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Post by GreatlandReviewer on May 10, 2013 6:44:46 GMT -9
As more cachers try to shoehorn additional caches into already cache dense areas, the number of requests for me to perform proximity checks has increased significantly. From now on, I request that cachers wanting coordinates checked create a cache page and load the page with the coordinates and additional waypoints of interest. The cacher should also include a Reviewer Note that reads, “Proximity check only, do not publish.” This gives the cacher a head start on their cache page, helps me keep track of who is trying to reserve what spot while they work up a puzzle or multicache, and saves me the effort of inserting the test coordinates into my own test cache page. Doing this also helps me keep cache correspondence straight because all “conversation” occurs via Reviewer Notes that subsequently get archived once the cache is published. In advance, thanks for your help with this.
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Dec 8, 2013 11:58:58 GMT -9
Groundspeak requested its Volunteer Reviewers to look at unpublished cache pages that are more than six to twelve months old and archive those that don't appear to be works in progress. Groundspeak was originally going to auto-archive the nearly 132,000 caches that meet this criteria, but feedback from the Reviewers was that it would be better for the local Reviewer to look at each page and perform an individual archival so if the Cache Owner wishes to have the cache page unarchived, the Cache Owner knows who to contact. The generic reviewer note reads: Hello:
As part of ongoing site maintenance and database housekeeping processes, this unpublished cache listing has been archived. No action by you is required. If you are working on a new cache hide, you can create a new cache listing and submit it for review. If you would prefer to use this specific listing, then you may contact me for unarchival.
For any future listings please work to have them submitted to your local reviewer within three months. Listings older than six months will not reserve a location and can be archived due to inactivity. If you are working on a truly epic cache and require longer than this please ensure that you post a reviewer note at least quarterly indicating that the cache page has not been abandoned and is a work in progress.
Please contact me if you have any questions.
Regards,
Greatland Reviewer Groundspeak Volunteer My Profile: www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=6354843d-6bec-4737-8db5-77907f57de8aThe list for Alaska contains nearly 400 cache pages dating back to 2006. I'm about 1/3 of the way through the list and the majority of the pages have belonged to players who no longer appear to be active in the game. However, I'm now up to 2010 and seeing more and more currently active cachers, so I'm letting folks know via this post what I'm up to. As stated in the archival note, any of the old cache pages will be unarchived upon request. Just send me an e-mail note with the GC#(s) through my Reviewer account at greatlandreviewer at geocachingadmin.com
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Post by SSO JOAT on Dec 8, 2013 13:08:23 GMT -9
OK, so what exactly to I need to put on my unpublished cache listings to show that they should NOT be archived!
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Dec 8, 2013 15:15:06 GMT -9
OK, so what exactly to I need to put on my unpublished cache listings to show that they should NOT be archived! If you are working on a truly epic cache and require longer than this please ensure that you post a reviewer note at least quarterly indicating that the cache page has not been abandoned and is a work in progress. So, something as simple as a Reviewer Note stating, "Cache is an ongoing work in progress, please do not archive," will suffice.
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Post by SSO JOAT on Dec 8, 2013 16:07:57 GMT -9
Do reviewer notes ping some message center on the reviewer account, or do they go un-noticed until the reviewer actually looks at the cache listing? If the later, then aren't my notes in the cache description section doing the same thing?
Is there any indication of what's going on at GS that has them archiving all unpublished listings? Does an unpublished listing have any effect on the system? Isn't the archived data still sitting on the server just as it was as an unpublished listing? Maybe they're trying to weed out all of the old TB collection caches that people used to make before their was a "collection" function? Just trying to make sense of what seems to be a senseless use of volunteer reviewer time.
