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So I'm getting ready to hide a few new caches and decided to use a .30 cal ammo can and a decon container for two of them. There is a small military surplus dealer in town so I stopped by to pick some up. I hadn't been there for three years but the last time I was there .30 cal ammo cans were $6.99 and decon containers were about three or four bucks. So I went in and asked for a decon container and they guy asked me weather I wanted the regular one or the geocache version. I ask what the difference is and he says the geocache version just has a note pad and a pencil in it. I ask about price and he says $10 for a regular and $30 for a geocache!!! I think my jaw hit the counter top. I didn't even bother to ask about ammo can prices but I did notice a couple of .30 cal cans sitting on the floor with price tags of $24.99! Don't think I'll be going back there again.

I'm certain I'm not alone in becoming increasingly frustrated about the lack of feedback and information from Groundspeak about the overwhelming dissatisfaction of what looks to be the majority of Geocaching.com's users. As a Premium Member who gave money in good faith to use your service, when that service is seriously downgraded (in my opinion--here in the UK we have no satellite/hybrid maps, and MapQuest is not as accurate as it should be), you have an obligation to address our concerns with more than a "I hope you get used to the new maps." Tell us in plain words what you are doing to restore your service to its previous level, or say straight out that we're going to have to like it or leave it. The vague comments and subtle snipes I've seen from Groundspeak forum moderators are creating even more bad feelings and frustration amongst those who are unhappy about the changes, so instead of allowing them to continue to communicate in this manner, please, I'd like a member of Groundspeak who has the authority to speak on the company's behalf to address the Geocaching.com community. To fellow Premium Members: I for one will not be giving any more money to Groundspeak unless the maps are sorted. I would like to let Groundspeak see how many others feel the same way. Please speak up on this thread to let them know if you will or will not be re-subscribing.

We did talk a while but I didn't ask to be 'joined FTF" and he didn't. The reason? It's not important. When meeting other cachers we always have talks about each other's caching experiences and more importantly about nice caches. When meeting cachers along a series though we tend to wait a while so others can enjoy finding the containers themselves or if we are on our bikes we try to get ahead far enough. Nope. But I see a "team" as people who know each other and make arrangements beforehand, not people who accidentally meet at a cache and "team up" to be FTF. Besides, did I miss a memo? Is there something to be won? (besides FTF )

Again, just because it works that way in your neck of the woods does NOT mean that it works that way everywhere. Just as terrain ratings differ based on the general topographical features one area has that others do not, there are various ways that FTFs are determined. You believe it's a black and white, clearcut determination, whereby only one person is entitled to the FTF. There are many of us here who have pointed out that while this is certainly a possibility (and one that is valid), it's not the ONLY way to determine who may or may not lay claim to the FTF and that a group of cachers, regardless of whether or not they know each other, can discuss it and come to some arrangement that each cacher can abide by. Sometimes that may mean a singular FTF and other times it may mean a shared FTF. We're not asking you to change your determination of who may claim a FTF. We're only pointing out that cachers in other areas have come up with some other solution that appears to work and co-exist within each others' manner of playing. If it happens not to work, then it reverts to the manner in which you play, which is perfectly fine as well. The fact that it didn't even come up seems a bit odd to me as, at least in my area, cachers tend to be talkative when running into other cachers, even if we don't know each other, be it at events or at a cache. We realize we're part of a community and socialize as such, which typically means that a P&G can turn into a 5-10 minute meet and greet. It doesn't always happen that way but more often than not, it does. Having managed quite a few FTFs, I can only think of one time when another cacher (or group of cachers) didn't talk about the FTF. There used to be 4 of us that were serious FTF seekers during my first couple of years of caching and we'd continuously run into each other at newly published caches or just miss out running into each other. Each time we did actually meet up at a newly published cache, we discussed who was going to claim the FTF if it was found with more than one of us at GZ. The longer this went on, the more it changed to a shared FTF style of play, except when the other cacher requested they be the one to claim the FTF (for whatever reason). I (and hopefully the others who feel as I do) am NOT telling you that you need to change your style of play. What we hope you realize is that your way isn't the only way and that both styles can co-exist. Logically, it may not make any sense to you but for those of us who choose to play this way, we're fine with this determination of whether or not we are willing to share a FTF. Beats? Are you trying to win something here? We're discussing various methods of determining how cachers rectify FTFs and throwing out, in essence, two different variations of how cachers determine who gets to claim the FTF. Your way is certainly a valid way. No one here is really disputing that (at least I don't think so). Since it's not a recognized thing by GS and there are no guidelines that specify exactly how a FTF is awarded (first to put hands on it, first to find it [someone else may have unknowingly touched it without realizing it was the cache], first to sign the log), we are left to our own devices and those of us who feel like a shared FTF is a valid decision are comfortable with that decision, assuming everyone else at the cache is fine with it as well. If not everyone agrees, then we arrive at some consensus that allows a singular FTF and that's usually the one who pulls it from the hiding spot, although I can think of one instance when it was the first person that actually saw it but was unable to retrieve it due to physical limitations.

