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Challenges: Now that they are released


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So... Challenge (CX1) Snoqualmie Tunnel of Light. I'm going to travel all the way there to make my way through the tunnel, THEN log the challenge complete. This is 185km from my home as the bird flys, but people are logging accept then 1 or 2 minutes later logging completed. :mad:

 

I am going to the event his weekend and will be going through the tunnel, but I'm not going to log it as a "challenge" until things settle down and the "completed" are not counted as a "find"

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Well I was excited about this new category, but did not turn out the way I thought it would. Seems there is junk, but as with anything there are growing pains. I will give it some time, see how it goes...

 

That's it. Just like bookmarks, friends, souvenirs, and so many other things that were poorly or inadequately implemented and received originally. Give them time. Optimism always pays off in the long run. Hope springs eternal.

 

Let's just hope that they don't forget about these like they seem to have done on so many things. These need so much work that I am not hopeful about any of the long promised fixes, changes, upgrades ever seeing a developers attention.

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I tried to search for challenges "Near Me" and it told me that "We did not find any Challenges near Ithaca, ny."

 

What is the definition of "near" and can I change the search radius so that I can find the "closest" challenge?

 

I did the same thing here in Tokyo, Japan got two here but there was no way to look further afield.

 

Do I need to enter every darned town, village, and intersection shouting "MARCO!" to find these?

 

How about some kind of mappy thing?

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I submitted a challenge which is the type I think they all should be. You have to go and take a picture at a specific place, not of your dog or climbing a tree in your backyard. I thought that was the idea, like a virtual. To attract people to some place that you can't otherwise place a cache container. Mine is to take a creative picture of a bridge near me that is unique. The other ones that have nothing to do with going to a specific place are ridiculous!

 

Also, if it adds to your regular count, why is there a seperate block for challenges in your profile. I thought it would only count there, not on both?

 

I created a challenge at the mast site for airships in the Tokyo area. It is city property that makes it hard for a traditional cache. But the requirement is for the acceptor to have a pic of themselves with GPS. This is definitely a location based cache requiring them to be there. But once accepted could someone photoshop themselves into a pic for the shot and how do I go about calling fooey on the logger if they do fake the completion?

 

Also on a different note what happened to the dates for caches found?

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Let's just hope that they don't forget about these like they seem to have done on so many things. These need so much work that I am not hopeful about any of the long promised fixes, changes, upgrades ever seeing a developers attention.

74c8dd6f-5e25-47ef-b6ab-2337ab152052.jpg

 

:lol: :lol:

Edited by cb82
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Let's just hope that they don't forget about these like they seem to have done on so many things. These need so much work that I am not hopeful about any of the long promised fixes, changes, upgrades ever seeing a developers attention.

74c8dd6f-5e25-47ef-b6ab-2337ab152052.jpg

So true! Trying to please this many folks has to be one of the toughest jobs in the world on days like this!

 

And it's not like most of the folks who have gone ballistic in this forum today weren't ready and primed! Many have been locked and loaded to resist whatever came out today.

 

Challenges are a work in progress, folks. I like that they put out something that is perhaps not yet ready for prime time and will let our input guide them to a finished product.

 

I have every confidence that they will ignore hysterics and carefully consider logical input from us.

 

Let's stop our roasting them for a moment and thank them for doing something!

Edited by TheAlabamaRambler
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Let's just hope that they don't forget about these like they seem to have done on so many things. These need so much work that I am not hopeful about any of the long promised fixes, changes, upgrades ever seeing a developers attention.

74c8dd6f-5e25-47ef-b6ab-2337ab152052.jpg

So true! Trying to please this many folks has to be one of the toughest jobs in the world on days like this!

Yeah, but you pick one, and go after it. You don't ignore them and come up with some brand-new half-baked donut, TAR. You pay your bills before you buy something new.

 

Let's stop our roasting them for a moment and thank them for doing something!
Nope. Wrong something. Call me "locked and loaded" all you want. I've suffered through this mentality for 7 years. Edited by knowschad
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That's the point (heh) that I was trying to get across. This is a geocaching site, so geocaching features should have priority, and be promptly fixed when they break.

