SeattleWayne

If you want to NM or NA a cache, you can during when you log your Find or DNF. Also, you can post a note and at the bottom click the "Needs Maintenance" which will prompt a pop up window which will give you options. Choose one that best suits your needs.

Mystery Caches used to be fun. I just filter them out now.

Is that a skill? No. It's a way of life. You don't choose to Geocache. Geocaching chooses you. Putting that thought provoking commment to one side... My linkhttp://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=311306&view=findpost&p=5653652 Should we be concerned for your geocaching skills? That happened one time. And I was irked. Hence the need for abandoned, or un-maintained caches to be removed. The cache wasn't abandoned, or un-maintained. It was a fake rock under some dense bushes in a high muggle area.

You can wear sunglasses so people don't notice where you're looking. I have my dog with me on most geo-adventures so people think I'm just walking my dog or whatever. Also, once you get an idea of where urban caches are typically hidden, that'll greatly reduce time spent looking when you already have an idea of where the cache is.

Is that a skill? No. It's a way of life. You don't choose to Geocache. Geocaching chooses you. Putting that thought provoking commment to one side... My linkhttp://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=311306&view=findpost&p=5653652 Should we be concerned for your geocaching skills? That happened one time. And I was irked.

I search for as long as it takes some times... Other times I search for 20 seconds.

It's funny you should say this. Didn't you just post in another thread applauding a reviewer for taking action against a cache because it wasn't fun enough? Who's telling who how it should be done?

The PTs in my area are maintained very well, and none that I know of are planted next to a busy highway. The ones I've been on are on paved walking trails in forests.

Keep in mind that event activities are completely optional. If people attending the event just want to show up, socialize, and leave, then that's okay. Signing the event log isn't even required. And if people want to use the information from this meeting go and set up placeholder cache listings in all the spots that are about to open up when all these NAs get filed, there's nothing to stop them from doing that against the decisions of the people who attend this event. Honestly though, I can't see this passing muster as an event with a reviewer unless the listing was really vague and/or dishonest. If something like this happened in the geocaching community where I live, it would almost certainly be outed to a reviewer before it got off the ground. What if all those spots are taken by COs that, in a few years lose interest in the game. Then another event will have to be held to round up all those junky, broken down caches and the cycle just continues.

I went to an event once. They had cupcakes so I took a cupcake and ate it. I said hi to someone, and signed the log book and cached the area. There was live music and dancing. It was pretty cool.

Going Geocaching is the adventure. Every time I go out to find them is an adventure.

There's a cache a few cities over from me that's in a duck hunting area. In the description of the cache it read that the hunters put a severed duck head in the cache container. So they re-named the cache to "Duck Head".

Is that a skill? No. It's a way of life. You don't choose to Geocache. Geocaching chooses you.

Narcissa's post a couple up from yours answers your question nicely: http://forums.Ground...dpost&p=5654074 But - isn't that "the textbook definition of stealing?" (I actually plan to do that, but I figured I'd get this thread a little riled up... ) You definitely run a risk, however small, of really ticking off a cache owner if you steal their caches. So it's up to you to weigh the risk and the potential consequences of this unsanctioned vigilante cache clean-up. I've been around the geocaching scene in my community long enough to know there are some seemingly quiet cache owners who don't participate much anymore, but who would react very strongly to another cacher removing their cache without permission. And it ain't pretty when that happens. I don't think there is anything wrong with being 'less than active', or even inactive. I just believe that if you're choosing to step away from it, the responsible thing to do, is to arrange for your caches to be maintained by someone else. Since Geocaching allows for adoption, etc... I don't see that as really asking too much. Nah. I think people are free to do whatever they want with their cache. If a cache goes missing, and the CO wants to replace it six months later, there shouldn't be any issues with that. How is that not an issue? So for six months of it being reported as missing, people should just waste their time? No a cache owner shouldn't go out after 1 or 2 DNFs. After 3-4, they should probably, at the very least, open a dialog with one of the most recent cachers to report it, and see if they can establish that it is actually missing. If there are people looking for a cache that has six months worth of DNFs, I'd be concerned with their geocaching skills. One way that I play the game is like this: I have a planned route and I click on each cache prior to leaving the house and look at the logs to make sure it's been recently found. Or when I just head out to find caches, I'll find one then before going to the next one I'll click on it and read the activity logs. That way I'm not running into the problem of getting to the cache, THEN reading the logs and finding out there's been no finds in the last two months.

Narcissa's post a couple up from yours answers your question nicely: http://forums.Ground...dpost&p=5654074 But - isn't that "the textbook definition of stealing?" (I actually plan to do that, but I figured I'd get this thread a little riled up... ) You definitely run a risk, however small, of really ticking off a cache owner if you steal their caches. So it's up to you to weigh the risk and the potential consequences of this unsanctioned vigilante cache clean-up. I've been around the geocaching scene in my community long enough to know there are some seemingly quiet cache owners who don't participate much anymore, but who would react very strongly to another cacher removing their cache without permission. And it ain't pretty when that happens. I don't think there is anything wrong with being 'less than active', or even inactive. I just believe that if you're choosing to step away from it, the responsible thing to do, is to arrange for your caches to be maintained by someone else. Since Geocaching allows for adoption, etc... I don't see that as really asking too much. That's grand, but I personally wouldn't be terribly keen on being on the receiving end of a complaint against my user account because I decided to march around taking over, or removing, other people's caches without their consent. YMMV. Geocaching.com allows for cache adoption, but doesn't require it, and certainly doesn't inflict it on anyone without their express permission. Just amazing... Unbelievable, is it not? I think most people probably intend to return at some point, though, that doesn't mean they will. And if they do, I think it is reasonable to assume that after a long period of time (say, over a year?) of non-maintenance, and reports of a worn-out, shoddy cache, or a missing cache, that it will be, at the very least disabled, if not archived. Yeah, exactly. Geocaching.com already has a system in place, that eventually, if COs let their caches go long enough a reviewer will step in and either 1) disable it or 2) archive it after no CO response. There doesn't need to be anymore to it.

