Jump to content

Trouble getting a cache approved


Recommended Posts

Has anyone had trouble getting a virtual cache approved? I posted one and it was put on hold with the suggestion I try to make it a traditional cache. It just needs to be a virtual and when I responded to that affect it was achrived and when I asked why and again requested it be made virtual, it has now completely disappeared from my cache page. Whats going on?

Link to comment

If there is any way to make it a traditional cache instead of a virtual, even if it's a micro-cache or a multi-cache, then do so. Otherwise, offer a DETAILED explaination detailing WHY it can't have a container.

 

I have no problem getting a logbook into an Altoids tin. Get a small notepad, and cut it in half. For a 35mm film canister, use a folded sheet of paper rolled up.

 

web-lingbutton.gif ntga_button.gif

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by oregonature:

Hard to get a log book in a Altoids tin??????


There's nothing hard about it.

A sheet of paper in a ziploc bag. It is a micro cache. So it would be a sign only log.

 

As for the topic. There are allot of opinions about virtuals being real caches.

Personally I believe virtuals were devised so we could have caches where a physical cache is forbidden. So if it is not forbidden then a hider should do everything they can to make it a traditional or multi cache.

With a little forethought and a little input from others a cache can be hidden anywhere.

 

Many cachers will argue that virtuals contribute to the game/sport. However the approvers are leaning towards physical caches unless it's forbidden.

 

39197_2700.jpg

I am the result of genetic manipulation of superior Geocacher DNA. Faster, stronger with superior reasoning and logic.

Mokita!

Link to comment

They are really cracking down on virtuals these days. Unless it's a very unique place AND there is no way of placing a cache there, it won't be approved.

 

And yes, it's quite easy to get a log book in an Altoids tin.

 

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues" -Abraham Lincoln

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by jimnclora:

It just needs to be a virtual and when I responded to that affect it was achrived and when I asked why and again requested it be made virtual,


 

Virtuals are for when it is not possible to put in a traditional cache. It sounds to me like you're going the opposite direction, trying to get by with 'just a virtual' when a traditional cache would work. If a traditional won't work, tell the approver why.

 

For the record, I have no problem with virtuals, but I prefer traditional caches.

 

RichardMoore

 

www.geocities.com/richardsrunaway

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by pdxmarathonman:

There once was a guy that stopped being involved with geocaching.com in part due to the unwillingness of the site to post virtuals. He decided to go do something called _Wonderts_. Does anyone remember this guy's name?


Yeah, virtuals+pyramid scheme=D.U.'s wonderts. icon_smile.gif

 

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

Link to comment

Good looking container, martmann! I have a similar made up, with camo paint job, and I'm scouting locations.

 

But, let us remember that some locations do allow physical caches of any kind. You simply cannot get permission for a traditional cache.

 

Dave_W6DPS

 

My two cents worth, refunds available on request. (US funds only)

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by oregonature:

I didn't put a log book in the Altoids tin on a new cache we made. It got archived and I was told to add a log book. Hard to get a log book in a Altoids tin?????? icon_confused.gif


 

Once upon a time a micro didn't need a log book to be listed due to the difficulty of finding one or making one.

 

By the by that has gone by the wayside and logbooks are requried unless you have a really small micro.

 

As for the Virtual question above. This site is biased agaisnt them when if at all possible you can hide a traditional. "It needs to be a virtual" isn't much information to work from. You have to work harder than that. I've got a virtual coming up that "Needs to be a virtual" and I'm going to have my work cut out for me.

 

=====================

Wherever you go there you are.

Link to comment

i had a location i wanted to be a virtual. to vent my frustrations at getting it diasapproved, i made it a twisted micro. why take it out on the approvers when you could take it out on EVERYBODY?

 

it doesn't matter if you get to camp at one or at six. dinner is still at six.

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by Moun10Bike:

quote:
Originally posted by mtn-man:

 

Yes, there is a log inside this container...


 

I bet it looks something like this, huh mtn-man? icon_biggrin.gif


Sort of, but mine is not a pretty!!! Great job on that one Moun10Bike. I may have to rip that off a bit. icon_wink.gif

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by mtn-man:

 

I may have to rip that off a bit. icon_wink.gif


 

Be my guest! I have posted the file that I created for these logs here on my web site for anyone who wants to use it. It's an Excel file that lets you print 6 at a time.

 

I usually print on waterproof paper. (The kind I use only takes printing on one side, otherwise I would print the stash note or additional space for logs on the back.) Then I glue a round toothpick at the bottom, clip the extra length off from each end of the toothpick, and finally roll the log up like a scroll.

 

icon_geocachingwa.gif

Link to comment

They are great cache containers. I used one for an underwater cache that, unfortunatley, has disappeared.

 

Recently, I've been spraypainting them in less obvious colors and using them for the initial stages of multi-caches.

 

BTW, the underwater cache log was still dry a couple of weeks after I placed it.

