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What Irks you most?


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22 minutes ago, Ambrosia said:

I can't remember the last time I found a TB or coin in a cache. :unsure:

We find TBs on a regular basis. found 4 in the bonus of a series last Sunday. We prefer multi's (or better, non-traditionals) and find/leave TBs almost weekly or every two weeks. It seems the easiest to get to caches are the ones without trackables or where TBs go missing. I don't select caches that have TBs but it seems that the type we like have a higher percentage than the ones we ignore.

Out of 32000+ unfound caches here in Belgium a little over 2000 have TBs (or at least have trackables on the listing. That's 6.2%.

 

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6 hours ago, Ambrosia said:

It seems that TB's and coins fair better in Europe. Out of many TB's that we own, only one is still active, and it's been in Europe for a long time.

Yeah, I don't see nearly as many TB as I used to. And most of mine went missing. But the ones that didn't go missing have been stuck in Europe for years. Sometimes it annoys me -- oops! I mean it sometimes irks me -- a little that TBs tend to migrate to Europe and then stay there, but, on the other hand, at least they don't often disappear once they get there.

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On 10/5/2017 at 2:43 PM, wm3t said:

Definitely T.B. thieves it is very discouraging when you have sent out two travel bug s a year apart with the same goal only to have them picked up and not released again. People who do that should be have their account suspended and be banned for life

In reality there isn't much you can collect from a container, in a sense of a true (uniform) collection. Definitively there are many interesting swag items around, but there isn't a foundation feature that brings them all together. At the end you just have a box full of disconnected objects. Geocoins and TBs don't have that problem (both types share their own common features), so they make very attractive collection subjects! Yes, we all know they shouldn't be kept, but the reality is different. If you decide to steal one, there's no one looking over your shoulder, so the temptation ends up winning.

To counter that I started a project for a new kind of geocaching swag specifically made to be collected: geostamps. They were inspired on classic postal stamps and are cheap to produce by anyone at home. At the end of the day they're just simple geocaching swag in laminated paper form, but they share that common foundation that make up a collection. Perhaps people with a desire to collect may turn to geostamps and start leaving geocoins and TBs alone? You can google for "geostamping", and forgive my shameless plug! :unsure:

EDIT: Another motivation for the creation of geostamps is what dprovan and Ambrosia just wrote: a decline in geocoins and TBs found, followed by (in my opinion) a general decline in the quality/quantity of swag found in containers. At least in Portugal that's an alarming trend.

Edited by rui_curado
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28 minutes ago, rui_curado said:

In reality there isn't much you can collect from a container, in a sense of a true (uniform) collection. Definitively there are many interesting swag items around, but there isn't a foundation feature that brings them all together. At the end you just have a box full of disconnected objects. Geocoins and TBs don't have that problem (both types share their own common features), so they make very attractive collection subjects! Yes, we all know they shouldn't be kept, but the reality is different. If you decide to steal one, there's no one looking over your shoulder, so the temptation ends up winning.

To counter that I started a project for a new kind of geocaching swag specifically made to be collected: geostamps. They were inspired on classic postal stamps and are cheap to produce by anyone at home. At the end of the day they're just simple geocaching swag in laminated paper form, but they share that common foundation that make up a collection. Perhaps people with a desire to collect may turn to geostamps and start leaving geocoins and TBs alone? You can google for "geostamping", and forgive my shameless plug! :unsure:

EDIT: Another motivation for the creation of geostamps is what dprovan and Ambrosia just wrote: a decline in geocoins and TBs found, followed by (in my opinion) a general decline in the quality/quantity of swag found in containers. At least in Portugal that's an alarming trend.

Kinda surprised that the site's letting you tout your QR code trackable venture (maybe because there's no link...), but I agree that most trackables we've seen go missing lately are by folks keeping them as souvenirs, or maybe kids thinking it's a toy.

Maybe it's just me, but feel if a kid has a choice between a Lego Batman figurine and a stamp, I'm bettin' on Batman.  :)

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6 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

Kinda surprised that the site's letting you tout your QR code trackable venture (maybe because there's no link...), but I agree that most trackables we've seen go missing lately are by folks keeping them as souvenirs, or maybe kids thinking it's a toy.

