Temporaily Unavailable

[+Team Zappy 45]

How long are caches left on the cache pages as temporaily unavailable before they are dropped?

This was posted on April 4 as an example.

Checked on cache today and found that the park district had done some thinning to the woods and apparently uncovered the cache. It is missing and will possibly be replaced/relocated when I get a chance.

This one has not been available for almost 5 months. The location is right in town.

[+sbell111]

The approvers sometimes check up on those and archive them, as necessary. If you think its been too long, either email the owner or post a 'should be archived' note, or both.

[+StarBrand]

I can't seem to find it now but I seem to remember a thread in which many of the approvers stated they check up on disabled caches that have been that way for 4 to 6 months. Some as little as 2 months.

 

Email the owner and ask if he/she is going to replace it or not.

[+Team Zappy 45]

I just checked and the owner hasn't logged a find since May5.

[+MariettaGecko]

Post a note on the cache page or email the owner directly. There have been cases where the owners have had sudden life changes, and have been unable to attend to their caches. Let them know that you want to seek their cache.

 

If you get no response, check to be sure the cache is not there, then post a SBA on the cache page. Note that the owner has not responded to emails and hasn't been on the site in n months. Usually, the owner will get a short grace period during which they can come back and say "oops, sorry, let me fix that" before TPTB will archive their cache on them.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I have a cache 'temporarily unavailable' due to construction. I'm keeping a watchful eye on the site. Will replace the cache, if necessary, when construction of the new park is complete.

 

As to SBA, I wouldn't do that unless I checked out the cache site myself. I've only SBA'd once. Though I can see eight or ten in areas that I check.

May 10th note by cache owner: "Hrm... another of my caches plundered. Blast. I'll try and re-make this one in another, more secluded area, as many seemed to like it. Hold tight for a while, though, folks, as I have finals to take care of at school first."

That one I think I shall put SBA on. When I found it, the container and lid were five and twelve feet from the hiding place. There was nothing else there. Owner made it 'unavailable' three days later. That's three months with no action.

 

On the other hand, this one has been missing for six months, with temporarily unavailable' note from owner:

'Took a walk in XXXXX to check on the cache, and as XXXX reported yesterday, it definately has gone missing, the imprint of where it was hidden was still visible. I plan to visit the park during the next couple of weeks to determine if and and where I will reestablish the XXXXX.'

Note from local admin 7/7 suggesting 'This geocache was brought to my attention as being in need of an owner maintenance visit.'

I am unfamiliar with the cache, and don't plan to search for it, so I do not feel qualified to suggest SBA. (Though it does seem rather obvious...)

Yet, am I the housekeeper for geocaching.com? When something is obviously missing, as in the two cases cited, the best I can do is to bring it to the attention of the local admin.