Challenges ~ A Positive View

[Jacaru]

Surely it is too early to be throwing toys out of prams about the challenges!

Yes, I can see that people don't like change, and yes I can see that (at first) there may be a lot of silliness around the challenges that people set. But this is something new and it will take time to build. Groundspeak have tried to come back with something for people who bemoaned the loss of virtuals, webcams etc.

I haven't quite got my head around the physical challenges yet, but the photographic ones have a lot of potential.

You will be able to set challenges that take people to areas that you want to show them, where you can't place a physical container (surely just like virtuals) and the proof is shown in a photograph.

Even Earthcaches ask for photographic evidence, how often do we see the line "to claim this cache email a photograph of you holding your GPS at ........location" Photographic challenges can be set in a similar way if you set one in the right place.

Obviously with an Earthcache you are hoping that the person will learn something about the area you send them to. Can the same not be said for the photographic challenges?

Webcam caches quite often asked you to do or wear something different to prove that it was actually you, so I don't see much difference there either.

As I said at the beginning, there will be a lot of silly challenges set at first, people will try to stretch boundaries, but come on, as with anything new, it will take time to settle down and be tweaked. You just have to look at Munzee to see that happening and how it is already developing.

As with anything in life, isn't it better to suck it and see before making a decision.

I myself like the old adage. "If you don't like it, don't do it" But please don't write it off just yet.

[MBFace]

Even Earthcaches ask for photographic evidence, how often do we see the line "to claim this cache email a photograph of you holding your GPS at ........location" Photographic challenges can be set in a similar way if you set one in the right place.

Obviously with an Earthcache you are hoping that the person will learn something about the area you send them to. Can the same not be said for the photographic challenges?

I take it that you haven't read the current Earthcache guidelines i.e.

7. Requests for photographs must be optional. Exceptions to this guideline will only be considered if the requested photograph is related to an Earth Science logging activity such as recording a phenomenon. This particular guidelines was updated on 1 January 2011. All EarthCaches must conform to this guideline as photo requests are considered "additional logging requirements" (ALRs) and follow the guidelines set forth by Geocaching.com.
Existing EarthCaches that do not meet this guideline must be updated to comply. Cache owners may not delete the cacher's log based solely on optional tasks.

[Jacaru]

Ok, so maybe I got that bit wrong, but that wasn't the main gist of what my post is about. It is about the negativity that is flying around about something new before people have given it a chance to work

[Graculus]

I have to admit to being a bit put off by the new challenges. Mainly because so many 'rubbish' ones started to appear! Yes, there are some good ideas out there, but human nature being what it is we always remember the bad, not the good! So it has cast a negative cloud over challenges.
One appeared yesterday at a public toilet.... thankfully it's been archived.

The other change to the site yesterday, the change of date on cache logs and inclusion of the avatar didn't go down too well so that caused people to climb onto the angry step and have a bit of rant. With that mood around challenges were into a bit of a struggle to get going.

Chris

[Jacaru]

If people try to put the last couple of days behind them and set some decent challenges then there is the hope that it will be received in more positively. This is the way that I am using the photo challenges.

http://coord.info/CX69D

As with anything else, if people use photoshop to say they have been somewhere and then logging it, then they are only fooling themselves.

[FuzzyBears]

C&P from the main forum where someone asked for positives


No reviewer (sorry guys)
No more trying to find out who owns what bit of land .. If it has legal public access put a challenge there.
Peer review if you don't like it it gets a thumbs down if you don't think it is in the spirit of the 'game' flag it and of course the good ones gut lots of thumbs up
Challenges don't have Rules/ GAGB guidelines only common sense/peer review
It makes setters think about where they are taking us .. they have to sell it to us, you don't have to accept
Urban challenges don't have the same 'terrorist' problems... you only need a pic with the flower box, but would you bother to go if was only a flower box.. again self policing... again raising standards
As above but it would open up all the London parks again... no box no problem
We had church micros.... now we have CMs where you search in 30 ft of ivy covered walls and can't even see the church Why not church challenges where the church is the reason not the micro
The chance to take people to a great place without them destroying it to find the nano hidden in the ivy
People keep saying its the location that matters so why do we need a box and a logbook to prove we've been there just a simple ,sometimes fun, picture and if people claim it so what it's them they are cheating not us
We all complain about the standard of caches and the fact that if it meets guidelines it has to be published, so now we have the chance to 'review'... if a challenge gets enough thumbs down no one visits it simple.
On here people are saying its not geocaching.. well let's be honest at the moment geocaching isn't geocaching any more unless you like searching in another hedge for another film pot. Challenges have the potential to take us back to where the location mattered not the box.
No more soggy logs.. leaking boxes... slug filled carrier bags

OK GS made a mess of their launch with the kiss a frog but I think it was meant as a fun introduction (remember fun) But it is cachers who are placing the stupid challenges now and if they had read a bit first they would have realised their error instead of trying to be clever and creating locationless challenges.
Not having a go just using as an example.. Dr Solly's Amersham series is an example of challeges which will stand or fall by cachers thumbs up/thumbs down... if enough people like them then they will become a legend in their own lifetime if not I would hope that they would be archived by the setter.. again peer review

There is potential there if WE use it and not just dismiss it because it is new.. don't complain about the 'stupid' challenges set good ones that return us to where the location mattered not the box