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That only works if I'm browsing around my home coordinates. 9 times out of 10, I'm browsing the area around some cache I'm looking at. I used to be able to do this from the cache description. You're suggesting that instead of open the map around my home area and scroll it how ever many miles away to look at the area I'm interested in? That or install a hack to correct GS's mistake? I mean, thanks for the advice and all, but it would be easier if the system just did what we all want. Just to remind everyone, there's an "old search map" that I rarely found myself looking at and have no particular feelings about whether it was better or worse than the new search map. There's also the browse map, which hasn't changed (much). The button you talk about takes you to the browse map, not the old search map. Although the new search map replaced the old search map as part of the recent release, the much more sweeping change that I think most if not all of us are complaining about was changing all the pointers to the browse map so they now point to the search map. Interesting point about "Browse Geocaches" being unintuitive. I hadn't thought of that because I've been reading the forums where "browse map" has become a common term to distinguish the two maps. But now that you mention it, "browse geocaches" makes no sense to someone looking at the maps because maps are inherently used to browse. "End Search" might make more sense, although only if the user got to the map by starting a search.

I have to agree with everything The A-Team said. So often here I'm reminded of the shellfish tracks I see in the sand at low tide, moving along, randomly changing direction, expending a lot of effort and never getting anywhere... A few years back, perhaps in the lead-up to a previous iteration of the search tool, I'm sure I there was talk of a goal to unify all the site's various search functions into one universal engine that incorporated all the functionality of PQs, lists and random cache searches with enough flexibility to allow searching for any combination of localities, cache names, owners, types, attributes, D/T rating, favourite points, corrected coordinates, personal cache notes, etc. That would've been great had it ever come to pass, but sadly instead each iteration seems to remove functionality and further segregate the search tools across the site. Another prime example of what I mean is the new logging page. Introduced just on two years ago to support future functionality and replace old legacy code that was becoming difficult to maintain, it removed some features (the text formatting bar, preview window, log entry encryption, add coordinates and perhaps others I've forgotten), took ages to support multiple photos and captions on them, and even now photo captions from that page don't appear in the cache page gallery because they use the Description field rather than the Title field that the gallery uses (I'm sure at the time someone said the gallery was going to be fixed to use the Description field if the Title was blank, but it never happened). Its use of default log types has been widely criticised as leading to unintended Find logs that should have been DNFs or, for COs, OMs that should have been other log types (which our reviewer even raised in our local FB group), yet this scourge still remains when the simple solution is to revert to making the logger select the log type as was previously the case on the website and still is in the app. The stated intention was to retire the old log entry page once the new one was complete, but the whole process just suddenly ended mid-stream, with not only the old log creation page still being selectable as an option, but any subsequent log editing still using that old page and presumably its old unservicable legacy code. The new cache creation page has some nice features but also some glaring issues that were repeatedly reported but never followed up. At the very beginning where you select cache type, the only options are Traditional and Multi, you then have to click on a link to show other types even though there's plenty of room on that page to show them all at once. Why? Then there's that big default Submit button at the bottom of the cache edit page which is all too easy to hit when what you want to do is Save and View - there really shouldn't even be a submit button on the edit page as COs ought to be forced to at least look at what their html code has created before submitting it (again our reviewer brought this up in the local FB group, wondering why there'd been a sudden upsurge in badly formatted cache pages). And there's that pop-up reviewer note that appears after clicking Submit. In spite of the Guidelines and many reviewers encouraging COs to include photos with their reviewer note (a picture paints a thousand words), the pop-up reviewer note editor doesn't allow photos to be attached. Instead you either have to go back and edit the log to attach photos, hoping the reviewer hasn't already looked at it, or create another reviewer note prior to submission with all the photos and details, and in the pop-up just say to refer to the other note. It seems designed to encourage minimalist reviewer notes, the exact opposite of what our reviewers ask for. Likewise the cache size selection doesn't mention the official definitions of each cache size, instead giving vague examples that lead to unnecessary confusion. All this unfinished stuff just leaves it cumbersome and counter-productive in places where it really doesn't have to be. It's almost a year since we were all invited to discuss various aspects of cache quality, what made a good quality versus poor quality cache and suggestions of what cachers and HQ could do to improve cache quality. There was a follow-up survey a few months later and then nothing at all. I can only imagine it ended up in the too-hard basket and those involved have moved on to other things. What would be nice to see is a detailed medium to long term vision of where you think caching is going and how the website's development is working towards that goal. Instead what we get time and again is new ideas that burn brightly for a few months and are then left unfinished and forgotten. Too often now the emphasis seems to be on style over function, with it appearing as if the goal is to produce something modern and flashy to capture the attention of millennials rather than be actually useful and productive to ordinary cachers just trying to hide, find and log caches. Don't get me wrong, many of the changes have added benefits to the site, it's just that they often seem to end up as something of a square peg left half-hammered into a round hole, unfinished and unpolished because some other new thing has captured the attention.

