C:Geo Going Away
For those who did not see the message yesterday, the writer of the c:geo is closing the doors, and dropping out of caching, and he tosses all the blame on Groundspeak.
Really? That makes little/no sense to me. c:geo is part of the group that is testing the API with groundspeak. They are getting what they wanted, a chance to operate within the rules and be a legitimate program.
It just seems fishy. He gets in the door to run the API, and he gets tired of caching and walks away.
He knew there were problems...
During the c:geo development, I had to keep my eye on GroundSpeak. They didn't like c:geo. Ive read their TOS many times and I saw some parts there with the potential to eventually kill c:geo.
With a ban for a while in the forums, he knew that Groundspeak was displeased.
This also caught my eye
I've decided to leave geocaching (the game) behind and find something else to do for fun instead. I won't support such company anymore. And that also means it's the end of the active developement of c:geo. It will stay on Market, unless/until it stops working due to changes on geocaching.com. Sources will be available on github as they are right now.
He is tired of caching and the mess I am sure.
Some have said that Groundspeak is actively trying to destroy it. Why? They know it has brought people into caching. I have seen many conversations about it, I moderated the Android forums at Groundspeak for a while and a lot of discussion took place. I saw no active discussions to "kill" android behind the scenes.
On the contrary, there has been a major overhaul of the site planned for the last year or more. Rewriting the code for entire sections, adding more features. If someone is pulling from the site and Groundspeak is upgrading, then you will get burned. Each monthly update created a headache.
The answer .. use the new API. I am sure that came with certain rules. If you use the API you will have to follow certain rules. That could mean, some activity that C:geo was engaged in would have to stop. It would be able to survive the monthly updates, but some changes would have to be made.
My summary
I don't know for sure. I am betting that he did not want to rewrite the entire code. Did not want to deal with the hassle of a complete top to bottom shakeup. Especially if he was tired of caching. Why put energy into something that you don't have an interest in.
Groundspeak will continue to upgrade the site, and it will break soon. People will cry, and other programs will jump up to replace it, some on the new API and some on the old.
People seem to be crying to Groundspeak, but they are the ones that are opening up to others with an API development. They are not the ones that threw in the towel and walked away.
An update from Jeremy on facebook
I don't have enough information to have a take on c:geo development at this point, but his post is faux-naïf.
He is well aware that the application violates our site's TOU, but instead of us trying to shut down his application we reached out and offered him early access to our new API, the same version being used by our Android and WP7 applications now. We just haven't allowed our partners to use the production version until we can ensure that it is scalable.
I can only assume he is tired of programming an application he offers for free, and we're a convenient excuse, however disingenuous, for him to quit supporting it.
and
Even if that application doesn't continue, there are other developers that could create their own applications, or spin that one off and make it legit. It is, after all, open source.