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The future of geocaching?


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if i REALLY don't like your cache, i say

 

"it may only be eleven-thirty, but the clams have spoken to the choreographer and they're not feeling so well."

I realize that your post was in jest, but if someone posted a nasty log on one of my caches (or an 'in crowd' snarky log), I'd delete it quite possibly without warning.

 

Polite logs expressing dissatisfaction would never be deleted.

 

it actually wasn't so much in jest. my logs are traditionally a little, uh, opaque and strange, so you'd have to already know the joke to get it.

 

conversely, a deleted log means nothing to me. i know how to save my entry and link to it elsewhere. i much prefer my logs to my find count, and if you delete one of my logs i will simply put you on my "caches for which my logs have been deleted" bookmark list.

 

i have a favorite in which i did not find the cache and decided to go on a rant about nationalism, flag flying, the north shore, and the canadian national anthem.

 

from now on if i find that hider's caches, my log will read ".".

 

in case you're wondering, i think the canadian national anthem is very lovely and on purely musical grounds far superior to most.

 

"to anachreon in heaven"? pfft. i rest my case.

 

my logs, by the way, are less a reflection of how fine your cache is than how fine a time i had looking for it. and as crashco says, "you're either having a good time or you're having a good story to tell."

 

sometimes both, if you get lucky.

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(DNF)

I concur with the previous poster as I limit my searching to about 30 seconds for a teaser trash cache.

This is another log by the same person. The cache is a micro (the previous poster he's concuring with always complains about micros). It's located along a trail about 1/3 of mile from parking, and is accessable without leaving the trail, something that's important in this area. It's well hidden in a good spot and has a neat theme. I believe this cache may have been hidden by a child with the help of mom & dad or grandma & grampa. How would you feel if you helped a child with a cache and someone posted a log like that?

 

Fortunately these kinds of logs are not the norm and thanks for starting this topic, it gave me a chance to vent.

 

Now that's a log that I'd never delete. It's something that I would point out to the child if I helped place the cache as to how "not to be when you grow up".

Edited by IDLookout
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There are tactful people & tactless people. As a cache owner I will delete logs that are down right rude or nasty, I also have deleted logs that are degoratory because a "experienced" cacher couldnt find one of my devious hides but yet 2 "new" cachers did. The newbies have been using GPSr's & lorans & such similar equipment for probably longer than that experienced cacher has been alive.

 

Just because someone chooses to be downright ignorant in their logs doesnt mean the cache owner has to let that log stay.

 

When I deleted the logs I PM'ed the logger asking them to repost without the negativity, if they couldnt do so then they could please put me on their ignore list as any & all nasty logs would be deleted, until the sky falls if they insist on repeatedly posting nasty logs.

 

As the owner you do have that right, the finder does not have the right to publically humilate anyone for any reason. After all, the point of this game is to have fun & not be panfired.

 

And yup, I've put out or helped put out LPC's as I dont enjoy sticking my hands & face into poison ivy (very allegic) which grows rampantly around here at points. In the heat & humidity or if I'm travelling finding a quick & easy LPC is sometimes all I need to keep the geocaching spirit alive in me so I dont take another yr off from caching.

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There are tactful people & tactless people. As a cache owner I will delete logs that are down right rude or nasty, I also have deleted logs that are degoratory because a "experienced" cacher couldnt find one of my devious hides but yet 2 "new" cachers did.

 

I would leave any downright rude or nasty logs on my caches. It's a reflection on the author, not on my cache.

I'm not going to cover for the guy by hiding his log from everyone. I'll leave it there for all the world to see.

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whoa, Whoa, WHOA, kids!

The cache description will usually clue you in to what sort of cache it is that you are about to seek. The maps are another clue. If you are going to be seeking a micro in a pile of crud, then DON'T GO!!! Common sense should prevail here.

There are kids and "handicachers" out here in cacheland, and if one can't provide guidance or constructive criticism, then don't even bother posting a find or dnf. The nastiness needs to be directed at the nearest mirror.

