"Search" feature not working

[+Loiseau85]

Normally, when I type a place name or postcode into the "Search" box on the opening page of the geocaching.com website I am taken to a list of the caches nearest to that spot.

 

Since last night, I am taken instead to a different, and useless, page:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?lat=0&lng=0&dist=100

Where all I see is:

All Geocaches

00° 00.000 000° 00.000. Map this Location New Search

Practice "Cache In Trash Out®"

While out geocaching, bring a bag with you to pick up trash along the way. Visit the Cache In Trash Out® page to learn more about CITO.

 

If I hit "Map this location" it takes me to blank, blue ocean. If I zoom out enough, I can eventually see that I am in the ocean to the west of Africa, which I assume is the spot associated with all the 00 00.000 000 coordinates.

 

I have tried on both my desktop iMac and my iPad, which are each using Internet Explorer.

 

Is anyone else having this problem today?

Edited November 17, 2014 by Loiseau85

[+Isonzo Karst]

Here's another thread on this topic - http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=327876

 

Yes, it appears that the search function is broken in some ways. I expect that when it's business hours in Seattle Washington, this will be looked at by staff.

 

If I enter City, State (US) I get a useful result - Orange City, FL

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?lat=28.94888&lng=-81.29867&dist=100

 

Entering just the Zip Code for that same location, 32763, I get to 00° 00.000 000° 00.000

 

So zip code search is broken - it's also case sensitive, perhaps it always has been?

tampa fl returns 00° 00.000 000° 00.000

while Tampa FL returns caches in Tampa FL

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Here's another thread on this topic - http://forums.Ground...howtopic=327876

 

Yes, it appears that the search function is broken in some ways. I expect that when it's business hours in Seattle Washington, this will be looked at by staff.

 

If I enter City, State (US) I get a useful result - Orange City, FL

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/nearest.aspx?lat=28.94888&lng=-81.29867&dist=100

 

Entering just the Zip Code for that same location, 32763, I get to 00° 00.000 000° 00.000

 

So zip code search is broken - it's also case sensitive, perhaps it always has been?

tampa fl returns 00° 00.000 000° 00.000

while Tampa FL returns caches in Tampa FL

 

This sort of thing has come up numerous times in the past. In a previous episode it was explained by someone at GS that they use several geocoding services for looking up place names and zipcodes.

 

Essentially, GS takes whatever is entered into the Address or Postal Code field, constructs a request to an external geocoding service. The geocoding service will (if it can) return a set of lat/long coordinates that can be used a a center point for a proximity search in the GS database to produce a list of caches or display caches on a map.

 

As I see it, there are a couple of major flaws here. First of all, each geocoding services may have varying levels of intelligence. If the service won't resolve a place name in lower case, then GS should normalize the string (make it uppercase, add a comma) before sending the request. If, for example, someone just enters Rome, it shouldn't get listings for Rome, Italy, and instead get some sort of response which indicates that the address isn't specific enough (I might actually want Rome, Georgia or Rome, New York). Ideally, if some only types a city name, a select list should be provided which allows a user to choose which "Rome" should be used.

 

The bigger issue is that GS has chosen to rotate over several different geocoding services. Most (all) geocoding services have a "free" option which limits the number of requests that can be made and "pay" services which provides a much higher number (or unlimited) of requests. In order to save a few bucks (or more accurately, increase their profit margin) GS has chosen to rotate over several free services rather than pay for a service which can provide consistent and accurate results. As I see it, if GS is providing a listing service, providing a working and robust discovery layer (search/browse) mechanism is the most important piece of functionality in the entire site.

[+Loiseau85]

Phew, the search feature seems to be working OK again tonight!

Thanks for the replies.