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Release Notes - July 23, 2014


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Read the previous release notes

 

Release Notes:

 

Oh, snap! A geocache has just been published. Luckily, it's now easier than ever to receive notifications about new geocache hides.

 

  • By email: HTML has arrived, making the coveted FTF easier than ever.
  • By text message: Click on clunky links no more. All the information you need is just a (super easy) click away.

Other game-triggered emails have received an HTML facelift too:

 

  • Cache/Trackable Owner Notification
  • Watchlist Notification
  • Bookmark Notification
  • Event Attendee Announcements
  • Instant Notifications

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Read the previous release notes

 

Release Notes:

 

Oh, snap! A geocache has just been published. Luckily, it's now easier than ever to receive notifications about new geocache hides.

 

  • By email: HTML has arrived, making the coveted FTF easier than ever.
  • By text message: Click on clunky links no more. All the information you need is just a (super easy) click away.

Other game-triggered emails have received an HTML facelift too:

 

  • Cache/Trackable Owner Notification
  • Watchlist Notification
  • Bookmark Notification
  • Event Attendee Announcements
  • Instant Notifications

Subject should be July 23, 2014

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Ok. I just got two new-style "Instant Notification" mails. Nowhere in these mails is the log-type mentioned :( ! My notifications cover not only "Publish" logs, but also Enable/Disable/Archive, which has been really useful in the past. Until now, a quick look at the mail's subject line revealed the name of the cache and type of log. I could also easily filter for "Publish" logs to move them into a special folder in my inbox.

 

It would really be useful to include the log type - at least in the message body. I see that it has been done for Owner Notifications and Watchlist Notifications. It shouldn't be rocket science to do the same for Instant Notifications. Thank you!

 

Regards

baer2006

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Here are the things I've noticed so far, specifically about notifications as I've not yet received any of the other types.

 

1. The emails do not contain the log type: this alone makes the notification unusable.

 

2. The notifications for published logs and all other types are differently and inconsistently formatted.

 

3. Published ones don't contain the log date.

 

4. Published ones are multipart (though the plain text part just contains "Go find GC4M27P: http://coord.info/GC4M27P") while the others are not.

 

5. The two types have different text, in a different order, labelled differently (e.g. published has "Geocache Type", others have "Type": both refer to the cache type).

 

6. They're in HTML, meaning that they take up four times the bandwidth and storage while adding no useful value.

 

7. The published notifications contain the cache owner name. Thanks for that, but it doesn't outweigh the negatives <_<.

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Ok. I just got two new-style "Instant Notification" mails. Nowhere in these mails is the log-type mentioned

Mine just did:

 

Logged by: rouge6

Log Type: Found it

Date: 7/23/2014

Location: Michigan, United States

Type: Traditional Cache

 

(This was a bookmark notification, if that matters.)

Edited by TriciaG
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Ok. I just got two new-style "Instant Notification" mails. Nowhere in these mails is the log-type mentioned :( ! My notifications cover not only "Publish" logs, but also Enable/Disable/Archive, which has been really useful in the past. Until now, a quick look at the mail's subject line revealed the name of the cache and type of log. I could also easily filter for "Publish" logs to move them into a special folder in my inbox.

 

It would really be useful to include the log type - at least in the message body. I see that it has been done for Owner Notifications and Watchlist Notifications. It shouldn't be rocket science to do the same for Instant Notifications. Thank you!

 

Regards

baer2006

 

This be corrected the next time we have a "true" site release (this release did not include a change of any site code, but just an update to the mailer). The log type was not an element that was available in the code at this time (the old notifications used a string concatenator that included log type, but we are no longer using that clunky system), but it has been added.

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Ok. I just got two new-style "Instant Notification" mails. Nowhere in these mails is the log-type mentioned

Mine just did:

 

Logged by: rouge6

Log Type: Found it

Date: 7/23/2014

Location: Michigan, United States

Type: Traditional Cache

 

(This was a bookmark notification, if that matters.)

