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Release notes (Website: Upload image to cache & trackable description; hosted images going forward) - September 15, 2020


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9 hours ago, StratOman said:

Just one more thing.

If I cannot host an image from my server and the description is in HTML, how do I add an image to the cache page ?

 

I did have this , which no longer works.

 

<img src="http://mattsphotobooks.com/john/victoria.png" />


Download to your computer, and reupload using the tool. 

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It would be nice to make uploading available to those who don't use the WYSIWYG editor. Uploading images through the 'Add images' link works of course, but that way is just so full of clutter, not to mention that links to images uploaded this way appear at the bottom of the cache description. :rolleyes:

 

Also, just noticed that when uploading an image the new way, the link contains a :443 suffix to the domain, which is redundant.

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On 9/18/2020 at 5:24 AM, StratOman said:

Just to clarify, my current puzzle caches running html/CSS/Javascipt will still work fine.
However future puzzle caches using html/CSS/Javascript will not work as they are on a third party server.
In future all my puzzle are limited to simple text and photos ?

 

To clarify perhaps some misunderstandings... your description is in HTML with limited CSS support, but no javascript is allowed. Your caches have a mix of linking to external files (hosted on your server) and embedded images (IMG tags with the source as a script hosted on your site).

The only change relevant here is what happens with those IMG src URLs. If the image is hosted on your personal site, it's not allowed. But you can still link to external files and scripts. So your puzzles will still be fine, but the images you embed will need to be changed. They will no longer be able to be dynamically automatically updated by being hosted on your server.  But you could provide the image as a link for people to view separately if they want to see the updated info.

 

With all this restriction, it may well be worthwhile creating a dedicated web page on your own server that provides that geocache description in full dynamic glory the way you intend it to be viewed. It may bother people who use a device that's not internet-connected, but it is an option.

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Well around here that may not be so big a deal - there are already so many puzzle caches that use external resources. Making a puzzle cache on its own webpage isn't that big a leap, really. Native description simple and explanatory, with a link to the puzzle. We're already used to having to link off site for things like jigsaw puzzles, or scripted 'games'.

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I just realised that in nearly all my caches I use country flags from a website geocaching.pl, which was made for the polish community.

While creating a new cache I faced the external website block. Uploading directly to the cachepage is destroying the transparent background of the image.

 

Can this website please be whitelisted?

Edited by sernikk
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18 minutes ago, sernikk said:

I just realised that in nearly all my caches I use country flags from a website geocaching.pl, which was made for the polish community.

While creating a new cache I faced the external website block. Uploading directly to the cachepage is destroying the transparent background of the image.

 

Can this website please be whitelisted?

 

Also, please consider leaving GIF and PNG images alone, and not converting them to JPEG.

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5 hours ago, niraD said:

 

Also, please consider leaving GIF and PNG images alone, and not converting them to JPEG.

^This!

 

So far, we have seen lots of explanations, why GS is restricting the embedding of images hosted on foreign sites. OK, fine (or not - depending on your view point). But: Is there any explanation from GS, why everything has to be converted to JPEG? GIF and PNG are widely formats, which support very useful features (animations, lossless compression). I just don't see why such files shouldn't be hosted unchanged on geocaching.com.

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With more time spent on my caches I see how unfriendly this change is.

When editing a cache in build-in editor, all caches I have containing images, no matter on what website hosted, have deleted styles, alligns etc., and you have to set it the way you want again. This is a good moment to ask why?

 

Edited by sernikk
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17 hours ago, niraD said:

 

Also, please consider leaving GIF and PNG images alone, and not converting them to JPEG.

 

 

I think also that allowing GIF and PNG upload is a must-have without losing transparency and animated picture.

It is very useful.

Please HQ consider this request !!

Edited by @rthur
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20 minutes ago, austriaka said:

What about visitor counters and their images like flagcounter.com or andyhoppe.com/counter?
Right now they aren't working, but many people use them to keep track of their visitors!

 

That's exactly what GS is trying to stop. They only allow their own tracking (and Google, adnxs, amazon, casalemedia...).

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I am very disappointed in this decision by geocaching.com

 

I have many creative caches which rely on images being real time generated by PHP scripts... They simple are not possible this way..

 

Series like "international geocaching" 

And time related items for example...