 

I remember reading that the whole forcing-us-onto-beta-maps was kind of an emergency due to site traffic, but it's been weeks and we still don't have all the functionality we used to have in the old maps.

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So true! Trying to please this many folks has to be one of the toughest jobs in the world on days like this!

 

And it's not like most of the folks who have gone ballistic in this forum today weren't ready and primed! Many have been locked and loaded to resist whatever came out today.

 

Challenges are a work in progress, folks. I like that they put out something that is perhaps not yet ready for prime time and will let our input guide them to a finished product.

 

I have every confidence that they will ignore hysterics and carefully consider logical input from us.

 

Let's stop our roasting them for a moment and thank them for doing something!

If Jeremy didn't shut down feedback suggestions for Challenges within hours that are extremely popular, I'd be a lot more sympathetic. He seems to think it is just fine and it's not a work in progress.

 

I'm not upset about challenges. I'm upset about this "shut up, do it our way, and like it" attitude.

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Let's just hope that they don't forget about these like they seem to have done on so many things. These need so much work that I am not hopeful about any of the long promised fixes, changes, upgrades ever seeing a developers attention.

74c8dd6f-5e25-47ef-b6ab-2337ab152052.jpg

So true! Trying to please this many folks has to be one of the toughest jobs in the world on days like this!

 

And it's not like most of the folks who have gone ballistic in this forum today weren't ready and primed! Many have been locked and loaded to resist whatever came out today.

 

Challenges are a work in progress, folks. I like that they put out something that is perhaps not yet ready for prime time and will let our input guide them to a finished product.

 

I have every confidence that they will ignore hysterics and carefully consider logical input from us.

 

Let's stop our roasting them for a moment and thank them for doing something!

 

I am surprised at the number of people posting that either seldom or never visit the forums. I really don't think it is just those who were "already primed" who are not happy.

 

Myself? I just think the way they go about this stuff is strange.

 

This whole site is about location. You'd think they would make it so you could locate these things on maps and such. Things that we look at as basic features don't exist for challenges.

 

These could be fun. But they need a bit more definition and some tools. Let people know what they are supposed to be doing and give them the stuff to do it with.

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I'm not upset about challenges. I'm upset about this "shut up, do it our way, and like it" attitude.

I don't think that's their attitude at all. The 'if you don't like them, don't play them' response was to a request that Challenges be trashed altogether. That was an appropriate (if a mite snarky) response to that suggestion.

 

I've yet to hear 'we don't want your input, we'll build what we want' and don't think you have (or will) either.

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Let's just hope that they don't forget about these like they seem to have done on so many things. These need so much work that I am not hopeful about any of the long promised fixes, changes, upgrades ever seeing a developers attention.

74c8dd6f-5e25-47ef-b6ab-2337ab152052.jpg

So true! Trying to please this many folks has to be one of the toughest jobs in the world on days like this!

 

And it's not like most of the folks who have gone ballistic in this forum today weren't ready and primed! Many have been locked and loaded to resist whatever came out today.

 

Challenges are a work in progress, folks. I like that they put out something that is perhaps not yet ready for prime time and will let our input guide them to a finished product.

 

I have every confidence that they will ignore hysterics and carefully consider logical input from us.

 

Let's stop our roasting them for a moment and thank them for doing something!

They've received lots of input on fixing the maps. ignored.

They've received lots of input on fixing the PQ maps. ignored

They've received lots of input on creating a nano cache size. ignored

They've received lots of input on Wherigo. ignored

 

There are many things that they have input on that they have ignored, or make some vague reference to it is planned. Why keep putting out half baked ideas when most of the premium features are broken and they just keep cranking out more broken garbage with the lame excuse that it is a work in progress. Spend some time fixing what is broke before you pour resource into more broken garbage.

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I'm not upset about challenges. I'm upset about this "shut up, do it our way, and like it" attitude.

I don't think that's their attitude at all. The 'if you don't like them, don't play them' response was to a request that Challenges be trashed altogether. That was an appropriate (if a mite snarky) response to that suggestion.

 

I've yet to hear 'we don't want your input, we'll build what we want' and don't think you have (or will) either.

