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Never Cache Alone


Max and 99

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Never cache alone:

Geocaching groups and organizations

 

Finding someone to go geocaching with can sometimes be difficult, especially when you are just starting out. Luckily there are many geocaching organizations and groups all around the world that connect geocachers to other local explorers. They strengthen the geocaching community, help beginners get into the game, and do so much more. Learn what you can expect and how you can find a geocaching group near you to join.

 

Never Cache Alone

 

_____________________

 

My question: the link on the blog brings me to a map that says Google Fusion Tables will not be available after Dec. 3. What do we use after Dec. 3? Just the regional forums links? I don't know enough about Google to understand this message.

 

I personally don't like the title "Never cache alone". It almost sounds like a warning or something I shouldn't do. :o

 

P.S. The email also promotes Gift Bags. I wonder if the 20% off Shop Geocaching they gave to us in a recent email will be allowed on the Gift Bags? Anyone know?

 

 

 

Edited by Max and 99
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3 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

P.S. The email also promotes Gift Bags. I wonder if the 20% off Shop Geocaching they gave to us in a recent email will be allowed on the Gift Bags? Anyone know?

 

 

Today I ordered two of the gift bags and successfully used the secret code for 20% off. But then I had to add an extra item to get the bill over $35 for free shipping.

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3 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

My question: the link on the blog brings me to a map that says Google Fusion Tables will not be available after Dec. 3. What do we use after Dec. 3? Just the regional forums links? I don't know enough about Google to understand this message.

 

It's just Google letting you know that the software that this list/map is running on will stop working after December 3. It's up to the creator of the list/map to deal with that. It seems odd that HQ would choose to set this up on a deprecated platform. There are free and open-source platforms available that can do the same thing, and they aren't being deprecated.

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1 minute ago, The A-Team said:

 

It's just Google letting you know that the software that this list/map is running on will stop working after December 3. It's up to the creator of the list/map to deal with that. It seems odd that HQ would choose to set this up on a deprecated platform. There are free and open-source platforms available that can do the same thing, and they aren't being deprecated.

Thank you. 

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9 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

I personally don't like the title "Never cache alone". It almost sounds like a warning or something I shouldn't do. :o

 

Yeah... I'd guess it was meant to draw you to it.   A marketing thing again.   

did have a brief thought of some recent issues on some trails because of it though ...

I prefer to be alone, but will cache with someone if the terrain's 5 (when we can get someone off their can).  :)

I cache to relax, and I feel I don't get much of that if someone's gonna chat the entire way,  or find that they aren't skilled enough that I'm now sorta responsible for their safety too.

 

Edited by cerberus1
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6 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

 

Yeah... I'd guess it was meant to draw you to it.   A marketing thing again.   

did have a brief thought of some recent issues on some trails because of it though ...

I prefer to be alone, but will cache with someone if the terrain's 5 (when we can get someone off their can).  :)

I cache to relax, and I feel I don't get much of that if someone's gonna chat the entire way,  or find that they aren't skilled enough that I'm now sorta responsible for their safety too.

 

While I enjoy the occasional group outing (3+ people), and look forward to going caching with a family member or caching friend one-on-one (much better conversations, I find), I find that (when safety's not an issue) I enjoy the solitude of the snowy woods (actually being able to hear the snow flakes hit the ground) or a cemetery in autumn.  Sometimes I need to get away from things and caching with a friend or two takes my mind off of whatever's been bugging me.  Other times, I just need the alone time.

 

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41 minutes ago, GO Geiger said:

While I enjoy the occasional group outing (3+ people), and look forward to going caching with a family member or caching friend one-on-one (much better conversations, I find), I find that (when safety's not an issue) I enjoy the solitude of the snowy woods (actually being able to hear the snow flakes hit the ground) or a cemetery in autumn.  Sometimes I need to get away from things and caching with a friend or two takes my mind off of whatever's been bugging me.  Other times, I just need the alone time.

 

 

I too prefer having some alone time.  I used to go backpacking by myself every summer in the high Sierra Nevada mountains.  Sometimes I wouldn't see another person for several days. I think I've only gone caching with someone else 5-6 times in 12 years.   

