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Approval speed


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I've seen several posts about what people felt were overly long approval times.

 

If we're gonna ding those volunteer admins when they take too long, we've gotta praise them when they're amazingly fast.

 

I just had a cache approved in about 30 minutes.

 

Way to go!

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I wanted my first cache available by a certain date. Having read all the threads about approval speeds, I submitted it well in advance, at about midnight my time (4:00 pm PST). When I got up the next morning, not only was it approved, but the approver had sent me a nice email saying he liked it!

 

What a great way to start stashing!

 

evilrooster

-the email of the species is deadlier than the mail-

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Thanks for noticing folks. We had a problem three or four weeks ago when I went off on vacation and things backed up but we now have several more volunteers and are doing quite well even with another one off for a week.

 

The improvements Jeremy has made to the submission page whereas it will automatically do normal HTML formating has sped things up a lot, as have posting the guidelines for hiding caches here: http://www.geocaching.com/articles/requirements.asp

That has cut down on time spent e-mailing explanations on why caches had to be archived or should be edited prior to posting.

 

Enjoy the weekend!

 

erik - geocaching.com admin lackey

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My 8 year old daughter planned and placed a cache one night this week. It was approved almost instantaneously. I entered it from one PC and before I could tell my wife what the URL was so that she could check it out across the room, it was approved, posted and in the list of nearest caches.

 

I don't mind when it takes a day or two, but I'm completely impressed with the current speediness.

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Mitsuko -

I ask myself this question occasionally! Most caches are pretty straight forward and it's just an easy matter of the reviewer to post them. We do check for location to be sure the cache isn't in a prohibited area. We read the text looking for red flags like "buried" or "private property" or "railroad tracks" or "National Park", but also use MapBlast and TopoZone for much the same reason. I don't think people generally intentionally violate the posted guidelines but not all are as familiar with them as others.

 

We check for appropriateness - commercial caches are one example, cache contents are another. We check for safety - a cache in the middle of an interstate cloverleaf would cause concern for instance. In the case of none traditional caches we check to be sure that a visit with a GPS is required (as opposed to an internet search) to log the cache.

 

We check for duplications - occasionally someone will unknowingly post a virtual or locationless cache that duplicates or overlaps one already posted. We do some coaching with new geocachers on when it would be better to combine six virtual caches into one multistage or when to go the other way. We do spell czechs, check coords relative to stated position (a cache in Nicaragua shouldn't have coords that place it in Holland), do HTML formating (less now thanks to Jeremy's upgrade), translate cache descriptions from other languages, etc. etc.

 

Sadly we at times have to decline to post a cache for one of the reasons mentioned above. If it's a gray area we appeal to each other and to Jeremy for input before archiving a cache or asking the cache owner to make modifications.

 

Hopefully that answered the question icon_smile.gif

 

~erik~ - one of a half dozen admin lackeys

 

[This message was edited by ~erik~ on July 06, 2002 at 06:18 AM.]

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I had one that was addressed so fast it caused a problem. I was helping my younger brother log a cache placement we did earlier in the day. I was talking him through it over the phone and at one point I told him to just put "test" in the description and once it was in "waiting for approval mode" I would go on and edit the HTML tags for him.

 

It was looked at seconds after submission, and sumarily archived with a comment of it being in-admissable in it's current form.

 

That was fast. I ended up doing it from scratch and they fixed everything afterwards.

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:huh: I have never had a problem with the speed that a cache gets posted. Mountain Climber deserves alot of praise for what he does. He approved three cache's for me tonight in about 45 minutes. I think that all of the people who help with this site are very deligent and thoughtful with what they do. They all deserve a big hand for what they do for us. My opinion. Thank you one and all approvers.
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Let's get on with it Hemmy!!

 

Hunh? He approved a cache for my son in something like 1/2 hour. Perhaps you're doing something wrong.

 

We made sure to add an administrative note detailing where the cache actually was, what permissions applied, exactly how i knew it was not on private land, what was in it, and how it was hidden. I believe that helps. Give it a try.

 

I have nothing but praise for Hemlock. YMMV.

 

(brownose mode: off)

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Yeah, it sucks to have to wait for a cache to get approved. I got one reviewer (Hemlock) who does our local caches that always archives whether it is easy to understand or not. It takes days for him to "get around to" approving it. It really blows having to wait. Let's get on with it Hemmy!!

