I've noticed a lot of logs that say.."there were no bugs" etc..
Say i owned a cache that bugs for whatever reason were no longer in.. is there a way for me.. as the owner to "clean up" the inventory? Delete the bugs from the inventory or whatever? Or are they just stuck there to clutter up the log page?

As the owner, you have an option to declare a TB in your cache as 'missing'. I think it sends a message to the TB owner and at the same time eliminates it form the cache page inventory.
I've been wrong before, tho .....

If you mark the bug as missing and NOT write a note to the TB page the owner will NOT get a notice.
It's best to write a note on the TB page saying you checked your cache and the TB is missing then mark it as missing.

why do you suppose people don't "clean up" their inventories? Seems simple enough.. and people wouldn't go after bugs that weren't there..

because sometimes the owner of the bugs don't take care of it. They don't care, they aren't playing anymore, they hope they will show up some day.

I have that problem in a cache of mine, and I have done what I can. Emailed the owners and marked the bugs missing.

What can you do? When it's out of your hands.

I hate vanishing TBs... particularly when they vanish right after *I* put them someplace. That's happened a few times - and if I were a paranoid sort I'd think somebody was following me - but it even happened when I took a bug from Atlanta to South Carolina.

I've marked one missing out of one of my caches when finders have noted it wasn't there.

I also marked one of mine missing in the hands of a cacher who supposedly handed it off to her child to take "home" to his dad in another state and of course it never showed up again.

Somebody did suggest to me that I should have left it in the cacher's inventory because if they logged in again they'd be reminded that it was there - but if the cacher quits, that's kind of pointless.

I've sought bugs in caches that were missing and nobody noted it on the TB page. I always note it on the TB page so the owner knows it's not where it's supposed to be, and I note it in my cache log so that other cachers can "see" when it wasn't there if the opt to read past logs.

It stinks when one goes missing. I wish people would leave bugs alone if they can't commit to moving them on. Just a part of the game I suppose.

Jenn

OK, I need to mark one of mine missing. I was sending a 2007 Geocoin to my fiancee (now my wife) in the UK and someone stole it from a cache.
But I don't see how to "mark it missing". Do I just post a note on the TB page and say I grabbed it from the last known location?

This thread got me thinking about my own TBs since I have not seen activity on any of them lately. I have 4 out there and will probably give up placing any more into motion any time soon. It is a waste of time and effort.

Geomuse 2006 TB coin - 9/16/2007 - placed in cache (supposedly) and noticed missing right after that

It's a REAL Bug! - 03/16/08 - picked up by a cacher and no further logs

Lego My Man! - 12/26/2007 - picked up by a cacher and no further logs

Times Up! - 09/06/2007 - picked up by a cacher and no further logs

I have e-mailed the last two individuals more than once with ZERO response. At this point I am thoroughly disgusted and as I said before will probably not waste time, energy, or the cost of a tag to release another TB until at least one of these gets moving again.

quote:

Originally posted by geomuse:
At this point I am thoroughly disgusted

Yeah, I was pretty disgusted too. How low does a person have to be to steal a geocoin that someone clearly says is a gift for his Fiancee? It even contained a picture of us and a personal note to her.

I know the feeling. Back on October 26, 2006, Hannah and I were in Oregon and our geocaching goal was to visit the Original Stash Tribute Plaque (GCGV0P). We found the spot where the original geocache was placed and dropped a geocoin in the cache with the goal of it returning to a cache near us in Marietta, GA. Against all odds, the coin made it back to Georgia in December of 2007 and Brendal placed it in the “Red M&M” cache near our home for us to collect. Unfortunately, before we got there the next day, a local cacher and a visiting cacher from California visited “Red M&M” and the local cacher grabbed the geocoin. The local cacher failed to log his visit but the CA cacher logged the coin as a discovery.

When the coin never reappeared, I contacted the CA cacher who was helpful but couldn’t get his friend, the local cacher, to release the coin he was holding. Finally, the CA cacher asked his friend to just drop the coin in “Waterwheel 1” since he lived next to it but he never bothered.

quote:

Originally posted by JennM:
I hate vanishing TBs... particularly when they vanish right after *I* put them someplace.

I know what you mean. I have stopped moving Geo Coins for that reason - too much aggravation. Even though it is not my coin, I feel "robbed" when I move one and then it is never logged again. I will still move a TB now and then, esp. if I can move it closer to its goal.