Image Uploades

[Fledermaus]

As an experiment, I uploaded four images to a pre-existing and recently created geocache. I used the following formats: jpg, gif, bmp and png, with each having a different size. They all had the same Notepad text file embedded into them using the DOS routine as follows: "copy /b image.jpg + text.txt output.jpg". I then downloaded the same images directly from the geocache description page. Each and every image was stripped by GC's system of the said text file. Has GC now made it impossible to hide text files inside images? If so, why, how long ago was this implemented and was it intentional?

Edited July 31, 2020 by Fledermaus
clarification

[+Bear and Ragged]

Could be part of the fact too many were photographing finals of Mysteries and Multis, with the EXIF data showing the location.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

On 7/31/2020 at 3:09 PM, Bear and Ragged said:

Could be part of the fact too many were photographing finals of Mysteries and Multis, with the EXIF data showing the location.

 

It would be easy to allow a CO (but not others) to upload a photo with coords in the EXIF data or text embedded in an image.  

[+fizzymagic]

On 7/31/2020 at 12:09 PM, Bear and Ragged said:

Could be part of the fact too many were photographing finals of Mysteries and Multis, with the EXIF data showing the location.

 

That could have been a useful response had it borne any resemblance to what the OP wrote.

It does help to, like, read the post you are responding to.

 

GC has begun transcoding all images it sends, which has destroyed a fairly large number of puzzles.  Has absolutely nothing to do with EXIF.  Has everything to do with some cloud provider trying to save bandwidth and GC (apparently) obliviously going along with it

[+ecanderson]

6 hours ago, fizzymagic said:

Has everything to do with some cloud provider trying to save bandwidth and GC (apparently) obliviously going along with it

After all the crap they've taken for doing it, especially among puzzle owners, I don't think 'oblivious' would be quite the right word!

 

[+dprovan]

2 hours ago, ecanderson said:

After all the crap they've taken for doing it, especially among puzzle owners, I don't think 'oblivious' would be quite the right word!

You'd think, but I think fizzymagic is basing his use of "oblivious" on the fact that they've let it go on forever and have never explained why. I think opining that that's because they haven't noticed or don't understand the impact is the nicest possible take on it. Users have *given* crap. I'm not sure we have any evidence GS has *taken* any of it.

[+fizzymagic]

On 8/7/2020 at 9:09 AM, dprovan said:

You'd think, but I think fizzymagic is basing his use of "oblivious" on the fact that they've let it go on forever and have never explained why. I think opining that that's because they haven't noticed or don't understand the impact is the nicest possible take on it. Users have *given* crap. I'm not sure we have any evidence GS has *taken* any of it.

 

I can't read minds.  I do not presume to understand the reason for the change, or the reasons for Groundspeak's refusal to either discuss the issue or to respond to the feedback.  All I can do is report what I have observed and sometimes a very tentative theory about why.  In this case, I was trying to come up with some neutral/innocent explanation for the disastrous change we have seen.   In my experience, Groundspeak is usually trying to do the right thing, but sometimes does not have the technical expertise available to address this kind of issue.

 

The problem with this issue is that it has (based on my admittedly limited sample size projected to the world) broken thousands of puzzle caches, and puzzle owners frequently do not understand how to fix it..  If anyone has a suggestion about how to draw Groundspeak's attention to this issue, I would be delighted to hear it.