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Limit for downloading geocache data


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Most of the time I am a PM cacher but at the moment I am not. Which is how I found out the limit of 3 geocaches (full information) per 24 hours for a non paid up cacher.

 

I totally understand why PQs are available only to paid cachers but consider this limit to be new and uncalled for.

When I first started geocaching my understanding was that if you were a paid cacher you would get bonus benefits not that you would be punished if you were not.

Downloading caches is a pretty basic part of geocaching in my opinion and should not be limited in this way.

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Most of the time I am a PM cacher but at the moment I am not. Which is how I found out the limit of 3 geocaches (full information) per 24 hours for a non paid up cacher.

 

I totally understand why PQs are available only to paid cachers but consider this limit to be new and uncalled for.

When I first started geocaching my understanding was that if you were a paid cacher you would get bonus benefits not that you would be punished if you were not.

Downloading caches is a pretty basic part of geocaching in my opinion and should not be limited in this way.

Three caches???

 

Are you talking of a phone and the (free) Intro-app, or maybe a Windows app? I know of no other throttle on geocaching.com.

Helps to know if that is what you are speaking of...

 

Basic Members with a (paid) full app have unlimited access.

I believe upgrades to the Intro-app have increased the cache numbers, too. If you are speaking of the app, have you updated it lately?

The Windows app may require Premium Membership, dunno for sure.

 

Basic Members using a dedicated GPSr also have un-throttled downloading, just not in bulk.

 

None of which has anything to do with Pocket Queries.

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Most of the time I am a PM cacher but at the moment I am not. Which is how I found out the limit of 3 geocaches (full information) per 24 hours for a non paid up cacher.

 

I totally understand why PQs are available only to paid cachers but consider this limit to be new and uncalled for.

When I first started geocaching my understanding was that if you were a paid cacher you would get bonus benefits not that you would be punished if you were not.

Downloading caches is a pretty basic part of geocaching in my opinion and should not be limited in this way.

This is not a downloading limit. This is a downloading via the API limit. The API is relativly new, and full access to it has always been a PM feature.

 

PS, I am in the same situation right now. Normaly a PM, currently a Basic member. It is annoying, but considering how little caching I have been doing recently, it hasn't been a significant problem. (I use cachesence on Android)

Edited by Andronicus
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Most of the time I am a PM cacher but at the moment I am not. Which is how I found out the limit of 3 geocaches (full information) per 24 hours for a non paid up cacher.

 

I totally understand why PQs are available only to paid cachers but consider this limit to be new and uncalled for.

When I first started geocaching my understanding was that if you were a paid cacher you would get bonus benefits not that you would be punished if you were not.

Downloading caches is a pretty basic part of geocaching in my opinion and should not be limited in this way.

 

Are you saying that as a currently non Premium member, you can get FULL cache details (GPX not LOC) on three listed hides per day? If so, that would be a previously unknown to me development. I think it would be a great idea, though I personally won't believe it till I hear confirmation. And you have nothing to complain about. Realize that I have launched more than my share of criticism at Groundspeak (and if you have a hour, I could share more), but this site would not exist without funding. How would you propose to pay for it?

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Good point Gitchee-Gummee I was downloading the geocaches to GSAK. It also stopped me from using the refresh option.

 

I like solving puzzles and downloading them to GSAK but limiting it to only three in a 24 hour period is taking it too far IMO.

 

I have the paid for app but don't use it.

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Most of the time I am a PM cacher but at the moment I am not. Which is how I found out the limit of 3 geocaches (full information) per 24 hours for a non paid up cacher.

 

I totally understand why PQs are available only to paid cachers but consider this limit to be new and uncalled for.

When I first started geocaching my understanding was that if you were a paid cacher you would get bonus benefits not that you would be punished if you were not.

Downloading caches is a pretty basic part of geocaching in my opinion and should not be limited in this way.

This is not a downloading limit. This is a downloading via the API limit. The API is relativly new, and full access to it has always been a PM feature.

 

PS, I am in the same situation right now. Normaly a PM, currently a Basic member. It is annoying, but considering how little caching I have been doing recently, it hasn't been a significant problem. (I use cachesence on Android)

 

I have been able to do it in the past so I would say this limit is new. I have had GSAK for years, this is the first time I have had an issue.

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Most of the time I am a PM cacher but at the moment I am not. Which is how I found out the limit of 3 geocaches (full information) per 24 hours for a non paid up cacher.

 

I totally understand why PQs are available only to paid cachers but consider this limit to be new and uncalled for.

When I first started geocaching my understanding was that if you were a paid cacher you would get bonus benefits not that you would be punished if you were not.

Downloading caches is a pretty basic part of geocaching in my opinion and should not be limited in this way.

 

Are you saying that as a currently non Premium member, you can get FULL cache details (GPX not LOC) on three listed hides per day? If so, that would be a previously unknown to me development. I think it would be a great idea, though I personally won't believe it till I hear confirmation. And you have nothing to complain about. Realize that I have launched more than my share of criticism at Groundspeak (and if you have a hour, I could share more), but this site would not exist without funding. How would you propose to pay for it?

