+CAVinoGal Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 2 hours ago, JL_HSTRE said: The anonymity intended to create mystery is creating resentment because it's outside normal cache hiding behavior. I think this response is pretty understandable. THIS ^^^ But, having read through this thread, and hearing/reading Keystone's reviewer response, I'm not seeing anything wrong, except that a cacher only sees that: On 7/18/2020 at 5:29 PM, Geo-Sarge said: The individual lives in Ohio and he is actively soliciting other cachers to place a container and email him the coordinates and then submitting the cache under his profile. You will find his cache hides listed in several states and several countries. There is clearly no way for these caches to be properly maintained. Keystone has elaborated here that this is not an individual soliciting other cachers, and there is a proper maintenance plan. Reading a few of the logs on found caches, finders seem to be enjoying the caches. The nearest to me are a series of 5 about 70 miles away that I'm not likely to get to anytime soon. So, while I may have my suspicions if I see a series of a few caches placed by an unknown cacher that's not local, all the cache pages the same, referring to a GeoBash, I would probably just go find the caches and log them; and let the reviewers handle the legality of it all - it did get published, after all. And it HAS been reported and explained here for people to read about. And if it['s reported to GCHQ, it will be explained as it was here. All is well. End of story. 2 1 Link to comment
+L0ne.R Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 On 7/19/2020 at 6:15 PM, OnABoat said: isn't every cache hidden a "pad the numbers" gimmick 6 hours ago, Keystone said: Actually, cache placements in Ohio have been outpaced by archivals for the past few years. The 386 active Dr. Alien caches in Ohio have helped reverse that trend. With lots more 'gimmicky "pad the numbers"' caches. 2 1 Link to comment
+L0ne.R Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 4 hours ago, CAVinoGal said: All is well. End of story. All is not well. The devolution story continues. 3 1 Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 8 hours ago, JL_HSTRE said: One thing about Dr. Alien that's a bit different (and to some people troubling) is that the cache ownership and maintenance plan are less transparent than normal. The fact that whatever plan(s) are in place are actually working put Dr. Alien's caches miles ahead of a lot of vacation caches I could name. Link to comment
+TmdAndGG Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 1 hour ago, L0ne.R said: The devolution story continues. Only if you make it. 1 Link to comment
+Geo-Sarge Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 On 7/19/2020 at 1:42 PM, Keystone said: 1. There is a grand total of one Community Volunteer Reviewer on the organizing committee for Midwest Geobash. That person has not hidden any of the Doctor Alien caches. 2. I can only speak for the Doctor Alien caches that I've personally reviewed and published, but the local hiders/caretakers have terrific reputations as cache hiders and cache maintainers in their local area. 3. Geocaching HQ is well aware of the Doctor Alien account and their hiding plan. This topic has been discussed in our Reviewers' forum. 4. The person/persons behind the Doctor Alien account have not done anything to violate the website terms of use such that the account would be in danger of suspension, either temporarily or permanently. I personally enjoy a positive, transparent relationship with the person/persons behind the Doctor Alien account. I have never felt abused, lied to or threatened. My next question is, how did the DoctorAlien account holders locate these, in Keystone's words, "local hiders/caretakers have terrific reputations as cache hiders and cache maintainers in their local area" get selected. Was there involvement by the reviewers to locate these cachers? This is an obvious question based on the worldwide placement of these caches as well as the language issues between DortorAlien and the people in other countries. If there was active involvement by reviewers thru their private reviewers forum to locate all the people world wide that placed these caches then we have a clear conflict of interest and is preferential treatment for the people behind the DoctorAlien account. 3 3 Link to comment
+Isonzo Karst Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Hi Geo-Sarge, sounds like you want to manage at Geocaching.com, or oversee management. GeocachingHQ does advertise positions, here's the link for that page. Job available now wouldn't put you where you want to be, but hey, a start https://www.geocaching.com/careers/ 3 2 1 2 Link to comment
