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paticpatic

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I have placed 14 caches and enjoy the logs people leave. I’ve had 2 incidents where members left the cache in the open and one didn’t close the cover. Another member recorded a TB as Discovered but the comment was moving to next cache. (I since recovered the TB). All my caches are open to all members and premium members. I know I can select premium members only on my caches, but I haven’t done that. What defines a premium member? Someone who pays the $9.95 for paid App or pays $34 for geocaching membership? I am thinking of changing most of my caches to Premium Members. I think raising the difficulty above 1.5 also hides my caches from members? Any suggestions about the best way to help protect my caches and TBs are appreciated.

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My understanding of the app is it is independent of premium membership. If you buy the $10 app version, you just get a better app (I think).

 

As for making your caches premium, that does seem to help cut down on maintenance issues. If someone pays $30 to play the game, they probably care more about doing it right. But the best way to restrict your caches to people who really know what they're doing is to make them harder. A newbie can't find a D4 cache, and a casual player isn't going up a T4 mountain to get one.

Edited by Path Pacer
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I'm pretty sure the OP already knows how to make their caches premium-member only (PMO). As I understand the OP, the question is more about whether making their caches PMO will afford some additional level of protection from careless cachers that don't replace the cache correctly or that don't log TB's accurately.

 

Seems there is some debate about whether PMO status really protects a cache, as premium members are not always better at replacing caches and/or logging TB's. Conversely, not all basic members are poor replacers/loggers. Of course, there are assumptions that the occurrence of careless cachers is higher among basic members. Some threads that have delved into this topic are here and here.

:drama:

 

Regarding your question about what constitutes a 'Premium Member' that would be able to see your PMO caches. The free or paid app doesn't matter. Basic members can use either app and Premium members can use either app. 'Premium Member' is determined by paying $10 for 3-months or $30 for 1-year (US Dollars). Some people may find this amount trivial and pay right away, and then end up quitting the game after a couple months.

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I have placed 14 caches and enjoy the logs people leave. I’ve had 2 incidents where members left the cache in the open and one didn’t close the cover. Another member recorded a TB as Discovered but the comment was moving to next cache. (I since recovered the TB). All my caches are open to all members and premium members. I know I can select premium members only on my caches, but I haven’t done that. What defines a premium member? Someone who pays the $9.95 for paid App or pays $34 for geocaching membership? I am thinking of changing most of my caches to Premium Members. I think raising the difficulty above 1.5 also hides my caches from members? Any suggestions about the best way to help protect my caches and TBs are appreciated.

 

Thanks for the replies, your advice helps, I mostly enjoy placing caches that hold SWAY and TB's, micros are not my thing, except for 2 of my 14. My cache problems only occur with members and that's all I am trying to prevent.

 

You've mashed up a lot of different items.

 

"Members"...we are all "members".

 

There is Basic Membership (free) and Premium Membership ($30.00/year US).

 

Neither of them include any app.

 

There is a free, introductory app and a paid app (can't remember what it's called now).

 

What I think you are asking about are "Premium Member Only" (PMO) caches.

1.2. Premium Member Only Geocaches

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=271'>http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.page&id=271

 

You seem to want to block the free app users from your caches, because you've gotten the idea that they are the only ones that mess up caches or incorrectly log trackables. I don't agree with that idea, though some folks do. Yes, upping the Difficulty level to at least 2 will block those caches from Basic Members using the free intro app. But would that be falsifying the Difficulty rating?

 

You might want to do some reading in the Help Center.

 

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php

 

There's an entire section about the Apps:

 

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.book&id=12

 

And another section about Premium Membership:

 

http://support.Groundspeak.com/index.php?pg=kb.book&id=5

 

 

B.

Edited by Pup Patrol
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I'd expect better luck on TB logging and with seekers properly replacing caches if you make them PMO.

 

My personal experience is that making a cache PMO is a huge help to my need to do maintenance. (I made 3 trips to a 1.5 /1.5 walk in the park cache of mine - all pretty much to CLOSE THE LID on an ammo can. I marked missing the TB inventory as well. I made it PMO and haven't had to return in a couple of years since).

 

There will STILL be trackable logging problems - people physically grab them, but space out on actually logging. This will be somewhat better in PMO caches.

 

Raising the Difficulty or Terrain rating to 2 or higher will keep a cache out of the free app - it won't stop Basic Members from accessing the cache by the paid app, or from the website.

It will stop the "free app only" Basic Member. I'd only do that if a 2 rating was reasonable. I'd rather make it PMO, and have the ratings be correct.

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I brought back a TB from a cache we found when geocaching in Tenife in March. I placed it in one of my own caches once back home which seems to get a good number of cachers. It wasn't a PMO cache. Along comes a cacher who takes the TB! This cache was his first find! Goodness knows where the TB is now, in his pocket or a drawer at home, I cannot contact him as he has not verified his email address. Ok I am "closing the stable door after the horse has bolted" but I have changed the cache to PMO now and all the ones I put out are PMO in the hope it keeps them a bit safer.

Edited by ayrbrain
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I cannot contact him as he has not verified his email address.

Contact him via the new message center. An email validation isn't needed in order to send and receive messages in the message center. If he is using the Geocaching Intro App, he will get an alert that he has a new message.

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I cannot contact him as he has not verified his email address.

Contact him via the new message center. An email validation isn't needed in order to send and receive messages in the message center. If he is using the Geocaching Intro App, he will get an alert that he has a new message.

 

And if he os using one of the pther available apps, you will still wish Groundspeak made everyone have a validated email, because the message center only talks to Geocaching Intro App users.

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I cannot contact him as he has not verified his email address.

Contact him via the new message center. An email validation isn't needed in order to send and receive messages in the message center. If he is using the Geocaching Intro App, he will get an alert that he has a new message.

 

And if he os using one of the pther available apps, you will still wish Groundspeak made everyone have a validated email, because the message center only talks to Geocaching Intro App users.

 

I have just looked at the cache he/she took it from, I placed it in there way back in March, it looks like he isn't caching any more as it is still showing on his cache name as having found that one cache! I know it is the chance you take with TB's but to bring it back from Tenerife just for it to go missing in a cache we place it in once home.

And picked up by someone who has only found one cache?, I am annoyed for the cacher who put the TB out, just for it to go missing but then I know dozens and dozens do go missing.

Oh well. ?

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