Wheel of Challenges

[LySt]

Update: 1/20 now  so patience pays off.

[+thebruce0]

13 hours ago, LySt said:

I'm not so sure - as the wording suggests that you have to "log a find on ${n} different days", which is ambiguous in the sense that it can mean "log on ${n} different days" or "find on ${n} different days and log"

 

From the basics: 1. the website can't track when you physically sign a logsheet. When you actually "find" a cache is irrelevant - that's honor system. 2. It can only track the timestamp of the log (when you literally post it) and 3. the date you set on the log (indicating the date you found the cache). HQ has never to my knowledge had any reward system checking and based on the timestamp of logs being posted live (2). It's always been based on the log date (3). And of course, never on verified physical signing dates (1).

 

So yes, 99.99% you can decide to not log anything the entire month, but find caches on 20 days within the period, then log them all on the last day, with those 20 proper accurate log dates, and you would receive the reward.

And if not, it'd be a bug I'm sure HQ would remedy, since that is specifically the challenge they are posing.

Edited June 6, 2023 by thebruce0

[+Smitherington]

Already at 10%.

[+Hügh]

2 hours ago, LySt said:

so patience pays off.

 

If it doesn't catch up within a couple hours, you can always use the Self-Support function to refresh the data associated with the one cache you found. Then the checker should display the correct data.

[+nachtmusik]

On 5/30/2023 at 1:58 PM, Hügh said:

 

Another Challenge with no built-in tracking mechanism means another Project-GC Challenge Checker.

 

https://project-gc.com/Challenges//78188

 

Wow. This checker now shows which cache, or even which lab location you found on the day. Impressive. Thanks a lot for this tool.

[Keystone]

Some off topic posts have been hidden from view.  Please use this thread to discuss the Wheel of Challenges.  Thanks!

[+barefootjeff]

My best ever number of days caching in a month is 12, and that was back when I had a lot more unfound caches close to home, so I'm definitely a spectator on this round with no hope of the hard one and little chance of medium. It's fun to watch the tactics being employed in the more populous regions north and south, though, with early evening weekday events popping up left, right and centre (I'm attending the nearest one but even that's a three hour return drive). Another tactic I've seen is, if you have some unfound ALs close to home or work, doing one stage a day. So good luck to those participating, I hope there aren't too many rainy days this month.

[+peter-tvm]

A feature in the alc app is that once you have opened the answer page you, inside the distance range of course, you can then reopen the answer at a later time to find the stage.

I believe that this was implemented to give the possibility to answers ALC stages where there is no mobile connection. One can then open the stage where there is connection, move to the stage, open the answer page and then give the answer when you have mobile connection again. 

This feature can be useful if you want to spread out the alc stages over several found days, have I heard. 

[+Mausebiber]

1 hour ago, peter-tvm said:

One can then open the stage where there is connection, move to the stage, open the answer page and then give the answer when you have mobile connection again. 

This feature can be useful if you want to spread out the alc stages over several found days, have I heard. 

 

How do you open stage 2 if the AL has to be played in order?  Does your suggestion still work?

Edited June 8, 2023 by Mausebiber

[+Tungstène]

5 hours ago, Mausebiber said:

 

How do you open stage 2 if the AL has to be played in order?  Does your suggestion still work?

 

No, it doesn't. Only sequential Adventure Labs are subject to this "trick" (which can also be used for good reasons, like poor coverage).

 

More precisely, only "unlocked" Adventure Labs' locations can be triggered while on location and, therefore, answered later. So, if you're following a Linear Adventure Lab and have answered the first two locations, you can trigger the third one by going near the place it is located and answer anywhere later.

[+baer2006]

9 hours ago, peter-tvm said:

This feature can be useful if you want to spread out the alc stages over several found days, have I heard. 

Of course this works. However, as I have said earlier , in my view finding x caches (or AL stages) on one day, and then spreading out the log dates across x different days for stats purposes (and this includes qualifying for souvenirs or challenges) is cheating.

[+MNTA]

55 minutes ago, baer2006 said:

Of course this works. However, as I have said earlier , in my view finding x caches (or AL stages) on one day, and then spreading out the log dates across x different days for stats purposes (and this includes qualifying for souvenirs or challenges) is cheating.

AL requires you to visit the geofence area to log the lab cache stage.

