Seaglass Pirates

In short No and Yes. I wouldn't respond now but would state that on the page. Simply because people have been hilariously ingenious in prying out answers from various cachers to get to the cache without solving the puzzle as intended. One technique is asking if they are on the right track. If you reply yes they have thier answer. If you reply no they know they are not they have some of the answer. Some have taken that hint or help and gone to another cacher stating what they know. As if they gathered that themselves. They collaborate. Then the original asker takes the new info he has learnt and approaches another cacher with that extra info and they collaborate. Then it's back to the co with all the extra progress, none of which was his, and pesters for further help using the effort hey have made as collateral for that help. Brilliant but a bit sly ... then claims FTF and the geocon FTF prize. Then we have had cache tours inc (unofficial), taking visitors on their way past. We are just as guilty giving friends hints for others puzzles. Really it undermines difficulty ratings and the hard work by the CO. But it goes on. So we have helped people who have emailed us but only after a year or so after it was found and we are not so precious about it. If you want plenty of finds on a puzzle make it easier. If you want it to live up to its 5/5 status don't give out hints to others I guess but more importantly don't ask for them lol. If they are a friend and they phone you up and keep persisting for further info and you don't want to give it to them - lie lol. Chances are they will never know because someone like that will have a few people on tap to pester about it. They'll claim a find. And assume it was part of the puzzle which they had no intention of delving into. Keeps the peace.

What do you mean by that? Because not everyone has a smartphone or a Wherigo enabled GPS? I didn't but it's a good point. What I meant is that it is not the easiest thing to create. A Wherigo cartridge. But you're point is much more significant especially if the OP were to do what they intend. A series where each cache supplies a clue to the finals location.

QR codes would not be the answer. Another well known game *cough* uses them. Of course you can photograph them and pass the codes around. They stopped that because you use their app and they geofenced the QR code location. Initially it was 100 feet or so. Now it's increased because of lack of steady enough phone signals. And you can now scan and submit later. So ... I suppose it's open to abuse. Removal of the log negates the need for a physical container. This means TB's would have no purpose. Or geocoins original purpose. Soooo I can't see it happening any time soon because I would imagine that would leave a rather large hole in the coffas.

Oh I don't disagree with you at all. But in reality what happens is you do it for a while and then you kind of don't. Or you do for your caching friends if you have spare logs. Wet logs here in the UK are a matter of course. Sodden logs are less common and mush is maybe - 1 in 20 caches if that. It's no big deal. Not closing the cache properly and trapping a bag edge breaks the seal. The seal goes. Finding it in the rain can cause moisture. Themed containers might not be watertight entirely. But this does not make the cache owner a poor cache owner/maintainer if they don't rush out to sort someone's opinion of damp log. The logs do dry out even from sodden lumps. The mark of a needs maintence I believe is ... pulp in a puddle. Remove the pulp. Replace if you can. Report if you must. It happens to us all. Well look we could debate till the cows come home ... we would both be right a different times lol. I think we only log a needs maint now (because we've learnt), if it's clearly missing (even then we've been bitten), or the container is cracked/broken. Some we see here though ... blimey ... needs maint because the grass was too long and I can show you the log lol.

Dont rise to it Nira you cannot win. Because you could do a presentation showing it makes no difference what so ever and you could be a tree scientist and various people would pull it to shreds. My fear is that Groundspeak ever take that thinking as gospel in the community. Nothing you can say will be acceptable. "Use a dead tree" ... health and safety troop out and start the ball rolling. A living tree ... you are killing the planet and I am taking the moral high ground. No matter that they were obliterating their back garden with a strimmer, or a mower. Had fireworks. Had a bonfire. Drove anywhere You do wonder when these people bring up this stuff - Are they a competing company trying to erode this ones facilities or are they so narrow minded and hell bent on whittling away any hope of enjoyment, they cannot see the wood for the trees ... Edit: You know what I just looked at the CO's caches. One is up a tree. All be it on string which is thrown over a branch ... but ... well whatever.