 

Not caching alone requires ones schedule to coincide with someone else.  That's not so easy for those that work full time and have family obligations.

 

Not caching along doesn't allow for spontaneity.  If I wan't to find a cache while driving home from work or while out running an errand I'm not going to try to find someone else to join me

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"Never cache alone"

Yes, sounds like an ugly threat.

Most of my caching is done alone and I have travelled the world alone. (More countries than my geocaching list suggests, as I visited a number of countries before I started caching.)

But not alone tomorrow. I will be joining a couple of others for a day out. Besides, one of the others offered to be the one to get wet. (Good bait to get others to join him :D.) The weather appears to be warming slightly, but not sure the water has.  I hope there is no ice.

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2 hours ago, GO Geiger said:

While I enjoy the occasional group outing (3+ people), and look forward to going caching with a family member or caching friend one-on-one (much better conversations, I find), I find that (when safety's not an issue) I enjoy the solitude of the snowy woods (actually being able to hear the snow flakes hit the ground) or a cemetery in autumn.  Sometimes I need to get away from things and caching with a friend or two takes my mind off of whatever's been bugging me.  Other times, I just need the alone time.

 

 

Only about 10% of my caching is pre-meditated.  Mainly it's just my making stops around and on the way home from work when I have a gig in a new location.  No way I could have anyone come with me at those times even if I had a regular caching partner!

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10 hours ago, Goldenwattle said:

"Never cache alone"

Yes, sounds like an ugly threat.

 

To be fair, the full title of the blog post is "Never cache alone: Geocaching groups and organizations". With that added context, it isn't quite as blunt as this discussion implies. Further, the subject line and start of the weekly email was "How to geocache more often... Go with a friend! Join a geocaching group or organization", so that isn't bad either.

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1 hour ago, The A-Team said:

To be fair, the full title of the blog post is "Never cache alone: Geocaching groups and organizations". With that added context, it isn't quite as blunt as this discussion implies. Further, the subject line and start of the weekly email was "How to geocache more often... Go with a friend! Join a geocaching group or organization", so that isn't bad either.

 

To be clear, the title on the blog I looked at said, " Never cache alone: Geocaching groups and..." .  There was no other wording after "and...".

It wasn't until I scroll down do I see that it really isn't anything important...     :)

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10 hours ago, Ageleni said:

 

Only about 10% of my caching is pre-meditated.  Mainly it's just my making stops around and on the way home from work when I have a gig in a new location.  No way I could have anyone come with me at those times even if I had a regular caching partner!

 

Practically all of my caching is premeditated, in that I look at the cache pages and load the cache (or sometimes caches) of interest onto my GPSr before leaving home. Sometimes the trip is solely for caching, other times I combine it with other things. I've done a few group caching hikes over the years, including two 1000th find grand hikes this year (mine and another local cacher's), and occasionally I've bumped into other cachers near GZ and we've teamed up for the search (mostly on new hides). The rest of the time, probably at least 90%, I've cached alone and in some respects I prefer that as I can go about the hike and search in my own way and time.

 

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I cache alone 95% of the time.  I broke my ankle while caching. No one around, cold (February), raining, didn't really know where I was. I was laying in wet grass and mud in a cold rain. Called 911 but couldn't tell them "the address of your emergency." I guess they pinged my phone which was almost dead. Took awhile but eventually the cavalry came and rescued me. (Bless every EMS worker ❤️❤️❤️.) I had to log a DNF. ?? But I reckon it didn't stop me from caching alone. 

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On ‎8‎/‎21‎/‎2019 at 6:08 PM, The A-Team said:

 

To be fair, the full title of the blog post is "Never cache alone: Geocaching groups and organizations". With that added context, it isn't quite as blunt as this discussion implies. Further, the subject line and start of the weekly email was "How to geocache more often... Go with a friend! Join a geocaching group or organization", so that isn't bad either.

 

+1

 

I don't see anything in the article that even hints that the author meant anything other than that there are many people and groups who are helpful...  that you're “never alone” to figure out Geocaching on your own.  I generally cache alone, sure, due to the convenience, unless I've met up with folks at an Event or something.  But I won't insist that it's the ideal Geocaching practice.

