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Release Notes - September 30, 2014

Geocaching HQ

By Geocaching HQ
in Geocaching HQ communications

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Geocaching HQ

+Geocaching HQ

Posted
Posted

And now for something completely different* from Geocaching.com:

 


     
  • Public Profile Statistics are now editable from My Statistics Page.
  • Deleted Lab Cache finds can be restored by players.
  • More attributes available for Event Caches.
  • Have a secondary account sitting around? It can now be automatically disabled.
  • And of course, a healthy dose of bug squashing.
  • You may now return to your regularly scheduled geocaching.

 

*Okay, okay. It's not that different. Bonus points to those who get the reference.

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Keystone

Keystone

Posted
Posted

Did the "List newest caches in" State link disappear? I'm not seeing it for Minnesota on my account.

 

Uh, is this the right room for an argument?*

Confirming that this link does seem to have disappeared from the Search Options box on the "My Account" page. I don't know whether this was intended, so thanks for asking.

 

*Did you want to have just one argument, or were you thinking of taking a course?

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jholly

jholly

Posted
Posted (edited)

The new list is gone for me also. (Washington State)

 

This is a real bummer because it was a nice place to find the nearest events. What is in the weekly newsletter for events is sorely lacking. The list of newest is better than the list of nearest because it limits what is shown.

 

Please bring this functionality back! I really don't recall any discussion from users requesting this feature to be removed. So again we are getting something we did not ask for and didn't want in the first place.

 

Edit to add: Yeah okay I can get the list via advanced search. But really, six clicks, a scroll or two to replace one click? Come on Groundspeak, get serious.

Edited by jholly
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Viajero Perdido

+Viajero Perdido

Posted
Posted

List-newest still works via bookmark. If you can remember (or guess) your state ID, tweak the number in this link and go for it:

http://www.geocachin...spx?state_id=63

This list is great for finding events BTW.

 

More attributes for events- yay! (I've held events where wading or even (jokingly) swimming is a distinct possibility, and noticed the lack of that option...)

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cerberus1

+cerberus1

Posted
Posted (edited)

One of the 200 I guess who still use "Newest".

This wasn't broken or asked for.

Finding events there was better than what I get in the newsletter (events in other States).

 

I also used "Newest" if interested in a new cache notification.

Won't do pmos and it still isn't listed as one in the notifications, hit newest and check first (so no audit on the PC).

Edited by cerberus1
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Kacher82

+Kacher82

Posted
Posted

I didn't know that link even existed. I guess I don't care about seeing all the newest caches in Iowa, and most of the events I go to are in Minnesota. I really wouldn't care to see all the latest events in MN either. The newsletter has issues, but it does at least keep it down to within a couple hundred miles.

 

Of course, for the benefit of those who do use that link, I'd say bring it back. It won't affect me either way.

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jholly

jholly

Posted
Posted

I think the number is way above 200. Like many, I used it for events. Please bring it back.

It's a sarcastic swipe. Several years ago the Google Earth Viewer was removed for "performance reasons". It was stated by Groundspeak that they felt it was not a problem because less than 200 ever used the feature. The yelling and screaming went on for pages and pages. A way to implement it that did not cause performance problems and we got it back.

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Lil Devil

+Lil Devil

Posted
Posted
Another one of the 200 using it mostly for events. How do I find the state code for NM?

This one has already been answered, and before we get a slew of people asking the code for their state, let me provide some instructions.

 

To get the full list of caches in your state, like you had before, go to this page, and in the 3rd box down on the left, choose your state and click Go.

 

Or, if all you want to see are events, go to this page, select the cache type, by "country/state," choose your country and state, and click Search for Geocaches.

 

Either way, after you get the first result page, bookmark that page in your browser. Then use that bookmark in the future.

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Viajero Perdido

+Viajero Perdido

Posted
Posted

To get the full list of caches in your state, like you had before, go to this page, and in the 3rd box down on the left, choose your state and click Go.

...which unfortunately doesn't work for Canada.

 

Speaking of which, hey Groundspeak, doesn't it strike you as odd for that option to say both "By State/Province" and "US Only"? Do you see the illogic in that?

