Automatic Mile Logging

[+Rhone]

I know quite a few folks who log a coin in and out of each cache they find to keep track of how many miles they've travelled between caches. I do this myself and it time consuming as it takes approximately twice as long for each cache. It should be fairly easy to design a feature that could automatically make these log entries instead of manually doing each one. Not only would this save time for the cacher doing the entries, but it would significantly decrease traffic on the website.

[+Groovy Cachin' Dude!]

How about this...what if there was a way for GC.com to keep track. They already know our home coordinates. They know which caches we've logged. They even know in what order we've logged them. There should be an easy way to enable a [track] prior to logging caches (i.e. a checkbox) and then create a map similar to the one's you've seen for TB's.

 

I don't know all of the technicalities, but I'm sure there is a smart coder that could implement that.

[+fizzymagic]

They know which caches we've logged. They even know in what order we've logged them. There should be an easy way to enable a [track] prior to logging caches (i.e. a checkbox) and then create a map similar to the one's you've seen for TB's.

I have considered implementing this in FindStats. It's not terribly difficult. However, there are a few problems with the data:

• Not everyone logs their caches in order. In fact, many people log their finds quite badly out of order.
  
• Not all caches are at the listed coordinates; moving caches, multis, and puzzle caches will give incorrect results.
  
• It's distressingly common for people to log so-called "armchair" caches far away from where they live. Those will inflate peoples' distances.
  
• Not everyone entered coordinates for their locationless cache finds. As a result, they should be excluded.
  

I keep track of my own distance, using my own database with the actual coordinates of the caches. But I started that pretty early on; I think it would be hard for people with thousands of finds to reconstruct the order in which they found the caches.

[+edscott]

 

[*]It's distressingly common for people to log so-called "armchair" caches far away from where they live. Those will inflate peoples' distances.

 

Yes, but we all know who those people are and automatically ignore their "accomplishments".