+Mary & Benster Posted October 10, 2005 Share Posted October 10, 2005 Using Insta-Notify, I only get limited useful information sent to my mobile phone. The usefulness of this feature is to have the notification setup to inform of caches appearing near my usual geocaching locations -- if new caches appears, I can include them on my list for today. The messages as they are now sent are cutoff and I get the name, the fact the text message is sent by GC.com, etc up to the Province/State. It would be great to select from 2 formats: long (the current format) or short: (1) cache type (2) name (3) WP (4) COORDS (in a format to be specified) The later two parameters are obviously critical and are presently cutoff in text SMS I receive. This improvement would really make the Insta-Notify function do what it's supposed to do: get me to stay outdoors longer ! Thanks, Benoit Link to comment
+SherwoodForest Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 or we could just can the instant notify feature, since it just brings out some of the more negative aspects of the game.... FTF hoarding.... Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I noted this myself, a while back. As the feature is still in Beta, those refinements might be enabled someday. In the meantime, I got myself a Treo PDA/phone. I just tap the link in the notification, and get the co-ordinates right off the cache page! Link to comment
+horsegeeks Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 or we could just can the instant notify feature, since it just brings out some of the more negative aspects of the game.... FTF hoarding.... Not negative to everyone.... Link to comment
+SherwoodForest Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 no, but since cache owners do not have the option to opt-out any new caches they submit from this 'feature', all caches are immediately thrown to the FTFhounds.... some people like it, some are indifferent... that's just how it is... I think it doesn't improve the game overall (After all, they eliminated the similar feature regarding Jeeps) but to each their own.... I just have to find other ways to make a cache last longer than four hours without being found by a FTF hoarder... Link to comment
+horsegeeks Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 no, but since cache owners do not have the option to opt-out any new caches they submit from this 'feature', all caches are immediately thrown to the FTFhounds.... some people like it, some are indifferent... that's just how it is... I think it doesn't improve the game overall (After all, they eliminated the similar feature regarding Jeeps) but to each their own.... I just have to find other ways to make a cache last longer than four hours without being found by a FTF hoarder... I'm a FTF hound and very much enjoy being the first to a cache. Someone has to be first don't they? I don't cache much at night but don't mind waking up a bit early in the morning. Quite often I end up troubleshooting a cache for the owner. I have found them 100 feet off and several times a couple of miles off. What in the world is wrong with wanting to be the FTF??? Link to comment
+the hermit crabs Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I just have to find other ways to make a cache last longer than four hours without being found by a FTF hoarder... I'm not sure I understand this. Why would it be more satisfying to the cache owner to have all of the local cachers ignore his new placement for days or weeks rather than some going after it right away? If I put out a new cache and no one bothered to look for it for days, I'd take that as a not-so-subtle hint that I put out such crummy caches that no one wants to find them. Link to comment
+Moose Mob Posted October 11, 2005 Share Posted October 11, 2005 I just have to find other ways to make a cache last longer than four hours without being found by a FTF hoarder... terrain = 5 drive = 150 miles Hike = 5 miles Snow depth > 2 feet Link to comment
+ChileHead Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 I don't get it ... what's the problem with having a cache found by a FTF hoarder? It's part of the game, at least for some of us. Anybody is welcome to join in that aspect of the game! Link to comment
AZcachemeister Posted October 12, 2005 Share Posted October 12, 2005 I just have to find other ways to make a cache last longer than four hours without being found by a FTF hoarder... terrain = 5 drive = 150 miles Hike = 5 miles Snow depth > 2 feet YUP! That's the answer! Anything less than 3/3 is going to get snapped up right away. I enjoy being first as much as anyone, but can seldom compete for the 1/1 urban hides. It's the ones that have been sitting for 3-6 months or even a year that really attract my attention! Link to comment
+Mary & Benster Posted October 13, 2005 Author Share Posted October 13, 2005 This is getting off track. I couldn't care less if FTF is an issue to some. This is a game, so let's people enjoy it. The point of the insta-notify feature being useless, as it is, if sent to mobile phone (lenght issue) could also reflect the fact that it would be useful if set up for a location 200km away that I go to once a year for geocaching, I *may* want to do a few extra caches that pop-up in that area during the weekend. Cache density is part of the reflexion. In the entire province of Quebec, we have 1500 caches. That's less that the combination of the two most cache-cluttered Texas counties... Or to put it differently, about the same number of caches as in Maryland... but on a slightly bigger playing field: QC 1 667 926 km-sq vs Maryland 25,338 km-sq. Link to comment
+Tharagleb Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 I like the idea in the original post. It wouldn't take much to put the most pertinent info at the top of the email. Change this: This is an automated message from Geocaching Location: Your State, United States 42mi NW (67.6km NW) REVIEWER published Cache Name Goes Here (Traditional Cache) at 10/13/2005 Log Date: 10/13/2005 Published to this: REVIEWER Published cache: GCXXXX Cache Name Here (Traditional) by CACHE OWNER Coords: N 99 99.999 W 999 99.999 (Your State, United States) Or some such. Admittedly the problem is with the cell phone truncated message and is not GC.com's fault, but it seems like a lot of people might benefit from the change. I added the CACHE OWNER because I would like to know whose cache it is. My 2 cents... Link to comment
+ChileHead Posted October 14, 2005 Share Posted October 14, 2005 Many cache descriptions are needed to find the cache, because it's a puzzle, or gives important information about parking, private property concerns, safety concerns, whether it's a multi or not, etc .. It seems like the point of the insta-notify is just to let you know there's a new cache. It's up to you go to the web page (either on your computer or web-enabled phone if you have one). Trying to change the insta-notify to have all pertinent information seems more trouble than it's worth. I love insta-notify, but I only use it to let me know it's time to bring up my unfound query on my Treo. Link to comment
+Mary & Benster Posted October 17, 2005 Author Share Posted October 17, 2005 Change this:This is an automated message from Geocaching Location: Your State, United States 42mi NW (67.6km NW) REVIEWER published Cache Name Goes Here (Traditional Cache) at 10/13/2005 Log Date: 10/13/2005 Published to this: REVIEWER Published cache: GCXXXX Cache Name Here (Traditional) by CACHE OWNER Coords: N 99 99.999 W 999 99.999 (Your State, United States) Exactly. Now that more info about caches (even logging) can be done through wap, the goal is to at least receive the waypoint. I'm currently not even receiving that in the message. Anyone from Groundspeak that likes this idea? Link to comment
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