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This is all good, and I have only three more cache waypoints to
document.<br>
I would say that by far the best answer to the proximity issue is for
new caches to be placed many miles away from existing caches. <br>
That way we get to visit a new area, and no conflict!<br>
<br>
Artemis - Arizona reviewer wrote:
<blockquote
cite="mide3f1244f0608021543o32e46ac9k4965a6bfdbed1c15@mail.gmail.com"
type="cite">Do you own multistage or mystery/puzzle caches that were
published more
than five or six months ago? If so, the parking, intermediate and final
stage coordinates may be in reviewer notes, e-mail messages you sent to
the person who was your reviewer at the time, or perhaps just in your
personal notes if the cache was published before 2003-2004 when we
started looking beyond the coordinates at the top of the cache page. <br>
<br>
There's
now a new feature on your cache page - a way to document the waypoints
associated with your cache, in addition to the obvious posted one. You
can add waypoint coordinates to help other geocachers - like a parking
area or a trailhead. For the paperless caching crowd those additional
waypoints can be magically downloaded to a PDA and GPS. Pretty cool.<br>
<br>
You
can also add coordinate waypoints to help us - your cache reviewers.
That would include the final coordinates of a mystery cache, and the
intermediate and final coordinates of a multistage cache. This category
of added waypoints can be set to be only be visible to you and to an
administrator/reviewer like myself using a new reviewer's tool.<br>
<br>
While
having your coordinate information documented with your cache page can
be helpful to you, your reviewers will probably gain the greatest
benefits. And what helps your reviewers also helps you, but we will get
to that a little later. <br>
<br>
Here's why we ask that you do this:<br>
<br>
Whenever
we review a new cache submission we have to be sure that it's not too
close (less than .1 mile, or 528 feet) to another cache, or to the
intermediate stages of another cache. We are not so concerned with the
ficticious posted coordinates of a mystery cache, but we don't want
your container being found while someone is searching for another one.
When a new cache is submitted in a cache-rich area we have to check for
the nearest caches, then open as many as a dozen nearby cache pages,
retrieve that "note to reviewer" and compare the new cache's
coordinates to those of the old cache. It's very tedious and time
consuming.<br>
<br>
The "waypoints" feature has been added to help the
cache reviewers. With this plus a new reviewer tool, we can click on a
link that will show the reviewers at a glance how close the new cache
is to the starting and ending coordinatess of all other caches in the
area. It's a great help, but it relies on those waypoints being
recorded to provide a comprehensive view.<br>
<br>
Here's where you can
help us: If you own a multistage or mystery cache please go to your
cache page and click on "waypoints" at the top right section of the
cache page. You'll then see a page where you enter your coordinates and
make some selections. <br>
<br>
These <b>Waypoint Types</b> can be selected from the drop down menu:<br>
<br>
Parking Area<br>
Trailhead<br>
Stages of a Multicache<br>
Question to Answer<br>
Reference Point<br>
Final Location<br>
<br>
Next there is an entry box for a <b>Waypoint Name</b>. For
consistency, we suggest using entries like these:<br>
<br>
GC???? Parking<br>
GC???? Trailhead<br>
GC???? Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, etc.<br>
GC???? Question 1, Question 2, etc. <br>
GC???? Reference Point 1, etc. <br>
GC???? Final<br>
<br>
(GC???? represents your cache page waypoint number starting with the
letters GC.)<br>
<br>
Next there is an entry box for a <b>Waypoint Lookup Code</b> of up to
six digits. Suggested entries include:
<br>
<br>
PARKNG<br>
TRAIL (or TRAIL1, TRAIL2, etc.)<br>
STAGE1, STAGE2, etc. <br>
QUEST1, QUEST2, etc.<br>
REF1, REF2, etc.<br>
FINAL<br>
<br>
Next there is an entry box for a two character <b>Prefix Code</b>;
suggested entries include:
<br>
<br>
PK<br>
T1, T2, etc. <br>
S1, S2, etc. <br>
Q1, Q2, etc<br>
R1, R2, etc. <br>
FN<br>
<br>
Next
there is an area for the coordinates of the waypoint you are entering,
followed by an optional text entry box. In the case of a parking
waypoint, you may want to state something along the lines of "Metered
parking is in effect from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. except Sundays and
holidays." This field is optional.<br>
<br>
Here's a real important part. The next thing you will see are three
radio buttons, of which you may select only one:<br>
<br>
o Show all information for this waypoint, including coordinates
<br>
o Show the details of this waypoint but hide the coordinates<br>
o Hide this waypoint from view except by the owner or administrator<br>
<br>
For parking and trailhead waypoints, you will want to select the top
radio button so everyone can see the information. <br>
<br>
For
questions to answer or reference points, you might choose the middle
radio button to hide only the coordinates from the view of geocachers.<br>
<br>
For
the stages of a multicache and for the final location, you will want to
choose the bottom radio button to keep the waypoint information under
wraps.<br>
<br>
Finally, be sure to click the <b>Create Waypoint</b> link
at the bottom left of the page. If you forget to do this, or if you
click on the Archive Waypoint link, you get to start all over. Not fun!<br>
<br>
So how does this help you as a cache owner? <br>
<br>
First,
it provides you with a convenient place to store the details of your
multistage and mystery caches. No more random scraps of paper or extra
waypoints stored on your GPSr. <br>
Second, it will help prevent cache placements that conflict with or
overlap one another. <br>
Third, it will help the volunteer reviewers perform a more thorough
assessment of potential cache proximity issues.
<br>
Fourth,
it will help to get new caches published more promptly for you to hunt.
(OK; this one is a bit lame, but I needed to say someting to make you
smile at this point.)<br>
<br>
If you could help us out by updating your previously published caches,
it will be greatly appreciated.<br>
<br>
Thank you.<br clear="all">
<br>
-- <br>
Artemis<br>
Volunteer Reviewer<br>
<a href="http://Geocaching.com">Geocaching.com</a>
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