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Dipping...


WRITE SHOP ROBERT

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Wouldn't it be cool if GS could develop a special trackable(or a way to register a trackable to do this) that would automatically record being dippped into every Cache you find. I think if they had a fee to set this up, or made it a special Traveler that had a cost that would cover it, they could make some money on the idea. Of course I get a free one for the idea...

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That would be great! I love carrying a pocket coin but I hate going through the multiple steps required to dip it. I still do it but another option would be nice!

Yeah, I think they woulf have to set up a special section, and maybe you could delete the logs that you didn't want recorded in the milage. Of course, if I were smart, I'd develop it, end then try to get it approved and make some money...But, I'm not smart.

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I think it'd be easier if they'd just code the log form for caches so that you can pick up bugs/coins on the same page, while you're logging your visit. Of course, you'd still have to enter the tracking codes. And if you still had your own inventory list (so that you could drop off stuff in your inventory at the same time), it would be much easier. Everything handled on one page - a one-stop shop. I think it would help with the problems that people -- especially people new to the sport -- have with the relatively complicated method we still have.

 

I put it in as a suggestion in the geocaching.com Forum -- no response, tho, and apparently (according to other posters) this has been requested for about three years now. : (

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Hey,

 

I like the idea of a coin automatically being dropped and retrieved from a cache for the mileage. I do not think it would be as much work, as the idea for renewing the system would...

 

But I also do like the idea with the new applications to the site #all in one#, if it had been recommended some years ago, they might already work on it, overall Groundspeak is a small company and it is not all that easy to program such things...

 

Happy caching

 

Tschakko

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I am thinking about getting a 'Dipping' Coin shortly, what the etiquette of it as I want to use it for caching miles, also a nice personal coin. Could I dip the coin in caches that I have done from the start, or just from when I receive the coin ?

 

Sorry about the jump in on the post

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I am thinking about getting a 'Dipping' Coin shortly, what the etiquette of it as I want to use it for caching miles, also a nice personal coin. Could I dip the coin in caches that I have done from the start, or just from when I receive the coin ?

 

Sorry about the jump in on the post

 

You can go back and drop the traveler into the caches you have found. Just post a note on the cache explaining what you are doing and that you will delete the cache log. Once you drop it you will immediately get the option to delete the note. Deleting it won't affect the tracking.

 

Back-logging 100 plus caches is tedious work!

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Why couldn't GS just track profiles to each cache and make a map of each showing distance from cache to cache? You could have it come up on your profile and look like a TB or coin map but just list each cache a person has found in order and show you your mileage. Of course it would be avaliable to premium membership holders so they could cover the cost of set up. It should not be to difficult to do since they can mirror a TB travel map. :yikes:

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Why couldn't GS just track profiles to each cache and make a map of each showing distance from cache to cache? You could have it come up on your profile and look like a TB or coin map but just list each cache a person has found in order and show you your mileage. Of course it would be avaliable to premium membership holders so they could cover the cost of set up. It should not be to difficult to do since they can mirror a TB travel map. :D

 

I think you're on to something there! That would be a really nice feature. While they're at it though, how hard would it be to add a "Dip" option to the Found/Discovered/Dropped option list. It would record a drop and retrieve automatically and save you a half dozen steps. :yikes:

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Why couldn't GS just track profiles to each cache and make a map of each showing distance from cache to cache? You could have it come up on your profile and look like a TB or coin map but just list each cache a person has found in order and show you your mileage. Of course it would be avaliable to premium membership holders so they could cover the cost of set up. It should not be to difficult to do since they can mirror a TB travel map. :D

 

I think you're on to something there! That would be a really nice feature. While they're at it though, how hard would it be to add a "Dip" option to the Found/Discovered/Dropped option list. It would record a drop and retrieve automatically and save you a half dozen steps. :yikes:

That sounds like it might be the easiest way to do it. Basically the same as creating the "Discover" option to reduce Grab/Drop logs.

