L0ne.R

I just had a look at another cache I gave a favorite point to and was happy to see that I got 2 "great story" votes. L0ne.R Premium Member 3405 Found it 01/05/2019 I had an opportunity to get out and enjoy the +4C temperature. I wanted a good geocaching experience and GuelphHiker came to mind for quality geocaching experiences. I made the right choice, this cache gets a favourite point from me for checking all the right boxes. A forest find, Swag size for those finders like me that like stuff in the box to paw through, A great container (Plano) to protect the contents--everything was in great shape, A logbook and not a sheet, Pencil/pen--you even had them in a separate baggie with a note saying that we could use it if we forgot our own, and that's just what happened to me, I forgot mine back in the car. I used your pencil to write a note in that nice logbook. Left a signature item. Thanks the great stewardship-- for all the work you put into your hides, the maintenance you provide, the nice locations you choose, and the money you invest to buy a good watertight container that protects the contents. Great story (2) Helpful

I looked at a cache I had given a favorite point to. It had one "Helpful" vote. The log is: Here's the log I left, it did not get a helpful vote. But few people mark a cache as helpful/great story, and it's only been up since March. I occasionally use the feature when I stumble along a good log. I have used it on the 2 caches I currently own. When used as intended, I think it's a useful feature.

Depends on how often my cache gets a find. If it generally gets 2 finds a month then it doesn’t get any logs for 2 months, that’s often a sign that it may be missing. Many people don’t like to log a DNF or won’t log a DNF. So if it goes silent, I go check. In my experience 80% of the time the cache has gone missing. I have one cache, over 10 years old, that still gets found on average once a month. I check it twice a year. In the Spring after the snow melt, and in the Fall. I check to see that it’s still there, and in the right spot. I take out junk swag, then wipe down the inside of the container of leaves, stones and dirt that may have accumulated. I might add a fresh logbook if the old one is starting too look beat up. And a pencil if the one in the cache has gone missing. The closer the cache the more I check, sometimes daily. If you can, why not? It can be a fun part of the day. When you’re new at hiding it helps to ensure that the container holds up, keeps the contents dry, and you picked a good hiding spot. And it’s fun to see who’s signed the log.

This is exactly my thinking too. When I use to hide caches this is how I did it. I expected cachers to find my caches. Hard to find (high D-rate) or not. I didn't want them to drive back multiple times. I don't want finders to end up frustrated. I had a D3, but I also provided a good hint. If someone logged a DNF, if it sounded like they used the hint and really looked, then I would make the 20 minute drive within a week. If I thought it might be possible they didn't look in the right spot, I'd leave it for the 2nd DNF. 2 DNFs in a row, from experience, meant it was very likely something was wrong. I think we know our caches well enough to know when it sounds like there might be a need to check. It was a relief when it was still there, not an irritant. I placed it in a nice location that I enjoyed returning to. A couple of times in 15 years it really had disappeared.

I think sometimes the NM gets used by a cache owner because if they post a Disable, it's likely that a reviewer will come along and post a Reviewer Note a month later. If nothing gets done within another month, the cache may be archived by the reviewer. I see evidence of this, in the OP's case. The NM gives a cache owner much more time and may alert a finder to bring along a replacement logsheet and/or container.

What a clever idea! And it is also true. Official way to ask finders to help.

I find it hard to see how/why this would be subject to abuse. Maybe not. But why was the option removed? From my observation, GCHQ has removed options and types for a reason. If not abuse (or the lesser charge of using a tool as it was not intended), then why was it removed as an option for owners? -------------------- Addendum: Did some searching and found the announcement (I bolded the part that sort of explains why. It seems to suggest some misuse and confusion that affected the community): An example of abuse I found while searching for the answer for this one:

Good to have someone else acknowledge the problem in Ontario.

I don't see the option, when creating a PQ to exclude an owner's caches. But I think I'm misunderstanding.

In Cachly, you can exclude up to 5 owners in the Filter Options. I don't know if that's an option with the official GC app. And I don't think you can block owners via the website.

Hzoi's suggestion seems like an easy workaround for those COs who really want to leave an NM on their own cache, instead of making a personal list, or logging a disable. ----------------------------------- The disable is the owner-tool that does the job of the NM finder-tool. If a disable is too much, then I'm not understanding why an NM is not also too much to apply to a cache that has minor issues like camo tape coming off? For those minor issues, a personal list seems to me to be a very good option.

Perhaps I'm not understanding, but you can do that.

When an owner uses a piece of junk as a container. Something that in no way will keep the contents dry. Then throws a paper scroll in a baggie and calls it a cache. Example, an (old broken) wicker plant basket. Irk #2 - It has 12% favorite points

We would be changing the function of the tool. It's a tool for finder's to alert owners of a significant problem that needs owner attention. It would make a reviewers job harder when the tool is misused. Perhaps we need more cache owner tools, but separate from finder tools so it doesn't confuse.

Absolutely agree. It adds another layer of fun and anticipation. I've found some very interesting things in caches. I've also had fun for a couple of years by collecting those plastic animals. I had no use for them (except I used a few for some craft/art projects), but it added to the fun. How many different animals could I collect? Will the next box have an animal I didn't currently have.

Why?

If the OP wants to keep the listing alive, he can ask the CO if he would like to transfer ownership. Then the OP can replace and own the cache. If the owner doesn't respond, the next step after the NM would be to log an NA (needs archived) and then, one it is archived, the OP can place their own new cache there.

Yes he is out of state . But he can still monitor his cache listing and archive it himself.

Log a Needs Maintenance, explaining the problem. It's the owner's responsibility to respond.

My guess, COs were abusing NM so Groundspeak had to remove the option.

As a premium member you can make a list. https://www.geocaching.com/help/index.php?pg=kb.chapter&id=7&pgid=283 You can also access those lists from an app. Or create a PQ from the "My Caches Need Fixing" list.

Nice. ?

Sometimes the owner wants it logged. There have been owners who got around the distance rule by archiving but leaving their cache, then placing another cache nearby, within the .1 mile rule. Then they let others know that the initial cache was still there and could be logged.

It was because of abuse that locking has happened. Caches that helped with stats would be logged as “found” even after it had gone missing and archived by a reviewer (CO no longer playing for years), or the missing cache with a long-gone owner would mysteriously reappear (throwdown) so people could continue to log finds, or a cache was removed and archived by a CO but people kept logging it as found. I asked a reviewer to lock one of my letterbox listings because after I removed and archived it, it was still logged as found because it was needed to qualify for a few LB challenges.