How long does it take to get a new cache approved?

[+WeatherednBoston]

How long should it normally take to get a cache approved? I've had 3 in the que this weekend. No new caches in Mass for a few days

[+Cardinal Red]

The normal suggested review period is 72 hours. Many Caches are listed much quicker than that. But this is a Holiday weekend that is the conclusion of a Holiday season. You should not be surprised that your reviewer(s) are probably taking some time off their unpaid volunteer job. They could be on vacation. They could be visiting or hosting family. Its possible they are even Geocaching.

[+Team.TFTC]

How long should it normally take to get a cache approved? I've had 3 in the que this weekend. No new caches in Mass for a few days

 

Mine have only taken hours..

Have you checked the GC number to see if there was any postings from the Reviewer?

[+welch]

It depends on a number of things, including but not limited to:

Reviewer's cache load (holidays = lots of new caches submitted), complexity and/or type of caches submited, proximity of caches (to other caches, or to things the reviewer might concerned about), how well gc.com is working (holidays and busy weekends tend to make the site sluggish), and of the reviewers personal time schdule (ie. if they've got time to review right now or not).

 

To spend things up on your end, make sure when you submit the cache that you've done all the things you needed to do. The fewer times they have to stop and email you for info etc, the faster it will be when they actually get to your cache.

[+WeatherednBoston]

Well....I hereby volunteer to be a Holiday Cache approver. lol I'm always here by my puter on holidays...each and every one I would love to help out! Even if not on holidays

 

One of the cache listings does have a note from my approver from yesterday morning...it says..

 

Greetings,

Just wanted to let you know i saw your caches in the queue and will get to them as soon as i can.

 

thanks for being patient!

 

I have been being patient.....I just really wanted them approved before the long holiday weekend was over to give everyone a chance at FTF. We have less than 3 hours of daylight left here in Mass on this Holiday weekend

[+LaPaglia]

Well....I hereby volunteer to be a Holiday Cache approver. lol I'm always here by my puter on holidays...each and every one I would love to help out! Even if not on holidays

 

One of the cache listings does have a note from my approver from yesterday morning...it says..

 

Greetings,

Just wanted to let you know i saw your caches in the queue and will get to them as soon as i can.

 

thanks for being patient!

 

I have been being patient.....I just really wanted them approved before the long holiday weekend was over to give everyone a chance at FTF. We have less than 3 hours of daylight left here in Mass on this Holiday weekend

 

You have two that were submitted on the 30th and one on the 31st. The normal time to get it listed is 72 hours. so thats the 2nd for the first two and the 3rd for the second one. I am sorry but anything less than 72 hours is not being patient. I know you are excited but you will have to wait. Its the First, your reviewer has a lot of time left before he is "late" In addition your reviewer left you a note on one cache telling you that he saw them. This is a very nice thing to do. It is NOT required but your reviewer decided to be nice and let you know it has been seen. I would say that you are not going to see them listed today for two reasons.

1: The reviewer has a lot of time left to look at them

2: Its a holiday and your reviewer is probably busy.

 

The reviewers work long and hard to keep the new cache queue clear. I suggest you be patient and not worry about it. If you haven't had it listed by Wednesday then write contact@geocaching.com, include the GC#'s and ask for an update. I doubt you will need to send that email. When they are listed send your reviewer a thank you note. They never get enough of those.

Edited January 1, 2007 by LaPaglia

[+WeatherednBoston]

Thank you all very much for your replies!

 

Ok I have another question:

 

I really want my caches approved on a weekend. Most cachers around here do thier caching on the weekends and I would really like to give everyone a shot at FTF. If they are approved during the week then alot of people are working and have small children in school and there are just not enough daylight hours for these folks to go caching during the week.

 

If they cannot be approved before sundown today I would like to have them approved NEXT weekend instead. Is that possible? Can I leave a note on the page for the reviewer so she can wait til next weekend to approve it?

 

Is that a normal thing to do? Is that allowed?