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I think the purpose of "dipping" is to keep track of the distance travelled while caching, right? I use GSAK to keep track of that for me, as well as a huge amount of other stats (check my profile). This would eliminate the legwork of "dipping" in every cache that you visit.

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I think the purpose of "dipping" is to keep track of the distance travelled while caching, right? I use GSAK to keep track of that for me, as well as a huge amount of other stats (check my profile). This would eliminate the legwork of "dipping" in every cache that you visit.

 

How do you do it in GSAK?

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I think the purpose of "dipping" is to keep track of the distance travelled while caching, right? I use GSAK to keep track of that for me, as well as a huge amount of other stats (check my profile). This would eliminate the legwork of "dipping" in every cache that you visit.

Well, besides just keeping track, it adds Character and gives others a way to follow if they like(by watching). Rather than just being raw stats, it adds a bit of fun if it's a TB or Coin. Another angle is if you have a TB or Coin that carries a message(there are more and more of these) then it could be done without all the hassle.

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I think the purpose of "dipping" is to keep track of the distance travelled while caching, right? I use GSAK to keep track of that for me, as well as a huge amount of other stats (check my profile). This would eliminate the legwork of "dipping" in every cache that you visit.

 

GSAK does keep track of miles and it's great for all of the other stats too but there is a huge learning curve to it. Maybe it's just me but I just spent the last 3 hours trying to figure out how to get all of the stats setup right and get them uploaded to my profile. So even with the extra steps involved, dipping a coin is much easier. Plus, even though I now have GSAK setup, I'll still continue to dip my pocket coin. Just because I enjoy keeping track that way too.

Edited by sunsetmeadowlark
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I'm all for the tracking of a profile. Seems much easier. But if we did have a special coin or Bug for 'dipping', it might add a little identifier to our own personal appearance, a certain charm necklace or something that over time with other cachers might help you stick out. Not that we're so bland that we NEED a charm or necklace to set us apart, lol.

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Wouldn't it be cool if GS could develop a special trackable(or a way to register a trackable to do this) that would automatically record being dippped into every Cache you find. I think if they had a fee to set this up, or made it a special Traveler that had a cost that would cover it, they could make some money on the idea. Of course I get a free one for the idea...

 

Why not just track your personal mileage directly?

INATN, and the FindStatGen macro for GSAK can do it to a degree, but there is no functionality for the mileage to and from your home for the first and last cache of the day.

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I think the purpose of "dipping" is to keep track of the distance travelled while caching, right? I use GSAK to keep track of that for me, as well as a huge amount of other stats (check my profile). This would eliminate the legwork of "dipping" in every cache that you visit.

Well, besides just keeping track, it adds Character and gives others a way to follow if they like(by watching). Rather than just being raw stats, it adds a bit of fun if it's a TB or Coin. Another angle is if you have a TB or Coin that carries a message(there are more and more of these) then it could be done without all the hassle.

 

Wouldn't it be cool if GS could develop a special trackable(or a way to register a trackable to do this) that would automatically record being dippped into every Cache you find. I think if they had a fee to set this up, or made it a special Traveler that had a cost that would cover it, they could make some money on the idea. Of course I get a free one for the idea...

 

Why not just track your personal mileage directly?

INATN, and the FindStatGen macro for GSAK can do it to a degree, but there is no functionality for the mileage to and from your home for the first and last cache of the day.

There are already a lot of people who have pocket Coins/TBs that they are using for this. It's a completely different kind of record than you could get with all those programming options(Like I said above, it's Tracking a Character, rather than just some more statistics). I don't use any of those programs, and many people don't. Dipping of Pocket Travelers will continue to happen, I think it would be cool if there were a way to make it easier, even if there was an added cost to that.

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I don't use any of those programs, and many people don't. Dipping of Pocket Travelers will continue to happen, I think it would be cool if there were a way to make it easier, even if there was an added cost to that.