I thought the suggestion was "Remove them or put them on a separate site". I remember the response the same way you do.

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Let's just hope that they don't forget about these like they seem to have done on so many things. These need so much work that I am not hopeful about any of the long promised fixes, changes, upgrades ever seeing a developers attention.

74c8dd6f-5e25-47ef-b6ab-2337ab152052.jpg

So true! Trying to please this many folks has to be one of the toughest jobs in the world on days like this!

 

And it's not like most of the folks who have gone ballistic in this forum today weren't ready and primed! Many have been locked and loaded to resist whatever came out today.

 

Challenges are a work in progress, folks. I like that they put out something that is perhaps not yet ready for prime time and will let our input guide them to a finished product.

 

I have every confidence that they will ignore hysterics and carefully consider logical input from us.

 

Let's stop our roasting them for a moment and thank them for doing something!

They've received lots of input on fixing the maps. ignored.

They've received lots of input on fixing the PQ maps. ignored

They've received lots of input on creating a nano cache size. ignored

They've received lots of input on Wherigo. ignored

 

There are many things that they have input on that they have ignored, or make some vague reference to it is planned. Why keep putting out half baked ideas when most of the premium features are broken and they just keep cranking out more broken garbage with the lame excuse that it is a work in progress. Spend some time fixing what is broke before you pour resource into more broken garbage.

Perhaps 'considered and rejected' is more accurate than "ignored".

Perhaps 'work is in progress' is more accurate than "ignored".

Perhaps 'good idea but not a high priority right now' is more accurate than "ignored".

Perhaps 'hysterical hyperbole' is deservedly ignored.

 

I admit that I don't know much about the company, but from years of watching them from afar I don't think they ignore our input. They may not do everything I wish or respond to everything I post but I certainly have never gotten the impression that they were ignoring me.

 

For a little while a long time ago I was allowed to stick my nose under the tent and saw some of how these folks operate. Not only did they seriously consider input and issues, but I was very pleased to see that they truly do care what people want, like and dislike.

 

I do think communication is a problem. We can't expect them to personally address every suggestion or update us on their every move, but they could handle feedback re what they are working on a bit better. Today's kerfuffle over Challenges was a self-inflicted wound that could have been almost entirely avoided with a single post detailing what a Challenge is, how they will work and what changes are already in the pipeline for them. Hopefully while I am out caching in the morning someone at the Frog Palace will see the need for such clarity and post it.

 

As far as "most of the premium features are broken" I don't see it. I can run a PQ, get it in a few minutes, go geocaching, log my finds if I so choose...what's broken about that? They run a cache listing site that simply works. I'm quite happy with that!

Edited by TheAlabamaRambler
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IF they had some sort of approval like Waymarking it could be managed and no extra work for GC.com staffers. (Of course cache reviewers are not normally staffers anyway...)

 

Also the world wide challenge examples that Groundspeak created started a bad trend and turned the notion of good virtuals into locationless.

 

I think the vote count in the feedback tool says it all. And sadly their response says a lot also.

 

2rz80eg.jpg

 

This is my last response on the subject. I hope that between refining the implementation and listening to feedback "challenges" will not hurt the overall experience and joy that GC.com brings to "Geocachers".

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Let's just hope that they don't forget about these like they seem to have done on so many things. These need so much work that I am not hopeful about any of the long promised fixes, changes, upgrades ever seeing a developers attention.

74c8dd6f-5e25-47ef-b6ab-2337ab152052.jpg

So true! Trying to please this many folks has to be one of the toughest jobs in the world on days like this!

 

And it's not like most of the folks who have gone ballistic in this forum today weren't ready and primed! Many have been locked and loaded to resist whatever came out today.

 

Challenges are a work in progress, folks. I like that they put out something that is perhaps not yet ready for prime time and will let our input guide them to a finished product.

 

I have every confidence that they will ignore hysterics and carefully consider logical input from us.

 

Let's stop our roasting them for a moment and thank them for doing something!

They've received lots of input on fixing the maps. ignored.

