Talk:Water geohash achievement

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Revision as of 08:36, 25 June 2010 by imported>Relet (Proposal: a simple definition for the Water Geohash Achievement)

An opportunity not to be missed

Hmm. Geosplash...? 211.30.131.243 07:12, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Uhm... well.. if the geohash end up in a pool... you can call it a geosplash :) --Evo-- 11:16, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Frozen water

If the body of water in question is frozen, is it an water geohash achievement? Should we have separate ice geohash achievement? --Cg 15:11, 7 December 2008 (UTC)

I never thought of that. Yes, I think we should have a separate achievement for reaching a geohashon on the surface of a frozen body of water. I don't think a frozen puddle should count though. Has to be enough water that it would be a water geohash were it not frozen. An artificial ice arena would definitely count, too. With recommendations for skating to the geohash and having a curling or hockey match once you reach it. -Robyn 16:51, 7 December 2008 (UTC)
Honorable Mention if the ice breaks and you drown/freeze to death ;-) - Danatar 18:32, 7 December 2008 (UTC)
Better put a disclaimer on the page, anyway. And a link to instructions for over-ice rescue, for those who didn't get them in elementary school. -Robyn 20:14, 7 December 2008 (UTC)

Over water?

Currently the definition says: to a set of coordinates over water. Technically that wouldn't include swimming (as you are in the water then) but bridges, places over underground lakes, an air geohash over the ocean, and, last not least, definitely a frozen lake as long as there is some fluid water left.

Seems to me the definition could use some tweaking. The air geohash over the ocean isn't what was intended with the definition, is it? I wouldn't object against using a bridge (if the hash happens to be exactly on the bridge, of course) or walking out on a frozen lake. Would be a cool (double meaning ;) ) way to get that achievement. What are the odds, anyway? --Ekorren 11:16, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