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Dec 8, 2013 16:27:35 GMT -9
Do reviewer notes ping some message center on the reviewer account, or do they go un-noticed until the reviewer actually looks at the cache listing? Reviewer Notes reside on the cache page for reading when the page is viewed. Depends on if the notes in the Cache Description are dated and how long the description is. When parsing hundreds of cache pages, I don't read all the content. A Reviewer Note gets a date stamp and is always at the same place on the page. Unpublished caches mess with some of the tools in the Reviewer toolbox. For example, when the Reviewer does a proximity check to verify compliance with the 528' proximity guideline, all unpublished caches appear as well as the published caches. The Reviewer can tell which caches are published, which have been submitted for Review, and which have not been submitted for Review. However, what the Reviewer can't tell without opening the cache page is whether or not the page is a work in progress. If it's a work in progress, the Reviewer will give preference to the first cache submitted for a spot because some caches take time to develop and in some parts of the world, permits take many weeks to months to obtain. However, a draft cache page cannot hold a spot indefinitely. Nope. Archived caches can still house TB and geocoin collections. [/quote] Despite the grind to get through the several hundred old Alaska cache pages, the effort will ultimately make my job easier when reviewing cache dense areas such as Anchorage, where a new submission can sometimes trigger a half dozen or so proximity checks, half of which are old, apparently abandoned pages.
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Post by SSO JOAT on Dec 8, 2013 16:43:50 GMT -9
Cache saturation checks make sense. I'll go with that.
And my reference to TB collection was more aimed at the "lair" of days gone by. (No need to say any more about that case). Anyone can access an archived cache. Only the owner can access an unpublished cache, so they served as a "secret" hiding spot for TBs.
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Post by ladybugkids on Dec 8, 2013 17:33:32 GMT -9
There is a Jeep Travel Bug garage or two out there as well.
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Post by akgh519 on Dec 8, 2013 23:54:59 GMT -9
I will make note on mine in the morning
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Post by fuzzybelly on Dec 9, 2013 19:53:35 GMT -9
This is an issue I've had issues with for some time. Not only have I had caches not published due to sites being held for future caches which will be published, who knows when, other probably have as well.
We've got a growing community of new cachers who would probably love to have the excitement of planting their own caches and watching the posts come in. With the saturation of caches that is happening now, we should remember to save space for new cachers and different ideas of hiding.
Lets not make a new hider feel deflated by having a number of their cache GZ being rejected.
If you have a cache to hide, I would think that 2-3 weeks should be enough for the planning. Surely we've thought it out enough before hand for that time frame to work.
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Post by SSO JOAT on Dec 9, 2013 20:39:20 GMT -9
As a courtesy, I've always placed the coordinates for my unpublished caches that don't have an immediate site selected way off the grid in no-cache zones (usually in the KNWR). They are not blocking anyone. But it would be different if you placed the unpublished cache on a potential hide spot just to "reserve" it for future use without realistic intent on placing the cache.
I've spent months working up puzzle cache listings.
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Post by fuzzybelly on Dec 9, 2013 20:51:28 GMT -9
I've never created a puzzle cache but I'm sure they would take a little time, especially some of the tough ones like you publish....Puzzle Master. But I would think a month would be long enough.
Hopefully others are a courteous as you to place the "in the works cache" coordinates to an un-often used caching area.
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Dec 18, 2013 8:48:25 GMT -9
As part of Groundspeak's continuous improvement process of the autoarchiving process, a recent Reviewer Note OR minor edit to the cache page during the past six months will prevent autoarchival. Click here for the Groundspeak Knowledge Book article.
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Post by NeverSummer on Dec 19, 2013 16:19:55 GMT -9
Mike, I want to thank you for your communication on this subject. It is clear that not every other area is as fortunate as we are to have this kind of communication! Just for reference, here is a thread on the Groundspeak forums on the subject.
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Post by fuzzybelly on Dec 19, 2013 18:28:33 GMT -9
Mike, I want to thank you for your communication on this subject. It is clear that not every other area is as fortunate as we are to have this kind of communication! Just for reference, here is a thread on the Groundspeak forums on the subject. I second what he said, agreed, copy/paste, ditto Thank you
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Dec 20, 2013 9:15:00 GMT -9
FYI...you can still find the cache listings even if you don't save the GC# or the archive email. Go to the Geocaches option on your geocaching.com Profile and there is a sidebar on the right titled "Your Geocaches Awaiting Publication". Click "Show Archived" and any caches archived in this week's sweep will show up there with a line through them.