A hearty ARRRG! to my fellow cachers, Travel bugs, love them. I absolutely love this idea - it is one of the aspects of caching that drew me to the game. When we first started I was more eager, I think, to get bugs out into the world than actually looking for caches. But, being a good little rule follower, we waited - learning the tricks of the trade, scoping out the possibilities, and earning our time in the trenches. Finally we felt it was time to put out our first bug, a pirate coin - with a mission to wander the world hitting all the pirate hot spots. It was picked up from its starter cache, but not moved along - after a few months I contacted the cacher, and, after two or three e-mails, she finally got back to me. She said how sorry she was, and that she would move it along the next time she was out. She still has it. Our second bug was in honor of a dear pet who had recently passed away. After a good run of a few weeks in our area he was taken to Hawaii and then to Washington state - where he was picked up (I'm pretty sure by a new cacher, if my detective work is worth its salt) but not moved along. I e-mailed the cacher - no response. Do I try again? At what point does it become obsessive? Our third bug is in honor of a TV program that I have loved since I was a kid. After a good run of several weeks in our area it was picked up, and so far not moved along...although, after contacting the cacher, he has promised to place it back into play as soon as he can (I'm giving it until the end of March - it was picked up in November, if I recall - before I give up on it). What do I do? I'm kind of burnt out on losing bugs. Is it better to cut my losses and just enjoy the hunting, or should I get back on that horse and not let the sticky-fingered cachers get me down? Is there a help group for lost bugs? If not, perhaps one should be organized - we can't be the only ones that have loved and lost. Thanks. Daddy Pirate (of weepirates3)

I'm working on my AL; a tour of wineries near me, in our Valley. At a socially distanced event in a park in June, (the first in months!) talk turned to AL's - turns out another gal was also working on highlighting our Valley - we did have a couple of the same spots on our list! We decided to focus each a bit differently, as I'll do all wineries, and she will focus on fruit, olive oil and some of the other things produced by local farmers - the bounty in our Valley. And we compared our locations so that they are all different. She will have a winery on her list, I will have 5 and will not include the one she is using for her AL. Without the in person event and actually talking with people, Neither of us would have known the other was working the same locations. It was good we could cooperate and make each one unique! I need to get mine done and out there before someone else does one first!

Yeah, I'm tempted to do just that. I'm holding an event as I've held off hosting an evening since sometime in February. Would be nice to talk to other cachers again. I'm sure people will show up, but if not then I likely won't log it as it just feels wrong.

I don't see any problem here considering the finds of the last week. The cacher was in South Africa (vacation I think) and found some caches that were recently found by others and the owners are still active as well. Then (s)he returned and made finds in california which seems possible, too. The number of caches found isn't too big - and if someone wanted to boost the staristics (s)he could do better: find more caches, find more countries, find more of the rare icons (and not so many traditional caches) .... So maybe all the bad logs have been deleted but from that what remails I can't see anything that proves your (bad) claim (so I am not sure if I like what you do here). I think it would be fair to inform the cacher that we are discussing about her/him so that (s)he can give her/his own version of the story. We shouldn't talk behind the back of someone as long as there isn't any evidence..... Jochen