 

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues" -Abraham Lincoln

Link to comment
Originally posted by oregonature:

For some reason I thought that micro caches did not require a log book. But I stand corrected, ALL traditional type caches require a log book.

 

Yeah, one of the most BOGUS things I've ever heard of. But it's the rules, so I follow them. JMO.

rocker

 

give to the world the best you have,

and the best will come back to you.

...............MaryAinge deVere

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by waypoint15:

Hey Moun10Bike,

What is the name of the water proof paper that you use for your files, and where can you get it.


 

The stuff I'm using is no longer available, at least from where I purchased it before. Now, there's something better: National Geographic Adventure Paper. It is available from outdoor equipment stores like REI or Fresh Tracks.

 

icon_geocachingwa.gif

Link to comment

right now i am having problem getting a micro approved.the moderator wont approve it until i give him the final coordinates for the multi part.the problem is that the container is in st. louis where he resides and it is cheating if i give him the final coordinates.is this fair or is this the rules.please let me know pntball

 

Life is short,so eat your desert first

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by pntball:

 

is this fair or is this the rules.please let me know pntball


 

That's the rules. I can guarantee you that Glenn is not looking for an easy way to log your cache. Admins are now being asked to approve the coordinates for all of the stages in a multicache.

 

If giving out the coordinates to a cacher in your area, even an admin, is something you just can't accept, then you might try appealing to Glenn and asking him to get another admin from out of the area to handle it. However, it's best if you can use your local admin, as he will know better than anyone about any access issues in your area. Also, be up front about why you don't want to give up the coordinates, otherwise it might look like you have something to hide.

 

icon_geocachingwa.gif

Link to comment

quote:
otherwise it might look like you have something to hide.


 

Isn't that what geocaching is all about? icon_wink.gif

(I couldn't resist)

 

I'd say give Glenn the coords and let him get on with it. If it were me I'd forget them as soon as I verified the location. Life's to short to worry about this sort of thing, IMHO

 

~erik~

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by Moun10Bike:

Admins are now being asked to approve the coordinates for all of the stages in a multicache.


Yet another guideline change that isn't documented. icon_rolleyes.gif

 

I don't mind changes, and I think this is a good change. But how hard is it to document on the requirements page: Please be aware that if you are submitting a multi-stage cache, the approver will ask for the coordinates for all of the stages. Heck - if I know that ahead of time, I'd be willing to send a LOC file to the approver!

 

BUT PLEASE DOCUMENT CHANGES IN PROCESS OR GUIDELINES.

 

Markwell

Chicago Geocaching

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by Moun10bike:

Admins are now being asked to approve the coordinates for all of the stages in a multicache.


More rules.

 

Where does this all end?

 

Pretty soon we're going to need approval to go looking for caches.

 

Uh oh, now I've done it -- I've spoken out against TPTB -- I'll never get another cache approved now. icon_eek.gif

-----

Link to comment

quote:
Admins are now being asked to approve the coordinates for all of the stages in a multicache.


 

That may be too much of a generalization. I really haven't changed the way I review caches.

If someone posted a multistage and said it was all in a given park or thru a given town I personally wouldn't care where the stages were.

 

If it started beside a National Park or there was some other suspicion about where the final cache might be hidden I'd e-mail the cache owner. I did it that way a year ago and would do it that way now. The same goes for puzzle caches and the like - sometimes the approver needs to know more than is revealed on the cache page to approve the cache. We view them all on a case by case basis, or you'd see rules saying that puzzles need to be fully revealed and so on. I wouldn't want to go there.

 

erik - geocaching.com admin

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by ~erik~:

 

That may be too much of a generalization.


 

Sorry about that, all. I've taken a sabbatical from admin duties, so I'm not really up on any new guidelines per se, and spoke out of turn. What I should have said is that I've seen increased emphasis on thoroughness in checking all locations of a multicache in the sort of way that Erik mentions in his post above.

 

icon_geocachingwa.gif

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by Markwell:

Yet another guideline change that isn't documented. icon_rolleyes.gif

 

I don't mind changes, and I think this is a good change. But how hard is it to document on the http://www.geocaching.com/articles/requirements.asp: _Please be aware that if you are submitting a multi-stage cache, the approver will ask for the coordinates for all of the stages_. Heck - if I know that ahead of time, I'd be willing to send a LOC file to the approver!

 

BUT PLEASE DOCUMENT CHANGES IN PROCESS OR GUIDELINES.

 

http://www.markwell.us

http://www.chicagogeocaching.com

I don't see it as a new guideline/rule. We are asked to give the location of a standard cache so it can be checked to make sure it isn't in a National Park, on a on a RR track, on private property, etc. If you don't check the stages of a multi the same why, why bother checking regular caches at all? I haven't finished placing my first multi yet, so I can't say for sure if all are checked, but I planned on submitting all the locations with the cache, just to save time. If all the stages WERE checked though, then you wouldnt have the problem like was recently in the forums about one person placing his cache 4ft from the final stage of a multicache. I've suggested before that the new site should get a hidden field for at least the final stage of multi/puzzle caches. This would only be viewable by the admins

and could also be used as the tracking coords for TBs, and the point of reference that the website uses for calculating distance to other caches (so potential hiders would know they are too close to another cache to hide one, without giving away the final coords).