 

Thanks!

Edited January 1, 2007 by WeatherednBoston

[Neos2]

I really want my caches approved on a weekend. Most cachers around here do thier caching on the weekends and I would really like to give everyone a shot at FTF. If they are approved during the week then alot of people are working and have small children in school and there are just not enough daylight hours for these folks to go caching during the week.

 

If they cannot be approved before sundown today I would like to have them approved NEXT weekend instead. Is that possible? Can I leave a note on the page for the reviewer so she can wait til next weekend to approve it?

You can ask. Your reviewer may be able to do that--If they don't already have some other obligation for that time frame.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I think I still have the record at three weeks for an urban micro. (Hey, it's got a great view!) Who could imagine that reviewers are allowed to have lives? Sure, I was anxious at the time. But Geocaching resolved the problems within a few days.

I say "Thanks" to all the reviewers for volunteering their time so that I can hunt ammo boxes in the woods, and magnetic micros in the city.

[+WeatherednBoston]

Nope....no caches have been approved yet!

[+MadMin]

Nope....no caches have been approved yet!

 

That's because I do actually have a few others thing in my life other than caching (no really, it's true!).

 

LPaglia pretty much said it all. (thanks for that, Lap)

 

If you have a special request for a cache, please post it in a reviewer note on the cache page or email me at ma.reviewer@gmail.com with the gc # and your request.

 

As I said earlier on the cache page about your three caches that were submitted, I'll get to them as soon as I can.

 

Thanks again for being so patient.

[+WeatherednBoston]

Thanks Madmin! I see the flood gates have opened up and there is a mass of new Mass caches

 

Hopefully mine will soon follow.

 

Thanks again!

[+geocacher_coza]

Not all approvers are like we have for South Africa. Remember they have a life and it is a voluntary job!

If I look at other approvers (Not saying they are bad!) we in South Africa can be privileged to have Erik , he is phenomenal!! ( Even though he drives a Landy and not a JEEP ) Our caches are approved at lightning speeds! Even now over the holiday season!

Thanks to all the approvers especially Erik for all your hard work. It is much appreciated even though we do not always show it!

Edited January 3, 2007 by geocacher_coza

[+escondido100]

Maybe this is a new record on cache publishing....10 minutes...... thats right 10 minutes after i submitted a new cache for consideration it was published.........thanks eric!!!!! you da man!!!!

[+CO Admin]

Maybe this is a new record on cache publishing....10 minutes...... thats right 10 minutes after i submitted a new cache for consideration it was published.........thanks eric!!!!! you da man!!!!

Not to burst your bubble, and yes eric is da man, the fastest caches are those that are listed before the owner is through editing the page. It happens every so often.

[+escondido100]

bubble burst.......what a mess.....anyway still very pleased......now wheres the swiffer

[+erik88l-r]

Thanks for the kind words. I think all the cache reviewers do try to be prompt, but we do all have lives outside of being a volunteer cache reviewer.

 

You can certainly help us by providing all the info we need to review a cache the first time around, like your paypal account info using the waypoint feature on the cache page to document the final coords of mystery and multistage caches. Another common hold up is submitting a cache far from your home coords without an explanation of how you'll maintain it or who will maintain it in your place.

 

Thanks again.

 

~erik~

[+sbell111]

Thanks for the kind words. I think all the cache reviewers do try to be prompt, but we do all have lives outside of being a volunteer cache reviewer.

 

You can certainly help us by providing all the info we need to review a cache the first time around, like your paypal account info using the waypoint feature on the cache page to document the final coords of mystery and multistage caches. Another common hold up is submitting a cache far from your home coords without an explanation of how you'll maintain it or who will maintain it in your place.

 

Thanks again.

 

~erik~

You guys have lives?

[ParentsofSAM]

Thanks for the kind words. I think all the cache reviewers do try to be prompt, but we do all have lives outside of being a volunteer cache reviewer.

