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Next new cache reward: web cams?


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Technology has changed since web cams were grandfathered years ago. Smart phone technology, etc has improved dramatically making it much more feasible and more reliable to do a web cam cache than ever before. 

I think using the same basic criteria that was used to select virtual rewards would be a great way to publish new web cam caches. 

As one of the hiders selected as a top 1% hiders that received a virtual reward (my new virtual is set to publish at an event on September 28) it would be a lot of fun and an honor to create a new web cam cache. 

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15 hours ago, Rathergohiking said:

Technology has changed since web cams were grandfathered years ago. Smart phone technology, etc has improved dramatically making it much more feasible and more reliable to do a web cam cache than ever before. 

I think using the same basic criteria that was used to select virtual rewards would be a great way to publish new web cam caches. 

As one of the hiders selected as a top 1% hiders that received a virtual reward (my new virtual is set to publish at an event on September 28) it would be a lot of fun and an honor to create a new web cam cache. 

I don't believe "technology" was an issue with the decline of webcams.  It was because so many were just posting a selfie and calling it a find when webcams were down. 

I know a webcam owner, and had it explained  that it isn't always a barrel of laughs to maintain.

The self-important blather afterwards doesn't mean much (to me) in regards to this subject ...

Edited by cerberus1
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1 hour ago, cerberus1 said:

I don't believe "technology" was an issue with the decline of webcams.  It was because so many were just posting a selfie and calling it a find when webcams were down. 

I know a webcam owner, and had it explained  that it isn't always a barrel of laughs to maintain.

The self-important blather afterwards doesn't mean much (to me) in regards to this subject ...

Not to railroad the topic. But "part" of the selfie problem could have been solved if existing webcams could be properly maintained.

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I'd like to see more webcam caches, especially since webcams have become more common since then and are more reliable, both technically reliable and more reliable in that they'll less likely to be put up on a whim only to disappear a year later. I was disappointed the people getting the virtual reward weren't allowed to plant webcam caches, instead, if they wanted. I'm hoping GS just didn't think of it, but they may have thought about it a rejected the idea because of the entirely different problems webcam caches cause, in which case this conversation is likely moot.

So I'd be happy if GS did something similar for webcam caches, but I don't think it makes sense for all the same people to now get to plant webcam caches. I'm thinking it might make sense to reward a second webcam cache to people that already having a webcam cache they've kept going all these years, both because they deserve a reward for that and because that means they know what they're getting themselves into if they create another one.

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9 hours ago, Team Microdot said:

And this fact renders your opinion somehow more valuable?

You are taking things way out of context. I now remember why I have not posted anything in the forums in years. It’s nasty toned comments from posters like you. All I did was suggest gc.com could also do web cam rewards also. I got awarded a virtual reward and had fun creating a new one, which lead me to thinking about something similar for web cams.  Nothing more, nothing less. I could care less if you think my opinion is more valuable or not. Discussion forums should be a place to discuss ideas objectively, not a place to to tear someone down. 

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15 hours ago, Rathergohiking said:

You are taking things way out of context. I now remember why I have not posted anything in the forums in years. It’s nasty toned comments from posters like you. All I did was suggest gc.com could also do web cam rewards also. I got awarded a virtual reward and had fun creating a new one, which lead me to thinking about something similar for web cams.  Nothing more, nothing less. I could care less if you think my opinion is more valuable or not. Discussion forums should be a place to discuss ideas objectively, not a place to to tear someone down. 

While I agree entirely with this comment (really), you do need to be aware that there's a lot of debate about the algorithmic selection process and how fair it was overall, especially for those who GS might also consider a "good cache owner" but didn't 'make the cut', and knowing that there (by opinion) examples of not-so-good cache owners who did.  So this comment:

"As one of the hiders selected as a top 1% hiders that received a virtual reward (my new virtual is set to publish at an event on September 28) it would be a lot of fun and an honor to create a new web cam cache."