Yes, that does matter. As I said, only "Instant Notifications" lack the log type. And as Alan White has said, this makes these notifications more or less useless.

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Ok. I just got two new-style "Instant Notification" mails. [...]

 

This be corrected the next time we have a "true" site release (this release did not include a change of any site code, but just an update to the mailer). The log type was not an element that was available in the code at this time (the old notifications used a string concatenator that included log type, but we are no longer using that clunky system), but it has been added.

Thanks for the quick reply. Then I hope the next "true" release is not too far away ;) .

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Here are the things I've noticed so far, specifically about notifications as I've not yet received any of the other types.

 

1. The emails do not contain the log type: this alone makes the notification unusable.

 

See my post above.

 

2. The notifications for published logs and all other types are differently and inconsistently formatted.

 

This is by design. Publish notifications are used differently from other notification types and so they have been spun off as their own class of mail and are formatted in a way that more directly pertains to going out an finding a new cache.

 

3. Published ones don't contain the log date.

 

Can you explain why this is necessary? A publish notification is always triggered at the moment of publication, so the email date will automatically be the log date.

 

4. Published ones are multipart (though the plain text part just contains "Go find GC4M27P: http://coord.info/GC4M27P") while the others are not.

 

5. The two types have different text, in a different order, labelled differently (e.g. published has "Geocache Type", others have "Type": both refer to the cache type).

 

This is also by design. Many people choose to have their publish notifications sent to email-to-text services. We wanted to create a format for text messages that is more concise and functional in the limited space available for text messages.

 

6. They're in HTML, meaning that they take up four times the bandwidth and storage while adding no useful value.

 

As you have seen with the publish notifications, we are experimenting with multi-part emails. We will see how the first set of tests go and then investigate to doing the same with other messages.

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Domo!!!

 

New email titles became longer, but contains less information. Not cool.

 

New:

"Watchlist Notification: Colin Lynch: Great Chefs of Boston Series (GC2VFW3) has a new Found it log from Cacher"

 

Old

"[LOG] Watchlist: Cacher found Colin Lynch: Great Chefs of Boston Series (Traditional Cache)"

 

Do not need the word "Notification". Too long for showing, and for readers to identify the more-important stuff behind this. Must be short.

Needs the 'Cache Type' included.

 

On the other hand, the order does seem somewhat logical, as 'Cache Name' comes first, the 'log type', and then the 'cacher name'.

The switch of the 'subject' needs us to get used to.

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I understand the changes, keep it for those, who wants them, but please for the rest of us, give us the option to have just plain text (no HTML) emails from Groundspeak (includes notifications, owner messages or PMs...)

 

Thanks :)

 

I would also like to continue seeing the name of the cacher who wrote the log, as in the old format. it did not seem to be broken to me, so please do not "fix" what we are used to seeing.

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Where's the option to turn off HTML in mails. Seriously. Just making it fancier does not cut it for everybody.

 

Edit and suggestion:

Can't you create an opt-in service for beta cacher lab rats? I don't have time to work, go caching, AND adjust my mail filters, pocket queries and the like every time you update the site. These kind of test updates annoy the hell out of me - your paying customer.

Edited by famerlor_dragon
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Thank you for plenty of small improvements as time goes by!

 

Unfortunatelly, this change is step backwards: added value = zero, just bunch of uneccessary info & bytes.

I have to scan through 60+ words in order to read actual log text saying ":)".

 

Let me suggest something really valuable for active cache owners: (optional!) daily digest of logs, instead of separate emails.

Thank you for making our hobby more practical!

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Thanks for constantly improving our experience, but +1 for the suggestion to give us back our plain text, either included with the HTML or by configurable notification preference. I read all emails in plain text and now I have to keep toggling HTML on/off just to see relevant info (just for one e.g.: is this new cache even in my country?). :(

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Moun10bike - in the notification of a find, is there any way the cacher name could be brought back towards the start of the subject? In my email (gmail) the cacher name generally slips off the end so I have to open every log to see who the log has come from. This is particularly annoying for earthcaches where I want to see at a glance who the log has come from so I can match it up to answers that have come through. Ok, I eventually open and read every log that comes through anyway, but it would be nice to be able to see it at a glance. Could be as simple as "Owner Notification: <cache> found by <cacher>", which will be shorter than what it is now.