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Rock Chalk

Rock Chalk

Posted
Posted

Regarding the “List newest caches” in State link…

 

That search was powered by the State/Country information that each user submitted in their account settings. However, the State/Country box is vastly under-utilized in most accounts. Also, users often misspelled one or the other, and/or confused it with Home Coordinates.

 

At some point, State/Country will no longer be listed in the account. Instead, Home Coordinates will be listed. This will make the home location information more intuitive and accessible. However, it also means the site won’t be able to provide you with a “List newest caches” in State/Country link.

 

That said, as a few have noted, the functionality is always available on the Advanced Search page. Just search by Country/State. That search can also be bookmarked, if necessary. For example, Kansas (Rock Chalk!) would be http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?state_id=17

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stone-cacher

+stone-cacher

Posted
Posted

:( County? State? Search? Newest? :( ... this only works in the US. At least I was not able to use it in Germany. Groundspeak is not as international as they say they are :(.

 

... and the search "Beginning with..." is still there instead of a "contains" search (or might I propose ReEx to be implemented?).

 

And last but not least: In the newsletter I would prefer a "sort by distance" instead of a "sort by date".

 

But I'm almost sure: Nothing will change and the "new features" will be sold as "the best we ever offered to the geocachers".

Sorry, but I lost the hope that Groundspeak hears what their users say (and would like to have)...

So I will continue to use "add ons" and other tools to find workarounds instead of getting real improvements directly from Groundspeak.

 

I really love some of the improvements delivered by Groundspeak so far - but there are others I really hate (eg. HTML notifcations or notifications without "distance to home"!). For the future it would be realy nice to keep the existing features and add new ones instead of replacing the old ones.

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cezanne

cezanne

Posted
Posted

At some point, State/Country will no longer be listed in the account. Instead, Home Coordinates will be listed. This will make the home location information more intuitive and accessible. However, it also means the site won’t be able to provide you with a “List newest caches” in State/Country link.

 

Listed to whom? The public? I do not hope so. There is a difference between providing one's country/home town and one's home coordinates even if perturbed

 

That said, as a few have noted, the functionality is always available on the Advanced Search page. Just search by Country/State. That search can also be bookmarked, if necessary. For example, Kansas (Rock Chalk!) would be http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?state_id=17

 

When using many different computers using the link was however more convenient than using the advanced search approach or having to create new bookmark lists on every computer.

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jholly

jholly

Posted
Posted

Regarding the “List newest caches” in State link…

 

1. That search was powered by the State/Country information that each user submitted in their account settings. However, the State/Country box is vastly under-utilized in most accounts. Also, users often misspelled one or the other, and/or confused it with Home Coordinates.

 

2. At some point, State/Country will no longer be listed in the account. Instead, Home Coordinates will be listed. This will make the home location information more intuitive and accessible. However, it also means the site won’t be able to provide you with a “List newest caches” in State/Country link.

 

3. That said, as a few have noted, the functionality is always available on the Advanced Search page. Just search by Country/State. That search can also be bookmarked, if necessary. For example, Kansas (Rock Chalk!) would be http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?state_id=17

 

1. I'll bet the ones that used the feature had their State/Country properly filled in. I'm sure most of the intro app or c-geo folks don't bother with this detail.

2. Certainly you can figure out the State/County from the home coordinates. A popular 3rd party software does not see this as a problem.

3. Does this work for everyone?

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dprovan

+dprovan

Posted
Posted

At some point, State/Country will no longer be listed in the account. Instead, Home Coordinates will be listed. This will make the home location information more intuitive and accessible. However, it also means the site won’t be able to provide you with a “List newest caches” in State/Country link.

Since I never used the link -- I don't even know where it was -- I'm not speaking for people that miss it, but what I'm hearing is that most of them used it in lieu of "nearest events" links that would be similar to the "nearest geocaches" links on the profile page. The reason in-your-state worked OK was just because everything thing in their state was near enough. (The in-your-state searches people are suggesting as an alternative are completely useless to me: yeah, 95 events in California seems like it might be helpful until you realize that they aren't listed in distance order, so they are more likely to be hundreds of miles away then to be local.)

 

Being able to look at nearest events would work even better than a state based search for events, and it fits right into what you're saying about eliminating the home state and relying only on the home coordinates.