 

Not being able to use an external site for puzzles makes creating creative puzzles very very hard... Well I could almost say impossible in many cases.

 

I really hope we can still use a link to an external site in any way... With consent of the cacher to leave the official website... 

 

I would love to make more creative puzzle caches but this kind of decisions makes it very very hard....

I would like to know how geocachers want those scaled down photos which are rendered almost useless. Without being able to hide info in them...

 

And how many of us like the creativity in puzzles like mine...

 

I am quite sure many people do not want this to be changed... A move in the wrong direction.

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My biggest irk is any conversion of image data to a different format while not changing the filename extension. If they had to do the conversion, it is really bad form and technically incorrect to leave the incorrect extension. A GIF file with JPG data is not a GIF file, and it can potentially confused other programs and scripts that make decisions based on the filename before reading data. It's an inconsistency irk.

 

But, ideally, file formats should not change.  If HQ wants to make thumbnails, they should be resized and kept the same format. GIFs resized should still be animated, but antialiasing is an issue if it's transparent or a limited palette and using transparent pixels not an alpha layer - that's a drawback to the whole localized-file-management system itself, but an essential loss on the user experience end. As long as the original size/content is available as posted.

 

This technical part of the image hosting strategy has bugged me since it started :P

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10 hours ago, @rthur said:

 

 

I think also that allowing GIF and PNG upload is a must-have without losing transparency and animated picture.

It is very useful.

Please HQ consider this request !!

Indeed, a must-have. But you won't believe how often I get to watch misused jpg images where CLEARLY png should have been used. It's all in the trend of the whole internet being dumbed down slowly...

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On 9/16/2020 at 4:54 AM, barefootjeff said:

 

I thought the privacy laws in question were about protecting the privacy of content users, not content creators. How does me putting all that stuff in my image metadata impact the privacy of the person viewing it?

I would expect that by virtue of their using the Geocaching site, the content creators have agreed to allow any "privacy" information they post to be viewed by others.  If it isn't already that way, why cannot the ToS/Privacy statements say something to that effect?

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On 9/16/2020 at 5:29 AM, on4bam said:

If GS is really serious about taking away all possibilities of tracking and protecting privacy then a good start would be to remove trackers (google analytics/ads) from their sites. :ph34r:

 

Totally agree with that!! 

I was shocked by the content of some of the ads that popped up (toon.com?) in the right bar while I was looking at someone's trackable page. Maybe legal, but "soft" porn, even if only cartoons, has no place on a site that is routinely accessed by children.  They may ask for an age "verification", but there is no real verification and even if that dissuades further activity with the site, it is "grooming" behavior.

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6 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

My biggest irk is any conversion of image data to a different format while not changing the filename extension. If they had to do the conversion, it is really bad form and technically incorrect to leave the incorrect extension. A GIF file with JPG data is not a GIF file, and it can potentially confused other programs and scripts that make decisions based on the filename before reading data. It's an inconsistency irk.

 

Yes! The first time I ever encountered the transcoding was on a puzzle cache I was attempting last year. In trying the usual things I try with puzzles, I went to open the background .png image in Photoshop but it wouldn't have a bar of it. Aha!, I thought, so I started examining the file's content and saw it was a jpg masquerading as a png. I then spent the next few days pulling that file apart looking for the puzzle solution I was sure was lurking in there, except it wasn't, of course, it had nothing to do with the puzzle, just this undocumented and unannounced change to the site that converts everything to jpg except the file extension.

 

This latest change is going to see a lot more of that happening, I fear.

Edited by barefootjeff
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Nice that you're hosting photos. 

However they were just fine before on own personal server.  This will affect some puzzlers!

 

The weird thing is that this change is rejecting the emoticons or smileys when added using the cache editor tool.  The button two to the right of the image insert one.   An unexpected casualty??

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On 9/22/2020 at 3:28 PM, austriaka said:

What about visitor counters and their images like flagcounter.com or andyhoppe.com/counter?
Right now they aren't working, but many people use them to keep track of their visitors!

 

Yes, exactly. I am running a counter too, which can be found here. Many users are already disappointed that they cannot use the counter anymore in new geocache listings.

 

Is it possible to be on a whitelist?