 

Yes that is what I am saying.

 

I pay on average 11 1/2 months of the year. There is plenty of advertising on the site which I am happy to put up with. Also there are a number of tb initiatives where companies have basically paid for advertising (jeep, John Grisham, geico, michelin). Not to mention commercial stores/manufacturers paying to use copyrighted images. I have seen other sites use crowd funding when things like servers get upgraded.

 

So I think there are plenty of ways to pay for the site without punishing those without who are not PM.

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There is no punishment for those who do not pay. You can still access the website. You can still view all the cache information for most of the caches (except the Premium Member Only listings). If you cant use GSAK access some of the Premium Features because you don't want to renew your Premium Membership, TOO BAD.

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I'm looking through my daughter's account is a non-PM.

Are you talking about sending straight to your gps/phone?

If you have GSAK you can try, and I can't because Im not on my home computer. But as I said if you have GSAK you can probably download a LOC file on the cache page and give it a try

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I'm looking through my daughter's account is a non-PM.

Are you talking about sending straight to your gps/phone?

If you have GSAK you can try, and I can't because Im not on my home computer. But as I said if you have GSAK you can probably download a LOC file on the cache page and give it a try

Downloading to GSAK

I used to be able to but can't any more.

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Wow talk about hate towards a non PM player.

Surprised to see it coming from so many players who should be able to remember that this game used to be 100% free.

I'm not saying that PM players shouldn't have benefits just that this comes under IMO basic game play.

Would understand if the limit were 100 or even 50 but 3 is ridiculously low.

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"Basic game play" as you call it, gives you these things. You get to view ALL non-PMO cache pages. You can download .loc of those caches. You can print those cache pages, with maps and recent logs.

 

And as a sample of Premium Member benefits, you are allowed three .gpx file downloads at no cost.

 

Why not be happy for the three .gpx files you get for free, instead of whining about the benefits others are paying to enjoy.

 

BTW, Premium Memberships began several before either of us became members. (2002 IIRC)

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"Basic game play" as you call it, gives you these things. You get to view ALL non-PMO cache pages. You can download .loc of those caches. You can print those cache pages, with maps and recent logs.

 

And as a sample of Premium Member benefits, you are allowed three .gpx file downloads at no cost.

 

Why not be happy for the three .gpx files you get for free, instead of whining about the benefits others are paying to enjoy.

 

BTW, Premium Memberships began several before either of us became members. (2002 IIRC)

 

and what were the benefits of being a PM back in 2002?

I do know when I joined there really wasn't that much difference between being a PM or not.

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Why not be happy for the three .gpx files you get for free, instead of whining about the benefits others are paying to enjoy.

 

 

because it was free for everyone commenting so far in this thread for years and I would like that option to still be viable for other people who for what ever reason can not afford to pay.

I'll go and pay up before my trip so will be able to download everything I need but I do know players who can not afford to pay.

No need to start whining that it is about the same price as a cup of coffee each month because some families really can't afford it.

 

This game was easily accessible and free for anyone who wanted to play it.

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Wow talk about hate towards a non PM player.

Surprised to see it coming from so many players who should be able to remember that this game used to be 100% free.

I'm not saying that PM players shouldn't have benefits just that this comes under IMO basic game play.

Would understand if the limit were 100 or even 50 but 3 is ridiculously low.

It's not a punishment but a privilege to be PMO. I use to be one too. Almost all my caches are PMO. I don't know what I would do without PQs or better maps. But you know, you get what you pay for.

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As I understand it, downloading cache data to GSAK used to be done via PQs, which is a premium feature.

 

More recently, GSAK can download cache data via the API. Basic members have always been limited to downloading full data for only 3 caches per 24 hours. Full access to the API has always been a premium feature. (And one of the most important premium features, IMHO.)

 

I'm not sure where the idea came from that you used to be able to download cache data to GSAK as a basic member.

Edited by niraD
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I'm not sure where the idea came from that you used to be able to download cache data to GSAK as a basic member.

 

From there that it was possible using API. It was silently changed together with price increase for PM.

 

Price increase for PM? Say what? :blink:

 

Basic Members using the website (Groundspeak) are not limited to only 3 caches a day.

 

If you're talking about the Groundspeak apps, then yes, there are limits.

 

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.book&id=12

 

Is this thread really about issues with GSAK? Or with GS phone apps?

 

 

B.

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Basic Members using the website (Groundspeak) are not limited to only 3 caches a day.

 

 

We're not speaking about website but about API. GSAK uses API. The limit was much higher, a few hundred a day, if not over thousand. In the beginning of my geocaching, even a hundred was an immense amount :)

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Basic Members using the website (Groundspeak) are not limited to only 3 caches a day.

