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Google Earth add-in removed


adrian.rutter

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Any improvement is yet to be determined. So far the forums have showed no sign of improvement.

As noted elsewhere on this board, the forums run on different servers and a different database and the software being used is known to not scale to the level required here.

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Which instructions? They removed everything I remember seeing. Did they miss something?

 

yes, you can still find instructions for it when clicking through home -> ressources -> geocaching software. in passages "Waypoint File Formats" and "Windows Applications" there are still links to the instruction page.

 

too bad it has been removed. i found it some days ago and just wanted to install and test it today :D

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I can understand performance causing concern, but why not impose a restriction within the interface which will only allow it to interrogate for GeoCaches if the zoom level is below 20km altitude or somesuch, rather than remove the flexibility for users to use what is actually a useful component which was not very well publicised.

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And for everyone that says "I used it every day" there are those of us that never used it at all and don't miss it one bit.

 

Not trying to make light of you missing something that was useful, but there are other options.

 

And none do what we got from the one that is gone.

 

Once again, What function is going to be cut off next? Will it be one you use and enjoy?

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Here's for the "other options" question.

 

I use Google Earth a lot, but I never really found the Network KML thing offered here to be very satisfying. Showing found caches was a problem for me.

 

You don't get full 3D glory like terrain (though you can get terrain/countour maps) and views other than top-up and north-up, but the day that http://www.geocaching.com/map/ was introduced, the Network KML was pretty much dead to me. There are things I wish it did better, but it works quite well for me.

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Well I am one of the 200 people that used the feature!!! I am upset that is has been cut. I have been a very quiet member for a few years. I have introduced many of my fellow firefighters and friends to GEOCACHING by the use of the plugin on GOOGLE EARTH.

 

I have planned vacations, camping trips, hikes, days off and even the move from FLA to Kentucky around finding Geocaches along the route this way.

 

I guess Geocaching.com is DOWNSIZING...sad..sad..sad.

 

Hey I got an idea...start poor mouthing to the Government and you might a bail out....LOL...heck they mite appoint a NEW job just to oversee the distribution of funds and maps to the members.

 

SAD. so where does my money from my membership go? Expensive dinners...1st class airline tickets...purchasing of brand new GPS devices.......I guess not to the programs that myself and 199 others use.

Edited by fsubartender
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Here's for the "other options" question.

 

I use Google Earth a lot, but I never really found the Network KML thing offered here to be very satisfying. Showing found caches was a problem for me.

 

You don't get full 3D glory like terrain (though you can get terrain/countour maps) and views other than top-up and north-up, but the day that http://www.geocaching.com/map/ was introduced, the Network KML was pretty much dead to me. There are things I wish it did better, but it works quite well for me.

 

Good for you! Happy caching!

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SAD. so where does my money from my membership go? Expensive dinners...1st class airline tickets...purchasing of brand new GPS devices.......I guess not to the programs that myself and 199 others use.

Actually, it goes towards world domination through subversive religion masquerading as science.

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It was removed in yesterday's site update. Only used by about 200 people and caused significant performance problems for everyone else.

I'd like to know what or where you pulled that number from out of. :laughing:

 

This was an important tool and I had no idea that it had anything to do with our account or anything like that. Here I am planning for a caching trip and my tool that I use often - is gone.

 

I am searching and searching and thought I was losing my mind and came here for guidance and it is gone. That is BS.

 

How can you compare http://www.geocaching.com/map/ to Google earth? They are two different tools. Oh yeah- the maps page is still trying to load 5 minutes later (and counting). Google earth never did that.

 

:laughing:

 

I don't get this at all.

 

Isn't this something that reviewers used often?

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Isn't this something that reviewers used often?

I think I've opened Google Earth maybe twice in the past year, to construct routes for the Caches Along a Route feature. That was under my player account. I've never opened Google Earth while wearing my lab coat.

 

Also in the past 14 months, I've enjoyed three caching road trips where I drove more than 1,000 miles. All the planning was done without using Google Earth.

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SO it's been about 10 minutes now waiting for one page to load (or parse geocaches). How am i to decide which area for my caching trip has a fair number of caches to visit?

 

I cannot fathom this. It doesnt make any sense to me.

 

Any suggestions on how to choose an area without knowing how cache saturated it is?

 

:laughing::laughing:B):):)

 

Might as well give up in the parsing of geocaches.

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Also in the past 14 months, I've enjoyed three caching road trips where I drove more than 1,000 miles. All the planning was done without using Google Earth.

Please enlighten me. I check planned areas for cache saturation. We avoid urban areas. The gc maps just arent working...

 

If we cant go I will feel bad. These hamsters really wanted to get in some caches.

