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Immediate Fix Needed: Embedding Images in Descriptions is BROKEN With Current Guidelines


Phillies01

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While it’s annoying, I fully understand the need to limit what sites we are allowed to pull from when embedding images in cache descriptions. For that reason, I’m not at all put off by the current requirements for embedded images to be from Onedrive, Google Drive, or the Geocaching network.

 

Uploading images to cache pages directly, however, compresses images to the point where some puzzles are rendered unsolvable if that method is used. So, in trying other methods, here is what I have discovered. Each of these issues need to be addressed immediately for the health of the game going forward.

 

  • Images hosted on the Geocaching forums can’t be embedded, and are flagged as a third-party site. Images here start with the URL https://gs-forums-gc.s3.amazonaws.com. Why are images hosted on Geocaching’s servers being flagged as a third party? Please add this to the list of allowed sites on the backend, as the forums are NOT a third-party.
  • Despite OneDrive being one of the allowed sites, there is currently no way for images from OneDrive to be embedded without being flagged as a third party. If we’re going to say it’s allowed, it should be. If not, it shouldn’t be included as an allowed source.

Lastly is Google Drive – I have a number of issues here:

  • Photos are able to be embedded, but not without a complicated workaround. Just like onedrive, the site’s native image embedding code generator is blocked by the cache builder as being a third party image source.
  • IF a cache owner is able to figure out how to embed an image hosted on their Google Drive, it works properly on the browser version of Geocaching.com. However, the images DO NOT LOAD AT ALL in the app version of cache descriptions, rendering the app completely useless for image-based puzzles, and unsolvable for the majority of [phone-wielding] players.
  • There are a lot of security issues for users being forced to use their google drives as an image source, but as it’s currently the only option for near full-resolution images to be embedded in cache descriptions, we don’t have much choice. This is not an issue that needs to be fixed right now, just a thought.

 

Adding the ability to embed images from the forum and onedrive should be an easy fix. This needs to be done quickly for the health of the game. And the fact that google drive embedded images are so complicated to code, then don’t show up at all in the mobile app is mind boggling. Cache owners are pretty handcuffed at the moment.

 

If I’m missing something, please let me know. Hopefully we can fix this soon. Thanks, y’all!

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I just noticed this on one of my caches that uses amazon aws. It shows a broken link where the picture should be. Have not been able to look into it yet. thanks for bringing it up.

 

However...

 

another cache whee I did the same thing, is working perfectly.

 

What should I do?  Aside from wait until TPTB get this figured out?

 

Thanks

 

 

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54 minutes ago, Mockingbird559 said:

What should I do?  Aside from wait until TPTB get this figured out?


I’m not sure how much they care about fixing any of this, but it should be as easy as turning off 3rd party image hosting was in the first place.

 

The onedrive issue has been a known problem since the change a few years ago, and it’s still broken. So strange.

Edited by Phillies01
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13 hours ago, Phillies01 said:

Uploading images to cache pages directly, however, compresses images to the point where some puzzles are rendered unsolvable if that method is used.

 

Here is a proof that you can do it without 3rd party services.

 

I uploaded this image: https://img.freepik.com/free-photo/river-surrounded-by-forests-cloudy-sky-thuringia-germany_181624-30863.jpg?w=1800&t=st=1702424082~exp=1702424682~hmac=c329f05bb31f008ce58fa630040378ca2fe979419bfbe49f68828edd53882960

 

to the gallery of a cache page and I got this image in the gallery:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/a4936ac7-ad70-407b-8a70-e0bf73aed696.jpg

 

Now I can use the image embedded in the description.

 

If you say that the image is already too compressed, here is another I just uploadad in the same way: https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/2d62a44e-c043-4735-9d82-89e910349960.jpg

 

If this is not enough large then how big image you need for your puzzle?

Edited by arisoft
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On 12/12/2023 at 11:01 AM, Phillies01 said:

While it’s annoying, I fully understand the need to limit what sites we are allowed to pull from when embedding images in cache descriptions. For that reason, I’m not at all put off by the current requirements for embedded images to be from Onedrive, Google Drive, or the Geocaching network.

 

Uploading images to cache pages directly, however, compresses images to the point where some puzzles are rendered unsolvable if that method is used. So, in trying other methods, here is what I have discovered. Each of these issues need to be addressed immediately for the health of the game going forward.

 

  • Images hosted on the Geocaching forums can’t be embedded, and are flagged as a third-party site. Images here start with the URL https://gs-forums-gc.s3.amazonaws.com. Why are images hosted on Geocaching’s servers being flagged as a third party? Please add this to the list of allowed sites on the backend, as the forums are NOT a third-party.
  • Despite OneDrive being one of the allowed sites, there is currently no way for images from OneDrive to be embedded without being flagged as a third party. If we’re going to say it’s allowed, it should be. If not, it shouldn’t be included as an allowed source.

Lastly is Google Drive – I have a number of issues here:

  • Photos are able to be embedded, but not without a complicated workaround. Just like onedrive, the site’s native image embedding code generator is blocked by the cache builder as being a third party image source.
  • IF a cache owner is able to figure out how to embed an image hosted on their Google Drive, it works properly on the browser version of Geocaching.com. However, the images DO NOT LOAD AT ALL in the app version of cache descriptions, rendering the app completely useless for image-based puzzles, and unsolvable for the majority of [phone-wielding] players.
  • There are a lot of security issues for users being forced to use their google drives as an image source, but as it’s currently the only option for near full-resolution images to be embedded in cache descriptions, we don’t have much choice. This is not an issue that needs to be fixed right now, just a thought.

 

Adding the ability to embed images from the forum and onedrive should be an easy fix. This needs to be done quickly for the health of the game. And the fact that google drive embedded images are so complicated to code, then don’t show up at all in the mobile app is mind boggling. Cache owners are pretty handcuffed at the moment.

 

If I’m missing something, please let me know. Hopefully we can fix this soon. Thanks, y’all!

I'm trying all day now to embed images to a geocaching page, hence the downsize of uploaded picture to geocaching.com is terrible. 
So found a way to embed pictures through onedrive, only to end up getting this error again:

"Remove all images hosted on a third-party website to save changes. Tip: Upload images directly to the cache page with the user-friendly editor."

 

Annoying as this is, it's on the approved list. Only the link when you want to embed starts with onedrive.live.com

Seems like there lies the issue?

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