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Dear Groundspeak, will you please please please stop adding more HTML cruft to your emails? It. Just. Isn't. Necessary.

 

At least you seem to have figured out how to do multipart/mime emails now for the Publish notifications, but the Owner Notification email I just got is HTML only. Can't read it and can't choose not to receive it - great! dry.gif

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We can definitely re-assess the subject lines and content format based on feedback (only a fraction of which comes from the forums, by the way). Overall, though, the design team felt that most cachers preferred seeing the cache name called out first and foremost rather than the log owner name.

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Ok. I just got two new-style "Instant Notification" mails. Nowhere in these mails is the log-type mentioned :( !

This be corrected the next time we have a "true" site release (this release did not include a change of any site code, but just an update to the mailer). The log type was not an element that was available in the code at this time (the old notifications used a string concatenator that included log type, but we are no longer using that clunky system), but it has been added.

Wouldn't it have been a better idea to release these changes in the opposite order, then? If this change depended on something else to occur first, why release it now? All it seems to do is get the change out faster at the expense of breaking a large number of the notifications. However, I'm not a developer and I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night, so maybe there's a good reason that I don't know about.

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2. The notifications for published logs and all other types are differently and inconsistently formatted.

This is by design. Publish notifications are used differently from other notification types and so they have been spun off as their own class of mail and are formatted in a way that more directly pertains to going out an finding a new cache.

Having inconsistent formatting makes it more difficult to parse the emails automatically, though, which I suspect a number of cachers do. HTML doesn't help that, either.

 

BTW, other than making things look prettier, can you give us an explanation about Groundspeak's current infatuation with HTML emails? Quite a number of members have voiced their displeasure with having HTML emails forced on them due to bandwidth and other issues, and there doesn't appear to be any good reason why this has been done. Can you or someone else at the Lilypad enlighten us?

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The team felt that the benefits of releasing without that change outweighed the negatives of waiting another week, A-Team.

That's a pretty vague answer that raises further questions (ie. what negatives?), but I'll take it. Thanks.

I'm at least glad to hear that they weighed the pros and cons. Sometimes it seems that doesn't happen.

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I think there should be a possibility for every cacher to set up his own format of notification subject and body. And of course to choose whether to use html or not.

The formating could be made in the form of a string..

For example subject format string could look something like "Log: %cachename% (%cachetype%) - %loggername% logged %logtype% on %logdate%".

It is something that would probably not be used by all geocachers, but to those who have the power of mind to handle this, it would be gold.

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Where's the option to turn off HTML in mails. Seriously. Just making it fancier does not cut it for everybody.

 

Edit and suggestion:

Can't you create an opt-in service for beta cacher lab rats? I don't have time to work, go caching, AND adjust my mail filters, pocket queries and the like every time you update the site. These kind of test updates annoy the hell out of me - your paying customer.

Exactly.

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Please, please, bring back the plain text only notifications. I'd be happy for it to be a selectable user preference (plain text or HTML checkbox), which should keep *everyone* happy.

 

The HTML notifications are useless. Contrary to the release note, they make FTF hunting *harder* for some of us. I've already stopped responding to user-to-user emails sent via the website (my profile requests that users use my published email address directly so that i can actually read their messages) and now it looks like I'll have to write some serious mail filters to try to extract the useful info from the HTML cruft if the notifications are to be made useful again.

 

In addition, the new messages are five to six times the size of the previous ones, *and* have inline images. This is very significant to those of us on limited-bandwidth, limited-data mobile plans.

 

I don't want HTML (I can't parse it.). I don't even want multipart/alternative (it costs me too much money too receive.) An option to go back to the old-style plain text is really the only useful solution for me.

