For anyone who has logged benchmarks, we need your help.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

In the last update, the link to the benchmark main page has been moved to the very bottom right on the GC main page. I feel that people just coming to the site will never see the link, nor ever have the fun of including this hobby with caching.

 

If you would please go to this link, Move the "Find a Benchmark" back. and vote and/or leave a comment, it might allow this to be changed back.

 

Thank you.

 

Shirley~

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Edited March 10, 2011 by 2oldfarts (the rockhounders)

[+StarBrand]

I noticed that - it seems like they are trying to phase it out.

[knowschad]

I noticed that - it seems like they are trying to phase it out.

That was my distinct impression as well. I know of quite a few mystery caches that rely on them.

[+NeecesandNephews]

I'll gladly donate three votes to the cause!!! Seems like a lot of them are dissappearing around here. Interesting reading none the less. Most of the local ones are a pretty good hike to get to, not something you can drive right up to. With a couple exceptions!

[+Chokecherry]

I really like incorporating this into my caching when I can. Sometimes I've found them (accidentally or on purpose) when there was no cache around to be found. I hope they don't get phased out. It's a nice little way to augment caching.

[+tango501]

I would like to see the BM feature stay on site/

I am currently using for multis and mysteries and if

benchmark feature is removed that surely will dork em up.

 

Besides I like seeking/searching/finding benchmarks.

[+Harwell5]

You got a vote from me. I enjoy benchmarks when I find them and many are disappearing. Help keep history alive and see the move back to the top left. Cast a vote.

[AZcachemeister]

There is a faction of Geocachers who would like to see benchmarks removed to the whymarking site.

What they don't understand is that Benchmark Hunting came long before:

Virtuals

Wecams

Reverse-locationless

Micros

Nanos

Smalls

Multi-stages

Puzzles

 

Basically any cache type other than regular size traditionals.

 

If Benchmark Hunting gets moved to whymarking, I'm done with it (on the Groundspeak sites at least).

If moving the link (that I have bookmarked anyway) makes this activity less of a target to those who would have it removed, then I do not support moving it back to where it was.

 

As long as Benchmarking remains a viable activity here, I don't care where they put the link.

[+CanadianRockies]

I noticed that - it seems like they are trying to phase it out.

I'm guessing the web site designers have concluded that having more than 10 items in their navigation menu probably would start to overwhelm users. When they added "Videos," they decided they needed to remove an existing menu item and chose "Find a Benchmark."

 

I don't think they are trying to phase out benchmarking, but it certainly will receive less attention as a result of the link's new location.

[Chumpo]

It would be a shame to phase benchmarks out even if it is considered old, useless technology by today's standards. I have only logged a few, but I got a thrill out of tripping over this one. I was the first guy to spot it since it was placed in 1944.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

Thank you all who took the time to vote and/or comment.

 

Anyone else?

 

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

[+lamoracke]

yeah, I noticed it was removed from the main page with the new update (AND the site did not even mention it as part of the updates). You can still get there, its under Resources....Tools and Downloads....Benchmark Hunting.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/mark/default.aspx

 

I guess they did not think it was even worthy to mention it, or they were just easily forgotten about compared to the removal of a country code listing in Africa or Asia that did not exist in the first place.

[+G & C]

It got 3 votes from me. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

[+Chrysalides]

I know of quite a few mystery caches that rely on them.

The "Find Nearby Benchmarks" link is still there though.

 

I think I've clicked on the link that was removed maybe 3 times total over more than 2 years here. But I'll add my vote in support - there are certainly less useful things on that menu.

[+pppingme]

The bad part is (at least last time I looked), Groundspeak pulled the data 10 years ago, and does nothing to keep it updated. Many times I've found much more current info (updated descriptions, confirmation of marks that have been destroyed, even though Groundspeak doesn't reflect that, etc) on the .gov site. I think most people, including geocachers, who go after benchmarks are not using groundspeaks data. Since its not maintained, its simply a starting point for newbies that don't know better.

[+tozainamboku]

There is a faction of Geocachers who would like to see benchmarks removed to the whymarking site.

What they don't understand is that Benchmark Hunting came long before:

Virtuals

Wecams

Reverse-locationless

Micros

Nanos

Smalls

Multi-stages

Puzzles

 

Basically any cache type other than regular size traditionals.

 

I don't believe this is true, but then your join date is two months before mine and all of those things (other than smalls and nanos) could've have come along during those two months.

 

When I start there were already

 

Virtuals

Wecams

Reverse-locationless

Micros

Multi-stages

Puzzles

 

There was also already a moratorium on new Reverse-locacationless caches, so they must have been around a little while. Meanwhile, when I started there was a section on the home page announcing the addition of this new benchmark hunting section. I supposed that benchmark hunting (as part of the geocaching site) could've been around awhile and they just had never updated the front page announcement.

 

I don't think I saw my first nano till about a year later. And it was even later after that when the small size was added. So I'll grant that benchmarks have been around longer than that.

 

Of course how long something has been around has no bearing on how much a part of geocaching it is. If that were the case we would have buried caches, moving caches, and couch potato virtual caches.

 

Benchmarking was added at a time when there were many areas with few caches. The hope was that finding these benchmarks would provide something to keep geocachers busy while waiting for new caches to be published. As it turns out, benchmark hunting has its own charm that lets it standalone as another activity. Some people happen to like both geoaching and benchmark hunting.