 

I.N.A.T.N. is a free website, not a program you need to pay for. You don't have to use all their statistics if all you want to know is your mileage. You could extract that number and post it on your profile page...some folks add it to their stat bar.

 

That being said, the option to have each account 'be a TB' would be a cool idea if indeed it could be left as a personal selectable option.

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Maybe some people are just unaware that there are lots of people whu already have ACTUAL Travel Bugs/Coins that they log into and out of each Cache. for example the one on my (Hypothetical) dogs collar. Thanks for all the advice about how to track one's milage, but that's not what the topic is here. I started this topic in the Geocoin section, in response to a statement in another thread about Dipping. People in that section would probably better understand the Dipping. It's NOT all about tracking Milage. I'm NOT looking for a way to track milage.

 

Back on topic.....There are many people who have travelers that they "Dip" into each Cache(or some Caches) that they find. That fact being a given already, it would be cool if GS could develop or allow a way to make this "Dipping" a one step process, even if there were an extra fee for the added service.

 

Like I said, thanks for all the advice on how to track milage, but that's not the topic here.

Edited by WRITE SHOP ROBERT
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Wouldn't it be cool if this were the forum in which to have changes like this suggested?

But since it is not the place to suggest, and implement that kind of change, and the website guys don't frequent in here, I'll move it over there and see if it floats.

Thank You for the note, I really intended this just to be a discussion, rather than an actual feature request, although it may have gotten to that point after more people who enjoy dipping had discussed it.

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I don't use any of those programs, and many people don't. Dipping of Pocket Travelers will continue to happen, I think it would be cool if there were a way to make it easier, even if there was an added cost to that.

 

I.N.A.T.N. is a free website, not a program you need to pay for. You don't have to use all their statistics if all you want to know is your mileage. You could extract that number and post it on your profile page...some folks add it to their stat bar.

 

That being said, the option to have each account 'be a TB' would be a cool idea if indeed it could be left as a personal selectable option.

I'm not suggesting that each "ACCOUNT" be a TB, but rather that there be a physical trackable available that would be able to automatically log in and out of all the Caches you find, or a way to get an existing physical trackable to do that, We're talking TRAVEL BUGS, not just programming.

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Why couldn't GS just track profiles to each cache and make a map of each showing distance from cache to cache? You could have it come up on your profile and look like a TB or coin map but just list each cache a person has found in order and show you your mileage. Of course it would be avaliable to premium membership holders so they could cover the cost of set up. It should not be to difficult to do since they can mirror a TB travel map. B)

 

I think you're on to something there! That would be a really nice feature. While they're at it though, how hard would it be to add a "Dip" option to the Found/Discovered/Dropped option list. It would record a drop and retrieve automatically and save you a half dozen steps. :D

 

This would be nice, I would like this! I used to dip a coin when I first started, but back then, we found a lot of caches (500 in 5 months)...dipping took as long or longer than logging the caches and soon got tiresome, so I quit!

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One of the reasons I have a "dipping" coin is that it also gives me a place to upload photos that would be spoilers on the cache page or those photos where eveyone takes the same shot at the cache - I put those on my coin. The mileage is wrong though because of overseas trips where I think it has sometimes gone in the wrong direction or something.

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One of the reasons I have a "dipping" coin is that it also gives me a place to upload photos that would be spoilers on the cache page or those photos where eveyone takes the same shot at the cache - I put those on my coin. The mileage is wrong though because of overseas trips where I think it has sometimes gone in the wrong direction or something.

I attached a TB to my Camera, and while I don't Dip it into all the Caches, I do Dip it into Events, and I use that as a place to upload many of my photos, including those that might not be related to a particular Cache.

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I think you're on to something there! That would be a really nice feature. While they're at it though, how hard would it be to add a "Dip" option to the Found/Discovered/Dropped option list. It would record a drop and retrieve automatically and save you a half dozen steps. :D

 

I think this is a great idea, in fact I started a thread on this very subject a couple of weeks ago and got no response whatsoever. Anyway, I have a TB sticker on my car...the car that I drive to every cache...and regardless of what I am trying to track (mileage etc.) I would LOVE to be able to "Dip" instead of "Drop" and "Grab" at every cache I log. It does seem like a checkbox next to the trackable item in the dropdown list would be a easy way to log the difference between a "Drop" and "Dip". Just a thought!

