Editing archived caches

[+Barnyard Dawg]

Will it ever be possible to edit archived caches to remove spelling errors, dead links and links to external photos that no longer exist?  Even if this would be a one-off opportunity on every archived cache, or another reviewed process, I think many veterans would appreciate being able to clean up their inventory.  Right now, everything suggests that players own the contents (description, photos) of their caches, but sadly have no control over it after it has been archived.  Surprisingly, it is not an option that was added when they rolled-out the privacy settings.

[+The A-Team]

I'm struggling to figure out why. Archived caches are rarely viewed by anyone. If someone does look at one of my archived listings, I expect they'd reasonably understand that the years-old, inactive listing could have some images that don't load anymore, reflects my spelling ability of the past, etc.

 

I like the way it works now, with the listing being preserved in its final state. If people could edit it, they could do things like blank out the entire listing or put in some negative/derogatory/"agenda"/etc. text.

[+arisoft]

4 hours ago, The A-Team said:

I'm struggling to figure out why.

 

One could hide a solution of a new mystery in the source of the archived page.

 

[+kunarion]

15 minutes ago, arisoft said:

 

One could hide a solution of a new mystery in the source of the archived page.

 

 

I'd be tempted to do that. 

 

[+kunarion]

5 hours ago, The A-Team said:

I'm struggling to figure out why. Archived caches are rarely viewed by anyone. If someone does look at one of my archived listings, I expect they'd reasonably understand that the years-old, inactive listing could have some images that don't load anymore, reflects my spelling ability of the past, etc.

 

I like the way it works now, with the listing being preserved in its final state. If people could edit it, they could do things like blank out the entire listing or put in some negative/derogatory/"agenda"/etc. text.

 

I agree.  Even a swiss-cheesed old archived cache page may contain enough info to remind me how it was set up, where it was, and why it was archived, all of which can be lost by post-fiddling with the page.  Plus, I like being able to go look at somecacher's old puzzle, to compare it to his latest puzzle.  I've solved some cache puzzles that way. 

 

But I would appreciate at least being able to copy my page format from my old to new cache page, especially if it's a revived version of the original, just as easily as I can do with an active cache, without having to dig through source code.

[+JL_HSTRE]

10 hours ago, The A-Team said:

If people could edit it, they could do things like blank out the entire listing or put in some negative/derogatory/"agenda"/etc. text.

 

My concern too, especially if the cache was archived because of some kind of dispute with a Reviewer or Groundspeak. 

[+baer2006]

4 hours ago, kunarion said:

But I would appreciate at least being able to copy my page format from my old to new cache page, especially if it's a revived version of the original, just as easily as I can do with an active cache, without having to dig through source code.

True. It shouldn't be a big deal at all for GS to make a "read-only" version of the cache editing page, which simply doesn't have "Save" options.

[+Barnyard Dawg]

13 hours ago, The A-Team said:

If people could edit it, they could do things like blank out the entire listing or put in some negative/derogatory/"agenda"/etc. text.

 

Right now, the site allows you to block just about everything on your profile page, making it pretty useless to anyone who lands on it.  Considering cache owners own their description, why would it be a worry if they decide to erase the entire description as well?  I do not think players who have logged a cache derive any rights from that.  In case of abuse, HQ could opt to roll it back to a previous saved version.

It appears several here argue against change.  I think it is not unreasonable to allow owners the opportunity to edit an archived listing for the reasons I have mentioned; to remove spelling errors, dead links and links to external photos that no longer exist.

And yes, why not allow clues to be hidden in archived listings, there are some real gems out there, and it would give some listings a second life.

Edited April 9 by Barnyard Dawg

[+MNTA]

The only editing I've seen is to delete all the text and title for a challenge cache. Fortunately the project-gc checker still works. 

 

Massively annoying.

 

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC33EVC

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC4VQPK

 

[+ecanderson]

11 hours ago, MNTA said:

The only editing I've seen is to delete all the text and title for a challenge cache. Fortunately the project-gc checker still works. 

 

Massively annoying.

 

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC33EVC

https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC4VQPK

 

Strange.  I wonder what the CO was thinking when doing THAT?

 

[+Barnyard Dawg]

11 hours ago, ecanderson said:

Strange.  I wonder what the CO was thinking when doing THAT?

 

Privacy reasons.  Copyright.  Rage quit.  It doesn't really matter.  I think it would be the exception.  Most players will not care or bother.  However, I know a good number of proud cache owners who would love the opportunity to clean up their inventory.  For an active player, often veterans, dead images, links and errors are a blemish.  I have seen players shift their inventory to a new account just to get rid of the ballast.

If not editing, how about a "Hide" function similar to the so-called deleted logs which you can still access if you have the link.  Those who have logged the cache in the past would be able to get to it.  Those who randomly check a player's publication would be saved the clutter.

 

11 hours ago, ecanderson said:

Massively annoying.

Right now, under the "privacy" umbrella, you can block your finds and complete inventory, everything really, now THAT is massively annoying!  Beats the purpose of having a cache published for the larger public.  Same with Labs, build and look away because there is no opportunity to delete fake logs or even check who has actually visited, THAT is massively annoying.

If editing is not to be, a solution whereby you can just opt to hide archived caches only would be much better imho.

Edited April 11 by Barnyard Dawg

[+JL_HSTRE]

10 hours ago, ecanderson said:

I wonder what the CO was thinking when doing THAT?

 

My guess is they didn't want anyone to attempt to complete the Challenge after it was archived. 

[+thanman2]

3 hours ago, JL_HSTRE said:

 

My guess is they didn't want anyone to attempt to complete the Challenge after it was archived. 

 

Nope, I have insider knowledge and it was just done in a hissy fit.

[+brekkcaching123]

On 4/9/2025 at 1:13 AM, arisoft said:

 

One could hide a solution of a new mystery in the source of the archived page.

 

It's kind of late, but if any of you are familiar with Caccbag, he does that. On his events, sometimes he will do an "Image Host" where he will drop 20+ images with different titles. One of them will lead to a puzzle cache. He used to also leave stuff in the description hidden in white text before he archived them. That could be a very useful feature.

Edited Friday at 07:47 PM by brekkcaching123

[+DarkZen_EvilCowPie]

On 4/9/2025 at 12:13 AM, arisoft said:

One could hide a solution of a new mystery in the source of the archived page.

It's still possible to use archived caches to stash pictures and images on the web (post a 'pic post' note in the logs). I have been known to use those pics for mystery cache clues...