+Sparrowhawk Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 I will be going on a serious bug-hunt soon, looking for bugs in my area which would want to fly to Los Angeles. Last time I did this (October '03) I was EXTREMELY irritated by the number of caches with phantom bugs in them. The TBs were listed on the cache page, but not actually in those caches for several months. Very distracting for a bug hunt. I wanted my local area as clear as possible of phantom bugs. So, to that end, I composed a form letter to send to TB owners. I looked at the local cache pages with bugs on them, noted from the cache page logs which bugs were definitely missing, and then contacted the owners with this form letter below. I have been getting some positive emails back, and phantom bugs are now disappearing from local caches right and left! Aside from the inevitable minority of folks who just won't answer, this actually seems to be working. THE LETTER: Your _____ travel bug has been missing from it's current cache for quite awhile now. But local folks are still hunting for it in that cache. It figures. Geocaching.com has a new feature where a bug owner can now move a bug from a cache to an "unknown location". In the upper right hand corner of your bug's page (after you log in) check out the new feature in the drop-down menu where it says "recalculate distance". It has "mark bug missing" as a new choice. For the record, this "mark bug missing" does not mean you have to forever give up on the bug ever being found again. Many TBs have been known to resurface even after several months of being MIA. I know how depressing it can be for a geocacher to realize that they may have lost their traveler. My heart is definitely with you there. Still, it would be quite wonderful of you if you could aid the cache page this way so that we can know what bugs are REALLY in the cache. If you could spare a few seconds to park the bug into space, that would be much appreciated by our local cache hunters. Thanks in advance for the help! If you want to clear your local caching area of verified phantom bugs, you are welcome to copy and use this form letter on your TB search of local caches. Please let me know how it works via this thread (not email)... perhaps on a percentage basis of how many phantom bugs finally go away, or some darn thing. Quote Link to comment
+DomHeknows Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 i've just tried this and added the following:- You could alternatively put it in the travel Bug graveyard at http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=54867 or http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=29352 Quote Link to comment
+Sparrowhawk Posted March 11, 2004 Author Share Posted March 11, 2004 i've just tried this and added the following:- You could alternatively put it in the travel Bug graveyard at http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=54867 or http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=29352 Ehhhh... no, that's just a BIT too harsh, I think. I mean, the poor TB owner just found out their bug may be missing... that just seems kinda like adding salt in the wound. Quote Link to comment
+Markwell Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 And marking the travel bug as missing doesn't add those ghost miles that the TB Graveyard would. Quote Link to comment
+brad.32 Posted March 11, 2004 Share Posted March 11, 2004 Yes, the preferred method now is to mark the bug missing, moving it to "unknown location". I'll be marking/moving a few of my bugs there soon. Quote Link to comment
+strikeforce1 Posted March 23, 2004 Share Posted March 23, 2004 Hey SparowHawk, great letter. I must use this myself. Since last year (prior to the start of the CannonBall Race 2003), there has been a missing a tb from a cache that I went after. I just checked the cache listing tonight and the bug is still listed after many post to the logs. I hope, I can nudge them to remove it. If it works I'll let you know. Thanks SF1 Quote Link to comment
+Sparrowhawk Posted March 24, 2004 Author Share Posted March 24, 2004 Hey SparowHawk, great letter. I must use this myself. Since last year (prior to the start of the CannonBall Race 2003), there has been a missing a tb from a cache that I went after. I just checked the cache listing tonight and the bug is still listed after many post to the logs. I hope, I can nudge them to remove it. If it works I'll let you know. Thanks SF1 Thanks, dude. Let me know if it works. Quote Link to comment
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