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I would leave any downright rude or nasty logs on my caches. It's a reflection on the author, not on my cache.

I'm not going to cover for the guy by hiding his log from everyone. I'll leave it there for all the world to see.

Those are my feelings exactly. The negative logs only serve to make the author look bad.

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In most cases, my logs at the cache itself have simply been name and date, sometimes TFTC, sometimes a line or two, but mostly name and date.

 

I usually try to write something about the cache in the log on the site. I don't believe I've ever written anything negative about the cache. I have had some where I've related a negative experience getting the cache, but usually my own fault or circumstances... not due to the cache, the hide, or anything specifically related to that except for it being what brought me there.

 

On the other hand, I have posted when coords are way off, the cache is in bad shape, log is full, etc. Never anything insulting (although I'm sure most of you know hiders in your area whose coords are eternally off..., so you always know to search a much wider area when hunting their hides), but sometimes factual negative things.

 

Insulting the hide never made sense to me - if you don't like it, don't hunt it. If you know enough about specific kinds of hides, you should know enough to recognise them by their location on the map and the size, and other things such as who the hider is, and just ignore them - don't insult people who play the game differently.

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A nasty log says more about the finder than the hider.

 

If you didn't like the cache then just write "found it". What do you achieve with a rude comment?

 

You also have the ultimate sanction for a really rubbish cache DON'T LOG IT AT ALL . Which is greater, your need for another number or your principles?

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A nasty log says more about the finder than the hider.

 

If you didn't like the cache then just write "found it". What do you achieve with a rude comment?

 

You also have the ultimate sanction for a really rubbish cache DON'T LOG IT AT ALL . Which is greater, your need for another number or your principles?

 

I wouldn't post a rude note, but how is the cache owner supposed to know that something is wrong if everyone posts a TFTC log? I guess you could send an email, but I think I'd just explain any problem (nicely) in a log.

Edited by IDLookout
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whoa, Whoa, WHOA, kids!

The cache description will usually clue you in to what sort of cache it is that you are about to seek. The maps are another clue. If you are going to be seeking a micro in a pile of crud, then DON'T GO!!! Common sense should prevail here.

 

No not really, The cache description will not always clue clue you in.

The are good micros and there are bad micros. Until you find the micro

you do not know if it is a good one or a bad one.

A micro that some one just tosses into some bushes next to a dumpster is not a good

micro.

A micro that some one places on a guardrail along a busy highway is not a good micro.

A micro the has an alarm inside in it that startles the finder when it is opened is a fun

micro.

A micro the utilizes a unique camouflage is a fun micro.

 

A lot of bad micros are placed by cachers that just want to have a high hide count

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I usually do enjoy these finds. About as much as a snackwell cookie, in comparison to a slice of homemade key lime pie. There's room for both in my sweet tooth diet. <_<

 

Not really but holly cow that key lime. I am lucky that my coworkers like me so much that I get homemade key lime every fricking birthday. Now my mouth is watering and all I have is turkey and orange juice.

 

Thanks a bunch..........

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There is a vast difference between

 

I found this cache but wish I hadnt. In my opinion, the placement could have been much better. There was a nearby koi pond that was better suited for a cache than the underside of a garbage can in the inner stairwell of another parking garage.

 

and

 

This is the worst cache I have ever seen. You shouldnt be allowed to place caches at all. You shouldnt even be a cacher. What a moron.

 

Both express disappointment in a cache. One was nice and will likely be heeded by the cache hider. The other will likely chase the cache hider out of geocaching and just shows the person who logged the cache as a bit of an idiot.

 

Both of those example log entries were made up for this post and are not actual logs.

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Previous log entries generally give you a clue whether or not the hide was a good one. Due to my lack of mobility, I scan the logs to see whether or not Im likely to be able to get to the cache. In doing so, I get a feel for the cache, whether or not it is one Im likely to enjoy. Those who write the rude posts would generally be able to tell in advance (except on a FTF) whether or not the cache was worth the visit.