 

I wrote a whole piece about people who feel alone and can't seem to even get started in Geocaching. They really need someone for one-on-one instruction in the field. So if persons like that are even interested, I'd hope they'd take the article to heart and contact local groups.

 

Because in the case of the people I wrote about, I'm not sure I'm the un-alone guide for them. They aren't the outdoors-respecting-nature kind of people, and I'm not the ideal babysitter of full grown persons. But they can find a compatible guide, I'm sure... which means they are not alone. They always have a resource of helpful people to guide them. Dare I say it? … they Never Cache Alone.

 

Edited by kunarion
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55 minutes ago, PlantAKiss said:

I cache alone 95% of the time.  I broke my ankle while caching. No one around, cold (February), raining, didn't really know where I was. I was laying in wet grass and mud in a cold rain. Called 911 but couldn't tell them "the address of your emergency." I guess they pinged my phone which was almost dead. Took awhile but eventually the cavalry came and rescued me. (Bless every EMS worker ❤️❤️❤️.) I had to log a DNF. ?? But I reckon it didn't stop me from caching alone. 

 

I have a registered personal locator beacon in my caching backpack should the worst happen and I have no other way of calling for help, and if I'm going somewhere off the beaten track I'll post my intentions on FB so my family and friends will know where to start looking if I don't return.

 

Your mention of calling 911 brings back memories of a tragic incident in 2006 in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. One of three teenage boys on a multi-day hike through rugged terrain became separated from the others. He made multiple attempts to call for help on our equivalent 000 number but his calls weren't immediately acted upon because he was unable to provide a street address, which apparently their despatch system required. Following the coronial inquest into his death, I believe changes have been made to the system so it's now better able to cope with someone lost in remote bushland, but I'm still not entirely sure I'd want to rely on making such a call if I was lost somewhere that didn't have a nearest cross-street. I also wonder whether, if I was in such a situation, giving coordinates off my GPSr in DDM format might confuse them, as I think the emergency services here generally use UTM grid coordinates.

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15 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

911 brings back memories of a tragic incident in 2006 in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. One of three teenage boys on a multi-day hike through rugged terrain became separated from the others. He made multiple attempts to call for help on our equivalent 000 number but his calls weren't immediately acted upon because he was unable to provide a street address

 

Not long ago, I had to call 911 and was surprised to learn that they have no way to locate a caller on the road without a street address. I dunno, I guess I expected magic. I mean “triangulation” or something. That is, I was under the impression that they can get all they need from the phone itself. Also I was surprised at the amount of information I had to provide, and the length of time it required for them to ask everything. And how many times they asked the exact same question. And that they had to switch to another county to handle my call and start all over, after taking extra time to figure out who to switch it to. Anyway, if I call 911, I'm alone. I must at all times remain uninjured enough to get help all by myself. I made a note of that.  <_<

 

 

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41 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

I'm still not entirely sure I'd want to rely on making such a call if I was lost somewhere that didn't have a nearest cross-street.

 

Veering a bit off-topic but I’ve seen hundreds (ok, maybe half a dozen) posts shared on FB recently - and not just by cachers - promoting the what3words app as a good way to pinpoint your position in an emergency.

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1 hour ago, IceColdUK said:

 

Veering a bit off-topic but I’ve seen hundreds (ok, maybe half a dozen) posts shared on FB recently - and not just by cachers - promoting the what3words app as a good way to pinpoint your position in an emergency.

 

Plus codes are way more better and there is an easy proof. Try to google 84VVJMX2+MQ and powder.soils.issues

If someone is not understanding your location you can ask to google it :D

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I rang 000 to report a fire. A car accident had started a small fire in the dry grass. I had coordinates, but they couldn't use that and kept wanting to know the name of the road I was on - a long road, out in the country at night with not a light in sight. I had no idea of the name, as I  was out caching and had got there by using the cache's coordinates. Then I thought to ask if they could access Google maps. They could, so I said type in what I tell you and they typed in the coordinates as I told them. I was able to then say, that's where the grass fire is. Soon after two big fire trucks arrived, even though I rang back and told them not to worry now, as we had managed to extinguish the fire and the trucks were no longer needed. They still wanted to see this for themselves and I guess it was an outing for them.