Lol - oh dear. Maybe there should be a new thread? "Is the Groundspeak forum a force for good or evil in the world of geocaching" I mean really? Does it seem to achieve anything other than bring up the same old sh ... stuff. Endlessly until someone gets the bit between their teeth and starts causing problems/contacting Groundspeak about this cache or that cache and the thread gathers momentum and some poor soul somehwere suddenly gets it in the neck. Never even knew it was coming or where it came from. Caches going 7 years and more ... bam ... the forum strikes again. Save the world ... kills caching a little bit at a time.

This is all kinds of wrong ... I would contact them first before you act. Ask if they could describe the specifics. Tell them where the hide was or try to assertain if it was gone. And if they reply with ... blast sorry I didn't check there I'll go back. You've potentially made a friend and will save yourself a journey. Instead of causing yourself stress. And maybe it has been removed. Unless you know it's there because it's been found since? Maybe? EDIT: Oh that nude cacher photo is very ALL KINDS OF WRONG LOL. They don't seem to make a habit of it. Looked at 20 finds by them. They seem to find caches that others have dnfd previously. Without throwing down. The ones I looked at anyway.

I've not read the whole thread so may be repeating what someone else has said. As you've no doubt seen its probably deteriorated into "keeping a cache going that should have been archived because the owner has not maintained a cache". Or something along those lines. Switch it. You would have had to go and replace that log a few miles down the road ... someone save you the journey. Say thank you and you've made a friend in the caching world. You'll meet them at an event and you can get on. So basiclly ignore everything you read here and be yourself. If you are the type of person to who is a kind person and wants to help and you feel like that would help. Be yourself and do it. Don't overthink it. There is no etiquette apart from that some CO's keep them to check to see if someone has lied about finding the cache. That's all. Offer to send them a pic if they require it in your log that says you replaced it. 99% will never contact you. But they will be grateful because it's normal human behaviour. Simple.

Logging a find with a camera for every cache ... interesting ... Will never happen in the UK. Data charges are rediculous ... signal strength is poor to ok to sometimes great ... sunspots and slautering a goat helps on a Wednesday. Orange Wednesday. Alternate method to a pencil and a bit of mouldy paper. Barcode scanner? ... We certainly need more kit to cart around. Any more and we could get a utility belt like Batman. Go out looking like Dog the Bounty Hunter. Either way everyone would need a smartphone of sorts with apps for this and that. Or another bit of kit.

No ones mentioned it yet and I'm surprised ... maybe they did ... but erm what about those people that paid for membership so they could enjoy working towards a challenge cache ... and now it's under threat. Or wanted to place some so paid for membership. Just thought someone should throw that out there ... a whole year ... wow.

A small series of themed caches every time. Especially if it is near more caches that others have not done. You're in the UK so fuel isn't cheap. If people travel to your area (which they will), they will be more likely to incorporate your series as part of caches around it. A multy will just slow them down. Sad but true. Some will do it but only locals will make a point of doing it. The logs will still be brief (have a look at your nearest multy's and you'll see for yourself) but they will at least touch on their experience. A small series will at some point attract TFTC. If you do a series your inbox will explode initially. It won't with a multy. Anything more than three waypoints on a multy will erode visitor count. If you're serious about it and you want a lot of visitors create a series of one cache type per cache. So a multy, traditional, Wherigo (good luck with that btw), Earth cache, puzzle? If it tics another box for people who strive for statistics it will trawler them in. I'm thinking the whole cache types in one day challenge thingy. Or just go with your instincts. Remember parking options. Land owner issues. Proximity to other caches. Container types. Accurate coordinates. Get a friendly local cacher to assist you. Don't place them outside someones house if you can help it people hate that. And remember ... It can be cached and dashed it will be cached and dashed. There may be a lot of talk about walking a series and poo pooing of driving round it. But they will. They mostly all do at some point. So if a house holder has 10 car loads a day for the first month stopping and rummaging in their hedge oposite you may end up replacing that cache endlessly. So to minimise that state it's not doable in a car and place them nowhere near lay-bys. It won't stop them. Ever. But it will minimise it. Especially if it's a couple of miles walk. Remember attributes if it's themed. The children one will encourage family's. So bigger boxes more swaps will earn you great logs. If it's on a fast road it will earn you negative logs. You will get bored of dog poo logs if it's on footpaths near housing. You just have to switch off to that. You could take people to landscape like the Isle of White needles, if they have to pass a chip van and a cow shed it will be logs full of made me starving and sick all at the same time. "Didn't stop for chips because of the flies". The smell of the cows and vinager put me off won't be back for the one we missed. It will have made them queasy ... they will be back at least twice for the one they missed. Whatever you decide have fun and I assure you it will be worth it and at times upsetting. You will get 10 logs singing your praises and one naff log will knock you down. Just remember it's people not geocashing.

