m radius and then put yer phone/device away and start using your Geo-skills!"
Tell me I'm wrong.
Nope.. Except for puzzles, LB's and Multi's, we read the description as a next-to-last resort with the last being the hint.
Most cache descriptions (even mine) are rarely descriptive about the cache. It's usually some sad tale like "there wasn't a cache nearby so I put one here" or some long diatribe about the mating cycle of the Hefalumpapus. And yes, on a Trad, whenever the posted coords are more than say 20 feet off, I will post updated coordinates. With GPSr's being as accurate as they are in this day and age, especially with the quad helix receivers with WAAS and GLONASS, there's really no excuse for posted coordinates to be more a few meters off except for under really dense tree cover or next to some massive structure. Even then, Google Earth can be fairly accurate and at least get someone on the correct side of the road.
EDIT: Oh, and yes... Once you're within reasonable range, start the hunt! you shouldn't be looking at some stupid phone when you're geocaching anyway ;-)
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This seems like common sense to almost everyone?
However, where I am right now, it seems that no one bothers to read descriptions.
They look at compass on phone or GPS device and go there. And then post 'better' co-ords to prove it was not +/- 3m from where it said it was. Eek!
Behaving like newbies yet they all have more than 2k finds. Wierd folk around me.
"Get to 10m radius and then put yer phone/device away and start using your Geo-skills!"
Tell me I'm wrong.
Nope.. Except for puzzles, LB's and Multi's, we read the description as a next-to-last resort with the last being the hint.
Most cache descriptions (even mine) are rarely descriptive about the cache. It's usually some sad tale like "there wasn't a cache nearby so I put one here" or some long diatribe about the mating cycle of the Hefalumpapus. And yes, on a Trad, whenever the posted coords are more than say 20 feet off, I will post updated coordinates. With GPSr's being as accurate as they are in this day and age, especially with the quad helix receivers with WAAS and GLONASS, there's really no excuse for posted coordinates to be more a few meters off except for under really dense tree cover or next to some massive structure. Even then, Google Earth can be fairly accurate and at least get someone on the correct side of the road.
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As you noticed you can accomplish PMO cache filtering on the search page, but the intent is to merge the search filters and map experience at some point.
This would be greatly disappointing.
I've pretty much moved away from using any of the existing search tools because of the changes a couple of years ago. Why are you forcing us to rely on the API and GSAK?
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What about the gray background that was used to indicate that a cache was disabled?
I'm not sure I understand the question. Disabled caches are denoted by being grayed out...
Nearly impossible to actually see them though.
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- We’ve removed the Premium Member Cache key - the circle icon that indicated on the map which caches were PMO. It was only available to Premium Members, and was not well understood or used by many users.
I'm curious to know how it was determined that the PMO descriptor was not "used by many users". I certainly appreciated being able to identify which caches were PMO or not, by having the icon be a square or circle.
If there's no way to identify PMO caches on the map, then could GS at least add a toggle in the Filters pane so users can toggle on/off PMO caches. I know this can be done via Search, so I'm asking specifically in regards to the Browsing Map.
As did many of us!
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Why not give us an option as to whether we want to use the new map or the old map?
+1 this one!
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Thank you for bringing this to our attention. While we do accessibility testing prior to implementing design changes, based on feedback we’re taking another look at this to see if there’s anything we missed.
Please do. And also please remember, many, many, of us have been caching for years using GPSr's and computers. We often find smart phone apps to be more of a hindrance than a help so we do not use them. When 'improvements' for them degrade features for everyone else, it's not really progress nor an 'improvement'.
It's telling us old-timers that you just don't care. I'm sure there can be some sort of middle ground.
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First comment from Finnish forums: "This is harassment against colorblind."
I think this refers to my comment, and I would like to add that something is lost in translation.
I have no doubt that the GC crew have the best of intentions, it's just that the result in this case is irritating. For eyes and otherwise.Groundspeak had never been known for caring about the visually handicapped. This is the modern world where youngsters rule. Or maybe: That's the modern way to do things. We need to do that too. To be modern!
Shrink the fonts! Nobody uses that size anymore. Less contrast! No black Groundspeak. Please reconsider this change for the sake of change, and: It's modern. We should do it!
on white. Let's use the modern dark grey on light grey. Move the tabs to the top of the page. No one uses them on the side of the page anymore.
These have all made using GC.com tougher for me. I may be an extreme example. Before cataract surgery, I was 20/1200. Now, I'm at 20/30, but my eyes do not focus. My glasses are set for 24" for reading, and 48" for distance.
I cannot read the top of the page without bending my head back. And that does not work with my arthritis. I complained when GS moved the tabs to the top of the page. And got no sympathy.
The modern computer world discriminates agains the visually handicapped. That's the modern world. But change for the sake of change (and that's the modern world!) is seldom a good idea. Let's made the website look like the app! (Better to make the app look like the website! Nah.)
This time, Groundspeak has managed to annoy 8% of the male geocachers who are color blind. Whoops! That was not a bright idea? The question is whether Groundspeak cares? Change for the sake of change. This is modern! We must do it!
Personally, I think the new icons are stupid, and much more difficult to use (at least, for us visually handicapped who have been here over ten years.) Each release makes things tougher and tougher for us senior cachers with visual handicaps. Hey! It's the modern world.
Who cares about us?
No, you're not alone. I find it just another reason to wean myself off using the site. GSAK, Google Earth and the API's are far superior it seems.
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First comment from Finnish forums: "This is harassment against colorblind."
I'm not colorblind, yet I find it quite aesthetically displeasing. Very difficult to see the icons clearly on the maps. It all just bleeds together and the contrasts wash out the maps.
