Travel Bugs and Geocoins.

[+Shinook & White Juan]

Over the years, we have released almost a dozen geocoins/travel bugs only to have them go missing. We only have one that is still actively being logged and eight that have gone missing after only a few logs. The whole point it to see where they go and the possible pictures of places that you may not get to see. We like finding tbs and geocoins and we do like to watch where they go and where they have been. Its too bad that there are some who see these as something that they can keep. It's frustrating, and we know that this is very common. Others should respect the fact that it is a travel bug with a goal (although we have come across tb's with no goal). Sorry for the rant.

[+Landsharkz]

It might be a coincidence, but we have seen a distinct increase in geocoins going missing since the onset of dedicated 'app caching'. Groundspeak gives the coordinates of our caches to folks who solely cache with apps without the necessity of having to create an account on geocaching.com. If I go to geocaching.com and don't log in, I don't see coordinates. If someone downloads the app and looks for nearby caches they get everything except Premium Member caches. Some 'app cachers' create geocaching.com accounts, learn a bit more about the game and integrate themselves in the global caching community (attend events for example)... but many don't. Not all 'app cachers' play the same game we play because they don't have the same rules presented to them. At least folks who create an account have the resources at their fingertips and can see a tab at the top for trackables so they know it's there to read about if they want. App cachers can be pretty clueless and innocently do things geocaching (and with trackables) that the folks with geocaching.com accounts and Groundspeak resources don't. They are certainly not the sole problem occurring to trackables, but I suspect they are a good part of it.

 

In all honesty, when we activate a geocoin and set it free, I consider it 'kissed goodbye' and out there for other people's enjoyment until it goes missing. We have sent out a large quantity of coins and I never look at our trackables list to see how many are missing. I prefer to enjoy the logs from the ones still travelling and the photos from their adventures.

[+6NoisyHikers]

App users don't need to have an account on the website??? If that is accurate, I don't think I like it. No wonder it is almost impossible to contact someone who is phone-caching.

 

We bought travel bugs for each member of our 6NoisyHiker family, plus one for the Mini-Hiker They are all in transit right now but the one I worry about most is Shyloh's TB. We dropped it off, a newbie "grabbed" it from the cache (as opposed to "retrieving" it) and who knows where it is now. It has only been a month, but I fear this one is a goner without having gone anywhere.

 

I don't plan to send out any more trackables - these ones either work out or they don't. The only other thing I am considering is a personal geocoin for each of us that will visit only the caches that each family member helps to find.

[+Shinook & White Juan]

It might be a coincidence, but we have seen a distinct increase in geocoins going missing since the onset of dedicated 'app caching'. Groundspeak gives the coordinates of our caches to folks who solely cache with apps without the necessity of having to create an account on geocaching.com. If I go to geocaching.com and don't log in, I don't see coordinates. If someone downloads the app and looks for nearby caches they get everything except Premium Member caches. Some 'app cachers' create geocaching.com accounts, learn a bit more about the game and integrate themselves in the global caching community (attend events for example)... but many don't. Not all 'app cachers' play the same game we play because they don't have the same rules presented to them. At least folks who create an account have the resources at their fingertips and can see a tab at the top for trackables so they know it's there to read about if they want. App cachers can be pretty clueless and innocently do things geocaching (and with trackables) that the folks with geocaching.com accounts and Groundspeak resources don't. They are certainly not the sole problem occurring to trackables, but I suspect they are a good part of it.

 

In all honesty, when we activate a geocoin and set it free, I consider it 'kissed goodbye' and out there for other people's enjoyment until it goes missing. We have sent out a large quantity of coins and I never look at our trackables list to see how many are missing. I prefer to enjoy the logs from the ones still travelling and the photos from their adventures.

 

Wow, that is interesting to know that app cachers don't need an account to find a cache. One thing is for sure, we won't be releasing anymore geocoins or travel bugs. I should however mention that most of the geocoins and tbs that we released went missing in the United States. I'm not insinuating anything, but it's a fact.