puzzle coords revealed!

[+pfalstad]

I submitted a puzzle cache recently, and it got approved while the email wasn't working (watchlist/owner notifications weren't being sent out). Someone else saw it anyway, and bookmarked it. Then today, when the email started working again, he got this in the mail:

 

------------------------------------------------

This is an automated message from Geocaching

 

You are receiving this email because you have bookmarked this listing. Visit theweb site to change your bookmark list settings.

 

Location: Minnesota, United States

Surfer Joe posted a reviewer note for Picture Sudoku 5 (Not Published) (UnknownCache) at 7/11/2007

 

Log Date: 7/11/2007

CACHE COORDINATES

N 44� 51.496 W 093� 21.061

FINAL (Final Location) - N 44� ??.??? W 093� ??.???

-----------------------------------------------

 

Except that it posted the actual final coords, instead of the question marks! Fortunately he had already solved and found the puzzle. But if anyone else saw it and bookmarked it or put it on their watch list, were the final coords revealed to them too? Not good! I hope this gets fixed, but just to be on the safe side, I will not submit any puzzle caches (or multis, I suppose) while the email isn't working.

[+OienLabs]

I think you got the final coords in your email because you are the owner of this not yet published cache. I also think you should check out why the reviewer posted this note.

Edited July 12, 2007 by baø

[+Knight2000]

It does say "Not Published". Would anyone have a bookmark on a non-published cache? Is that even possible?

[+Miragee]

Yes . . . Well . . . actually, I haven't Bookmarked a brand new cache, but I often put them on my Watchlist. One time a cache was Published, then Retracted. Because I had it on my Watchlist, I received the notifications while it was "Unpublished," and then later, as it went back and forth from Published, Not Found, Retracted, Published, and then Disabled . . .

[+Knight2000]

For a cache that has never been published, how would anyone other than the owner know or be able to bookmark it?

[+mtn-man]

For a cache that has never been published, how would anyone other than the owner know or be able to bookmark it?

You are not reading the original post carefully...

 

I submitted a puzzle cache recently, and it got approved while the email wasn't working (watchlist/owner notifications weren't being sent out). Someone else saw it anyway, and bookmarked it. Then today, when the email started working again, he got this in the mail:

It was published. When the emails started working, it sent it to the watchlist/bookmarklist folks. That isn't good, since I also listed some "additional waypoint" caches during that time.

[+OienLabs]

Obs. Misread OP. In case there must be a glitch somewere.

[+pfalstad]

This happened to me again.. Geo-mail wasn't working on 9/12, when two of my puzzle caches got approved. Nobody got the notification message. Usually when geo-mail is not working, all the old mail gets sent right away when it starts working again. Not this time.. People didn't get notified of the new cache until 9/24, and at that time, everyone who was watching those two caches also got a reviewer note with the cache coords in it.

 

Not the end of the world, I guess.. I just posted a note saying I will delete your log unless you send me proof that you solved the puzzle. Still, I thought I'd warn people again. Not sure what else to do about it, except to make sure that geo-mail is working before submitting a cache. I assume this would be an issue for multis too.

 

Another weird side effect of this glitch.. On 9/24, I took a TB out of a cache. Since the last holder hadn't logged it into the cache yet, I put it on my watchlist instead of grabbing it. Later that day, when mail started working, I got a watchlist note about somebody picking up the TB on 9/12. Very weird.. I looked at the TB logs, and that person had already logged it into another a cache a few days later, and then someone else had picked it up since then. That person logged the TB on 9/12, almost two weeks before I put it on my watchlist, and I still got the note...

[+SWiggles]

Obs. Misread OP. In case there must be a glitch somewere.

 

Definitely looks like a glitch. I got 2 emails on 9/24 that contained reviewer notes dated 9/12 for a cache I do not own, but do have on my watchlist. The reviewer notes were posted by the owner of the cache on 9/12. Cache was published 9/13.

[+benh57]

It's kinda silly that reviewers post the original coords as a reviewer note, anyway.

 

Is this just because most hiders don't use the additional hidden waypoint feature, and even if they do, they could change it more than 500 feet later?

 

The site should have a feature to automatically store a permanent hidden "original waypoint" for a cache which would avoid this.

[+Quiggle]

It's kinda silly that reviewers post the original coords as a reviewer note, anyway.

 

Is this just because most hiders don't use the additional hidden waypoint feature, and even if they do, they could change it more than 500 feet later?

 

The site should have a feature to automatically store a permanent hidden "original waypoint" for a cache which would avoid this.

That's what happens already -- it's the reviewer note that is automatically posted when a cache is listed that contains those coordinates. Since the additional waypoints are part of the guidelines for multis, they should be on each cache page prior to publishing.

[+pfalstad]

This is still broken.. It happened today. Fortunately it happened to someone else's puzzle. (And the puzzle had a mistake in it, so I would have wasted a trip otherwise. )

[knowschad]

Geeze... it hasn't even been three years yet since you first reported that problem. Relax. These things take time.