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Post by fuzzybelly on Dec 20, 2013 18:32:00 GMT -9
I've been following on ground speak forums too and it's amazing how so many people where so surprised by this.
Thank you again for your communication to the caching community Greatland
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Jan 3, 2014 21:11:17 GMT -9
Just 'cause...I'm having fun learning more about GSAK's capabilities...
During 2013, for Alaska, 957 caches were published not including events, of which 31 (3.2%) are archived.
Caches 0 wherigo 5 earthcaches (0.5%) 1 letterbox hybrid (0.1%) 8 multi (0.8%) 29 mystery - (5 challenges) (3.0%) 914 trad (95.5%)
Containers 422 were Micros (44.1%) 332 were Small (34.7%) 104 were Regular (10.9%) 5 were Large (0.5%) 45 were Other (4.7%) 49 were Not Chosen (5.1%)
Events
36 Events 88 Events
8 CITO 15 CITO 0 Megas
Below is the list of Events and CITOs that I have in my GSAK file. Please let me know what I'm missing if you see a gap.
GC# Type Name Host Date 1 GC42YPJ Event Welcome to 2013 cavyguy 1/1/2013 2 GC42ZKQ Event 2013 First Geocaching event of the year! firemanak 1/1/2013 3 GC43BHD Event Flash mob for dog safety GeocacheAlaska 1/16/2013 4 GC43J7J Event National Tin Can Day Flash Mob MamaNanook 1/19/2013 5 GC43NZF Event FTL-AK FLash Mob TB Drop (Redo) ftl-ak 1/21/2013 6 GC43K6V Event 3rd annual WACO Flashmob lunchlady495 2/2/2013 7 GC43XGH Event Juneau Constituent Meet and Greet GeocacheAlaska 2/13/2013 8 GC45FJP Event Outdoor Safety FUNdamentals - Anchorage GeocacheAlaska 2/21/2013 9 GC45FK1 Event Outdoor Safety FUNdamentals - Fairbanks GeocacheAlaska 2/21/2013 10 GC46AWQ Event Geocaching 101 EduVent NeverSummer 3/2/2013 11 GC43J4H Event Iditarod Crazy: CheckItOut A blazingpathways 3/2/2013 12 GC43J4K Event Iditarod Crazy - CheckItOut C blazingpathways 3/2/2013 13 GC463R5 Event Iditarod Crazy - CheckItOut B blazingpathways 3/2/2013 14 GC45B3V Event M0' PIE III tomanoble 3/14/2013 15 GC46Z86 Event Signature Item Design FUNdamentals - Anchorage GeocacheAlaska 3/21/2013 16 GC46Z8N Event Signature Item Design FUNdamentals - Fairbanks GeocacheAlaska 3/21/2013 17 GC45HVT Event Intro to Geocaching EduVent SSO JOAT 3/23/2013 18 GC47NVC Event IndieInfoTech Exchange NorthWes 3/28/2013 19 GC48N04 Event Forum & Website FUNdamentals - Fairbanks GeocacheAlaska 4/18/2013 20 GC48MZT Event Forum & Website FUNdamentals - Anchorage GeocacheAlaska 4/18/2013 21 GC477ZA Event National Hanging Out Day Flash Mob MamaNanook 4/19/2013 22 GC4A6TN Event Geocaching's Anniversary Meet'n'Mingle NorthWes 5/3/2013 23 GC48XJ5 Event WWFM X-Fairbanks AK Airport Road Corner Flash Mob firemanak 5/4/2013 24 GC49824 Event WWFM X - Top of the World - Ice Planet Hoth NorthWes 5/4/2013 25 GC3JYAT Event WWFM X - MatSu Valley cavyguy 5/4/2013 26 GC4862C Event WWFM X - Anchorage AK - Town Square Flash Mob 4 GeocacheAlaska 5/4/2013 27 GC47842 Event World Migratory Bird Day Flash Mob MamaNanook 5/11/2013 28 GC46EX5 Event GeoWoodstock XI or Bust !!! cavyguy 5/15/2013 29 