I'd contact the adoptee and "talk" with him directly before going the route of filing a NA log. That way you'll know for certain the plans and if he says it's OK, then you can have him hold off on archiving them until you actually have all your caches made, coordinates taken and verified, caches placed, old caches retrieved, and cache pages done and ready to go. All you would then need to do is hit submit. If he says no, he has plans to fix them up, then you'd know that as well. I think it's bad form to file a NA without first contacting the CO, especially with your comments about under maintained and mediocre caches there now. Whether you meant it or not, your comments elicit the idea that the caches aren't any good, regardless of whether it's because of the container or the state of the cache.

OK. The point was that you think about exactly why this is a real problem and consider it from their point of view. I wasn't trying to talk you out of it being a problem, just suggesting you make sure to consider it from all angles. Sounds like you're well on the way to developing a productive relation with him. Good idea to start with encouragement so it's clear the negative comments are things that can be improved. It's too easy for a new CO to see any criticism as judgment, not suggestions.

First, have a hard talk with yourself about what you're really complaining about. Is it really that bad? For example, when you complain about parking, are you just being car centric because there's a perfectly good sidewalk that goes past the cache? These were all on country roads with no place to turn off, and they are pretty busy roads. Other cachers mentioned the parking problems, that is why bone archived the one. I got three of them by parking about a quarter of a mile down one road and walking to each cache. One I did send a message concerning his one cache. it was a good one which I let him know. The problem was he had the host locked with a padlock and the key was hidden also. Where and how he hid it was the problem, a bare key hidden between a tree and a vine , lying on the ground. I told him the key would rust and may not be usable pretty soon. . He did change it, I think he has a note in a plastic bag hidden telling where the key is. I think he changed the name and it is now one of a series-- which I think I have two of before I noticed the series.

I ran across this post through a Google search and thought I would share my experience. Unfortunately it looks like my Vista Cx unit has been affected by this rollover (i.e. my GPS has been y2k'd!). The time of day (if you don't consider DST) and navigation appear to work normally, but the date will be off. My unit will show a date 1024, 2048, or 3072 weeks into the future depending on what the previous state of the GPS was on last shutdown. When it hits 4096 weeks, it doesn't actually show this date but instead the unit does a complete cold start and will eventually show the correct time/date once a GPS lock is achieved. For example, here is the cyclic pattern I've seen with my unit after doing some experimenting this weekend on 2019-04-13: State 1) Date: 2020-07-22, Time: ~5 hours off (DST off). I’m considering this the beginning of the cycle. Every time the GPS starts in this state, it is a complete cold start, regardless if there was a GPS lock before a restart. After the unit searches for satellites and gets a lock, the date and time are updated to the correct date/time. …restart… State 2) Date 2038-11-27, Time: correct (DST off). Hot start - quick lock on GPS. This date is 1024 weeks into the future. The date is never updated even after a good soak with a GPS lock. …restart… State 3) Date 2078-02-26, Time: correct (DST off). Hot start - quick lock on GPS. This date is 3072 weeks into the future (3 x 1024). The date is never updated even after a good soak with a GPS lock. …restart… …cycle repeats… State 1) Date: 2020-07-22, Time: ~5 hours off (DST off). Cold start. Date/time corrected after lock. I can repeat this cycle many times and get the same result. For some reason I don't get the 2048 date (2058-07-13) during this exercise, but I have seen it pop up occasionally when I first noticed the issue. I did this exercise with back to back shutdown/restarts, so perhaps something else happens when the GPS is off for a longer period of time. My concern when I first saw the issue is that I wouldn't be able to save my track logs with accurate time/date information (I'm not a geocacher, but regularly reference my old track logs for planning hiking/skiing/mountaineering trips); however, now that I know the error is predictable I can simply modify the gpx file by subtracting some multiple of 1024 weeks from the date and then correcting the time for DST if necessary. It's an extra step in the process but it will work for now, at least until I talk myself into buying another GPS.