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By text message: Click on clunky links no more. All the information you need is just a (super easy) click away.

I can't seem to find where you can set up text message notifications. Or is this only available in certain countries (I'm in NZ)?

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We can definitely re-assess the subject lines and content format based on feedback

Please do. Custom format (%cache found by %finder, or maybe even following GSAK terminology) would be best. But I happily settle just for the option to choose between the old and the new format

 

(only a fraction of which comes from the forums, by the way).

 

Who provides the rest? A feral feedback flashmob out on the street at the Lilypad? ;)

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Oy, this broke all of my filters for logs, new listings, etc. I'll wait for a few more notifications to see what they'll all look like now to build new filters, but wish there was some more advance notice this was coming down the pipe. And if there are more changes implied, that may muck up the new filters I develop. I'm not saying not to change/improve/etc., but giving some feedback on the (unintended) affects of the changes.

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Overall, though, the design team felt that most cachers preferred seeing the cache name called out first and foremost rather than the log owner name.

Can't speak for others, but I agree - I prefer to see the cache name first.

 

I don't disagree. I just don't need to see "has a new Found It log from" as this pushes cacher name so far to the right, I often can't see it any more.

 

Cheers.

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We can definitely re-assess the subject lines and content format based on feedback

Please do. Custom format (%cache found by %finder, or maybe even following GSAK terminology) would be best. But I happily settle just for the option to choose between the old and the new format

The geek in me actually wishes there was an option to either get the standard emails (in HTML, or whatever) or an email with an XML message in it, so that those of us inclined to parse an email and glean the pieces of info we want, and deal with them how we want, can do so with a format that might expand but should never break. Then if we want to have filters on our email based on that parsed information we can.... I can dream... ;)

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A few comments...

 

First, I personally don't mind the html email myself, since the content is nicely formatted

 

Second, the subject lines are a step down, to various degrees, that I've seen so far.

* the prepended tag was VERY useful ([GEO], [LOG], etc)

* the most important pieces of information should come first, and ideally the subject should not be very natural-language

* the subject line can quickly get far too long; as with others, my email program cuts off the subject line (or there's limited realestate to display it) so key bits of information are not visible

 

Old: [LOG] Owner: username found cachename (cachetype)

New: Owner Notification: cachename (gccode)

New is both less informational and less ordered. Including the GC code is good though. Big step down.

Suggestion: [LOG] Owner: username found cachename (gccode)

 

Old: [GEO] Notify: reviewername published cachename

New: New cachetype: cachename (gccode), distance/bearing

Not as bad. Less wordy, more information. No tag though and (as above) doesn't standard out as much.

(minor) Suggestion: [GEO] New cachetype: cachename (gccode) distance/bearing

 

Old: [LOG] Watchlist: username logtype phrase cachename (eg: Username couldn't find cachename)

New: Watchlist Notification: cachename (gccode) has a new logtype log from username

Old way was much more terse and readable. "Notification" again is extraneous and wordy.

Suggestion: [LOG] Watchlist: logtype posted to cachename (gccode) by username

 

Not sure if the contact email subject has changed, since I've received a couple with HTML formatting, but still with the old subject line...

 

Old: [GEO] username contacting myname from Geocaching.com

Please don't change this! :P

I haven't received other email types yet since the change.

I also parse the email contact with my own code, but in that case html can actually make things easier, so I don't mind more text, and more predictable structure to email contact templates. Helpful.

 

Thirdly, with regards to images, I don't believe there are any significant images embedded in the emails - the geocaching logo and a few social icons. But I haven't scoured the email source yet. So I don't really have any criticism about the visual design - it's light, simple, organized, flat imagery and solid colours. All good.