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2 hours ago, IceColdUK said:

 

Veering a bit off-topic but I’ve seen hundreds (ok, maybe half a dozen) posts shared on FB recently - and not just by cachers - promoting the what3words app as a good way to pinpoint your position in an emergency.

I think there was something on the BBC website where some kids had basically been rescued from the middle of nowhere after the 999 (equivalent of 000/911 etc...) operator told them to download that app and use it.

 

Ah, there it is: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-49319760 - and other articles come up with the same type of story as well. Sounds like it might even be useful as a puzzle device...

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When I had to report an incident to 112 (emergency number here) they asked me if I can tell where I am. I chirped that I can, in fact, able to give them astoundingly accurate coordinates. But they told me there's no need, as they can see my position as we speak. I don't know how they did it and if it works for everybody, but they found me fast.

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1 hour ago, Blue Square Thing said:

Ah, there it is: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-49319760 - and other articles come up with the same type of story as well.

 

Thanks for the link.  Interesting.

 

1 hour ago, Blue Square Thing said:

Sounds like it might even be useful as a puzzle device...

 

Seen a few, and have created one myself. ?

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2 hours ago, arisoft said:

Plus codes are way more better and there is an easy proof. Try to google 84VVJMX2+MQ and powder.soils.issues

 

I also have a puzzle that uses Pluscodes. ?

 

Not sure I see why this is better though?  Surely both will get you to the same place?

 

However, in an emergency situation, apart from the issue of coordinate notation, it’s also very easy for the digits of coordinates, grid references and even Pluscodes to be misheard, mistyped or transposed.  The result could still be ‘valid’ and may even look ‘sensible’ on the map, but they may not be good enough to actually find you on the side of a mountain.

 

W3W effectively has inbuilt error checking.  If it’s misheard, it’s likely to be either invalid or on the other side of the world, and (you’d hope) immediately discounted.

Edited by IceColdUK
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1 hour ago, papu66 said:

When I had to report an incident to 112 (emergency number here) they asked me if I can tell where I am. I chirped that I can, in fact, able to give them astoundingly accurate coordinates. But they told me there's no need, as they can see my position as we speak. I don't know how they did it and if it works for everybody, but they found me fast.

Maybe it might depend on how many phone towers there are, how fast they can find you. Also whether you are using 2G, 5G or in between. Apparently that makes a difference on how close they can find your position.

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11 hours ago, arisoft said:

Plus codes are way more better and there is an easy proof. Try to google 84VVJMX2+MQ and powder.soils.issues

If someone is not understanding your location you can ask to google it :D

 

You first have to convey that information across to the other person, and which of those will be easiest and the most likely to be understood? If you know the NATO phonetic alphabet, then you might be okay. But if you have to tell the dispatcher "eight, four, v as in...uh... vince, v as in vince, j as in... uh... juice, m as in max, x as in xylophone, two, a plus sign, m as in mother, q as in... quail" and hope that the dispatcher doesn't fat-finger things, then it definitely isn't superior. Telling the dispatcher "powder as in baby powder, soils as in dirt plural, issues as in issues of a magazine" is much more likely to get across correctly.

 

14 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

I also wonder whether, if I was in such a situation, giving coordinates off my GPSr in DDM format might confuse them, as I think the emergency services here generally use UTM grid coordinates.

Not an emergency situation, but I once tried to give our regional parks department the coordinates of a large tree that had come down across a trail. I gave them coordinates in decimal format (with no special characters), because I figured any mapping system should be able to understand that format. They responded that their system couldn't recognize what I gave them. I replied back to them just giving a description of the location based on trail intersections and distances, rather than faff back and forth trying to find a coordinate format that they could recognize. I'm pretty sure they use ArcGIS, which is one of the most widely used GIS systems, so I'm surprised that it couldn't figure out decimal coordinates.

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16 hours ago, papu66 said:

When I had to report an incident to 112 (emergency number here) they asked me if I can tell where I am. I chirped that I can, in fact, able to give them astoundingly accurate coordinates. But they told me there's no need, as they can see my position as we speak. I don't know how they did it and if it works for everybody, but they found me fast.

