How long can a cache remain unpublished...

[+swfirefly]

... while holding others' geocoins hostage. Someone took one of my coins almost 3 months ago and put it into a brand new cache 2 weeks later. The cache has sat unpublished for 2 months now.

[+gof1]

It's now in some dirtbag's private collection. They do it with TB's to.

[Keystone]

The coin is trapped in a cache that hasn't been listed yet because of a listings guideline violation. You may wish to consider writing politely to the geocacher who dropped your coin in their new cache. The cache owner needs to respond to the reviewer's note that explained the simple change that's needed in order to have the cache published.

[+intolerable]

I know someone who has had a coin in an unpublished cache for more than 8 months. Although the owner of the cache is active in the area, apparently they haven't responded to my friend inquiring about the cache and his coin. It's a real drag

[+swfirefly]

The coin is trapped in a cache that hasn't been listed yet because of a listings guideline violation. You may wish to consider writing politely to the geocacher who dropped your coin in their new cache. The cache owner needs to respond to the reviewer's note that explained the simple change that's needed in order to have the cache published.

Thanks for the info, Keystone. I think I will give the cache owner a gentle reminder.

[+SSO JOAT]

We were dealing with this issue in my local area a few months ago. The unpublished cache was used by the TB/coin thief to drop his stolen property into so it doesn't appear on his member inventory list. He owned the unpublished cache and naturally never published it since it was simply a fake hiding spot and there was no real cache ever placed.

 

Long story short, he finally got his account banned. Unfortunately, when they ban someone, it just blocks access to that account and he will never to able to edit, publish, or archive the cache. To move any of his hoard of TBs, he would have to grab them with one of his new basic accounts or his "secret" PM account. But doing so would reveal his new account and get it banned (which occured with his first couple attempts to reenter the game, leaving a string of banned accounts as each new one was uncovered and reported). Apparently, he got tired of the efforts as he was blocked at every turn and quit. No one has heard a peep out of him in nearly 2 months.

 

I know he received hundreds of requests for him to release his hostages, but he still has them (or tossed them in the trash, who knows). Nothing more one can do but ask. Or maybe host an event cache at his house (we know where he lives and works) and have a large group of folks ask him in person (nicely, of course).

[+wkmccall]

... while holding others' geocoins hostage. Someone took one of my coins almost 3 months ago and put it into a brand new cache 2 weeks later. The cache has sat unpublished for 2 months now.

 

Normally, if it's anywhere near my area - within the 3 states; I'll make a caching day out of it and go pull it from the cache myself.

[+wimseyguy]

How would you know where to find it if they are sitting in an unpublished cache?

 

And to answer the OP-the answer is forever. Some caches never get published. I hope this cache owner does the right thing and either corrects the issue Keystone alluded to, or removes the trackables in the cache and moves them along.

Edited November 29, 2008 by wimseyguy

[+wkmccall]

How would you know where to find it if they are sitting in an unpublished cache?

 

True.. I guess I'm looking a published cache for the example. Sorry about that.. Typing before thinking this morning - before my pot of coffee..

[+trainlove]

But to answer your question.

As the Owl on TV said, kind of, A cache can remain unpublished for 17 months. At least that's how long I've been working on one of my caches.

Well it's really just an experiment and I might never place it. But there are many caches that people create for one purpose or another and never submit.

[+Walkworthy & Wife]

... while holding others' geocoins hostage. Someone took one of my coins almost 3 months ago and put it into a brand new cache 2 weeks later. The cache has sat unpublished for 2 months now.

 

I was wondering if you, being the owner of the geocoin, were able to see your coin in an unpublished cache? I had assumed that the only people able to see an unpublished cache were the CO and the Reviewer?

[Keystone]

The owner of a trackable receives a notification e-mail when the trackable is dropped into a new cache. There's a link in the message to the cache in which the trackable was placed. When you follow that link, you'll receive an error message if the cache is not yet published.

[+trainlove]

I was wondering if you, being the owner of the geocoin, were able to see your coin in an unpublished cache? I had assumed that the only people able to see an unpublished cache were the CO and the Reviewer?

 

The owner of a trackable receives a notification e-mail when the trackable is dropped into a new cache. There's a link in the message to the cache in which the trackable was placed. When you follow that link, you'll receive an error message if the cache is not yet published.

Yes.

Speaking from experience, you only get to know the name of the unpublished cache at the time the coin/bug was placed into it. That's all. I don't even think you can see what the GCnumber is, just the GUID.

