Jayme H

You are definitely on the right track! Lab Caches are an umbrella cache type for new and different ideas (experiments) that we want to get feedback from the community on. So far, we've seen "Adventures" at various Mega Events and soon, personal geocaches through I <3 Geocaching. "31 Days of Geocaching" was a fun way to get people to try a different aspect of the current game - streaking. It can be fun to challenge ourselves and HQ wanted to see who was up for trying something new, last August. These wouldn't have fallen under the Lab Cache umbrella. Does this make sense?

I would be happy to clarify. Yes, commercial lab caches would be allowed. This is an experiment and an opportunity to try something that you wouldn't normally be able to do with a non Labs geocache. It can be located in a business (on a menu that someone is reading), or be a moving cache (on a cruise ship), or have an agenda (religious, political, charitable or social).

We just went through a mandatory harassment training here at HQ. We, unfortunately, aren't allowed to make decisions based on or express anything remotely close to a romantic emotion while at work. Sharing Lab Caches with the community was decidedly important because we care about what the community thinks. We have created things before, without asking for input from the community...this is us trying to make a change in the process.

Such a FANTASTIC idea! Love where you are headed with this...keep those juices flowing.

We will be collecting stories from folks who play and sharing them with the rest of the world via Facebook, blog posts, etc. I'll get a forum thread going once it starts so we can all participate in the fun, as well.

Unfortunately, I <3 Geocaching won't quite work like that. Every Premium Member account will be able to create a Lab Cache. The Lab Cache will be tied to your account's username, so you won't be able to give it to your neighbor. What a sweet idea though...you are nice person. Maybe we will look into this concept more in the future.

Good question! All Lab Caches are built with a set start/end time. At Mega Events the organizers get to decide what that time frame is. For I <3 Geocaching Lab Caches, creators and finders will have until midnight on February 28th (your local time) to create or or enter the correct find code and receive or give a smiley to someone.

In preparation for February 3rd and the launch of I <3 Geocaching we have released a new blog post, an official FAQ, and a new Knowledge Book in the Help Center. I will continue to answer questions here while adding additional information to the Knowledge Books as we go along. So excited for my beach cache!

It was completely wishful thinking on my part. It's currently cloudy and grey in Seattle. You caught me daydreaming and imagining I was finding one on a warm beach, right around sunset. I do like your ice etching idea, though.

Lots of good discussion and questions coming up here. Thanks for constructively pointing out things you are excited about and things that you are concerned about. All opinions about the Lab Cache beta test are valid. Let's scale back on the placing of value judgments on personal preferences regarding geocaching. There are many ways to play the game and different people like different aspects of it- it's not good or bad, it is how each of us find enjoyment in the hobby. For general consumption: Keystone and other moderators/reviewers have very good intel on things that get brought up in the forums... it's true, their word is golden. Tone in a typed forum post can be hard to interpret - so let's continue to assume the best about each other's intent (because we are consciously being constructive in our posts) and clarify as needed. Alright... let's talk about stats for a second. Here's complete transparency. The geocaching site currently exists on two systems, an older system and a newer system. Geocaching Labs was built on the new system. The stats live on the older system and aren't available on the new systems. It won't always be this way. We will eventually bring all current geocache listings over onto the new (more efficient) system and integrate everything. This takes time and resources. It would be horrible to rush into that, break something big, and disrupt your upcoming caching adventure. This is why you might hear Moun10Bike or myself letting you know, on other threads, why some functionality on the site isn't as easy to create as it may seem. This is also why you are hearing that the stats may work correctly in the future, but they aren't there yet - it is our hope to make it happen, because we would really like this too. *big breath* I will go back and fish through the discussion to find a few more specific questions/concerns to address. I want everyone to have the answers you are looking for and will do my best to get them to you. I have also noted my possible overuse of the word "cool." I will endeavor to make a conscious effort in finding other words that express my enthusiasm. Cool?

There won't be any saturation limitations and the cache can be something physical to find and open (revealing the find code) or it can be just a word that is written at the final destination (in the sand on a pretty beach). All local, state, federal laws will apply.

Hey Dr.MORO! You are welcome. I have been told that the souvenir for this year's CITO weekend is a cropped version of that warm, idyllic, grassy picture with the lake and benches in it (this is a shot of Lake Union, the lake near HQ). Keeping some CITO logo continuity from past years and adding a fun, new background image. I'm thinking that they will most likely add the date to it, as well. Hope that helps.

I wholeheartedly agree. The "deliberately negative" comments I was referring to look more like personal attacks...those are the destructive ones. We are definitely open to hearing both pros and cons of this idea.

You are welcome! I am always happy to help answer questions from you guys. Yep, you are correct. There is no current final goal with regard to Lab Caches. We want to see what the community thinks and get feedback to help direct any potential paths.

Thanks for your frankness. I will clarify, comments do not need to be "happy and positive," just constructive. Destructive comments are the ones that don't get the job done.

