Cache Owners With Zero Finds

[+Team LaLonde]

Now I have seen it twice. Local caches placed by two separate cachers who have no finds. Is this a sock puppet maneuver? I just don't see the point in hiding one cache and then never look for any others.

[+imfrog2002]

Some people will find the caches and not log them, because they don't want people worrying about the numbers. I know a few cachers like that. Some people just place them and like to have other people find them, and just watch.

Edited October 11, 2006 by imfrog2002

[+Cornerstone4]

If memory serves, our local reviewer hid a cache using his reviewer handle. That account has no finds on it, however his regular caching account has several thousand finds.

[Neos2]

Sometimes people chose a user name that matches the theme of the cache--not so much a "sock puppet" account (which to me implies some negative motives) but just as a fun name to go with the theme. Some people come up with multiple personalities for various types of hides just for fun---all their "ammo boxes in the woods" will be under one name and all their tough puzzles under another.

 

I have one hide that I listed under the name "Mrs A and the kids" because my classes helped me with the hide. I didn't make it a new account, though, I just wrote it that way on the cache page under my own account. You can tell if you try to email Mrs A and the kids, because it links to my account. I considered making a class account so I could give out the password to the classes, but decided that I would rather be personally responsible for the hide and didn't want an account out there that multiple people could access just in case someone thought it would be "funny" to do something awkward.

 

Another possibility is the owner does their caching under a team name, but wanted solo credit for that particular hide for some reason (They put it out in honor of their caching partner, for instance).

[bogleman]

Now I have seen it twice. Local caches placed by two separate cachers who have no finds. Is this a sock puppet maneuver? I just don't see the point in hiding one cache and then never look for any others.

hmmmmmm sounds like a covert account. No big deal as long as the cache is being maintained and the account is not used in a negative manner.

[+wildchld97]

I'm sure that there are a lot of people who have multiple accounts. I don't personally agree with it..but if that's what they want to do...play on. It's none of my business why a person would have an account where they placed 500 caches and had zero finds or vice versa.

[+Semper Questio]

Now I have seen it twice. Local caches placed by two separate cachers who have no finds. Is this a sock puppet maneuver? I just don't see the point in hiding one cache and then never look for any others.

hmmmmmm sounds like a covert account. No big deal as long as the cache is being maintained and the account is not used in a negative manner.

 

Ain't necessarily so.

 

I (and a cache-hiding partner) have 1 such account. It is the owner of exactly 1 cache and it has no finds. Why? An integral part of the puzzle cache that the ID owns. The puzzle requires, among other things....

 

1. That seekers not immediately know who placed it and knowing any of the people in that co-op would give away the other(s) (at least to the locals).

2. The posted owner name is a significant part of the puzzle.

3. The posted owner name is also a clue to the real identities of the hiding team and to solving other aspects of the puzzle.

4. The identities of the hiding team is also a significant part (among still others) of the puzzle.

 

Yeah, this puzzle is a bit of a bear.

 

The point is, there are more reasons to having pseudo-pseudonyms out there other than for covert purposes.

[+DavidMac]

There are also numerous geocaching-friendly land managers, visitor's bureaus, and parks departments out there who work closely with very active geocachers to hide caches on their land. I've seen numerous examples of such agencies who list caches under profiles with no finds, although the individuals behind the account have probably been to several caches.

[The Legend of Fena Dweller]

What's a sock puppet?

[+BlueDeuce]

Now I have seen it twice. Local caches placed by two separate cachers who have no finds. Is this a sock puppet maneuver? I just don't see the point in hiding one cache and then never look for any others.

 

In this situation I've only seen true socket puppet activity. Regardless, the thing is to check out the situation. If it’s a properly placed cache in an area that seems appropriate, don’t worry about it. If in doubt email your reviewer.

[bug and snake]

What's a sock puppet?

In essence it is an account opened by someone who already has an account in a different name. Generally such an account is used to stir some doo-doo without the posters real identity becoming known. This, by the way, is a false premise - GC.com can track the owner of a sock puppet account (most of the time) with just a little effort.

[bogleman]

Now I have seen it twice. Local caches placed by two separate cachers who have no finds. Is this a sock puppet maneuver? I just don't see the point in hiding one cache and then never look for any others.

hmmmmmm sounds like a covert account. No big deal as long as the cache is being maintained and the account is not used in a negative manner.

 

Ain't necessarily so.

 

I (and a cache-hiding partner) have 1 such account. It is the owner of exactly 1 cache and it has no finds. Why? An integral part of the puzzle cache that the ID owns. The puzzle requires, among other things....

 

1. That seekers not immediately know who placed it and knowing any of the people in that co-op would give away the other(s) (at least to the locals).

2. The posted owner name is a significant part of the puzzle.

3. The posted owner name is also a clue to the real identities of the hiding team and to solving other aspects of the puzzle.