yes and no. as there's no other category to choose, you have to choose micro for nanos. that's one thing and relates to the guidelines and to the selectable categories only. the other thing (reality) is what people say and what people mean. if people say "micro" and talk about those, they almost invariably talk about film can sized containers. if instead they mean to talk about containers that are much much smaller than that, they will say "nano" and talk about those. this is reality. language is reality. there's plenty of posts in this very thread which demonstrate exactly that. guidelines are guidelines and do not necessarily appropriately reflect reality. they just tell you what you're supposed to select on the web page, but that doesn't mean that in reality one equals another when at the same time there's a clear distinction in everybody's mind.

I tried to use the app yesterday the first time. Although my smartphone definitly had a GPS fix (Locus app worked as usual), the Adventure Lab App did not manage to talk to my GPS. Therefore the lab I would have liked to play was shown in a distance of x thousand kilometers... My smartphone still has an older Android version (4.4.2), but the app can be installed without problems on this version and therefore should also work.

Not gonna talk about the tech, resources needed... Didn't the event's page have photos from every cacher that loaded any to it? Yours and others in one spot - a trip down memory lane... The smiley (or whatever) on the map would be replaced by only one pic ? Would only one pic even express "the miles of sweat n tears, hours of laughter n smiles..." ? Along with every member in this hobby, we have a gallery on our profile dashboard for that. Most times it's even in order. - Isn't that what it's for ?

This past weekend I competed in a geocaching race competition call MOGA. It was basically setup as a punch competition where you run around trying to get as many punches in the least amount of time. The event used to be a mega but has recently downsized. There was some talk about other geocaching competitions like this. Does anyone know of other geocaching racing competitions? I thought there were several other events in the US but the only one I could find was the Texas Challenge.

As I understand it, the guideline is that cachers shouldn't have to enter the business and interact or purchase. Just entering a business itself can be okay, especially if the business is one (ie, grocery store) where people can enter and walk around without interacting with employees. This is different from a business (ie, restaurant) where people can't just walk around without some employee interaction. No, the guideline states that cachers shouldn't have to enter the business, interact, and/or purchase. That's a big difference. From Groundspeak's commercial guidelines: Another example of where the serial comma creates ambiguity. Note, the actual guideline does not have a comma after "interact". The portion before the comma could be read as a separate phase in a sequence of events, and the portion after the comma to be a subsequent phase. Imagine a movie theater said "Customer can't enter the theater, talk on their cell phones and/or play music." The items are sequential. Such a sentence means that customers can't enter the theater and then talk on phones and/or play music. The sentence doesn't mean that customers can't enter the theater. The same sentence can be interpreted multiple ways, as is apparent from this thread. My reading of the guideline aligns with what's been noted in a couple other posts (quoted below):

You say you heard voices but then you found out it was just the wind? How?! How can you be so shore? It still could be real voices right? Though I do have an idea that if you make a certain object and have wind blowing through it sort of like the voice box in are throat that makes us talk that it can make talking noises. Way out there huh. But if you think about what makes us talk. I think you can create a similar thing where you have an o next with air blowing through it that will make voice sounds. We basically blow out air when we talk so I think if you can make a certain object with wind blowing through it a certain way you can make voice sounds. I have probably lost you already haven't I? Well thanks for sharing and maybe it really was some ghosts but also it could be that when the wind blows in a certain way or objects we can sometimes here strange voices. I am just wondering how you can say it was the wind? That's all.

