Pockey Queries still a problem

[+GrizzlyJohn]

Again on Friday the pocket queries I had set up did not run. So that was Saturday, Monday and Friday they did not go. This is really getting frustrating. This is a benefit of paying for a membership and I am not getting it.

 

The number I can run a day is limited. The number of results I can get per run is limited. The number I can have set up is limited. Then they don't even run. What is up with that?

 

Can anybody explain this problem and tell me when it is going to be fixed? And now how do I get my credit for the 15 queries that are owed me.

 

As I have said before if you want to play these number and limit games that is fine but then you have to also play within those limits that you have set up. They are your rules.

[+DustyJacket]

That is curious.

Are you changing these queries often?

 

I have had no problems getting my queries, but I don't change them more than once a month so far.

 

I also have each one run once a week. (I used to do twice a week, but that was a waste.)

 

DustyJacket

...If life was fair, a banana split would cure cancer.

[+GrizzlyJohn]

quote:

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Originally posted by dustyjacket:

 

Are you changing these queries often?

 

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Yes I change them everyday. I delete the old ones. Create new ones with different parameters. And give them a new name.

[+welch]

quote:

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Originally posted by GrizzlyJohn:

quote:

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Originally posted by dustyjacket:

 

Are you changing these queries often?

 

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Yes I change them everyday. I delete the old ones. Create new ones with different parameters. And give them a new name.

---

 

Do you set the new ones to deliver the day you create them?

 

[+Olar]

Each time you create a "new" query it is assigned a new number. If you were to take an existing query and alter its parameters rather than deleting it then it will keep the same number (lower than a new one) and theoretically be processed earlier.

 

My 3 weekly queries are a good example. Numbers 39 and 176 arrive just after midnight on the day I chose and number 7777 rolls in 12 to 15 hours later. Obviously the computer starts it's routine at the lowest numbers and works it's way up to the most recent higher numbers. I wonder what happens if it doesn't complete the run in 24 hours. Do the unprocessed queries get kicked out until the next day they are requested to be run?

 

"You are only young once but you can stay immature forever"

[+webfargo]

I too am VERY frustrated with pocket queries. I'm a technical person and find them nearly impossible to do.

 

I create a new query, name it, select all types, ones i haven't found, number 500, zipcode radio button and enter my 5 digit zip, select easy gpx and select a day. I never get anything from it.

 

This feature would save me hours of time on the site trying to find the caches, print them out and get ready to go caching however I can never get it to work right. This is certainly a feature that makes the payfer part worth it however it could use some help imho.

 

Also its incredibly frustrating that I can't just click one up and have it run and send me the results. I understand only being able to do some number of these a day (10 would be nice) but please let me 'run it now'.

 

Note: not lashing, incredibly frustrated and it appears I'm not the only one.

 

If its user error, please let me know what I'm doing wrong.

[+Olar]

OK to possibly prove that the lower query numbers are processed first I took my existing nbr. 39 and requested it be run today (Sat). At the same time I created a brand new one for an area I will be visiting in July. Number 39 came back less than 10 minutes later and no sign of "new" one as yet but its only been 40 minutes.

 

I'll post the time it arrives later.

 

"You are only young once but you can stay immature forever"

[+GrizzlyJohn]

The point about the lower number ones may be correct. And I think the point about them not being gotten to on the day requested then they don't happen is also correct. Sometimes I set them up the day ahead or sometimes it is the morning of. That depends when I get my ones from the previous day. If I don't get them until very late in the evening then I don't get a chance to set them up until the next day. Which would be the day I want them to run.

 

When I set them up they say I have reached my limit for that day and won't be run until 24 hours have passed. So my guess is that if a query does not go off until 10 PM then my new ones won't run until after 10 PM the next day. That is how I understand the message anyway.

 

I think the points made about running in numerical order are correct and the fact that it seems to tell me they won't run for 24 hours is the combination that is not working. If that is the case that has to be the dumbest way of setting these things up. It is no wonder they complain that the work is overloading the servers. I can't even begin to think of the processing cycles that go into trying to constantly monitor that. They really need to make the code and logic a lot better, if that is how things are going.

 

If I can only run 5 jobs a day then at 12:01 am it should start doing my jobs for the next day. It should not matter what time of the day it was run. That is just silly. So it is now 11 hours after submitting 5 new queries and I have still not seen them. And this is after a full day of not getting any queries.

 

TPTB like to point out various points of their TOS agreement and what people can't do. They tell you you can't have a spider walk the site and to use pocket queries. I have tried to work within their very narrow and somewhat unexplainable set of "guidelines" but they are not holding up their end.

 

I was promised certain things when I became a member and paid the fee. They have failed to deliver on several occasions now. Instead of busting people's chops for what they see as abusing the access to the web site maybe they should go and write some real code that makes sense, works and runs efficiently. I suspect if this happened alot of what they call "abuse" would go away.

 

Oh I know this will probably bring on flames from those who for some reason think TPTB are doing such a great job, are without fault, can't be questioned and love to kiss their butts. But if they can't even do this simple function then what is next. And as the man at the crap game said when asked why he was still playing if he knows the dice are loaded ... "It's the only game in town." No this is not the only game but it is the largest resource and has the most listings. So when you hunt ducks you go to where the ducks are.

 

[This message was edited by GrizzlyJohn on March 16, 2003 at 07:18 AM.]

[+HartClimbs]

Naw - my pocketqueries only come back sporatically as well. (and my query number are up around 8000!). I'd been using them for about a month - then suddenly days started getting skipped.

 

Now, there's no quick turnaround, but I emailed contact@geocaching.com instead of posting and haven't heard back yet on what (if anything) the problem is. I'm hoping it's something I'm doing wrong - but they don't seem as reliable as I'd hoped. I'm sure things will improve with time.

[+Frolickin]

I have three set up. Two were set up together and they arrive daily. The third was created later the first two. This third query rarely is delivered.

 

Fro.

 

________________________________________

Geocaching . . . hiking with a purpose

[+Gimpy]

I've got 4 set-up, all set up at different times. They range in number from 365 to 6000, & they all show up like clockwork. No problems whatsoever. Even after making modifications, they show up at the scheduled time & with all the caches included.

 

"Gimpy"

 

--KC2KNI--

[+GrizzlyJohn]

The ones from Saturday arrived about 13 hours after setting them up. I set up the ones for Sunday. Did not delete them just edited them. So the numbers are somewhere around 9800 I think. They were submitted around 9:00 Saturday night. Lots of detective work going on here.

[RedShoesGirl]

>>Originally posted by webfargo:

I too am VERY frustrated with pocket queries. I'm a technical person and find them nearly impossible to do. <<

 

Me too.

 

>>>I create a new query, name it, select all types, ones i haven't found, number 500, zipcode radio button and enter my 5 digit zip, select easy gpx and select a day. I never get anything from it.<<

 

Ah, me too! So it isn't just you. I have only tried two searches and nada.

 

>>Also its incredibly frustrating that I can't just click one up and have it run and send me the results. I understand only being able to do some number of these a day (10 would be nice) but please let me 'run it now'.<<

 

This is how I wished it worked too - gosh, I sound like an echo. But seriously, I just want it when I want it, not at some future date that isn't working anyway!

 

>>If its user error, please let me know what I'm doing wrong.<<<

 

I just bought a new Palm Tungsten, I have a Mac, and I would really like to get all of this new stuff working right and together. I am still trying to figure out just downloading the cache info into the PDA. sigh, not much luck yet.

 

RedShoesGirl