14 hours ago, Goldenwattle said:

Maybe it might depend on how many phone towers there are, how fast they can find you. Also whether you are using 2G, 5G or in between. Apparently that makes a difference on how close they can find your position.

Not sure about other countries, but in the United States, I'm pretty sure 911 gets your coordinates from the phone company, so some of it also depends on who your service provider is and how they figure out your location. Some of them are better than others, particularly in remote locations where you might only be going off one tower.

 

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4 hours ago, Windstorm+ said:

Not sure about other countries, but in the United States, I'm pretty sure 911 gets your coordinates from the phone company, so some of it also depends on who your service provider is and how they figure out your location. Some of them are better than others, particularly in remote locations where you might only be going off one tower.

 

Actually, all phones in the US are required to have GPS chips so 911 can see the co-ords of the phone.

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12 hours ago, The Jester said:

Actually, all phones in the US are required to have GPS chips so 911 can see the co-ords of the phone.

 

As the BBC article explained, this is only any good if you have a phone signal.  Obviously, if you are caching alone and have no signal you’re screwed!  But if you are in a group, and someone is injured, another member can (hopefully) find somewhere with a signal to make the call, and pass on the w3w address.

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On ‎8‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 10:34 PM, The Jester said:
On ‎8‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 6:25 PM, Windstorm+ said:

Not sure about other countries, but in the United States, I'm pretty sure 911 gets your coordinates from the phone company, so some of it also depends on who your service provider is and how they figure out your location. Some of them are better than others, particularly in remote locations where you might only be going off one tower.

 

Actually, all phones in the US are required to have GPS chips so 911 can see the co-ords of the phone.

 

Phones may be required to have GPS chips (I have no idea if it's true, but it's not worth arguing about since I can't imagine a phone without GPS chips these days), but 911 doesn't get the info directly from the phone. Location info is provided to 911 by the wireless network. I haven't looked into how the wireless networks get their location info, but for E911 Phase II, the FCC's accuracy requirements vary from 50m to 300m depending on the type of technology used to determine location. I suspect most Phase II coordinates are pretty good, but in remote areas where ravines and trees can give even GPS problems, I wouldn't be surprised if wireless networks have occasional problems getting good Phase II coordinates. Also, since all networks are required to relay 911 calls, your call may be picked up by a network using the technology with larger accuracy requirements, particularly in remote areas where there may only be one network available.

 

All that said, I would hope that most geocachers would be able to figure out the coordinates of their location (we are playing a game based on coordinates after all) and relay that info to emergency services, eliminating any problems that come from relying on the wireless network to accurately locate your phone. In the United States at least, I wouldn't use w3w if you can get latitude and longitude. Emergency services use lat/long from the wireless networks all the time, so going that route will probably get you the quickest response.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Windstorm+ said:

I wouldn't use w3w if you can get latitude and longitude. Emergency services use lat/long from the wireless networks all the time, so going that route will probably get you the quickest response.

 

Yet, according to the BBC, the UK police are recommending w3w...

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33 minutes ago, IceColdUK said:
3 hours ago, Windstorm+ said:

I wouldn't use w3w if you can get latitude and longitude. Emergency services use lat/long from the wireless networks all the time, so going that route will probably get you the quickest response.

 

Yet, according to the BBC, the UK police are recommending w3w...

 

Which is why I prefaced that statement with "In the United States..." If the UK police are recommending w3w, that's fine, particularly if your emergency call centers are set up to deal with information coming in with that format. In the US, I suspect (although I don't know for sure) that trying to give a w3w location would cause more confusion than using lat/long, and I certainly haven't heard any police or fire services here suggesting that people use it. W3w may be a good solution in your part of the world, but right now, at least, I don't think it should be recommended for mine.

 

Ahh, the problems of easy global communication! You wouldn't believe the number of times I've seen that BBC article shared in the last couple of weeks by people in my area who don't seem to realize that something that is currently recommended for use in the UK might not work very well in the US at this time.

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12 hours ago, IceColdUK said:

 

Yet, according to the BBC, the UK police are recommending w3w...

Do folks in general really know how to do find their w3w address out there? I'd think most have never heard of it.