 

 

We're not speaking about website but about API. GSAK uses API. The limit was much higher, a few hundred a day, if not over thousand. In the beginning of my geocaching, even a hundred was an immense amount :)

 

GSAK didn't start using the API until version 8 came out. GSAK version 7.x still uses pocket queries, which encapsulates data in a gpx file and requires a premium membership. Although one *could* use GSAK without a premium membership it's really no different than g oing we web site, selecting some caches and downloading waypoints in loc format. One can play the game of geocaching as a basic member using the website to download loc files into a waypoint manager (or sending them directly to a GPS). You won't get all the Groundspeak extensions that are provided in a gpx file such as the d/t rating, size, full description, etc. but none of those things are required in order to navigate to a cache, find it, then post a found it log. The free and paid version model for software applications is extremely common. You get basic functionality for free. If you want more you've got to pay for it.

 

Yes, the API has a limit in the number of caches that can be downloaded in a day. If it didn't, GS would probably lose a lot of premium members. Maybe the limit is too low, but as far as I know, the API has always had a low limit on the number of caches that could be downloaded by a basic member. Maybe increasing it to 10 a day might seem reasonable but if it was increased to 100, and the data you got was essentially the same as what you'd get with a pocket query GS would likely lose a lot of income.

 

You keep on saying that the limit used to be higher but doesn't anyone have some definitive evidence for if and when the limit was changed for basic members?

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Most of the time I am a PM cacher but at the moment I am not. Which is how I found out the limit of 3 geocaches (full information) per 24 hours for a non paid up cacher.

 

I totally understand why PQs are available only to paid cachers but consider this limit to be new and uncalled for.

When I first started geocaching my understanding was that if you were a paid cacher you would get bonus benefits not that you would be punished if you were not.

Downloading caches is a pretty basic part of geocaching in my opinion and should not be limited in this way.

This is not a downloading limit. This is a downloading via the API limit. The API is relativly new, and full access to it has always been a PM feature.

 

PS, I am in the same situation right now. Normaly a PM, currently a Basic member. It is annoying, but considering how little caching I have been doing recently, it hasn't been a significant problem. (I use cachesence on Android)

 

I have been able to do it in the past so I would say this limit is new. I have had GSAK for years, this is the first time I have had an issue.

No, this limit is not new. I am not sure how GSAK used to work, but once the API was available, GSAK started using the API. The API has always has this limit for Basic Members.

 

Edit: NYPaddleCacher states that V8 of GSAK started using the API. Again, the API has always (since it went public) had the basic member limit.

 

The API didn't used to exist. I am not sure why you think that it is an integral part of the caching experience. It is only what, 4 years old? But now it is a basic right of geocachers to have full access to it?

Edited by Andronicus
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Most of the time I am a PM cacher but at the moment I am not. Which is how I found out the limit of 3 geocaches (full information) per 24 hours for a non paid up cacher.

 

I totally understand why PQs are available only to paid cachers but consider this limit to be new and uncalled for.

When I first started geocaching my understanding was that if you were a paid cacher you would get bonus benefits not that you would be punished if you were not.

Downloading caches is a pretty basic part of geocaching in my opinion and should not be limited in this way.

This is not a downloading limit. This is a downloading via the API limit. The API is relativly new, and full access to it has always been a PM feature.

 

PS, I am in the same situation right now. Normaly a PM, currently a Basic member. It is annoying, but considering how little caching I have been doing recently, it hasn't been a significant problem. (I use cachesence on Android)

 

I have been able to do it in the past so I would say this limit is new. I have had GSAK for years, this is the first time I have had an issue.

No, this limit is not new. I am not sure how GSAK used to work, but once the API was available, GSAK started using the API. The API has always has this limit for Basic Members.

 

Edit: NYPaddleCacher states that V8 of GSAK started using the API. Again, the API has always (since it went public) had the basic member limit.

 

The API didn't used to exist. I am not sure why you think that it is an integral part of the caching experience. It is only what, 4 years old? But now it is a basic right of geocachers to have full access to it?

 

I was going from memory but I just looked at the GSAK web and in version notes I find:

 

8.0.0 9th November, 2011

General:

New Geocaching.com api support

 

Just under that is a link the "GetGeocaches" feature page where it states:

 

"Note: For premium members the limits are currently 6,000 full caches per day (+10,000 "lite" caches). For non premium members the limits are 3 full caches per day (+10,000 "lite" caches)"

 

As I am still using the 7.x version of GSAK (I didn't feel that the cost of the upgrade was worth it for me) I wasn't familiar with the what "lite" caches were but this is what I found on a page that describes the "Advanced Tab"

 

------

Light: Select this option to fetch just the summary details of the cache (for those familiar with Groundspeak data formats this is loosely synonymous with the LOC file format). This option is much more quicker that the full cache format, but the data returned is limited to:

1. Cache Code

2. Cache Name

3. Status (archived, disabled, available)

4. Latitude

5. Longitude

6. Cache type

7. Container size

8. Difficulty

9. Terrain

10. Favorite points

11. GUID

12. Cache ID #

13. Owner name

14. Owner ID #

15. Placed by

16. Placed date

17. Url link

 

------

 

That's actually much more than what you'd get from a LOC file, and if I'm reading the documentation right it means that if you go to the Advanced tab, select "Light", that even as a basic member, the API will return up to 10,000 caches.

Edited by NYPaddleCacher
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