I agree that an airhash over water is not a water geohash, and the comment above this one discusses over-ice geohashing. The word "over" in this case discusses the access, because it was conceived as a boating achievement. It's actually a very old achievement, one of the first and the wording is quite inspecific compared to later ones. I'll change it to "on the surface of the water" but I'm sure it could use further tweaking. The possibility of walking out over ice was discussed above. Do you think that should be a separate achievement or just a cool double meaning of this one? -Robyn 13:52, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Thinking more about bridges, that's a hard one. Everything has to be either land, water or air. If it's a floating bridge, it's clearly water. But is a suspension bridge, or a bridge on pilings air, water or land? -Robyn 14:00, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Bridge Geohash Achievement! :D What have I done?! -- relet 17:28, 17 December 2008 (UTC)
But that undermines (overmines?) the whole land/air/water thing for the basic achievements! It has to be ne of the three! -Robyn 14:27, 17 December 2008 (UTC)
Most bridges are built on land (their foundations are on the land under the water) and therefore are merely an extension of the landmass. Also, a hashpoint on a dike counts as a land geohash. Dikes are just bridges with an infinite number of supports. ;)
But on the other hand I don't know if I would count a pontoon bridge or a floating dock as "land", even if one end is permanently attached to the land. Should only things that can move freely on the water surface (like boats, air mattresses or swimmers) make water geohashes achievable? That would also exclude ice (but not ice floes or icebergs)! --Ilpadre 15:41, 17 December 2008 (UTC)
I'm thinking ice and floating bridges definitely yes, and I like your logic to make piled or suspension bridges no. This doesn't prevent a Bridge Achievement from existing, just doesn't require it to mess with basic achievements. Ice is the water, so: WATER. Floating in the water, yes: WATER. Cantilevered, suspended or supported on land beside or underneath the water: LAND. Supported without contact with land or water: AIR. If geohashing fate is such that it falls on a bridge that may or may not be floating, but the geohasher gets there and documents it, I'm pretty happy with them taking a water achievement. I can see how it's not the same as renting a kayak, but then no two geohashing expeditions ever match. Perhaps we should -- ahem -- cross this bridge when we come to it. -Robyn 15:50, 17 December 2008 (UTC)
Oh no! Yet another achievement! I've just been kidding, folks!
OTOH, now that we started this discussion - how wet does your land have to be, before it becomes a water hash? Think about a swamp. And a puddle. And a big, big puddle in that swamp. There are official bodies of water where you barely get your knees wet, and uncharted, moving inundation areas where you can easily drown. I would almost opinion that the triple achivements Land, Air, Water are not as elemental and unambiguous as often considered; An example that would be easier to define are Above, On and Below Surface. (No I'm not suggesting we change anything with the achievements!) -- relet 17:28, 17 December 2008 (UTC)
Just to muddy the waters (no pun intended), in Australia we have many major watercourses that are completely dry in the summer. Like an American swamp, does it have to actually be wet to be a water acheivement? -- UnwiseOwl 23:31, 17 December 2008 (UTC)
Now that you say it, Owl, I've actually *visited* a hash in a lake, which was only reachable due to a really low water level. -- relet 01:18, 18 December 2008 (UTC)
IMHO:
  • ocean = water (this is easy)
  • river = water
  • river that runs dry at the moment = land
  • swamp = depends on how wet you get, perhaps water if you sink to more than ankle-deep
  • puddle from rain = land, even if it is a road hole 1 meter deep
  • New Orleans during Katrina or any similar flooding = water, perhaps I'd apply the "ankle-deep" criterion here, too
  • Vietnamese rice field = water, because the ground is under water all day
  • seashore = water if ankle-deep during the trough of the sea, independent of the tides (land+water if you wait for low tide and the water disappears completely from the hashpoint; you may return later if you don't want to stand in ankle-deep water for 3 hours)
  • swimming = water (but you get underwater too if you hold your breath and dive)
  • kayak or ship = water
  • frozen lake = water
  • iceberg = ship made from frozen water = water
  • glacier = land
  • pontoon or other floating bridge = water
  • fixed bridge = land, and I don't like the bridge achievement btw
  • Seaplane = water if the plane has landed, air during flight
  • scuba diving or submarine = underwater while diving, water if you surface
  • swimming pool = water
  • inflatable swimming pool = land
  • hashpoint exactly at a diving platform = land+air+water if you jump (waterproof GPS recommended), + you will be mentioned in the Hall of Amazingness
phew, did I forget anything? - Danatar 10:14, 18 December 2008 (UTC)

How Deep?

How deep is deep enough? And does the entire margin of error for your GPS receiver have to be within the body of water, or just part of it? I just nabbed a hash that was partially in a very, very shallow creek (shallow enough that I've jokingly asked if it counts for a walking on water achievement. --ErWenn 01:30, 7 November 2009 (UTC)

Proposal: a simple definition for the Water Geohash Achievement

I reviewed this page when trying to decide whether I had achieved a water geohash on this expedition. Not really seeing a bright-line distinction between land and water geohashes, I would like to suggest this simple standard: a water geohash requires that the hasher (or his or her vehicle) is fully supported by the water.

  • A wader, by this standard, has not accomplished a water geohash; but a swimmer, or someone treading water, has.
  • Someone driving an amphibious vehicle has not accomplished a water geohash if its wheels are in contact with the lakebed; but, if the vehicle is afloat over the hashpoint, a water geohash was been accomplished.

By this standard, I can not award myself the achievement.

Michael5000 21:42, 11 April 2010 (UTC)

support - We really need to overhaul the description of that achievement. We should just take care to find a decent wording for the "Walking on water" geohash too, which currently allows stilts (the water would not be supporting you). And maybe decide if we should give those waders (e.g. 2010-06-15_28_83) a complimentary ribbon. -- relet 08:36, 25 June 2010 (UTC)

Multi waterhashes?

May I propose that watery mineweeeper hashing - getting a grid of hashes all on water - awards the hasher a Pirate King* achievement? For it is, it is a glorious thing / To be a Pirate King!

(*or Pirate Queen, or Pirate Monarchbot, obviously)

support. Just do it first! :D -- relet 12:48, 9 June 2010 (UTC)