+fuzziebear3 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Chill -- it is a bit of fun -- a set of caches with a fun story. They may be all over the world. But they have local owners. I'm sure the local caretakers have 'their' local cache on watch, and can respond to any maintenance needs. Additionally, it is a matter of record with the reviewers as well, so if there are any issues that require reviewer intervention, then the local cache owner can be contacted as any other cache. They are there for anyone to find, and if they are not to your liking, then you don't have to find them -- just like any other cache. It is not that hard to find an active player in any area -- look at a few caches, find a common name. Look at the caches of that player. See what they have and how they are rated. No reviewer inside information is required. 2 1 Link to comment
+TmdAndGG Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, Geo-Sarge said: If there was active involvement by reviewers thru their private reviewers forum to locate all the people world wide that placed these caches then we have a clear conflict of interest and is preferential treatment for the people behind the DoctorAlien account. Why do you seem to think that reviewers are giving DoctorAlien special treatment? There is no reason for them to do that. And why are you so against Dr.Alien anyways? He's not breaking any rules. People play the game how they want. Edited July 22, 2020 by TmdAndGG 1 Link to comment
Keystone Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 3 minutes ago, TmdAndGG said: Why do you seem to think that reviewers are giving DoctorAlien special treatment? There is no reason for them to do that. If anything, there is a higher degree of scrutiny, versus a "standard" hide of similar nature, due to the features of this cache series and its ownership. 2 1 Link to comment
+GeoElmo6000 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 10 hours ago, Geo-Sarge said: My next question is, how did the DoctorAlien account holders locate these, in Keystone's words, "local hiders/caretakers have terrific reputations as cache hiders and cache maintainers in their local area" get selected. Was there involvement by the reviewers to locate these cachers? This is an obvious question based on the worldwide placement of these caches as well as the language issues between DortorAlien and the people in other countries. If there was active involvement by reviewers thru their private reviewers forum to locate all the people world wide that placed these caches then we have a clear conflict of interest and is preferential treatment for the people behind the DoctorAlien account. It's so easy to find people in different areas who could potentially help. There are so many FB groups out there, and one could just look in areas in which they are interested and find hides with lots of favorite points, then contact the hiders. Geocachers are super helpful people. I once created a video about the international aspect of geocaching and reached out to geocachers from many different countries, asking if they would create a 10 second clip introducing themselves and saying "found it!" at a local cache, in their native language. I wound up with over 30 countries being represented, none of the geocachers I had ever met, most of whom I couldn't speak their language. As I said, geocachers are a great group of people. 5 1 Link to comment
+cerberus1 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 21 minutes ago, GeoElmo6000 said: It's so easy to find people in different areas who could potentially help. - snip - As I said, geocachers are a great group of people. Yep. "Exchange", "Teamwork", and "Partnership" caches are a good example. Much can be said about someone who'll go through the process of placing a cache, maintain it, yet allocated it to another. 1 1 Link to comment
+L0ne.R Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 Quote In case you don't know me, my name is Dr. Alien. For years, I've been considered the greatest cache hider ever where I come from. Now I've come to your planet to share some of my most awesome hides with you. Here's a screenshot of the awesome Ontario cache's location. This is the stuff GCHQ is promoting. Parking lot nanos. 2 1 1 Link to comment
+Geo-Sarge Posted July 22, 2020 Author Share Posted July 22, 2020 I not against the DoctorAlien account. TeamSagebrush did this and had their account revoked, Doctor Alien is alive and well. So let me get this straight. If I decide to contact cachers all over the country and in other countries to hide caches and also maintain those caches for me so that my account has 1,000 hides as long as I have an approved maintenance plan it would be permitted? 2 Link to comment
+GeoElmo6000 Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 10 minutes ago, L0ne.R said: Quote In case you don't know me, my name is Dr. Alien. For years, I've been considered the greatest cache hider ever where I come from. Now I've come to your planet to share some of my most awesome hides with you. Here's a screenshot of the awesome Ontario cache's location. This is the stuff GCHQ is promoting. Parking lot nanos. Dr. Alien said he was the greatest cache hider where he or she came from, and sharing some of their planet's most awesome hides. Don't fault Dr. Alien with the fact that their planet's best hides are parking lot nanos. Maybe Dr. Alien will return with some awesome gadget caches. 10 minutes ago, Geo-Sarge said: So let me get this straight. If I decide to contact cachers all over the country and in other countries to hide caches and also maintain those caches for me so that my account has 1,000 hides as long as I have an approved maintenance plan it would be permitted? I believe the answer is yes. Link to comment