Maybe if the icons were slightly smaller and crisper. At the moment however, it looks 'Fisher Price'
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Actually, Lackeys have been hard at work this weekend, monitoring the server load on the busy Leap Day Weekend, and shipping emergency rations to the hamsters as needed. If you happen upon a hamster who hasn't had their snack, wait a bit and try again.
Any news on progress? I haven't been able to get anywhere on the site since yesterday.
Just the constant "The service is unavailable"
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Perhaps simply having the event auto disable after a few days would be equally as desirable?
As long as they are not showing up in our PQ's or GSAK API pulls, that should work, right?
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I completely agree with Mudfrog, and I really do not need another way to ignore the herd. I think a better solution would be to allow us to designate within our profile our contact methods
Yes! This!
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I noticed this today. It is nice knowing that an email comes in as well but i'd still like to be able to simply hit "reply" in an email instead of having to go to my messages though.
Exactly - I can reply to an email message form a mountain top a whole lot easier than having to log into a web site and drill away to the correct page, thread, response etc.. and try typing into a web form.
Waste of time and energy.
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I get an email message when there is a new message in the message center.
The email message has the contents of the message center message.
then you can do a reply to the message in the message center.
Are you trying to infer that replying to the email will reply to the thread in the message center?
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My problem is, i never think to look for messages. I realize that i can get used to it but i don't feel there is a need to. There are already good ways to get my attention if need be. I'd rather have a way to turn the feature off. At the same time, it would need to let people know on the other end, that i'm not accepting this form of communication.
There is another site i utilize that has this feature. I've had messages sent that i didn't notice for months. When i did finally get back with the person, they thought i i didn't care or that i was just ignoring them. There was one time where it caused hurt feelings on the other end. I don't do social sites and i'm definitely not into the texting fad. If you have my number, call me. If not, email me,,, It's just that easy!
Perfectly stated.
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So if none of your caches require email contactwhat's the problem?
Simple! Some cachers have been using it even though I don't have any "E-Mail Me" requirements. if I did, the message center would not apply in the first place as it's not email.
I already have far too many places to look for messages and a public email address just for geocaching and I'm not about to log into GC.com every time I get some message.
Email is tried and true, I can access it from anywhere in the world and can authenticate securely with my own mail server, I don't have to log into geocaching.com, and it is the only way I will reply to people.
Not going to use it.
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Please provide an option to disable the new Messaging Center for those of us who do not want to use the site for social networking.
I already have far too many places I have to check for messages and none of my caches require that anyone email me so it's completely wasted on me.
The old method was tried and true and worked just fine for more than the 8 years I've been using it. I would like to stick with it please.
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Time to kick start a very old thread -
Well, The Smiley has now followed me from 60, 400t 550t to 62s and now the 64s and it's always a nice icon to see on my screen while we're caching up and down the trails but now I have to ask; Has anyone tried to get their GPSr to change an icon when marked as a DNF? I would love to be able to see which ones we want to pass on because we just DNF'ed them earlier in the day.
Z..
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If you want to go back to the old search, just click on the right hand side of the new search page, there is a link to the old search page, right where the trees are.
Maybe this will help you.
I must be blind. I see nothing to click on.
Nor any trees.
EDIT: Aha!! talk about burried!
I have always just entered my criteria in the Search for Nearby Geocaches field on the main page, never click on the "Play" option on the tool bar and drill into the advanced search tool.
Ok, so I'm there, how do we make it stick to our profile?
This does help a lot but still as I mention above, in the past, I sould simply enter the search criteria in the "Search for Nearby Geocaches" field on the main geocaching.com page. Simple and quick. But now, the results page is so poorly designed that it's really not usable.
Now, what used to take one click, now takes four. - I still think that a Grease Monkey script should be able to fix this. If only I had the time to learn to code it.
Thanks again for your civil reply. It's appreciated.
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If you want to go back to the old search, just click on the right hand side of the new search page, there is a link to the old search page, right where the trees are.
Maybe this will help you.
I must be blind. I see nothing to click on.
Nor any trees.
EDIT: Aha!! talk about burried!
I have always just entered my criteria in the Search for Geocaches field on the main page, never click on the "Play" option on the tool bar and drill into the advanced search tool.
Ok, so I'm there, how do we make it stick to our profile?
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If you want to go back to the old search, just click on the right hand side of the new search page, there is a link to the old search page, right where the trees are.
Maybe this will help you.
I must be blind. I see nothing to click on.
Nor any trees.
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Thanks for the link. I have tried it in the past but it doesn't search by zip code and it's a third party site. The results page IS pretty much what I'm looking for though. Using this link, the results do show 12 results with a very easy to read listing without the really ugly new icons (tiles?) and the results are identical to what one will see (ATM) when selecting the link to view other caches from a cache page. Again though, it's still limited in that you can't just type in a zip code and get a list of results like you can on geocaching.com
What I'm looking for is a way to view the search results on geocaching.com in an easier to read format. Something as simple as removing the banner and the excess white space and reducing the size of the icons. The banner alone now takes up more than 25% of the screen. Add the header bar, and toolbar and you leave only 50% of the screen for search results.
Now, what I have to do is either use GSAK for all my seaarches (which probably adds a bit of a load to the API server) or look up a cache in a zip code area, open it and then scroll all the way down to the link to view other caches (of thie type etc...) in order to get a reasonable display of the results.
I have no doubt that the GC crew have the best of intentions, it's just that the result in this case is irritating. For eyes and otherwise.
Release Notes (Website and app: Icon updates) - December 5, 2016
in Geocaching HQ communications
Posted
This was so much better.