WRASTRO

Now that you got what appear to be good answers I will suggest turning the phone upside down. Sorry. Couldn't resist.

Put your "smart phone" on airplane mode. Does the GPS still work?

I have found the best method is to go about your business and ignore everyone. It doesn't really matter if you are digging around in bushes or staring at a rock wall. If you are doing your thing and not constantly looking around to see if others might be watching you will be fine. For me that is using stealth. If someone does ask what you are doing just tell them. If they seem remotely interested you can start explaining the details of the game. The vast majority will say thanks and move on after a few seconds. When challenged by someone I ask if they have heard of geocaching. After they say "no" I tell them it is like a scavenger hunt using a handheld GPS or a smart phone to look for "something" hidden by someone else so I can sign a paper log, then post my find online. They usually leave shaking their heads, but sometimes they help search. To the best of my knowledge I have never compromised a cache in my going on 10 years of caching.

Some cache owners just don't seem to like to allow the posted history of logs on their cache remain. For some reason a "clean" cache page means only found it logs. In my opinion this is remaking history and should not be done. The only logs I have ever deleted from a cache page were a clear fake found it and an inadvertent double log. I emailed both cachers and told them why I deleted their logs.

Nice. Welcome to the party!

No one has yet tossed out this bomb so I will. If you can afford a smart phone account you can certainly afford a premium membership. If you can't afford the $30 annual cost to be a premium member here then you REALLY can't afford to have a smart phone. What do you pay each year for your smart phones and for your son's football programs? It is all about priorities.

I do hope you logged at least one all of your DNFs. Other cachers and the cache owner benefit from you logging your experiences. \Stepping down from soap box.

I won't claim to be upset in any way by your dig but I will share that my current and previous Moto Droids, which run Android, are and have been more accurate than my trusty Garmin 76cs. The Garmin just sits on my desk the vast majority of the time these days. It's ok with me if you are uninformed. My only complaint about the Droids is the battery life. I have a spare battery so I am always good for a day of caching. There is also the question of ruggedness, but that is a different topic.

Human interest is the typical purpose of articles about geocaching rather than teaching folks how to do it. Sure, that would be valuable but it is a bit extreme. Finding a couple to a handful in the presence of experienced geocachers as a supplement to the interviews would help a writer get the feel of the game. +1. As a former journalist, I can affirm that we often write general-interest pieces about topics that we don't have first-hand experience with. Most articles on geocaching aren't written by geocachers (I'm an exception), and some are quite good, and others aren't. The OP is legitimate. I see no reason for any negative reactions or responses. I think we should be embracing all opportunities to promote our pastime to the general public. Hopefully Abby or someone else from the WSGA will reach out to Eric and do what they can to demonstrate the welcoming nature of our game.

For cryin' out loud. Another old geezer chiming in about courtesy and rudeness. Oh, wait...I agree with you!

Yet he has not weighed in here and I commend him for that. But then I tend to agree with his response, if not with the specific verbiage.

I suggest you learn to be patient with trackables you find. Cachers may drop a trackable while on an epic journey and not be able to log for days or weeks.

I am a guy that tries to hide top drawer caches but I am unapologetic when I say that your expectation of other geocachers here needing to "give back" to the game earns you the Eyeroll of the Century Award. I will admit to not reading the previous pages. Giving back to the game by hiding more caches was one of the early contentious debates. It quickly became an outdated argument and concept. In the early days the thought was to hide 1 cache for every 10 found. Even though I have been playing this game for almost 10 years I have a low find count. In order to satisfy the 10:1 idea I would still need to have over 300 hides. Not such a good idea. Now think about a new cell phone cacher who can find 100, 200 300 caches in a day or a few. Should they be expected to place 10, 20 or more caches to "give back" to the game? The short answer is no. For the most part the better caches are hidden by experienced cachers. As with music there are one hit wonders, so some brand new cachers will hide great caches the first time. We are far better off as supporters of this game to encourage new players to wait and gain experience before placing caches.

This is pretty much my take with the added proviso I would have based on the updated information from the OP dropped an email to the cacher to find out if they had overlooked logging the TB or there was some other issue that I could maybe help with so we got it all logged properly. Anderw Yep, I agree. There have been a few times when I have contacted someone to check on their intentions. Always with good results and no drama.

I will simply say that I completely disagree with the opinion of the OP on this. And I am no noob either. It would never occur to me to be so rude and self-centered as to not give the cacher who dropped the trackable the chance to properly log it. Grabbing the trackable from the other cacher messes with the caching history of that cacher as well as the history of the trackable. Learn some patience and wait a day or a few.

I usually reply with questions about where and how the other cacher searched for the cache. And I will not hesitate to mention if they have not posted a DNF it is appreciated and expected as part of the history of the cache. I had one cacher who posted a DNF stating "CO would not give me a hint without me posting a DNF." I emailed again and asked for a description of the area searched and methods used. Couldn't provide any because they had never attempted to find the cache, which is a somewhat difficult cammoed micro.

Yep, this isn't an off topic topic. On topic... If the cache is indeed on restricted property it should be archived. If the police allowed the cacher to leave and the cache remained in place I have to assume the cache placement is ok.

Nanos are best at the end of a 10 stage multi that involves three stream crossings, lots of blackberry brush and the cache is hidden in one of the six identical trees in a 30 foot circle. Oh, and it's a night cache. Well I gave the hint "bark" Sorry you are so thin skinned. Are you hoping for "Too easy. None needed."

I always feel a bit embarrassed when a cache owner asks me about the coordinates because I don't often pay much attention once I am in the general vicinity of the cache. Once I am within 50' or so of a cache I am looking for the container, not at the GPSr.

I have been playing this game for almost 10 years and have never heard of this unwritten rule. Could this be a regional rule?

I submitted a cache late last night and used the "src" attribute to include my first two ever pictures in the body of the page.

I have had a cache in my driveway about 150 feet from my house for more than eight years. It has never been a problem and I have met quite a few cachers over the years. In my urban neck of the woods I can highly recommend this type of hide.

I will commiteth as long as I do not have to subject myself to #1. Move it to number two and I might be a bit more willing to play along. Who knows what may be necessary to placate all beyond number one.

In fact, thats really bad if you are going to pay just to cache for PMO caches. I pay my membership so I can get PQ and API. Thats all. PMO caches are a joke IMHO. This discussion is always entertaining to me as I have been a happy premium member since 2003. The stuff I like is always available. I do not care for PM only caches. They are a part of the landscape. Good caches are always available to find.

I really, really, really think and believe cachers need to read the entire cache page before they attempt to find a cache. Many of the ills we suffer could be solved if this was the common or required practice. If a cacher doesn't know what is required to find a cache he/she should not attempt to find it. I don't understand how any serious cacher could object to this concept. Every cache is unique and every cache page deserves to be read in its entirety before someone tries to find it. There is simply no excuse for not reading a cache page. People make excuses. They are nothing more than lame excuses.