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Login Required to View Cache Coordinates?


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I don't like the idea of any surfer on the world wide web being able to see the coordinates to the caches I place. (But at the same time, I don't want to have to make them Members Only caches.) I'd like to see a feature put in place so that until a person logs in, they would be able to read all the information about a cache, except for the actual coordinates.

 

If one of the "shoulds" in geocaching is logging our finds on the cache pages, then it doesn't seem like much of an imposition to require people to log in before viewing/downloading the actual coordinates. They'd still get the 'teaser' information to pique their interest in the sport...but before playing, they should at least be serious enough to sign up for a free account. (Yes, the clever folks could still triangulate, based on distances from centers of zip codes, etc...but I'm guessing that would only be a handful of people.)

 

What do you think? Should log-in be required to view coordinates? Please share your thoughts as to why or why not below.

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I did not register until I tried the game. I feel that one should not become a member unless they like it, and are able to give it a try. If they must login, the work and cost for the site admin/owner would become greater. They would have to weed out the people that signed up and never returned. Unless the system is set to clear out the members that haven't signed in in 180 days? This could open a whole host of rules in itself.

 

The ability to poke about the site freely is an asset to the site.

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quote:
Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

Something like this could potentially scare away or turn off some initial visitors.


Members Only caches have turned off some initial visitors. Does that mean we should do away with them?

 

It appears that activity on this site has increased exponentially in the past year or two. I doubt, even with amount 'scared off', the site would be in jeopardy of dying off anytime soon.

 

quote:
Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

Also, why overwhelm the system with (potentially) thousands of usernames and passwords assigned to people who may never return to the site?


My thought was that they would automatically get wiped out after 6 months (or some nominal time frame) of not having logged in. The site already tracks when our last visit was, that part is already in place.

 

quote:
Originally posted by kenny&lisa:

I did not register until I tried the game. I feel that one should not become a member unless they like it, and are able to give it a try.


Yeah, I thought about that side of it. But do you think you WOULDN'T have signed up, and given the game a chance if you'd have had to register first?

 

quote:
Originally posted by kenny&lisa:

If they must login, the work and cost for the site admin/owner would become greater. They would have to weed out the people that signed up and never returned.


Besides the initial programming, do you think it would cause them more work or cost? (Jeremy? What do you think?)

 

quote:
Originally posted by kenny&lisa:

Unless the system is set to clear out the members that haven't signed in in 180 days?


Yes, that's along the lines of what I was thinking.

 

quote:
Originally posted by kenny&lisa:

This could open a whole host of rules in itself.


Good point. And with more rules comes more controversy and arguing. But I'm betting a workable solution could be reached.

 

quote:
Originally posted by kenny&lisa:

The ability to poke about the site freely is an asset to the site.


I agree it has its merits, but some disadvantages.

 

Interestingly, the poll votes at this point are almost dead even at 11 for, and 10 against.

 

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"I may be slow, but at least I'm sweet!" 196939_800.jpg

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quote:
Originally posted by ClayJar:

 

I vote we go back to the discussion.

 

Just in case anyone really wants to talk about it, there has been a discussion on this going on in the the login to see coordinates thread on the Geocaching.com Discussion where it belongs.

 

(I am abstaining from posting a full reply here on principle. I'll post it there instead.)


 

Point taken, Clay Jar. Actually, that's the discussion that sparked my curiousity for seeing the results of a poll. Discussion is great, but sometimes people will vote when they won't leave an actual post saying where they stand (perhaps they prefer the anonymity?).

 

I'm not sure how I managed to paste the poll here, rather than in the Geocaching.com Discussion area. icon_eek.gif But I've e-mailed Jeremy, and asked if he could transer it over there (or close this one out).

 

In either case, though, I'm still interested in seeing the poll numbers along with the verbal discussion. (Statistics are fun...even when they only represent a sampling of the overall group.)

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quote:
Originally posted by ClayJar:

 

I vote we go back to the discussion.

 

Just in case anyone really wants to talk about it, there has been a discussion on this going on in the the login to see coordinates thread on the Geocaching.com Discussion where it belongs.

 

(I am abstaining from posting a full reply here on principle. I'll post it there instead.)


 

Point taken, Clay Jar. Actually, that's the discussion that sparked my curiousity for seeing the results of a poll. Discussion is great, but sometimes people will vote when they won't leave an actual post saying where they stand (perhaps they prefer the anonymity?).

 

I'm not sure how I managed to paste the poll here, rather than in the Geocaching.com Discussion area. icon_eek.gif But I've e-mailed Jeremy, and asked if he could transer it over there (or close this one out).

 

In either case, though, I'm still interested in seeing the poll numbers along with the verbal discussion. (Statistics are fun...even when they only represent a sampling of the overall group.)

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quote:
Originally posted by Zuckerruebensirup:

Members Only caches have turned off some initial visitors. Does that mean we should do away with them?


 

But by far the great majority of caches were available for them to peruse, in full detail. You want to eliminate even that. Hey, if it's what the majority of users want, I'll support it; but it seems foolish to me.

 

quote:
Originally posted by Zuckerruebensirup:

 

My thought was that they would automatically get wiped out after 6 months (or some nominal time frame) of not having logged in.


 

It seems impractical and wasteful to me. But it's also not my logistical nightmare ... it's for Jeremy to decide.

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quote:
Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

 

But by far the great majority of caches were available for them to peruse, in full detail. You want to eliminate even that.


The only thing I want to hide is the COORDINATES. And anyone could register to look at even those. So I'm not suggesting taking anything away from anyone who wants to participate.

 

quote:
Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

 

Hey, if it's what the majority of users want, I'll support it; but it seems foolish to me.


That's what I was trying to assertain with this poll: what the majority of users want. If it seems foolish to most of them, I'll support that. icon_smile.gif

 

quote:
Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

 

It seems impractical and wasteful to me. But it's also not my logistical nightmare ... it's for Jeremy to decide.


Yes. Ultimately, it really doesn't matter what the majority of users want. The only vote that REALLY counts is Jeremy's.

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quote:
Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

 

But by far the great majority of caches were available for them to peruse, in full detail. You want to eliminate even that.


The only thing I want to hide is the COORDINATES. And anyone could register to look at even those. So I'm not suggesting taking anything away from anyone who wants to participate.

 

quote:
Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

 

Hey, if it's what the majority of users want, I'll support it; but it seems foolish to me.


That's what I was trying to assertain with this poll: what the majority of users want. If it seems foolish to most of them, I'll support that. icon_smile.gif

 

quote:
Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

 

It seems impractical and wasteful to me. But it's also not my logistical nightmare ... it's for Jeremy to decide.


Yes. Ultimately, it really doesn't matter what the majority of users want. The only vote that REALLY counts is Jeremy's.

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quote:
Originally posted by Zuckerruebensirup:

Yes. Ultimately, it really doesn't matter what the majority of users want. The only vote that REALLY counts is Jeremy's.


 

Yes the decision is Jeremy's. Hopefully he has an open mind and will look at the survey data in both the general and discussion forums. I believe that he will be fair in considering this, since he has admitted that there is a chance, however slight, that it may help.

 

What I find interesting is that the vote in the discussion forum, at this time, is rather close, and the discussion forum does require a login to view.

 

The vote in the general forum, which does not require a login, seems to favor the change, at this time. So it would seem that even those who are reading the general forum are having no qualms about logging in to vote in support of this proposal.

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