The biggest jewel heist in history!

[+kunarion]

1 hour ago, Max and 99 said:

Thanks for posting this. I'm submitting two today, so I know to look for this glitch on my own caches.

 

I submitted two today.  The first was activated with "No Clue".  The 2nd is now in the review queue, also with "No Clue".  So you see a status immediately upon submission.  Can't tell if or when a clue may appear.  It's different that what I expected.

 

 

Edited July 11, 2019 by kunarion

[+alan666notb]

I had to delete my 'attended' log (on the website)

Log out / back in on the App (So it realised I hadn't logged it)

Then logged an 'attended' via the App.

Then the detective clue thingy appeared.

 

[+Max and 99]

3 minutes ago, alan666notb said:

I had to delete my 'attended' log (on the website)

Log out / back in on the App (So it realised I hadn't logged it)

Then logged an 'attended' via the App.

Then the detective clue thingy appeared.

 

I'm jealous!

[+Uncle Chem]

8 minutes ago, alan666notb said:

I had to delete my 'attended' log (on the website)

Log out / back in on the App (So it realised I hadn't logged it)

Then logged an 'attended' via the App.

Then the detective clue thingy appeared.

 

Did it and it worked. Thanks

[+teddy.66]

1 minute ago, Max and 99 said:

I'm jealous!

 

I tried the same with PC

- deleted attended log

- logout from geocaching.com

- stopped the browser (firefox)

- started browser again

- loggod on to geocaching com

- wrote new attended log

 

But behavior is the same as before, no souvenir, no new clue status

 

waiting with patience

[+E.U.S.A.L]

1 hour ago, geodesafios said:

Same here with https://coord.info/GC6YFKQ

Same with the event https://coord.info/GC89YXP

Logged it three times (PC, Firefox) now, still getting 0/1 detective clue.

Edited July 11, 2019 by E.U.S.A.L

[+wendykmj]

1 hour ago, brendanjw said:

** UPDATE - I reported a false positive on the suggested workaround. Deleting previous finds and re-logging them will not provide the desired result of receiving a Clue.  We are investigating this issue and hope to have a response shortly.

 

Hi,

 

We discovered the issue with clues not being awarded properly (it was a timezone issue). Future logs should work properly. 

 

We'll keep you updated on this issue.

 

Best,
Brendan

Still not working here in the UK (its 16.40 pm now) ... have tried both the App and the PC... nothing works as altrhough you can see caches that are supposed to have the Detective hint nothing happens when you log any of them!!!!

 

VERY FRUSTRTATING!!!!

[+E.U.S.A.L]

14 minutes ago, E.U.S.A.L said:

Same with the event https://coord.info/GC89YXP

Logged it three times (PC, Firefox) now, still getting 0/1 detective clue.

 

Update:

1. Log with c:geo (what a bad word ?) => no clue
2. Delete Log on gc.com via PC/Firefox und log again => no clue

3. Delete Log on gc.com via PC/Firefox und log again => no clue

4. Delete Log on gc.com via PC/Firefox, install original GC App und log again => clue

 

This is not what I expected. If you want to keep all us c:geo users out, just let us know. But why doesn't it work on gc.com website?

[+geodesafios]

App worked for me.

[+Ben's Pee Bats]

Still not working in the UK. Logged two caches with the detective clue and no souvenir so we can't progress any further 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

13 minutes ago, E.U.S.A.L said:

 

Update:

1. Log with c:geo (what a bad word ?) => no clue
2. Delete Log on gc.com via PC/Firefox und log again => no clue

3. Delete Log on gc.com via PC/Firefox und log again => no clue

4. Delete Log on gc.com via PC/Firefox, install original GC App und log again => clue

 

This is not what I expected. If you want to keep all us c:geo users out, just let us know. 

 

While since that app violates the Groundspeak TOU, they actually do want to keep all users of that app out.

[+K13]

What we have learned so far:

Logging caches to get the souvenir only works for Official App users.

Search allows only to display results for Detective. No way to search for multiple targets before leaving the house.

Website is useless at this time for participating in this promotion.

Many people are frustrated with the failings of this roll-out.

 

 

[+geodesafios]

...
Also that we are humans... 

[+alan666notb]

1 minute ago, K13 said:

What we have learned so far:

Logging caches to get the souvenir only works for Official App users.

 

 

 

I think it works for all users of the API, so official APP, cachely, maybe GSAK as well.