GC4B4WP Event Cache Hunting FUNdamentals - Anchorage GeocacheAlaska 5/16/2013 30 GC4B4WW Event Cache Hunting FUNdamentals - Fairbanks GeocacheAlaska 5/16/2013 31 GC4AR47 Event HOBO CITO Kick-Off Flash Mob - Homer SSO JOAT 5/17/2013 32 GC4AR4K Event HOBO CITO Campout - Karen Hornaday Park NeverSummer 5/17/2013 33 GC4AQ2N Event HOBO CITO Campout - Hidden Lake Campground SSO JOAT 5/18/2013 34 GC4BE5C Event 100 Events and counting dmzlstone 5/20/2013 35 GC4BNA5 Event Come say good bye firemanak 5/25/2013 36 GC4BM79 Event Memorial Luau BBQ Snd83 5/26/2013 37 GC4A74Q Event National Trails Day Flash Mob MamaNanook 6/1/2013 38 GC4B1KE Event Geocaching Day at the Downtown Association Market fairbankscachers 6/17/2013 39 GC49EKQ Event Meet N Greet Our Fairbanks Visitors MamaNanook 6/18/2013 40 GC45CDX Event H.E.L.P. Celebrate SOLSTICE Friday BBQ and Campout tomanoble 6/21/2013 41 GC45CHM Event H.E.L.P. Celebrate SOLSTICE Saturday CAMPOUT blazingpathways 6/22/2013 42 GC48CYG Event H.E.L.P. Celebrate SOLSTICE Sunday Meet N' Greet burtonsinak 6/23/2013 43 GC4E3NT Event Before I... on the Plane coloReido 6/25/2013 44 GC4DVY5 Event CHASE THE DRAGON {MONGOLIAN BBQ EVENT} IowaBeaver 6/27/2013 45 GC4D719 Event TWICE AS NICE AS PI II - ICE CREAM vs PIZZA tomanoble 6/28/2013 46 GC4E3CQ Event GeoCruiser Meet'n'Greet NorthWes 7/5/2013 47 GC48GP4 Event Caching on The Kenai - 5th Annual Picnic SSO JOAT 7/13/2013 48 GC4DR1K Event The Pump House Meet & Greet seadog129 7/15/2013 49 GC4ED4C Event AlaskaVans TB Flash Mob AlaskaVans 7/18/2013 50 GC4FJKV Event Dinner with a Goatherd DR-AK 7/18/2013 51 GC4GKC6 Event 31 Days of Geocaching Kick-Off Celabration DR-AK 8/1/2013 52 GC4GXH2 Event Biking from Johnson to Hope burtonsinak 8/10/2013 53 GC4H64M Event EKLUTNA LAKE FLASH MOB MEET AND GREET tomanoble 8/11/2013 54 GC4HP83 Event Day #15--Geocacher's Anonymous Flash Mob Karma! 8/15/2013 55 GC4H4BV Event Cupcake AW-AK 8/16/2013 56 GC4H4BT Event Ice Cream DR-AK 8/17/2013 57 GC4HXA1 Event International Geocaching Day - Spenard 2-fer NorthWes 8/17/2013 58 GC4HVXY Event International Geocaching Day - Part Deux fairbankscachers 8/17/2013 59 GC4H4C8 Event Life Jackets Required DR-AK 8/18/2013 60 GC4HPXQ Event August XIX li1gray 8/19/2013 61 GC4HPXD Event August XX lets go caching! li1gray 8/20/2013 62 GC4HV6V Event 31 Days of Geocaching Day XXVI -- Western Alaska cavyguy 8/26/2013 63 GC4HXFK Event 31 Days of Geocaching Day XXVII -- Yukon River cavyguy 8/27/2013 64 GC4HV91 Event 31 Days of Geocaching Day XXVIII -- Yukon Delta cavyguy 8/28/2013 65 GC4HXFR Event 31 Days of Geocaching Day XXIX -- Halls of Justice cavyguy 8/29/2013 66 GC4JZZG Event Day 30! li1gray 8/30/2013 67 GC4HXEK Event 31 Days of Geocaching Day XXX -- Emonak cavyguy 8/30/2013 68 GC4GMVR Event 48 - Why Wait?! Alaskan Bev 8/31/2013 69 GC47NY0 Event FAIRBANKS CACHAPPLOOSA 2013 N'oreasters 9/7/2013 70 GC4NB3B Event Celebrate Caching at BLM's Campbell Tract! NorthWes 9/28/2013 71 GC463RA Event Celebrate Alaskan Caching Hallmark Experiences blazingpathways 9/28/2013 