Maybe it's just me, but feel if a kid has a choice between a Lego Batman figurine and a stamp, I'm bettin' on Batman.  :)

Geostamps are just swag items with a code, not actual trackables, neither using GC data, so not competing with GCHQ... but I do avoid talking about them here (and definitively no links), just keeping a mention of them in my sig.

And yes, I agree that a Lego Batman figurine would win over a stamp, of course. It's more "physical", but kids (and grown-ups) do like collecting, you know? :P

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9 hours ago, Ambrosia said:

I can't remember the last time I found a TB or coin in a cache. :unsure:

Yeah, I agree.  

Lately it seems the few we do find  in caches, but not in inventory, and some distance away from the last "visit".   Logs make it appear they mixed a few up in which caches they were (finally) dropped.   :)

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9 minutes ago, rui_curado said:

Geostamps are just swag items with a code, not actual trackables, neither using GC data, so not competing with GCHQ... but I do avoid talking about them here (and definitively no links), just keeping a mention of them in my sig.

Then why is there a section saying "Geostamps are Trackable"?    I'd think it is competing, since you charge for the QR code and registering a design...

Anyway, this is off-topic, unless it's gonna be a new irk.  :D

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19 minutes ago, cerberus1 said:

Then why is there a section saying "Geostamps are Trackable"?    I'd think it is competing, since you charge for the QR code and registering a design...

Anyway, this is off-topic, unless it's gonna be a new irk.  :D

They are collector-trackable, not cache-trackable...

OK, so putting things back on-topic, I'll put things the other way around, now from the irk-provocateur perspective: I tend to keep travel bugs in my possession for months! :ph34r: It's my brain's fault. I forget them at home most of the time. "dadgum, not again!..." I say.

For instance, the "While my guitar..." trackable (https://coord.info/TB558VE) stayed in my hands seven months! Currently I hold "Travel Bug Origins - Deutschland" (https://coord.info/TB4D2GA) for two months now. Again, the same is happening. This does contribute to the TB owner's "did it disappear?" irk... sorry! :(

Maybe I should have a "geocacher backpack" like many have...

Edited by rui_curado
punctuation added
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What irks me more than anything already written on these 39 pages is someone contacting me via my site for commercial reasons. (You  know who you are, I consider it SPAM and if I would write my real thoughts about it here I'd be banned forever).

Hint: don't try this again!

 

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What irks me the most you ask...

how do new cachers know about 'TFTC'?

Is that something the app offers newbies to post as a blanket log?

I admit, I've used it before but when I started caching in 2005, we wrote stories in log books about our adventures as well as when we logged online...

Some caches definitely warrant more than TFTC...and likewise some don't but you still had to have some kind of adventure in finding the cache or at least getting there...

 

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7 minutes ago, rnrgrl said:

What irks me the most you ask...

how do new cachers know about 'TFTC'?

Is that something the app offers newbies to post as a blanket log?

I admit, I've used it before but when I started caching in 2005, we wrote stories in log books about our adventures as well as when we logged online...

Some caches definitely warrant more than TFTC...and likewise some don't but you still had to have some kind of adventure in finding the cache or at least getting there...

 

I'm starting to think I'm lucky if I actually get TFTC - some of the newer cachers around here only speak in emojis.

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On 5/23/2013 at 1:05 PM, Inmountains said:

Discourtesy.

Not saying Thank You when someone repairs your cache.

Holding a TB too long.

 

On 5/23/2013 at 1:12 PM, Roman! said:

Puzzle caches!

 

I don't understand why a CO would want to keep me sitting on my butt in front of the computer trying to figure out what he/she was thinking when I could be outside finding caches.

These things. A few m

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5 hours ago, Tumbleweedeb said:
On 23/05/2013 at 9:12 PM, Roman! said:

Puzzle caches!

 

I don't understand why a CO would want to keep me sitting on my butt in front of the computer trying to figure out what he/she was thinking when I could be outside finding caches.

These things.