 

Happy caching!

RockhoundMT

 

"I cache, therefore, I am!"

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Yes please.

 

When will this be avalible?

 

It realy is tedious at the moment if you go out and do i.e. 20 caches in a day and you have other TB's/ coins to pick up and drop.

 

So please if anything breaks and needs fixing don't fix it just work on implimenting this great idea.

Edited by Hampshire_Hog
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Maybe some people are just unaware that there are lots of people whu already have ACTUAL Travel Bugs/Coins that they log into and out of each Cache. for example the one on my (Hypothetical) dogs collar. Thanks for all the advice about how to track one's milage, but that's not what the topic is here. I started this topic in the Geocoin section, in response to a statement in another thread about Dipping. People in that section would probably better understand the Dipping. It's NOT all about tracking Milage. I'm NOT looking for a way to track milage.

 

Back on topic.....There are many people who have travelers that they "Dip" into each Cache(or some Caches) that they find. That fact being a given already, it would be cool if GS could develop or allow a way to make this "Dipping" a one step process, even if there were an extra fee for the added service.

 

Like I said, thanks for all the advice on how to track milage, but that's not the topic here.

 

OK, sorry.

I guess I just don't understand what else you could get out of what you are asking for...

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OK, sorry.

I guess I just don't understand what else you could get out of what you are asking for...

Well, some people have a "Dipping" coin that carries a message, like those from "Todie's Wild Ride" which all have messages about Bike Safety, and others have Bugs that they carry with them, that are a Character or pet. For example, rather than creating an account for your dog, you turn it into a TB and Dip it into all the Caches. One team I know has a Bear that they carry and take pictures of at Caches. If you only like to track your milage, and you don't have a Dipping Coin, then it might be hard to understand the desire to make dipping easier.

Edited by WRITE SHOP ROBERT
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I've started dipping backwards yesterday night (I have 250+ logs to do...), and yes, this is tedious. What is even more annoying is that every person watching the cache and every cache owner will get a note for every movement I make.

I totally hate the idea of spamming their e-mail addresses with "dip" notes. I have recieved a message this morning asking whether there was a problem with the caches... If there was a way to do it without screaming it on the roofs, I'd appreciate it very much.

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I'm also in the process of playing catch up with a personal TB and it is tedious. Fortunately my finds are not too high.

 

But it would be great if GS could do this automatically for at least one TB per account. It might even lessen the load on the servers a bit.

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WSR - What is the actual purpose of the dip if not to track mileage?

 

As a cache owner, I would never see that you dipped a coin in/out of my cache, so if there was a message or agenda to promote, nobody would really be aware of it unless they were watching the coin/TB.

 

Or am I missing something here?

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WSR - What is the actual purpose of the dip if not to track mileage?

 

As a cache owner, I would never see that you dipped a coin in/out of my cache, so if there was a message or agenda to promote, nobody would really be aware of it unless they were watching the coin/TB.

 

Or am I missing something here?

Well, there can be many purposes. anyone who looked at the Bug history on the Cache page would see that it had been there. Like I mentioned before, many people have a TB that is a Character that they dip, which is a little like having a seperate account for an infant or a dog...

 

I'm not really here to argue over what the purpose is of dipping, or whether people should/need to do it...It's already happening, and it'e growing so It would be a handy tool for those who like to play that part of the game.

 

I'm not talking about even making it free, It would be nice if (for an added cost) I could set up a TB/Coin to do that, or if they could even come up with a NEW king of TB/Coin, that would come with that feature.

 

If you dom't play the game that way, and you're more interested in statistics, then I probably could never explain it to you.