 

On 9/21/2020 at 4:48 PM, niraD said:

 

Also, please consider leaving GIF and PNG images alone, and not converting them to JPEG.

 

The problem is also with JPEG images. Cache owners use "special" JPEG images in Mystery caches as part of the puzzle. Like hiding information inside meta data for example. As JPEG images are altered by GC when uploading these people are using external hosting for these images to prevent effects like this. And yes, also GIF and PNG images should be possible and left unaltered.

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On 9/18/2020 at 6:45 AM, arisoft said:

 

Your existing caches should work as usually but new caches need another strategy. When the content in the banner changes, you shoud update the new banner content to one of the approved third party servers. For example, Dropbox content can be updated without changing the download link.

Hi,
 

So as I can't use my own third party server to host my banner  so I've tried to use dropbox.

 

If I type https://www.dropbox.com/s/hwdwf7zzvdqyk2u/Banner.jpg?dl=0"

 

Into by browser it works fine:

 

If I put  <img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/hwdwf7zzvdqyk2u/Banner.jpg?dl=0" />

 

Into the cache description then it doesn't work as I get a CORB error ?

 

Any ideas ?

Edited by StratOman
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2 hours ago, StratOman said:

Hi,
 

So as I can't use my own third party server to host my banner  so I've tried to use dropbox.

 

If I type https://www.dropbox.com/s/hwdwf7zzvdqyk2u/Banner.jpg?dl=0"

 

Into by browser it works fine:

 

If I put  <img src="https://www.dropbox.com/s/hwdwf7zzvdqyk2u/Banner.jpg?dl=0" />

 

Into the cache description then it doesn't work as I get a CORB error ?

 

Any ideas ?

Ah, seem to have sorted out the Cross-Origin Resource Blocking (CORB) error as follows :-

<img src="https://dl.dropbox.com/s/rgzp3oq1gx4zgn8/Banner.jpg?dl=0" />

 

But now GC tells me dropbox is not a supported server :-O

 

So how can I host my jpg file from dropbox ?????????????

 

 

Edited by StratOman
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Oh no .....

I've lost the images on all 200 of my caches now !!!!!

 

What is going on  ?

 

My old caches should not be effected ...

This change will only apply to new cache and trackable pages. You can continue editing existing cache and trackable pages as before, even if they contain images that are hosted on third-party servers. 

Edited by StratOman
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3 minutes ago, mustakorppi said:

That one is also visible, showing two equations. By the way, you might wish to edit/remove the image from your previous post so as not to show the final coordinates of that cache.

I have a breakthrough.
I have been using Chrome Browser.
I have just tried using Edge and it's fine !

I have asked my friend to check on her PC and she too cannot see any images but I know she uses Chrome too .

 

Edited by StratOman
forgot something
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9 minutes ago, IceColdUK said:

 

 

 

Just tried all three on Chrome (Windows 10) and I'm seeing the images.

Thank you for testing.
This is getting crazy ...
I have had three caching friends try and none of them can get any images ?
I have 2 PC and mobile and again no images on Chrome.
This is what they all get on GC8W3XT 
 

2020-09-25 10.42.41.jpg

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59 minutes ago, StratOman said:

Thanks but no joy , still no image just default icon.

 

 

I don't see the images in Chrome either. For example for GCV8XG I get the following error messages when loading the page:

Mixed Content: The page at 'https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCV8XG_start-hill-sums?guid=56879049-63ad-43c2-ab50-4fdc9db7dc35' was loaded over HTTPS, but requested an insecure element 'http://img.Groundspeak.com/cache/d8e9e836-0798-4c26-b7d7-708560ee0ac0.jpg'. This request was automatically upgraded to HTTPS, For more information see https://blog.chromium.org/2019/10/no-more-mixed-messages-about-https.html

Failed to load resource: net::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID

 

So the issue seems to be the mixed content. Additionally the img.Groundspeak.com server seems not to support https. This is something Groundspeak could fix ;)

 

What I previously did not realize, is that the browser automatically upgrades the request to https so simply changing http->https does not really change anything. I think that using the resolved address for the image could help here. Ie.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/d8e9e836-0798-4c26-b7d7-708560ee0ac0.jpg

 

Unfortunately this does not help with the images you have on other external servers because they also don't support https. Maybe you could approach the provider of those services to ask if they could turn on https support?

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