 

[+wendykmj]

1 minute ago, alan666notb said:

 

I think it works for all users of the API, so official APP, cachely, maybe GSAK as well.

 

But obviously not us Premium Users of the official web based service then?

[+zeze1]

Logged through the website - nothing happened.

Logged again through the official app. Got souvenir and clue.

However, when you click on the souvenir, you get a 500 error.

 

Edited July 11, 2019 by zeze1

[+Deepdiggingmole]

14 minutes ago, Ben's Pee Bats said:

Still not working in the UK. Logged two caches with the detective clue and no souvenir so we can't progress any further 

 

Its not location issue - its website vs app issue 
website doesn't work - app does

 

I don't use the app as I have a GPS - so waiting to see what happens

 

 

 

Edited July 11, 2019 by Deepdiggingmole

[HiddenGnome]

Hello everyone!

 

For those of you who have been having trouble collecting Clues when logging a geocache I sincerely apologize. The issue should now be resolved. The fastest way to get your clue will be to (once again) delete your log and re-post it. I will follow-up with a further explanation shortly.

 

If you continue to have issues please include the GC code or a link to the log, if possible.

 

Thanks!

[+GeoElmo6000]

So if I want to skip the souvenirs, could I just not find a cache with the detective clue?  The souvenirs are gated, right?  First you need to find a detective clue, before you can get any of the other souvenirs?

 

If so, how do I see which caches have detective souvenirs?  I looked at a couple local caches and they say "This clue is still hidden. Find more clues to reveal it."  So as long as I keep finding those I should be good, right?

 

To me, this is the fun challenge, to get through the event without getting the souvenirs.  I play the game my way.  

[+MartyBartfast]

Another "bug".

 

Looking at a cacher who apparently HAS  got the detective clue, the souvenir appears on their profile page (e.g. https://www.geocaching.com/p/default.aspx?guid=ae9213a2-ca7b-4afc-8d1a-74fcc8af31b0&tab=souvenirs#profilepanel ) but clicking the souvenir gives a :

 

[+wendykmj]

4 minutes ago, GeoElmo6000 said:

So if I want to skip the souvenirs, could I just not find a cache with the detective clue?  The souvenirs are gated, right?  First you need to find a detective clue, before you can get any of the other souvenirs?

 

If so, how do I see which caches have detective souvenirs?  I looked at a couple local caches and they say "This clue is still hidden. Find more clues to reveal it."  So as long as I keep finding those I should be good, right?

 

To me, this is the fun challenge, to get through the event without getting the souvenirs.  I play the game my way.  

 

6 minutes ago, HiddenGnome said:

Hello everyone!

 

For those of you who have been having trouble collecting Clues when logging a geocache I sincerely apologize. The issue should now be resolved. The fastest way to get your clue will be to (once again) delete your log and re-post it. I will follow-up with a further explanation shortly.

 

If you continue to have issues please include the GC code or a link to the log, if possible.

 

Thanks!

Sorry but here in the UK its still not working properly....... you can now log a cache that has a Detective rating and you get a message to say that you have won a souvenir BUT when you then click on it you get a Server Error 500 !!!!   so one step forward and two backwards it seems?

[+NYPaddleCacher]

20 minutes ago, K13 said:

What we have learned so far:

Logging caches to get the souvenir only works for Official App users.

Search allows only to display results for Detective. No way to search for multiple targets before leaving the house.

Website is useless at this time for participating in this promotion.

Many people are frustrated with the failings of this roll-out.

 

 

I am also curious what others will be doing regarding how they plan their geocaching day.  While it's possible to select caches individual caches in the app and see which clue is associated with it,  as far as I can tell, there isn't a way to filter for caches with a specific clue unless they've acquired the prerequisite clue (one has found and logged the find on a cache with that clue).

 

If I were planning on going out caching for a few hours I might find a handful of caches, and plan my route based on where the caches are rather than in "clue order" even if I log them in clue order.   I could waste a lot of gas driving back and forth across town if I can only tell  where the cache is that contains the next clue I need after logging on find on the cache I just found.  Even if I can't acquire a Topaz clue yet, let me discover caches that have the topaz clue because I might be very close to a cache that has it.

[+thebruce0]

33 minutes ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

47 minutes ago, E.U.S.A.L said:

Update:

1. Log with c:geo (what a bad word ?) => no clue
2. Delete Log on gc.com via PC/Firefox und log again => no clue

3. Delete Log on gc.com via PC/Firefox und log again => no clue

4. Delete Log on gc.com via PC/Firefox, install original GC App und log again => clue

 

This is not what I expected. If you want to keep all us c:geo users out, just let us know. 