+niraD Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 42 minutes ago, L0ne.R said: This is the stuff GCHQ is promoting. No, this is a cache that met the guidelines, and was therefore published. 3 1 Link to comment
+The Jester Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 13 hours ago, Geo-Sarge said: My next question is, how did the DoctorAlien account holders locate these, in Keystone's words, "local hiders/caretakers have terrific reputations as cache hiders and cache maintainers in their local area" get selected. Have you been to a Mega event? You get to meet people for all over the world (I've been to a couple in the UK), so it would have easy for the organizers of last year's to have made contact then. 1 Link to comment
+The Jester Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 1 hour ago, L0ne.R said: Here's a screenshot of the awesome Ontario cache's location. This is the stuff GCHQ is promoting. Parking lot nanos. Refer back to my earlier post. There is no claim anywhere that the location or hide is better than any other in the world. But they are Dr. Alien's "Most Awesome" due to the lack of other caches under that account to be compare with. Link to comment
Keystone Posted July 22, 2020 Share Posted July 22, 2020 1 hour ago, Geo-Sarge said: TeamSagebrush did this and had their account revoked, Doctor Alien is alive and well. This is factually false. You are entitled to your own opinion, but not to your own facts. Drawing the comparison can be considered as a false attack on the person(s) behind the Doctor Alien account, so it needs to stop. If it doesn't, I will call in a moderator who is not part of the substantive discussion, to independently evaluate your posts.. 4 1 2 Link to comment
+funkymunkyzone Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 On 7/20/2020 at 6:15 AM, Geo-Sarge said: The lead organizer of MWGB is DoctorAlien, there is a reviewer on the same commetee, since MWGB is a Mega Event and Groundspeak is considered a major sponsor of MWGB there is clearly a conflict if interest here. I'm the lead organiser for a(nother) Mega Event and Groundspeak is (again) a major sponsor.... Where do I sign up for having Groundspeak in my pocket? 2 Link to comment
+Dame Deco Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 (edited) On 7/19/2020 at 1:42 PM, Keystone said: 1. There is a grand total of one Community Volunteer Reviewer on the organizing committee for Midwest Geobash. That person has not hidden any of the Doctor Alien caches. 2. I can only speak for the Doctor Alien caches that I've personally reviewed and published, but the local hiders/caretakers have terrific reputations as cache hiders and cache maintainers in their local area. 3. Geocaching HQ is well aware of the Doctor Alien account and their hiding plan. This topic has been discussed in our Reviewers' forum. 4. The person/persons behind the Doctor Alien account have not done anything to violate the website terms of use such that the account would be in danger of suspension, either temporarily or permanently. I personally enjoy a positive, transparent relationship with the person/persons behind the Doctor Alien account. I have never felt abused, lied to or threatened. Can you tell my why this account is allowed to publish hundreds and hundreds of caches with completely fake D/T ratings? All are rated 2.5 difficulty when the vast majority are simple LPCs. It's total baloney that makes the whole hobby look like a farce. Edited July 23, 2020 by Dame Deco 2 1 3 Link to comment
+Hynz Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 15 hours ago, niraD said: 16 hours ago, L0ne.R said: This is the stuff GCHQ is promoting. No, this is a cache that met the guidelines, and was therefore published. Maybe some (including me) have still the wishful thinking that for allowing a "vacation cache" it is necessary but not sufficient to provide just a maintenance plan. At least when placed in an otherwise well saturated area I would hope for requesting a convincing reason why this cache needs an owner thousands miles away. Not to speak when 100s of such carefully worded listings were submitted. Maybe the convincing reason exist. Pity that most of us will never get to know it. 3 Link to comment
Keystone Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 4 hours ago, Dame Deco said: Can you tell my why this account is allowed to publish hundreds and hundreds of caches with completely fake D/T ratings? All are rated 2.5 difficulty when the vast majority are simple LPCs. It's total baloney that makes the whole hobby look like a farce. Reviewers are not allowed to prevent publication of a cache because of questions about a cache owner's selected D/T rating. The only exception is enforcing the use of the "Wheelchair Accessible" icon for T1 caches. So, that's why. 2 1 Link to comment
