Today's update - May 19, 2023

[Becktracker]

I did a few posts today and I must say the site has improved mayorly! I can now just copy paste the coordinates from Google Maps and I don't have to worry about coordinate shifts. Saves a lot of time and frustations!

[bootron]

On 5/24/2023 at 4:33 AM, FamilieFrohne said:

Thanks for the information. As I said, I didn't need the feature until yet and was not sure if I missed something. But after your confirmation that it still is available, I cleared my browser cache first and then took a closer look at the buttons beside the visit log.

 

So I found the possibility to delete a log is hidden behind the "Edit Visit/Comment" button: 

 

 

Thanks again for guiding me ...

This is actually something I'm planning on fixing in the near future. I think deleting logs in this way is pretty silly. I'm going to create a proper button on the right side of the site instead of having that antiquated checkbox delete. 

bootron

[+Alfouine]

31 minutes ago, bootron said:

This is actually something I'm planning on fixing in the near future. I think deleting logs in this way is pretty silly. I'm going to create a proper button on the right side of the site instead of having that antiquated checkbox delete. 

bootron

 

It could be  great if the visitor could receive a deleting message, currently we receive nothing.

[+Crazy4horses]

So is this what Waymarking uses for their IT War room for  communicating break/fixes and what upgrades are being pushed.

[Rock Chalk]

2 hours ago, Crazy4horses said:

So is this what Waymarking uses for their IT War room for  communicating break/fixes and what upgrades are being pushed.

 

There’s a lot of love for Waymarking at Geocaching HQ, especially between bootron (who built Waymarking from scratch as his first core responsibility here many years ago…he’s now HQ’s Director of Engineering) and one of our founders, Bryan, who is a Waymarking category officer. Despite that love, our limited resources are devoted primarily to Geocaching and Adventure Lab at this time, and have been for many years.

 

The recent changes and updates that you’re seeing are the result of work that bootron is doing on his own time, largely on weekends. Since the work is not part of the standard HQ Product process, the release notes, such as they are, come directly from bootron as he’s able to push out updates.

 

Personally, as one of the waymarkers at HQ, I really appreciate what he’s doing!
 

[+Crazy4horses]

I to appreciate what he was doing no complaints here just just trying to determine what the process is.   When Benchmark Blasterz  contacted me about an issue the erected date not showing on waymarks in our category.  I did a little debugging and checked and saw if I went into edit mode the date was still there so reason to panic no data lost.  What I did not do is notify the the other team members of the issue for my category because I thought it would be posted somewhere since Benchmark Blasterz was in communication with bootron.   If there is not a process then I am fine with notifying  my category members myself and and checking on the status of the issue on my end.

 

 

Edited May 26, 2023 by Crazy4horses
correction

[+ScroogieII]

On 5/25/2023 at 3:39 PM, Rock Chalk said:

 

There’s a lot of love for Waymarking at Geocaching HQ, especially between bootron (who built Waymarking from scratch as his first core responsibility here many years ago…he’s now HQ’s Director of Engineering) and one of our founders, Bryan, who is a Waymarking category officer. Despite that love, our limited resources are devoted primarily to Geocaching and Adventure Lab at this time, and have been for many years.

 

The recent changes and updates that you’re seeing are the result of work that bootron is doing on his own time, largely on weekends. Since the work is not part of the standard HQ Product process, the release notes, such as they are, come directly from bootron as he’s able to push out updates.

 

Personally, as one of the waymarkers at HQ, I really appreciate what he’s doing!
 

 

WOW!!!

Having only ever been a member of the "Outer Circle" I never had any idea who was responsible for the creation, maintenance and upkeep of Waymarking since its inception! Moreover, strangely, it had never even occurred to me to ask the question.

 

I guess this means that I shall have to dash off a few more "Odes to Bootron", and mebbe even a couple to Bryan.

