Geocacher's that Hound Geocoins

[+Chaseskip]

I have a specific geocacher that has collected a couple of geocoins that I put in a couple of new caches.

This user has not moved the coins in almost 2 years. My 11 year old daughter spent her own money to buy these new geocoins to see how far they would travel.

The user refuses to respond to my many messages from here & was wondering if there was anything else I could do.

He has been geocaching 33 times since then & has had plenty of chances to move the coins on.

 

This is very disappointing especially for my daughter. Anything I can do? Anyone?

[+Chokecherry]

Anytime you release something into the wild that is the chance that is taken, lost, washed away or in some other way will vanish. Some vanish sooner than others.

 

That being said if I got "many messages" from anyone on here I would be quickly figuring out how to send those messages directly to the trash bin. There's a line where it becomes annoying. Doesn't matter who is in the right. Tends to make people passive aggressive. Honestly if it were me I would have dropped those coins in the nearest cache and not cared whether or not the cache was one that muggled often if I got many messages.

 

You don't know how good this person ever was at logging coins. I have a friend who flat out is horrible at it. Usually he remembers to pick coins up out of caches logging wise but it's a rare day that he'll remember to drop them back into the caches. I've talked to him about it but it's in one ear and out the other. He might not even have the coins.

 

I have temporarily lost coins in the past. I get them home, set them down and the coin fairy comes and grabs them and hides them in my house. Maybe this person just flat out lost the coins.

 

Maybe it's someone who was in and out of caching and the coins got lost in the transitions.

 

There's any number of things that could have gone on. It's best to not get too attached to things you send out to the wild.

[+Chaseskip]

Thanks for the fast reply. I understand that it's the chance you take when you spend money like that.

It's just very disappointing for my daughter that people do this.

[+mpilchfamily]

On a similar thread earlier to day someone suggested changing the name of the coin to "Stolen by (geocacher's name here)". Every time the person logs a find he'll see that at the bottom of the page staring back at him. I wouldn't recommend it but it sounds like you've done all you can to get them back into circulation.

[+Walts Hunting]

On a similar thread earlier to day someone suggested changing the name of the coin to "Stolen by (geocacher's name here)". Every time the person logs a find he'll see that at the bottom of the page staring back at him. I wouldn't recommend it but it sounds like you've done all you can to get them back into circulation.

 

I love that idea. It would also show up under their moved/discovered list. However the downside is that they could do a drop of it and not really drop it. Probably no actual solution.

Edited May 27, 2011 by Walts Hunting

[+BlueDeuce]

You are placing too much value on your traveler. I would never release one if the last effort for recovery would require me to label someone a thief, even if they were. If losing a coin for any reason causes angst, don't release them.

 

I'll take a look at the profile and see if I can find an alternative.

 

Stick to margaritas Walt.

Edited May 27, 2011 by BlueDeuce

[+Chaseskip]

I guess what I should have asked is if one of the Administrators of the site could contact him and politely tell hm to move it. From what I know about this hobby, it's supposed to be a fun, family orientated hobby build around honor & trust. So if an Admin could contact him to remind him of this, it sure would make my daughter happy & carry on with the hobby instead of discouraging her.

[+Harry Dolphin]

Yes. It is very frustrating and it happens all too often. (Which is why I don't buy them anymore.) There is one I put in a cache. Short time later, it was picked up. A yer later, it appeared at an event. So I e-mailed the holder and asked if he woyld put it in a cache. A few months later, he did. A few months afer that, he marked it missing. Oh, well. I hope he enjoys it.

But, you have missed the point. When you set it out, it may move, it may disappear or a wild animal may muggle it. You have no control over it. One politely worded e-mail after a while (several months?) is all you can do.

The Powers that Be will not do anything.

The best thing to do is breathe deeply, say "Oh, well" and move on with life. You can try again, if you wish. (I've got one with 46000 miles on it, and another with 19000 miles.) But you cannot become so attached to them that it bothers you this way.