 

Unless that area is huge no "cheating is feasible. One of the things I like about lab caches,

[+Mausebiber]

1 hour ago, baer2006 said:

in my view finding x caches (or AL stages) on one day, and then spreading out the log dates across x different days for stats purposes (and this includes qualifying for souvenirs or challenges) is cheating.

 

cheating means, you are not in compliance with rules or guidelines.  I understand your point, but nowhere in GS guidelines it is required to submit a date when you sign the logbook or log online.

So, I think you can just log any date (today or in the past) you like.

 

[+baer2006]

4 hours ago, Mausebiber said:

 

cheating means, you are not in compliance with rules or guidelines.  I understand your point, but nowhere in GS guidelines it is required to submit a date when you sign the logbook or log online.

So, I think you can just log any date (today or in the past) you like.

Cheating in the context of a streak (or the goal to find a cache on as many different(!) days as possible) is pretending to have found a cache on day X, when you didn't.

[+baer2006]

4 hours ago, MNTA said:

AL requires you to visit the geofence area to log the lab cache stage.

 

Unless that area is huge no "cheating is feasible. One of the things I like about lab caches,

You didn't understand what I said.

Of course you have to visit the AL locations. But it was mentioned that you can "open" / "activate" each question, but postpone the actual answer until later, e.g. to pad out a streak over several days. And that's cheating in the context of the streak.

[+Mausebiber]

Quote

Cheating in the context of a streak (or the goal to find a cache on as many different(!) days as possible) is pretending to have found a cache on day X, when you didn't.

 

I understand what you are saying, but when someone is logging a found, there is not date associated with the found.  The date you see when you submit an online log is NOT the date when you found the cache, it is the date when you submit the log entry.

 

 

As you can see, it only says found, not found at a certain date

 

Even this is not the date found, it is just wrong worded:

It should read:  log submitted, otherwise all other logs wouldn't make any sense:

"Write note found" makes very little sense to me.

 

Again, from my prospective, the date here at Groundspeak is not the "found date" but the "log date".  If you want to set the day of your online log to the day that you found the cache, fine, but you don't have to.

 

But this is very off-topic, let's go back to Wheel of Challenges

 

 

 

[+barefootjeff]

I'd be curious to know what date this promotion is using for AL finds. For example, on the afternoon of the 25th of May I did the Manly Dam AL and bonus. My list of AL finds on labs.geocaching.com shows it as the 25th:

 

 

but the app shows it as the 26th:

 

At the time I don't think it was the 26th anywhere in the world, but that's when it insists I did it. There's this thread in the Playing Adventures forum about this issue dating back over a year but it remains unaddressed.

Edited June 8, 2023 by barefootjeff

[+Hügh]

17 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

that's when it insists I did it.

 

What I suspect may be happening is that the website is displaying the time of find in the local timezone, but in the app, the time is getting interpreted as UTC and then converted to local ("afternoon of the 25th" UTC = "very early AM of the 26th" AEST). But this is just a speculation.

 

I would hope that the local time ("25th May") is what is being used for the purpose of this challenge (reason: that's the "find date" being provided to the Project-GC script) and there is just a visual glitch in the app. But I could be wrong. In which case, using AL finds for this promotion could be risky.

[+lee737]

So far the checker is reporting we have 4 finds for the first 4 days. We have logged the AL's at about 1800hr local (UTC+10), which is 17hr ahead of Seattle (UTC-7), so we're hoping whatever timezone they want to use the date should be OK.... it worked for Streak Week.....  we'll find out tonight! 

[+Gill & Tony]

Somehow I got both souvenirs for the favourites, without leaving home.  I don't have any new favourites on my caches.  Someone must have added favourites and then deleted them.

[+lee737]

18 minutes ago, Gill & Tony said:

Somehow I got both souvenirs for the favourites, without leaving home.  I don't have any new favourites on my caches.  Someone must have added favourites and then deleted them.

20 FPs? Sounds like monkey business to me…

[+CAVinoGal]

On 5/30/2023 at 8:26 AM, Max and 99 said:

Out and About! This challenge is all about seeing how many days you can get outside and find a geocache. From June 5–July 2, you have the chance to earn three new souvenirs for easy, medium, or hard levels of the challenge.

Earn the easy souvenir for this month by logging a find on five different days. Earn the medium souvenir for this month by logging a find on ten different days. Earn the hard souvenir for this month by logging a find on 20 different days.