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I think there are some great micro's out there, even urban micros in some pretty dank places. I think it mostly reflects where the cache hider feels comfortable. NOT nessesarily in places WE feel comfortable. There are some city folk that may not feel so secure in woods with bear poop on the trail, even if they're headed for a great big bucket full of great swag. I feel about the same way I suppose, as I'm headed into an urban park with homeless people's poop behind every bush as I look for a micro full of log sheet. Kinda takes one out of their comfort zone, this hobby of ours. I don't gripe about it too much if I didn't like it. I just go on to the next one. Sometimes it's for the numbers, sometimes it's the atmosphere. Always there's the possibility of an unexpected bonus or lesson.

One of our micro cache finders expressed their feelings by replacing the logsheet with a Top Ramen noodle seasoning packet. We got over it.

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if i REALLY don't like your cache, i say

 

"it may only be eleven-thirty, but the clams have spoken to the choreographer and they're not feeling so well."

I realize that your post was in jest, but if someone posted a nasty log on one of my caches (or an 'in crowd' snarky log), I'd delete it quite possibly without warning.

 

Polite logs expressing dissatisfaction would never be deleted.

 

it actually wasn't so much in jest. my logs are traditionally a little, uh, opaque and strange, so you'd have to already know the joke to get it.

 

conversely, a deleted log means nothing to me. i know how to save my entry and link to it elsewhere. i much prefer my logs to my find count, and if you delete one of my logs i will simply put you on my "caches for which my logs have been deleted" bookmark list.

 

i have a favorite in which i did not find the cache and decided to go on a rant about nationalism, flag flying, the north shore, and the canadian national anthem.

 

from now on if i find that hider's caches, my log will read ".".

 

in case you're wondering, i think the canadian national anthem is very lovely and on purely musical grounds far superior to most.

 

"to anachreon in heaven"? pfft. i rest my case.

 

my logs, by the way, are less a reflection of how fine your cache is than how fine a time i had looking for it. and as crashco says, "you're either having a good time or you're having a good story to tell."

 

sometimes both, if you get lucky.

You have had so many logs deleted that you need a bookmark list to track them? Now I know your pulling my leg.
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Name calling and other personal insults are never appropriate, but honest logs about cache problems should be actively encouraged.

 

Potential finders should be made aware of cache issues like any of the following:

  1. Hyperdermic needles or used condoms near ground zero.
  2. Human feces and or homeless encampments.
  3. Caches placed in "pickle parks."
  4. Caches located next to busy roads, or caches that have "trespass issues."
  5. Caches hidden near businesses or near homes without the consent or knowledge or said owners.

 

A great way to covertly describe a cache hidden in a trashy area is, "This area is a great candidate for a CITO event :( ."

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There's sometimes a fine line between nastiness and constructive criticism...it all depends on how it's perceived by the listener...or how the critic words his opinion.

 

Nastiness - Breaks the person down without fixing the problem.

Constructive Criticism - Helps the person improve and encourages them to do better and fix the problem.

 

If someone tells me that a cache could be better and gives me examples...cool...I'll try it.

If someone tells me that my cache is a big pile of dung...I'll tell them to go shoot themselves in the face with a bazooka and live with it...and no improvments are made to the cache.

 

Rodney

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it actually wasn't so much in jest. my logs are traditionally a little, uh, opaque and strange ...(snipped for brevity & fun)... sometimes both, if you get lucky.
You have had so many logs deleted that you need a bookmark list to track them? Now I know your pulling my leg.
Well, there are only 5 on the list. Am I wrong for thinking it'd be fun to make that list? :(

 

 

"Yeah, one of my caches made flask's bookmarks!"

"Oh? Which one?"

"Uhh... "caches for which my logs have been deleted." She didn't like my "Trash Picker's Paradise" cache, so I deleted her log..." :blink:

 

Edit: You mean I souldn't spell her name 'flash'?