 

While since that app violates the Groundspeak TOU, they actually do want to keep all users of that app out.

 

And if that app doesn't use the API, but uses the website for submitting logs, and the website isn't/wasn't working properly, then that's why the app isn't working properly.

[+Max and 99]

2 hours ago, HiddenGnome said:

 

Hello - would you mind sharing which geocache you are looking at? Thanks!

I was looking forward to getting back on the computer and grabbing a screen shot to show you my issue. But this time it didn't happen! I promise!

My husband with the updated app just got home, so I'm  heading out to find one Detective Clue to see if it works this time. Wish me luck!

[+NYPaddleCacher]

10 minutes ago, GeoElmo6000 said:

So if I want to skip the souvenirs, could I just not find a cache with the detective clue?  The souvenirs are gated, right?  First you need to find a detective clue, before you can get any of the other souvenirs?

 

If so, how do I see which caches have detective souvenirs?  I looked at a couple local caches and they say "This clue is still hidden. Find more clues to reveal it."  So as long as I keep finding those I should be good, right?

 

To me, this is the fun challenge, to get through the event without getting the souvenirs.  I play the game my way.  

 

That should be pretty easy.  You can use the "Filters" on the Search of Geocaches Map page or the Filters on the main Search, then select Detective.  That'll give you a list of caches with the Detective clue (or show them on the map).  Then you just need to avoid finding any of those caches.  

 

I've tried to play a similar game in the past when I was in a state or country I had not previously found a cache but didn't want the souvenir from a promotion that was going on the same time.   

[+igator210]

Just used the Looking4Cache app and it seemed to work properly. I got the souvenir (500 error though) and it unlocked the next set of clues to find.

[+K13]

36 minutes ago, NYPaddleCacher said:

I am also curious what others will be doing regarding how they plan their geocaching day.  While it's possible to select caches individual caches in the app and see which clue is associated with it,  as far as I can tell, there isn't a way to filter for caches with a specific clue unless they've acquired the prerequisite clue (one has found and logged the find on a cache with that clue).

 

If I were planning on going out caching for a few hours I might find a handful of caches, and plan my route based on where the caches are rather than in "clue order" even if I log them in clue order.   I could waste a lot of gas driving back and forth across town if I can only tell  where the cache is that contains the next clue I need after logging on find on the cache I just found.  Even if I can't acquire a Topaz clue yet, let me discover caches that have the topaz clue because I might be very close to a cache that has it.

And if one needs to drive over 40 miles to the nearest available cache to obtain the Detective clue, it makes the wastefulness of the fuel usage  caching time even worse. Drive 40 miles, find cache with Detective clue, drive 40 miles back home, log cache (which now presumably will credit with that clue and open the next level. Rinse & repeat, instead of being able to plan a day of finding the needed caches in one trip.

 

This promotion is suited to the phone app users, to the detriment of those GPSr/computer players. That seems to be the new development mantra at Groundspeak.

[+thebruce0]

hm. The number of geocachers who do the hobby exclusively with a dedicated GPS and do not have a smartphone at all I would think is a tiny portion of the overall community at most.  Meaning, it is possible for someone with a smartphone to, say, drive 40 miles, find a cache with the GPS - then log via the app or website - then perform a new search for the next level from there, and continue on without having to come home first.  Apart from that, no one is requiring people to drive 40 miles, so it's a choice to do so -- just like taking the to drive 40 miles to risk the find for an FTF.

 

So I'd adjust that to say the promotion is suited to people who have a mobile data device, whether they cache with it or not.  Additionally, it will be less convenient for someone to play if they don't actively cache with their smartphone, since they'd then need to use it if they're mobile.

But ya know, in today's world, if the vast majority of the community are mobile-data capable, then it's no surprise that the promotion focuses on that crowd (while not making it impossible for others to keep playing as well)

 

Remember, this promo is also intended to get people to use the official app more than 3rd party apps (who can still use the website, though less convenient). That's just as "fair".  It's their promo, and we don't have a 'right' to participate. But if we can, then we have something extra to enjoy, and that's to the (rightful) benefit of GCHQ doing the promotion themselves.  The geocaching hobby itself hasn't fundamentally changed for anyone.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

7 minutes ago, K13 said:

And if one needs to drive over 40 miles to the nearest available cache to obtain the Detective clue, it makes the wastefulness of the fuel usage  caching time even worse. Drive 40 miles, find cache with Detective clue, drive 40 miles back home, log cache (which now presumably will credit with that clue and open the next level. Rinse & repeat, instead of being able to plan a day of finding the needed caches in one trip.