Try the wiki - https://wiki.Groundspeak.com/plugins/servlet/mobile#content/view/4358768 Shows you where you need specific permissions for cache placement.

I think you did the right thing. He was polite and did the right thing. He was new or inexperienced so he has now learnt something about how the game is played. You gained him some experience points. There are quite a few people that put hints in their logs. Had to ROOT around for this one. Once at the correct elevation I found the cache. I spent so long I knelt down to prey to God for Devine intervention he showed me the way. I felt rather than saw the cache. Wood'nt you believe it didn't think to look there. After a long search I was please to ...log ... this cache. We have also had sneaky emails "found the cache on the floor out in the open. Obviously glad to find this sneaky hide but where would you like it put back". The intention being you email the correct location to help you. Exaggerating that a GZ is literally ripped to shreds ... which perpetuates claims from other searchers. 1. Doesn't stop them keeping on looking and logging a find 2. You are supposed to tell them where it is to save the grass plus how the hell would they know they've never been there before. I don't get why people do it. On the one hand I think you sad person craving some recognition for how clever you are. Behaving like a spoilt child when you can't find it and behaving like a know it all when you have. On the other you choose what goes on on your cache page. Also watch out for subtle spoiler photos ... A photo of the GZ with a stick pointing to it in the photo. Or their dog sat near it is another trick. Lol it's almost like a side game to some.

Ah right I see. Well sounded like a good laugh. Different icon type etc There were not that many near us I remember that. One day there. The next time I looked they were gone. Merlin was gone, shop closed down lol. Forgot all about it till now. Hey lets have a blue man with a red cape icon for challenge caches! Green frog with a red cape? Red cape?

When we first started I am sure it used to. Maybe mixing it up with another thing. Our nearest was Tintagel. You had to have your photo taken with Merlin outside a shop. It was a mannequin. We had meant to do it because we wanted the cache type which was a Blue man with a red cape. When you clicked on the ... challenge it said "Find a Challenge near you" and showed you a caching map with exclusively challenges on it. It passed us by ... or rather its dying gasps. I guess privacy laws or whatever it is that means you no longer have to have your photo sent, put an end to challenges like that, but i see no harm in it but I do see why it changed. But it could still remain have a phot of your GPS with Merlin or whatever. I liked the red cape icon thingy ... want one ... LOL it was probably nothing of the sort its just what it looked like to us.

As a guess the recent thread has prompted this interest. The cache has rumbled along with people enjoying it and others not ... same as any cache ... since the early years. The subject arises here ... letters to groundpeak ... and it will be changed. Preventing those that wished to ... complete it under its original format. It was not grandfathered in by any regulation and so all and any of these challenges will inevitably be under threat of the FIT's ... (Forum Investigation Team). By formalising any input by the community and using their own common sense they will draw a line in the sand and from there they will be formatted in such a way as to make it easier to review and protect the original format of those that already exist. At a guess or as a happy outcome.

Maybe this thread should be moved to the UK forum as it is a UK specific series. Other UK cachers can explain the history and intention more accurately for the OP and avoid any confusion