+Dame Deco Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 1 hour ago, Keystone said: Reviewers are not allowed to prevent publication of a cache because of questions about a cache owner's selected D/T rating. The only exception is enforcing the use of the "Wheelchair Accessible" icon for T1 caches. So, that's why. I understand. So the hobby is a bit of a farce... 3 6 1 1 Link to comment
+JL_HSTRE Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 6 hours ago, Dame Deco said: Can you tell my why this account is allowed to publish hundreds and hundreds of caches with completely fake D/T ratings? All are rated 2.5 difficulty when the vast majority are simple LPCs. It's total baloney that makes the whole hobby look like a farce. Reviewers don't check for D/T accuracy. Never have. 2 2 Link to comment
+JL_HSTRE Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 36 minutes ago, Dame Deco said: So the hobby is a bit of a farce... The players have made it so. Link to comment
+niraD Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 4 hours ago, Hynz said: Maybe some (including me) have still the wishful thinking that for allowing a "vacation cache" it is necessary but not sufficient to provide just a maintenance plan. At least when placed in an otherwise well saturated area I would hope for requesting a convincing reason why this cache needs an owner thousands miles away. The volunteer reviewers check for compliance with the guidelines (which includes a plan for future maintenance). The volunteer reviewers do not check for quality, or a "sufficient reason" for a cache to exist, or anything other than compliance with the guidelines. 3 Link to comment
+Dame Deco Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 (edited) I guess I just think it's one thing to have a joke high D cache or two, and of course people make mistakes. But to have a whole series of "most awesome of all time" with fake DTs that are mostly guard rails and LPCs--and spreading from Ohio to the world? Meh... Now that they are spreading so widely, they are more and more likely to be among newbies first caches. They might think the hobby is lame. I would think Groundspeak wouldn't be happy about that. I just don't think this series is any great ambassador for the sport. They should have kept it corralled as a local thing. Edited July 23, 2020 by Dame Deco 4 2 1 Link to comment
+L0ne.R Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 1 hour ago, JL_HSTRE said: The players have made it so. Unfortunately GCHQ has done little to stop it and has instead contributed to the numbers mindset. Which is demonstrated with this latest new step in the race to a numbers-only game. 3 Link to comment
+cerberus1 Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 No plans on ever going for one of these (the low terrain mostly). Now that the OP drew attention to this "series" here, has it created a lot more interest ? If so, I'd call that mission accomplished. 1 Link to comment
+cerberus1 Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 12 minutes ago, L0ne.R said: Unfortunately GCHQ has done little to stop it and has instead contributed to the numbers mindset. Which is demonstrated with this latest new step in the race to a numbers-only game. Where've you been ? We noticed folks caching-for-"numbers" since '09. Link to comment
+Mudfrog Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 1 hour ago, JL_HSTRE said: The players have made it so. With Groundspeak's blessing. As per usual, Groundspeak see's an opening to possibly gain a few numbers and jumps on it without thinking about the long term consequences of our hobby. I sometimes think the company is purposely trying to shoot itself in the foot. 4 1 Link to comment
+Lynx Humble Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 7 minutes ago, cerberus1 said: Where've you been ? We noticed folks caching-for-"numbers" since '09. I am pretty sure he is referring to adventure labs that are promoting quick +1 in easy to reach locations 1 Link to comment
+cerberus1 Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 (edited) 12 minutes ago, Lynx Humble said: I am pretty sure he is referring to adventure labs that are promoting quick +1 in easy to reach locations That's odd, the thread title is "Geocacher with hides in Multiple Countries". She/he didn't mention "adventure labs" in their post at all. Edited July 23, 2020 by cerberus1 ed Link to comment
Keystone Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 2 hours ago, Dame Deco said: 4 hours ago, Keystone said: Reviewers are not allowed to prevent publication of a cache because of questions about a cache owner's selected D/T rating. The only exception is enforcing the use of the "Wheelchair Accessible" icon for T1 caches. So, that's why. I understand. So the hobby is a bit of a farce... If you pay my expenses to visit your cache prior to publication, I will gladly double-check and correct the difficulty and terrain ratings you selected. This can only be done by visiting the site. I would only agree to take on this role if my decisions were final and unappealable. The last guardrail cache cache I found was accurately rated at 3.5/1.5 - it has a 40% DNF rate. The last highway rest area cache I found was accurately rated at 3.5/2, which I discovered after shimmying my fat self underneath an information kiosk, and then searched several minutes for a nano inside the enclosed space. 5 1 Link to comment