[+BlueDeuce]

I guess what I should have asked is if one of the Administrators of the site could contact him and politely tell hm to move it. From what I know about this hobby, it's supposed to be a fun, family orientated hobby build around honor & trust. So if an Admin could contact him to remind him of this, it sure would make my daughter happy & carry on with the hobby instead of discouraging her.

 

No, there's nothing wrong with sending a friendly email asking someone to move a bug along. I typically don't even think about contacting someone until a good three months have passed. Then I only offer assistance. You never know what is going on in that person's life that might be keeping them from caching. Then I wait. Sending more and more emails is only pestering them and if you can see they are still out caching you know more emails aren't going to do any good.

 

Then after another three months I'll sending another email asking again, offering to find someone local to take hand-off, or I'll pay for postage to have it sent back to me, or at least let me know if they lost it so I can re-release it.

 

Like I said I'll take a look at the profile. Maybe I can someone who knows them.

Edited May 27, 2011 by BlueDeuce

[+Walts Hunting]

if an admin did that when thid happened thry eould have ti hire sn additional squad for this. Losing bugs is just psrt of this hobby.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

As WH said....

 

Site admin has a lot more to do than to police lost/held/stolen bugs and 'coins. Besides, what would they do if the holding person refuses to cooperate?

 

It may sound cold-hearted, but turn the matter around... this should be a learning experience for your daughter. Sad yes, but certainly not earth-shattering. Ya just cannot have "good" without having any "bad".

[+The Blorenges]

Here's an idea...

 

You said it's been nearly two years now since there's been any movement or news about the geocoins - If they were mine, I'd re-release them in some way.

 

You still have the tracking numbers for them on the coins' homepages. Do a 'grab' back from whoever has them, to return them to your own inventory.

 

Now, create some sort of replacement items that can go travelling in place of the originals - maybe your daughter would like to do good, painted/colored copies of the two coins which could be laminated? Or she could choose a couple of small items to simply represent what the original coins were called. Put the tracking numbers onto the copied coins, or attach good, clear laminated labels with the tracking number and "trackable at geocaching.com" on them.

 

Edit the geocoin's home pages to explain what has happened to your originals and how your daughter has created something new/unique to try and have some more fun following her disappointment. Edit the names of the geocoins to include the word "copy" or "proxy".

 

Put them out into caches, wish them Good Luck and keep your fingers crossed (once more).

 

(If the original geocoins ever come back to life all you'll have to do is contact whoever has the replacements and get them withdrawn from travel.)

 

MrsB

[+Chaseskip]

I'm not really getting excited or think it's life threatening. lol. Far from it. I was just venting how some people are disrespectful while still geocaching. Thanks for all the replies, and we will still go on enjoying the hobby hoping some day they will move it on.

 

[+thehawkers3]

I actually did have success reporting a geocacher in our area to geocaching.com. This was an extreme case though - he was listed as holding over 80 travel bugs. The first time I e-mailed geocaching.com they said there was nothing they could do. About 6 months later I e-mailed them one more time and they said they would look into it. He had taken 4 more of the TB's I placed during those 6 months plus others of other people. The next time I checked his profile it was blocked. I don't know if it was because of my e-mail or something else. I hope that helps.

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Mrs.B supplied the best idea yet.

 

Send out a "proxy" -- an printed, laminated (both sides) photo of the geocoin AND the story that goes along with it, all on the same page.

 

Some won't move proxies, but quite possibly the addition of the story just might convince some of them to make an exception.

[+NanCycle]

I actually did have success reporting a geocacher in our area to geocaching.com. This was an extreme case though - he was listed as holding over 80 travel bugs. The first time I e-mailed geocaching.com they said there was nothing they could do. About 6 months later I e-mailed them one more time and they said they would look into it. He had taken 4 more of the TB's I placed during those 6 months plus others of other people. The next time I checked his profile it was blocked. I don't know if it was because of my e-mail or something else. I hope that helps.

 

Maybe that made you feel better, but did that bring back any of the trackables that he had taken? And did that prevent him from creating a new profile and continuing his old habits under a new name?