 

This promotion is suited to the phone app users, to the detriment of those GPSr/computer players. That seems to be the new development mantra at Groundspeak.

 

It really isn't a lot better for phone app players.  While they maybe able to log a find in the field, then search for caches with the next clue, they may still discover that they need to drive across town, then back again for the next two finds. 

[+Max and 99]

Success! My husband came home, we grabbed his phone and took off. SOOOO much easier than on the website, at least this far. We searched for the Detective Clue, then found the cache. Then I thought I might as well see what's nearby for the next clue. You can search for all three: Shadow, Fingerprint, and Footprint all together, It seems!

Finally I can proceed. Woohoo!

[+searcherdog]

Well, I searched and there's one detective clue in my area and it's in a cache which I found some years ago but the cache page says it isn't.

Using the all types plus detective filter search did not pick up the event being held tomorrow which does have a detective clue on the cache page.

So I tried with only the event filter plus detective filter on and the result is one event cache as expected.

So I tried adding another type filter and am getting more results although all of them are either found or disabled.

I've spent all day today looking for (and not managing to complete) the Wherigo which I failed with last week so I'm not in the mood to work out how to persuade the search function to cough up a reasonable result.

 

[+thebruce0]

2 minutes ago, searcherdog said:

Using the all types plus detective filter search did not pick up the event being held tomorrow which does have a detective clue on the cache page.

It'll only have the clue if it was published since July 11th. ie today. Existing events aren't guaranteed to have them.

 

If you just do a search for all cache type, hiding found and owned caches, that should be enough to show you which caches you can find that have the detective clue.

Edited July 11, 2019 by thebruce0

[+alan666notb]

6 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:

It'll only have the clue if it was published since July 11th. ie today. Existing events aren't guaranteed to have them.

 

The FAQ says 'Hosted', not 'published' ...

 

Do Event Caches have clues?

Events hosted between July 11 and August 11, 2019 will all receive the detective clue.

 

[+thebruce0]

 

4 minutes ago, alan666notb said:

11 minutes ago, thebruce0 said:

14 minutes ago, searcherdog said:

Using the all types plus detective filter search did not pick up the event being held tomorrow which does have a detective clue on the cache page.

 

It'll only have the clue if it was published since July 11th. ie today. Existing events aren't guaranteed to have them.

 

The FAQ says 'Hosted', not 'published' ...

 

Do Event Caches have clues?

Events hosted between July 11 and August 11, 2019 will all receive the detective clue.

 

d'oh, got my physical caches placed and events mixed up. Yeah, then I'm not sure the answer for that. Another bug to report?

 

ETA: it may be related to the 12hr timezone issue

Edited July 11, 2019 by thebruce0

[+arminus]

2 hours ago, HiddenGnome said:

The issue should now be resolved. The fastest way to get your clue will be to (once again) delete your log and re-post it. I will follow-up with a further explanation shortly.

 

can't confirm this: https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC88KZ2

Published today, should have an inspector clue according to the blog entry ("New geocaches published between July 11 and August 11, 2019 will all receive the detective clue.")

 

just deleted the log and re-logged it (Firefox on the website) - still no clue

deleted again, tried to log through the app, can't log a found since the app thinks I already found it

re-logged it on the website (and generated some spam for the watchers I guess...) - again no clue

[Blue Square Thing]

3 minutes ago, arminus said:

 

can't confirm this: https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC88KZ2

Published today, should have an inspector clue according to the blog entry ("New geocaches published between July 11 and August 11, 2019 will all receive the detective clue.")

 

just deleted the log and re-logged it (Firefox on the website) - still no clue

deleted again, tried to log through the app, can't log a found since the app thinks I already found it

re-logged it on the website (and generated some spam for the watchers I guess...) - again no clue

 

Perhaps the hidden date needs to be 11 July as well?

[+igator210]

24 minutes ago, arminus said:

 

can't confirm this: https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC88KZ2

Published today, should have an inspector clue according to the blog entry ("New geocaches published between July 11 and August 11, 2019 will all receive the detective clue.")

