Should It Stay Or Should It Go?

[alistair_uk]

I have a few caches that have not been visited for a while and I am considering retiring them. In the past I believed that if a cache was worth placing then it was worth keeping, but now there are so many other caches around, Although these are nothing special the ones I am considering retiring are not either.

 

What is your thoughts. Should I archive them or keep them alive?

[+Ashaaria]

Before archiving them, have you thought about tweaking them a bit to tempt more cachers to do them?

[+Simply Paul]

I've found trads get more visits from non-locals than any other sort of cache, so you might think about that if recycling the area?

 

I'd also say if it's a cache you're not that passionate about, killing it off is no big deal. I've rested several of mine in recent weeks with the hope that someone else will reuse the location. That way i) People still get drawn to the location and ii) You'll have a new cache to find

[+sssss]

I have recently visited a cache that had not been visited in a year, so I say unless a replacement is going to be placed nearby or you can't maintain it then keep it. It doesnt cost anything.

[+Jango & Boba Fett]

Living in a part of the world where cache saturation isn't a problem (we wish) I would say have a look at what feed back you are getting. We've only been setting caches since November 2005 but I do notice that it tends to run in cycles.

1. The initial burst of enthusiasm as people try to get a FTF.
   
2. The usual suspects (God bless them) who have already found every local cache then come by.
   
3. Things go quiet with only occasional visits for a few weeks.
   
4. School holiday time and there's a burst of activity.
   
5. Dull weekend in the the middle of may and five different cachers all decide to converge on the cache.
   
6. Weirdoes (like Jango) decide to take a week off for some long distance caching, hunt around on GcUK and decide to visit a highly rated cache in Northumberland that hasn't been visited for 5 months (thanks MT) and on the way takes a break at Washington Services and gets completely frustrated for an hour thrashing around in brambles while the GPS leads him a merry dance (thanks Alister!)
   

So far most Norfolk/Suffolk caches that get closed are either because of repeated muggling, landowners requests, upgraded locations and one that the Norfolk Constabulary mistook for a bomb!

 

Hope that's some help, oh and go and have one on me at the word association thread.

 

Chae/Jango

[+bobuk]

throw a geo coin in it you will soon get a visitor..

 

B.

[+Hillhappy1]

I say "Let them stay". I have been contemplating archiving a couple of mine due to lack of interest for a few months, but as Jango states there was a burst of activity.

New cachers in the area, people passing through, visiting relatives all made the difference.

They also brought fresh caches to the area.

One of mine is rediculously easy to find and i have often thought about putting it to

bed but newcomers to the game always go for this one.

 

So unless there is cache saturation, or you're thinking about replacing like for like

i say let them be. I bet the caches will be logged soon and the emails will arrive in your inbox.

[+Bear and Ragged]

Leave them until the end of Summer.

See how many visits they get over the holiday period.

 

G

[+John Stead]

Unless they are rubbish I would leave them.

[+HazelS]

If one of mine is looking a bit forlorn, I stick a couple of coins in them to keep the interest there!

[+Geotrotters]

Let them stay. New cachers will visit them eventually and maybe some of the older cachers as well when they're travelling further afield from their usual haunts.

[+Pharisee]

If one of mine is looking a bit forlorn, I stick a couple of coins in them to keep the interest there!

If you have to put coins in it to get people to visit... give it up as a bad job!!

So many times have folks asked on this forum... "What do you like about Geocaching?" (or words to that effect) and the answer has always been the same.... "The locations that geocaching takes us."

 

That's a whole crock of sh*t . It's not about locations at all. It's all about numbers. An easy 1/1 in a duff location that can be picked up from the side of a road will ALWAYS be visited more often than a cache that involves a bit of physical effort, irrespective of how good the view is. It's the nature of the beast. Geocachers are the same as any other body of people.... maximum gain for minimum effort. OK there are bound to be the exceptions that proves the rule and I don't doubt that a dozen or so will pop up here in due course and tell me I'm wrong but what about the other 16,645 who don't pop up... statistics don't lie... do they? Check out the number of logs on easy caches and compare it with the number of logs on tough ones.

 

If you want people to visit your caches, bunging the odd coin or two in isn't going to make a whole heap of difference. Move the cache to a lay-by on the nearest 'A' road and you'll get visitors by the dozen.

 

Cynical.... yeah, but I live in the real world.

[+Sensei TSKC]

Ooooh, John. How the truth will hurt!

 

[+walkergeoff and wife]

I have sometimes worried when my local caches have gone quiet, and I wonder whether I should archive them. But suddenly there will be a burst of activity as those new to the game come and find them. Their enthusiasm as they get into the sport makes it worhwhile to keep them going, and I think that, unless there are compelling reasons, caches should be left open for those new to the sport to find.

