Groundspeak retiring 'Challenges'

[Maple Leaf]

News Flash .... announced 10 minutes ago in the Groundspeak Forums (https://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=304869)

Posted by Groundspeak:

In our effort to inspire outdoor play through Geocaching, we are often faced with decisions about what to focus on next, and what to focus on less. It is through these decisions that we explore opportunities to grow the global game of geocaching.

Occasionally, during this process, we are faced with the reality that certain ideas don’t catch on as we had hoped. In these situations we owe it to ourselves and to you to make tough decisions about the future of every project and the resources to be applied to each. Sometimes, as a result, cool features must become casualties.

In this spirit, we have decided to retire Geocaching Challenges.

This means that, effective today, we have disabled the ability to create new Challenges. We have also removed the Challenges application from all mobile application stores. In approximately 7 days, we will be removing all traces of the Challenges functionality and related content from Geocaching.com.

On an office wall here at HQ is a sign that reads, “Let’s make better mistakes tomorrow.” By accepting that we will sometimes get it wrong, we can allow ourselves to learn from and imagine new opportunities in the world of Geocaching. Our hope is we can take the lessons from Challenges and create better tools to guide you on your next adventure.

[Happy Humphrey]

I could have told them that it wasn't going to work, and always suspected that it would be withdrawn. Hence my zero total of challenges.

[eusty]

Not unexpected, didn't really catch on.

Bring back virtuals!

[dodgydaved]

Bring back virtuals!


....totally agree - bring back virts.

However I do (kind of and just about) pity the poor 360,001 UK reviewers if they do, QC nightmare (and "What about 40 soggy 35mm film pots in a five mile circle?" I hear you say.:beer:)

Yup, bring back virts:socool::socool:

[Bill D (wwh)]

Yep, bring back virtuals! :)

I rather liked locationless caches, too...! :cool:

[amberel]

I could have told them that it wasn't going to work, and always suspected that it would be withdrawn. Hence my zero total of challenges.For myself I'm not sorry to see them go. Nor am I keen to have virtuals back - the reason I go geocaching is to find geocaches. There are plenty of alternatives if you like virtuals. They don't add to your geocache find count, but then there is no reason why they should - they aren't caches.

Rgds, Andy

[dodgydaved]

For myself I'm not sorry to see them go. Nor am I keen to have virtuals back - the reason I go geocaching is to find geocaches. There are plenty of alternatives if you like virtuals. They don't add to your geocache find count, but then there is no reason why they should - they aren't caches.

Rgds, Andy


Fair enought Andy, but as has been said many times in many forums, each to his own.

I have been taken to a host of interesting locations of historical and geographical interest that I would not have visited had there not been a cache there.

In urban locations, especially given the increasingly restrictive measures now adopted by UK reviewers, I would not have experienced and fully understood the significance of these places.

So, as I said, bring back virts, they can be as enjoyable as a clip and lock tupperware container of toot!

[frosty68]

I came into the game after the removal of virtuals, so I don't know what I'm missing.
As I understood it though, they just take you to a location without the need for tupperware? If the sole advantage is to place caches in areas where a hidden box is impossible, but you hope people will find interesting, why not a simple multi, visit location, answer simple question to get coords,sign nearby log? - except, of course, a lot of people are scared of multis and won't to them.

[Marilyn@StHelens]

Not unexpected, didn't really catch on.

Bring back virtuals!

Agree! Love them.

[eusty]

They were granfathered before I started caching, but I've found a few, mostly in places where a cache would be a 'muggle magnet'.

I guess the ones which are left are the 'good' ones, as I can see they could be open to abuse?

[hobo and miss]

Bring back virtuals! As long as they are set in such a way that you have to go to GZ and can't cheat!

[mollyjak]

Yep, bring back virtuals! :)

I rather liked locationless caches, too...! :cool:

And me as you never knew when you were going to drive past one
:)

[martybartfast]

I certainly won't miss Challenges (only done one, just to say I had given it a go). I used to love virtuals and locationless and at one time I wanted them back but sadly now I think there would just be a rash of rubbish pointless virtuals thrown out and so I nolonger want to see them back - unless they were to be policed in a similar way to Earthcaches and that ain't gonna happen.

[Brenin Tegeingl]

And what about the downside of bringing back Virtuals?

The fact that the door is opened to Landowners, to refuse Permission for Physical Placements, and only accept Virtual Caches.

This is a true example faced in the US, with their National Parks Service. Who said regularly in negotiations over the years "we'll happily allow Virtual Caches", whilst at the same time Banning Physical caches.

Oh and I'm currently facing a battle with a member of Staff for a CC, who is trying to drive out Physical caches, in favour of Earthcaches. Despite there being a Placement Agreement in place. That Battle has even included FC owned, Land when a CO made contact about Permission. Mistakenly believing it to be CC owned land.

And there are currently enough moans about the amount of Rubbish Physical caches out there. Do you really believe that a huge number of Rubbish Virtuals, will not be banged out, if brought back? Because if you believe so, your dreaming.

Groundspeak made a effort to save Virtuals, by bringing the WOW factor, but one mans diamond is another mans dross, that failed miserably.

There are always 2 sides, and sometimes 3 or 4. But some seem to see just one, "what happened in the past".

Deci

[martybartfast]

Wow, the forum's having fun here and double posted my comment above 11 minutes later !

[northking]

I always feel that it is a privilege to be able to log a virtual cache, I would hate to see their special status diluted. I do not bemoan the withdrawal of the challenges, they seemed to be a separate part of the geocaching experience and wasn't embraced. Time to move on.

[border caz]

I only ever did one challenge - because I happened to be there when everyone was doing it - but I couldn't really see the point.

I've done a few virtuals and really enjoyed them, they took me to some very interesting places. But then so have some trads, puzzles and multis - so I can see that in most instances a cache doesn't need to be a virtual, the physical placement can be worked round if necessary. I do love a good historical multi in a town, my favourite sort of cache although I do too few of them.

[Happy Humphrey]

I used to like the occasional virtual, so when I travel to a different area I tend to include selected waymarks in my GSAK database. There have been many memorable ones, such as http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMZDC_Strawberry_Fields_Forever
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM87G_Sproat_Lake_Petroglyphs
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM4ZG_Glenn_Gould
http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMPMC_KINDER_LOW_TRIG_PILLAR_PEAK_DISTRICT

...bring them back, I say! (Oh, they never went away!)

[t.a.folk]

Yep, bring back virtuals! :)

I rather liked locationless caches, too...! :cool:

We too liked locationless .
Our favourite type of cache ,and usually only one finder of each object was allowed allowed .So it was a case of go find your own example .
For me the joy of, by chance ,finding a "steel wheels " tractor under shelter by the side of the road at Studland has ,geocaching wise ,been unsurpassed .

The chance of finding one of these Amercian tractors in the U.K was remote .
The tractor has since gone ,presumably to a museum .

[The Wombles]

I still can't pass a Victoria Postbox without a physical reaction. There's one just 10 miles from home whihc particularly irritates me because I didn't spot it or log the locationless cache before they disappeared.

I enjoyed locationless and still enjoy the flow of logs on my virtuals, one of which is my most found (4,200 finds) and another is in a location which can't have a physical cache (army range) and several of them have my highest favourite count.