Edited by Too Tall John
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i have a favorite in which i did not find the cache and decided to go on a rant about nationalism, flag flying, the north shore, and the canadian national anthem.

 

As long as you didn't insult The Queen, you should have been OK. :(

 

when he deleted it, he said it was because it was "for brevity".

 

i was in favor of canada, the north shore, and the national anthem. and i had some words of advice for the province alberta.

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Caches placed in "pickle parks."
I've never heard that expression. Would those be the same parks where you see a group cars all backed into their parking spots? :(

Pickle Parks are places where men seek other men to satisfy their perversions "in the woods."
Reminds me of a scene with Ben Stiller in the movie There's Something About Mary. Anyhow it was what I thought. So if you ever drive into a park and see cars backed into parking spaces you need to immediately drive away. Do not look for those caches....
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Caches placed in "pickle parks."
I've never heard that expression. Would those be the same parks where you see a group cars all backed into their parking spots? :(
Pickle Parks are places where men seek other men to satisfy their perversions "in the woods."
Reminds me of a scene with Ben Stiller in the movie There's Something About Mary. Anyhow it was what I thought. So if you ever drive into a park and see cars backed into parking spaces you need to immediately drive away. Do not look for those caches....
On the other hand, the more people who use 'those' parks for legitimate purposes (such as geocaching), the more likely that the picklers will move on to someplace more private.
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Caches placed in "pickle parks."
I've never heard that expression. Would those be the same parks where you see a group cars all backed into their parking spots? :(
Pickle Parks are places where men seek other men to satisfy their perversions "in the woods."
Reminds me of a scene with Ben Stiller in the movie There's Something About Mary. Anyhow it was what I thought. So if you ever drive into a park and see cars backed into parking spaces you need to immediately drive away. Do not look for those caches....
On the other hand, the more people who use 'those' parks for legitimate purposes (such as geocaching), the more likely that the picklers will move on to someplace more private.
Feel free to pave the way, but I'm not going there. :blink:
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Caches placed in "pickle parks."
I've never heard that expression. Would those be the same parks where you see a group cars all backed into their parking spots? :(
Pickle Parks are places where men seek other men to satisfy their perversions "in the woods."
Reminds me of a scene with Ben Stiller in the movie There's Something About Mary. Anyhow it was what I thought. So if you ever drive into a park and see cars backed into parking spaces you need to immediately drive away. Do not look for those caches....
On the other hand, the more people who use 'those' parks for legitimate purposes (such as geocaching), the more likely that the picklers will move on to someplace more private.
Feel free to pave the way, but I'm not going there. :blink:
I will and I have. There's nothing to fear. They likely aren't going to convert any of us.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you let 'badness' alone in these places, 'badness' grows. If you shine a light on it, 'badness' generally goes away. This is as true with pickle parks as it is with drug dealers in parks.

Edited by sbell111
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Pickle Parks are places where men seek other men to satisfy their perversions "in the woods."

 

Never heard that expression, but it's a good one! Good description for many of the Forest Preserves in the Chicagoland area. In fact, I was looking in one of those parks a few weeks ago, and looked up to see some guy had followed me down the trail. You can bet I lost all interest in finding the cache and hightailed it out of there!

 

I did post a nice note about it in my DNF, however. And the person who owned the cache said he had some concerns about the same issue when he first placed it. But, overall, there are a lot of families who use the park at other than 'prime pickle time", ie, early morning!

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if i REALLY don't like your cache, i say

 

"it may only be eleven-thirty, but the clams have spoken to the choreographer and they're not feeling so well."

I realize that your post was in jest, but if someone posted a nasty log on one of my caches (or an 'in crowd' snarky log), I'd delete it quite possibly without warning.

 

Polite logs expressing dissatisfaction would never be deleted.