Before you storm off, I want to help you out here. Sidewalks and boulevards have different ownership based on the municipality and laws therein. What that means is, there is a chance that the sidewalk and boulevard might belong to a homeowner. Being able to know whether or not it is private property is a key part of cache placement. This is a prime example of why the adult who supervises minors in the game should also know the guidelines for placement and help the minors they supervise understand them. Take some time to think about the bigger issue here, Chris. It isn't personal when it comes down to it. You need to understand that you might not understand the game as well as you hoped you did. Take this feedback with a grain of salt. If you're getting frustrated about the game or forums, you should talk to you parents about it. so how can you tell if someones owns the sidewalk or not? or if a person owns the boulevard which i interpret as the road. for me at least i talk worse then i do type. when i talk i always stutter alot. but in writing sometimes certain phrases don't make sense so i will word it a different way. to me how i write makes sense. i have some disabilities where i don't understand phrases as i should. like they don't make sense. also in addition i guess i don't process imformation as well so i have a hard time talking and writing. this might be why my writing does not make sense sometimes.

Thanks Jeff in Pa!! I was just reading all the posts and was thinking to myself of what I would have liked to have seen about a product, before making that substantial purchase. As for your question of what I don't like about the 530HCx, here it goes..... 1. Software Had two or three more software hick-ups. Had to disable and re-enable the radio to get audio to come back once and had my maps go nuts putting me off in ten-buck-two with chucks of the maps missing. A reboot (off and then on again) solved the problem, but I don't think that kinda stuff should happen. Granted, this is a very sophisticated piece of equipment and the more complicated anything is the more chance of problems with it, so I guess it's a trade off. I've only had about 5 software problems in 2 weeks of solid everyday use and not all required a reboot to fix the problem, plus I click the thumb stick a bit much sometimes. Also, again no data loss. 2. Push-to-Talk button and earbuds The push-to-talk button could give you a little more of a "click" feel so you know it's pressed down properly. The way it is you end up pressing on it too hard without realizing it. I've been using the earbud with push-to-talk button on it and that one clicks correctly. Also, the space just outside the connector the the headset/earbud is shaped so that the earbuds that I have for my 2 watt Motorola 7400 GMRS talkies won't fit. It's the exact same plug and exact same mic with push-to-talk button, but the connector on the Motorola earbud is fatter and won't snuggly fit in all the way, even though the connector itself is the same. Minor annoyance, but caused me to purchase the Garmin brand earbuds. 3. Antennas I don't know what you could do with them, but I would like to have the antennas be more ridged. It seems to me that if you are going to have a permanently affixed antenna it shouldn't bend and should as tough as you could get them. I could be wrong and I'm not a RF (Radio Frequency) Engineer either. That's about it for my problems with them and most of these I have noticed in my second week of use. I'm still thoroughly pleased with my purchase and plan to get some more! Maaan, testing the max radio distance was the first thing I wanted to do from the time I ordered it. I'm still doing it, getting a feel for different environments. From my bathroom, in my house, with the door closed, near the bathtub, I can talk a car coming into town almost 2 miles away. That is through lots of buildings and my town isn't two miles all the way across it, so it works out pretty good for me. And for clarification, I was NOT taking a bath and both the car and myself were at the same elevation. 1. No I haven't had any experience with interoperability between the models. Although, for the kiddos in the family I'm considering getting the 130 because it still has the voice scramble feature and compass/weather/etc. and I don't have to worry about the kids with a $350 piece of equipment. Although, they ARE supposed to be rugged and the anything below a 520 is just 1 watt transmit power, the kiddos have these things so we can keep track of them, why would I want to limit the range of tracking? So I'm still torn on what to do there. 2. Unless you are a young female, all my family has already been paired up, sorry. Honestly, even if you were a young female, I wouldn't want to put you through the grief being with any of my brother-in-laws, so there you have it. Sorry it took so long to reply to you guys, I forgot about my post and just today decided to check and see if anyone saw it. I'm glad I could help, thanks for the praise everyone.

I've never cached with Alamogul but he's local (or was until recently) and bumped into him quite a bit. Hard to talk to him on the trail since he's in a rush for the next one. But he really is out there all the time and I have no problem accepting his on-going pace of 35-45/day for years on end. That said, I have no idea how the logistics of some of the cache runs I've seen where a group gets 8500 caches inside of two weeks. 600/day for a sustained period simply beggars belief. One every minute for ten hours a day for two weeks? I did the first 25 caches on the ET trail inside of 30 minutes and it was completely ridiculous. That kind of pace for more than a day or two may be within the realm of human endurance, but I don't begin to understand it.