They've received lots of input on fixing the PQ maps. ignored

They've received lots of input on creating a nano cache size. ignored

They've received lots of input on Wherigo. ignored

 

There are many things that they have input on that they have ignored, or make some vague reference to it is planned. Why keep putting out half baked ideas when most of the premium features are broken and they just keep cranking out more broken garbage with the lame excuse that it is a work in progress. Spend some time fixing what is broke before you pour resource into more broken garbage.

Perhaps 'considered and rejected' is more accurate than "ignored".

Perhaps 'work is in progress' is more accurate than "ignored".

Perhaps 'good idea but not a high priority right now' is more accurate than "ignored".

Perhaps 'hysterical hyperbole' is deservedly ignored.

 

I admit that I don't know much about the company, but from years of watching them from afar I don't think they ignore our input. They may not do everything I wish or respond to everything I post but I certainly have never gotten the impression that they were ignoring me.

 

I do think communication is a problem. We can't expect them to personally address every suggestion or update us on their every move, but they could handle feedback re what they are working on a bit better. And today's delivery of Challenges was a self-inflicted wound that could have been almost entirely avoided with a single post detailing what a Challenge is, how they will work and what changes are already in the pipeline for them. Hopefully while I am out caching in the morning someone at the Frog Palace will see the need for such clarity and post it.

 

As far as "most of the premium features are broken" I don't see it. I can run a PQ, get it in a few minutes, go geocaching, log my finds if I so choose...what's broken about that? They run a cache listing site that simply works. I'm quite happy with that!

 

I'm sorry but the difference in placing an item on a planned list and then never proceeding any further and actually marking the idea ignored is insignificant. But I will agree that today's fiasco could have been at least mostly avoided if they would practice their communication skills. And they should have held off on the global challenges.

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I'm not upset about challenges. I'm upset about this "shut up, do it our way, and like it" attitude.

I don't think that's their attitude at all. The 'if you don't like them, don't play them' response was to a request that Challenges be trashed altogether. That was an appropriate (if a mite snarky) response to that suggestion.

 

I've yet to hear 'we don't want your input, we'll build what we want' and don't think you have (or will) either.

The exact wording of the request is "Remove challenges, it has nothing to do with Geocaching. Or put it on a separate site. Thank you!".

 

That was not an appropriate response from someone in an official position, and there's no one more official than Jeremy. He could have declined with a much more polite response. If he is not capable of doing so, that's why you hire PR folks.

 

He gave a much better response to another request, saying that people should give it some time. That's something I can agree with.

 

Another thread about not letting challenges count as finds, closed without explanation. But I see there's another one that's still alive.

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IF they had some sort of approval like Waymarking it could be managed and no extra work for GC.com staffers. (Of course cache reviewers are not normally staffers anyway...)

That would work IF you have a clear set of rules, not guidelines, and all Challenge Reviewers work from them with little discretion for making exceptions. The review would be purely a pass/fail when evaluated against those rules.

 

Also the world wide challenge examples that Groundspeak created started a bad trend and turned the notion of good virtuals into locationless.

Yeah, someone's probably regretting the Kiss A Frog one about now!

 

I think the vote count in the feedback tool says it all. And sadly their response says a lot also.

 

2rz80eg.jpg

I think Jeremy's response is appropriate to an inappropriate request. They're not going away and he said so. Cool. He did NOT say they were set in stone and not open to our legitimate input.

 

This is my last response on the subject. I hope that between refining the implementation and listening to feedback "challenges" will not hurt the overall experience and joy that GC.com brings to "Geocachers".

I can't imagine why it would. I look up caches on their site, get a PQ loaded on my GPS and go find caches. I can't imagine how Challenges would have any impact on my enjoyment of geocaching. :D

Edited by TheAlabamaRambler
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I'm not upset about challenges. I'm upset about this "shut up, do it our way, and like it" attitude.

I don't think that's their attitude at all. The 'if you don't like them, don't play them' response was to a request that Challenges be trashed altogether. That was an appropriate (if a mite snarky) response to that suggestion.

 

I've yet to hear 'we don't want your input, we'll build what we want' and don't think you have (or will) either.

The exact wording of the request is "Remove challenges, it has nothing to do with Geocaching. Or put it on a separate site. Thank you!".