You are making the assumption that you are part of, or at least aware of the lingo of that 'in crowd'. :(

 

The laughing frog croaks at 3 PM. :(:blink:

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On the other hand, the more people who use 'those' parks for legitimate purposes (such as geocaching), the more likely that the picklers will move on to someplace more private.
Feel free to pave the way, but I'm not going there. :(
I will and I have. There's nothing to fear. They likely aren't going to convert any of us.

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again. If you let 'badness' alone in these places, 'badness' grows. If you shine a light on it, 'badness' generally goes away. This is as true with pickle parks as it is with drug dealers in parks.

 

Dodging used condoms and used syringes isnt my idea of caching fun. I too will pass on those caches. In one local pickle park, they were chased out of that park by various increased law enforcement, crept over to a nearby family park and one of them assaulted a teen in the rest room. They are nice parks, with nice caches, but it will be a cold day in Phoenix' summer before I hunt them.

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Caches placed in "pickle parks."
I've never heard that expression. Would those be the same parks where you see a group cars all backed into their parking spots? :(

 

Pickle Parks are places where men seek other men to satisfy their perversions "in the woods."

 

Oooohhhhhh! We've got one of those caches nearby. The first time I went up there I couldn't figure out what was going on, just a lot of guys milling around at a roadside stop. At least I know how to refer to it now. :blink:

 

Ew! :(

 

DCC

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Caches placed in "pickle parks."
I've never heard that expression. Would those be the same parks where you see a group cars all backed into their parking spots? :D

 

Pickle Parks are places where men seek other men to satisfy their perversions "in the woods."

 

Oooohhhhhh! We've got one of those caches nearby. The first time I went up there I couldn't figure out what was going on, just a lot of guys milling around at a roadside stop. At least I know how to refer to it now. :blink:

 

Ew! :(

 

DCC

 

I guess I'm lucky that I live in a state that has 60% public lands and a small population - I've never seen a "Pickle Park"..... :(

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I, too, am not a lover of micros, and especially the nano's that are regularly popping up in my area. On the other side of that I have a few friends who love micros and only hunt them. That, my friend is why we have different sizes of caches. That way, there's something for everyone.

 

Anyway, my not liking micros, does not give me an excuse to bash of people's hide. I simply have the choice to find or not to find. It's common courtesy to make a comment, or rather it's just a nice thing to do. If you don't like a type of cache, or the way a cacher does his hides, don't look for them.

 

Just my opinion.

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So if you ever drive into a park and see cars backed into parking spaces you need to immediately drive away. Do not look for those caches....

:( Huh? :D michelle
I have been told that that is way that those people signal their intentions when they park at a pickle park. I provided that info so people (especially families) can watch for that signal if they unknowingly enter a pickle park. It would be awful for kids to see something like that. :surprise: Edited by TrailGators
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Some of us, like those who might have to leave quickly for legitimate reasons (volunteer fireman), back into almost every parking space I use... Don't plan on visiting any pickle parks anytime soon, and certainly am not sending signals other than the fact that I might be leaving quickly by the way I park. Interesting...

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I might park backwards in my driveway so I can make a quick departure on my way to work in the morning, but you will never drive by and see me sitting in my car watching you expectantly.

 

Walking out of the woods and then getting into my backwards parked car? Ah, no. Ain't gonna happen.

 

On topic, If I don't like the cache and it's within guidelines I'll say very little. I save my angst for the forums.

Edited by BlueDeuce
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I am visiting family in the Phoenix are and have been caching around the Chandler area. I always enjoy reading peoples logs, I find it amusing. I did notice particularly condescending notes by one person who completed a row of caches and seems to be targeting one particular cache owner. The were several of these logs and it actually prompted me to look who the heck this guy was and I noticed he actually has the cache owner targeted on his profile page. Most are similar to this partial note.

 

YAK!