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Am I missing something here? I just went to Google Earth, and the KLM caches show up just as they always have.

 

I used this feature earlier today to find some caches to look for.

 

Is the KLM feature being discussed here something else, or is my favorite program for finding caches, on it's way out? :laughing::laughing:B):):):):):o

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Am I missing something here? I just went to Google Earth, and the KLM caches show up just as they always have.

 

I used this feature earlier today to find some caches to look for.

 

Is the KLM feature being discussed here something else, or is my favorite program for finding caches, on it's way out? :laughing::laughing:B):):):):):o

 

Check the thread for the latest updates. They are no longer going to support the KML. It seems it is still working but who knows for how long?

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I just flew to several locations with the maps. None took more than four seconds. If you have problems with some specific browser, computer, connection type, you should report that and get it looked into.

 

I am glad it works for you, but it doesn't work for me.

If it is going to be this big of a problem finding caches on trips, BRING BACK KML!!!!!!!!!!!!

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I usually use Google Earth several times a week. So I'm informed of new caches in my region very quick. And so do my caching buddies. I found out that the kml file is removed only because a newbie asked me where it is. That's a pity. Really! In Germany, it's the common way to look for new caches or to plan a holiday trip with geocaching. Geocaching maps isn't a proper alternative neither because of the visual style nor for the practical side. My kml file is still working. But for how long without an update or any maintenance?

By the way, I don't believe there are only 200 users for that file because I for myself know a lot of them only in Germany.

If someone wants to change a good thing, he should be able to tell the truth about that changing. I'm sure no one with half a brain would believe such explanations. To assume that the majority of users can't think serious would create an atmosphere of mistrust. And that's bad for each company.

 

Sorry for giving advice but that's how I am feeling at the moment.

 

PS: I apologize for my bad English, I'm just German... ;-)

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Only 200 users?

 

I beg your pardon, but I strongly believe that here in Portugal, an "insignificant" country with "just" 10k inhabitants, there may be more than those pesky 200 kml GE users.

 

Please bring back that tool - it was my main source of cache finding before going on a hunt. I tried to use that map tool, but, after a long struggle trying to center it on the zone where I'm standing today, the script would never finish parsing caches.

Edited by takssista
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Only 200 users?

 

I beg your pardon, but I strongly believe that here in Portugal, an "insignificant" country with "just" 10k inhabitants, there may be more than those pesky 200 kml GE users.

 

 

Portugal is 1000x more important than that -- in fact about 10 million (not 10K) inhabitants. So maybe it has lots more than 200 KML GE users? :unsure:

 

On the main question, the 200 figure seemed absurdly low to me too. Especially since, after selecting the option once, many people would be using this feature every single time that they use GE.

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Only 200 users?

 

I beg your pardon, but I strongly believe that here in Portugal, an "insignificant" country with "just" 10k inhabitants, there may be more than those pesky 200 kml GE users.

 

 

Portugal is 1000x more important than that -- in fact about 10 million (not 10K) inhabitants. So maybe it has lots more than 200 KML GE users? :unsure:

 

On the main question, the 200 figure seemed absurdly low to me too. Especially since, after selecting the option once, many people would be using this feature every single time that they use GE.

Your assumption is that 'everybody' or even 'a lot' of people use GE...I think that is a mistaken idea.

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Sigh. Just one more thing that used to be useful or fun about caching tossed on the scrapheap.

 

It's the times, I guess. Everything either costs more or you get less and less for your $.

This post is especially ironic.

 

It wasn't just a couple of years ago that we were all complaining because Buxley's (can we say that yet?) wasn't allowed to scrape GC data. So Groundspeak upgrades the map to Google, which are fantastic by the way. And you're complaining that removing a feature that didn't exist a couple years ago is a sign of the times?

 

What used to be fun about caching is when they made it possible to load the caches into your GPS so you didn't have to enter them by hand! That was a sign of the times.

 

I still want the old maps back so we can see archived caches. :unsure: And the old log pages back so my PaterQuest logs don't look like an unreadable mess. :D

 

Maybe there's another hobby better suited to you, though I don't know what that is.

 

Jamie

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On the main question, the 200 figure seemed absurdly low to me too. Especially since, after selecting the option once, many people would be using this feature every single time that they use GE.

Your assumption is that 'everybody' or even 'a lot' of people use GE...I think that is a mistaken idea.

 

Careful. I didn't write either of the words that you placed quotes around, and those aren't really my assumptions. What I meant to emphasize was something technical that might be important.

 

For anyone who ever clicked the option on the profile page to use the KML add-in, the add-in became one of the saved "my places" in GE. So after that first time, many of those users were using the add-in and the database every time that they ran GE, whether they were using it consciously or not. It's pretty easy to believe that could cause a heavy load on the database, but it's hard for me to believe that it was only 200 people/day.

