HQ disabling caches not found "in some time"

[+barefootjeff]

I've just seen a log today from HQ on a Sydney cache (GC3G0M7), disabling it because it hasn't been found in some time:

 

 

The cache, a 2.5/1 multi, was last found about four weeks ago and has had six finds this year, with the last DNF in October from someone who was having GPSr problems at one of the waypoints. There are no outstanding OAR logs on it.

 

I'm just curious what the rationale here is, as 16 of my caches haven't been found in over a year and one of those was last found in October 2020. Is there now a maximum time between finds that HQ is enforcing, and if so, how do you force people to regularly find your caches?

Edited February 27 by barefootjeff

[+Max and 99]

But doesn't disabling the geocache prevent people from going after it?

 

I find this concerning.

 

Edit: 

I can't help wonder, because something of a similar nature happened to me, if the wrong cache was disabled. I never did get an answer.

Secondly, since it doesn't appear to have been proofread, it makes me wonder if it was not supposed to be sent. 

Edited February 27 by Max and 99

[+kunarion]

47 minutes ago, barefootjeff said:

I've just seen a log today from HQ on a Sydney cache (GC3G0M7), disabling it because it hasn't been found in some time:

 

 

The cache, a 2.5/1 multi, was last found about four weeks ago and has had six finds this year, with the last DNF in October from someone who was having GPSr problems at one of the waypoints. There are no outstanding OAR logs on it.

 

I'm just curious what the rationale here is, as 16 of my caches haven't been found in over a year and one of those was last found in October 2020. Is there now a maximum time between finds that HQ is enforcing, and if so, how do you force people to regularly find your caches?

 

That particular example looks to me like a test of a site function that should not have gone live.  As Max and 99 mentioned, maybe it's the wrong cache.  If I were the CO, I'd ask HQ for clarification.  I'd bet that one was just a mistake.  Maybe one cache in a list of caches that all received the same treatment?

 

But the wording of the log is weird... won't cachers be discouraged from finding it once it's a disabled cache?  That log will be confusing to COs for sure.

 

Edited February 27 by kunarion

[+barefootjeff]

20 minutes ago, kunarion said:

But the wording of the log is weird... won't cachers be discouraged from finding it once it's a disabled cache?

 

Yes, particularly as disabled caches are completely hidden on the official app.

[+kunarion]

Just now, barefootjeff said:

 

Yes, particularly as disabled caches are completely hidden on the official app.

 

What time did that log occur, can you tell?  It's almost midnight (EST), and late evening at HQ.  Would they run a live test at "off-peak hours", with the intention of removing the test log soon after?  I see a lot of problems with such a plan.  But I have also occasionally seen some similarly... odd things.

 

 

[+barefootjeff]

16 minutes ago, kunarion said:

What time did that log occur, can you tell?

 

I don't know as I only heard about it in a Facebook group post and went searching for disabled multis in the Sydney region to find it.

[+Goldenwattle]

This does seem strange, especially as this sounds a VERY good cache.

Geocache of the year and Geocache of the month.

 

Last log in January this year: "It didn't take long to find the cache. it was fairly recognisable. An excellent multi and well worthy of a FP! TFTC zargfinders, left Hugo TB, took World Travelling Bat TB."

 

I am puzzled too, so I send a message to ask why to the Lackey. Hopefully the mystery will be cleared up.

 

 

Hello, 
Geocache GC3G0M7 is being discussed on the forum as to why a good cache, last found only last month with six finds, is being threatened with archival. Someone has just dropped a TB off in it too. Will that be lost too? The "it has not been found in some time" is not true.
Forum:
https://forums.geocaching.com/GC/index.php?/topic/419353-hq-disabling-caches-not-found-in-some-time/#comment-6202118

Lackey Log.
"Your cache has been temporarily disabled because it has not been found in some time. Once it is found or replaced, it will can live again."

 

The last finder thought it good enough to give it a favourite point; their log saying, ""It didn't take long to find the cache.. it was fairly recognisable. An excellent multi and well worthy of a FP! TFTC zargfinders, left Hugo TB, took World Travelling Bat TB."

So can you please clear up this mystery as to why this cache has an archival threat. Was it a mistake?

Regards Goldenwattle.

Edited February 27 by Goldenwattle

[+MartyBartfast]

As others have said this looks like some test/mistake, the CO is active so hopefully will get it sorted out.

Having said that if someone at HQ is even thinking about doing this then that's a VERY BAD move, so hopefully it won't go anywhere.

 

[+Max and 99]

Good update from the CO. 

[+Bear and Ragged]

9 hours ago, MartyBartfast said:

Having said that if someone at HQ is even thinking about doing this then that's a VERY BAD move, so hopefully it won't go anywhere.

 

 

Has 'someone' had the 'bright' idea that COs should be placing caches that should be found every x days?  Hope not.

[Rock Chalk]

As is often the case, the forum speculation is a bit wide of the mark here.

 

Short story is that an error was made in the disable log. There has been no policy change to disable caches that have not been found for some period of time.

 

Longer story is that staff at the library where the geocache is/was located have reported to HQ that the cache is gone. We communicated that information to the CO, and disabled the cache until the CO can check on it.

[+barefootjeff]

4 hours ago, Rock Chalk said:

As is often the case, the forum speculation is a bit wide of the mark here.

 

Short story is that an error was made in the disable log. There has been no policy change to disable caches that have not been found for some period of time.

 

Longer story is that staff at the library where the geocache is/was located have reported to HQ that the cache is gone. We communicated that information to the CO, and disabled the cache until the CO can check on it.

 

Thanks for the explanation, though it seems from the CO's enable log that they're just as confused as everyone else.