Myself, I know only how to take my WGS coordinates, go home and convert them on the computer..

Of course I can google it and then, I suspect, download some app, but that's way too slow.

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2 hours ago, papu66 said:

Do folks in general really know how to do find their w3w address out there? I'd think most have never heard of it.

 

I’m guessing relatively few people know about it, but from the number of posts I’ve seen on Facebook (by both cachers and non-cachers) over the last couple of weeks, there’s clearly been an awareness drive in UK.

 

2 hours ago, papu66 said:

Of course I can google it and then, I suspect, download some app, but that's way too slow.

 

From that BBC article:

 

At 22:30 BST they found a spot with phone signal and dialled 999.
"One of the first things the call-handler told us to do was download the what3words app," Ms Tinsley said.
"I had never heard of it."

 

I really have no idea how common this might be, and it may well vary from area to area (even within the UK).  Interesting though.

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5 hours ago, IceColdUK said:

over the last couple of weeks, there’s clearly been an awareness drive in UK.

 

I'm quite skeptical about all the publicity this app is getting in the UK at the moment,  the BBC news story reads like a press release from the company rather than a proper news story, and I've seen pretty much the same story published by other news sources; all of which leads me to think this is a marketing push by W3W rather than a "real" news story.

 

I'm also skeptical about how many of the UK police forces actually do use it, considering that they would probably have to pay for a commercial usage license, so far I've only seen third hand reports that they're using it, I've yet to see anything from a police force advocating it's use.

 

 

1 hour ago, K13 said:

Download a new app and learn how to use it while in an emergency situation?

 

Having said all the above the app doesn't need any learning to use it. Once you have it installed open the app and it presents you with your location highlighted on a  map, and the three.word.key right there - so assuming you know how to click the icon on your phone, and you can read then there really is no learning involved.
 

 

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1 hour ago, K13 said:

If I'm in a situation of danger, my three words will be "Send Help Here" followed by a set of coordinates. 

Download a new app and learn how to use it while in an emergency situation? 'Ain't nobody got time fo' dat!"

There's also the fact that if there isn't an address around to use for locating you, there's a good chance you're far enough from civilization that cell reception could be spotty at best. Trying to download an app over a spotty connection could be painful.

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On 8/23/2019 at 6:09 AM, PlantAKiss said:

I cache alone 95% of the time.  I broke my ankle while caching. No one around, cold (February), raining, didn't really know where I was. I was laying in wet grass and mud in a cold rain. Called 911 but couldn't tell them "the address of your emergency." I guess they pinged my phone which was almost dead. Took awhile but eventually the cavalry came and rescued me. (Bless every EMS worker ❤️❤️❤️.) I had to log a DNF. ?? But I reckon it didn't stop me from caching alone. 

I also cache alone quite often. A few years ago, while doing a multi-cache, a renal colic hit me. This is extremely painful, and I was definitely super-happy that I was in an area with good cellphone reception, and a way to describe where I am without using fancy things like coordinates ;) . Even though I know, that I was lucky this day, I still cache alone regularly. The chances, that something really bad happens, are still very small, and in the end, life is a 100% lethal disease anyway :P.

 

And the multi which I had to abort? After an overnight stay in the hospital, I was released. I called a taxi to get me back to my car, and successfully finished the cache :D.

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On 8/27/2019 at 8:53 PM, MartyBartfast said:

I'm quite skeptical about all the publicity this app is getting in the UK at the moment,  the BBC news story reads like a press release from the company rather than a proper news story, and I've seen pretty much the same story published by other news sources; all of which leads me to think this is a marketing push by W3W rather than a "real" news story.

 

I'm also skeptical about how many of the UK police forces actually do use it, considering that they would probably have to pay for a commercial usage license, so far I've only seen third hand reports that they're using it, I've yet to see anything from a police force advocating it's use.

Fwiw it's getting loads of traction across the UK - there have been several BBC stories and it was, apparently, featured on the very local radio station here yesterday as well - I think by the local ambulance trust.

 

Of course, new gets manipulated here and there, but I think this is a very real trend by a whole set of emergency services to get people in a place where it's easier to find them quickly.

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