+Dame Deco Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 1 minute ago, Keystone said: If you pay my expenses to visit your cache prior to publication, I will gladly double-check and correct the difficulty and terrain ratings you selected. This can only be done by visiting the site. I would only agree to take on this role if my decisions were final and unappealable. The last guardrail cache cache I found was accurately rated at 3.5/1.5 - it has a 40% DNF rate. The last highway rest area cache I found was accurately rated at 3.5/2, which I discovered after shimmying my fat self underneath an information kiosk, and then searched several minutes for a nano inside the enclosed space. Brother, these ain't that! But, yes, I understand the difficulties of your job. 1 Link to comment
+terratin Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 50 minutes ago, L0ne.R said: Unfortunately GCHQ has done little to stop it and has instead contributed to the numbers mindset. Which is demonstrated with this latest new step in the race to a numbers-only game. How would a reviewer check this? I doubt the reviewer salary is enough to travel all across the country or countries to check out caches. And besides, what's going on in this thread? Are you all jealous that someone is allowed to place caches you weren't allowed to place? Keystone has said it's all fine. I'm not a fan of this, but just ignore it. Just as much as I ignore power trails or most mysteries. Nobody forces you to find these caches. Seriously, sometimes I despair about the caching community. *shakes head* 5 1 1 1 Link to comment
+Dame Deco Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 10 minutes ago, terratin said: And besides, what's going on in this thread? Are you all jealous that someone is allowed to place caches you weren't allowed to place? Keystone has said it's all fine. I'm not a fan of this, but just ignore it. Just as much as I ignore power trails or most mysteries. Nobody forces you to find these caches. Seriously, sometimes I despair about the caching community. *shakes head* We're just grumbling a bit with like-minded people. That is one of the purposes of a forum, is it not? No despair needed on your part, nor on ours. 2 4 1 Link to comment
+terratin Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 1 minute ago, Dame Deco said: We're just grumbling a bit with like-minded people. That is one of the purposes of a forum, is it not? No despair needed on your part, nor on ours. Right, this made me laugh bigtime. dadgum, there goes my grumbling. Link to comment
+niraD Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 39 minutes ago, Dame Deco said: But, yes, I understand the difficulties of your job. And yet you somehow seem to think the volunteer reviewers could do more to keep something you don't like "corralled"... Link to comment
+Dame Deco Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 25 minutes ago, niraD said: And yet you somehow seem to think the volunteer reviewers could do more to keep something you don't like "corralled"... Anybody who simply looked at the account before publishing one of the caches in Europe could have seen that there were over 500 caches placed the same day with the exact same D/T rating and almost no favorite points. But...probably not their job. This is more about Groundspeak than the reviewers. Pretty nice racket for them--volunteer reviewers,volunteer hiders, volunteer finders...all they have to do is rake in the cache by selling merchandise. I don't want to derail the thread, though--this is just a response to Nira. 2 Link to comment
+L0ne.R Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, terratin said: How would a reviewer check this? I doubt the reviewer salary is enough to travel all across the country or countries to check out caches. To start with improve the submission form. Make the submission process more detailed so there's little room for uncertainty (or deliberately obfuscating the D/T rating and size). D/T ratings currently only link to the "clayjar" ratings. Instead provide a drop menu with good descriptions that are less likely to be deliberately ignored. The link to more information is important but can be ignored. Too many micros are listed as small. Include a drop menu for size, and provide a good description especially for "small" size caches. It should emphasize that small and larger caches are expected to be large enough for trinkets and trackables. (The opening should be wide enough for a large geocoin, the container is expected to protect the contents reasonably well to keep contents dry). Provide the option to upload a photo of the container. If the CO doesn't provide a digital photo they should describe the container. Reviewers should be allowed to change the size to the correct size. Edited July 23, 2020 by L0ne.R 2 1 1 Link to comment
