+suchanana Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 just passing on some suggestions overheard at recent events for the powers-that-are Groundspeak HQ: 1. on smart phone geocaching apps, the .com for geocaching.com reference seems to be missing - that would go a long way reminding newbies that this is a sport activity with an entire community, not just a quick-fix gaming app for running around town... 2. do not allow anyone to post a needs archived log from the phone. logging in to geocaching.com from a pc & actually taking the time/thought to what they are doing could perhaps eliminate the "I can't find it/archive it" fever going on... 3. missing travelbugs have increased from just a skosh to bazillions. assuming it's newbies who grab them, but then don't know what to do with them, this problem needs to be addressed on the app itself. 4.the advent of privileges and fewer restrictions could lesson the displeasures on both sides - is that possible with only a premium account? any other thoughts ??? Quote Link to comment
+The A-Team Posted June 22, 2015 Share Posted June 22, 2015 1. on smart phone geocaching apps, the .com for geocaching.com reference seems to be missing - that would go a long way reminding newbies that this is a sport activity with an entire community, not just a quick-fix gaming app for running around town... I'm not sure what you mean by this. Are there broken links somewhere that are missing the ".com" in "http://www.geocaching.com"? 2. do not allow anyone to post a needs archived log from the phone. logging in to geocaching.com from a pc & actually taking the time/thought to what they are doing could perhaps eliminate the "I can't find it/archive it" fever going on... I'm not seeing very much abuse of the NA log, at least in my area. I can only recall maybe 2 or 3 improperly-used NAs across several thousand caches in my instant notification area over the last year or so. In some cases, such as when a cacher gets run out of an area by an irate muggle/neighbour/land manager, it would be good to make it easy to submit an NA log without delay. There have been suggestions for improving the NA log by requiring a reason for doing so, whether in a free-text field or from a drop-down list of valid options. Either way could help dissuade someone from frivolously using it. 3. missing travelbugs have increased from just a skosh to bazillions. assuming it's newbies who grab them, but then don't know what to do with them, this problem needs to be addressed on the app itself. While newbies are probably a large part of it, they aren't the only ones. There are also trackable thiefs, the absent-minded who lose them or forget to log them, and probably many other such categories. Also, of the newbies, not all of them will be app users. Basically what needs to happen is more education across all demographics and access methods, as well as dealing with the bazillions of missing trackables on cache listings. 4.the advent of privileges and fewer restrictions could lesson the displeasures on both sides - is that possible with only a premium account? Again, I'm not quite sure what you mean here. Can you explain this in more detail? Quote Link to comment
+Path Pacer Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Perhaps it would be helpful to require new account holders (on any platform) to pass a short quiz before getting access to the geocache map. We could ensure they know not to keep trackables, not to take anything from a cache without giving something back, not to move or take the cache, what not to put in a cache, how to log, etc. It might cut down on some of the aggravation caused by people who don't seem to know the basic rules. Quote Link to comment
+captnemo Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Perhaps it would be helpful to require new account holders (on any platform) to pass a short quiz before getting access to the geocache map. We could ensure they know not to keep trackables, not to take anything from a cache without giving something back, not to move or take the cache, what not to put in a cache, how to log, etc. It might cut down on some of the aggravation caused by people who don't seem to know the basic rules. +1 Sure won't hurt. As long as the quiz was short and gave the correct answer when a wrong one was entered, I don't think it would turn anyone off to caching. Quote Link to comment
+cerberus1 Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 We don't see NA abused at all. Our problem is getting people to use it (as well as NM) for some of these real carpy caches. Folks seem to think stuffing new paper (rinse, repeat...) in is gonna help. - Sheesh... I'd bet more trackables go missing by the hoarders and "took it to" folks than newbies. Largest trackable hoarder/thief to date - a long-time (now locked) PM. the advent of privileges and fewer restrictions could lesson the displeasures on both sides - is that possible with only a premium account? Are you saying that guidelines should be "kinda overlooked a bit" for those with a premium membership? - If not, please explain this one... Quote Link to comment
+Gitchee-Gummee Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 1. on smart phone geocaching apps, the .com for geocaching.com reference seems to be missing - that would go a long way reminding newbies that this is a sport activity with an entire community, not just a quick-fix gaming app for running around town... Inasmuch as the app itself is nothing other than a "tool" for phone use, I don't think this would do much good. It already seems that many users believe the app to be the website proper, but it isn't. I see this as merely adding to that confusion. 2. do not allow anyone to post a needs archived log from the phone. logging in to geocaching.com from a pc & actually taking the time/thought to what they are doing could perhaps eliminate the "I can't find it/archive it" fever going on... This depends upon which app you are speaking of. The Intro-app will not allow for the posting of a NA log -- only a Found It!, a DNF or a Note. I do however, expect to see an NA log option in an upcoming version of the Intro-app. 3. missing travelbugs have increased from just a skosh to bazillions. assuming it's newbies who grab them, but then don't know what to do with them, this problem needs to be addressed on the app itself. The fact that trackables go missing really shouldn't be associated with a phone app. They have gone missing since their inception. Forgetful or uninformed geocachers or out-and-out thieves are a bigger problem. Quite frankly, I see more long-time geocachers lose or mis-log trackables as much if not more than I see nØØbs. 4.the advent of privileges and fewer restrictions could lesson the displeasures on both sides - is that possible with only a premium account? A lesson... As in a class of sorts? Please clarify. Quote Link to comment
+L0ne.R Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 We don't see NA abused at all. Our problem is getting people to use it (as well as NM) for some of these real carpy caches. Folks seem to think stuffing new paper (rinse, repeat...) in is gonna help. - Sheesh... Yes. That's the bigger problem! Let's not discourage NAs (and NMs). I'm seeing a LOT more people propping up carpy caches and delinquent cache owners by leaving throwdowns and stuffing new paper into a carpy container. NAs are not the problem. As a cache owner it's easy to deal with them, we can check on our caches and report that they are there, in good shape and the area is accessible. In 10+ years and over 50+ hides we never have had an NA posted on our caches. I have yet to see an NA posted in haste. Quote Link to comment
+Team Hugs Posted June 23, 2015 Share Posted June 23, 2015 Perhaps it would be helpful to require new account holders (on any platform) to pass a short quiz before getting access to the geocache map. We could ensure they know not to keep trackables, not to take anything from a cache without giving something back, not to move or take the cache, what not to put in a cache, how to log, etc. It might cut down on some of the aggravation caused by people who don't seem to know the basic rules. Speaking as an educator ... all that the quiz ensures is that people know how to pass the quiz. It won't ensure that people will act properly after they take the quiz, or that they'll remember anything about the quiz a week later when they're just as likely to commit any of those sins again. After all, we make cache hiders check boxes testifying that they read and understand the cache guidelines, and we still have all sorts of problems with bad cache hides that violate those guidelines. Quote Link to comment
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