72 GC4NHA9 Event 2013 Fall HOBO CITO - Russian River Campout Social SSO JOAT 10/5/2013 73 GC4NHBR Event 2013 Fall HOBO CITO - Russian River Camp Breakfast SSO JOAT 10/6/2013 74 GC4PE6D Event Halloween Geocache Survivor Style: Last Meal Snd83 10/17/2013 75 GC4PHCH Event GeocacheAlaska! FUNdamentals EduVent - Fairbanks GeocacheAlaska 10/24/2013 76 GC4NQ41 Event GeocacheAlaska! FUNdamentals EduVent - Anchorage GeocacheAlaska 10/24/2013 77 GC4QPJ7 Event Geocaching in Space Celebration NeverSummer 11/6/2013 78 GC4QRVE Event Geocaching in Space liquidearth 11/6/2013 79 GC4QTN9 Event To Infinity and Beyond! ham-hunter 11/6/2013 80 GC4RNB3 Event Cache Hiding FUNdamentals EduVent - Anchorage GeocacheAlaska 11/21/2013 81 GC4RNBF Event Cache Hiding FUNdamentals EduVent - Fairbanks GeocacheAlaska 11/21/2013 82 GC4T440 Event Cache Hiding FUNdamentals EduVent NeverSummer 11/21/2013 83 GC4THFE Event December TB exchange firemanak 12/7/2013 84 GC4TK5G Event Techno Time firemanak 12/8/2013 85 GC4R64Q Event 9th Annual Geofest GeocacheAlaska 12/13/2013 86 GC4T2MP Event Geo Cashing Alaskan Style HOLIDAY BASH December 15 poodle chic 12/15/2013 87 GC4V74P Event Holiday Coffee: Eastbound and down, a TB exchange NeverSummer 12/22/2013 88 GC4VHY7 Event New Year's Eve: Last Cup of Hot Cocoa DR-AK 12/31/2013 1 GC493NZ CITO International CITO Weekend - Kincaid Park Kleanup NorthWes 4/20/2013 2 GC478Z7 CITO Down Town Juneau Cache-Clean-up! BerrySeekers3 4/20/2013 3 GC48XF0 CITO International CITO Weekend Fairbanks Edition MamaNanook 4/20/2013 4 GC49E27 CITO Homer's International Cache In, Trash Out Event NeverSummer 4/20/2013 5 GC48637 CITO International CITO weekend Alaska style GeocacheAlaska 4/21/2013 6 GC484A5 CITO Almost-Earth Day CITO BerrySeekers3 4/21/2013 7 GC4AR5R CITO HOBO CITO #1 - Karen Hornaday Park Cleanup NeverSummer 5/18/2013 8 GC4AQ1Y CITO HOBO CITO #2 - Soldotna Creek Park Cleanup SSO JOAT 5/18/2013 9 GC4AQ2A CITO HOBO CITO #4 - Girdwood Adopt-A-Highway Cleanup GeocacheAlaska 5/19/2013 10 GC4AQ1M CITO HOBO CITO #3 - Hidden Lake Campground Cleanup SSO JOAT 5/19/2013 11 GC4EGV3 CITO 2013 Girdwood CITO Derby GeocacheAlaska 7/14/2013 12 GC4EM7D CITO A Small part of Cambell Creek Trail CITO meljo 7/20/2013 13 GC4NFGX CITO 2013 Fall HOBO CITO - Girdwood Adopt-A-Highway (3) GeocacheAlaska 10/5/2013 14 GC4NH6X CITO 2013 Fall HOBO CITO - Turnagain Pass Leap Frog SSO JOAT 10/5/2013 15 GC4NH80 CITO 2013 Fall HOBO CITO - Russian River Campground SSO JOAT 10/6/2013
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Post by akgh519 on Jan 3, 2014 21:42:26 GMT -9
Thought provoking...and thanks for providing
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Post by SSO JOAT on Jan 4, 2014 0:31:18 GMT -9
Only 8 CITO events??? That's really odd, because GCAK had 4 cito events and the hobo crew added another 5 cito events. That means our one little group did more cito than your GSAK is claiming and I'm pretty sure there were other cito events held around the state. I don't think your GSAK has all the data.