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Rock Chalk

Rock Chalk

Posted
Posted

Listed to whom? The public? I do not hope so. There is a difference between providing one's country/home town and one's home coordinates even if perturbed

 

I used the wrong wording. What I should have said was there will no longer be a State/Country box to populate with information. Instead, there will only be a place to fill in Home Coordinates.

 

And, no, of course Home Coordinates would not be publicly displayed.

 

Being able to look at nearest events would work even better than a state based search for events, and it fits right into what you're saying about eliminating the home state and relying only on the home coordinates.

^

Yes.

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Pup Patrol

Pup Patrol

Posted
Posted (edited)

I really, really, really, really miss the "List newest in Ontario" in my profile.

 

I use it every single day.

 

It was one of the very few useful features for me.

 

I don't use GSAK. I had no need to use anything other than what is (was) available to me on the Groundspeak site and my profile.

 

Losing the ability to search by cache name, unless you know the first word of the cache name, was frustrating enough. Like I would need that search if I could remember the first word of the cache name!

 

Now the very basic "List newest in xxx" is gone??????????

 

We tend to travel a lot for caching, so "home coordinates" as a basis is rather useless for us.

 

Why do we keep having things taken away, yet the cost of Premium Membership stays the same?

 

:mad:

 

B.

Edited by Pup Patrol
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Moun10Bike

Moun10Bike

Posted
Posted

Now the very basic "List newest in xxx" is gone??????????

 

The functionality is still available on the site: simply go to the advanced search page, select "By Country/State", and then select the country and state of interest to you. You can bookmark the results to have easy access to the same search.

 

As has been mentioned, we are completely overhauling the user profile and this work will be done in a sprint or two. At that time, users will not have mailing address settings listed in their profile anymore, so the link as it existed on the page would become less and less relevant.

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Rincewind3

+Rincewind3

Posted
Posted

Now the very basic "List newest in xxx" is gone??????????

 

The functionality is still available on the site: simply go to the advanced search page, select "By Country/State", and then select the country and state of interest to you. You can bookmark the results to have easy access to the same search.

 

As has been mentioned, we are completely overhauling the user profile and this work will be done in a sprint or two. At that time, users will not have mailing address settings listed in their profile anymore, so the link as it existed on the page would become less and less relevant.

 

So a simple one click solution becomes a several step rigmarole, and no one bothers to tell us? This is becoming a right royal pain the... I'll just leave it there then.

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schnider

+schnider

Posted
Posted

It would sure be nice to see www.geocaching.com ask it's customers what they would like sometime. Instead, we get told what we want. Good customer service begins with good customer interaction, but in my last 11 years of Geocaching, I have barely seen that happen if ever. We quite often hear, "It's their game and you're going to have to play it their way if you want to play it at all." That does not make good customer relations. So, now instead of selecting one link, I have to select multiple items, and create a new bookmark, that won't work for me on a borrowed computer. Okay fine, I'll adjust again, just before I throw you another $30 next month.

 

So, please explain how does this change make Geocaching.com better? Because, you wouldn't make changes, unless they made things better would you?

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forestfauna

+forestfauna

Posted
Posted

I fail to see why this change was necessary. Like others, I used this feature almost exclusively to look for new caches in my area. It was simple and quick. The solution offered as a replacement is tedious. And really, what was the point of making that change? Did it really affect Groundspeak in any manner if it were simply to have left that feature alone? Most times, I can understand where a change in design or layout actually improves flow and function on the website, searching, logging, but I fail to see that this time.

 

I hope that Groundspeak listens to its loyal customers much like it did with the entire "Challenges" fiasco and brings the "find newest in....." function back.

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jholly

jholly

Posted
Posted

Now the very basic "List newest in xxx" is gone??????????

 

The functionality is still available on the site: simply go to the advanced search page, select "By Country/State", and then select the country and state of interest to you. You can bookmark the results to have easy access to the same search.

 

As has been mentioned, we are completely overhauling the user profile and this work will be done in a sprint or two. At that time, users will not have mailing address settings listed in their profile anymore, so the link as it existed on the page would become less and less relevant.

