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munzee stickers the end of geocaching?


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In the last two weeks since I attended the Berkshire Geobash III I have seen these munzee stickers on almost evry single cache I have tracked down. It completely ruins the "finding" of a geocache for me. My Girlfriend who is new to geocaching has now said on several occasions "it's over here I found the sticker". The thrill of the chase is gone, clever hides are made easy. I find the entire experience disheartening. Anyone else having this experience?

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No end of geocaching. It's a different game. Just let them search for their stickers...

 

It may not be the end of geocaching, but it is a problem for many who want to actually find the cache and not have it given away by these dang stickers.

 

We have a guy here that, when he finds a cache, he places one of these things as close to the cache location as he can. It has spoiled more than just a few hunts for me and others.

 

I have nothing against these folks playing their game, but why can't they play it without negatively affecting our game?

Edited by Semper Questio
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I agree! We had a similar experience last week in DE. I didn't mind so much seeing them on your run-of-the-mill guard rail hides but on trickier hides, for me, it was like if the CO had added a sticker at GZ that said something like "geocache HERE!" with a big red arrow. I realize your GPS serves a similar purpose (locating the spot) but the sticker for me was just gaudy (for lack of a better word coming to mind).

 

Sure, they should be able to play their game too but why not be original and come up with their own hiding places.

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I play it. :unsure:

 

Codes should not be placed near, or in, caches, unless it's your own cache and sticker.

(But then how many new players read 'Guidelines'? Cachers included!)

 

 

:ph34r:You could register and get your own app...

Two 'Unable to locate' logs and the sticker gets a Maintenance warning, and if not maintained by the placer, gets archived! / :ph34r:

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I've come across the stickers while hunting for caches, sometimes very close to the cache, sometimes in a different hiding spot nearby, sometimes hidden by the CO, sometimes by someone else. Never really felt they impacted my enjoyment of Geocaching in any way.

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Ive actually seen them several times stuck right next to cache locations as well. They are kind of annoying but in my experience i would consider them less than harmful to geocaching. Especially since 99% of the ones I've seen have been placed right next to LPCs or guardrails.

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I don't care about any kind of stickers as long as they are placed by/or in cooperation with the cache owner, otherwise the sticker owner is misusing the work/material of the CO.

 

I do mind when munzees are placed on/near caches that can contain trackables, since the munzee players probably won't know what they are and might think its okay to take one or more. I really hope that cache owners who play both (very different) games and place munzees will think about this.

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Yet to see a sticker in a woods cache here. Did find one with a competing site's literature in it.

- But they never caught on in this area and we simply disregarded it.

We found stickers all over (multiples) on bait and tackle shop lpcs in upstate NY last we were up salmon/steelhead fishing.

One pole had six stickers on it. Guess it was a special one...

We're not big on the roadside stuff, so if those are plastered too, it's not bothering us yet.

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No end of geocaching. It's a different game. Just let them search for their stickers...

 

It may not be the end of geocaching, but it is a problem for many who want to actually find the cache and not have it given away by these dang stickers.

 

We have a guy here that, when he finds a cache, he places one of these things as close to the cache location as he can. It has spoiled more than just a few hunts for me and others.

 

I have nothing against these folks playing their game, but why can't they play it without negatively affecting our game?

 

That's pretty much what I think about people who lay down power trails. At least putting a sticker on a post somewhere doesn't block out a quarter-mile wide sausage strip following the filmpot power trail.

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In the last two weeks since I attended the Berkshire Geobash III I have seen these munzee stickers on almost evry single cache I have tracked down. It completely ruins the "finding" of a geocache for me. My Girlfriend who is new to geocaching has now said on several occasions "it's over here I found the sticker". The thrill of the chase is gone, clever hides are made easy. I find the entire experience disheartening. Anyone else having this experience?

 

I don't think munzees will spell the end of geocaching, as long as geocaching can set itself apart from munzee in some useful way.

 

If geocaching focussed more on larger containers and interesting locations it could set itself apart more easily. If geocaching is going to be little more than film pots and keysafes behind posts and street furniture then it's easier and a lot less conspicuous (not to mention a lot less unpleasant) to simply scan a QR code than to fumble around in the spider webs, dog urine and other muck to look for a film pot.

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No end of geocaching. It's a different game. Just let them search for their stickers...

 

It may not be the end of geocaching, but it is a problem for many who want to actually find the cache and not have it given away by these dang stickers.