...is begging to be (mis-)interpreted as self-important. Or to put it another way, the same point could have been made had it been worded something like "Having had the privilege of being selected to place a virtual reward, it would be a lot of fun and an honour for anyone who might be selected to create a new web cam cache."

Just sayin' ;) Put on your flame suit when you come to the forums - pretty much anything you say can be twisted even just for arguments' sake.  Congrats on being selected for the Virtual!

Edited by thebruce0
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5 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:

 

While I agree entirely with this comment (really), you do need to be aware that there's a lot of debate about the algorithmic selection process and how fair it was overall, especially for those who GS might also consider a "good cache owner" but didn't 'make the cut', and knowing that there (by opinion) examples of not-so-good cache owners who did.  So this comment:

"As one of the hiders selected as a top 1% hiders that received a virtual reward (my new virtual is set to publish at an event on September 28) it would be a lot of fun and an honor to create a new web cam cache."

...is begging to be (mis-)interpreted as self-important. Or to put it another way, the same point could have been made had it been worded something like "Having had the privilege of being selected to place a virtual reward, it would be a lot of fun and an honour for anyone who might be selected to create a new web cam cache."

Just sayin' ;) Put on your flame suit when you come to the forums - pretty much anything you say can be twisted even just for arguments' sake.  Congrats on being selected for the Virtual!

Thank you for your post.  I could have worded my post a little more politically correct so as to not "offend" the over-sensitive snowflakes out there.  That said, I had no idea that I would get a virtual reward, it just happened.  As such, I was pleasantly surprised and honored to get one.  The fact that I got one does not make me better or worse than anyone else.  I am done with that subject.

As for possible new cache awards for web cams, I do not care how it gets awarded to hiders, just that it gets done for the good of the game. In my opinion the logical way would be to follow the same process as the virtual awards.  I hope gc.com decides to go that direction, just would like to have more web cams out there.  Would be great to do locationless/reverse caches too! 

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On 10/10/2017 at 3:51 AM, Rathergohiking said:

Technology has changed since web cams were grandfathered years ago.

But people haven't - or at least geocachers in general in my experience.

I rather doubt that the main problems which beset webcam caches have gone away - including selfie logging which, if anything, is going to be a bigger problem with the increasing numbers of smartphone cameras.

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7 hours ago, Rathergohiking said:

I could have worded my post a little more politically correct so as to not "offend" the over-sensitive snowflakes out there.

Just to clarify this point: while I myself never would have noticed your phrasing, when other people started coming at you about it, I had to admit that their reading was a perfectly reasonable interpretation of your position, not some kind of knee-jerk reaction driven by an irrational need to make everyone else be politically correct. What I'm saying is, take a little responsibility. When you put scare quotes around "offend" and call the people you unintentionally offended "over-sensitive snowflakes", it makes me wonder whether you might be just as obnoxious as they all thought you were and are only pretending to backpedal.

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On 10/9/2017 at 7:51 PM, Rathergohiking said:

Technology has changed since web cams were grandfathered years ago. Smart phone technology, etc has improved dramatically making it much more feasible and more reliable to do a web cam cache than ever before. 

I think using the same basic criteria that was used to select virtual rewards would be a great way to publish new web cam caches. 

As one of the hiders selected as a top 1% hiders that received a virtual reward (my new virtual is set to publish at an event on September 28) it would be a lot of fun and an honor to create a new web cam cache. 

I think the "more feasible" and "more reliable" aspects that you mention, has turned webcams into something more pedestrian and mundane for me, to the point, I don't even bother with most of them.

If "Rewards" is to become a real thing in the future, I'd rather see some out of the box thinking going on, in order to develop the game in new directions, rather than slogging down those well worn paths we've already been down.

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6 hours ago, Touchstone said:

I think the "more feasible" and "more reliable" aspects that you mention, has turned webcams into something more pedestrian and mundane for me, to the point, I don't even bother with most of them.