329 finds in 10 years of caching - one of those 329 being a mystery cache that has no puzzle attached - and you claim that puzzle caches keep you sitting on your butt in front of the computer when you could be outside finding caches?

#ShakesHeadInDisbelief

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You are just, well, not what it was when we were all here 10 years ago. Man, you are a mean person. Whatever. I don't see what you added to this thread, other than angry old man stuff. Even if you aren't, you seem it. :( Whatever. Good life to you? What did I do? You should find another thread to take it out on? Yeah, think so :) THis is GEOCACHING, not bashing.

 

Edited by Tumbleweedeb
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32 minutes ago, Tumbleweedeb said:

NO idea why the snarky response? You are young? New? Or just really mean?

Neither young nor new - just appreciative of rather than mean to CO's who invest time to put puzzles together that allow me to keep my hand in the game on those occasions where I'm stuck indoors - for whatever reason.

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Invest time in not trolling and being snarky. Do you understand the spirit of this game, when it was started? Keep the original spirit of this game alive. And bite your tongue from time to time. Life is short. No need to talk when there is no need to, if you have nothing to contribute, just stay silent. Little man quiet is way better than little man with a big something else ;) Have a great night <3

And the title of the thread is now alive...this is the worst irk....trolls. I just answered, and now some *%@$( is all over me. Part of the sport, I guess. But its not fair. Reported all over the place, and making sure I still get my place and voice even though Dick, well, tried to shoot me down. I am sorry my "numbers" aren't what...you know what? I don't care. Numbers. Whatevers. Might be time for a new sport, other than harrassment ;)

Edited by Tumbleweedeb
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8 minutes ago, Tumbleweedeb said:

Invest time in not trolling and being snarky. Do you understand the spirit of this game, when it was started? Keep the original spirit of this game alive. And bite your tongue from time to time. Life is short. No need to talk when there is no need to, if you have nothing to contribute, just stay silent. Little man quiet is way better than little man with a big something else ;) Have a great night <3

And the title of the thread is now alive...this is the worst ;)

Thanks for those great insights - I'll consider myself educated :rolleyes:

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10 hours ago, Tumbleweedeb said:

Puzzle caches!

 

I don't understand why a CO would want to keep me sitting on my butt in front of the computer trying to figure out what he/she was thinking when I could be outside finding caches.

 

10 hours ago, Tumbleweedeb said:

 

These things. A few m

Not trying to be mean or rude but,,, why not just skip over puzzle caches when you see them? There are enough of the other types of caches out there to keep us busy.

It may have been mentioned this earlier in the thread, maybe even by me, but it kinda irks me when people come on here complaining about challenging (puzzles, tree climbing, etc,,) caches. I would understand the complaint if these were all we had to go for but since they make up such a low percentage of total caches placed, they're really easy to avoid/ignore. ;)

Edited by Mudfrog
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I like a reasonable balance of puzzle caches.  I've visited areas where the #1 category of caches around were difficult puzzles, followed in second place by uninteresting park and grabs.  Thankfully there were still enough other caches that were more to my liking, so it wasn't a total wash for me.

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I was up in Chicago for a few days this week and was surprised by the dearth of traditionals in most of the areas I was in.  Lots of puzzles,. which I don't typically go for when I'm on vacation and/or out with my family...unless I've put in the effort before traveling and have the coordinates in hand.

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38 minutes ago, J Grouchy said:

I was up in Chicago for a few days this week and was surprised by the dearth of traditionals in most of the areas I was in.  Lots of puzzles,. which I don't typically go for when I'm on vacation and/or out with my family...unless I've put in the effort before traveling and have the coordinates in hand.

From what I've seen puzzle caches (and multi caches) seem to make up  a much larger percentage of the caches in many cities in Europe than they do in the U.S.  It looks like most of the puzzle caches in Chicago are in one area.  Just as an example, a 10 mile radius search of Chicago shows that puzzle caches make up around 15% of all active caches.

