+The Blorenges Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Over the last few months we've come across quite a few caches where trackables are listed on the cache page, but there's no sign of them in the cache. I don't mean the occasional TB/geocoin that has been picked up just the day before and the cachers hasn't had a chance to log the retrieve on line - I mean trackables that have (supposedly) been in the cache for weeks... or months ... but they're not there. The preceeding logs have comments like "Didn't see Suchandsuch geocoin in the cache" or "no sign of TubbyTed TB" or whatever. A lot of cache owners don't seem to realise that if there's a trackable showing on their cache page and they know its not there, and it hasn't been in there for ages, then they can remove it from the cache listing. You don't have to wait for the owner of the trackable item to do something about it. Just go to your cache page, click on the "trackable ghost", on the right side of the page click on "Mark Item missing">GO, then confirm it on the next page. It doesn't permanently kill the trackable - it just gets it off your cache page. If it re-appears somewhere at a later date the finder will be able to bring it back into play by using the tracking number. MrsB Quote Link to comment
+rutson Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Good luck in spreading the word Lucilla! MANY times I've requested ghost bugs to be removed from caches directly in notes/logs to no avail generally. Quote Link to comment
+HazelS Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I go through my cahe listsings periodically and do just this.... It's just a nice bit of housekeeping we should all do from time to time. Quote Link to comment
+Haggis Hunter Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 If you do do this, then please put a note on the trackable page to say you have marked it missing. The owner of the trackable does not get an email if you mark it missing and it is only if and when they look at the trackable that they finally find out it is missing. This has happened to me a few times and it is really annoying that the cache owner hasn't bothered to inform me. Quote Link to comment
+rutson Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 D'ya know, I didn't realise that! I'd regard that as a bug myself :$ Quote Link to comment
+The Flying Boots Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I didn't know you could do this. Thanks for the info I've just recently discovered a coin missing from one of our caches so I'll go do it immediately. Quote Link to comment
+Haggis Hunter Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 D'ya know, I didn't realise that! I'd regard that as a bug myself :$ I would agree, but whilst it exists it's bloody annoying. Quote Link to comment
+HazelS Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Wow - yes that IS annoying! I hadn't realised, and I guess I just assumed that it would generate an email.... GC.com generates zillions of emails, so I thought it would automatically do one for this too!! Quote Link to comment
+Birdman-of-liskatraz Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 I know I'm terribly lazy and all that - but for us paperless cacher types, could we all put any sets of coordinates that are mentioned on the cache page, into a Waypoint - Pleaseeeeee. And yep, I'll go and do it right away... Quote Link to comment
+mollyjak Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Didn't know you could do that Learnt something new Quote Link to comment
+fat boy slow Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 Ooh ! I didn't realise I could do that ... so as a coin has been missing from 1 of my caches for over 6 weeks now I've not only removed it but added a note to the coin page Thanks for the nudge... Quote Link to comment
The Red Kite Posted August 19, 2008 Share Posted August 19, 2008 If a coin goes missing from one of my caches, (usually because its been muggled!) I always email the owner to let them know that their item has been taken from one of my caches and apologise. I feel so guilty. I know its a risk they take when releasing them, and all that, but it is happening more frequently lately. Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted August 22, 2008 Author Share Posted August 22, 2008 Just a quick bump for this, so I can keep spreading the word If a coin goes missing from one of my caches, (usually because its been muggled!) I always email the owner to let them know that their item has been taken from one of my caches and apologise. I feel so guilty... Yes, I know what you mean. It's always sad to send that email that starts off "I'm sorry to have to tell you this but ... " MrsB Quote Link to comment
+martlakes Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 It's certainly worth sorting out the ghosts, but it's also surprising how long some people take to log bugs and coins, especially this time of year when they are on holiday, get home and take an age to sort out their logs. So I don't tend to be too hasty in declaring a bug MIA, and then it depends on how busy the cache is whether lots of people notice that it isn't there. On the scale of annoyingness visiting a cache and not finding an advertised bug or coin is fairly low for me, nice to find but I don't usually go specifically to find one. Quote Link to comment
+Dark_Faerie Posted August 22, 2008 Share Posted August 22, 2008 Found quite a few missing this week in the Lake District, one was logged into the cache in 2006! Even international visitors had managed to log visits to these cashes within 24 hours. All my own caches/TB'S are up to date. Quote Link to comment
The Red Kite Posted August 23, 2008 Share Posted August 23, 2008 Theres not much doubt about whether a coin or bug is missing or not, when the whole cache has gone Quote Link to comment
+the pooks Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Funny how semantics can throw one one. After reading this thread I wanted to move a bug of mine out of one of my caches (the bug was given to a friend who has not logged it - the GC bug has obviously not bitten him hard enough). So I search all over the bug listing page to "move the bug to an unknown location" - in the end it transpires that I need to edit the distance travelled and mark the bug as missing. What is probably obvious to someone who has done it before, took a while for me to work out. I expected to find under "log type" and entry "move to an unknown location" Quote Link to comment