Interesting point. Since I'm not smart and always have to call someone to grab a webcam picture for me, I do find that challenge a really significant part of the fun of a webcam cache. Maybe if GS were to grant some new webcam caches, they could make it a requirement for claiming a webcam cache that the seeker cooperate with someone elsewhere to get the picture. Of course, there'd be no practical way to prevent "cheaters", and who'd want to, but you and I would, of course, feel compelled to play by the rules and accept the full challenge instead of using a smartphone to do it the cheesy way.

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1 hour ago, dprovan said:

Interesting point. Since I'm not smart and always have to call someone to grab a webcam picture for me, I do find that challenge a really significant part of the fun of a webcam cache. Maybe if GS were to grant some new webcam caches, they could make it a requirement for claiming a webcam cache that the seeker cooperate with someone elsewhere to get the picture. Of course, there'd be no practical way to prevent "cheaters", and who'd want to, but you and I would, of course, feel compelled to play by the rules and accept the full challenge instead of using a smartphone to do it the cheesy way.

Personally I'd say it's more challenging to pull the whole thing off by oneself, in the field so to speak, than to have someone sat comfortably with a solid Internet connection waiting to click a mouse button on command.

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16 hours ago, dprovan said:

Just to clarify this point: while I myself never would have noticed your phrasing, when other people started coming at you about it, I had to admit that their reading was a perfectly reasonable interpretation of your position, not some kind of knee-jerk reaction driven by an irrational need to make everyone else be politically correct. What I'm saying is, take a little responsibility. When you put scare quotes around "offend" and call the people you unintentionally offended "over-sensitive snowflakes", it makes me wonder whether you might be just as obnoxious as they all thought you were and are only pretending to backpedal.

Yeah, you know...it does seem like someone digging a deeper hole.  

Every post by rgh seems slightly more condescending than the last.

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11 hours ago, Team Microdot said:

Personally I'd say it's more challenging to pull the whole thing off by oneself, in the field so to speak, than to have someone sat comfortably with a solid Internet connection waiting to click a mouse button on command.

It's also fun to pull the whole thing off by oneself, without a smartphone and without an assistant waiting to save the photo for you. That's how I did my first two webcams.

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6 hours ago, J Grouchy said:

What about changing web cam rules and allow for selfies, much like an Earthcache? Would eliminate “quote” cheating “unquote”.

This comment was not intended to be condescending, backtrack, or offend any snowflakes. Also used quotations very carefully. If it offended anyone, then it is what it is. Let me know if I need to apologize.

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30 minutes ago, Rathergohiking said:
6 hours ago, J Grouchy said:

What about changing web cam rules and allow for selfies, much like an Earthcache? Would eliminate “quote” cheating “unquote”.

This comment was not intended to be condescending, backtrack, or offend any snowflakes. Also used quotations very carefully. If it offended anyone, then it is what it is. Let me know if I need to apologize.

Not quite sure why this is quoted to JG.

I also don't understand how an earthcache is like a webcam, or how earthcaches involve selfies -- logging pictures are the exception, not the rule, for earthcaches and have been since January 2011.

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8 hours ago, Rathergohiking said:

What about changing web cam rules and allow for selfies, much like an Earthcache? Would eliminate “quote” cheating “unquote”.

If I'm reading this right you're suggesting that they allow Webcam caches to accept a selfie rather than an image from the Webcam, so it becomes a "go here and take a selfie" cache, sounds like the Geocaching Challenges, and we know that didn't end well.

 

 

Edited by MartyBartfast
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15 hours ago, MartyBartfast said:

If I'm reading this right you're suggesting that they allow Webcam caches to accept a selfie rather than an image from the Webcam, so it becomes a "go here and take a selfie" cache, sounds like the Geocaching Challenges, and we know that didn't end well.

Sorta agree.    The whole idea of the webcam was to capture yourself in the webcam.   A lot tougher years ago when phones weren't the norm, and often meant someone had to stay near a pc.

I see enough "selfies" in  pics at most caches today, usually faces blocking the  awesome view that they were trying to capture.  :D

Funny how so many COs stopped putting cameras in caches because few were interested, to now those same people can't go anywhere without a pic of themselves...   :)

 

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