4. The identities of the hiding team is also a significant part (among still others) of the puzzle.

 

Yeah, this puzzle is a bit of a bear.

 

The point is, there are more reasons to having pseudo-pseudonyms out there other than for covert purposes.

 

Oh I agree and I have a couple of extra accounts just for this reason, I will keep them hidden for the time being.

What's a sock puppet?

now that's funny

[+Don&Betty]

Who cares. It's a lot more rewarding to hide a good cache than to find one, particularly if there is a good puzzle associated with finding it. It's generally a lot of work though.

[+Sagefox]

We have seen several caches placed by people with no posted finds over the years.

 

One of the best caches in our county was placed by a guy with no finds and only one hide. Later on he and some friends went on to find geocaches during their desert camping trips but they are not interested in posting those finds on-line. But they do enjoy hunting caches.

 

Eight of the worst caches in our county were placed by a guy with 2 finds and 9 hides. This cacher never pursued finding caches and soon dropped out of the game abandoning the couple of caches that didn't get vandalized.

 

- - -

 

Expanding on the theme:

 

Many of the caches hidden by low find/hide count cachers are in the sort-of-ok range but could be improved with not much effort.

 

Many of the caches hidden by high find/hide count cachers are in the sort-of-ok range but could be improved with not much effort.

[+chuckwagon101]

If you take the time to look up somebody's account to see how many caches they have found, how many they have placed, etc. etc. ..................I guess that is rewarding to some people...and useful in some ways to some people.

 

But........I looked at a couple of accounts and realized how it was a waste of time for me. Even being on this site.....posting right now instead of heading out for all the caches I have downloaded is wasteful to me.

 

When I think of it, why am I here at all? *POOF*

[+Harry Dolphin]

- - -

 

Expanding on the theme:

 

Many of the caches hidden by low find/hide count cachers are in the sort-of-ok range but could be improved with not much effort.

 

Many of the caches hidden by high find/hide count cachers are in the sort-of-ok range but could be improved with not much effort.

 

The difference being that with cachers in the 'high hide/find' count, you generally know what to expect. You've done some, you get to know their MO. BS (for example) has an affinity for boulder fields, and most of his will be very rewarding, but will require a rocky hike. (You may sign my petition to ban BS from boulder fields.) TeamQ, on the other hand, is fond of hiding micros in delicate shrubbery, never replaces a cache with a problem, and sometimes has coordinate problems. (I suspect that this hider has more archived caches than active ones.) I know the MO of these hiders. Guess whose caches I would prefe to search for.)

 

'Low find/hide' cachers are an unknown. There are many of them out there. They range from 'classic hide by a team with two hides and no finds' to 'Oh, I didn't actually put the cache out until eight hours after it was approved. My last cache was denied for being under the Interstate."

 

On the other fin, local cachers seem to know me as well. "If it's a mystery cache, it's probably obscure and evil", "if it's a regular cache, there is probably a great view at the end". And/or some combination of the two.

 

I'll search for most any cache nearby. Sometimes I'm pleasantly surprised. Sometimes I'm disappointed.

But, on a tight schedule, guess whose caches I'll search for.

[+Aquacache]

We just had a totally different scenario occur here. A university professor (who is not a geocacher … doesn’t even have a gc.com account) is teaching students the use of the GPS as part of a GIS course. As part of the lesson, the students were required to find and hide a cache in the area. The result: numerous instances of butter tubs and disposable Tupperware containing a wadded up sheet of paper being thrown under bushes around campus by “cachers” with one (or less) finds. The lone ammo box was hidden by a student who has been caching for a while and has a handful of finds.

 

After several requests from local veteran cachers to not publish these “caches” online, the hides finally subsided with about half of the students still to complete the assignment. I’m hoping that they realized that they could just post the coordinates on the bulletin board in the classroom.

 

Since most of the students haven’t been back to visit the website since they hid the caches, I suspect that they won’t be doing much maintenance on them in the near future.

Edited November 2, 2006 by Aquacache

[+Team JSAM]

Now I have seen it twice. Local caches placed by two separate cachers who have no finds. Is this a sock puppet maneuver? I just don't see the point in hiding one cache and then never look for any others.

 

There is a cache near me that was hid by a trooper along the highway he has 0 finds and 1 hide, its a great kid cache and he checks it on a regular basis. I am glad he does it its a great cahce when traveling with kids, easy find with good kid swag.

 

The is another cache in my town that was hid by the owner of the business, its a good cache but I am pretty sure the motives are different as it takes you right to his tattoo shop, buts its an ammo can in town so I was happy either way to find it!

[nonaeroterraqueous]

All no-finder's caches we've encountered so far have been missing, except for one which was such a bushwacker I wish it had been missing.