 

We have a guy here that, when he finds a cache, he places one of these things as close to the cache location as he can. It has spoiled more than just a few hunts for me and others.

 

I have nothing against these folks playing their game, but why can't they play it without negatively affecting our game?

 

That's pretty much what I think about people who lay down power trails. At least putting a sticker on a post somewhere doesn't block out a quarter-mile wide sausage strip following the filmpot power trail.

 

+1. When the game first appeared on the scene I thought all the nano/micro fans would glom on to it and forget about posting micro PTs here.... Didn't happen. There's something magical about the GC smiley.

Edited by L0ne.R
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Most of TGWMNBN stickers I have found are inside the cache. I did find one across the street from a cache once. I'm more likely to find a letterbox when looking for a cache. And I know for certain that I'm more likely to find a thrown down replacement for the geocache I'm looking for. TGWMNBN sticker seem a relatively minor problem.

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Would it be a good idea to post a NA on those caches spoiled by a Munzee? After all, they give the hiding place away. If they are on the container then the owner might want to know about it. Just an idea. Never really had to deal with those buggers. Fortunately they have not caught on here :shocked:

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I think it's a mistake to blame this on munzee just because some idiot decided to give away hides and is using munzee tags to do it. Have you talked to him about it? He's being a complete jerk, but he might not realize he's being a complete jerk.

 

I've run into a handful of munzees, but they're all essentially coincidences within searching distance of a cache but not giving away the hide. About half were placed by geocachers that were in the area to get the cache, but those, in particular, are always careful to be nowhere near the cache itself.

 

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about munzee. In my area, at least, it's not catching on, so I can't imagine it having a serious impact on geocaching. The problem you're encountering is a local issue not really related to the munzee game, kinda like people deciding it would be fun to steal caches.

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I think it's a mistake to blame this on munzee just because some idiot decided to give away hides and is using munzee tags to do it. Have you talked to him about it? He's being a complete jerk, but he might not realize he's being a complete jerk.

 

I've run into a handful of munzees, but they're all essentially coincidences within searching distance of a cache but not giving away the hide. About half were placed by geocachers that were in the area to get the cache, but those, in particular, are always careful to be nowhere near the cache itself.

 

Anyway, I wouldn't worry about munzee. In my area, at least, it's not catching on, so I can't imagine it having a serious impact on geocaching. The problem you're encountering is a local issue not really related to the munzee game, kinda like people deciding it would be fun to steal caches.

 

Agreed. The guy is an idiot for giving away hide spots. It's a local problem. Munzees aren't catching on and should not be mentioned in the forum.

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Must be something that occurs in some communities but where I cache I see a munzee only once or twice a month.

 

Yeah, they must be talking about Guardrail and LPC caches. I notice for example, the OP found a bunch of Mass Pike rest stop caches on the way to/from the Geobash. I daresay I've never come across a situation where one could give away a cache location.

 

And I'm not a big looker at their forums, but I know it's almost universally agreed over there you should not put them INSIDE someone else's Geocache. Only seen/heard of that happening once, personally.

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I am seeing them in urban areas at cache sites. I have a QR scanner, but not the munzee app and no interest in playing. I first saw the QR codes to geocaches on another listing service and thought it was a lazy way of placing a geocache. All you need is the QR code and a device to scan them. No container or log book, a power trail seekers dream. :laughing:

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I am seeing them in urban areas at cache sites. I have a QR scanner, but not the munzee app and no interest in playing. I first saw the QR codes to geocaches on another listing service and thought it was a lazy way of placing a geocache. All you need is the QR code and a device to scan them. No container or log book, a power trail seekers dream. :laughing:

 

... although if the geocache is nothing more than a soggy film pot or keysafe you might as well just scan a sticker as rummage around the urban debris in the hope that you find the film pot before finding enough unpleasant stuff you give up.

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I am seeing them in urban areas at cache sites. I have a QR scanner, but not the munzee app and no interest in playing. I first saw the QR codes to geocaches on another listing service and thought it was a lazy way of placing a geocache. All you need is the QR code and a device to scan them. No container or log book, a power trail seekers dream. :laughing:

 

... although if the geocache is nothing more than a soggy film pot or keysafe you might as well just scan a sticker as rummage around the urban debris in the hope that you find the film pot before finding enough unpleasant stuff you give up.