 

But in the meantime:

 

THANK YOU BOOTRON & THANK YOU BRYAN

 

for all that you have done to make this place possible, for having given us a pleasurable diversion from the realities of life, for encouraging us to go "Where no man has gone before", for helping us learn of the people and places around us, of which we may well have otherwise remained ignorant, for expanding our vision and appreciation of our world, for our learning of the intricacies of nature, for our standing in awe before the wonderment of both the natural and architectural marvels of our earth, for our expanded knowledge of the whole of the planet we share, even for encouraging our attention to the tiniest detail, otherwise irrelevant to those who may, unknowing, walk or drive past it on their daily journey to and from "life", and especially we thank you for aiding us in having made the acquaintance of friends who we now cherish in our lives.

Keith

 

[+Max and 99]

I will happily take the current version of software over what we had before!  With that said.....

On my desktop, Firefox, I now get a check for nearest waymarks in that category for EVERY single edit I make to the waymark, even if the coordinates are not changed at all.

I would prefer the new nearby check only be done if the coordinates are changed, as that's the only edit that would affect a new search.

But...... I'll gladly deal with this inconvenience over the previous no-check at all once coordinates were entered.

[+PISA-caching]

Yesterday I made my first waymark after less than 2 weeks of abstinence, and WOW, what an improvement! Thank you so much, bootron.

[+PISA-caching]

Talking about bugs: I think I just found another one, which is not very important/annoying, but I thought I should mention it.

 

I search for the "Nearest Waymarks" of any WM. If I click on any profile name in the results list, it leads to f.e. https://Waymarking.com/users/profile.aspx?f=1&guid=d4c8eca0-ea01-4d21-bfdb-3c4f18d35dac&lat=45.1612&lon=10.798267&t=6 which includes the coordinates of my prior search. So far, no problem, but: If I then open the category grid, and click on some of the categories that are already covered, there seem to be no WMs to find, if the coordinates that are still in the URL are too far from where the posted/visited WM of that category is. In my example just click on the very first category icon for "Bloggers" on https://Waymarking.com/users/profile.aspx?f=1&guid=d4c8eca0-ea01-4d21-bfdb-3c4f18d35dac&lat=45.1612&lon=10.798267&t=6&full=False&mypage=3. Also, if I open the "waymark lists" tab in the profile page, the coordinates are still in the URL and clicking on any of the numbers will either give all the waymarks, part of them or nothing at all. Example: The 200+ WMs of the category "Austrian and Swiss National Heritage Sites" on https://Waymarking.com/users/profile.aspx?f=1&guid=d4c8eca0-ea01-4d21-bfdb-3c4f18d35dac&lat=45.1612&lon=10.798267&t=6&full=False&mypage=2

 

Like I said: Not a big problem, but maybe easy to get rid of.

[401Photos]

On 5/20/2023 at 6:47 AM, dreamhummie said:

I first have to write the entire coordinates on a piece of paper and enter them all at once, which is not convenient and very tedious.

To deal with disappearing coordinates, I always enter them in the Long Description box first...

then copy and paste into the coordinates field(s) after completing all other fields, ticking the two "terms of use boxes, and just before moving on to upload photos...

but have to move quickly (less than 5 seconds?) to click on the "Upload Photos" link...

then delete from the Long Description as part of proof-reading the WM before submitting to be certain they were recorded.

 

It's always nice when they stick the first time.

[+Max and 99]

This is really minor, but just to mention it:

 

When a reviewer looks at a waymark, sometimes there is a tiny red text at the very top stating that the waymark was already reviewed. It doesn't stand out, as we saw in the new Cities in Giant Letters category. It's easy to miss it! A bigger and bolder text would be helpful.

[+Bear and Ragged]

10 hours ago, Max and 99 said:

This is really minor, but just to mention it:

 

When a reviewer looks at a waymark, sometimes there is a tiny red text at the very top stating that the waymark was already reviewed. It doesn't stand out, as we saw in the new Cities in Giant Letters category. It's easy to miss it! A bigger and bolder text would be helpful.

 

I've had this!

Approved a Waymark, then it's come out as a Vote with "Duplicate?" as the reason for the Vote! 

[bootron]

On 5/25/2023 at 3:39 PM, Rock Chalk said:

 

There’s a lot of love for Waymarking at Geocaching HQ, especially between bootron (who built Waymarking from scratch as his first core responsibility here many years ago…he’s now HQ’s Director of Engineering) and one of our founders, Bryan, who is a Waymarking category officer. Despite that love, our limited resources are devoted primarily to Geocaching and Adventure Lab at this time, and have been for many years.