 

Challenge #1 - Earned the Easy and Medium souvenirs for finding 10 caches; didn't come close to 100 and didn't expect to.  We just did what we normally do - and I was across the country from the 23rd to the 30th, so got a few more than I normally would have at home as I was visiting new areas.  Ended up with 40 for the days of the challenge, 20 of which were on the East Coast.

 

Challenge #2 - Between exploring new areas of the East Coast, walking a few trails, and earning some favorite points, I actually made it to 1000 points well ahead of the end of the challenge period!  And I believe I found 87 caches  - that's a lot for a month for me!  And having folks award favorite points on some of my hides made it less of a challenge to reach 1000 points - I think I may have reached that even without those extra points!

 

Challenge #3 - Doable - though our "streak" we completed in 2018 of 404 days made us not as enthusiastic about actually trying to reach the top level on this one.  5 days, yes.  10 days, likely.  20 days, we will have to make an effort as we've found most of the locals.  A few new ones were published while I was away last month, so there's a few local that I can spread out over some of the days, but not 20.  Maybe a half dozen days and then we'll have to travel....we'll see how things go.  We're now 4 days in and have found caches on 3 of those 4 days.  Heading out of town tomorrow, so we'll get our 4th day.  After that....we'll see!

[+lee737]

So far so good..... we've been logging ALs at approx 0800 UTC, they are going in with the correct date... first souvenir - check!

[LySt]

Same result here, from three traditional finds logged on three consecutive days in the afternoon UTC, one ALC location logged the following day in the afternoon UTC, one ALC location logged the next day (= today) in the morning (before 0700) UTC - awarded with the Easy souvenir. So with the exception of the first and last days (where you'd have to watch out for noon UTC) this seems to be smooth, at least for us at +0200.

 

Re the discussion of postponed ALC logs: not everything is obvious at the particular location (plus there are ALCs which don't seem to have any connection to the place), and one may have to search for the right answer until the next day - so unlocking a location for answering later from anywhere makes some sense. Whether unlocking multiple locations makes sense too, and is possible at all, hasn't been an urgent question for me yet. (And my ALC app tends to be closed and have to be restarted when in the background for too long...)

[+Mausebiber]

No problems in Germany:

 

"Wheel of Challenges (June) — Out and About"
2023-06-05: {149f79dd-a728-4e67-892f-92694c6796da} appels varen (Lab Cache)
2023-06-06: GCA8YJ4 Pause (Traditional Cache)
2023-06-07: GCA8YX8 Schnecken-Suche (Traditional Cache)
2023-06-08: GCA4K04 Die Torwächter-Buche (Traditional Cache)
2023-06-09: GCA634J Radler Höhenweg (Traditional Cache)
Qualifying 5 / 20, FAILED

[+HuggableHamster]

Typical, most of the spring and summer we are out on our narrowboat exploring new places, for almost all of this challenge’s month we’re at home so some planning will be needed to avoid using up nearby traditionals as I’m also trying to fill in that calendar!  Oh well that’s what the bus is for  and this weekend I’m supervising some of my Rangers (older than Girl Guides) doing an expedition so hopefully I can sneak off to find a cache or two…

[+lee737]

This is interesting - shows the differences in how times are interpreted across the different platforms. The first cache we logged today (by approx 1hr) was https://coord.info/GC4MB6W.. We then had lunch and grabbed another trad, then a few AL locations. But the 3rd (and last AL) triggered the souvenir it seems??

[+Hügh]

6 hours ago, lee737 said:

But the 3rd (and last AL) triggered the souvenir it seems??

 

Your profile says:

 

Wheel of Challenges: Out and About Easy

Acquired on 6/9/2023

 

So I suspect GC4X1JV triggered it.

[+thebruce0]

On 6/8/2023 at 11:27 AM, baer2006 said:

Of course this works. However, as I have said earlier , in my view finding x caches (or AL stages) on one day, and then spreading out the log dates across x different days for stats purposes (and this includes qualifying for souvenirs or challenges) is cheating.

 

Yep. And when it comes to regular caching, I prefer to call it misleading - it implies a cache was found on the date of the log, when it wasn't, which can potentially cause problems for followup finders or the cache owner if the cache does have a maintenance problem or goes missing (those misdated log actions can affect other people; contrary to simply caring about other people's statistics).

But, with this challenge, there actually is an objective rule and so it technically is cheating, if the goal is to find a cache on 20 days, yet you find them in say 1 day and log them as if you found them on 20 different days. Not only is it misleading, it's not honest and it's cheating the system for the souvenir. 