 

That was not an appropriate response from someone in an official position, and there's no one more official than Jeremy. He could have declined with a much more polite response. If he is not capable of doing so, that's why you hire PR folks.

 

He gave a much better response to another request, saying that people should give it some time. That's something I can agree with.

 

Another thread about not letting challenges count as finds, closed without explanation. But I see there's another one that's still alive.

Yeah, he can be a bit abrupt, but he's in there, paying attention, interacting with his users. I dig that. Much better than hiding behind a PR mouthpiece who gives us the 'politically correct' version of what Jeremy thinks.

 

And I get the 'it's not what you say, it's how you say it' thing all the time, so I can relate. :D

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Yeah, he can be a bit abrupt, but he's in there, paying attention, interacting with his users. I dig that. Much better than hiding behind a PR mouthpiece who gives us the 'politically correct' version of what Jeremy thinks.

 

And I get the 'it's not what you say, it's how you say it' thing all the time, so I can relate. :D

He wasn't abrupt, he was rude. He was angry and lashed out. I can relate to how he feels. But it is still inappropriate from someone in his position.

 

You've been at this much longer than me and obviously know Jeremy well, either personally or through other interactions. You're willing to make concessions for his straight talking. Do consider that many people are even newer than I am. What kind of impression of geocaching.com will they get from his little outburst of snark?

 

And I realized that I've gone totally off topic regarding challenges. My apologies. My last post regarding Jeremy's behavior in this thread.

Edited by Chrysalides
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They just archived a challenge to do nothing for 10 minutes, this being even published is a friggin' joke. Actually maybe not, because breathing is something, heck even if you stop breathing you'll be decomposing so doing nothing for 10 minutes may just be the ultimate challenge.

 

May all those that like challenges please complete this one asap:)

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Yeah, he can be a bit abrupt, but he's in there, paying attention, interacting with his users. I dig that. Much better than hiding behind a PR mouthpiece who gives us the 'politically correct' version of what Jeremy thinks.

 

And I get the 'it's not what you say, it's how you say it' thing all the time, so I can relate. :D

He wasn't abrupt, he was rude. He was angry and lashed out. I can relate to how he feels. But it is still inappropriate from someone in his position.

 

You've been at this much longer than me and obviously know Jeremy well, either personally or through other interactions. You're willing to make concessions for his rudeness. Do consider that many people are even newer than I am. What kind of impression of geocaching.com will they get from his little outburst of snark?

Actually I have only met Jeremy for a few minutes at two events, and we've never had a real conversation about anything, certainly not about Groundspeak. I know Bryan Roth just a bit better, having talked to him for a total of maybe 10 minutes at various events and chatted with him online, but that's about it. Mostly I talked to Hydee if I had questions, and I'm not even sure if she's still active in the company.

 

What I 'know' about Jeremy and the rest of the Lackeys is mostly casual online observation from watching them from afar, just like any other geocacher.

 

I was privileged to be invited to be a Volunteer Cache Reviewer and did have the opportunity to watch Groundspeak and its cadre of other Reviewers interact in their private forum, and that's where I got such a good impression of the Lackeys and Reviewers. It's what folks say and do when no one can see them that proves what they are, and my limited bit of exposure to the private side of the company left me a huge fan of the folks who run Groundspeak.

 

Sure, Jeremy can be snarky, even rude, but I have yet to see him be inappropriate. The suggestion to eliminate Challenges was silly. He responded with what he thought of the suggestion. I respect that.

Edited by TheAlabamaRambler
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Whats it got to do with Geocaching?

Is it just to take photos of each and everything and everyone and upload it to some servers?

I hope this stupid thing will die soon.

Perhaps you should learn what they are before developing such strong opinions!

 

I agree with you on the world-wide Challenges such as the Kiss A Frog Challenge. That has nothing to do with geocaching and I just don't get it. I think that was a bad move.

 

'Go somewhere, do something', however, I do get. Go to this mural on this building at these coordinates and get your picture taken in front of it to prove that you were there. That's a virtual cache. That's exactly what we asked them to give us.

 

A fair number of these questions would be answered by reading the FAQ.

