Activity log length limit

[+barefootjeff]

I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere else here, but it appears activity logs are limited to 400 characters. Maybe they're expecting people to just write "I enjoyed the walk looking at lamp post serial numbers, thanks for the adventure and the five smileys" or some such, but occasionally there are adventures that are a bit more of an adventure or even misadventure where 400 characters just isn't anywhere near enough. A case in point is the one I was wanting to DNF yesterday that I finally completed today. I started writing about my trials and tribulations with it but had only just got started when it cut me off. By comparison, the DNF I logged on the bonus cache came to 1895 characters plus another 1173 in today's found log, so that's 3068 characters all up to tell of my experience. No wonder I felt short-changed in the activity log!

[+dprovan]

I'm really surprised you ran into this limit, and I bet the developers are, too. When I'm writing an activity log, I assume no one will ever read it, so I would never dream of putting any effort into it. That's why I really like a bonus cache where I can write  decent log that will be read.

[+sernikk]

28 minutes ago, dprovan said:

I'm really surprised you ran into this limit, and I bet the developers are, too. When I'm writing an activity log, I assume no one will ever read it, so I would never dream of putting any effort into it. That's why I really like a bonus cache where I can write  decent log that will be read.

 

I like to read any comments so Activity Logs are also nice to look into. Not all Adventure Labs have bonus caches so sometimes the Activity Log is the only way to say what you think about the adventure.

 

Limit as any other in this app – unpractical and limiting creativity.

[+CAVinoGal]

34 minutes ago, dprovan said:

I'm really surprised you ran into this limit, and I bet the developers are, too. When I'm writing an activity log, I assume no one will ever read it, so I would never dream of putting any effort into it. That's why I really like a bonus cache where I can write  decent log that will be read.

 

I've run into the limit as well - both when creating the Adventure and while playing Adventures others have created.  I like telling the story!  Though I really don't like typing logs on my phone, I have hit the character limit when logging my AL's.  I DO put effort in to my logs, Adventure labs or regular geocaches.  It's just me.

 

My AL is one without a bonus (and at least one person took off a rating star for that "oversight"!).  I read the comments of those who leave them (not all do) on mine and on others' Adventures - sometimes there are helpful hints and obstacles to be aware of, such as spotty coverage for one we are headed to this weekend.

 

I don't ncessarily want to a book, but more than three sentences would be nice, at times.

[+G0ldNugget]

2 hours ago, CAVinoGal said:

I assume no one will ever read it, so I would never dream of putting any effort into it.

 

Ouch.

Not all ALs have bonus caches and it shouldn't be expected.  Someone put a lot of work into that Adventure. Setting one up is literally five times more work than placing a single cache and doing it well takes even longer. The only feedback the CO may get is the Rating/Activity Log and if you enjoyed the experience, it would be nice to see a bit more than "Thanks for the tour" or "Got it".

[+Max and 99]

4 hours ago, G0ldNugget said:

 

Ouch.

Not all ALs have bonus caches and it shouldn't be expected.  Someone put a lot of work into that Adventure. Setting one up is literally five times more work than placing a single cache and doing it well takes even longer. The only feedback the CO may get is the Rating/Activity Log and if you enjoyed the experience, it would be nice to see a bit more than "Thanks for the tour" or "Got it".

You misquoted CaVinoGal.

[+CAVinoGal]

4 hours ago, G0ldNugget said:

7 hours ago, CAVinoGal said:

I assume no one will ever read it, so I would never dream of putting any effort into it.

 

Ouch.

 

But I didn't say that - dprovan said it!  I read logs, and I expect mine to be read, realizing they may not be, but hoping they will be read....

[+barefootjeff]

4 hours ago, G0ldNugget said:

 

Ouch.

Not all ALs have bonus caches and it shouldn't be expected.  Someone put a lot of work into that Adventure. Setting one up is literally five times more work than placing a single cache and doing it well takes even longer. The only feedback the CO may get is the Rating/Activity Log and if you enjoyed the experience, it would be nice to see a bit more than "Thanks for the tour" or "Got it".

 

This is venturing a bit off-topic but I'd have to question the generality of this. My own experience suggests otherwise; in the course of this year I've created 7 new regular caches - 3 traditional, 1 multi, 1 puzzle and 2 AL bonus caches - and the amount of time and effort that went into each of those was probably similar if not more than the effort it took to create each of my complete ALs. I'd liken the effort for each AL stage to that of a waypoint in the multi rather than a complete cache. Even the most trivial of caches still needs a container, a logbook, a hiding place, a description, a hint and a reviewer note to convince the reviewer that all the requisite boxes are ticked. Throw in locations where explicit permission is needed, or more complex caches like Earthcaches and challenges, and that effort increases considerably. Sure, there are some pretty minimal traditionals (a pill bottle thrown under a bush) and some pretty complex ALs involving audio-visual production and editing, but I'd say, around here at least, a typical complete AL is about the same effort as a reasonably well designed traditional or short multi.

[+Max and 99]

5 hours ago, G0ldNugget said:

Setting one up is literally five times more work than placing a single cache and doing it well takes even longer.

I don't think it's fair to say taking longer to set up an adventure lab means it's going to be better. 

[+G0ldNugget]

4 hours ago, CAVinoGal said:

But I didn't say that - dprovan said it!  I read logs, and I expect mine to be read, realizing they may not be, but hoping they will be read....

 

Apologies. My mistake.

[+dprovan]

14 hours ago, sernikk said:

I like to read any comments so Activity Logs are also nice to look into. Not all Adventure Labs have bonus caches so sometimes the Activity Log is the only way to say what you think about the adventure.

I'm proud of you for figuring out how to read them. I don't know how, and I think most people don't. And evenif I did, I wouldn't bring up the AL app to peruse them, anyway.

 

11 hours ago, G0ldNugget said:

Not all ALs have bonus caches and it shouldn't be expected.  Someone put a lot of work into that Adventure. Setting one up is literally five times more work than placing a single cache and doing it well takes even longer. The only feedback the CO may get is the Rating/Activity Log and if you enjoyed the experience, it would be nice to see a bit more than "Thanks for the tour" or "Got it".

If you say so. I'm being forced to log from the field with through a phone. Don't expect me to say much, even if I had any sense at all that you were going to read it.

 

My point was that ALs with bonus caches have a chance of getting a log. The bonus cache is a solution to the problem, not my justification for not writing more in the AL log.