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Jan 4, 2014 8:46:22 GMT -9
Only 8 CITO events??? That's really odd, because GCAK had 4 cito events and the hobo crew added another 5 cito events. That means our one little group did more cito than your GSAK is claiming and I'm pretty sure there were other cito events held around the state. I don't think your GSAK has all the data. I agree. I woke up with that little voice in the back of my mind nagging me that something wasn't right given three Girdwood Highway Events, five HOBO CITOs, Campbell Creek, and a few others. If an event publishes and archives in between "All Alaska" PQ runs (which I do only a few times per year), it never makes it into the database. This would also be true for physical caches, but very few people archive their own caches. Need to do some tweaking... Edit: List updated.
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Mar 29, 2015 8:01:04 GMT -9
I've run into a couple CO's who had no idea about how to clear the Needs Maintenance attribute. There are 2 easy ways. 1- Post an Owner Maintenance log to the cache stating that the cache was checked, repaired, and in good order. OR 2- Go into the Edit Attributes for the cache, which is available only to the CO. You can go down to the Needs Maintenance attribute and clear it. Groundspeak recently eliminated Option #2 for Cache Owners. Cache maintenance history is an important part of the cache history that should be preserved. On the other hand, Groundspeak now approves of Reviewers clearing the "Needs Maintenance" attribute for community maintained caches after the Reviewer receives confirmation (preferably by e-mail) from a community member that the cache is all right.
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Post by akgh519 on Mar 29, 2015 9:10:51 GMT -9
Hurray for the reviewer being able to remove the needs maintenance log!
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Mar 29, 2015 9:30:38 GMT -9
Geocache Spring Cleaning has started so local caches are shipshape local and visiting cachers alike. The attached pdf file explains my process. Comments or questions are welcome in this thread. Reviewer-04-2015.pdf (125.88 KB)
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Post by akstafford on Apr 1, 2015 9:16:22 GMT -9
Geocache Spring Cleaning has started so local caches are shipshape local and visiting cachers alike. The attached pdf file explains my process. Comments or questions are welcome in this thread. View AttachmentThanks for all you do!!
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Jun 5, 2016 13:55:32 GMT -9
Beginning today, I am changing how I manage caches with a growing string of "Didn't Find It" (DNF) logs. I will Disable caches with three or four consecutive DNFs and no prior Cache Owner Note to the cache page. Some time later (at least thirty days), I will review any of those disabled caches that have not yet been enabled by the Cache Owner and post my standard Reviewer Note about the cache being Disabled for more than thirty days and failure to perform maintenance and enable the cache within thirty days may result in archival.
This will result in a time period of at least sixty days from the first time I look at a cache with many DNFs and when the cache will be archived. If extenuating circumstances prevent maintenance or verification during that time period, a Reviewer Note to the cache page is sufficient to "reset" the clock.
I will do my best to apply "objective subjectivity" to those caches that are particularly evil and will naturally accrue DNF strings. However, I do encourage the Cache Owners of such caches to periodically check those caches and post an update to the cache page assuring the caching public the cache is, in fact, still there.
The intent of this approach is to improve the playing field for ALL cachers by eliminating those caches that have effectively been abandoned by the Cache Owner. Let's all work together to assure positive quality caching experiences when Cachers play the game.
