Hi Tim,
I agree with you, when a cache is not available for
whatever reason, it should be "disabled". I am not the
owner of Ya Skala, but I am the one who put the note on
the cache page logs on Sunday night that the cache was
not available (after finding "it" and confirming with
the owner's family that he was going to fix and replace
it.) I don't know why the delay in his post (I deleted
mine after he put his on today) but I did what I could
to help. I'm sorry you had such a long and frustrating
time for a non-find...we experienced a fairly long
search as well....not as long as yours.... (and even
had two bike cops cruise by us.... surprisingly, they
didn't stop and talk to us!!)
I can understand that you don't want to read the logs
in case there are too many clues, but it might help in
the future to just look at the top left of the first
log to see if the last entry was a happy face, or a
note/sad face. At least then you might have a better
idea that the cache is still find-able.
And hopefully this discussion will help everyone
remember to keep their cache info up to date.
peace,
Trisha "Lightning"

On Wed, 24 April 2002, Tim Giron wrote

> 
> For those of you that don't already know, you can
temporarily disable a cache that you own.  Unlike the
rest of the management links at the top right of the
cache details page, this link is sandwiched between the
coordinates and the download when you are viewing a
cache that you have placed.
> 
> I bring this up, because it is a primary
communication mechanism. Logging a note that you have
temporarily removed one of your caches for servicing
should be considered a secondary communication. The
reason is that many cache seekers (yours truly
included) do not read the logs before going after a
cache. There are just too many spoilers in there and
what may seem like an innocuous statement to one person
might be the clue that spoils the hunt for another. I
have also gotten too good at recognizing key words in
ROT-13, so I even avoid looking at the encrypted hint
most of the time.
> 
> Last night, before attending an event downtown, Kim
and I attempted to find "Ya Skala". I purposely avoided
the discussion entries related to that cache on the
list yesterday. Just before leaving the house, I
printed out the cache page.
> 
> We spent over an hour at the cache site before the
event and about a half hour after (Hi, my name is Tim
and I'm a geocacher... Hi Tim). After returning home, I
took a peek at Bob Renner's list post because I know he
gives conservative clues (that's a good thing, Bob) and
then took a look at the top couple of logs since his
post indicated that the cache was indeed missing.
> 
> I understand that extenuating circumstances can
prevent a cache owner from responding quickly to
reports of a possible liberation, but a note on the
cache by the owner 2 days after the status was
personally verified isn't, in my opinion, very clear
communication.
> 
> Tim
> Team AZFastFeet
> 
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>
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> 
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> http://www.azgeocaching.com


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Anyone can start from now and
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