[+SSO JOAT]

The problem is definitely still there. I saw a new puzzle yesterday and put it on my watchlist. The puzzle was a direct challenge to me (even included my name in the description). This morning my email box is full of all the reviewer notes from that puzzle being published. So I not only have the final coords from the reviewer log, but the puzzle solving method from the CO's note-to-reviewer logs.

 

So this "glitch" has completely spoiled what was to be a fun puzzle challenge between a couple puzzle makers. Naturally, I have immediately notified both the reviewer and the CO that the puzzle is spoiled (I'm not the only one on the watchlist). But I'm sure there are other's of shady character who wouldn't do the same, especially if they were the only one on the watchlist and no one else would know that they cheated.

 

So Groundspeak, listen up... if your email notification system goes down, PLEASE STOP PUBLISHING PUZZLES until the system is back up!!!! I'd rather wait an extra day for the publish than to have days, weeks, or even months worth of puzzle design work go right into the trash can. A little common sense folks.

[BCProspectors]

I feel some blackmail opportunities coming up!

[Keystone]

So Groundspeak, listen up... if your email notification system goes down, PLEASE STOP PUBLISHING PUZZLES until the system is back up!!!! I'd rather wait an extra day for the publish than to have days, weeks, or even months worth of puzzle design work go right into the trash can. A little common sense folks.

The problem is, I don't know that the email system is down until hours (days) after it goes down. In the meantime, I need to keep publishing all those puzzles so as to avoid a forum thread titled "Why does it take so long for a new cache to be published?"

[GOF and Bacall]

So Groundspeak, listen up... if your email notification system goes down, PLEASE STOP PUBLISHING PUZZLES until the system is back up!!!! I'd rather wait an extra day for the publish than to have days, weeks, or even months worth of puzzle design work go right into the trash can. A little common sense folks.

The problem is, I don't know that the email system is down until hours (days) after it goes down. In the meantime, I need to keep publishing all those puzzles so as to avoid a forum thread titled "Why does it take so long for a new cache to be published?"

 

So, why DOES it take so long for a cache to be published?

[AZcachemeister]

 

So, why DOES it take so long for a cache to be published?

 

Because there's a glitch in the EMail system, silly!

[AZcachemeister]

Yes . . . Well . . . actually, I haven't Bookmarked a brand new cache, but I often put them on my Watchlist. One time a cache was Published, then Retracted. Because I had it on my Watchlist, I received the notifications while it was "Unpublished," and then later, as it went back and forth from Published, Not Found, Retracted, Published, and then Disabled . . .

 

I actually got an FTF this way...

The CO kept moving his cache around, attempting to find a location that satisfied the proximity guideline.

[+benh57]

The problem is definitely still there. I saw a new puzzle yesterday and put it on my watchlist. The puzzle was a direct challenge to me (even included my name in the description). This morning my email box is full of all the reviewer notes from that puzzle being published. So I not only have the final coords from the reviewer log, but the puzzle solving method from the CO's note-to-reviewer logs.

 

So this "glitch" has completely spoiled what was to be a fun puzzle challenge between a couple puzzle makers. Naturally, I have immediately notified both the reviewer and the CO that the puzzle is spoiled (I'm not the only one on the watchlist). But I'm sure there are other's of shady character who wouldn't do the same, especially if they were the only one on the watchlist and no one else would know that they cheated.

 

So Groundspeak, listen up... if your email notification system goes down, PLEASE STOP PUBLISHING PUZZLES until the system is back up!!!! I'd rather wait an extra day for the publish than to have days, weeks, or even months worth of puzzle design work go right into the trash can. A little common sense folks.

 

Easy fix:

 

Make it so that the 'reviewer note' log type does not ever send out an email notification. Additionally, no emails should be sent out if a cache is 'unpublished', which also still happens if you put a watchlist on a cache, then it gets retracted.

[+tozainamboku]

 

Easy fix:

 

Make it so that the 'reviewer note' log type does not ever send out an email notification. Additionally, no emails should be sent out if a cache is 'unpublished', which also still happens if you put a watchlist on a cache, then it gets retracted.

It may be an easy fix but there is some analysis needed before the Groundspeak lackeys start messing with the code.

 

Right now emails are send to Owners, watchlists, bookmark lists with notification check, and instant notifications.

 

Owners should still get reviewer notes. Reviewers should also get reviewer notes. My guess is that some reviewers bookmark unpublished caches they are working on so they get notified if the cache owner posts a reviewer note. That has to keep working. I don't know if the reviewers' watchlists or bookmark lists are marked as special in any way, so the easy fix might entail creating special reviewer's watchlists for the reviewers that will get notifications of reviewer notes.

 

Instant notifications only get certain log types already and reviewer notes are not one of these. However I believe that reviewers can set up instant notification for reviewer notes or any other log type.

Edited May 16, 2010 by tozainamboku

[+Prime Suspect]

 

Make it so that the 'reviewer note' log type does not ever send out an email notification. Additionally, no emails should be sent out if a cache is 'unpublished', which also still happens if you put a watchlist on a cache, then it gets retracted.

That would pretty much completely break the review process. People would never get notified of issues with their cache submission.

 

It's just a timing issue. The distribution list needs to be generated at the time the action occurs that triggers the email, not at the time the email is sent.

Edited May 17, 2010 by Prime Suspect