You can talk about that topic here: https://forums.geocaching.com/GC/index.php?/topic/358303-release-notes-website-attribute-search-filters-august-31-2020/&tab=comments#comment-5851476

There'd be a whole lot less discussion overall in the forum about ideas, and a whole lot more demanding if that were the case; or at least incentive to brainstorm and things through. I don't think the system needs to be changed, but that doesn't mean we should not talk about ideas for how the system could be changed. So no, respectfully, I don't think I'll take that suggestion (especially when plenty of other users regularly post complaints about the current system) Yep, looks like they went with what's probably the technically easiest implementation, combined with a few other related updates.

My post did not talk about any attribute except for the Challenge Cache attribute, and the guidance provided should be limited to the four corners of my post. Reviewers generally do not have jurisdiction over the correct use of attributes. There are existing exceptions, such as use of the Wheelchair Accessible and Wireless Receiver Required attributes. The Challenge Cache attribute is part of that list of exceptions.

Bonus caches, including bonus caches solved by completing an Adventure Lab Umm. Is there any other type of Bonus Cache? And, while they may now always have to be Mysteries, there are those that are not. Does anyone at GCHQ talk to each other?

Wow.. I looked it up, seems in Belgium Covid-19 (PCR) tests cost €46 (max.) and it's 100% paid by health insurance if it's a mandatory test. If voluntary (not by doctor's request) it's at the patient's expense. A test for travel is probably voluntary. We're not prepared to sit shoulder to shoulder in a confined metal tube yet (although air is very clean and filtered and it seems no infection has been traced to air travel yet). Ouch. We thought it was quite high but still cheaper than eating the airline and hotel costs. Plus honestly we felt over 6 months in Thailand was more than enough. Now if Laos, Cambodia or Vietnam had of reopened... Fortunately the whole shoulder to shoulder thing was not an issue. In both flights there were many more rows of seats than people. In fact the first flight was a 777 with roughly 40 people. Would of needed a carrier pigeon to talk to someone else. I hear you though. I am severely immune system compromised so flying probably wasn’t the wisest action.

Some place where there is a caretaker, but does't require interaction with the caretaker would work. A library or chamber of commerce building, for example. I found a cache at the chamber of commerce in Kansas City. The coordinates took me to a spot where I could see the cache. Even though I didn't have to talk to the woman working there to find the can I had a nice chat while signing the log.

Go back year after year, season after season? Mebbe actually go in and talk to them AND buy some of their produce? After all, you're a growing boy - you need your fruits and veggies.

Can't argue with that at all, that's reasonable, but Tom's talking about someone who wants to talk to the manager because he's got to provide two photos.

Hi All: I’m in the process of building a tour-type Wherigo for a local museum using the Earwigo builder. I would like to have the geocachers interact with same character in more than one zone using the “Talk to” command. How can I accomplish this? Would I need to move the character (much like I do with items) into the same zone if I wish to interact with him or her? Many thanks in advance! CWillyPngn

I have previous used an android tablet and LocusPro when out as a back up for the GPS. Then I bought a new phone. I have loaded the Geocaching app on my new phone and most of it works fine. However, when I click on 'directions' I get the message "This device does not have a compass". This could well be the case as it wasnt one of my priorities when chosing which phone to buy. There are many compass apps around but does anyone know a way of getting the geocaching app to talk to any of them?

Thanks for the link Max. Nice to know that it isnt just me. However, my question remains. Does anyone know of a way of getting the Geocaching app to 'talk' to any of the Compass apps available out there.

Nope, I still doubt it. He's claiming the FTF because he sees himself as the FTF, just like 1400+ times before. That doesn't mean that one FTF is important to him, it's just a fact. Even if he said, "HAHAHA, another precious FTF to add to my prized collection," I'd still think that was just how he logs FTFs, not that FTFs are so important he'd go to the trouble of carrying spare containers all the time just to be sure he gets one more. I just think the image of the halo over his head is a much bigger motivation than the +1 that no one will notice. So if you talk to him, sure, go ahead and rib him about being a numbers fiend, but if you want to stop him from dropping throwdowns, talk him him about why throwdowns are not a good idea. He won't listen if you say it's just because it makes him look like a numbers fiend.