 

*yet another keybox*

 

Or was that the sound I made whilst spewing doing all this micro spew? I forget

 

It's not so much what he is saying but how he is saying it, as if he is the authority of all caches and unless is meets their aproval or proper amusement then it's crap. He has made it clear that he does not like caches in a row "Power trail" I believe is the term he used, so if he does not like them then why bother doing them. It's very obvious on the map that it's a row of caches. If it's just going to make your blood pressure rise and make you a grumpy butt then what's the point. If I noticed a similarity that I didn't really like, then I would just enjoy the walk and stop looking. If you are going to be a high #'s person then you have to take the good with the bad and realize there is something hiding out there for everyone. I know if I pull up and it doesn't look like a cache that would be my kind of fun I make a decision do I do it or go to the next. For example, I do not like puzzle caches, I don't rip on the owner for placing it, I just choose not to do it, now a 2 mile hike I thrive on those. I actually really liked this particular row of caches because it gave me a great excuse to go for a walk. There are many people who like many different types of caches that's what makes it fun.

 

thank goodness we have not run into any of these grumpy butts in Denver.

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I am visiting family in the Phoenix are and have been caching around the Chandler area. I always enjoy reading peoples logs, I find it amusing. I did notice particularly condescending notes by one person who completed a row of caches and seems to be targeting one particular cache owner. The were several of these logs and it actually prompted me to look who the heck this guy was and I noticed he actually has the cache owner targeted on his profile page. Most are similar to this partial note.

 

YAK!

 

*yet another keybox*

 

Or was that the sound I made whilst spewing doing all this micro spew? I forget

 

It's not so much what he is saying but how he is saying it, as if he is the authority of all caches and unless is meets their aproval or proper amusement then it's crap. He has made it clear that he does not like caches in a row "Power trail" I believe is the term he used, so if he does not like them then why bother doing them. It's very obvious on the map that it's a row of caches. If it's just going to make your blood pressure rise and make you a grumpy butt then what's the point. If I noticed a similarity that I didn't really like, then I would just enjoy the walk and stop looking. If you are going to be a high #'s person then you have to take the good with the bad and realize there is something hiding out there for everyone. I know if I pull up and it doesn't look like a cache that would be my kind of fun I make a decision do I do it or go to the next. For example, I do not like puzzle caches, I don't rip on the owner for placing it, I just choose not to do it, now a 2 mile hike I thrive on those. I actually really liked this particular row of caches because it gave me a great excuse to go for a walk. There are many people who like many different types of caches that's what makes it fun.

 

thank goodness we have not run into any of these grumpy butts in Denver.

I agree. That person's logs are way too snarky and would have been deleted if made to one of my caches.

 

It's funny to me when people complain about power trails. They act as if someone is twisting their arms and making them find each cache. Heck, they could find one or two and come back to enjoy the trail on another day, but they'd rather whine. Go figure.

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There is a vast difference between

 

I found this cache but wish I hadnt. In my opinion, the placement could have been much better. There was a nearby koi pond that was better suited for a cache than the underside of a garbage can in the inner stairwell of another parking garage.

 

and

 

This is the worst cache I have ever seen. You shouldnt be allowed to place caches at all. You shouldnt even be a cacher. What a moron.

 

Both express disappointment in a cache. One was nice and will likely be heeded by the cache hider. The other will likely chase the cache hider out of geocaching and just shows the person who logged the cache as a bit of an idiot.

 

Both of those example log entries were made up for this post and are not actual logs.

 

I completely agree with this post. Crappy cache owners need to be told the truth without the angst and drama.

Edited by 4wheelin_fool
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Reminds me of a scene with Ben Stiller in the movie There's Something About Mary. Anyhow it was what I thought. So if you ever drive into a park and see cars backed into parking spaces you need to immediately drive away. Do not look for those caches....