 

Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon.

Link to comment

quote:
I've seen increased emphasis on thoroughness in checking all locations of a multicache in the sort of way that Erik mentions in his post above.


 

Yeah, that's one positive that's come from having regional cache approvers. They can take a more knowledgable look at the caches they review. Prior to that we were often only hitting the high spots and approving things that later came back to bite us and the sport. Witness the infamous "Sneaker Cache" that I hurredly approved. icon_wink.gif

 

~erik~

Link to comment

Yep, Its troublemaker me... :-)

 

I usually dont ask for the answer to the puzzle questions but most folks send them anyway and I dont usally want to know all the little steps that lead up to the final cache, but most folks send them along too.

 

The problem here is I know that there is a series of micros "on the ground" near where i suspect the final cache to be. If i approve the micros, the cache in question will be blocked out as beintg too close to an existing cache..

 

If appove the cache in question , not knowing the ending location, then approve the series of micros, then later find that the location of the multi cache in question just happens to end up smack in the middle of the micro series.. I would archive the multi with unknown landing because it is too close to the micros that already on the ground. I dont want to do that. I would rather know up front what is where and where things are going....

 

Another problem is that multi caches have always been "given a pass" on location approval. If it has a good looking parking lot.. its good. The next step could be anywhere, like the ariport, on a dam, by a bridge.. we just never know. I want to know where the multi caches that have my name on them end up. Not "close to here" but exactly where. 150 feet is "close to here" but that could put the cache under a train tressel when it looked OK on paper. I am not gonna do it that way anymore.

 

I cant remember my name by the end of the day... I dont remember the locations to all these caches longer that a few minutes. I see it then move on.

 

This cache could have been approved last week, I said thatwould approve this cache last week, but we are dragging our feet instead.

 

So, there are more issues other than being able to find a multi without visiting the 1st part.... to think the approver is cheating knowing where the caches are located is just plain foolish...

 

give me a break..

 

glenn

the midwest approver guy

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by Moun10Bike:

 

The stuff I'm using is no longer available, at least from where I purchased it before. Now, there's something better: National Geographic Adventure Paper. It is available from outdoor equipment stores like http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=11429432&parent_category_rn=10574149 or http://www.freshtracksmaps.com/paper.htm.

 

http://geocachingwa.org

 

You can also check your local SCUBA shops -- they'll have a similar product called "WetNotes" that can be written on in any weather -- even underwater.

 

Joel (joefrog)

 

"Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for ye are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!"

Link to comment

quote:
Originally posted by jimnclora:

Has anyone had trouble getting a virtual cache approved?


 

Yep. I found a really cool plaque/monument in Port Townsend, WA dedicated to a man who grew up there and was the first Seabee who won the Medeal of Honor when he was KIA in Vietnam and who also had a frigagte named after him. It is located just off the sidewalk on Coast Guard property in an extremely high traffic tourist area. I say there is no way in hell to put a micro there, even on the off chance the Coast Gurad gives permission, so I submitted a virtual.

Nothing doing. icon_frown.gif They insisted on keeping the adjacent 582 feet clear for the slim chance of someone putting a micro there. Never mind that there are a lot of caches outside of town, but none in the area.

Well, I guess they have their reasons...

Link to comment

quote:
Yep. I found a really cool plaque/monument in Port Townsend, WA dedicated to a man who grew up there and was the first Seabee who won the Medeal of Honor when he was KIA in Vietnam and who also had a frigagte named after him. It is located just off the sidewalk on Coast Guard property in an extremely high traffic tourist area. I say there is no way in hell to put a micro there, even on the off chance the Coast Gurad gives permission, so I submitted a virtual.

Nothing doing. Frown They insisted on keeping the adjacent 582 feet clear for the slim chance of someone putting a micro there. Never mind that there are a lot of caches outside of town, but none in the area.

Well, I guess they have their reasons...


 

Sounds like a cool place. Why don't you make it an "offset cache" and use something on the monument to give coordinates to a real cache nearby. One hint is to take the letters in the person's name, make up a specific code (e.g. a=1, b=2, c=3, etc...). By adding the numbers derived from the name to a set number, you get the coordinates of the actual cache.

 

"It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues" -Abraham Lincoln

Link to comment

I just got my multi kicked back for final coordinates. At first I thought "More Rules"?? Then on 2nd thought I thought great! I'll print all the comments on this page in case anyone gets hurt and brings a lawsuit, nice to have Father Geocaching taking responsibility for protecting me and cache seekers.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...