 

The recent changes and updates that you’re seeing are the result of work that bootron is doing on his own time, largely on weekends. Since the work is not part of the standard HQ Product process, the release notes, such as they are, come directly from bootron as he’s able to push out updates.

 

Personally, as one of the waymarkers at HQ, I really appreciate what he’s doing!
 

This is mostly true, although we do prioritize some Waymarking site maintenance in-band as well. Security is kept up to date as best as we can and we also will occasionally upgrade our servers and the operating systems for Waymarking & Wherigo within our regular work hours/schedules. Some of the work on the enhanced coordinates (the most recent major update) was actually done by one of our core teams for Geocaching; I was just able to use some of my own time to connect their work to the Waymarking site. It wasn't an insignificant effort to do so, but quite a bit of the heavy lifting was done by the core team. That all said, unless you are experiencing a bug that is affecting core game play, you're best to stick to the forums in terms of getting support for the more minor things (rather than going through Geocaching's help desk).

I have a pretty significant list of bugs to fix and future feature ideas to add. I'm currently watching this thread specifically to find problems with the latest releases, but whenever new ideas or new bugs come to my attention I do my best to keep track of them and prioritize them for a future effort. But as Rock Chalk mentioned above, I am also responsible for all software engineering at HQ so I have a pretty full plate most of the time. Waymarking and its users is/are my first HQ love. It's strongly in my personal interest to keep it up and running. 

Also, it should be noted that Wayfrog (and BruceS before him) has been the primary interface between the Waymarking community and HQ. In my opinion, he deserves significant amounts of love as he is responsible for all of the non-programmatic day-to-day maintenance of the site. He volunteers his time to support the community and is most definitely one of the main reasons the site has continued to function. I couldn't easily do the work I do for the site without the efforts he puts in.

 

Anyway, I appreciate the nice words from you all, and will continue to carve out time to support the site as best as I can. It's been fun to watch the site continue to grow and survive despite it being somewhat hobbled due to the limited support. I can most definitely tell you that the site reaching a million waymarks was a truly special moment for me in my career. As long as I am at HQ and as long as you all continue to use the site as you have, I'll do my best to keep it functioning (and hopefully improving). 

bootron

 

PS - I am aware of the bugs that have been listed above and am working on a release that will fix some of them. But I'm several days away from being ready with it, so please be patient.


 

[+Benchmark Blasterz]

On 5/29/2023 at 8:59 AM, bootron said:

Also, it should be noted that Wayfrog (and BruceS before him) has been the primary interface between the Waymarking community and HQ. In my opinion, he deserves significant amounts of love as he is responsible for all of the non-programmatic day-to-day maintenance of the site. He volunteers his time to support the community and is most definitely one of the main reasons the site has continued to function. I couldn't easily do the work I do for the site without the efforts he puts in.

 

 

 

WE LOVE YOU WAYFROG!!! 

[+Max and 99]

When I click on the link "waymarks I have visited", directly under the "my unfinished waymarks" link, I would expect it to show the most recent waymarks that I have visited. It does not.

However, clicking on the link My Visits does show the most recent ones first. 

Maybe I am misunderstanding with that link is intended to show?

 

[+Max and 99]

I wasn't sure if I should post this in the geocaching website regarding the similar bug that was fixed, or here.

When I am on a geocache page and click on nearest waymarks everything works as expected. But when I am on a waymark and click nearby geocaches it is not accurate. 

Chrome. Android.

[+FamilieFrohne]

I can see why you are irritated, because this also happens on my browser on the desktop computer:

 

I tried a new waymark in the US as reference (WM1850K at N 34 36.387 W 096 20.202) which is about 7934 km away from my home. I took a look at the geocaching map by hand (https://www.geocaching.com/play/map?lat=34.6065&lng=-96.3367) which showed me the right position. I figured out that the nearest caches would be GC94BV9 (BURIED TREASURE) and GC979MX (MORE BURIED TREASURE), so they would be expected to be on the top of the list.