 

If Benchmark Hunting gets moved to whymarking, I'm done with it (on the Groundspeak sites at least).

If moving the link (that I have bookmarked anyway) makes this activity less of a target to those who would have it removed, then I do not support moving it back to where it was.

 

As long as Benchmarking remains a viable activity here, I don't care where they put the link.

The original benchmark data was a snapshot of the NGS database. (According to the benchmark page this was done in 2000 right at the start of Geocaching.com, and if that is correct it may support your claim that it has been around as long as the earliest geocaching.com caches, but my guess is that this may just be that date of the data they used when they added benchmarking sometime in 2002). As such it contains only United States benchmarks, and only a small subset of those. When Waymarking was created it provided an opportunity to create benchmark databases for other other countries as well as for US benchmarks not in the 2000 NGS database. Those who want to move all benchmarking to Waymarking, want to consolidate all the benchmark data that has been collected on Groundspeak sites. I could even imagine a new benchmarking site (however, www.benchmarking.com is already taken). The main problem I see is that the NGS data on Geocaching.com is in a format that supports original NGS datasheets and also benchmarks can be logged Destroyed if there is evidence the benchmark has been destroyed or no longer exists. Most of the Waymarking categories have their own formats and they only allow visited and note logs. So combining all the benchmarking data would require a lot of work.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

If you look at the benchmark forum, the first topic was started in May 2002. That means benchmark hunting has been around for a very long time.

 

John

[+GeoGeeBee]

I enjoy benchmarking, but...

 

The database on this website is a snapshot of one particular database of benchmarks. It has not been updated since 2001. There are a lot of benchmarks in that database that no longer exist. And there are millions of benchmarks that aren't in that database.

 

I'd love to see benchmarking remain a part of geocaching, but we really need a database update. If you read the benchmarking forums, you'll see that people who are serious about it have to use a number of data sources and software tools to find their targets.

 

If Groundspeak isn't interested in updating the benchmark database, then it's not surprising that they might try to phase it out.

[jholly]

yeah, I noticed it was removed from the main page with the new update (AND the site did not even mention it as part of the updates). You can still get there, its under Resources....Tools and Downloads....Benchmark Hunting.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/mark/default.aspx

 

I guess they did not think it was even worthy to mention it, or they were just easily forgotten about compared to the removal of a country code listing in Africa or Asia that did not exist in the first place.

From the update notes ...

Where did the benchmark link go?

 

If you're looking for the benchmark navigation link, fear not. It's been repositioned in the footer of every page. All links to nearby benchmarks on cache pages remain, and the stats appear in your profile as always.

[+geekwalrus]

3 votes from the walrus

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

Thank you to everyone who has voted.

 

Anyone else?

 

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

[+the4dirtydogs]

We gave it 3 votes. We think its pretty neat when we come across benchmarks.

[+lamoracke]

yeah, I noticed it was removed from the main page with the new update (AND the site did not even mention it as part of the updates). You can still get there, its under Resources....Tools and Downloads....Benchmark Hunting.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/mark/default.aspx

 

I guess they did not think it was even worthy to mention it, or they were just easily forgotten about compared to the removal of a country code listing in Africa or Asia that did not exist in the first place.

From the update notes ...

Where did the benchmark link go?

 

If you're looking for the benchmark navigation link, fear not. It's been repositioned in the footer of every page. All links to nearby benchmarks on cache pages remain, and the stats appear in your profile as always.

 

well, I guess I stand corrected, but I sure missed it while reading through all of it.

[+Too Tall John]

My 2 cents (and three votes) on the feedback site:

Hmm.... Seems that moving an enjoyable feature that is unique to this caching site (in a growing number of caching sites) to a spot where it is much less visible is an EXTREMELY bad move.

 

This one gets my vote! Well, votes. . .

Say, here's a pic of a benchmark I found at the recommendation of the OP!

Molly's Nipple

Edited March 12, 2011 by Too Tall John

[+lemon16]

Benchmarks are not "Geocaching". If you think about it, they are more like Waymarks than geocaches and belong on that site. I think it is a good thing if Groundspeak is trying to phase them out, because they don't belong here, and it is no longer practical to look up marks using GC.com.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

Benchmarks are not "Geocaching". If you think about it, they are more like Waymarks than geocaches and belong on that site. I think it is a good thing if Groundspeak is trying to phase them out, because they don't belong here, and it is no longer practical to look up marks using GC.com.

I disagree.

 

Geocaching and benchmarking go hand in hand. They are both very enjoyable hobbies and to be able to log both of them here on GC.com is very satisfying. If you have not tried doing both in the same day, you are missing out on lots of fun!

 

But, I am not posting to get in your face, nor to change your mindset, as both are not part of what this thread is about.

 

So, to everyone else who has followed the link and voted, I say thank you very muchly! We now stand at 103 votes.

 

Are there any others who have enjoyed finding and logging benchmarks enough to go vote?

 

Thank you again.

 

Shirley~

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[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

I wanted to thank you all, we are up to 121 votes now with a lot of great comments.

 

Is there anyone else who would like to help the new people to our site enjoy our hobby as much as we do?

 

Shirley~

 

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