 

[edited 2nd sentence for clarity]

Edited by Urubu
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The frog that took my KML can KMA.

 

Although that's just oh so witty :unsure: perhaps you should read the Forum Guidelines:

 

Forum courtesy: Please treat Groundspeak, its employees, volunteers, fellow community members, and guests on these boards with courtesy and respect.

 

If you cannot post constructively and respectfully, don't post.

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Is it Groundspeak that got rid of the KML file or Google Earth that did??? And which database was being taxed by the use?? I am of of the 200 users that loved this feature and find it extremely frustrating as I can no longer plan effectively what areas I want to visit. BRING BACK KML!!!

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Is it Groundspeak that got rid of the KML file or Google Earth that did??? And which database was being taxed by the use?? I am of of the 200 users that loved this feature and find it extremely frustrating as I can no longer plan effectively what areas I want to visit. BRING BACK KML!!!

 

This may come as a surprise to some users, so I'd like to offer an explanation. There are a couple reasons for the removal of the network KML. The network KML was implemented before we had a proper online mapping tool for Geocaching.com. Some of the more tenured cachers may recall the old GeoMicro maps that would reload the page every time you panned or zoomed (and how tedious that was). However, the subsequent introduction of full-featured Geocaching.com Google Maps has made the KML link somewhat redundant.

 

The other reason is that only about 200 users regularly accessed the Google Earth KML, and the performance hit to the site was grossly out of proportion with the return. In other words, it was making the site run quite slowly.

 

Groundspeak hesitates to inconvenience even a small number of geocachers. However, it is sometimes necessary for us to identify areas of performance loss as the site grows in order to keep the site responsive and available at all times, even if it means sacrificing a feature that some found useful. Obviously we would rather introduce new features than take them away, so we hope you can understand the uncomfortable situation this places us in.

 

Please keep in mind, however, that you can still use Google Earth to import .GPX files from Pocket Queries. In fact, the accuracy will be much better since the network KML has always randomized locations to some extent anyway. We'll continue to explore better ways to map geocaches that serve the needs of the majority of the caching community without jeopardizing the website's stability.

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Any possible way to create a sticky, petition , survey, or vote to bring back the KML files?

 

We all are members of an organization...don't we all get ONE equal vote on the course of our organization?

 

If I count there are about 10 people of the " 200 " that have posted here....tell all your friends to post on the topic...tell all the newbies and veterans to voice their opinion on the topic ! BRING BACK OUR KML

 

NEVER NEVER GIVE UP !

LONG LIVE GEOCACHING !

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The frog that took my KML can KMA.

 

Although that's just oh so witty :) perhaps you should read the Forum Guidelines:

 

Forum courtesy: Please treat Groundspeak, its employees, volunteers, fellow community members, and guests on these boards with courtesy and respect.

 

If you cannot post constructively and respectfully, don't post.

 

Oh my! Have I offended? Hmm, I don't actually care.

I did however quite like the KML in Google earth, and while the new maps are better, they do not serve the same function at all.

So, have me banned, cry, start a petition, whatever. You can see by my post count that the GS forums are not very high on my list of daily priorities, but thanks for being a good forum cop anyway.

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Not speaking for Groundspeak, but to the last two posters:

 

Uuuh, no. You're not a shareholder. You're a customer/user. Making a good case of why the Maps option doesn't work as well as the Earth option might get your voice heard more clearly, but I would not assume that "one voice == one vote" in technical matters, such as when to discontinue a service that's disproportionately used compared to its cost.

 

I'm not a forum cop in this forum, but that particular TLA combined with the snipe at "forum cops" would earn you a spanking in those where I *am* a forum cop.

 

If you want to make a case where the existing services of a PQ in Google Earth or the Maps interface isn't effective for you, I suggest that actual details (beyond "different is bad") will get you further than insults.

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Any possible way to create a sticky, petition , survey, or vote to bring back the KML files?

 

We all are members of an organization...don't we all get ONE equal vote on the course of our organization?

 

If I count there are about 10 people of the " 200 " that have posted here....tell all your friends to post on the topic...tell all the newbies and veterans to voice their opinion on the topic ! BRING BACK OUR KML

 

NEVER NEVER GIVE UP !

LONG LIVE GEOCACHING !

This topic is something of a petition or survey already.

 

My vote cancels your vote. I haven't used it in a long time. Won't miss it a bit. It is inaccurate anyway, and I only use Google Earth now to drag a GPX file into it and even do that maybe four times a year at the most.

