[FEATURE] Earthcaches should all be size Virtual

[+JL_HSTRE]

Virtual Caches have no physical container and no physical logsheet.

 

Earthcaches have no physical container and no physical logsheet to sign. Really they are just Virtual Caches with a different icon and specific listing requirements.

 

Earthcaches should all be size = Virtual.

 

/stats weenie

[+Hitech MD]

Virtual is a Cache Type not a Cache Size....

[+dfx]

Virtual is a Cache Type not a Cache Size....

 

Nope, it actually is a "cache size" as well, as can be seen on most/all virtuals, such as here.

[+t4e]

Virtual is a Cache Type not a Cache Size....

 

it is the cache size too for virtuals

 

however, virtuals have been grandfathered

 

Virtual Caches have no physical container and no physical logsheet.

 

Earthcaches have no physical container and no physical logsheet to sign. Really they are just Virtual Caches with a different icon and specific listing requirements.

 

Earthcaches should all be size = Virtual.

 

/stats weenie

 

what exactly is the point of having Earthcaches listed as "wirtual" size instead of "not chosen"?

 

i see it as a waste of time to implement

Edited November 7, 2011 by t4e

[+geodarts]

what exactly is the point of having Earthcaches listed as "wirtual" size instead of "not chosen"?

 

i see it as a waste of time to implement

 

One point would be to help people who do not know that earthcaches have no container. I have gotten a NM log because there was no container at one of my earthcaches and have met cachers at earthcache locations who were looking for a physical cache.

[+dfx]

One point would be to help people who do not know that earthcaches have no container. I have gotten a NM log because there was no container at one of my earthcaches and have met cachers at earthcache locations who were looking for a physical cache.

 

And you think telling them "virtual" is gonna help? if they don't know what an earthcache is, then most likely they also don't know what a virtual cache is.

 

(Granted, the word "virtual" might give them a hint that it's not a real cache, but while that may work for a designated "virtual cache", I don't think it will work with the word "virtual" sitting in the tiny spot for reserved the container size.)

[+DragonsWest]

What I find amusing is the maps, as presented using Google Maps, shows the icon for an Earthcache the same as for a Virtual when you zoom out far enough.

[+JL_HSTRE]

I wanted to revisit this old topic because I still feel strongly that all Earthcaches, past and present and future, should be size Virtual.

 

Starting sometime in late 2017, all new Earthcaches are automatically set to size Other and this can't be changed.

 

The Geocaching.com basic search says there are 34,605 active Earthcaches including 131 Large, 8 Regular, 12 Small, and 8 Micro (I'm sure there are other archived Earthcaches of those sizes).

 

The basic search no longer distinguishes Other, Unknown, and Not Chosen. However, GSAK can still do so I checked on a couple databases I have (a subset of US Earthcaches only, probably skewing toward the older ones), I find the ratio to be about 52% Other, 46% Unknown, and 2% Not Chosen.

 

The reasons for making this change haven't changed.

 

1. Factually correct. An Earthcache is a special kind of Virtual cache. Since sometime in 2002, all Virtual caches have been locked into size Virtual, as they should be. At the very least, why not at least have new Earthcaches default to size Virtual rather than size Other? Virtual is not a new size and is even still relevant thanks to two sets of Virtual Rewards which are also locked into size Virtaul.

 

2. It makes it clearer to new users (and land managers) that there is no physical cache for an Earthcache.

 

3. For those who care about stats, it provides more accurate stats.

Edited September 20, 2020 by JL_HSTRE

[+Isonzo Karst]

 

Earthcaches as sized caches Search LINKY

 

I doubt you'll see any action on this, it will mess up challenges to have X number of size large finds. And other oddities. Part of the informal disarray of the site, unusual in persisting so long.