[+SSO JOAT]

To see an example of an unpublished cache, go to the following Jeep TB and click on the name of the "cache" that it is in. This is an unpublished cache. Also, click on the "View Map" link for the TB and you'll see the marker for the unpublished location of that cache (#20). So now you know what you can and can't see.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=596707

[+intolerable]

... while holding others' geocoins hostage. Someone took one of my coins almost 3 months ago and put it into a brand new cache 2 weeks later. The cache has sat unpublished for 2 months now.

 

Normally, if it's anywhere near my area - within the 3 states; I'll make a caching day out of it and go pull it from the cache myself.

 

This is exactly what we did Unfortunately, we never found a suitable route from our approach.

[+ridid44]

I'm having this same problem.

 

My unpublished cache has remained unpublished for about a month! I just keep waiting and waiting!

[+gof1]

I'm having this same problem.

 

My unpublished cache has remained unpublished for about a month! I just keep waiting and waiting!

 

Not the same as the OP's coin being stuck in someone else's unpublished cache.

 

For your problem contact your reviewer. They will know what the deal is.

[+ridid44]

sorry did not read thoroughly.

[+gof1]

Happens to us all at some point.

 

Hope you found the info useful anyways.

[Keystone]

I'm having this same problem.

 

My unpublished cache has remained unpublished for about a month! I just keep waiting and waiting!

Your cache, submitted on November 16th, is less than 425 feet from an existing cache.

 

I am sure that one of the volunteer cache reviewers will write to you soon with details about the "Cache Saturation" guideline once their turkey is fully digested. Sorry for the delay. Thank you for your patience, and thank you for hiding a cache.

[+Team GeoBlast]

To see an example of an unpublished cache, go to the following Jeep TB and click on the name of the "cache" that it is in. This is an unpublished cache. Also, click on the "View Map" link for the TB and you'll see the marker for the unpublished location of that cache (#20). So now you know what you can and can't see.

 

http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=596707

 

Man, naming your unpublished cache Just Pissing People Off and doing that is not going to win any karma points.

[Clan Riffster]

Following the map link for the TB puts the "chosen" coords for that unpublished cache close to N60* 29.392 / W151* 05.678. The property looks like a public school, with the coords leading to a track. I'd guess there was no cache there, but it'd be fun to check, if it wasn't at the opposite end of the continent. Who knows what you'd find? An ammo can? A referee? I wonder if any of our Alaskan brethren have looked into it? Could be fun!

[+SSO JOAT]

Oh yes, it's been "looked into". The original coords were actually right on top of his house. When we ganged up and started making his life miserable over being such a low-life, he moved the coords down the road a couple blocks to a soccer field. Rest assured there is no actual cache. All the loot is at his residence.

[+Vater_Araignee]

Oh yes, it's been "looked into". The original coords were actually right on top of his house. When we ganged up and started making his life miserable over being such a low-life, he moved the coords down the road a couple blocks to a soccer field. Rest assured there is no actual cache. All the loot is at his residence.

Maybe you should publish a cache right on top of his house and call it "Just pissing off this thief."

[+NYPaddleCacher]

But to answer your question.

As the Owl on TV said, kind of, A cache can remain unpublished for 17 months. At least that's how long I've been working on one of my caches.

Well it's really just an experiment and I might never place it. But there are many caches that people create for one purpose or another and never submit.

 

The first cache I ever placed (about 22 months ago) was not published due to proximity to a R&R (it was actually in a park, on the other side of a parking lot from the tracks). It remained unpublished up until a month or so ago when the reviewer archived it. I hope you're keeping your reviewer up to date on what you're planning to do with the cache. I suppose you could always submit a new one.

 

There is a difference between an unpublished cache that has been submitted for review and one that hasn't.

 

I know someone that is an avid geocoin collector. All the coins in her collection she either bought, one as FTF prizes, traded with other collectors or were given to her as gifts. She owns a cache that has not been published that she uses to hold her coins. I've heard of others doing the same thing though I don't know how long she'll be able to keep that cache unpublished.

[GOF and Bacall]

For a strict answer to the question the cache can remain indefinitely in limbo. As long as it is never submitted, or not drawn to the attention of those in the position to do something, it could remain unpublished and unarchived for ever. Not to mention that many caches have been archived without being published.

 

That said, this thread is more about the holding of other peoples coins and bugs than the publishing of caches. Or have I missed something?

[+SSO JOAT]

Maybe you should publish a cache right on top of his house and call it "Just pissing off this thief."

 

Oh, we talked about putting a ring of puzzle cache publish points around his house. But he got himself permanently banned before it got to that level. There's your karma in action.