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Magnetic attribute

ilkant

By ilkant
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Too Tall John

+Too Tall John

Posted
Posted
I don't think any of the attributes have to do with the hiding technique of the cache itself, just the approach to the cache and the immediate vicinity.
This is true for the most part. Certain attributes can be interpreted to be a hint as to the hide method, as is being discussed right now here:
I think that the only one that I pay attention to is the "winter-friendly" one. Some people use it to mean that the cache isn't hidden at ground level where it would be covered by snow; this knowledge can be helpful when searching.
I agree with your overall point, though. After a "magnetic" attribute we'd need a "stuffed down a hole" or "under a rock" or "hanging in a tree" or....
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DavidMac

+DavidMac

Posted
Posted (edited)

This is true for the most part. Certain attributes can be interpreted to be a hint as to the hide method, as is being discussed right now here:

I think that the only one that I pay attention to is the "winter-friendly" one. Some people use it to mean that the cache isn't hidden at ground level where it would be covered by snow; this knowledge can be helpful when searching.

 

True, I didn't think about that one. Now I recall that that attribute has been discussed before, and I think it came down to regional differences in how people use it (in my area, where a major winter storm is one in which the snow actually sticks to the grass for a few minutes before melting, it is used to indicate an area that is only open seasonally).

 

 

edit: botched the quote, and had to fix it

Edited by DavidMac
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tozainamboku

+tozainamboku

Posted
Posted

How about a magnetic baboon attribute? ;)

 

Perhaps I should start another thread but I for one would like to see the broken and mostly useless attribute system removed in favor of a flexible tagging system that could be used to solve most of the problems people are trying to solve with attributes.

 

Prior to geocaching.com attributes, cachers could use third party sites like The Selector to generate icons to include in their cache description. These third party applications provide a way to put important information about a cache on the page in a pictorial way that made it stand out. Mostly they were used to warn of hazards and any rules that landowners had (no off-road vehicle or no dogs allows). Other uses might be to indicate what kind of special equipment might be needed to hunt this cache. People started adding icons to describe amenities at the cache (e.g., restrooms), how long of hike it was, whether muggles might be present, and what kinds of trade items might be in the cache). Since you couldn't search on these icons they could be pretty free form and having a third party add a new icon (or adding your own) was pretty easy.

 

Geocaching.com pretty much stole the icon idea but decided to make them part of the geocache database. The idea was that these attributes would now be searchable and would be included in the data returned in the pocket query. Well the search capability is only available in pocket queries and it still doesn't work as expected and attributes are still not provided in the PQ data. In addition, attributes were implement in a strange way where each attribute is tri-state - not specified, Yes, and No. Of course the Yes/No doesn't make sense for some attribute so the GUI to set these doesn't allow the No variety (but the search still allows you to search for No). This leads to confusion on when to specify an attribute as well as to what results you'd expect in a search. Finally, the site encourages the use of attribute when they are not necessary, resulting in some people who think its funny to put the Scuba gear required attribute for their cache on top of a mountain or the Difficult Climbing attribute the cache on the roof of a parking structure.

 

A tagging system would allow the cacher to specify a number of tags to use on their cache, these could be searched by several methods. People who want a new tag could just enter it. Tags could indicate hazards at the cache site, special equipment caches, kind of location the cache is in, type of hide, or anything that the cache owner thinks someone might filter on. Those tags that are useful would become the most popular. If people still want icons they could go back to one of the old third party solutions. Another enhancement could be to allow cache finders to add tags to their logs - though there is probably an issue of people who would use the tag as a spoiler - for example tagging every magnetic cache as magnetic.

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Too Tall John

+Too Tall John

Posted
Posted (edited)
Just because it has a magnet - doesn't mean it is attached to anything metallic or magnetic........

 

I recently caused great grief :lol: in my area by listing a cache with a magnet attached as magnetic and hiding it in a field not near any metal.
I was thinking about a multi I placed. 2nd stage is described as "magnetic" in the cache page. The container you find isn't magnetized at all, but the coords are attached inside the lid (hopefully where people will miss it) with a magnet. I'd definitely flag that as a "magnetic hide" if it were an option. :lol:

 

Come to think of it, the 1st stage is magnetic, too... :lol:

 

How is this relevant to the topic? If people like myself & wesleykey will use the attribute in the way described (that is, to mess with people), won't that defeat the purpose?

Edited by Too Tall John
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TocSin

TocSin

Posted
Posted

I'm new to GeoCaching. Looked all over but couldn't figure out how to search by attributes. Is that a premium only thing?

 

I'm interested in finding all ATV/Motorcycle caches within 50-100 miles from home to find new riding spots for the kids and I.

 

Thanks!

Will

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