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Post by freeweez on Jun 10, 2016 11:07:10 GMT -9
I have noticed the 'new' attribute on a temporarily disabled cache... great idea! I think it will work well and be more efficient, plus give time to the CO to enable/fix/update what's needed. Thank you!
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Sept 2, 2019 23:04:16 GMT -9
I am preparing to clean-up apparently abandoned caches in my assigned review territories (Alaska, Hawaii, Greece, plus 70+ countries I share with former Alaska co-reviewer Crow T Robot)
I took the first step by writing a "Reviewer Note" to each cache page that has the "Needs Maintenance" attribute on it that I have not previously written a note to. The "Needs Maintenance" log is intended to provided communication between Cachers and the Cache Owner when issues are noticed and the local Reviewer is not supposed to take action in response to "Needs Maintenance."
However, with nearly 500 caches in Alaska with the "Needs Maintenance" attribute, it is apparent that either some Cache Owners do not know how to clear the attribute by writing an "Owner Maintenance" log, or the caches have become zombie caches, living on well past when their Cache Owner left the game. I wrote ninety Reviewer Notes to such caches this weekend, meaning there are about 400 caches out there sporting the "Needs Maintenance" attribute that already have a Reviewer Note on them.
Once I have completed that step for the approximately 30,000 caches I am accountable for, I will begin the reaping process. That process entails writing Reviewer Notes to caches that have been disabled for more than thirty days or have a growing string of "Didn't Find It" and/or "Needs Archived" logs. At least thirty days will pass before I begin actively archiving caches that received a Reviewer Note and the Cache Owner did not respond to, either by writing a Note to the cache page providing a status or by fixing whatever problem(s) brought the cache page to my attention in the first place. Communication with the Reviewer and the Local Community by the Cache Owner is very important for this reason.
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Sept 8, 2019 10:59:53 GMT -9
This morning, I temporarily disabled 117 caches that had four or more consecutive "Didn't Find It" logs to give the Cache Owner time to check on their cache(s). I attempted to pull out high difficulty caches that develop DNF strings between finds, but that effort was likely not perfect.
Cache Owners are encouraged to check their caches and perform any necessary maintenance. If the cache is actually still on site, or if it was missing and has been replaced, the Cache Owner may write an "Enable Listing" log to return the cache page to the list of active caches.
The next step that will be taken in the future (but no sooner than one month), is a second Reviewer Note will be written to the cache page noting that the cache page has been disabled for more than a month and requesting the Cache Owner to communicate with the caching community and the local reviewer via a "Write Note" log written to the cache page, especially if there are extenuating circumstances (local construction, personal matters, etc.) preventing cache maintenance at this time. The purpose of this step is to encourage Cache Owners to maintain a dialog with players and reviewers to demonstrate ongoing interest in maintaining the cache.
The final step involves archiving caches for which the Cache Owner remained silent.
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Post by GreatlandReviewer on Sept 8, 2019 12:32:20 GMT -9
This afternoon, I wrote Reviewer Notes for 232 cache pages that have been disabled for more than thirty days. Before doing so, I quickly parsed the cache pages for Cache Owner notes that referred to on-site construction or other potential issues preventing cache maintenance and reactivation.
If one or more of your cache pages received one of these Reviewer Notes, please communicate with the caching community and the local reviewer via a "Write Note" log written to the cache page, especially if there are extenuating circumstances (local construction, personal matters, etc.) preventing cache maintenance at this time. The purpose of this step is to encourage Cache Owners to maintain a dialog with players and reviewers to demonstrate ongoing interest in maintaining the cache.
The final step involves archiving caches for which the Cache Owner remained silent. The Reviewer Notes pertaining to "Needs Maintenance," multiple DNF logs, and long-term disabled caches were generated using GSAK tools. I will look at the complete log history on a cache page before archiving a cache. The only automated archiving that occurs is when Geocaching HQ archives Event and CITO caches that occurred at least two weeks in the past and draft cache pages that have not been worked on in over a year.
The intent of this process is to improve the playing field for ALL cachers by eliminating those caches that have effectively been abandoned by the Cache Owner. Let's all work together to assure positive quality caching experiences when Cachers play the game.
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