That said, forcing email on all users does seem odd. Most websites have the option for text-only and html, not because text-only is "old", but because there are many practical benefits to plaintext messages over markup that requires a formatting process to be intuitively understandable. =/

 

Lastly, with this new feature, a rather small one compared to some others, while it would have been a little bit more work, having HTML emails as an opt-in feature would have been much better, imo. I know the intent is that it would be a universal site update, but having it opt-in means that people who want HTML email can get them, critique it (without utter distaste for the change, as usual :P), and not have active processes break from the unexpected change to expected content... Then once the feature is honed to a satisfactory degree, and everyone is aware or made aware that it will be rolled out for everyone, roll it out for everyone. B)

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The geek in me actually wishes there was an option to either get the standard emails (in HTML, or whatever) or an email with an XML message in it, so that those of us inclined to parse an email and glean the pieces of info we want, and deal with them how we want, can do so with a format that might expand but should never break. Then if we want to have filters on our email based on that parsed information we can.... I can dream... ;)

 

Ooooh!

That would be marvelous! Like, in the footer, have an xml island with all the key bits of info. Nicely, neatly, compactly formated, easily and quickly parsed. Don't need the GPX, don't need every bit of info, just even the pieces of info already used in the email text, just organized in a data format rather than "readable". It can be stripped out by simply extracting the top level xml tag range.

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The geek in me actually wishes there was an option to either get the standard emails (in HTML, or whatever) or an email with an XML message in it, so that those of us inclined to parse an email and glean the pieces of info we want, and deal with them how we want, can do so with a format that might expand but should never break. Then if we want to have filters on our email based on that parsed information we can.... I can dream... ;)

 

Ooooh!

That would be marvelous! Like, in the footer, have an xml island with all the key bits of info. Nicely, neatly, compactly formated, easily and quickly parsed. Don't need the GPX, don't need every bit of info, just even the pieces of info already used in the email text, just organized in a data format rather than "readable". It can be stripped out by simply extracting the top level xml tag range.

 

Yep, that's what I mean - just the info the email tells you anyway, but arranged in XML format, so we could parse it and handle it ourselves, whether we automatically forward onto ourselves another email, a txt message, a telegram, homing pigeon...

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Second, the subject lines are a step down, to various degrees, that I've seen so far.

* the prepended tag was VERY useful ([GEO], [LOG], etc)

* the most important pieces of information should come first, and ideally the subject should not be very natural-language

* the subject line can quickly get far too long; as with others, my email program cuts off the subject line (or there's limited realestate to display it) so key bits of information are not visible

 

Old: [LOG] Owner: username found cachename (cachetype)

New: Owner Notification: cachename (gccode)

New is both less informational and less ordered. Including the GC code is good though. Big step down.

Suggestion: [LOG] Owner: username found cachename (gccode)

 

Old: [GEO] Notify: reviewername published cachename

New: New cachetype: cachename (gccode), distance/bearing

Not as bad. Less wordy, more information. No tag though and (as above) doesn't standard out as much.

(minor) Suggestion: [GEO] New cachetype: cachename (gccode) distance/bearing

 

Old: [LOG] Watchlist: username logtype phrase cachename (eg: Username couldn't find cachename)

New: Watchlist Notification: cachename (gccode) has a new logtype log from username

Old way was much more terse and readable. "Notification" again is extraneous and wordy.

Suggestion: [LOG] Watchlist: logtype posted to cachename (gccode) by username

 

Not sure if the contact email subject has changed, since I've received a couple with HTML formatting, but still with the old subject line...

 

Old: [GEO] username contacting myname from Geocaching.com

Please don't change this! :P

 

Well explained!

Just what I would rather have than the latest change (definitely NOT an UPDATE...)

 

 

Lastly, with this new feature, a rather small one compared to some others, while it would have been a little bit more work, having HTML emails as an opt-in feature would have been much better, imo. I know the intent is that it would be a universal site update, but having it opt-in means that people who want HTML email can get them, critique it (without utter distaste for the change, as usual :P), and not have active processes break from the unexpected change to expected content... Then once the feature is honed to a satisfactory degree, and everyone is aware or made aware that it will be rolled out for everyone, roll it out for everyone. B)

 

Yes, Opt-IN, please!