Like all series that you participate in you follow the guidelines/request laid down by the organiser. In this instance the size guideline is that it does not have to be a micro it can be any size the bigger the better. This will allow TB's to be placed and if people wish, swaps to be left. Initially some micros were placed in churchyards and we have found a couple. Rules about land owner permission being required and submitted as part of the publishing process have obviously impacted on this. Some Vicars who have been approached have said no though they have had no objection to visitors enjoying the church. Others have said yes and the cache has been placed within the grounds. We tend to leave most country churches open during the day for visitors to enjoy the place or for prayer. As been stated there is no rule other than offensive language with regard to cache names. If you wish to call a cache the great cabbage hunt and all the containers are radishes I am sure you will get many visitors regardless. Pass. No that would be reported as a commercial cache no doubt. I would go with Cathedral City and wedge it in the cold fresh section of the local Tesco ... no guts Call them what you will, I've seen some shockers that were quickly archived before anyone noticed them. But if you want a church micro number and for it to count in the statistics thingy, it will need to be linked to a specific qualifying church. Like how people get arrested for walking down the street in underpants and yet they can wear a budgey smuggler on the beach 15 steps from the street.

Do you, really? I sure don't. I never expect it. Pens freeze in the winter and dry out in the summer. Pencils break. They poke holes in baggies. Pencil sharpeners rust in the wild. Both pencils and pens can be stuck in the pockets of a previous finder. Photos of a find are technically not acceptable per the guidelines, although some cache owners may accept them. But they don't have to. Bring a pen. Bring three pens. They are not the only ones. I could name at least two caches that we have done ... and gone back at some point to have a look at the logs .. and found them with a red spanner because: "found the cache but was not able to sign because the pencil was blunt. The CO needs to replace pencil ASAP so logging a NM" or words to that effect. Vistaprint have a lot to answer for. No idea when this started it was happening before we started and had ebbed and flowed thereafter. Sometimes the box is so full of business cards and Vistaprint calling cards that you cannot actually close the box. Water has entered the container and the lot is all black mould and rust. We remove them if that has happened. And back on topic - happened across a few logs from the same cacher who says they found but could not sign ... no pen ... muggles present ... kids about etc ... which is all plausible but then looked at lot of their other logs by them ... all the same results on nearly every log of theirs that I looked at. They have quite a few finds too. Wonder how long they will get away with that

Sorry about that but to clarify it wasnt an attempt to convince you, but an attempt to put cache title context ... in context. Container size is denoted by the container size section of a cache page. I didnt know that. Blame it on the English we are a quirky lot. Little Gems is another series ... but no gems unfortunately. A fine pair ... oddly isnt about pairs of anything. Little bridges ... again whats little. Tungsten Trail ... its made of chippings that arent tungsten. The award winning 130 ... has no awards - great cache though. Butterfly Trail ... fair enough we did see a couple. X Marks the Spot ... it didnt. Church Micro ... there has always been a church

The series is a British series run by a user called Sadexploration. A very helpful chap who created this series to bring people to churches. You contact him and state you wish to create a church micro. He will then require your username, email adresss, and the exact location of the church you want to make a church micro from. From there he asigns it a unique number and you include that unique number in the title. The "micro" reference is in the title only and does not restrict you with regard to container size. In the same way as if you placed a cache named "Trolls Lair" it would not require a NA or NM because you cannot present a Troll for finders of his lair, the same is true for the church micro series. for more information try here - http://www.15ddv.me.uk/geo/cm/place_your_own.html

Nope. However if you do you could make it themed. A cat - wants to have its photo taken with your cat. Lightbouse - wants to visit lighthouses around the world etc. makes it more interesting for you and for the finder. But in short - no it's doesn't need anything to travel just the dog tag.

Hi the usual problem is mistaking various characters for another b and 6 O and 0 8 and B And then there is mistaking the TB reference for the tracking code. Try this as a solution. I've also found that trying to activate a TB through the smartphone has messed things up. Auto spell correct changes things in a flash. Good luck.

Seriously that is disgusting. I mean over seen it mentioned on here before about parents stripping a tb of something to give to their child because "they just could not bare to part with it" but to think that it's acceptable to fold the blessed thing up. Wow. Just wow.

I'm sure the "muggler" would LOVE to get his hands on a game camera as well! (I can't believe that nobody has mentioned that the word is MUGGLE, not "muggler") No doubt but as it sends a text to your phone with any images captured and is instant ... when they realise what it is ... You already have their photo. If they even see it. Works quite a way off. Also records a movie at the same time. It's been used to catch a TB thief in Germany which was quite well publicised.