[ablessednewlife]

Are you kidding me? Those of you saying that some people simply forget to log them, or set them down and lose them for a period of time, THEN DO NOT TAKE THEM FROM THE CACHE. Leave them for someone responsible enough to log them and play the game the way it was intended. It is not ok that some people just take the bugs and just keep them. It is sad that because of these individuals, who cannot be trusted, people are choosing to no longer send out bugs at all. Soon the whole idea could be for not. It is sad that it is happening and even more sad that some of you act like it is no big deal and one should get over it.

[+BlueDeuce]

...edited for angst.

Edited May 30, 2011 by BlueDeuce

[+Chokecherry]

Are you kidding me? Those of you saying that some people simply forget to log them, or set them down and lose them for a period of time, THEN DO NOT TAKE THEM FROM THE CACHE. Leave them for someone responsible enough to log them and play the game the way it was intended. It is not ok that some people just take the bugs and just keep them. It is sad that because of these individuals, who cannot be trusted, people are choosing to no longer send out bugs at all. Soon the whole idea could be for not. It is sad that it is happening and even more sad that some of you act like it is no big deal and one should get over it.

 

Some of us, believe it or not, have lives outside of geocaching. Sometimes that life takes precedence over your bug. It's not about keeping them. It's about doing other stuff that precludes, at times, logging the bugs. My friend is lucky to even log the caches he finds half the times. He does move the bugs he picks up but sometimes they're not logged correctly due to his lingering confusion about this whole logging of the bug thing. Tried to walk him through it but he's better as a hands on learner.

 

I lagged in moving some bugs when I got back from vacation last year. I even lost a couple bugs for a little period of time. Putting my dog to sleep and dealing with my job were more important to me than the bugs I had picked up. Sorry.

 

It's not about being responsible for many people. It's about life for a lot of people. Many people's lives do not revolve around this hobby.

[+BlueDeuce]

Are you kidding me? Those of you saying that some people simply forget to log them, or set them down and lose them for a period of time, THEN DO NOT TAKE THEM FROM THE CACHE. Leave them for someone responsible enough to log them and play the game the way it was intended. It is not ok that some people just take the bugs and just keep them. It is sad that because of these individuals, who cannot be trusted, people are choosing to no longer send out bugs at all. Soon the whole idea could be for not. It is sad that it is happening and even more sad that some of you act like it is no big deal and one should get over it.

 

Some of us, believe it or not, have lives outside of geocaching. Sometimes that life takes precedence over your bug. It's not about keeping them. It's about doing other stuff that precludes, at times, logging the bugs. My friend is lucky to even log the caches he finds half the times. He does move the bugs he picks up but sometimes they're not logged correctly due to his lingering confusion about this whole logging of the bug thing. Tried to walk him through it but he's better as a hands on learner.

 

I lagged in moving some bugs when I got back from vacation last year. I even lost a couple bugs for a little period of time. Putting my dog to sleep and dealing with my job were more important to me than the bugs I had picked up. Sorry.

 

It's not about being responsible for many people. It's about life for a lot of people. Many people's lives do not revolve around this hobby.

 

Not even part of my first response but I'll skip over the true situations like being deployed to Iraq, breaking their leg, or dying.

 

I'll touch on this

or set them down and lose them for a period of time

 

Good luck in your endeavors. I hope you never misplace one of my bugs either.

[+RobandtheGirls]

The rampant loss of TB was frustrating me at first, then I realized how easy you can get in over your head with these. My daughter loves finding them, but getting rid of them is easier said than done. Sometimes we end up cacheing on the fly and they aren't with us, then we end up at a bunch of little ones when we have them.

 

I also worry a lot about the caches I place them in, because it seems like some people watch certain caches, and pick them up, at least by us.

 

I also know, since it is my daughter that loves the TB how easy it is to misplace them. I try to have a place in the house where they go, but then of course we forget to take them cacheing.

 

I am thinking if I place five out there in various caches, one should take. It is frustrating, but I really like the Blorenges suggestion.