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Received this this evening:

 

"Instant Notification: Helix (GC1R0X8) has a new log from XXXXXXX"

 

Any idea what kind of log it is? Not until you open the message.

 

This was actually an archive notification.

 

Would be nice to know what type of log it was without having to read the e-mail, i.e. "Instant Notification: Helix (GC1R0X8) has a new Archive log from XXXXXXX".

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Read the previous release notes

 

Release Notes:

 

Oh, snap! A geocache has just been published. Luckily, it's now easier than ever to receive notifications about new geocache hides.

 

  • By email: HTML has arrived, making the coveted FTF easier than ever.
  • By text message: Click on clunky links no more. All the information you need is just a (super easy) click away.

Other game-triggered emails have received an HTML facelift too:

 

  • Cache/Trackable Owner Notification
  • Watchlist Notification
  • Bookmark Notification
  • Event Attendee Announcements
  • Instant Notifications

 

Can I assume that I'll no longer have the option of receiving notification emails in plain text?

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Finally, I worthwhile new feature.

 

Oh snap! A new geocache was just published!

 

Here are the details:

Name: Dad's Cache (GC574VY)

Geocache Type: Traditional Cache

Location: California, United States

Distance: 9.4mi W (15.1km W)

Created by: Galileo the cat

Published by: Nomex

 

This is long over due.

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Hate to always chime in negative on "improvements" but...

 

I use an email client which displays emails as text only since I don't like loading stuff without knowing what it is, sort of a security guard against infected images or executing scripts. Now I have html gobbledegook tags all over the place which makes these things very difficult to read. How about an option to receive emails as PLAIN TEXT? Please!!!

 

The old subject of XXXXX Found YYYY was more useable as log subjects are cropped in previews of emails and the start of every email is the same thing "Owner Notification: " which gobbles up real estate in the subject.

 

Also, new published logs appear very, very brief. This is all I get:

 

Go find GC574VY: http://coord.info/GC574VY

 

Quite interesting how it's not as verbose as the notifications. Plain text would again be greatly preferred.

Edited by DragonsWest
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Where's the option to turn off HTML in mails. Seriously. Just making it fancier does not cut it for everybody.

 

Edit and suggestion:

Can't you create an opt-in service for beta cacher lab rats? I don't have time to work, go caching, AND adjust my mail filters, pocket queries and the like every time you update the site. These kind of test updates annoy the hell out of me - your paying customer.

 

A +1 from a future NOT paying customer.

 

I have been caching, and a paying customer since 2005 and have been following this forum, especially the web site part of it since 2009. This is the worse, "better" mistake that they have ever made. If I can't get notifications that my email program can sort, and that my eyes can read, (tiny green font), I probably won't renew in three weeks. It may take about 300 miles of hiking and quite some time to go and retrieve my 138 hiking trail caches, but I'll do it.

 

Put [LOG] back into the header. Bump the font size and change it to black. I know that the frog wants to change every thing to green, but every time you do so, you make it difficult for those us us that entertain disabilities.

 

I want to make it clear, when I am not Geocaching, I like to look at the notification emails in my filtered folder and see what other cachers are up too, what caches are being found, and what ones may need some help, or maybe reported. Since the entire notification system is now broken to me, you have removed a major portion of the game to me.

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I can't think of a time when I actually disliked a site update enough to comment on this forum, but I feel compelled to say that I loathe this update. Part of me worries that it comes down to statements like these:

 

Overall, though, the design team felt that most cachers preferred seeing the cache name called out first and foremost rather than the log owner name.

 

The team felt that the benefits of releasing without that change outweighed the negatives of waiting another week, A-Team.

 

My concern is that the design team may be out of touch with what the actual audience wants to see. Was there some sort of test audience on these changes, or did some folks with fancy drawing skills ("The Design Team") decide amongst themselves that this is what they'd like to see? At what point is it determined that emails now must be formatted in HTML without option to the end user? What actual benefit does the background color scheme add to the notifications anyway compared to the old way?

