PQ for archived Caches

[+Vater_Araignee]

Jumping into a pair of loafers here:

 

The reason to not allow archived PQs is simple.

A parson could pay GS, take their PQs and start their own listing service at a cheaper price. Allowing archived PQs, allows simpler faster updates that would make them more successful.

Not only would they be using the database to steal from GS, but they would be stealing from the CO's.

[+dfx]

Please hold.... My 5 PQs just generated. Time to update and delete archived (not updated) caches. Be back in 10...

 

Sorry, it took 11..... 4835 caches in PQs, 4 new, 969 updated, 29 deleted (I delete disabled AND archived). Ready to download to GPS...

heh. good for you if you don't mind wasting 10+ minutes every time a PQ generates. i do.

[+AuntieWeasel]

Huh. I was wondering about just this issue the other day. I was trying to find a cache I had searched for years ago. One that I believe was archived before anyone found it.

 

Just for 'memory lane' purposes.

[+Lil Devil]

Huh. I was wondering about just this issue the other day. I was trying to find a cache I had searched for years ago. One that I believe was archived before anyone found it.

If you would have logged a DNF then you'd be able to find it that way

[+AuntieWeasel]

I know, I know. I was surprised when I went through my logs that I didn't. Eh, I was a noob and touchy.

[+blackjack65]

Before removing an Archived cache from your database,

put it in a shared bookmark list on GeoCaching.com

Create a monthly list, and sahre it with your

community at the end of every month.

Interested GeoCachers can create a Pocket Query

from that list, and dowmload it to their databases.

You are not sharing a PQ, you are sharing a Bookmark list.

[+Hynr]

Purely hypothetical (I learned years ago not to ever expect this), if data on just the archive status were included in PQs, and you could select/unselect for that, then in the gpx file you might expect an entry that looks like this:

 <wpt lat="" lon="">
<name>GC292</name>
<Groundspeak:cache id="658" available="False" archived="True">
</Groundspeak:cache>
 </wpt>

I obviously removed all info that I thought might be optional in the xml definitions for gpx (but I did not go to the gpx schemas to make sure I did it right). If we had this, then let's consider the consequences of that.

 

- some software would need to be updated to handle this minimal entry (most would probably be OK as is)

- file sizes on PQ results would decline for the same number of caches returned

- note that if a similar principle is applied to data in the AllFinds PQ (found status would obviously need to be included), then these could well get much smaller for many of us

- clearly loading this onto a GPSr will not result in a location that someone would be able to go to.

- PQs that you are generating now in the US would have about 30 to 40% of the cache entries consist of these. It would take even more PQs to update a database for the same area.

 

I anticipate that that last consequence might be tough to swallow even for those who are wanting this feature really badly. I personally would love to see such a feature, but not at this price.