 

And miss my chance to log DNF, NM, or NA? :blink: No, this phone caching is still new to me and I'm enjoying it. :) Truth is I don't have room for the app either.:( My old Garmin's suck compared to the maps and navigation apps I have on my phone. :D

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Would it be a good idea to post a NA on those caches spoiled by a Munzee? After all, they give the hiding place away. If they are on the container then the owner might want to know about it. Just an idea. Never really had to deal with those buggers. Fortunately they have not caught on here :shocked:

 

I don't think an NA would be useful, but the owner should be notified if he didn't place it there. Showing non-geocachers the location of hides often causes them to disappear.

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Had to learn what Munzee is using good ole Google. After skimming through their website and checking out photos on their Facebook page, the first thought that comes to mind is...aren't these stickers similar to vandalism or defacing public property?

 

Sure, they are not as offensive as graffiti, but they are still stickers that are difficult to remove. If a sticker is placed on a public sign, then a city employee will have to spend time scraping it off. If a sticker is placed on a wall or a fence, then it disrupts the appearance of what the wall/fence owner intended. There are some cases where a tag is hung from a tree or something, so that's not as bad.

 

In my opinion, this Munzee game is annoying and disrepectful to public spaces. As far as searching for geocaches, they wouldn't bother me if the stickers aren't more specific than the coordinates.

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Had to learn what Munzee is using good ole Google. After skimming through their website and checking out photos on their Facebook page, the first thought that comes to mind is...aren't these stickers similar to vandalism or defacing public property?

 

Sure, they are not as offensive as graffiti, but they are still stickers that are difficult to remove. If a sticker is placed on a public sign, then a city employee will have to spend time scraping it off. If a sticker is placed on a wall or a fence, then it disrupts the appearance of what the wall/fence owner intended. There are some cases where a tag is hung from a tree or something, so that's not as bad.

 

In my opinion, this Munzee game is annoying and disrepectful to public spaces. As far as searching for geocaches, they wouldn't bother me if the stickers aren't more specific than the coordinates.

As discussed here, most of us are finding them by accident at geocache locations. So one would also question a geocache placement at some of these locations because of potential damage to public property, which is the case I have seen. :(

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As discussed here, most of us are finding them by accident at geocache locations. So one would also question a geocache placement at some of these locations because of potential damage to public property, which is the case I have seen. :(

 

Understood. However, I'd assume that most geocaches are not permanently attached to public property. Magnetic caches are easily removed without leaving any lasting marks on the metal, while containers hidden in a fallen log or under rocks don't cause much damage either. Of course, geocachers can cause damage getting to the cache location and searching.

 

If specific geocaches are damaging public property, then those are just as bad as Munzees. <_<

Edited by noncentric
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Sure, they are not as offensive as graffiti, but they are still stickers that are difficult to remove.

Although I've only run into a half dozen, none of them were anywhere anyone would bother to remove them. I think one was in plain sight, but that was stuck to some minor electrical box attached to a telephone pole where no one not working on the telephone pole would ever be. And the first 2 or 3 I saw were magnetic, so they could be removed whenever anyone wanted. As usual, even with geocaching, the players decide whether to be obnoxious, the game doesn't force them to be obnoxious.

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Had to learn what Munzee is using good ole Google. After skimming through their website and checking out photos on their Facebook page, the first thought that comes to mind is...aren't these stickers similar to vandalism or defacing public property?

 

Sure, they are not as offensive as graffiti, but they are still stickers that are difficult to remove. If a sticker is placed on a public sign, then a city employee will have to spend time scraping it off. If a sticker is placed on a wall or a fence, then it disrupts the appearance of what the wall/fence owner intended. There are some cases where a tag is hung from a tree or something, so that's not as bad.

 

In my opinion, this Munzee game is annoying and disrepectful to public spaces. As far as searching for geocaches, they wouldn't bother me if the stickers aren't more specific than the coordinates.

 

And if a Geocache is placed in a bad location, a bomb squad will have to spend time disposing of it....usually involving shutting down traffic, evacuating nearby buildings, and callout expenses for the local police department. Which game has the greater potential for disruption is a matter of perspective, I guess....

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Sure, they are not as offensive as graffiti, but they are still stickers that are difficult to remove. If a sticker is placed on a public sign, then a city employee will have to spend time scraping it off. If a sticker is placed on a wall or a fence, then it disrupts the appearance of what the wall/fence owner intended. There are some cases where a tag is hung from a tree or something, so that's not as bad.