:huh:

Hemlock aproved my very first cache a few weeks ago in about 24 hours. That's well within what I would consider a reasonable amount of time.

 

I don't check my email for a few days at a time sometimes....

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I've had little problem getting my caches approved. On only one occasion (that I can recall), CO_Admin had a question about the origin of the cache and wanted a reiteration of the fact that the cache wasn't at the listed coords so people weren't searching on the freeway for it. :D

 

As long as you answer potential questions up front, there isn't anything left to ask and it's approved as soon as it gets reviewed. My most recent 2 were submitted at around 3am and by that evening they were approved. Can't complain about that!

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Hemlock is my approver also. He approved one cache last week in about 45 minutes, and a second one in a couple hours. He also agreed to hold them for release one on Friday and the other on Saturday which was 5 days later for each. I think he does a stand up job and is willing to do anything he can to enhance the geocaching experience. Ever gotten that kind of service from Fryes or DMV????

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41 minutes took it between the mails "Cache report submitted" and "Listing approved.."

 

And who did it? Our excellent approver in the Nordic Region of Europe; Tahu Nuva.

I remember Tahu Nuva once saying he knew that Harjus was placing a cache at certain time. Well, he waited at that time to see when Harjus posted their new cache, and approved it right away. It was matter of minutes, I think. <_<

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I had one that was addressed so fast it caused a problem<grin>. I was helping my younger brother log a cache placement we did earlier in the day. I was talking him through it over the phone and at one point I told him to just put "test" in the description and once it was in "waiting for approval mode" I would go on and edit the HTML tags for him. <BR><BR>It was looked at seconds after submission, and sumarily archived with a comment of it being in-admissable in it's current form<grin>. <BR><BR>That was fast. I ended up doing it from scratch and they fixed everything afterwards.

I know the quoted text was posted some time ago, but it gives me a chance to share a tip. <_<

 

If you are working on your cache page and are not yet ready for a reviewer to take a look, then temporarily disable it (by clicking on "click to temporarily disable" under the title on the main cache page) as soon as you submit the cache. That takes it off the queue so you can upload graphics, adjust html, or fine-tune the description before it's reviewed. When you're ready to have a reviewer take a peek, just re-enable the cache.

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I have nothing but praise for Hemlock. 2 of my placements were by another approver who I also have no complaints about. On only one occasion have I had any problem, and the emphasis was on ME having the problem. I had a virtual that was archived and I was able to talk about it, some emails got lost, but in the end I am making a better cache out of it now that it has been archived. I say KUDO's to Hemlock and all the approvers. In my honest and humble opinion, they are doing a great job! Keep up the excellent work and high standard for this wonderful community!

 

Peace!

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I know the quoted text was posted some time ago, but it gives me a chance to share a tip. :D

 

If you are working on your cache page and are not yet ready for a reviewer to take a look, then temporarily disable it (by clicking on "click to temporarily disable" under the title on the main cache page) as soon as you submit the cache. That takes it off the queue so you can upload graphics, adjust html, or fine-tune the description before it's reviewed. When you're ready to have a reviewer take a peek, just re-enable the cache.

An even easier way to do this is to UNCHECK the box on the cache submission page that says "This cache is currently active."

 

You will get assigned a GCXXXX waypoint (nice to have to put into the log book and to write on the cache itself), but the cache will not go into the approval queue until you edit it and re-check the box.

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I have nothing but praise for Hemlock. 2 of my placements were by another approver who I also have no complaints about. On only one occasion have I had any problem, and the emphasis was on ME having the problem. I had a virtual that was archived and I was able to talk about it, some emails got lost, but in the end I am making a better cache out of it now that it has been archived. I say KUDO's to Hemlock and all the approvers. In my honest and humble opinion, they are doing a great job! Keep up the excellent work and high standard for this wonderful community!

 

Peace!

Get a load of this guy, he sent me this (talk about mad):

 

Dear Sir,

I am capable of forming my own opinions about third party people with out your unsolicited hate mail. Please keep your opinions of others to yourself, for I really don't wish to hear it. If you have something that particularly pertains to me and the sport of geocaching I would like to hear it, otherwise please do not abuse the right of email that the geocaching website affords you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Wildlifeguy

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