I think that Geocaching has changed a lot over the last couple of years. At least that's the impression I have in my area. People are more interested in quantity than in quality. Both the quality of the locations chosen by the cache owners and the quality of the physical boxes have decreased. Many geocachers I know are delighted by weird puzzle caches. Solving the riddle is more to them than actually finding the box. I hardly find any boxes with trade items anymore, but tons of film canisters or nanos with nothing but a log"book" in it and they are hidden in places that have absolutely nothing of interest. Many posters of geocaches are proud to own a lot of geocaches and receiving lots of visits. I think that Groundspeak (successfully) tried to make things a bit better again by inventing the favourites. At least some posters now try to make better geocaches to earn more favourite points. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that they don't care much about the location anymore and that is also true for the geocachers searching for caches. I also search film canisters in a telephone booth, if they are on my way from here to there, to earn another find, but my interest in geocaching has decreased a lot. If some of these geocachers that are avid for visits would change to the Waymarking world, we might get tons of Payphones waymarks in the crowded areas. :-) So, we better search for geocachers that are fed up of the boring geocache locations and talk them to visit a few waymarks (for a start). At least that's how I started with Waymarking.

This is great, but do they differentiate captive portals from other WiFi? I was really disappointed when I tried to connect to a Starbucks Wifi, but the 66 couldn't handle it because the WiFi wants to talk to a browser before it will let the device get through to the Internet. Or is there a way around that?

Feel free to steal from my email template for permission. I presume this is to touch on the limited types, such as springs, waterfalls, and most recently, wetlands. It's not that they are not allowed - they get extra scrutiny, as the generic lessons on those features that used to get by ("This building is made of is granite. Let's talk about granite." or "This is a spring. What's it's flow rate?") are insufficient. They're doable, though; we own a few that fall into this. Overall, these shouldn't be viewed as absolute bars, but as specific examples of the overall requirement that the earthcache focus on a unique feature. What about this spring, or waterfall, or brick, is different? Reviewing process, maybe? Unless you're talking about how reviewers are picked... Wikipedia should be the start of research, not the end. But there's a balance, because the lesson has to be accessible. I found myself doing a lot of reading on a lot of topics that were over my head when I was looking at geology papers. I've had a few instances where I thought a spot would be great for an earthcache, but the sources were either too general or WAAAAY too specific and technical. I found that some of the best sources were not scientific research papers, which can be hard to digest and translate into lay language, but geologic resource reports (the US National Park Service has some great ones - I used a previous version of this one as a main source for our two earthcaches at Fort Jefferson). They get scientific, but the authors are also (usually) pretty good about assuming no prior knowledge of subjects, which is the same approach an earthcache should take.

That reply from NGS must be from someone relatively new who is doesn't yet know that USGS does not have a database - never will. We tried hard back in the '80s and '90s to work with USGS to automate their data for inclusion in the NGS Integrated Database - lots of talk but not much action. They submitted a bit of their horizontal data in some western states but that was about it - none of their leveling data ever came across.