 

In my opinion, this Munzee game is annoying and disrepectful to public spaces. As far as searching for geocaches, they wouldn't bother me if the stickers aren't more specific than the coordinates.

And how much money is wasted on BOMB calls on harmless geocaches? I have seen more public defacing and private property damage and crushed plants in this game than I have seen in Munzee. Some of you people need to get a grip....geocaching isn't the only geo-location game out there.

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Some of you people need to get a grip....geocaching isn't the only geo-location game out there.

 

Sorry, I guess my issue was more about the use of 'stickers' (as noted in the post title). As I mentioned, the use of plastic munzee tags and other things that aren't stickers isn't an issue. Even though a lot of people don't think the sticker is a problem doesn't mean the property owner is okay with it.

 

And I agree, there can be bad choices of where geocaches are hidden or what they look like...but that's not what this thread is about. There are other threads about bad geocache placements like here and here.

 

There are plenty of hobbies/sports to go around. To each their own, or participate in a several of them if you have the time, resources, and inclination. ;)

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I'm curious as to why the people bringing up bomb scares with geocaches and defending Munzee are here considering these forums are for Geocaching.... :unsure:

 

Anyways, just ignore the stickers. I see them all the time on signs when I'm not out caching and then all over trails when I am caching. They're easier to place than a cache and don't require as much effort. I'm a numbers guy, not a big fan of Munzee, but other numbers guys like me may enjoy it. Certainly this activity is easier than caching. This isn't much different than a LPC or GRC.

 

In one sentence: ignore the stickers, nobody is forcing you to find them.

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Just color the code out with a black sharpie. Problem solved.

 

So if a geocacher places a cache right where a well established letterbox is, the letterboxer should trash the geocache ?

 

Well if they don't, the letterbox will soon become filled up with geocacher signatures instead of stamps, and it's own stamp will disappear. I've seen this occur several times, and the letterbox is effectively trashed from geocachers. The world is certainly wide enough to accommodate all of these games without any being placed on top of each other. What's another 50 feet? Sheesh.

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Fortunately the "parking lot sticker defacement game" places most of their pieces in areas I have no interest in looking for a geocache in, so I rarely see a problem.

 

I know a woman who likes to find those stickers. She went to the states on holiday and found herself in a large parking lot at 2am going from sign to lampost, scanning all the stickers. I can't understand what she got out of it. She's driven around town here and pulled over at every signpost to put a sticker on it. Hundreds of times. Not surprisingly, almost nobody is looking for them. :unsure:

Edited by The_Incredibles_
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Just color the code out with a black sharpie. Problem solved.

 

:laughing:

 

So many threads on cachers and cache owners being disappointed when caches, waypoints etc. are destroyed or stolen, and still there are people here who think it's okay to destroy other people's property. Very sad "advice".

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I'm curious as to why the people bringing up bomb scares with geocaches and defending Munzee are here considering these forums are for Geocaching.... :unsure:

 

Anyways, just ignore the stickers. I see them all the time on signs when I'm not out caching and then all over trails when I am caching. They're easier to place than a cache and don't require as much effort. I'm a numbers guy, not a big fan of Munzee, but other numbers guys like me may enjoy it. Certainly this activity is easier than caching. This isn't much different than a LPC or GRC.

 

In one sentence: ignore the stickers, nobody is forcing you to find them.

 

And a response in one sentence: Ignoring something that may be causing a problem, even if it isn't causing a problem for you personally, doesn't stop it from causing a problem.

 

As a self-proclaimed numbers guy, if a sticker placed near or on an existing geocache makes it easier to find, then it's all good for you because it reduces "search" time lets you achieve higher numbers. Some, maybe even most, geocachers enjoy the search and having a sticker placed at the exact where where the cache is hidden spoils the game for them. Then there is the cache owner that spends time, money and energy to create a clever hide, only to have it spoiled by someone that defaces public or private property with a sticker which shows everyone where it's hidden.

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Fortunately the "parking lot sticker defacement game" places most of their pieces in areas I have no interest in looking for a geocache in, so I rarely see a problem.

 

I know a woman who likes to find those stickers. She went to the states on holiday and found herself in a large parking lot at 2am going from sign to lampost, scanning all the stickers. I can't understand what she got out of it. She's driven around town here and pulled over at every signpost to put a sticker on it. Hundreds of times. Not surprisingly, almost nobody is looking for them. :unsure:

 

it IS about the numbers.