A couple of years ago, one small team put out a series in every one of the Denver Public Library branches -- 36 in all as I recall. Looks like most of them are up and running still. There was a nice geocoin from the library system for the first xx finders of the entire series. You might want to talk to the crew that did all of ours. Note that as mentioned above, none are traditionals, but they do represent an interesting cross section of other types.

There's been a lot of talk lately about Power Trails, with very heated opinions on both sides of the coin. Seems to me the crux of the con argument is the uninspiredness (I'm aware that's not a real word) of a film can or hide-a-key every 528'. That kind of got me thinking. We have some pretty good rail trails around my town. I'm thinking a power trail of sorts geared toward newbies, kind of a way for them to "get their numbers up" and address one of my little annoyances, caches with the wrong size rating. Start out with the micros: Cache 1 is a blinky, cache 2 a bison tube, then film cannister, etc. Move on up the food chain, culminating in a five gallon bucket. If done right, I could wind up with a 20-30 cache "Power Trail". Now if I can just get the time off work and get the wife to let me out of painting the house this spring, I'll be all over it.

that secret Platinum membership is a secret, cannot talk about it. Shhh

Yes, but I have to wonder whether cheating is really such a widespread problem. Most of the duplicate logs I've encountered have been accidental, a lot due to that old problem in the app where it'd make multiple retries if reception was marginal and each one would create a log entry. Removing stats from the website won't stop the cheaters, they'll just find another way to cheat, instead it'd just reduce the enjoyment for those who like stats. There seems to be a lot of talk about cachers with big find counts as if they're some huge problem, but in my entire state (New South Wales, Australia) there are only 20 cachers with more than 10,000 finds and many of the names in that group are prominent cachers with a decade or more in the game. They're the names that pop up on the regional association committees or as frequent event hosts, with at least one reviewer amongst them. My own meagre find count (and even more meagre find rate) puts me at number 399 on that list, so the great majority of cachers here don't make all that many finds or are particularly motivated by their comparative find count. Then there are cachers who enjoy other statistics, such as their D/T grid (filling the grid, getting their average D or T up or whatever), filling their calendar or bettering their "best day" or longest streak. I wouldn't mind seeing my number of finds on regular-sized caches get ahead of my number of finds on micros as it's only 46 behind, but that's probably not something I'll actively pursue given the limited caching opportunities here. I'm in awe of one local cacher whose average terrain score is 2.65 from just over a thousand finds - there are some wonderful stories in his logs. As I've said before, one of the great things with caching is its appeal across such a broad range of interests. I'd much rather see that diversity embraced and celebrated than restricted and despised.

The biggest group I have been part of has been about 30 people, and that was a one off to find two caches in a tricky place. Many people were not willing to attempt those caches, except in a group. Most groups I go in are five or less people. I go to events here, and I have never heard talk of groups of 50 plus. Regional differences it seems. Yes, I've been in a couple of groups of 20+ cachers in the lead-up to Geocaching NSW events, where there was an optional meet-up a few kilometres from the event location and a walk from there grabbing some caches along the way. Someone at the head of the pack would make the find then pass the log around for everyone to sign. These were all 1.5/1.5 traditionals close to the paths, nothing exotic. All the other outings have been with a small group of friends, either on foot or on kayak, doing a handful of higher terrain caches over the course of a day. Again the person who makes the find passes the log around for the others to sign. On one occasion lee737 signed my name for me as my hands were covered in mud, but I was standing right next to him at the time with no armchairs in sight! I don't know whether my 1100 odd finds and seven years in the game makes me experienced or not, but you can't infer anything about a cache from my DNFs. A few weeks back I DNFed three in a row, two of them 1.5/1.5 and the other 3/1.5. The latter and one of the 1.5/1.5s have since been found with logs saying "Quick find" and "Easy find". Unless I've also logged an NM with my DNF, there's at least a 90% chance the cache is still there and will likely be an easy find for you.