+t.a.folk Posted August 26, 2008 Share Posted August 26, 2008 Just a quick bump for this, so I can keep spreading the word If a coin goes missing from one of my caches, (usually because its been muggled!) I always email the owner to let them know that their item has been taken from one of my caches and apologise. I feel so guilty... Yes, I know what you mean. It's always sad to send that email that starts off "I'm sorry to have to tell you this but ... " MrsB We emailed the owner of a T.B. that had gone missing from an unmuggled cache we own . The owner was nice about it and apreciated us checking on his T.B. He then removed the T.B. from our cache inventry . Quote Link to comment
+minsterley Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 What should owners of trackables do if their TB/geocoin has gone missing? Our Liverpool 08 coin has been listed on an inventory for ages in a well visited cache - guess it's gone though Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted August 30, 2008 Author Share Posted August 30, 2008 What should owners of trackables do if their TB/geocoin has gone missing? Our Liverpool 08 coin has been listed on an inventory for ages in a well visited cache - guess it's gone though Go to your geocoin's page: On the right there's the little drop-down box "Recalculate distance" > Select "Mark Item Missing" then press GO > Confirm this near the top, when the page refreshes. Job done This will remove your coin from whichever cache page it's currently on, and moves it to an "unknown location". If your coin re-appears somewhere, maybe in a completely different cache, whoever picks it up can bring the coin back from limbo by using the tracking number on the coin. MrsB Quote Link to comment
+minsterley Posted August 30, 2008 Share Posted August 30, 2008 Thanks for the tip, MrsB Quote Link to comment
+Eclectic Penguin Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 (edited) I went back to visit my very first cache find last weekend as I was in that area - there was a Pooh Bear trackable listed there on my first visit that had vanished - and its still listed as being there nearly 3 years later! It looks like the cache setter is no longer actively caching - but it's a very good hide in the middle of a forest so I suspect the cache will last for quite some time to come! I try to keep my caches up to date - from time to time I check my local ones that have TBs listed and act on reports of TBs not being there. I've also had one person who hasn't cached outside the US "place" two trackables in a micro that couldn't have possibly taken them. Edited September 4, 2008 by Eclectic Penguin Quote Link to comment
Deceangi Posted September 4, 2008 Share Posted September 4, 2008 I went back to visit my very first cache find last weekend as I was in that area - there was a Pooh Bear trackable listed there on my first visit that had vanished - and its still listed as being there nearly 3 years later! It looks like the cache setter is no longer actively caching - but it's a very good hide in the middle of a forest so I suspect the cache will last for quite some time to come! I try to keep my caches up to date - from time to time I check my local ones that have TBs listed and act on reports of TBs not being there. I've also had one person who hasn't cached outside the US "place" two trackables in a micro that couldn't have possibly taken them. Email the TB owner or let me have the GC No of the cache and I'll move the TB into Unknown Location Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted April 4, 2009 Author Share Posted April 4, 2009 (edited) It's Spring Cleaning time again, folks The recent topic regarding trackable items sometimes not being in caches where they are listed prompted me to bump this pet topic of my own. If you own a cache and there are trackables listed on your cache page that you are certain are NOT in your cache any more then you, as the cache owner, can remove them from your cache page, to keep the details correct. For further details on how to do this, please see the OP of this topic. Keep those cache listings polished! MrsB Edited April 4, 2009 by The Blorenges Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted April 11, 2010 Author Share Posted April 11, 2010 The other topic about Missing Trackables prompted me to bump this "pet topic" of mine: It's time for the cache listings Spring Clean, folks! If you're a cache owner and you know there are trackables listed on your cache page inventory that are not actually in the cache (and have not been in it for months) then please mark them as missing. You can do this by going to the trackable's home page, on the right side, under "Trackable Items Options". Select "Mark Item Missing", click Go, then confirm the missing status at the top of the next page. Doing this does not 'kill off' the trackable item for ever - It simply removes it from your cache page inventory. If it is later found elsewhere it can be brought back into the game by using its tracking number. If you're a cacher who visits a cache and discovers that there are trackables listed in the inventory and they are not in the cache it's really helpful if you mention (by name) which ones were not seen when you log the cache online. It's extra helpful if you have the time to post a note on the trackable's home page to let the owner know that you didn't see it. As the owner of quite a few trackables, I'd like to thank all those who already know this information and take the time to try and keep their cache listings accurate. MrsB Quote Link to comment
+currykev Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 I prefer the old method of "the owner" sending the missing TB to a graveyard. I know I'm in the minority here. I usually am. Quote Link to comment
+smstext Posted April 11, 2010 Share Posted April 11, 2010 im glad someone has brought this up its been something i was thinking about a few weeks ago. if i find trackables missing i will mention it and if its one of my caches i will mark it missing. Quote Link to comment
+CnJnA Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Forgive my ignorance- I have 5tbs missing in action, and logged as such- IF any of them ever re-appear, how do they get re-activated? (Optimistic post...) Quote Link to comment
+dfx Posted April 12, 2010 Share Posted April 12, 2010 Forgive my ignorance- I have 5tbs missing in action, and logged as such- IF any of them ever re-appear, how do they get re-activated? (Optimistic post...) whoever finds them can just log them as "grabbed" (or maybe even "retrieve") and then move them on in the usual manner. Quote Link to comment
+The Blorenges Posted April 12, 2010 Author Share Posted April 12, 2010 If someone finds one of them in a cache somewhere they can simply put the tracking number into the box here: http://www.geocaching.com/track/default.aspx This will bring them to the trackable's home page. Then they'll be able to 'grab it' to bring it 'into their hands' and so it can continue on its travels once more... MrsB Quote Link to comment
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