"cache Cops"

[+KBI]

I am not one to read every log on a cache that I am about go out searching for. The owner of the cache should and if there are issues brought up in the postings (illicit activities, safety issues, etc) the cache owner should edit the cache description to include a note about those things so geocachers can make their own decisions on whether they bring their kids along, perhaps the proper attire (boots vs flipflops, etc), exposure to non geocachers, etc. This is can be a big help. Granted it may not help the paperless crowd but it shows you are concerned about your geocaching compatriots whether you ever meet them or not.

I agree, and if it doesn't help the paperless crowd, well, that's their problem.

 

If anyone chooses to hunt a cache after having choosen, for whatever reason, not to read the cache description, then they deserve whatever problems occur as a result.

[Luckless]

Complaints about caches are old news. When will people learn they shouldn't go biting the hand that feeds it.

As cachers we need caches to find and that means we need someone to hide them for us. Discouraging people isn't going to accomplish that. That lame micro hider may one day end up creating some of your favorite caches. Ignore the caches you think are lame and compliment them on their clever ones and encourage them to hide more like that. Complaints only add anxiety. A lame cache may be just perfect for a little kid.

I would advise your discouraged friend to use the block senders list to block their email and go and have fun caching.

[+KBI]

Well said, Luckless!

[nobby.nobbs]

the trouble comes with when a cache gets placed where it shouldn't and the reviewers don't know/realise. should you keep quiet and risk getting some anti publicity for caching or should you make a reasonable comment to the reviewer or owner?

 

constructive criticism is always received well by me, rants and pointless moans i ignore.

[+PandyBat]

That lame micro hider may one day end up creating some of your favorite caches. Ignore the caches you think are lame and compliment them on their clever ones and encourage them to hide more like that.

 

Easier said than done, Luckless. Sometimes the more the hider is encouraged, the more caches he hides. And they are all pretty much the same.....a magnetized micro stuck on every metal surface. It gives other geocachers no chance at all to find a good spot to hide a cache when it's too easy to walk up to something metal at a spot and stick a magnetized micro to it. A person could do that all day, every day if he wanted. And unfortunately, he does. I don't participate in being the "First To Find" a cache. I am not too crazy about having to be the "First To Place" a cache either because some people want to stick magnets all over town.

 

It's pretty easy for people that like to hunt micros and someone that likes to hide micros to dominate a town after a while with nothing but banter back and forth about how great it all is, all the while taking up every available spot in town to hide a cache. And add in the fact that most of the hunters are a bunch of FTFers that don't care what's hidden just as long it it means an FTF race is about to begin and it all equals lameness for the rest of us.

 

Please don't take the "if you don't like them, don't hunt them" route with me. I've read it a thousand times before. It's a standard comeback for those that live for whatever gets published (FTFers) and those that don't have to worry about dragging along the kids while geocaching. Kids and a micro stuck on a pole in an empty field do not equal fun. Kids and a micro thrown off to the side of a trail do not equal fun. It's been my experience that kids and micros of any kind (unless the location is awesome) do not mix at all. I wish some of those people that are quick to throw out the "don't like them, don't hunt them" phrase would go geocaching with kids (not just babies in strollers) once in a while. They would find out real quick just how much fun it is to find micro after micro after micro.

[+arpegio]

First and foremost, what irks me most is how sensitive and fragile so many people seem to be. Why is someone criticizing your cache such a horrible thing in the first place? 99.99% of those who might critique your placement do so to help you become better at the art. I doubt people are doing it just to be mean.

 

It's another matter if people don't like micros and they're more-or-less criticizing the fact that they don't like the type of caches you hide... that's THEIR problem, not the guy hiding the caches. Nonetheless, why someone can't recognize this and not take it personally is sad.

 

I recently found a cache that was basically a non-camo'd 35mm canister hidden in a national forest in the middle of nowhwere, on the ground, next to a log, TOTALLY SURROUNDED WITH POISON IVY. I looked at the log and several people wrote notes saying stuff like, "TFTC and the poison ivy". I noted that it looked more like the cache was "dropped" accidently than placed, except the OP had a clever way of directing people to the cache site, despite it was a really lame hide, and what bugged me more was that this could have easily been a larger, traditional cache and it wouldn't have made it any easier, but might have better rewarded those poking around in poison ivy.

 

Now, if the person who placed that cache gets tweaked because many people think the hide is lame and the cache not well placed, so what? That's the way it is. If you don't care what other people think and you're going to get all upset like a little girl, then don't do this stuff in the first place. The whole notion IMO of hiding caches and soliciting logs is to get feedback, and the vast majority of it is almost always positive. For someone to get their manties in a bunch because someone criticized them is a personal psychological issue, and has nothing to do with this sport IMO.

 

With that being said, when I start dropping caches, I am totally cool with whatever feedback I get, good or bad. It's really sad today how so many people really need their hand held and their tummy rubbed before they feel good enough to improve themselves and their craft.

Edited July 13, 2006 by arpegio

[+baloo&bd]

Isn't this just a rating system like a lot of people say works so well?