 

You can certainly help us by providing all the info we need to review a cache the first time around, like your paypal account info using the waypoint feature on the cache page to document the final coords of mystery and multistage caches. Another common hold up is submitting a cache far from your home coords without an explanation of how you'll maintain it or who will maintain it in your place.

 

Thanks again.

 

~erik~

You guys have lives?

 

No not really he just says that to make him feel better about himself....

[+palmetto]

What erik said - hold-ups over not using the waypoints tool, caches placed a long way from home, caches too near other caches, and of course this last error, sadly all too common: "Sorry, not enough chocolate was submitted with this cache. We are patiently waiting for proper payment before reviewing this cache.

 

palmetto,

Groundspeak volunteer cache reviewer"*

 

* chocolate template plagiarized from MissPlaced

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

What erik said - hold-ups over not using the waypoints tool, caches placed a long way from home, caches too near other caches, and of course this last error, sadly all too common: "Sorry, not enough chocolate was submitted with this cache. We are patiently waiting for proper payment before reviewing this cache.

 

palmetto,

Groundspeak volunteer cache reviewer"*

 

* chocolate template plagiarized from MissPlaced

Chocolate? Huh? Our local reviewer (Quiggle) and our nearby PA reviewer (Keystone) demand a pre-review deposit of a SIZEABLE amount of cache in their offshore bank accounts before they will even look at a cache listing submittal! They would laugh us off the planet if we tried to send chocolate rather than the customary "courtesy donation" of $5,000 per cache submittal!

[+Udink]

Does anyone here know what form of payment the reviewers for Utah prefer? I've had an event listing sitting in the queue for 6 days now, but as far as I can tell it's just been ignored. More than 20 regular caches have been published in Utah since I listed my event. I politely e-mailed our main reviewer (mtn-man) three days ago, and our other reviewer (Lord Stirling) two days ago, but haven't gotten a response from either.

 

And, before you ask, yes, I've checked for reviewer notes, and I also made sure the "Yes, this listing is active" checkbox is checked.

[+palmetto]

mtn-man claims all his reviewing is actually done by the puppymonster - so I'd try hunks o' meat...

 

also, based on Vinny's post, it's evident that I need to move north...

 

I took a look at your event Udink - the log on it says

 

Posted: 1/12/2007 3:02 PM

Last Update 1/6/2007 12:24 PM

 

maybe you forgot to activate it until today? or there was some kind of site hiccup (stuff happens) anyway, it's on queue now.

Edited January 12, 2007 by palmetto

[+CO Admin]

What erik said - hold-ups over not using the waypoints tool, caches placed a long way from home, caches too near other caches, and of course this last error, sadly all too common: "Sorry, not enough chocolate was submitted with this cache. We are patiently waiting for proper payment before reviewing this cache.

 

palmetto,

Groundspeak volunteer cache reviewer"*

 

* chocolate template plagiarized from MissPlaced

Chocolate? Huh? Our local reviewer (Quiggle) and our nearby PA reviewer (Keystone) demand a pre-review deposit of a SIZEABLE amount of cache in their offshore bank accounts before they will even look at a cache listing submittal! They would laugh us off the planet if we tried to send chocolate rather than the customary "courtesy donation" of $5,000 per cache submittal!

 

You must remember that their boss loves dark chocolate and an offering to her over rides the payment to the local reviewer and its cheaper.

[+Udink]

I took a look at your event Udink - the log on it says

 

Posted: 1/12/2007 3:02 PM

Last Update 1/6/2007 12:24 PM

 

maybe you forgot to activate it until today? or there was some kind of site hiccup (stuff happens) anyway, it's on queue now.

Thanks for taking a look. It's been active ever since I first submitted it, so that couldn't be the case. What does "Posted" mean anyway? When I viewed the page about 2 minutes ago, it said this at the bottom:

 

Current time: 1/12/2007 11:15:59 PM

Last Updated: 1/6/2007 8:24:00 PM

Last Found: Never

This cache has not been published yet.