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Not trying to argue, just trying to understand. I'm far from a stats guy and just trying to "get it".

 

The people that I see dipping are doing it for the mileage which is what I think the majority do - thus the responses in here so far about mileage.

 

Just trying to get an idea of what you're trying to accomplish, that's all.

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There are many reasons I've seen people dip trackables:

  • Someone's item is on a race and you want to help out by moving it across multiple caches.
  • You want to maintain mileage on something.
  • The trackable could represent a person, pet, or object and you want to show where it has been.
  • There may be special conditions for dipping, such as only events or caches you like.
  • You want to assemble a story book of all your logs. Someone could "subscribe" (watch) to the trackable and they'll get notices of the cacher's activities.
  • You're writing notes about a cache. Someone in my area dips a coin into every cache and writes a spoiler in the pick-up log. As a cache owner, I can't say I condone such an activity.
  • You're numbering caches with the trackable. This way, you spare people the gloating of putting your find number in your log.

I maintain a dipping coin, TBXQ8N. I have a good process using Firefox and Greasemonkey. When I display the cache page, the coin (and any other trackable I'm dipping for someone) is automatically selected from my inventory. I have a separate tab tied to a keyword and open; it takes me to my coin's pick up page (another script automatically puts the tracking number in the text box; that particular script remembers every trackable's number). I copy the cache log before I submit it. After the log is submitted, I switch over to the coin's last log page, backspace to the pickup page, refresh the page (at the same time, I'm going to the field note list page), adjust the cache number and paste my log, and submit the page. After the coin page goes through, I click to log another cache from my field notes page. The entire operation takes an additional five to ten seconds per cache--much, much less time than it took you to read the paragraph. I like it.

 

Since there are so many reasons people dip trackables and the pick up logs differ, I say to leave it alone. I've dipped that coin in almost 9,000 caches thus far, other people's trackables in at most 1,000 per trackable in addition to the coin, and it's not much of an inconvenience.

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Seems like the spirit of this is to reduce the effort needed to log, drop and retrieve regardless of the purpose.

 

I have been carrying a bunch of TBs around the world (with the owners permission/at their request) and I can tell you that having to log, drop, retrieve up to 20 TBs per cache gets old pretty quickly and I have to admire the dedication of cachers like MaxB!

 

From my perspective, it would be really handy to have the option of selecting dip rather than drop when logging caches. Dip could then spawn a process of "dipping" on the TB pages rather than drop and retrieve and remain in the owners hands. Added to this could be the option to either include the cache log note or add a separate log specifically for the TB.

 

I guess this would also negate the need for creating and then deleting notes simply for catching up on dips - dip could also be an option added to the TB page for those times you forget to do it at cache log time.

 

Also would be handy to be able to reference photos (I haven't found a way to do this) so that I upload once and have it added to the gallery for both the cache and the TB logs.

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Bumping this thread and begging and pleading for a dipping feature to be added!

 

I've been trying to get my dipping coin caught up to all of the caches I've visited (I neglected to do it while logging many of my finds) and have spent HOURS and generated close to 300 activity report e-mails already and I'm not even half done. All of the cache owners are going to hate me when I do finally get this finished!

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I certainly hope we are not asking to Skim other cacher's bugs through caches without logging. What in the Heck would be the point in releasing a traveler? :)

 

As for your own, what are you looking for? Mileage? Cache tracking? Seems like a simple map/mileage/cache tracking option would suffice. Why would you need to purchase a TB or coin then designate it as a personal traveler just to get that result?

 

Log the bug, tell the story, upload the photo.

 

Edit: Looking back at the OP this was not what he was asking.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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As for your own, what are you looking for? Mileage? Cache tracking? Seems like a simple map/mileage/cache tracking option would suffice. Why would you need to purchase a TB or coin then designate it as a personal traveler just to get that result?

 

I'm not holding my breath on the map option you suggest. It seems like 99% of the suggestions on this forum section get ignored. for those of us who log our own trackable in and out of geocaches, a quicker method would be appreciated.