 

So how much more do you plan on taking away? It is frustrating having things you used for years removed, seemingly with out any consideration of the user. And mostly as an unpleasant surprise. You guys have no concept of customer service. The multiclick exercise certainly is not a good solution to replace a single click solution.

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Moun10Bike

Moun10Bike

Posted
Posted

So, please explain how does this change make Geocaching.com better? Because, you wouldn't make changes, unless they made things better would you?

 

The profile page is a horrid mess. We constantly get complaints about how difficult it is to find things and how much of it is useless information. So, we are overhauling it to make it more user friendly. Part of that is eliminating redundancies and those useless elements. One of these things is the user mailing address, which is not used by anything on the site except that one link (and the CSP, which will now default to unselected country and state).

 

I recognize that this was an important piece of functionality for some people, but the truth is that many more people never even knew that it existed, and the functionality is available elsewhere on the site.

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Rincewind3

+Rincewind3

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

We constantly get complaints about how difficult it is to find things and how much of it is useless information.

 

So your solution is to make it even harder to find? I, for one, have my profile page bookmarked. The solution to use the search function on the homepage would never have occurred to me as I never go to the homepage (not since I first signed up 7+ years ago). The other solution resulted in seven mouse clicks and nine button pushes for me to achieve what used to be a single mouse click.

 

This doesn't seem like progress. Out of interest, what percentage of active users complained about this particular link? I would assume it would need to be well over 50% to justify removing the function, or were the complaints just about the cluttered page in general and Groundspeak have decided what needs to go themselves?

Edited by Rincewind3
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glacier_ice

+glacier_ice

Posted
Posted

Oh my. This is not a pleasant update. We've just lost a daily used feature. Here in Manitoba, this feature is part of our training and training materials for people, especially on finding events. One click and go. (Two clicks actually, one on the profile two on the newest and you're there quickly.) Now we're adding layers of complication, 5 or 6 clicks and two scrolling lists. MUCH harder to teach and WAY more annoying and way more time to accomplish.

 

Tonight I needed a quick reference to an upcoming event and had to struggle to get to the event page. What should have been a quick 30 seconds ended up being more than a few minutes of frustration. As a result, I end up popping into the forums here to find out what the heck happened.

 

I for one am not pleased with the now added layer of complexity to get to this information.

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Rincewind3

+Rincewind3

Posted
Posted (edited)
Another one of the 200 using it mostly for events. How do I find the state code for NM?

This one has already been answered, and before we get a slew of people asking the code for their state, let me provide some instructions.

 

To get the full list of caches in your state, like you had before, go to this page, and in the 3rd box down on the left, choose your state and click Go.

 

Or, if all you want to see are events, go to this page, select the cache type, by "country/state," choose your country and state, and click Search for Geocaches.

 

Either way, after you get the first result page, bookmark that page in your browser. Then use that bookmark in the future.

 

That's great if I only used my computer, however I sometimes look them up at work where I have access to 7 different PCs. I'm simply not able to save the bookmark at all of them. The bottom line is that the old link (as much as it "cluttered" the page) was a simple solution used by many.

 

In over seven years I've never used the "View nearby benchmarks" or "View nearby waymarks" links. Please remove them.

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited by Rincewind3
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cezanne

cezanne

Posted
Posted

So, please explain how does this change make Geocaching.com better? Because, you wouldn't make changes, unless they made things better would you?

 

The profile page is a horrid mess. We constantly get complaints about how difficult it is to find things and how much of it is useless information.

 

Personally I tend to think that the number of users who complain about the profile is a small minority. I would expect that much more users are missing a better search functionality (yes, 3-rd party solutions exist)

or the link that has now been removed (yes, there exists a workaround, too). These users just do not bomb Groundspeak with mails. Maybe they should start to do so.

 

One of these things is the user mailing address, which is not used by anything on the site except that one link (and the CSP, which will now default to unselected country and state).

 

I just wonder why you could not use the info from your Location and add there a state when appropriate and needed (for the US).

I cannot imagine that you will remove the your location field too and if so it would be weird that at the same time you require the location for the PM-ship page (as the rates differ)?

Or do you just want to make it more difficult for people to change their home location temporarily to avoid the higher price you charge for some countries?

 

In all those years I never entered a mailing address, just the country, and it worked fine.

 

Cezanne

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