 

Then I switched from Waymarking to Geocaching and got a list with several geocaches ordered by distance, but not as expected - the two caches were around position 15 in the list.

Then I opened the map with the result list and the map showed the caches at the selected position (which is correct then).

 

So looking closer at the result list again, I found out that this distance ordering is taken from my home coordinates (see image) and not from the selected point. Therefore I assume, that this needs fixing on the geocaching side.

 

 

[+Alfouine]

Change category empty all fieds, not only variables, before only variables were emptied, but we could re-use all other fields.

Thank you

[+FamilieFrohne]

1 hour ago, Alfouine said:

Change category empty all fieds, not only variables, before only variables were emptied, but we could re-use all other fields.

Thank you

Sorry, Alfouine, I didn't get it: Is this a bug report or a request for change?

[+Alfouine]

A bug report, i will try with an another waymark

[+The Snowdog]

A minor glitch in the new Coordinate box - if you edit the WM and change ONLY the coordinates, it fusses that you haven't made any changes and you have to go back and alter some text as well. This has also been a long-standing problem with the "Private Message" field.

Edited June 7, 2023 by The Snowdog

[+Max and 99]

14 hours ago, The Snowdog said:

A minor glitch in the new Coordinate box - if you edit the WM and change ONLY the coordinates, it fusses that you haven't made any changes and you have to go back and alter some text as well. This has also been a long-standing problem with the "Private Message" field.

Thank you Snowdog. I have mentioned this several times and it seems like only I was having the problem. 

Edit: At first, I thought this was only an issue while using my phone's Chrome browser, but now I see it's on my desktop too. Firefox.

Edited June 8, 2023 by Max and 99

[+The A-Team]

4 hours ago, The Snowdog said:

A minor glitch in the new Coordinate box - if you edit the WM and change ONLY the coordinates, it fusses that you haven't made any changes and you have to go back and alter some text as well. This has also been a long-standing problem with the "Private Message" field.

 

In a similar but possibly related bug, I just went in to edit the coordinates of a Waymark that had a very inaccurate position, and it's telling me I need to provide a reason for changing the address. I didn't touch the address fields. I even started over and made sure I didn't inadvertently click an address field, and it's still wanting a reason.

 

Edit to add: It may or may not be pertinent, but the address fields were blank at the time

Edited June 7, 2023 by The A-Team

[+Max and 99]

5 minutes ago, The A-Team said:

 

In a similar but possibly related bug, I just went in to edit the coordinates of a Waymark that had a very inaccurate position, and it's telling me I need to provide a reason for changing the address. I didn't touch the address fields. I even started over and made sure I didn't inadvertently click an address field, and it's still wanting a reason.

This is common. I just reiterate why I changed what I did change (coordinate change) or say there's no address change.

[+ToRo61]

I was satisfied with the previous functionality of Waymarking site, except for the issue of switching between W/E in coordinates. However, I eventually managed to cope with it. I enter the coordinates only by using the copy/paste method in decimal format.

 

The new input field for coordinates seems to have some new error. Occasionally, it refuses to accept valid coordinates pasted in. This applies even to the sample coordinates 39.064280, -145.204380 from the field's help. Am I the only one experiencing this issue, or is it affecting others as well? I have tried logging out and restarting the browser, but it doesn't seem to be reliable.

 

The error with the automatic switching of W/E was annoying, but at least it was apparent at first glance. The current error, however, is almost worse because it's not clear why the pasted coordinates are being rejected.

Edited June 8, 2023 by ToRo61

[+Alfouine]

31 minutes ago, ToRo61 said:

I was satisfied with the previous functionality of Waymarking site, except for the issue of switching between W/E in coordinates. However, I eventually managed to cope with it. I enter the coordinates only by using the copy/paste method in decimal format.

 

The new input field for coordinates seems to have some new error. Occasionally, it refuses to accept valid coordinates pasted in. This applies even to the sample coordinates 39.064280, -145.204380 from the field's help. Am I the only one experiencing this issue, or is it affecting others as well? I have tried logging out and restarting the browser, but it doesn't seem to be reliable.