Narcissa's post a couple up from yours answers your question nicely: http://forums.Ground...dpost&p=5654074 But - isn't that "the textbook definition of stealing?" (I actually plan to do that, but I figured I'd get this thread a little riled up... ) You definitely run a risk, however small, of really ticking off a cache owner if you steal their caches. So it's up to you to weigh the risk and the potential consequences of this unsanctioned vigilante cache clean-up. I've been around the geocaching scene in my community long enough to know there are some seemingly quiet cache owners who don't participate much anymore, but who would react very strongly to another cacher removing their cache without permission. And it ain't pretty when that happens. I don't think there is anything wrong with being 'less than active', or even inactive. I just believe that if you're choosing to step away from it, the responsible thing to do, is to arrange for your caches to be maintained by someone else. Since Geocaching allows for adoption, etc... I don't see that as really asking too much. Nah. I think people are free to do whatever they want with their cache. If a cache goes missing, and the CO wants to replace it six months later, there shouldn't be any issues with that.

Abandoned cache meaning a cache that needs attention for how long? 3 months? 5 months? A year? Unless the CO writes a note saying the cache is abandoned, we can only assume that the CO has intentions to come out and fix it when they can.

Why the assumption that the CO doesn't care anymore? Just because CO won't stop immediately and tend to the cache as you see fit? Come on. People have lives outside of their hobbies. Maybe CO has a sick family member or work has been consuming all their time. Log your necessary NM logs, and move on. If CO truly doesn't care then eventually enough NM logs will prompt a reviewer to disable it and within that time frame either CO fixes said cache or CO doesn't. If CO doesn't, it gets archived and the spot opens back up.

Welcome aboard!

Plastic leaks bad things into the environment.

Why are you hesitant to log your DNFs? Because you're new?

Yeah because you're wanting a reviewer to tell a CO he/she has 30 days to respond to a NM log or they lose their Geocache. :laughing:

The thing about numbers??? Each person measures their caching by numbers in black and white (or is that yellow), it is the way the system was created, it is the system that we choose to take part in, and many of us not only choose to take part in it, but truly love and enjoy our passions. So assuming you are truly interested and not just attempting to stir the pot.. here is our individual reason for keeping track of numbers/stats. Each one of those numbers for us represents an adventure, an experience, and a part of our life. It doesn't matter if it was a park n grab on a guardrail that took 15 seconds to find, or a 5/5 multi that took 5 hours to complete... they are personal achievements for us, and it don't really matter if someone else approves or disapproves, because they are personal.. if somebody else is interested in our numbers then we are happy to share the joy and serenity of them with anyone The important thing here is to not assume to know things about another cacher simply based on their numbers.. just enjoy Geocaching in the way you want to(within the rules that Groundspeak has set) and let others do the same thing. Honestly, if you want to strive for high numbers, go for it. I just think there are better suited hobbies for that type of thing. What you're describing, is not the competitive mentality. Of course I understand the psychology of 'The Highest Score'. I just feel that geocaching is something that is so much more than numbers, and as I have said before: When I see that super high count, well, I'm not impressed with their high number - so much as the incredible adventure(s) that were cultivated to reach it. The number of different places, etc... But, what 'adventure' is there to pulling up to a guard rail in a parking lot? I don't care what size the cache is, or what is inside, so much as - was it more than just another magnet stuck to a lamp post? I do, however, enjoy the creativity of some of the camouflage of caches in parking lots... I suppose I just think that 'boosting' as I would call it (based on experience with games that are highly stat-oriented) is pointless, and generally, with anything, takes away from whatever it is when you take away the numbers. I'm not interested in impressing anyone with how many Finds I have. There's nothing special about a guard rail cache or a lamp post cache or a plastic bowl in a rock wall. But I don't know that those are the types of caches I will be finding until I arrive at GZ. When I go out caching, I pull up the map, I pick a route of some caches I would like to find and set out. Some times they are predetermined routes with a certain number of caches I hope to find, other days I just hit the road and drive into a nearby city, park the car and start walking. The point of the game for me is to find as many caches as I possibly can. I don't know how else to explain it.

Okay, I'm genuinely interested to know, what is it about the numbers? Is the number your sole purpose for continuing to cache? Well, what else is there? This isn't a dating site...

While I applaud you for being, you know, that guy to try to get all these junky, broken down caches fixed and all... I'd also like to point out that 1) this is a hobby and 2) many COs may have legitimate reasons as to why their cache is in the condition it's in. You might be sitting there thinking that the CO is out to lunch, abandoned the cache, lost interest in the game and doesn't care about it anymore. Yes, the cache has three NM logs, the log is soggy and no one can sign it and the lid is cracked. I'll use myself as an example. I currently have seven caches to my name. At one point I had three caches that all needed some attention. Also, Spring has sprung, and now I'm rebuilding my whole fence around my home. I also do my own maintenance on my two vehicles. Plus, my other hobby is riding motorcycles. Plus, I have a full-time job with a tremendous amount of overtime available to work. I'm just one CO out of hundreds of thousands that have a life outside of geocaching. The expectation that if a cache needs attention, and the CO doesn't come out right away to fix whatever the issue is, then the cache needs to be adopted to someone with more time is ludicrous. It took me 2-3 months to finally get all my caches up and I still have one down because the walking trail was shut down by the city for some reason. It's really not that serious.