 

At least be honest for the souvenir, right?

[+lee737]

5 hours ago, Hügh said:

 

Your profile says:

 

Wheel of Challenges: Out and About Easy

Acquired on 6/9/2023

 

So I suspect GC4X1JV triggered it.

Sorry.... I was really wondering why that particular AL loc ended up in the checker report, rather than one of the trads or other AL locations logged prior.... for sure GC4X1JV gave use the souvenir.

[+Hügh]

1 hour ago, lee737 said:

Sorry.... I was really wondering why that particular AL loc ended up in the checker report, rather than one of the trads or other AL locations logged prior.... for sure GC4X1JV gave use the souvenir.

 

Ah, there's something weird happening. Labs should usually end up at the end of the day. I will see if I can fix that.

 

EDIT: It seems, contrary to my belief, that Lab Caches appear at the beginning of the day (and in reverse order?) So any Lab Cache you find appears "first" in the day, and is selected by the checker.

Edited June 10, 2023 by Hügh

[+Mausebiber]

15 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

But, with this challenge, there actually is an objective rule and so it technically is cheating, if the goal is to find a cache on 20 days

 

This would be true, if the challenge would ask for 20 finds on 20 different days.

But the challenge is asking for 20 log on 20 different days, no word that you have to find 20 cache on 20 different days.

 

15 hours ago, thebruce0 said:

those misdated log actions can affect other people; contrary to simply caring about other people's statistics

 

How do my find logs affect other people's statistics?

[+thebruce0]

14 hours ago, Mausebiber said:

This would be true, if the challenge would ask for 20 finds on 20 different days.

But the challenge is asking for 20 log on 20 different days, no word that you have to find 20 cache on 20 different days.

 

No, 100% guaranteed the challenge is not to log finds on 20 different days. But in so many words, to have logs that have 20 different posted dates, whenever you chose to actually create them.

 

14 hours ago, Mausebiber said:

On 6/10/2023 at 5:34 PM, thebruce0 said:

those misdated log actions can affect other people; contrary to simply caring about other people's statistics

 

How do my find logs affect other people's statistics?

 

That's not what I said. Maybe it wasn't clear enough. People say they'll play how they want because it doesn't affect them. Statistics, no that doesn't affect anyone but you (and people who choose to be competitive, which is not required). Log content is read by other people, and what you log can affect decisions by other people. But that's is a topic for a different thread. My point was about Intentionally misleading log content -> the posted log date. That is not innocuous, unlike whether your stats affect someone else.

Edited June 12, 2023 by thebruce0

[+CAVinoGal]

On 6/8/2023 at 6:50 PM, CAVinoGal said:

Out and About! This challenge is all about seeing how many days you can get outside and find a geocache.

 

Although further down the language says the souvenirs are awarded for "logging a find on 5, 10, or 20 different days", the intent is obviously to get outside and FIND A CACHE on 20 diffrent days.  That's what we are going to try and do - and so far we have 6/7 days covered,  one or maybe 2 a day, but we do go out each day and find a cache.  To me, finding a bunch and then saying we found them over several days IS cheating the intent of the challenge; I won't do that.  YMMV.

[+Smitherington]

Yep, you only cheat yourself (as I said in another thread).

 

I now have the first souvenir and am working on the second.

[+HHL]

8 hours ago, Mausebiber said:

This would be true, if the challenge would ask for 20 finds on 20 different days.

But the challenge is asking for 20 log on 20 different days, no word that you have to find 20 cache on 20 different days

Das ist leider typisch deutsche, kleinkarierte Korinthenkackerei.

[+Mausebiber]

10 hours ago, HHL said:

Das ist leider typisch deutsche, kleinkarierte Korinthenkackerei.

 

Maybe, your view about facts that are just not given.

[+Gill & Tony]

21 hours ago, Mausebiber said:

How do my find logs affect other people's statistics?

Well, I keep a record of the number of days between my find and the most recent previous find.

 

Your inaccurate find date could affect my statistics.

[LySt]

There's a small glitch in the PGC checker - it will list the last log for the day, not the first one (which may have triggered the souvenir). But that's no problem, I suppose  I found this after visiting two ALC rounds (*) on Sunday - the checker lists the last station of the second one.