 

just deleted the log and re-logged it (Firefox on the website) - still no clue

deleted again, tried to log through the app, can't log a found since the app thinks I already found it

re-logged it on the website (and generated some spam for the watchers I guess...) - again no clue

 

 

Was it published before the official start time of the promotion? Not just the day of?

When I go into the cache listing, no clue is listed. So relogging it probably won't help.

Edited July 11, 2019 by igator210
added content

[+arminus]

4 minutes ago, igator210 said:

Was it published before the official start time of the promotion? Not just the day of?

 

I read somewhere that the start time would be July 11 UTC, so the publish at 14:00 CEST today should fall into that range (even if they accidentally used -9 hours Pacific Time)

Edited July 11, 2019 by arminus

[+fizzymagic]

What a disaster.  I am in London right now.  Near me, the caches with clues include multiple disabled caches, events in the past, and other useless items.  Did Groundspeak put ANY quality assurance effort into this promotion AT ALL?

 

Yet we still can't see Cache Notes in the Official App.  Sigh.

[+thebruce0]

1 minute ago, fizzymagic said:

What a disaster.  I am in London right now.  Near me, the caches with clues include multiple disabled caches, events in the past, and other useless items.

All addressed earlier in the thread.

[+pepash13]

5 hours ago, Ambrosia said:

Well, this is disappointing. For one thing, I expected another email from Groundspeak that the promotion had started. Another video perhaps? If I hadn't been monitoring, I wouldn't have remembered that this promotion had started. Also, if I was someone who wasn't afraid to poke around on a website, I would have never figured out how to find which caches have a clue. So that pretty much cuts out anyone out there who is not internet savvy, like my mother-in-law, for instance.

 

I used the map filter to find caches with the detective clue in my area. I haven't found very many caches here, but even so, only four caches popped up nearby. One is disabled, two are either missing or trashed, and one is a mystery that is actually almost an hour round trip to complete. 

 

I also don't see how to find which caches have these clues by using the phone app -  nothing's showing up on my phone. I know I updated the app maybe a month ago, so it should be up to date?

I had to update.. I had updated one month ago. Once I did.. I could click on my pic and it gave me the filter I needed to see. 

 

[HiddenGnome]

53 minutes ago, arminus said:

 

can't confirm this: https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC88KZ2

Published today, should have an inspector clue according to the blog entry ("New geocaches published between July 11 and August 11, 2019 will all receive the detective clue.")

 

just deleted the log and re-logged it (Firefox on the website) - still no clue

deleted again, tried to log through the app, can't log a found since the app thinks I already found it

re-logged it on the website (and generated some spam for the watchers I guess...) - again no clue

 

Hi @arminus - geocaches that were created earlier this week and published today are not currently receiving a Clue which includes the geocache that you mentioned. We are currently working to update the system to make sure that Clues are correctly distributed going forward. Geocaches that were recently published have had a Clue added retroactively. Now that the geocache includes a clue you will need to re-log the geocache in order to receive your Clue.

[+arminus]

9 minutes ago, HiddenGnome said:

 

Hi @arminus - geocaches that were created earlier this week and published today are not currently receiving a Clue which includes the geocache that you mentioned. We are currently working to update the system to make sure that Clues are correctly distributed going forward. Geocaches that were recently published have had a Clue added retroactively. Now that the geocache includes a clue you will need to re-log the geocache in order to receive your Clue.

 

great, re-logging yields the souvenir, but clicking on it (https://www.geocaching.com/souvenir/?guid=e234c8a2-191d-4727-81aa-41fd61405daf)

gives my a 500...

[HiddenGnome]

1 minute ago, arminus said:

 

great, re-logging yields the souvenir, but clicking on it (https://www.geocaching.com/souvenir/?guid=e234c8a2-191d-4727-81aa-41fd61405daf)

gives my a 500...

 

I am glad that you were able to successfully collect your clue and that you received your souvenir. We are currently investigating why the souvenirs from this promotion are delivering an error when they are clicked. The fact that the souvenir is being displayed on your profile page means that it was properly awarded and once we sort out the error you will be able to view it fully.

[+MartyBartfast]

26 minutes ago, fizzymagic said:

What a disaster.  I am in London right now.  Near me, the caches with clues include multiple disabled caches, events in the past, and other useless items.

You could go do my multi -  it's a nice walk and doesn't take long ?  

 

https://coord.info/GC1AXFQ

[HiddenGnome]

I mentioned earlier that I would provide additional background into the issue people reported about not collecting their Clues. This issue was initially difficult to troubleshoot because it was not the result of an error per se - in fact, as far as the system was concerned it was behaving correctly.

