Problems With Logging TBs and GCs

[+VirusZero]

This topic has probably been discussed before several times, but I reckon since this is the first time this has ever happened to me, that I would like to know what is done about it by those involved.

 

Many caches these days claim on the website to contain one, two or several TBs and GCs to find/exchange, but upon arriving to the cache, one finds that none are there. Normally this wouldn't pose a problem when the TBs finder waits a few hours to get back to their place and logs the find/removal.

 

Increasingly now, though, it's not happening, and a GC that I just purchased and placed in a cache in Vancouver (one that is quite popular and quite easy) was removed along with several others. It's been a week...and not one of the 20 or so finders over the past 7 days has logged anything other than "TNLN"...in some cases going as far as saying they've placed TBs and GCs of their own.

 

Why are people not logging their finds in? Could it possibly also have something to do with the fact that no option exists for logging in trackables in the "found it" option for the iPhone application? People who find the caches seem to log them instantly, so it might be necessary to put in the trackable placement option into the iPhone application just as it is possible to do so on geocaching.com

 

A cache I found today claimed to have 4 TBs in it, but upon finding it today, none were there. Again, nothing was mentioned on the cache's logs (which I'd been watching for a while) about anyone removing them.

 

After several TBs were taken out of that cache in Vancouver I spoke of earlier, the cache owner himself had to report my GC and two others as missing. Would there possibly be a way to enforce more stringent controls on trackable movements? Just a suggestion.

 

Thanks

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Can't really blame it on the smart phones.

In all truth, BECAUSE smart phones cannot log a traveler puts us all on the same footing.

Everyone has to do it (log a traveler in/out) the "old" way. IMO it actually helps keep logging them on an even keel.

 

Now, the real crunch here is two-fold...

1) mis-logging (or not logging at all). Grabbing immediately instead of waiting to see if the trackable will be logged by somebody who may well be driving/flying/hiking/sailing and doesn't have immediate access to a terminal. This action though, is at least correctable (or partially correctable).

Travelers taken out of a cache w/o any logging at all certainly is a problem -- one that cannot be blamed on n00bs or smart phones alone. Of course, there is always muggles to blame as well as just plain "geo-thieves".

Part of the blame must be put directly upon the shoulders of cachers that intend to do it correctly, but for any number of reasons, don't. A pretty big reason is placing a traveler immediately after retrieving it from another cache -- they never got home to log it, hence it isn't in their inventory, so upon placing it and getting home to log, they find they don't have the tracking number. So what do they do? NOTHING! It's just left for "someone else to take care of".

 

2) Cachers noticing that a traveler is not present (as inventoried in a cache) either do or say nothing about it (aside from posting their disappointment in the forums). They SHOULD state so in their online log AND post a note on the trackable page alerting both the CO and owner that it isn't in the cache. Then comes the next problem directly related -- the CO nor the trackable owner list the trackable as "missing" -- they both are emailed the log entry, so why not? This alone would clear a lot of missing travelers from cache inventories as well as relieve the angst of cachers wanting to move one (only to find it isn't where it is supposed to be).

 

Solving the problem? I dunno. I do not expect it to be rectified in our lifetime.

Making it easier to log will not solve the problem. IMO, it would only exacerbate the problem.

 

That's my 2¢ worth. Not much, I know, but it's all I got.