Questions about new "Report a new cache page"

[+DeadReckoner]

Just submitted a new cache today, and saw the new "Report a new cache page" for the first time. There are a couple of new features on there that weren't completely self-explanatory to me. (Is there any place where this stuff is explained?)

 

1. A new checkbox that says "Yes, this cache is currently active". Would I be reporting it if it weren't active? Is this a feature that allows me to submit a cache, with a note providing the secret info to the approver, and let it get transitioned from unapproved state to an approved/inactive state, where I can double-check that the secret note is deleted, and then make it active? What was the intention here?

 

2. Related web page? What happens if I put something there? Any reason to put it there rather than incorporate it into my long description? (Or is that just supposed to help the HTML-illiterate?)

 

3. Short description limited to 500 chars - has that always been the case? After a few tries to make my short description shorter and shorter, I finally decided to skip the short description altogether and just everything in the long description. Any reason not to do that?

 

Other than that, everything else was very straightforward.

 

I also was a bit confused by the similar page when I went to edit the cache after the initial submission (just to tweak some HTML). I went to the cache_details page, clicked on the link in the upper left that says "edit this cache", and got to the cache_report page. The confusing thing was the button at the bottom, which said "Edit this cache" - I thought I was already doing that. Shouldn't the button say "Submit" or "Save changes" or something straightforward like that. After hitting the button, suspecting that it would save my changes, I end up back at the same page, with no clear indication that I have indeed saved changes. I had to go back to the cache_details page to verify. The process, though perfectly functional, was a bit confusing in that regard.

 

All in all, these are just minor details in overall good work! Thanks.

 

Tom Chatt (DeadReckoner)

[+Marky]

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Originally posted by DeadReckoner:

Just submitted a new cache today, and saw the new "Report a new cache page" for the first time. There are a couple of new features on there that weren't completely self-explanatory to me. (Is there any place where this stuff is explained?)

 

1. A new checkbox that says "Yes, this cache is currently active". Would I be reporting it if it weren't active? Is this a feature that allows me to submit a cache, with a note providing the secret info to the approver, and let it get transitioned from unapproved state to an approved/inactive state, where I can double-check that the secret note is deleted, and then make it active? What was the intention here?

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Not checking this is the exact same thing as putting it in temporarily disabled mode. When in this mode, it won't go into the approval queue, so the approver won't see it unless you e-mail the approver with a link. What's it for? It's so that you can "fine tune" your cache page and when you have it ready to be approved, you can enable it.

 

quote:

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2. Related web page? What happens if I put something there? Any reason to put it there rather than incorporate it into my long description? (Or is that just supposed to help the HTML-illiterate?)

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This might be used for cachers that belong to an organized group. You could put your group's web page here.

quote:

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3. Short description limited to 500 chars - has that always been the case? After a few tries to make my short description shorter and shorter, I finally decided to skip the short description altogether and just everything in the long description. Any reason not to do that?

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The Short description is formatted differently on the page (than the long description). It is indented more to the left. You need to play with it to see how you want the page to look. Not sure where else the short description might get used.

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

[+Prime Suspect]

quote:

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Originally posted by Marky:

 

Not checking this is the exact same thing as putting it in temporarily disabled mode. When in this mode, it won't go into the approval queue, so the approver won't see it unless you e-mail the approver with a link. What's it for? It's so that you can "fine tune" your cache page and when you have it ready to be approved, you can enable it.

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It also lets the cache be assigned a waypoint ID. You can now include that in the log book and on the "if you found this by mistake" page.

 

"Don't mess with a geocacher. We know all the best places to hide a body."

[+Marky]

quote:

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Originally posted by Prime Suspect:

It also lets the cache be assigned a waypoint ID. You can now include that in the log book and on the "if you found this by mistake" page.

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I meant to mention this, but somehow forgot to.

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

[+ClayJar]

quote:

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Originally posted by DeadReckoner:

3. Short description limited to 500 chars - has that always been the case? After a few tries to make my short description shorter and shorter, I finally decided to skip the short description altogether and just everything in the long description. Any reason not to do that?

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A short description is very important, perhaps not to the Geocaching.com site itself, but certainly to many, many Pocket-Query-using people. Searching on the short descriptions or having a summary list of waypoints and short descriptions in your PDA (so you can see whether to look up the cache or skip it) are just two of the things it can be good for.

 

The short description should be the bare minimum description. It would be what you'd see in the TV Guide if it had the cache in it. Something like, "The cache is on a nice hiking trail in Chicot State Park ($2 entry), bring a canoe or very tall boots. Watch for ticks."

 

[[[ ClayJar Networks ]]]

Home of Watcher downloads, Official Geocaching Chat, and the Geocache Rating System

[+DeadReckoner]

quote:

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Originally posted by ClayJar:

A short description is very important, perhaps not to the Geocaching.com site itself, but certainly to many, many Pocket-Query-using people. Searching on the short descriptions or having a summary list of waypoints and short descriptions in your PDA (so you can see whether to look up the cache or skip it) are just two of the things it can be good for.

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Thanks, ClayJar, that makes a lot of sense. I had only been thinking about how the formatted page looked online. I've gone back and added an appropriate short description to my new cache.

 

Tom Chatt (DeadReckoner)

[+Bill D (wwh)]

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Prime Suspect wrote:

It also lets the cache be assigned a waypoint ID. You can now include that in the log book and on the "if you found this by mistake" page.

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Hey, thanks for that! I didn't know that was possible in advance.

 

Bill

 

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"Ah, take the Cache and let the Credit go..."

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, trans. Edward Fitzgerald