Rendered: From Database

Coordinates are in the WGS84 datum

 

From what I understand, the "Last Updated" date and time was my last modification.

[+mtn-man]

Does anyone here know what form of payment the reviewers for Utah prefer? I've had an event listing sitting in the queue for 6 days now, but as far as I can tell it's just been ignored. More than 20 regular caches have been published in Utah since I listed my event. I politely e-mailed our main reviewer (mtn-man) three days ago, and our other reviewer (Lord Stirling) two days ago, but haven't gotten a response from either.

 

And, before you ask, yes, I've checked for reviewer notes, and I also made sure the "Yes, this listing is active" checkbox is checked.

You should have checked your email before posting. I emailed today from the airport as I was flying home. Your event is a bit out of the box and would not ordinarily be something we would list, according to the guidelines, but I am checking to see if it is something we could let go. That is a better answer than a flat out archive, isn't it!

 

And it is milkbones!

[+Udink]

You should have checked your email before posting. I emailed today from the airport as I was flying home. Your event is a bit out of the box and would not ordinarily be something we would list, according to the guidelines, but I am checking to see if it is something we could let go. That is a better answer than a flat out archive, isn't it!

I didn't receive the e-mail from you, but I did just read the note on the cache page. Thanks for taking a look at it. By the way, wouldn't your reviewer note have generated an e-mail to me automatically, or do reviewer notes only generate an owner e-mail after the cache has been approved? If the former is the case, maybe something's wrong with my e-mail account?

 

And it is milkbones!

Next time I go to Sam's Club, I'm stocking up!

Edited January 13, 2007 by Udink

[+CO Admin]

You should have checked your email before posting. I emailed today from the airport as I was flying home. Your event is a bit out of the box and would not ordinarily be something we would list, according to the guidelines, but I am checking to see if it is something we could let go. That is a better answer than a flat out archive, isn't it!

I didn't receive the e-mail from you, but I did just read the note on the cache page. Thanks for taking a look at it. By the way, wouldn't your reviewer note have generated an e-mail to me automatically, or do reviewer notes only generate an owner e-mail after the cache has been approved? If the former is the case, maybe something's wrong with my e-mail account?

 

And it is milkbones!

Next time I go to Sam's Club, I'm stocking up!

 

The reviewer note generates an email to the cache page owner. (and yes to anyone watching the page, but that isn't the issue here )

[+erik88l-r]

By the way, wouldn't your reviewer note have generated an e-mail to me automatically, or do reviewer notes only generate an owner e-mail after the cache has been approved? If the former is the case, maybe something's wrong with my e-mail account?

 

It should have. I posted a test note to your cache page. See if you get that one.

 

But don't send ME any dang milkbones. Only dark chocolate accepted.

 

~erik~

[+Udink]

I posted a test note to your cache page. See if you get that one.

I didn't get that one either. I also posted a note to one of my own active cache pages and didn't get the notification. However, I was able to receive e-mail that I sent to myself from another account on a different server. Unfortunately, spam is still getting through as well! Well, thanks for the help, hopefully they'll come though eventually.

[+Quiggle]

Chocolate? Huh? Our local reviewer (Quiggle) and our nearby PA reviewer (Keystone) demand a pre-review deposit of a SIZEABLE amount of cache in their offshore bank accounts before they will even look at a cache listing submittal! They would laugh us off the planet if we tried to send chocolate rather than the customary "courtesy donation" of $5,000 per cache submittal!

Heck, I'll take sizable amounts in my onshore bank account too. Oh, and dark chocolate milk bones for me!

 

[+Trucker Lee]

Since the question came up, I got curious and went back to look.

 

I've only two caches out, Max Cacher reviewed the first, Prime Reviewer the second. Both within 48 hours.

 

It has been mentioned above that the reviewers are volunteers, and they do have lives of thier own, not to mention the urge to cache. So yes, let's send out a THANK YOU to all the reviewers.