I hand picked a few other cities and came up with the following:

Paris, France: 32%

Berlin, Germany: 34%

Copenhagen, Denmark: 32%

Seattle, Washington: 26%

San Francisco, California: 29%

Montreal, Canada: 28%

Although I usually get traditionals when traveling I'll usually look for a few puzzles to solve before I leave.  I don't tend to find a lot of caches when I travel so even adding a couple of puzzle caches provides a little variety.

 

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Another irk...

When you find GZ to be a heavily overgrown area with relatively few likely hiding places.  When it takes a lot of effort to check these hiding places without hurting yourself on prickers and then you don't find anything.  Bonus points if there's no hint and/or the recent logs suggest the coordinates are off.

Edited by MysteryGuy1
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I'm slightly disappointed that there isn't an option to receive notifications when a user edits their cache log. I understand that there are many reasons why this would be a bad thing to implement, but I've missed a few great logs because someone posts a 'TFTC' while out on the trail and then edit's their log with a amazing story a week or so later. 

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4 hours ago, Pezdude said:

I've missed a few great logs because someone posts a 'TFTC' while out on the trail and then edit's their log with a amazing story a week or so later.

Yeah, it would irk me that they didn't just wait to log their Find until they could post the real log.

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9 hours ago, niraD said:

Yeah, it would irk me that they didn't just wait to log their Find until they could post the real log.

One here posts found or FTF with a "more later" log.  Caching in a couple states almost biweekly, they're behind in logging by months (unless they ever have time to take a week off).   

When I asked,  they said they've had more issues with COs and backlogging  their found date than adding more later when they can.  :)

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I have three pet hates. 

1. ground zero being in a rubbish dumping ground. I have ignored ones after finding I would have to hunt around trying to avoid broken bottles, dogs muck and other nasty things.

2. inappropriate things left in caches. superglue, lighters, lighter fluid, sweets, are a few things I have found.

3. Please let us know if there is a parking space nearby. I sometimes spend longer looking for a parking space at a start of a caching day then caching. 

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'found place described as hiding place; didn't find cache'

WHY are you logging it as a find then?! <_<

Also when people leave food, leaves, etc in a cache. I found an entire SANDWICH in a cache before! I only really see this one at National Trust properties; lots of newbies who don't even know the rules being handed a Garmin and some coords ... I mean, I'm all for getting people into this hobby, but PLEASE tell them basic etiquette ... Do you want badgers stealing your caches? That's how you get badgers stealing your caches.

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6 hours ago, LycanthroFee said:

I found an entire SANDWICH in a cache before!

Point of order: unless a geocacher mentioned leaving the sandwich in their online log, you can't assume that a cacher left it there.  We've seen plenty of caches with drug paraphernalia (or actual drugs) left by muggles who happened upon the cache.

It's not helpful to assume that new geocachers are universally ill informed or need to be chastised as a group.  We were all new at this once. 

For that matter, keep in mind that "newbie" is in the eye of the beholder.  We've been at this for over a decade, but we're still years behind the charter member crowd, and we still haven't seen it all.

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1 hour ago, hzoi said:

Point of order: unless a geocacher mentioned leaving the sandwich in their online log, you can't assume that a cacher left it there.  We've seen plenty of caches with drug paraphernalia (or actual drugs) left by muggles who happened upon the cache.

It's not helpful to assume that new geocachers are universally ill informed or need to be chastised as a group.  We were all new at this once. 

Sorry if I miscommunicated; I meant it was a national trust cache. National trust has a thing set up where families can grab a GPS and some coords and go off geocaching in their parks (no logging online, no accounts, no explaining the rules other than a 'you go to the coordinates and try to find it then write your name in it')

What I had meant was, I'd rather that the national trust would give them the basic ruleset instead of setting them off with not a clue of what's allowed to be placed in! It's not so much that I'm blaming the people who did it, imagine if you'd been set off caching for the first time and you've just been given a basic example of what can and can't be done, it's just natural that someone's going to do something against the rules at some point if they don't know what the rules are in the first place

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7 minutes ago, LycanthroFee said:

I'd rather that the national trust would give them the basic ruleset instead of setting them off with not a clue of what's allowed to be placed in! It's not so much that I'm blaming the people who did it, imagine if you'd been set off caching for the first time and you've just been given a basic example of what can and can't be done, it's just natural that someone's going to do something against the rules at some point if they don't know what the rules are in the first place

Ah, I see.  And yes, I certainly agree that the National Trust should be setting such neophytes up for success.