 

Some quick background - in order to complete the Mystery at the Museum you need to collect a variety of Clues. Each Clue has unique attributes associated with it, i.e. number of finds required, level required to unlock, and activation date. Every Clue has an activation date of today at 12 (noon) UTC.

 

When a geocache is logged the system compares the date of the log with the activation date of the Clue to make sure it falls within the allowable window. However, because of an issue with how dates are formatted from the website when they are converted to UTC there were a number of instances where the log date was interpreted as being before noon UTC. According to the system those logs did not fall within the allowable window and so were ignored. Logging from the app did not have this issue because the dates were not experiencing the same formatting issue.

 

Once we realized this was happening we made a couple of small modifications that would resolve the issue and deployed them to our servers. Once deployed I saw (so I thought) the data that we were expecting and announced that the issues was resolved. What I did not realize was that although the issue had been correctly identified and a fix applied the servers did not get properly reset and so did not pick up the necessary changes. That was my mistake, both on not properly resetting the servers and for relaying that the issue had been fixed prematurely. When we realized that the servers had not picked up the changes it was a simple fix at that point to force the update and triple check the data was returning correctly.

[+kunarion]

19 minutes ago, HiddenGnome said:

I mentioned earlier that I would provide additional background into the issue people reported about not collecting their Clues. This issue was initially difficult to troubleshoot because it was not the result of an error per se - in fact, as far as the system was concerned it was behaving correctly.

 

Some quick background - in order to complete the Mystery at the Museum you need to collect a variety of Clues. Each Clue has unique attributes associated with it, i.e. number of finds required, level required to unlock, and activation date. Every Clue has an activation date of today at 12 (noon) UTC.

 

When a geocache is logged the system compares the date of the log with the activation date of the Clue to make sure it falls within the allowable window. However, because of an issue with how dates are formatted from the website when they are converted to UTC there were a number of instances where the log date was interpreted as being before noon UTC. According to the system those logs did not fall within the allowable window and so were ignored. Logging from the app did not have this issue because the dates were not experiencing the same formatting issue.

 

Once we realized this was happening we made a couple of small modifications that would resolve the issue and deployed them to our servers. Once deployed I saw (so I thought) the data that we were expecting and announced that the issues was resolved. What I did not realize was that although the issue had been correctly identified and a fix applied the servers did not get properly reset and so did not pick up the necessary changes. That was my mistake, both on not properly resetting the servers and for relaying that the issue had been fixed prematurely. When we realized that the servers had not picked up the changes it was a simple fix at that point to force the update and triple check the data was returning correctly.

 

Both of my new July 11th caches now are clue caches as I expected!  So that works! 

[+thebruce0]

Thanks for your transparency HiddenGnome!  Very much appreciated, and it's good to know and see a demonstration of how the team at HQ is on this with all seriousness.

[+MartyBartfast]

Interesting, just saw a cache with this:

 

 

I wonder if it's hidden from everyone because it hasn't been released yet, or hidden from those who (like me) haven't got the Detective clue yet, but those who have will be able to see this clue.

 

 

And for the benefit of any passing Lackey, I quite like the way this seems to be playing out, it certainly seems more interesting and engaging than some of the other summer promotions.

 

 

 

[+The A-Team]

2 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

So I'd adjust that to say the promotion is suited to people who have a mobile data device, whether they cache with it or not.  Additionally, it will be less convenient for someone to play if they don't actively cache with their smartphone, since they'd then need to use it if they're mobile.

It isn't enough to simply have a mobile phone, you also need to log from the field or you won't be able to search for the currently-hidden clues. As someone who doesn't cache this way, I'm going to have to change my processes quite a bit in order to participate in this promotion. Either that or just go out and find a bunch of caches, hoping that I happened to find ones I needed in the right order.

 

Does anyone happen to know whether logging caches via API and website can still result in cache finds being ordered incorrectly? I've avoided doing so for a long time because it used to be that logging via both methods on one day resulted in wacky timestamps that changed the order of finds. If this is still an issue, I'd have to log all of my finds via API rather than log via the website from home like I normally do.

 

Personally, I'm not thrilled about how this has been designed to specifically-target smartphone users to the detriment of "traditional" cachers, nor how this has been executed (especially the confusing/lack of information in the lead-up and lack of sufficient testing, both of which seem to be recurring issues that never get fixed).