+NYPaddleCacher Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 23 hours ago, Geo-Sarge said: I not against the DoctorAlien account. TeamSagebrush did this and had their account revoked, Doctor Alien is alive and well. So let me get this straight. If I decide to contact cachers all over the country and in other countries to hide caches and also maintain those caches for me so that my account has 1,000 hides as long as I have an approved maintenance plan it would be permitted? This has the potential for abuse. I want to own a cache in every state in the U.S. I just need to find an active geocacher in each state willing to hide a cache and maintain a cache and then give me the coordinates so I can get the cache listing published. This seems like such a great idea that I'm going to set up a Facebook group for geocachers everywhere to find hiders outside their area that will hide a cache. As long as it's "permitted", it's a good idea, right? 3 Link to comment
+NYPaddleCacher Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 2 hours ago, cerberus1 said: Where've you been ? We noticed folks caching-for-"numbers" since '09. Which, coincidentally, is the same year that "don't hide a cache every 600 feet just because you can" was removed from the guidelines. 6 Link to comment
+cerberus1 Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 28 minutes ago, L0ne.R said: To start with improve the submission form. Make the submission process more detailed so there's little room for uncertainty (or deliberately obfuscating the D/T rating and size). D/T ratings currently only link to the "clayjar" ratings. Instead provide a drop menu with good descriptions that are less likely to be deliberately ignored. The link to more information is important but can be ignored. Too many micros are listed as small. Include a drop menu for size, and provide a good description especially for "small" size caches. It should emphasize that small and larger caches are expected to be large enough for trinkets and trackables. (The opening should be wide enough for a large geocoin, the container is expected to protect the contents reasonably well to keep contents dry). Provide the option to upload a photo of the container. If the CO doesn't provide a digital photo they should describe the container. Reviewers should be allowed to change the size to the correct size. I don't see any of that as an improvement. You already wrote that things could be ignored, "deliberately" or not. It looks (to me) like just another this is how it shall be done thing.... If "the process" get's any tougher than it is now, I don't feel many will stay interested in placing any. If a CO has to do maintenance on their brand-new cache (oh, let's say...) because a bear got to it, do they have to provide the exact container type again ? Every time a container's replaced, will the CO have to "send an important message" to the Reviewer that they just put out another, to make sure it meets the caching code? Wow... Link to comment
+barefootjeff Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 4 hours ago, L0ne.R said: Too many micros are listed as small. Include a drop menu for size, and provide a good description especially for "small" size caches. It should emphasize that small and larger caches are expected to be large enough for trinkets and trackables. (The opening should be wide enough for a large geocoin, the container is expected to protect the contents reasonably well to keep contents dry). Provide the option to upload a photo of the container. If the CO doesn't provide a digital photo they should describe the container. Reviewers should be allowed to change the size to the correct size. I would prefer to see the objective volumetric size specifications (<100ml micro, 100-1000ml small, etc.) on the cache submission page rather than the example pictures that are currently there. Those examples are fine if the thing you have is actually one of them, but what if your container is bigger than a bison tube but smaller than a lock-and-lock? Is it a micro or a small? As to requiring a photo to allow the reviewer to set the size, how are they supposed to do that from a 2-dimensional image when volume is 3-dimensional? For example, is this a micro or a small? Or is this a small or a regular? Maybe a Suitable for Trackables / Not Suitable for Trackables attribute would be more useful. I would certainly like to be able to set the Not version of that on my caches in national parks where trackables and swag aren't allowed. 4 hours ago, L0ne.R said: D/T ratings currently only link to the "clayjar" ratings. Instead provide a drop menu with good descriptions that are less likely to be deliberately ignored. The link to more information is important but can be ignored. I'd like to see these at least force a selection instead of defaulting to 1.5/1.5, and maybe having a tooltip appear with the rating's description when you hover over it might be helpful. But they're always going to be subjective, particularly difficulty since that will always be affected by the past experience of the searcher. LPCs might be obvious to experienced cachers in the USA but could be almost unfindable by a newbie or someone visiting from a country like mine where lamp posts don't have covered nuts. Throw in puzzles, multis and challenge caches and the difficulty in rating difficulty rises another order of magnitude. Terrain too will always have a degree of subjectiveness as nature doesn't generally fit into nicely defined categories. Along any trail there will be easier bits and harder bits and the perception of the harder bits will often depend on the agility of the person negotiating them. Link to comment