[+sbell111]

Easier said than done, Luckless. Sometimes the more the hider is encouraged, the more caches he hides. And they are all pretty much the same.....a magnetized micro stuck on every metal surface. It gives other geocachers no chance at all to find a good spot to hide a cache when it's too easy to walk up to something metal at a spot and stick a magnetized micro to it. A person could do that all day, every day if he wanted. And unfortunately, he does. I don't participate in being the "First To Find" a cache. I am not too crazy about having to be the "First To Place" a cache either because some people want to stick magnets all over town.

...

Please don't take the "if you don't like them, don't hunt them" route with me. I've read it a thousand times before. ...

If you hate 'If you don't like them, don't hunt them' I bet you hate what I'm going to post, also.

 

On one hand, you dislike these 'lame' micros being placed 'all over town'. On the other hand, your position is that you shouldn't be responsible for placing 'good' caches, either. As near as I can tell from your post, you just want other people to place only caches that you like, but you don't want to be responsible for placing quality caches. Is that correct, or did I totally misunderstand your post?

[Mushtang]

I wish some of those people that are quick to throw out the "don't like them, don't hunt them" phrase would go geocaching with kids (not just babies in strollers) once in a while. They would find out real quick just how much fun it is to find micro after micro after micro.

If I went caching with kids that enjoyed trading items from a regular sized cache, I wouldn't find out how much fun it is to find micro after micro after micro because I would filter them out before I went.

 

If you don't like to find micros for whatever reason, why do you look for them?

 

If your town has too few regular caches, why don't you hide some?

[+sbell111]

... I recently found a cache that was basically a non-camo'd 35mm canister hidden in a national forest in the middle of nowhwere, on the ground, next to a log, TOTALLY SURROUNDED WITH POISON IVY. I looked at the log and several people wrote notes saying stuff like, "TFTC and the poison ivy". I noted that it looked more like the cache was "dropped" accidently than placed, except the OP had a clever way of directing people to the cache site, despite it was a really lame hide, and what bugged me more was that this could have easily been a larger, traditional cache and it wouldn't have made it any easier, but might have better rewarded those poking around in poison ivy. ...

I have a few thoughts regarding your post. First, as discussed in another current thread, some of us aren't allergic to poison ivy. Since we are not, we tend not to pay any attention to the weed and can end up placing our caches in/on/near it. Oops, sorry, buy a pair of gloves.

 

Second, since the cache in queestion had been found a number of times prior to your visit, perhaps when you found it it was not hidden exactly as the owner planned it.

 

Third, it was a micro because the owner wanted it to be. A quick review of the cache page would have told you both the size of the cache and the presence of PI.

 

EDIT to mention that a quick review of your logs found none that referenced PI. Hmmm.

Edited July 14, 2006 by sbell111

[+brownie2]

Logs are not forums! They are logs for cache activity. Period.

[+baloo&bd]

It's pretty easy for people that like to hunt micros and someone that likes to hide micros to dominate a town after a while with nothing but banter back and forth about how great it all is, all the while taking up every available spot in town to hide a cache. And add in the fact that most of the hunters are a bunch of FTFers that don't care what's hidden just as long it it means an FTF race is about to begin and it all equals lameness for the rest of us.

 

Please don't take the "if you don't like them, don't hunt them" route with me. I've read it a thousand times before. It's a standard comeback for those that live for whatever gets published (FTFers) and those that don't have to worry about dragging along the kids while geocaching. Kids and a micro stuck on a pole in an empty field do not equal fun. Kids and a micro thrown off to the side of a trail do not equal fun. It's been my experience that kids and micros of any kind (unless the location is awesome) do not mix at all. I wish some of those people that are quick to throw out the "don't like them, don't hunt them" phrase would go geocaching with kids (not just babies in strollers) once in a while. They would find out real quick just how much fun it is to find micro after micro after micro.

 

I normally don't respond with someones stats. In most cases, they just are not germane to a topic, however.....

 

You have one active cache, and for someone who is talking about how taking kids to hunt micros is not fun, your cache is a 2" X 5" spice bottle, just shy of being a micro. Hardly enough room for the kiddies to find anything of real interest.

 

The other cache you had clearly states the reason most people hide the micros you have such an indignation about.

 

When you archived it, you stated in the log;

 

"Cache is gone. I refuse to supply the rude muggles with anymore goodies. Sadly, I am archiving this cache. Sorry everyone."

 

To the point about kids, as someone who has, and works with, kids of various ages. They are either going to like it or not and other than the first hunt or two it has very little to do with the swag. Most kids like the thrill of the hunt, broken mctoys, keychains from oil change places and golf balls just do not hold their attention, it's the hunt. What exactly do you put in your Easter eggs to keep the kids interested?

 

When I take a new group of cub scouts out, the first one or two I look for a regular or larger for them. They tend to be easier to find and the whole group can get a view of what is going on. From that point, I don't really look at the size. Most like the thrill of trying to find that nook or cranny where something smaller can be hidden and it becomes a competition to see who is there first. Teenagers, well, they're teenagers. Nothing more needs to be said.

 

Simply put, if you or anyone else doesn't like micros being so prolific in a given area, hide what you do like. Force the micros out. Put those larger ones out, the numbers runners love them because they tend to be easier to find. You'll have the best of both worlds.

Edited July 14, 2006 by baloo&bd