 

The error with the automatic switching of W/E was annoying, but at least it was apparent at first glance. The current error, however, is almost worse because it's not clear why the pasted coordinates are being rejected.

 

I have copy/paste these coordinates and it works, i am just in the middle of ocean pacific

Have you enabled javascript ?

[+ToRo61]

The problem does not occur with every input of coordinates; it is random. However, when it does happen, it can repeat multiple times for same waymark.

The source of the coordinates is mostly the Czech map server mapy.cz - for example,  https://shorturl.at/elEPV  . I extract the coordinates in the format '49.4142039N, 14.6589750E'. From there, I remove the middle characters 'N, ' and replace the characters ', ' then removing the trailing 'E'.

I have JavaScript enabled, and I always use the latest version of Chrome. 

Edited June 8, 2023 by ToRo61

[+ScroogieII]

5 hours ago, ToRo61 said:

I was satisfied with the previous functionality of Waymarking site, except for the issue of switching between W/E in coordinates. However, I eventually managed to cope with it. I enter the coordinates only by using the copy/paste method in decimal format.

 

The new input field for coordinates seems to have some new error. Occasionally, it refuses to accept valid coordinates pasted in. This applies even to the sample coordinates 39.064280, -145.204380 from the field's help. Am I the only one experiencing this issue, or is it affecting others as well? I have tried logging out and restarting the browser, but it doesn't seem to be reliable.

 

The error with the automatic switching of W/E was annoying, but at least it was apparent at first glance. The current error, however, is almost worse because it's not clear why the pasted coordinates are being rejected.

 

Well, Toro, this is one "Bug" I have noticed, and dealt with, since essentially forever.

Coords come off my GPS in decimal form - Waymarking's default has always been degrees & minutes. NONcompatibility!

Sooooo - I've always created a set of Excel formulas to do the translation and used degrees & minutes when submitting. Occasionally, however, when doing just one or two, I would just use decimal degrees, knowing that I would have to go around at least twice to have them approved/accepted.

I had optimistically hoped that the last round of Bootron's ministrations might have rectified that situation, but your post causes me to believe otherwise.

 

I haven't posted much of anything recently, but possibly others could confirm or deny the rectification of the long time decimal degrees issue?!?!?!?!?!

Keith

Edited June 9, 2023 by ScroogieII

[bootron]

On 6/8/2023 at 5:37 PM, ScroogieII said:

 

Well, Toro, this is one "Bug" I have noticed, and dealt with, since essentially forever.

Coords come off my GPS in decimal form - Waymarking's default has always been degrees & minutes. NONcompatibility!

Sooooo - I've always created a set of Excel formulas to do the translation and used degrees & minutes when submitting. Occasionally, however, when doing just one or two, I would just use decimal degrees, knowing that I would have to go around at least twice to have them approved/accepted.

I had optimistically hoped that the last round of Bootron's ministrations might have rectified that situation, but your post causes me to believe otherwise.

 

I haven't posted much of anything recently, but possibly others could confirm or deny the rectification of the long time decimal degrees issue?!?!?!?!?!

Keith

 

Did you notice that in the last update I added the ability to change your default coordinate type? You should be able to use decimal format for all coordinates if you want now. And even if you have the default settings set to something other than decimal, you should still be able to copy/paste your coordinates as decimal and it will just automatically convert them to the setting you have chosen. Here's the page to change the coordinate preferences:

home -> profile -> edit your account settings -> your preferences (change button)
https://www.Waymarking.com/settings/preferences.aspx

 

bootron

[+The Snowdog]

On 6/7/2023 at 12:03 PM, Max and 99 said:

Thank you Snowdog. I have mentioned this several times and it seems like only I was having the problem. 

Edit: At first, I thought this was only an issue while using my phone's Chrome browser, but now I see it's on my desktop too. Firefox.

 

The bug does not occur when you are editing a published waymark. But you will get it every time when you are editing prior to publication. It is easy to duplicate - edit one of your waymarks that have not yet been published (or that you're currently working on for submission) and just change the coordinates, then hit the "update" button.