 

Points for finding, points for placing, points for someone finding one you placed.

 

No idea what the points get you tho! :laughing:

(Other than top of the leader board.)

 

Oh, and you get Souvenirs... :rolleyes:

Edited by Bear and Ragged
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Fortunately the "parking lot sticker defacement game" places most of their pieces in areas I have no interest in looking for a geocache in, so I rarely see a problem.

 

I know a woman who likes to find those stickers. She went to the states on holiday and found herself in a large parking lot at 2am going from sign to lampost, scanning all the stickers. I can't understand what she got out of it. She's driven around town here and pulled over at every signpost to put a sticker on it. Hundreds of times. Not surprisingly, almost nobody is looking for them. :unsure:

 

To me munzees sound much like geocaching power trails. I really can't see what people get out of driving along a road, stopping every 528 feet to sign another film pot, repeating the process hundreds of times and coming up with ways to accelerate the process even if that means throwdowns and shuffling each cache to the next position. If you're going to do that, why not just beep a QR sticker on the guard rail and do away with the endless film pots?

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Fortunately the "parking lot sticker defacement game" places most of their pieces in areas I have no interest in looking for a geocache in, so I rarely see a problem.

 

I know a woman who likes to find those stickers. She went to the states on holiday and found herself in a large parking lot at 2am going from sign to lampost, scanning all the stickers. I can't understand what she got out of it. She's driven around town here and pulled over at every signpost to put a sticker on it. Hundreds of times. Not surprisingly, almost nobody is looking for them. :unsure:

 

Around here there are very very few players. But those that play put out LOTS of parking lot stickers. They get tagged once or twice by the other people that like driving around parking lots and similar interesting areas, and then that's it.

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Fortunately the "parking lot sticker defacement game" places most of their pieces in areas I have no interest in looking for a geocache in, so I rarely see a problem.

 

I know a woman who likes to find those stickers. She went to the states on holiday and found herself in a large parking lot at 2am going from sign to lampost, scanning all the stickers. I can't understand what she got out of it. She's driven around town here and pulled over at every signpost to put a sticker on it. Hundreds of times. Not surprisingly, almost nobody is looking for them. :unsure:

 

Around here there are very very few players. But those that play put out LOTS of parking lot stickers. They get tagged once or twice by the other people that like driving around parking lots and similar interesting areas, and then that's it.

 

First of all, I would like to point out that I personally have not used the "M" word. :ph34r:

 

Yes, few players that put out LOTS (in my area several people have over 1,000 deployed), but not all that many players overall. Face it, they're very easy and inexpensive to put out, and you get "points" just like you do for finding. I would say in most places it did start out as a parking lot game. But in a saturated area like mine, the parks and bike trails are maxed out as well. The next (I suppose logical) area targeted was the sidewalks of miles long commercial strips. As opposed to miles long residential streets in front of people's houses, although I have seen that too.

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I had see them at the end of final puzzle coordinates. :ph34r:

 

This is a little tacky. IMHO.

 

So people solve & find the puzzle final, and then place a sticker there? So crossover players can just use the sticker to find the final?!

 

That is wicked tacky. If that happened to one of mine that sticker would go missing, with a couple of "could not find" logs on it.

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A good sharpie to mark it out or a scraper does wonders for those things. :)

 

Sure, like throwing a sandwich box or a film pot in the trash does wonders for geocaches people might not happen to like.

 

Would you like people hunting your caches and throwing them in the trash?

Geocaches are hidden from view, the munzees I see are in plain sight. PMO also limits who can view my caches. Munzee is only for smartphones, hopefully they will go away. :anitongue: Helping them is a plus for geocaching before they give us a worse rep. :anibad:

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To me munzees sound much like geocaching power trails.

Geocaches are hidden from view, the munzees I see are in plain sight. PMO also limits who can view my caches. Munzee is only for smartphones, hopefully they will go away.

Obviously those M things have cultural difference from area to area, just like geocaches. The ones I've seen were typically well hidden, and I never would have found them if I hadn't been searching for a geocache in the same area. A couple were in plain sight, but even those were like cache hides in plain sight, the point being that the hide is easy to see if you see it, but easy to overlook if you don't. I haven't looked at the M map in detail, but in my casual interactions with it, I haven't seen anyone dumping tags like power trail caches in the way described in other posts. I guess no one does that around here.

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