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I really want to drive down to the liberty bell to do the worldwide challenge for most recognizable landmark near you. But I realize I would get the same smiley for just doing it on some stupid thing within a 5 minute walk from my house...

 

EDIT: Nobody saw that...

Edited by Coldgears
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I submitted a challenge which is the type I think they all should be. You have to go and take a picture at a specific place, not of your dog or climbing a tree in your backyard. I thought that was the idea, like a virtual. To attract people to some place that you can't otherwise place a cache container. Mine is to take a creative picture of a bridge near me that is unique. The other ones that have nothing to do with going to a specific place are ridiculous!

 

Also, if it adds to your regular count, why is there a seperate block for challenges in your profile. I thought it would only count there, not on both?

 

I created a challenge at the mast site for airships in the Tokyo area. It is city property that makes it hard for a traditional cache. But the requirement is for the acceptor to have a pic of themselves with GPS. This is definitely a location based cache requiring them to be there. But once accepted could someone photoshop themselves into a pic for the shot and how do I go about calling fooey on the logger if they do fake the completion?

 

Also on a different note what happened to the dates for caches found?

 

Forget photoshopping, lets upload a photo of Pee Wee Herman, same find, less effort.

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I submitted a challenge which is the type I think they all should be. You have to go and take a picture at a specific place, not of your dog or climbing a tree in your backyard. I thought that was the idea, like a virtual. To attract people to some place that you can't otherwise place a cache container. Mine is to take a creative picture of a bridge near me that is unique. The other ones that have nothing to do with going to a specific place are ridiculous!

 

Also, if it adds to your regular count, why is there a seperate block for challenges in your profile. I thought it would only count there, not on both?

 

I created a challenge at the mast site for airships in the Tokyo area. It is city property that makes it hard for a traditional cache. But the requirement is for the acceptor to have a pic of themselves with GPS. This is definitely a location based cache requiring them to be there. But once accepted could someone photoshop themselves into a pic for the shot and how do I go about calling fooey on the logger if they do fake the completion?

 

Also on a different note what happened to the dates for caches found?

 

Forget photoshopping, lets upload a photo of Pee Wee Herman, same find, less effort.

After thinking about this most of the day I have changed my opinion on proving completion of Challenges. Yes, people can lie. They can post pics found on the net and say that completes the Challenge, or Photoshop themselves in. Who cares? What have they accomplished? More importantly, how does their cheating affect you? It doesn't, of course. The only way it could is if a Completion was looked upon as some sort of accomplishment by the community, or if the number of completions had any sort of credibility.

 

Right now the only mechanism for fake completions is that you can comment on anyone's post. If someone claims a completion and you don't believe they in fact completed it properly you can flag their post and comment upon it. I created one where you must find 81 caches of the various difficulty / terrain combinations then travel to Miami Florida and find the final cache. To log a find on it you have to list the 81 caches you found that qualify you to find the final. Verifying completions on my Challenge will be easy - if you haven't completed and logged the challenge cache you can't log my challenge. If someone does post a completion and I see that they have not found the requisite challenge cache I can flag it and write a comment like "You haven't found it, why claim that you have? That's seriously lame!". I suspect that the bogus logger will then right quickly delete their completion log. If not it's no skin off my or any of the completer's backs, they didn't win anything for completing my Challenge anyway!

Edited by TheAlabamaRambler
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Whats it got to do with Geocaching?

Is it just to take photos of each and everything and everyone and upload it to some servers?

I hope this stupid thing will die soon.

Perhaps you should learn what they are before developing such strong opinions!

 

I agree with you on the world-wide Challenges such as the Kiss A Frog Challenge. That has nothing to do with geocaching and I just don't get it. I think that was a bad move.

 

'Go somewhere, do something', however, I do get. Go to this mural on this building at these coordinates and get your picture taken in front of it to prove that you were there. That's a virtual cache. That's exactly what we asked them to give us.

 

A fair number of these questions would be answered by reading the FAQ.

 

How to delete an already completed challenge, that is archived now?

I completed the challenge "write an E-Mail named "bad idea!" to appeals@Groundspeak and show your opinion". Now I dont want to have any challenges in my statistics be shown, but I cant delete it.