 

I recently found 18 caches, and dipping my personal traveler requires me to:

 

Select log this find,

Select my traveler,

Then write my log, and press submit this log entry.

Once my find is recorded, I have re-open the cache page to retrieve my coin.

I usually open the cache page in another window, so I can utilize the GC code box for my next find.

After re-opening the cache page, I click on my traveler, and wait for my coin page to re-open.

The I have to grab my coin, and write a log before submitting the log entry.

 

Multiply this eighteen times, and perhaps you can understand why we want a faster method to doing this.

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As for your own, what are you looking for? Mileage? Cache tracking? Seems like a simple map/mileage/cache tracking option would suffice. Why would you need to purchase a TB or coin then designate it as a personal traveler just to get that result?

 

I'm not holding my breath on the map option you suggest. It seems like 99% of the suggestions on this forum section get ignored. for those of us who log our own trackable in and out of geocaches, a quicker method would be appreciated.

 

I recently found 18 caches, and dipping my personal traveler requires me to:

 

Select log this find,

Select my traveler,

Then write my log, and press submit this log entry.

Once my find is recorded, I have re-open the cache page to retrieve my coin.

I usually open the cache page in another window, so I can utilize the GC code box for my next find.

After re-opening the cache page, I click on my traveler, and wait for my coin page to re-open.

The I have to grab my coin, and write a log before submitting the log entry.

 

Multiply this eighteen times, and perhaps you can understand why we want a faster method to doing this.

 

I understand perfectly. I have 86 pages of personal logging and that includes deleting over a year's worth of Retrieve logs just to have nothing but Placed logs. (Seemed like fun at the time)

 

What result are we looking for here? Are we looking for the fun of Dipping a PTB through caches. That's what I am doing. Are we looking for cache tracking? mileage?

 

If you are looking for stats you don't need a bug.

 

If you don't want stats you need to Drop.

 

Do you honestly think that gc.com is going develop programming for just those of us who carry personal bugs to have automated logging? Wouldn't they just simply offer the cache to cache tracking to everyone. I bet people would love to have it. Is it just for the old timers who chose to log by hand?

 

I would expect them to offer it site wide. And then it's not about carrying a traveler with you to the cache site. How would they make it a requirement? Nobody could.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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I understand perfectly. I have 86 pages of personal logging and that includes deleting over a year's worth of Retrieve logs just to have nothing but Placed logs. (Seemed like fun at the time)

 

What result are we looking for here? Are we looking for the fun of Dipping a PTB through caches. That's what I am doing. Are we looking for cache tracking? mileage?

 

If you are looking for stats you don't need a bug.

 

If you don't want stats you need to Drop.

 

Do you honestly think that gc.com is going develop programming for just those of us who carry personal bugs to have automated logging? Wouldn't they just simply offer the cache to cache tracking to everyone. I bet people would love to have it. Is it just for the old timers who chose to log by hand?

I would expect them to offer it site wide. And then it's not about carrying a traveler with you to the cache site. How would they make it a requirement? Nobody could.

 

After following the Geocaching Website forum for five years, I haven't got my hopes up for any improvements.

 

Heck, i'm still waiting for my PQs (that i've paid for since 04) to come in the morning of the day I requested them. :)

Edited by Kit Fox
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OK, I skimmed the thread so if this was brought up i second it. If not here is my idea:

 

At the bottom of the log page is a spot for dropping TBs

 

Dropped off any Travel Bugs?

Here you can "drop" them into this cache so others know the travel bugs are ready to be picked up!

 

You then select the TB and it is dropped into the cache.

 

Why not a second option just below this that says:

 

Dipping any Travel Bugs?

Here you can "dip" them into this cache and have them put back in your inventory automatically.

 

You select the TB you want to dip, log your visit and the TB auto dips into the cache and goes back into your inventory. A log could also be generated saying "Auto dip into cache" or something like that.

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