Improving Moveable Caches

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caughtatwork
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Re: Improving Moveable Caches

Post by caughtatwork » 29 February 12 10:59 am

Yes, we know what you are seeking.

It's in the wiki so it doesn't get lost.
http://wiki.geocaching.com.au/wiki/Geoc ... pment_List

Give me a new computer, a week to do the work and $150 per hour and you can have it.

I am without a PC due to a home theft, so I can't even consider starting until the insurance is settled which could be 4-6 weeks assuming the last 4 weeks are an indication of how insurance companies work.

I am also happy to accept CV's from anyone who would like to join the development team.

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mtrax
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Re: Improving Moveable Caches

Post by mtrax » 29 February 12 11:03 am

caughtatwork wrote:Yes, we know what you are seeking.

It's in the wiki so it doesn't get lost.
http://wiki.geocaching.com.au/wiki/Geoc ... pment_List

Give me a new computer, a week to do the work and $150 per hour and you can have it.
I am without a PC due to a home theft, so I can't even consider starting until the insurance is settled which could be 4-6 weeks assuming the last 4 weeks are an indication of how insurance companies work.
I am also happy to accept CV's from anyone who would like to join the development team.
yes sorry to hear about your PC.. yep understand.. just venting..

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mtrax
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Re: Improving Moveable Caches

Post by mtrax » 24 February 13 12:41 pm

I'm not sure if this idea is any better but could we indicate a "Taken" status with a Note log type with a special reserved code eg #Grabbed# or just have that inside the log.

ie you could have a new virtual log types of
1. Found & Grabbed and just
2. Grabbed

Found a Grabbed would generate 2 logs
1. found with users normal text
2. Noted with #Grabbed# as the text.

I know its not ideal but would go a long way to determine if cacher has taken moveable.

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sirius Tas
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Re: Improving Moveable Caches

Post by sirius Tas » 28 April 18 12:54 pm

I've noticed GCA putting queries beside moveable caches which have either been left in place by the previous finder or NOT moved on.
The simplest way for everyone to know where a moveable is....is to make it MANDATORY to put in a moved log...WHETHER the cache has been moved or not....THEN when we see a blue tick we know its actually in play.
IMO...geocachers are treating moveables with utter contempt....and basically don't give a stuff whether they move them on or not....simply can't be bothered to post a moved log OR VALID HINT...resulting in the likelyhood of them going missing....which is happening on a regular basis.

Sol de Lune
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Re: Improving Moveable Caches

Post by Sol de Lune » 28 April 18 6:55 pm

sirius Tas wrote:I've noticed GCA putting queries beside moveable caches which have either been left in place by the previous finder or NOT moved on.
The simplest way for everyone to know where a moveable is....is to make it MANDATORY to put in a moved log...WHETHER the cache has been moved or not....THEN when we see a blue tick we know its actually in play.
Hi ST,

Whether the cache has been moved or not? That will mean if a cacher takes the cache they have to do a 'move' log at the time of logging, as it's mandatory. Makes it hard to move it from one place to another as when a cacher does a 'find' log, they may have no idea where it's going to move it to. This is especially an issue when a moveable is picked up away from home and a cacher wants to move it to an area where the moveable has never been before.

Yep, we want cachers to move moveables on ASAP, however making a 'move' mandatory wont make people remember they actually have a moveable in their possession.

Reading back through this thread, I believe we have the best plan in place. Getting cachers to remember to move moveables is the issue......and no changes to the current process will fix that....unfortunately.

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J_&_J
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Re: Improving Moveable Caches

Post by J_&_J » 28 April 18 7:09 pm

sirius Tas wrote:The simplest way for everyone to know where a moveable is....is to make it MANDATORY to put in a moved log...WHETHER the cache has been moved or not....THEN when we see a blue tick we know its actually in play.
Are you suggesting that someone who finds a moving cache, but leaves it in place, should, as well as their "Found" log, add a "Moved" log with it's existing coordinates to indicate that it is actually at the current coordinates?

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sirius Tas
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Re: Improving Moveable Caches

Post by sirius Tas » 28 April 18 8:12 pm

Hi J_&_J,
Yes...as thats the best way for other cachers to know its actually available...so has a blue tick when viewing in a query.
If there is a no moved log at all...then cachers would have to view every caches detail that has a green found tick....which is a pretty big chore and one I'm not prepared to do.
Its actually quicker to post a moved log....copy and paste coords...than to ramble on in the cache log telling other cachers its left insitu.
I also see it as a courtesy to other finders.
Moveables tend to be placed in temporary hides...so the longer they are in one place...the more likely they are to go missing.

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Re: Improving Moveable Caches

Post by J_&_J » 28 April 18 8:34 pm

It's a nice theory. I actually went through a query doing just that the other day. Anything that had a green tick probably isn't there, and anything with a blue arrow probably is. Getting every geocacher to write a minimum of two logs every time they log a moving cache but leave it in place is the problem.

How would we manage to get every finder to log a "Moved' log when they haven't moved it? Not all moveable finders read the GCA forum. Not all moveable hiders visit the GCA forum. How would we let those people to know that that's what they should be doing? Whether a moving cache is still at the coordinates or not seems to be a long term quandary, with no easy fix.

Personally, I use GSAK for handling everything geocaching, and for every moving cache that's currently in the hands of someone, I add the term "Taken" to one of the User Data columns. The filters I use make sure these caches don't get sent to OziExplorer or my GPSr. I have all moving caches in the state on my watchlist, so can easily add or remove the "Taken" tag to GSAK when ever a notification comes in via email. It's still a chore, I must admit, but that's how the moving-cache cookie crumbles.

Sol de Lune
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Re: Improving Moveable Caches

Post by Sol de Lune » 28 April 18 8:41 pm

We're educating people on this. If we start and continue to spread the word, who knows, things may change and the problem will fix itself over time.

We will never ever get a perfect result for this. Read the whole thread and you'll understand the issues.

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sirius Tas
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Re: Improving Moveable Caches

Post by sirius Tas » 28 April 18 9:10 pm

Yep...fair enough.
I guess a CO of moveables can place the moved log themselves...thereby letting others know its available....which is what I'll do in future.

Sol de Lune
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Re: Improving Moveable Caches

Post by Sol de Lune » 28 April 18 9:50 pm

sirius Tas wrote:Yep...fair enough.
I guess a CO of moveables can place the moved log themselves...thereby letting others know its available....which is what I'll do in future.
As long as you can tell for sure it is still at the location....go for it. If it's hard to tell from the logs, as the CO feel free to contact the last finder and ask them if they took it or left in situ.

Will save the site admins from doing it. :D

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Richary
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Re: Improving Moveable Caches

Post by Richary » 30 April 18 10:22 pm

Yes I have had the case where there were a few showing up in Parramatta park for a while, but with the last log as found. I decided before making the trip down there to contact the previous finder and ask if he had taken them or left in place as it wasn't clear.

For new moveables we could encourage COs to write on their listing that the person logged a move even if they didn't. And I know things have been discussed before with comments about breaking things if programs don't expect that - but would it be possible to create a log type of "Found but not moved" which gives the person their smiley, but at the same time shows up as moved with a blue tick? Though it might cause problems if there are multiple finds (say at an event) that are logged after someone has moved it. Or maybe not if the found but not moved doesn't update the coords, it just adds another blue tick.

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