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The suggestion to eliminate Challenges was silly.

I promised no more about behavior. We obviously disagree, and that's OK. This is about Challenges.

 

Why is the suggestion silly?

 

Someone thinks that it has nothing to do with geocaching, and suggests that it be removed, or moved to another site. At least 600 people agreed (1800+ votes). Which part of that is silly?

 

1. That it has nothing to do with geocaching

2. That an addition to the site be removed

3. That an addition to the site be moved

4. All of the above

Edited by Chrysalides
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The suggestion to eliminate Challenges was silly.

I promised no more about behavior. We obviously disagree, and that's OK. This is about Challenges.

 

Why is the suggestion silly?

 

Someone thinks that it has nothing to do with geocaching, and suggests that it be removed, or moved to another site. At least 600 people agreed (1800+ votes). Which part of that is silly?

 

1. That it has nothing to do with geocaching

2. That an addition to the site be removed

3. That an addition to the site be moved

4. All of the above

I said it was silly because it asked Groundspeak to abandon a lot of work rather than improve it.

 

Many of us asked for the return of virts, we got them. Go somewhere, do something, post proof of completion (a picture of you at the site). That's a virtual cache. That's exactly what we asked for.

 

It would be silly of them to cancel Challenges on their first day because a few folks don't like them or how they were implemented.

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We asked you to bring back virtuals. For me the essence of a virtual is showing a location where you can't put an actual container. Taking the photo was just a log proof to show your right to claim it not the goal of the virtual.

 

What I will never understand is that you banned ALRs because they're just not about Geocaching at all and now you come up with challenges which feel like ALRs just without actual container, call it Challenge and tell us that this is the future of Geocaching.

If this is the future maybe I should go looking for another hobby.

 

Atti (Premium Member)

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We asked you to bring back virtuals. For me the essence of a virtual is showing a location where you can't put an actual container. Taking the photo was just a log proof to show your right to claim it not the goal of the virtual.

 

What I will never understand is that you banned ALRs because they're just not about Geocaching at all and now you come up with challenges which feel like ALRs just without actual container, call it Challenge and tell us that this is the future of Geocaching.

If this is the future maybe I should go looking for another hobby.

 

Atti (Premium Member)

Ok, the Kiss a Frog World-wide Challenge I agree isn't geocaching and just created angst and confusion.

 

But...

 

What was a virtual cache? One which challenged the finder to go somewhere and do something. Go to the bridge at these coordinates and post a picture of you holding your GPS to prove that you were there.

 

What is an Action Challenge? One which challenges the finder to go somewhere and do something. Go to the bridge at these coordinates and post a picture of you holding your GPS to prove that you were there.

 

It looks to me like these Challenges replace Virts pretty darn well!

 

We asked Groundspeak to give us back virtuals, they did. What's the problem? :rolleyes:

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We asked you to bring back virtuals. For me the essence of a virtual is showing a location where you can't put an actual container. Taking the photo was just a log proof to show your right to claim it not the goal of the virtual.

 

What I will never understand is that you banned ALRs because they're just not about Geocaching at all and now you come up with challenges which feel like ALRs just without actual container, call it Challenge and tell us that this is the future of Geocaching.

If this is the future maybe I should go looking for another hobby.

 

Atti (Premium Member)

Ok, the Kiss a Frog World-wide Challenge I agree isn't geocaching and just created angst and confusion.

 

But...

 

What was a virtual cache? One which challenged the finder to go somewhere and do something. Go to the bridge at these coordinates and post a picture of you holding your GPS to prove that you were there.

 

What is an Action Challenge? One which challenges the finder to go somewhere and do something. Go to the bridge at these coordinates and post a picture of you holding your GPS to prove that you were there.

 

It looks to me like these Challenges replace Virts pretty darn well!

 

We asked Groundspeak to give us back virtuals, they did. What's the problem? :rolleyes:

 

Sit at home and kiss a frog. Do nothing for 10 minutes. Post a picture of you and your dog. Seriously, what is the point?

Edited by Keystone
Potty language removed by moderator.
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I think most of the problems with the challenges, have a lot to do with kissing a frog.