 

From someone who spent an unplanned week in the hospital recently and loves TBs, stuff happens, you don't know what is up with these people. I have the best of intentions anytime I pick up a TB, and I trust other caches to do the same.

[+Chaseskip]

Are you kidding me? Those of you saying that some people simply forget to log them, or set them down and lose them for a period of time, THEN DO NOT TAKE THEM FROM THE CACHE. Leave them for someone responsible enough to log them and play the game the way it was intended. It is not ok that some people just take the bugs and just keep them. It is sad that because of these individuals, who cannot be trusted, people are choosing to no longer send out bugs at all. Soon the whole idea could be for not. It is sad that it is happening and even more sad that some of you act like it is no big deal and one should get over it.

 

Some of us, believe it or not, have lives outside of geocaching. Sometimes that life takes precedence over your bug. It's not about keeping them. It's about doing other stuff that precludes, at times, logging the bugs. My friend is lucky to even log the caches he finds half the times. He does move the bugs he picks up but sometimes they're not logged correctly due to his lingering confusion about this whole logging of the bug thing. Tried to walk him through it but he's better as a hands on learner.

 

I lagged in moving some bugs when I got back from vacation last year. I even lost a couple bugs for a little period of time. Putting my dog to sleep and dealing with my job were more important to me than the bugs I had picked up. Sorry.

 

It's not about being responsible for many people. It's about life for a lot of people. Many people's lives do not revolve around this hobby.

 

I understand that geocaching is not everyone's main goal in life, but the issue is not someone losing the geocoins or not having the time. The issue is having the respect to message back to say what is going on. If they lost it, so be it. This person has been geocaching 22 times since then & has been on the site to log the entries, so an email would just be considerate.

Edited May 30, 2011 by Chaseskip

[+BlueDeuce]

I have the best of intentions anytime I pick up a TB...

 

If no one has ever told you Thank You, let me be the first.

[+BlueDeuce]

 

I understand that geocaching is not everyone's main goal in life, but the issue is not someone losing the geocoins or not having the time. The issue is having the respect to message back to say what is going on. If they lost it, so be it. This person has been geocaching 22 times since then & has been on the site to log the entries, so an email would just be considerate.

 

Not everyone is willing to admit they lost a bug or that they just don't care. You need to decide how you want to deal with it. I can give reasons why it happens but in the end you need to bide your time and then find ways to best keep your bug in circulation. The first question I would have to ask is does your coin make the best traveler?

[+d+n.s]

Are you kidding me? Those of you saying that some people simply forget to log them, or set them down and lose them for a period of time, THEN DO NOT TAKE THEM FROM THE CACHE. Leave them for someone responsible enough to log them and play the game the way it was intended. It is not ok that some people just take the bugs and just keep them. It is sad that because of these individuals, who cannot be trusted, people are choosing to no longer send out bugs at all. Soon the whole idea could be for not. It is sad that it is happening and even more sad that some of you act like it is no big deal and one should get over it.

 

Some of us, believe it or not, have lives outside of geocaching. Sometimes that life takes precedence over your bug. It's not about keeping them. It's about doing other stuff that precludes, at times, logging the bugs. My friend is lucky to even log the caches he finds half the times. He does move the bugs he picks up but sometimes they're not logged correctly due to his lingering confusion about this whole logging of the bug thing. Tried to walk him through it but he's better as a hands on learner.

 

I lagged in moving some bugs when I got back from vacation last year. I even lost a couple bugs for a little period of time. Putting my dog to sleep and dealing with my job were more important to me than the bugs I had picked up. Sorry.

 

It's not about being responsible for many people. It's about life for a lot of people. Many people's lives do not revolve around this hobby.

 

Life getting in the way =/= someone who isn't actually into/able to move a bug taking one anyways.

 

Don't put yourself in the same boat as people who have no respect for other people.

I have enough faith/respect in the users of this forum to believe they understand that "stuff happens" and that they can understand the difference.

Edited May 31, 2011 by d+n.s