 

If 10 out of 200 have posted, then that is five percent. If as some say there are more than 200 users, then that only hurts the percentage figures regarding those that care enough to post. It would seem that the lack of interest solidifies the fact that few used this function. When more than 200 post that they are currently using it then that would mean something, but considering that there are over 2 million accounts, the percentages are going to be way low when looking at the big picture.

 

The KML will simply expire at some point from what I understand. It will work for a while and then just quit.

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My vote cancels your vote. I haven't used it in a long time. Won't miss it a bit. It is inaccurate anyway, and I only use Google Earth now to drag a GPX file into it and even do that maybe four times a year at the most.

 

If 10 out of 200 have posted, then that is five percent. If as some say there are more than 200 users, then that only hurts the percentage figures regarding those that care enough to post. It would seem that the lack of interest solidifies the fact that few used this function. When more than 200 post that they are currently using it then that would mean something, but considering that there are over 2 million accounts, the percentages are going to be way low when looking at the big picture.

 

The KML will simply expire at some point from what I understand. It will work for a while and then just quit.

 

Well, that about wraps it up.

 

Personally, the only thing now that makes me being a premium member is the ability of doing PQs. Once I get to the conclusion that I don't need them - or get an alternate way of getting my hands on them - there's no longer any point of paying a monthly fee for GC.com's services.

 

Cheers!

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Well, that about wraps it up.

 

Personally, the only thing now that makes me being a premium member is the ability of doing PQs. Once I get to the conclusion that I don't need them - or get an alternate way of getting my hands on them - there's no longer any point of paying a monthly fee for GC.com's services.

 

Cheers!

 

Agreed. Why should we help support the use of the servers and license fees. This should be a labor of love with someone else footing the bill.

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I did however quite like the KML in Google earth, and while the new maps are better, they do not serve the same function at all.

 

 

Other than not having a "link", is everyone missing that Google Earth is still usable via GPX.

 

From the release notes;

 

Please keep in mind, however, that you can still use Google Earth to import .GPX files from Pocket Queries. In fact, the accuracy will be much better since the network KML has always randomized locations to some extent anyway. We'll continue to explore better ways to map geocaches that serve the needs of the majority of the caching community without jeopardizing the website's stability.

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Agreed. Why should we help support the use of the servers and license fees. This should be a labor of love with someone else footing the bill.

 

Don't get me wrong - I feel that GC.com's admins are doing a great job overall and that the monthly fee is a low price to pay to help fund all the time and effort put in this site.

 

But I got quite upset at the "only 200 people" using one of two features I mainly use and that I believe is used by far more people than that.

 

Where did they get that number from? The forums? Personally, this is the second time since I began geocaching last year that I come here. I usually go to other forums and rarely come this way (unless I can't find answers to my questions anywhere else).

 

If only 10 people posted on this forum complaining is because the KML is still working. Let them shut it off and you'll probably see the posts from people complaining falling in like rain in Seattle.

 

It was a poor excuse, and it upsets me because I feel like someone is trying to pass me off as dumb - which I believe I'm not (though opinions may vary).

 

Cheers!

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Don't get me wrong - I feel that GC.com's admins are doing a great job overall and that the monthly fee is a low price to pay to help fund all the time and effort put in this site.

 

Then the deletion of one feature should not be a deciding factor.

 

But I got quite upset at the "only 200 people" using one of two features I mainly use and that I believe is used by far more people than that.

 

Where did they get that number from? The forums? Personally, this is the second time since I began geocaching last year that I come here. I usually go to other forums and rarely come this way (unless I can't find answers to my questions anywhere else).

 

My experience has been Groundspeak does not hide behind an "excuse". The forums actually represent a very small percentage of cachers, so I don't think that weighed in to heavy on this.

 

They have access to system logs and while the number might be plus or minus 10, I am betting it is pretty much in the ballpark. It appears most just use the GPX in conjunction with GE, I know we do.

 

If only 10 people posted on this forum complaining is because the KML is still working. Let them shut it off and you'll probably see the posts from people complaining falling in like rain in Seattle.

 

Since the GPX method still works, it is doubtful.

 

It was a poor excuse, and it upsets me because I feel like someone is trying to pass me off as dumb - which I believe I'm not (though opinions may vary).

 

I guess your perception is your reality, however since they really don't need an "excuse" to turn a feature on or off, I am sure they did not intend to specifically offend you and since you utilize their system, I think if asked they would describe you as pretty "in the know". :unsure:

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So, then Am I considered 1 or 3 people? I have 1 Account, but I use Google Earth on 3 computers(depends where I am at the time). Of course, sometimes my wife uses it as well... so then could I be counted as 2 instead of 1 or 3.

 

Our vote is to bring it back.

 

Now just to see if the Old file still works. Hopefully it still does.

 

The Steaks

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