 

I respect that I have the option to turn them off if I don't like the new format (which is garish, in my opinion) or filter them before they get to my phone, but I rather enjoyed all the notifications that were sent to my email in text format previous to today's update. I was able to go through rather easily and see what was going on with the caches I had on my various notification lists without the extra unnecessary color scheme added to the message. I knew it was from Groundspeak, and didn't need some color scheme to emphasize that knowledge.

 

Oh snap! A new geocache was just published!

 

After I opened a New Publication email I received, the above quote is the first thing I see and it makes me curious as to what the average age of a cacher is nowadays. Perhaps it's getting younger and I'm just some out of date old coot, but my belief is that the average user is old enough to remember when "Oh snap!" was common lingo, and it seems to me that 2014 is about 30 years after that phrase's peak. I imagine that someone on The Design Team thinks that this is a fun and cute and cuddly phrase that can be turned into a swag button or trackable to sell in the store, but to me it just seems unprofessional. Is the new target demographic 12 year olds? Who on earth says "Oh snap!" anymore? It was annoying back then and hasn't gotten any less annoying now.

 

Apologies for the rant, but I just felt that I couldn't stay silent on this update: It is awful.

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Okay, color me confused. I was caught unaware of the changes coming today, but can the see the attempts at improving the notification experience, and accept is as a works in progress. What I'm confused about is what Moun10Bike mentioned in the initial post, and that is the ability to receive notifications via text. As far as I've known, the only way to receive notifications has been via email. To get them to my phone I have to enter my number as an email address ( i.e., cellphone#@messaging.sprintpcs.com for me). Is there a way to receive messages via SMS text? Did I miss a memo?

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I'd really like to see a change in the attitude of Groundspeak to the community.

 

We are here. Please ask for our input on planned changes. We're not unreasonable people (well, most of us aren't) We have a great deal at stake in changes, hence we applaud the good, but lament the not so good.

 

It's a far more efficient business process to get feedback on proposed and beta changes, rather than roll something like these notifications out and expect everyone to just gush their undying affection for change.

 

Personally, the old text format was extremely functional, to the point and clear. Who cares about pretty and verbose? I glance through email and delete it. I receive a great many each day and only use it to see if there's any content informing me something requires my attention.

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I'd really like to see a change in the attitude of Groundspeak to the community.

 

We are here. Please ask for our input on planned changes. We're not unreasonable people (well, most of us aren't) We have a great deal at stake in changes, hence we applaud the good, but lament the not so good.

 

It's a far more efficient business process to get feedback on proposed and beta changes, rather than roll something like these notifications out and expect everyone to just gush their undying affection for change.

 

Personally, the old text format was extremely functional, to the point and clear. Who cares about pretty and verbose? I glance through email and delete it. I receive a great many each day and only use it to see if there's any content informing me something requires my attention.

+1

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The subject line needs to be shorter. I think everyone agrees on that.

 

I am happy to see the GC code in the subject line. Kudos on that as well.

 

Not being able to see the cachers name in the subject line? Hate that. It looks like Gmail has a 90 char limit. A couple of samples from today end this way:

has a new Found it log from MM...

has a new Found it log...

has a new Found it log from ...

has a new Found it log from chelse...

has a new Found it log from missyb...

has a new Found it log from Cr...

 

You get the idea. If you could shorten

Watchlist Notification: Fire Me 18 Copalis (GC41P8C) has a new Found it log from chelse...

 

to

 

[LOG] Watchlist: Fire Me 18 Copalis (GC41P8C) Found by chelseywilson

 

There's a lot more room for actual information instead of filler words.

 

Make the subject meaningful and be verbose in the body. The casual user is not going to care and the power user is going to be happier.

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Well thank you Groundspeak to completly destroy my email system... I had filters for various email types, scripts that extract relevant information from the email... and all is lost and I must write all of this again...

Could you, please, next time release announcement BEFORE you release the update, to give people time to prepare for the change, when you must constantly change things (to the worse, by my opinion)? These sort of unannounced changes drives people crazy...

 

Thank you.

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