Proxy Police

[+GimpnPuff]

What is the official HQ policy on proxies?  Are the geocaching police out there that just throw them away?  If you don't like them, just leave them for the next person. I have had several disappear and have sent out proxys that disappear.

[+cerberus1]

AFAIK there is no official "policy" on proxies. They are mentioned in the geocaching wiki under trackables and the glossary as a replacement for a missing trackable. 

You don't say what kind of proxies you sent out, but we figure many  laminated paper proxies probably go missing simply due to cache maintenance.  They get pitched with all the other soaked (lamination isn't always waterproof...) , crumbled pieces of paper and pulpy business cards that collect in-between maintenance.  Heck, we may have pitched some ourselves sometime. 

We've seen some soaked, laminated copied proxies crumbled in a ball, unreadable anymore, and just leave them with the rest of the carp.

 - But I agree, if folks don't like them, they could easily just disregard them. 

[+cerberus1]

We've seen simple, plain poker chip proxies in caches, and have spotted a couple of commercial proxies as well.  I'd think most would treat those as any other coin-like trackable.  If they're getting swiped, it'd probably be the same people who'd swipe the real thing. "Proxy" not even a thought.

When we were thinking about sending proxies for "missing" trackables, we saw plain poker chips online  around 50 for 2 or 3 bucks.  Easily use a paint pen or sharpie to write in the code, and if really worried, could put 'em in a large-coin baggie sold at any hobby store (3 bucks for 100).  Less than a quarter a piece is a cheap replacement that should hold up a while. 

[+dprovan]

I've never heard anyone upset about proxies. Some are disappointed to go to a cache expecting to see a cool coin but find a piece of paper, instead, but I've never heard of anyone throwing them away.

One thing that people do get upset about are multiple proxies for the same TB, and even many, many proxies for the same TB. I think GS has a policy against that, although I'm not sure it's publicly stated anywhere. I've run into those 2 or 3 times, typically just a slip of paper, nothing substantial. I admit that when I find one of those, I throw it away.

[+hzoi]

I've never thrown one away.  When I first encountered them, I used to discover only and just leave them.  Now that proxies (and, sadly, trackable thefts) are more common, I am more apt to take them with.

Agree that the more permanent they seem, the more traffic they may get.