I have highlighted in bold above your words which I wish to address. While you are certainly entitled to choose to avoid pickle parks yourself, I find it fascinating that you felt the need to warn everyone else to avoid all parks where cars are backed into parking spaces. First, the simple fact of the matter is that even in parks known for sex cruising, people back into parking spaces for many and varied valid reasons, most of which have nothing to with seeking sex. Next, I find it amazing that you feel that you must warn the rest of us away from parks where there may be sex cruising activity. My own point of view is that we geocachers have EVERY bit as much right to be using those parks as the gay sex cruisers and the prostitutes, pimps and drug dealers, and I would NEVER let the presence of one or more of those activities scare me off from seeking a cache at a park or a highway rest area. In fact, the reality is that if all caches were banned tomorrow which are located in parks or highway rest areas where there is gay or straight sex cruising, this would eliminate about 35% of the caches in the USA!

 

Now, what DOES BUG ME, and what bugs me in a BIG WAY, is the arrogant cache owners who own caches located in areas frequented by gay sex cruisers, straight sex cruisers, drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes, but who, on the cache listing page for such caches, do any or all of the following:

  • refuse to raise the Difficulty and Terrain rating appropriately.
  • refuse to emplace a DANGER attribute icon.
  • refuse, in the Description text on the cache listing page, to disclose EXPLICITLY the fact that the park is used frequently by gay sex cruisers, straight sex cruisers, alcohol abusers, drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes, and that one may also encounter on environmental surfaces, broken bottles, used syringes, various types of bodily fluids including, but not limited to, blood, urine and fecal material, or used condoms.

To me, this kind of omission is unconscionable and rude. In fact, one of the more infamous and fun caches in our Psycho Urban Cache series is Psycho Urban Cache #10 - Derelict Grunge Acropolis, which is located in the dank, dark, litter-infested and smelly underground tunnels of an abandoned military fort which is now a poorly-kept Baltimore city park. The park is HEAVILY frequented by gay sex cruisers, straight sex cruisers, pimps, male hustlers, female prostitutes (i.e., hookers), johns (i.e., men looking for hookers), drug users, alcohol abusers, semi-psychotic street people, taggers (you know, graffiti artists armed with spray cans), stoned pale Goth teenagers dressed in black, paintballers, carnivorous cave crickets, feral cats, rats the size of mailboxes, deranged little old ladies who feed the feral cats, deranged little old men who cruise the deranged little old ladies and recreational boaters. The park and the tunnels are also heavily infested with garbage, used syringes, broken beer and liquor bottles, puddles of bodily fluids including, but not limited to, blood, urine and feces, toxicogenic molds growing on all the surfaces inside the underground tunnels, spiders, cave crickets, toxic waste and used condoms.

 

I had first learned of this park via the Urban Exploring community, and thus I knew in advance of its various denizens and hazards. When we chose to place the Psycho cache there, I chose to do the following on the cache listing page:

  • ensure that the Difficulty and Terrain rating were appropriately high (in the case of this cache, this was a given, anyway, due to the fact that finding the cache takes many hours and is quite dangerous due to the risks of climbing slimy wet vertical walls deep underground.)
  • assigned the appropriate "DANGER" attribute icon to the cache listing page
  • explicitly disclosed each and every one of the known dangers in the Description on the cache listing page

The reaction to that cache and the cache listing page have been nothing short of overwhelming! Not only has it become an EXTREMELY popular cache among seekers of extreme caches from across at least five states, but I have received numerous compliments from cache seekers and also from cachers from all over the world about the fact that this cache is one of the few caches located in such a setting where the owner bothered to list the appropriate D/T rating, emplace the Danger icon, and to warn explicitly of the various hazards on the cache listing page. In fact, the same park where this cache is located useta host another cache, one listed without any warnings of what one might encounter, and the find/DNF log entries posted by seekers of that cache were downright sad and frightening, as over 90% of the seekers had no idea what they were walking into. In fact, three local cachers told me that the earlier cache in question turned into the worst caching experience of their lives, while each of those cachers eventually went back to the same park and had tons of fun seeking our extreme cache, even though it took them many hours and they needed to disinfect their skin and clothing and shoes after the experience. The difference? They had been forewarned of the risks by my disclosures on the cache listing page!

