Find:Hide Ratios

[+sbell111]

please don't hide any more micros.

 

we've been drowned in this part of the state over the past few weeks with horrible, badly placed micros. The only regular caches that even get placed anymore are filled with micros and say you must place one of the micros to claim a find.

 

it's pretty much killed geocaching around here.

If a cache like that is resulting in a bunch of micros, I would suggest that there are many cachers in the area who like micros.

[+Loch Cache]

Just for the record, IMHO the whole topic of this thread is what lead to microspew, lampost lameness, geotrash hunting, and other ilk of this type. If you do not hide, you are not a 'real' member of the society. If you don't hide a lot, you are not a 'true' member.

 

when you foist this line of thought upon the masses, expect them to respond, and they did, with trash.

 

two years in, and I am approaching 400 finds. I have hidden 4 (2 which I adopted). Why so few? Small town, limited 'cool' spots, other caches saturate the area, and I'll be damned if I'll put out a cache just to fit your image of a 'true' cacher.

 

I cache, therefore I am a cacher.

 

I don't think the OP was thinking of placing "microspew" to keep a self-imposed ratio. Very few people like to admit they would place "microspew" and yet so many people will go and find it. How many 1/1 or 1.5/1.5 micros have you logged? Don't like them, don't log them. IMHO one should never place a cache just to keep up a ratio. Hides should be well thought out and stand the test of time.

 

However, I do think that we all have a responsibility to give back by hiding our fair share. It does take time to place a good hide. More time for a good multi or mystery. But if everyone maintained a 100:1 ration there would not be enough caches to find.

 

Excuses are useless. No place to hide, no time to hide or too saturated? Not a chance. Since November 2004 there have been over 1380 still active caches placed in Missouri, that is over two years time, and there only one per 30 square miles in Missouri. (In MA there is one every 2.5 square miles and still room for more.)

 

I am a cacher, therefore I cache and I hide.

 

Loch Cache

[+krisandmel]

please don't hide any more micros.

 

we've been drowned in this part of the state over the past few weeks with horrible, badly placed micros. The only regular caches that even get placed anymore are filled with micros and say you must place one of the micros to claim a find.

 

it's pretty much killed geocaching around here.

If a cache like that is resulting in a bunch of micros, I would suggest that there are many cachers in the area who like micros.

 

A good point!

And I hope this thread doesn't become an anti-micro thread; my original post was kind of an observation & a question rolled together.

I actually thought about the whole ratio thing as a way to limit my number of hides, but as others pointed out, if I/we got up into the upper hundreds or thousands of finds a 10:1 ratio would encourage spew rather than limit it.

 

Anyway, I guess about micros and breeder-caches, if they are popular, meaning lots of people are finding them, then there really is no problem.

If they are just the only ones being placed, and few people are bothering to find them, then maybe those particular ones are spew.

Hard to tell though, could be the location or other factors making it unpopular, not just the fact it's a micro.

Probably hard to prove that a seldom-found 35mm can is preventing a larger and more popular cache from existing in the same location.

 

I dunno, just making observations as I'm learning.

~K

Edited January 12, 2007 by krisandmel

[+StarBrand]

I would never want to impose any such rule for ratios on anybody. There are hiders and there are finders. I don't want poorly thought out, ill maintained caches just because someone feels they must keep up with some artificial number.

 

Having said that, I would have a hard time taking a cacher's complaints about a hide seriously if they never placed even 1 themselves.

[Aushiker]

My recommendation is to keep in your mind that someone had to place the caches you find and maybe you should do your part.

 

Well said.

 

Andrew

[+scrubjay1986]

I am aware of at least one cache in both of the two main places I cache at that someone had placed a cache and could not maintanee it. One of these caches was adopted out to another cacher and the other one needed a log replaced do to it getting soaked since back in September and even the reacent cache logs have stated the log still needs to be replaced. One of the two places I have been wanting to hide a cache at and I am trying to work out with a family member about hiding the cache that I was planning on putting out a couple of weeks ago since I know that this cache should be easily maintained. The other location would be even harder for me to put out a cache unless I can find someone else to adopt it out when I leave the area since I also believe caches are ment to be placed with the intention of long turn durability in mind. Also by talking with others and with what I have seen, it is harder to maintanee the caches with the more caches you have out.