 

(*) What a waste of resources, you may think. I was visiting a place far enough from my home zone so it was pure fun and no waste of precious resources for this challenge (or the next to come) B-)

[+baer2006]

4 hours ago, LySt said:

(*) What a waste of resources, you may think. I was visiting a place far enough from my home zone so it was pure fun and no waste of precious resources for this challenge (or the next to come) B-)

I hope I never start to see caches as "precious resources", which have to be managed and possibly saved for later times (and therefore should not be searched now).

[+Mausebiber]

19 hours ago, baer2006 said:

and therefore should not be searched now

 

What about challenges, where I'm looking for the container today, sign the logbook, and maybe, weeks or month later I fulfill the requirements and log my find.

What's so different to search a cache today and log it tomorrow or next week?

I know some people who do not like to show their moving profile, like "I'm here today and I was there yesterday" and therefor logging alle cache with the same date at the end of the month.  Do you consider this as cheating as well?

Maybe Groundspeak is not asking for a date, not for the logbook nor for the online log, because it will violate someones privacy. 

You just do not need to know when I was at a certain location at a certain date.

[+baer2006]

4 hours ago, Mausebiber said:

What about challenges, where I'm looking for the container today, sign the logbook, and maybe, weeks or month later I fulfill the requirements and log my find.

A very special case. And if the delayed find log is used to pad a streak, then yes, I would call that cheating for the purpose of streaking.

 

4 hours ago, Mausebiber said:

What's so different to search a cache today and log it tomorrow or next week?

It's obviously different! When you log a challenge, because you now fulfill it, you do not say that you visited the cache just now. You say like "I signed the log <on day X in the past>, and now I fulfill the challenge". This will not give the CO and other cachers a false confirmation, that the cache is OK and findable right now.

 

4 hours ago, Mausebiber said:

I know some people who do not like to show their moving profile, like "I'm here today and I was there yesterday" and therefor logging alle cache with the same date at the end of the month.  Do you consider this as cheating as well?

No, that's just plain weird, and detrimental to the game. If one of the caches has had a DNF as last log, and then someone just logs a find, even if their find was weeks ago, this gives the wrong impression that the cache is still there.

 

4 hours ago, Mausebiber said:

Maybe Groundspeak is not asking for a date, not for the logbook nor for the online log, because it will violate someones privacy. 

You just do not need to know when I was at a certain location at a certain date.

For privacy reasons, you can simply delay the logs. If you log each find two months later (but with the correct find date), it's of nobody's use to know where you were 2 months ago. And if you are so secretive, that even that is a problem ... then maybe geocaching with its public logs is not the right hobby for you.

[+Mausebiber]

3 hours ago, baer2006 said:

And if you are so secretive, that even that is a problem ... then maybe geocaching with its public logs is not the right hobby for you.

 

Have I ever stated, that this applies to me?  My profile is open to everyone, please review it before you make false statements about me logging my finds.

 

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by Mausebiber

[+baer2006]

28 minutes ago, Mausebiber said:

3 hours ago, baer2006 said:

And if you are so secretive, that even that is a problem ... then maybe geocaching with its public logs is not the right hobby for you.

 

Have I ever stated, that this applies to me?  My profile is open to everyone, please review it before you make false statements about me logging my finds.

I didn't mean you specifically. I sometimes use "you" as in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_you .

 

[+Mausebiber]

OK, nice discussion, thanks a lot for emotionless arguments on this topic.

Best greetings, MB

[+thebruce0]

Let's just remember that sometimes languages can be a barrier. On top of the emotionless nature of plain text.

[+Harry Dolphin]

On 5/30/2023 at 1:58 PM, Hügh said:

 

Another Challenge with no built-in tracking mechanism means another Project-GC Challenge Checker.

 

https://project-gc.com/Challenges//78188

 

That included an event.  Do events count?

[+lee737]

2 minutes ago, Harry Dolphin said:

 

That included an event.  Do events count?

 

According to the blog they do....

 

[LySt]

Day 20 (since the challenge started on Jun 5) is approaching ... I'm so excited ;-)

[+lee737]

7 hours ago, LySt said:

Day 20 (since the challenge started on Jun 5) is approaching ... I'm so excited ;-)

We were going to just streak this one and finish this weekend. But the addition of the solstice souvenir made us stop and rethink, and preserve a few finds for this week. We're up to 15, will nail 16/17 this weekend, then 18-20 next weekend on an out-of-town trip. This was we'll save some of the local stuff for whatever next month throws at us....