[MindCode]

Hello,

my name is Philipp from Germany.
I'am really missing a function
to check, either on Geocaching.com or
on your mobile phone, the distance
from a desired location or current position
to other caches, including mysterys and multi
final caches, which you sometimes dont know where they
are hidden...

Sometimes it is actually really hard work to hide a cache
on special places... and in the end you get a message
from your reviewer, that this cache, you hid under an big
effort, cant be published because the distance to another
cache is too short.

That is really disappointing! So I think its a good solution
to let one check the cache conflicts in realtime, before
hiding a cache!

What do you think?

Sincere regards,
Philipp

This post has been edited by MindCode: 01 May 2012 - 11:23 AM

[Max and 99]

MindCode, on 01 May 2012 - 11:22 AM, said:

Hello,

my name is Philipp from Germany.
I'am really missing a function
to check, either on Geocaching.com or
on your mobile phone, the distance
from a desired location or current position
to other caches, including mysterys and multi
final caches, which you sometimes dont know where they
are hidden...

Sometimes it is actually really hard work to hide a cache
on special places... and in the end you get a message
from your reviewer, that this cache, you hid under an big
effort, cant be published because the distance to another
cache is too short.

That is really disappointing! So I think its a good solution
to let one check the cache conflicts in realtime, before
hiding a cache!

What do you think?

Sincere regards,
Philipp

Hi Philipp.
This feature has been discussed many times by people just like you who are frustrated at trying to hide a geocache. But the problem is that if you are allowed to know where all the puzzle caches are, you could skip solving the puzzle and go right to the final container.
The only way to know for sure where the other caches are is to go find them.
I am sorry I don't have better news for you.

Greetings.
99

[niraD]

Here's one of the previous threads:
http://forums.Ground...howtopic=294311

And here's a relevant article in the Help Center:
http://support.Groun...=kb.page&id=199

[StarBrand]

I understand that v2 of the new cache submission process will have some form of a distance checker but I imagine it will be somewhat limited.

[ngrrfan]

MindCode, on 01 May 2012 - 11:22 AM, said:

Hello,

my name is Philipp from Germany.
I'am really missing a function
to check, either on Geocaching.com or
on your mobile phone, the distance
from a desired location or current position
to other caches, including mysterys and multi
final caches, which you sometimes dont know where they
are hidden...

Sometimes it is actually really hard work to hide a cache
on special places... and in the end you get a message
from your reviewer, that this cache, you hid under an big
effort, cant be published because the distance to another
cache is too short.

That is really disappointing! So I think its a good solution
to let one check the cache conflicts in realtime, before
hiding a cache!

What do you think?

Something to try is..... get the coords of where you want to hide a cache and then email the reviewer and ask if that location is clear for .15 miles (750 feet). If you are told yes, then it is good to use. If you are told no, well time to find another location.

[NYPaddleCacher]

StarBrand, on 01 May 2012 - 07:07 PM, said:

I understand that v2 of the new cache submission process will have some form of a distance checker but I imagine it will be somewhat limited.

I'll be curious to see what they come up with. Here's how I would do it.

Upon clicking on a "Confirm Coordinates on Map" button in the "Location" step of the new CSP it would do the following:

First, it would query to database to get a list of caches within 2.1 miles of the specified coordinates and stuff the results in a list.

When displaying the icon on a map it would test if there are any traditional caches on that list within .1 miles of the coordinates. If so, it would draw a red circle .1 miles around the icon, display any other caches within that circle (with a popup that will allow you to get to the complete listing), and disable the "Continue" button. If the user was not a PM it would not display any PMO caches on the map, but it could list the Name/GC code so that the user could contact the owner to get general idea for which way they may need to move their cache.

Next, it would check for Multi/Puzzle caches (all physical waypoints) that were within 2.1 miles. If there are any multi/puzzle caches on the list that are within 2.1 miles it could display an icon at the published coordinates of any caches which might cause a proximity conflict, and a yellow circle with a 2.1 mile radius around the specified coordinates. Granted, there may be other puzzle/multi cache outside the 2.1 mile radius but it would at least warn the person trying to submit a cache that there are (and identify which ones) caches which might cause a problem.

It's not a perfect solution, but at least it would keep someone from submitting a listing when there is a confirmed proximity issue, and save some reviewer time. It would also identify caches which might cause proximity issues without exposing a means of "battleshipping" the final coordinates of a puzzle/multi. Heck, it could even suggest that there are already a bunch of caches nearby, and recommend choosing a different location "where cache saturation [may not be] a concern."

[BaseOverApex]

Max and 99, on 01 May 2012 - 11:44 AM, said:

But the problem is that if you are allowed to know where all the puzzle caches are, you could skip solving the puzzle and go right to the final container.
The only way to know for sure where the other caches are is to go find them.

Why? Why must the prospective CO be informed of the location of a nearby cache? I think in our friend's case, it would be sufficient to be told "There are 'n' live caches and 'm' pending unpublished caches within 0.1 miles of your suggestion."

[Prime Suspect]

BaseOverApex, on 04 May 2012 - 01:53 PM, said:

Max and 99, on 01 May 2012 - 11:44 AM, said:

But the problem is that if you are allowed to know where all the puzzle caches are, you could skip solving the puzzle and go right to the final container.
The only way to know for sure where the other caches are is to go find them.

Why? Why must the prospective CO be informed of the location of a nearby cache? I think in our friend's case, it would be sufficient to be told "There are 'n' live caches and 'm' pending unpublished caches within 0.1 miles of your suggestion."

I congratulate you for having an honest personality. If you had a bit more of a devious streak, you would see how easy it is to game this information to discover the actual location of hidden caches. After all, it's easy to determine how many Traditional caches are within .1 miles. Simple subtraction tells you if you've got one or more hidden cache nearby. Just tweak your coordinates until that number changes, and you've found a .1 mile radius point. You just need to repeat that process, moving in a different direction, to get another radius point. With just that info, you can determine that the hidden cache is at 1 of 2 calculable locations. A look at a map may eliminate one of the two (could be inside a building, middle of a lake, on school grounds, etc.). Otherwise, by deriving one more radius point, you've eliminated any guesswork, and you can easily trilaterate the hidden cache's location.

See the thread links mentioned in the prior post to see this discussed ad nauseam. People have been discussing this for 10 years now, and if there were a workable solution, someone would have come up with it by now.