Hey gang, Thanks for being patient over the weekend and this morning waiting for an official response from HQ...and thanks for the fun video, geocachingvlogger - love your enthusiasm, it's always welcome here! The OFFICIAL announcement will happen on February 3rd, with all the pomp and circumstance of a proper, exciting HQ announcement. Although, I am here now to verify for you that via I <3 Geocaching, every Premium Member will get their chance at hiding a special "private" cache for someone else to find. I will attempt to answer all questions that get tossed my way...and if I don't know the answer to them I will go find the person who does know. I want you guys to feel informed of what the Lab Caches entail so you can make an educated choice of if you would like to participate, or not. Here are some basics: A Lab Cache is an experimental and extremely rare geocache type. These geocaches are a way for us to innovate, test new ideas, and look for new ways to find adventure in the world. These finds will add a smiley to your find count, BUT will not count as a typical geocache would in your milestones and various other stats. (Just making sure everyone is aware that to keep a streak up you will need to find a non-labs geocache for a streaking day.) These hides will not add to your hide count. These are one time hides, and are temporary. These caches were only available at Mega events, but we thought it might be fun to let more folks try them. They will still be available at some Mega events. These hides are not replacing Virtuals. They won't be reviewed and there aren't any special logging requirements other than entering the code that you find at the end of your hunt. These hides are not replacing Challenges. Challenges required a separate app, were owned by the community, and had a variety of completion requirements. This form of lab cache lives on the web, can be used privately, and has no special requirements past entering the find code. If you find a Lab Cache and don't want it to show on your profile or count as a find, you are able to delete them. Click on “Lab Caches” on your Public Profile under “Geocaches Found," log in and select the garbage can next to each Lab Cache you would like to delete. Keep in mind that once you delete, you will not be able to get a Lab Cache find reinstated later. We have increments of development time set aside for fixing bugs and adding community requested features. We also have increments of development time set aside for exploring where else Geocaching can take us. These Lab Caches are part of that increment...we are excited to share them with everybody to be able to get feedback and evaluate what value they may carry for the geocaching community. We didn't offer that option with Challenges and now know that it's an incredibly important step in the innovation process. For what it's worth - this feature (private geocaches) are requested on a daily basis...through marriage proposals, Mega Events, education requests to share lessons about GPS usage/maps with students, corporate retreats, family reunions, birthday presents, etc. Before now we haven't had a good answer - now there are possibilities. We don't expect everyone to want to try them or like them, but we are hoping for the community's feedback. There will be surveys posted that both the hider and finder can complete about the experience. Like I said, I am happy to answer questions that you may have about the Lab Caches or I <3 Geocaching. Please keep questions and comments constructive - they speak the loudest to us and get remembered during development meetings. Deliberately negative comments tend not to accomplish those goals, unfortunately. Alright...I'm done. Let's hear questions and have some good discussion.

2014 CITO blog has been posted! TaDAAA! Here's the full text: Get ready for a classic win-win situation from the geocaching playbook: lend a hand to improve the geocaching game board (a local park, trail, or geocaching-friendly location) and earn the 2014 CITO souvenir. It’s easy and rewarding. It all happens during the 2014 CITO Weekend on April 26 and 27. Everyone who logs an “Attended” at a Cache In Trash Out (CITO) Event earns this year’s CITO souvenir for their Geocaching profile. So start planning your event now! (If the dates on that page haven't been updated by the time you read this post, they will be shortly!) During a CITO Event, geocachers search parks, trails and forests to earn a smiley—but they’re not looking for geocaches. They’re clearing litter and trash from geocaching-friendly areas around the world. On CITO weekend, thousands of geocachers will walk away from their events with bags of trash and a sense of pride. They’re preserving the natural beauty of our world. It’s often more than litter clean up. Some CITO events remove invasive species, plant trees or build trails. Join the geocaching community movement. CITO events are held all year long, but you’ll have plenty of events to choose from on April 26 and 27. Last year, over 13,000 geocachers from more than 30 countries combined in the annual worldwide environmental effort, which is tied closely with Earth Day. Share this , create a CITO event near you and gear up with CITO trash bags, trackables and more at Shop Geocaching. See you in April for the 2014 CITO Weekend!

Whew! I have missed you guys...and caching. Not been able to get out a lot in the past few weeks - did get to celebrate the 10th anniversary of EarthCaches with a great event though. Life takes over sometimes, huh? Anyone been up to anything fun out there? I'd love some fun inspiration. P.S. I should have some fun adventures to tell you about next week, as we are headed down to Portland this weekend. WooHOO!

Thanks for the feedback. There is an active conversation happening at Geocaching HQ about this topic and other topics related to the iPhone Intro App. Constructive discussions and shared ideas in these forums are incredibly helpful in making sure that the community voice is heard at meetings in HQ. Thanks for being a part of the conversation.

Yep, we recognize that this is a big problem for the community. Sorry for any confusion or frustration that has been caused by this. We are actively looking for a solution for this issue.

Welcome to the hobby and the forums, hillster. We always appreciate folks who post helpful kind information. Happy caching!

Great clarifying question, niraD. What stats specific stats are important to users? Let's hear your favorites.

Sorry for any frustration or confusion that you guys are having with the Android App. The Android Team is listening to constructive comments/requests from the community and working on integrating additional helpful features. Thanks for the insight!

Yep, we're listening. I'll check with the web team to see what it may take to remove the GPS device database from the site. Thanks for the reminder about this one.

Mini caching lunch break with Frau Potter. Having fun with my sweetie at an EarthCache on our recent Christmas road trip.