+Geo-Sarge Posted July 23, 2020 Author Share Posted July 23, 2020 (edited) Keystone, do what you will. I welcome more input from any other reviewer on this. Actually I would be interested to know as you stated earlier that Groundspeak is fully aware of the account, who I can communicate with at Groundspeak about the standard used for the publishing of this account. Keystone wrote earlier I can only speak for the Doctor Alien caches that I've personally reviewed and published, but the local hiders/caretakers have terrific reputations as cache hiders and cache maintainers in their local area. My guess is you review for at least Ohio and Pennsylvania. Totals for those two states are OH - 395 and PA - 32. Based on those two numbers alone I would say your statement is a reach. How were these people selected? Was there help provided by local reviewers in the area where the caches are placed? I’ve been doing this hobby since 04/25/2003. When I started you had to live within 25 miles of your cache placements. As I said earlier, I am not against the people that make up the DoctorAlien account. I am however against a double standard when it comes to fairness to all people hiding caches. Below is the information I found on the GC website referencing cache placement. True these are not vacation caches, however, it is the same concept. From the guidelines for placing a cache on the GC website Don't hide caches far from home. Vacation/holiday caches are usually not published because they are difficult to maintain. It's best to place physical caches in your area so you can respond quickly to maintenance needs. In rare circumstances, a vacation cache with an acceptable maintenance plan might be published. From the link for Maintenance Plan on the GC website Section 5.6. - Can I hide a cache while on vacation? It’s not recommended We recommend that you do not hide a geocache while traveling. Vacation/holiday caches are usually not published. Geocache owners must visit their caches to maintain them. Logbooks fill up, cache contents get wet, or the cache can disappear. If you live far away from your cache, timely maintenance is impossible. It’s best to place physical caches in your usual caching area. Maintenance plan. If you do place a geocache while traveling, you must have a maintenance plan. For example, a local geocacher agrees to maintain the cache in your absence. When you submit your cache, document your plan in a Reviewer Note. Include the local geocacher’s username, contact information, and written consent. Information in Reviewer Notes will auto-archive on publication and will not be available to other players. I honestly believe that these guidelines were not followed or were bent to allow publication of the listings. I base this belief on the number of people that are involved in placing these caches. Looking at the account, this is what I see. All cache pages clearly read - “This cache placed for Midwest Geobash 2020 (GC88QKK)”. This is a Mega event in western Ohio. Based on that information one would believe that the organizing committee are the people that are behind the Dr Alien account. And as stated by Keystone in an earlier post, there is a reviewer on the Mega event organizing committee. This Mega Event event did not take place this year due to the pandemic and was canceled for 2020. Looking at the locations, how can these be event related? Looking at the account I found Locations with active/available caches Australia - 5 Canada - 7 Norway - 9 Portugal - 25 United Kingdon - 2 CA - 371 FL - 23 IA - 10 IL - 7 IN - 18 KY - 1 ME - 4 MI - 52 NE - 2 NY - 5 OH - 395 OK - 1 PA - 32 TN - 6 TX - 10 UT - 3 WA - 5 WV - 5 Total’s Available 982 Unavailable 3 Archived 13 So with all that being said. Why is a group of cachers all located in Ohio allowed to have the guidelines bent to allow the publishing of these caches. And again I will say, this is not an attack on the members of Dr Alien, or the reviewers. It is a question on guideline interpretation by the reviewers. If this is permitted for one then I or any other cacher can do the exact same thing to have cache placements pubished anywhere in the world. Edited July 24, 2020 by Geo-Sarge missed item in location count 1 1 2 Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 Is there an emoji for sour grapes anywhere? 4 2 Link to comment
+Geo-Sarge Posted July 23, 2020 Author Share Posted July 23, 2020 Not sour grape. An issue that has needed to be addressed for sometime 3 1 Link to comment
+Max and 99 Posted July 23, 2020 Share Posted July 23, 2020 (edited) 32 minutes ago, Geo-Sarge said: Not sour grape. An issue that has needed to be addressed for sometime You missed my state: OK. Edited July 24, 2020 by Max and 99 Link to comment
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