 

I've written a challenge, it is very much like a virtual and involves visiting a place which is hard to get to, and taking photographic proof. It is what I wanted, and what I think everyone else wanted. I'm hoping it will become a quality challenge.

 

By setting the 'kiss a frog' challenge as an example of what a challenge should be, Groundspeak have set a very low benchmark which others are happy to replicate to prove how ludicrous challenges can be. The net result is a load of crappy challenges and frustrated geocachers. If the first challenge had been to "Visit Groundspeak HQ and have your photo taken outside", then I think a whole different attitude to challenges would have emerged.

 

I'm fighting against it by publishing what I would like to see as a good challenge. I suggest others do the same, and hopefully the dross will get filtered out and challenges will mature into something sensible. I'm prepared to give it a month to see how it pans out.

 

With that said, I love the photo of Groundspeak ignoring suggestions. It's so true. Everyone is clamouring for higher quality products, and phone apps that work, yet Groundspeak puts all of its resources into new things that just dilute the brand. Please Groundspeak, spend some time concentrating on making things work properly, and responding properly to the feedback left.

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I agree with you on the world-wide Challenges such as the Kiss A Frog Challenge. That has nothing to do with geocaching and I just don't get it. I think that was a bad move.

 

'Go somewhere, do something', however, I do get. Go to this mural on this building at these coordinates and get your picture taken in front of it to prove that you were there. That's a virtual cache. That's exactly what we asked them to give us.

 

 

What you seem to ignore is that most challenges put out recently that are not locationless are parodies and make fun of challenges and those who complete them.

 

That's a perfectly valid challenge

 

http://www.geocaching.com/challenges/view.aspx?cx=CX6E8

 

Do you really think that is what virtual caching is about?

 

The example is not singular, there are many of those, but I selected one with an English text.

What is written in the FAQ does not exclude such challenges.

Even worse, many who think that challenges are silly, will even vote with thumbs up. Others will vote with thumbs down also because they are angry about how challenges are abused.

 

Another interesting piece of evidence: Both the creator of the first challenge in Vienna and the first and only one in Graz are of the opinion that challenges are not needed and are negative about them.

 

 

Cezanne

Edited by cezanne
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And yet 9 people have voted it down. Why? Are some people out there unwilling to let a good challenge exist, as it might force them to admit that challenges can actually be good?

 

Have a closer look at the description, then you will know. The proposer is making fun of challenges. He not only selected a toilet location, but also writes that everyone is invited to log it as completed even if he/she has no photo.

Do you really think that this is the idea of a photo challenge?

 

My challenge is this: http://coord.info/CX71B

 

I'd love to hear good reasons why it shouldn't exist on geocaching.com.

 

I would not mind them exist on gc.com, but would prefer if there existed some control over the logs and if there existed some option to exclude them from one's find count. I do not care about the find count of other cachers, but I certainly do not want a find point for collecting litter. I am positive about the litter collecting challenge and would feel tempted to complete it as it might be nice to see how many people worldwide participate, but I am not willing to have them added up with my cache finds.

 

BTW: YOu will have to accept logs even if they come from Tokyo and post a picture of a milk can.

 

Cezanne

Edited by cezanne
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The problem is that Groundspeak is trying to make a quaint idealistic hobby into a money making business. They don't mesh very well. I would guess that NONE of the lackey's or Jeremy really likes some of the directions their business acumen is leading them, but you can't really blame a company for following the money, as much as I think it's steadily ruining a great pastime. Getting more members is NOT healthy for traditional geocaching. If that is what you like, it is slowly (or maybe not so slowly) going away. I know for a fact, that if I hide a more traditional type cache, it will rarely be found these days. I understand that its a catch 22 type situation. Making this hobby geared more for the smartphone/social media crowd, will make you grow initially, but it fills up with a higher percentage of "dip your toe in the water" cachers. There have always been people flame out, but the numbers AND percentages will just keep increasing. At least with challenges, there won't be geolitter everywhere and hopefully won't cause some of the problems that P&G's and powertrails do. I'm just going to keep hiding more unique caches that I would like to find and hope to grow that group within the group by 1's and 2's, instead of 100's.

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