First, the coin design: This could be the first Esperanto Geocoin (though maybe not; ernie is working on one too). I'd like to find out whether there's enough of an interest to support making this (and I'll also be asking non-geocaching Esperanto enthusiasts if they're interested). Also, please note that I'm still seeking approval from lernu.net (a really great site for Esperanto students) and haven't shopped it by Groundspeak yet, either. I'm just at the stage of gauging interest. To that end, though, I'm asking for pre-reservation reservations (in other words, really tentative reservations) for this coin. There is no guarantee that it'll be made, but if it is, you'll be on the reserved list. The regular edition would be gold (with green enamels). There may also be a copper plating as well as a satin silver plating. The price will probably be between $8.50 and $9.50 -- though that is a totally rough estimate, since I haven't gotten mint quotes yet (and am still discussing with a particular vendor whether the coin will actually be made at all). If you're interested, please shoot me an email (kat at-sign grafikato dot com) with the subject line of "Esperanto Geocoin" and let me know: 1 - How many 2 - What plating(s) (If you don't specify plating, I'll assume gold) I will make sure you get regular updates as to its progress -- whether there's enough interest, approval for the art, etc. Translations: the front says "trackable at geocaching.com" (in Esperanto). The back says: "geocaching together without sticking to The Script" (in so many words) on the top, "Let's go geocaching" in the middle, and "easily, naturally, equally" along the bottom. (The actual wording may change a little to correct grammar; I'm not really a terrific Esperantist.) The green star is a major element for the Esperanto movement, and I've included some Victorian-style ornament to harken to the Esperanto movement's birth in the late 1800s. Most of this detail is done in various levels of recessed metal under IHE translucent greens (the coin will be all 2D and 1.75" in diameter). Now, a little more about the background for the coin and its design (sorry, it's going to be a minor novel here): If you haven't heard of it, Esperanto is an artificial, auxiliary language created in the late 1800s. It has 16 rules of grammar and is amazingly easy to learn. The idea behind Esperanto was that it would not supplant a person's national language, but rather be a language you could pull out of your pocket if you wanted to talk with someone whose language you didn't speak (and who didn't speak yours). It was (and still is) promoted as an alternative to designating a national language as a primary language, because there's a lot of emotion attached to national languages (as well as a lot of cultural, historical, and ideological baggage that people might object to). I like the idea of this a lot. It also helps me out because, again, I'm undisciplined (read: lazy). I would rather learn ONE language than have to learn several. National languages are difficult! The main thing I encounter, when I talk about Esperanto, is something along the lines of this (usually said in a snotty tone): "but we already HAVE an international language -- it's called 'ENGLISH'." And this is true, to a point. English is the international language of commerce. If you want to get business done in an international sense, it behooves you to know English. And if you want to travel around the world, you'll be able to get by in English. But that's it: "get by". Because the international language isn't fluent English, it's what I like to call "English by The Script". There are Scripts that people know: "How to Book Someone a Hotel Room". "How to Sell an Airplane Ticket". "How to Tell Someone How Much He/She Owes You and How to Present Change". International travelers should recognize this: it's relatively easy to get around using English as long as, essentially, you're limiting your conversation to the buying of goods & services (and if you have a problem that is a very common problem). If you're trying to handle something that is not in The Script, though, you're in trouble. Have an uncommon problem? Trying to pay for the tickets in a nonstandard way? Trying to find someplace cool off the beaten path? Get ready for frustration. And forget trying to talk about anything meaningful, such as someone's favorite art or music (and why), the history of the place you're in (unless it's part of the guide's Script, of course), or favorite places to go caching, or anything like that. Totally forget it. English is a really difficult language to learn -- it's hard enough to learn The Script. So that's why I like Esperanto. You can get fluent in it extremely quickly. I've been able to have decent and interesting correspondence with people from France, Czechoslovakia and Russia without having to know French, Czech, or Russian (or having to puzzle through possibly tortured English). I think that it's a good idea, though I don't think that it will ever really take off unless it gets its hooks into the mechanism of commerce. In general, people won't take the time unless they have to -- I'm talking here about a broad, world-wide use of Esperanto, mind you. There actually is quite a following, enough to support large Associations and conferences and courses the world over*, and to support the "Pasporto Servo" (in which Esperantists will put you up in their house for free while you're traveling, just to have the opportunity to talk with you). *French Esperantists actually have an honest-to-goodness castle. I've always wanted to do an Esperanto Geocoin, and I'd like to support lernu.net (any profit I personally make will go straight to lernu.net) -- it's one of the best Esperanto sites out there. At the same time, while I want the coin to promote Esperanto and be in Esperanto, I want it to be about geocaching, too. I think that Esperanto could be pretty useful to geocachers, especially those wanting to strike out in other countries and hang out with local geocachers whose national language they don't know, or whose command of English is not so hot. Because it's just incredibly frustrating to have to focus on the process of communication rather than simply worrying about what you're communicating. Thanks for putting up with that lengthy screed, and I hope you enjoy the coin! If you'd like one, please do let me know!

Hi there! My name is Patti and I'm a freelance journalist. I'm currently working on a feature piece about people who geocache while on vacation. (The piece was inspired by my recent trip to England. I'm from the U.S.) I'm looking for a few more people to talk to. I'd love to hear about interesting caches you've found, where you've traveled to and any other fun tidbits you might want to share. If you'd be interested in sharing with me, you can contact me at plwoods@sbcglobal.net.