Edited June 14, 2023 by The Snowdog

[+Max and 99]

When creating a new waymark, I am  given a proximity check for other waymarks in that category. Because of the nature of the category I am working on, there are quite a few near the posted coordinates. There are several pages of nearby waymarks, but when I clicked on page two it takes me back to a blank waymark page. 

[401Photos]

A thought, and certainly not pressing --

Unless the functionality already exists and I just haven't found it, adding a "My Waymarks Visited by Others" option under the Waymark Searches: list could be a useful companion to any visit email notifications. For instance, I received four notifications today and, if I've got this right, we have to bounce between the email (to click on the link) and WM website to check each visit. Is there a more streamlined process that I may have overlooked?

Again, not super urgent in my book for sure...I'm still always amused when anybody visits my Waymarks!

Thanks Bootron and all at HQ!

Jason/401Photos

[+Max and 99]

Just a report, since it keeps happening. I'll create a wm on my phone (chrome) with no problem. Next one, it won't accept the coordinates.

[+Max and 99]

Just an update to an old problem: all the searches I tested seem to work except one: nearby geocaches from a waymark page. 

[+PISA-caching]

Don't know, if this has been reported already: When I search for something in all categories, everything is fine, f.e. www.Waymarking.com/wm/search.aspx?f=1&wst=9&kw=Lake&st=2. But if I search while I'm in a specific category, I find nothing, f.e. www.Waymarking.com/cat/details.aspx?f=1&guid=762b423f-4bf2-464f-9e22-e479d3bfea91&wst=9&kw=Lake&st=2

[+ScroogieII]

On 6/14/2023 at 7:16 AM, bootron said:

Did you notice that in the last update I added the ability to change your default coordinate type?

 

I'm sorry, sorry, and sorry again, Bootron, but back when it happened, or through the interim, for that matter, I have neglected to THANK YOU for that improvement! Thanks again. I LOVE it!!!

Keith

Edited November 16, 2023 by ScroogieII

[+fi67]

On 11/15/2023 at 3:10 PM, PISA-caching said:

Don't know, if this has been reported already: When I search for something in all categories, everything is fine, f.e. www.Waymarking.com/wm/search.aspx?f=1&wst=9&kw=Lake&st=2. But if I search while I'm in a specific category, I find nothing, f.e. www.Waymarking.com/cat/details.aspx?f=1&guid=762b423f-4bf2-464f-9e22-e479d3bfea91&wst=9&kw=Lake&st=2

 

True, I have never tried that before.

 

I have a similar one: When you search for coordinates "exclude waymarks I've visited" and "exclude my waymarks" do only work on all categories.

[+PISA-caching]

Funny, I have never tried THAT before, but you're right. The "excludes" are ignored.

 

[+Max and 99]

I don't know if it's a coincidence or something recently changed, and I have mentioned it to bootron:  twice in the last couple weeks I have run into a problem with the character limit in the link variable in the news article category. It appears to me that the link is truncated because of the character limit.

Thankfully the officer allowed me to put the link in the long description but I ran into the problem again.  I don't want to push my luck with the officers. 

Has anyone else run into this issue with variable character limits?

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by Max and 99

[+The Snowdog]

On 5/20/2023 at 5:47 AM, dreamhummie said:

First of all, thank you so much for finally doing something about the Waymarking website. Kudos.

I have a problem with the coordinates.
If I enter part of the coordinates e.g. the North N 51 1.133 and want to view the Eastern on Google Earth and switch from Google Earth back to the Waymark then the coordinates keep jumping to N 51° 00.000′ E 1° 07.980′ and I have to re-enter entirely.
I first have to write the entire coordinates on a piece of paper and enter them all at once, which is not convenient and very tedious.
Also if I enter N 51 1.133 and not yet the East coordinates and I click on the Title to change something they also suddenly jump to N 51° 00.000′ E 1° 07.980′.
Is this a BUG or is it just me ;-)
Grtz & thx, John.

 

 

You are not the only one. If you type half of the coordinates and then change focus to another window (say, Google Earth, to get the other half) the Waymarking page tries to create full coordinates out of whatever it has. Solution - just type in the entire thing without leaving the page.