[+Driver Carries Cache]

I was reading something here in the forums recently and it seems that someone posted the opinion that newbies should make a hundred finds or so before they start making placements. This seems to me a good idea. A hundred finds would give me the experience of finding lots of different kinds of caches and find which ones I enjoyed hunting the most. I'd rather have folks say that I made a smaller number of quality hides than a quantity of poor hides. I'll make my first hide when I run across the perfect place. I'd also like my first to be an ammo can sized cache.

 

As far as the micros go... when I first joined the forums and started reading up on chaching, I didn't think I'd enjoy hunting micros. Now that I've made my first 10 finds, I have to say that the micros I've found so far have been an entertaining way to come to grips with the process of the hunt.

[+krisandmel]

I was reading something here in the forums recently and it seems that someone posted the opinion that newbies should make a hundred finds or so before they start making placements. This seems to me a good idea. A hundred finds would give me the experience of finding lots of different kinds of caches and find which ones I enjoyed hunting the most. I'd rather have folks say that I made a smaller number of quality hides than a quantity of poor hides. I'll make my first hide when I run across the perfect place. I'd also like my first to be an ammo can sized cache.

 

As far as the micros go... when I first joined the forums and started reading up on chaching, I didn't think I'd enjoy hunting micros. Now that I've made my first 10 finds, I have to say that the micros I've found so far have been an entertaining way to come to grips with the process of the hunt.

 

Sure, experience is a great teacher, but you need a decent student as well.

Some people could find every cache extant, not learn a thing and still place a 'bad' cache.

Other people might be able to come up with a fun, clever, or otherwise entertaining cache after finding only 1 or 2 to give them ideas.

 

Although most here probably agree that you shouldn't hide more than you find, but to make a rule about finding X number of caches prior to placing any....... I don't think many would agree with that.

 

Just like the ratios, I never suggested others should follow my current ratio, or that any set ratio should be followed or put into the rules.

The fewer rules the better for this game I think.

 

$.02, ~K

[Aushiker]

Sure, experience is a great teacher, but you need a decent student as well.

Some people could find every cache extant, not learn a thing and still place a 'bad' cache.

Other people might be able to come up with a fun, clever, or otherwise entertaining cache after finding only 1 or 2 to give them ideas.

 

Have to agree 100%. Mind you I generally don't bother going for the FTF on new hiders caches anymore ... I let others blaze that trail, but that is my personal preference.

 

Just like the ratios, I never suggested others should follow my current ratio, or that any set ratio should be followed or put into the rules.

 

Same here. I adopt a ratio of finds to hides because it is something I want to do and it works for me. I don't expect others to do the same. I didn't think your opening post was about doing that either, more about asking what others do.

 

That said I do like to see folks hiding caches ... sort of helps to have that happening so new ones come up to find .

 

Andrew

Edited January 13, 2007 by Aushiker

[+krisandmel]

Andrew, thank you for your reply.

 

Man, someday I hope I can venture down to your neck of the world to do some 'caching!

That would be great!

 

~K

[TEAM NICKELBACKERS]

I try to keep my ratio at 100:1. I am above this right now, and may continue to keep it above this, if I find good places to place one. I also feel that until you have 100 finds under your belt, you should not place one. This will give you enough experience to know what a good placement is and what a bad one is. When I found my first lamp post micro, I thought "hey, this is pretty cool". But after I found my 6th or 7th, I though "this is pretty lame". We have a cacher in our area who's ratio is 1514:1. They have found 3028 caches, and have only hidden 2 (one of which is archived). What a shame. You would think with this many finds, they would realize that the more caches EVERYONE places, the more are available to everyone else.

[+Retcon]

Some people like to hide, some people like to hunt. Some people like to do both. My ratio is currently infinity. I have less than 100 finds (But I'm getting closer) and 0 hides. I expect to make my first hide this spring, but I think I have figured out what's good and what's not, at least in my personal opinion, and I doubt the next 20-30 finds will change that opinion. And I don't think I'd be unable to place my next cache until I hit 200 total.

 

Some people should hide, some shouldn't. Maybe the guy with 3000 finds *loves* lamp posts and would place 30 of 'em if you told him he should get his ratio up to 100:1. Maybe that new guy with 50 finds has 10 great, unique ideas.