Wow, it really seems like most people here simply have to comment on things that they don't understand. At least some got the point. The issue at hand is NOT data harvesting and is NOT a broken app. Like thomfre wrote, many of us are used to have GSAK update their local database on a regular basis often using up the quota. Now this will affect my caching trip that day using ANY partner app. That can not be good and will cause some bad feedback for innocent partners. I think HQ should rather revert to the lower per app/user quote that was in place in the past! Many cacher don't even know what that whole API talk is about. The average housewife cacher (no offence) will NOT understand that because they used tool A or website B on their computer that suddenly app C on their phone will not work anymore for the next 24h. Yes, the technically versed might get it but the average user does not even know what the 'API' is.... They use and app and it works! Now one app/tool/website can and will impact ALL partner apps. In one word: BAD

Ok, I have spent the last half hour searching online for an answer. After years of successfully being able to find geocaches on Google Earth, suddenly, it is impossible to see any anymore. All I see is a 'red light' in the geocaching KML area on Google Earth. No idea why that is. I use two laptops. Neither one shows a 'green light' and neither one has allowed me to view cache locations in Google Earth! I've reinstalled the program. No change. Is this now only available to Premium members? Searching on this forum for at least a half hour hasn't resulted in any solutions. There's talk of a runaround. I agree because after wasting so much time looking, I have yet to get a solution. One post says the discussion was moved to the "Bugs" Section, and of course, no solution provided Where might I find that formum? Another post says it was moved to yet another forum. Why can't there be a simple answer? Is no one from geocaching.com even looking at these posts? Are they just laughing in their cubicles while those of us without premium memberships waste our time? Are basic members being forced to buy premium memberships even if we only look for caches every now and then? How about a straight answer to what's going on from those who write the code? Could it be that Geocaching.com is so incredibly greedy as to only allow Premium members to use the Google Earth Viewer? This geocacher has been geocaching since 2004. For a while I was really into it until geocaching.com made the downloads to GPS receivers and searches more complicated. It seems that now it is very difficult to play without paying for a premium membership! Seems geocaching isn't a whole lot of fun anymore if it is impossible to find caches on Google Earth. Am I mistaken? Is the goal to drive basic members out? Yes, I really do think this is a runaround. And, it seems that maybe GREED has invaded geocaching.com and made it no fun anymore. Why can't I get a straight answer? I really hope someone can provide a clear answer as to how I can once again view caches on Google Earth and have fun.

Nobody said you could ask for the guidelines to be changed. They just said don't break the guidelines. Wait until the change. Why is that so hard for you to understand. Totem what is it you don't understand that rules never change unless someone brings it up or does something to get them changed I hear you saying that things don't change unless you talk about it, and I understand that. I even agree with you on that. I have been in agreement with you on that the whole time. You don't seem to be able to comprehend what I'm saying. Yes, it is good to talk about things like this. If the guidelines change I might hide one even. Who knows. What I'm trying to say, and you keep ignoring or avoiding it, is that UNTIL the guidelines change stakes are not proper caches. It's that simple. Please don't tell that I'm not willing to talk about this change or that I don't understand about rules changes. When you do you it just prove that you are not listening and that this is not a disscusion, but rather one person holding their breath and throwing a fit because they don't like the way things are now.

I understand that. Now you know that caches that are too small are sometimes marked as "small". And you're disappointed. That's a good thing to tell the CO. It's not a good thing to get in a fight with the CO about. Yes, I get it, you had to carry all that swag and didn't get to drop any of it. Not a big deal. If this disappointment made you angry, geocaching might not be for you. That's really all beside the point. He may have made a mistake when he called some of them small, or he may have been thinking he made a mistake when he called some of them micros. He may be doing something evil, although, honestly, this is geocaching: how serious is "evil". He may just be messing with people. All interesting theories to talk to him about to find out which is true. None are good reasons to become belligerent because he didn't react to your input. No one's arguing that it would be better to call this a small. We're past that. Now we're just talking about how to handle it when you think a cache should be called a micro but it's listed as a small.