[+Happy Humphrey]

If all the local regulars have logged the cache and there doesn't seem to be much activity, simply replace the box with a new one, hide it a short (but significant) distance from the original, archive the original cache and open the new one. Preferably making a fundamental change to the cache (e.g. change it to a mystery cache or a multi) and writing a new cache description: or if it's been particularly praised, just add a tweak or two and call it "version 2".

 

So you're recycling the hiding area but creating a new challenge (without adding to your maintenance overhead). A useful side effect is that you can fill the new box with the best swaps from the old, discarding the rubbish.

 

As Pharisee rightly points out, it's mostly about the numbers: so the locals will appreciate the new cache, and if it looks a good one, it should draw in quite a few from further afield when they see it on the "new caches" list.

 

HH

[+adambro]

I have a few caches that have not been visited for a while and I am considering retiring them. In the past I believed that if a cache was worth placing then it was worth keeping, but now there are so many other caches around, Although these are nothing special the ones I am considering retiring are not either.

 

What is your thoughts. Should I archive them or keep them alive?

 

Keep them, at least until I've had chance to visit some of them!

 

Will be returning to the North East in August/September, where I started geocaching and was planning to hit some cache rich areas which I think might have included some of yours. I'm aiming to get another 100 finds in the few weeks I'm going to be up there, all by public transport.

[Dave from Glanton]

If the general location is suitable (e.g. that patch of green where you placed a cache has not subsequently been transformed into a municipal dump) and maintenance isn't a problem, then I would say keep them.

[+BareClawz]

School hols start soon and that means family holidays. The cacher that introduced me to the hobby/sport was on holiday and about 200 miles from home. I still think he came here for the caches and was especially keen to get one, a 4.5 3.5 at that.

I thought about archiving one of mine because it's now become Longleats compost heap, but people visit and seen to enjoy it so it'll stay. One even said More please.

 

BareClawz

[Claret Zip]

I agree with the "keep them" body of opinion. I have only been caching for about three months and there are still loads of caches in my local area that I haven't got to yet - but I will. Surely there will be similar newcomers in your area who will visit them eventually.

[+dogastus]

I enjoy it if I'm visiting an area and see that there is a cache that hasn't been found for a long time. It is interesting to see how it has survived all by itself (awww) and I get that feel good factor knowing that the cache placer has seen his poor forgotten cache visited.

[+Rose_Thorn]

I would say keep your caches, unless you're having continuous muggling problems or loads of people say it's not a nice place for some reason or other. There will always be new cachers popping up in the area or the odd cacher stopping by on a trip somewhere.

 

Personally, I go for quality in caches rather than quantity. I'd rather visit one cache in a wonderful interesting place than five caches in dusty lay-bys. I also like caches that take some effort to find, whether it's because they are some distance from a road, are cleverly hidden, need careful navigation to get to or are challenging in some other way. I also admit that a coin or a jeep in a cache would entice me to move a cache up in my list of visiting priorities because I like those little icons in my statistics - sad eh?

 

I always look out for caches in areas I am visiting for other purposes, so keep at least a couple going in your area, in case I am passing through one day!

[+sea2horses_uk]

Alistair, as you know I do not often post a note in the forums. However, I agree with the ‘keep them going’ consensus, and then the caches will be available to new starters. I have visited all the local caches that you have placed and looking at the ones that have not been visited for sometime – those particular caches are all different in their nature and are still worth keeping.

 

[+sTeamTraen]

Several of my early caches are, with hindsight, a bit lame. But until one of my goal is "to have had all my caches visited at least once in the last 3 months", I don't see the point of removing them, unless I suddenly needed 3 or 4 ammo boxes.

 

However, a couple of my little-visited caches are hard puzzles. It's clear that only the kind of cacher who (like me!) enjoys keeping their local area "done", will go for them. On the other hand, in the last 3-4 months, at least five new local cachers have gone from 0 to 30, so I'm expecting even these hard caches to have a couple of visitors over the summer. And the harder the cache, the nicer the logs you generally get.

[alistair_uk]

Well thank you all for that. A a result I have decided not to archive any caches just because they have not been visited recently. I have just archived one that has vanished for a second time, but the rest live on.

[+Renegade Knight]

A late reply.

 

First, when you are done with the cache it's time to retire it regardless of it's viable life span. Some caches are not as much fun to own as others.

 

Second, if all the locals have found it and it's not one attracting non local attention, it's safe to pull the plug.

 

Third, if it gets a lot of outside visitors then it may very well be good to go for a long, long time.