I'd hope this is limited to caches placed by the National Trust.  If so, that would at least allow one to be on notice to either avoid those hides or be prepared for anything.

If these are published geocaches, I suspect that they'd all have potential to be black holes for travel bugs as well...

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What irks me?

COs that quit the game but leave their caches to fester...

COs that ignore NM logs...

COs that disable their caches and leave them unattended for months...

Reviewers that don't attend promptly to NA logs

Reviewers that disable abandoned caches but never return to archive them...

Bad maintenance all round.

I know that people quit the game, and that maintenance can be time consuming. I understand that COs and reviewers have lives outside caching. None of that alters the fact that abandoned and missing caches are a detriment to the game and they need to be dealt with. It can take months to get a bad cache removed here. It's depressing :(

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10 hours ago, gasbottle said:

 

Reviewers that don't attend promptly to NA logs

Reviewers that disable abandoned caches but never return to archive them...

Bad maintenance all round.

I know that people quit the game, and that maintenance can be time consuming. I understand that COs and reviewers have lives outside caching. None of that alters the fact that abandoned and missing caches are a detriment to the game and they need to be dealt with. It can take months to get a bad cache removed here. It's depressing :(

 

It's sad to hear that this is happening in other places as well. It really gripes me as well that the same reviewers have held me accountable for my geocache listings and ignore others. Did something official change? Can abandoned caches just be temporary disabled and never archived? It's confusing to me too.:(

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16 hours ago, gasbottle said:

What irks me?

....

Bad maintenance all round.

I'd really like to see this posted in its own thread so we could discuss each of these points. I'm already exhibiting bad form by commenting even this much on the irk thread.

16 hours ago, gasbottle said:

Reviewers that don't attend promptly to NA logs

Reviewers that disable abandoned caches but never return to archive them...

We don't have either of these problems in my area. The reviewers almost always promptly disable a cache after an NA, and caches NAed and then disabled are normally archived after a reasonable delay. One reason I'd like to see this topic opened to discussion to see if this is a widespread problem, or just an anomaly in your area and Manville Possum's.

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1 hour ago, dprovan said:

I'd really like to see this posted in its own thread so we could discuss each of these points. I'm already exhibiting bad form by commenting even this much on the irk thread.

We don't have either of these problems in my area. The reviewers almost always promptly disable a cache after an NA, and caches NAed and then disabled are normally archived after a reasonable delay. One reason I'd like to see this topic opened to discussion to see if this is a widespread problem, or just an anomaly in your area and Manville Possum's.

You can always open a new thread and quote this one. I'm reluctant to do so because it risks drawing unwarranted attention to reviewers who already have a somewhat thankless task.

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21 minutes ago, gasbottle said:

You can always open a new thread and quote this one. I'm reluctant to do so because it risks drawing unwarranted attention to reviewers who already have a somewhat thankless task.

Guess I don't understand why you'd post that then.  Didn't you draw that attention yourself by posting it?  

Don't be surprised if your Reviewers already saw this, as saying, "It can take months to get a bad cache removed here" even specifies where...     :)

We don't have those issues in our area.

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I'm upset by people who don't understand that micros are designed for hiding in places with little cover, and then go ahead and place them in heavy vegetative cover without understanding that GPS is only good to within 5-7 meters.  Who wants to take the trouble to look for a micro that is the size of half my pinky in dense vegetative cover without even a hint where it is located from the person who placed it?

This is very common in my current Urban location. City slickers don't seem to have a clue as to what the various sizes are for, or how GPS actually works,  and how to best hide things that are FUN to locate.  Mostly these are a senseless waste of time for seekers who end up chasing something that takes hours and many people to rarely find.

Get wise City Slickers!  Just because you found a grove with trees and undergrowth, doesn't mean you don't have a responsibility to those trying to to find something you hide within a reasonable amount of time.

 

Edited by TyrehlByk
badly written first draft
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