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Reminds me of a scene with Ben Stiller in the movie There's Something About Mary. Anyhow it was what I thought. So if you ever drive into a park and see cars backed into parking spaces you need to immediately drive away. Do not look for those caches....

I have highlighted in bold above your words which I wish to address. While you are certainly entitled to choose to avoid pickle parks yourself, I find it fascinating that you felt the need to warn everyone else to avoid all parks where cars are backed into parking spaces. First, the simple fact of the matter is that even in parks known for sex cruising, people back into parking spaces for many and varied valid reasons, most of which have nothing to with seeking sex. Next, I find it amazing that you feel that you must warn the rest of us away from parks where there may be sex cruising activity. My own point of view is that we geocachers have EVERY bit as much right to be using those parks as the gay sex cruisers and the prostitutes, pimps and drug dealers, and I would NEVER let the presence of one or more of those activities scare me off from seeking a cache at a park or a highway rest area. In fact, the reality is that if all caches were banned tomorrow which are located in parks or highway rest areas where there is gay or straight sex cruising, this would eliminate about 35% of the caches in the USA!

 

Now, what DOES BUG ME, and what bugs me in a BIG WAY, is the arrogant cache owners who own caches located in areas frequented by gay sex cruisers, straight sex cruisers, drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes, but who, on the cache listing page for such caches, do any or all of the following:

  • refuse to raise the Difficulty and Terrain rating appropriately.
  • refuse to emplace a DANGER attribute icon.
  • refuse, in the Description text on the cache listing page, to disclose EXPLICITLY the fact that the park is used frequently by gay sex cruisers, straight sex cruisers, alcohol abusers, drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes, and that one may also encounter on environmental surfaces, broken bottles, used syringes, various types of bodily fluids including, but not limited to, blood, urine and fecal material, or used condoms.

To me, this kind of omission is unconscionable and rude. In fact, one of the more infamous and fun caches in our Psycho Urban Cache series is Psycho Urban Cache #10 - Derelict Grunge Acropolis, which is located in the dank, dark, litter-infested and smelly underground tunnels of an abandoned military fort which is now a poorly-kept Baltimore city park. The park is HEAVILY frequented by gay sex cruisers, straight sex cruisers, pimps, male hustlers, female prostitutes (i.e., hookers), johns (i.e., men looking for hookers), drug users, alcohol abusers, semi-psychotic street people, taggers (you know, graffiti artists armed with spray cans), stoned pale Goth teenagers dressed in black, paintballers, carnivorous cave crickets, feral cats, rats the size of mailboxes, deranged little old ladies who feed the feral cats, deranged little old men who cruise the deranged little old ladies and recreational boaters. The park and the tunnels are also heavily infested with garbage, used syringes, broken beer and liquor bottles, puddles of bodily fluids including, but not limited to, blood, urine and feces, toxicogenic molds growing on all the surfaces inside the underground tunnels, spiders, cave crickets, toxic waste and used condoms.

 

I had first learned of this park via the Urban Exploring community, and thus I knew in advance of its various denizens and hazards. When we chose to place the Psycho cache there, I chose to do the following on the cache listing page:

  • ensure that the Difficulty and Terrain rating were appropriately high (in the case of this cache, this was a given, anyway, due to the fact that finding the cache takes many hours and is quite dangerous due to the risks of climbing slimy wet vertical walls deep underground.)
  • assigned the appropriate "DANGER" attribute icon to the cache listing page
  • explicitly disclosed each and every one of the known dangers in the Description on the cache listing page

The reaction to that cache and the cache listing page have been nothing short of overwhelming! Not only has it become an EXTREMELY popular cache among seekers of extreme caches from across at least five states, but I have received numerous compliments from cache seekers and also from cachers from all over the world about the fact that this cache is one of the few caches located in such a setting where the owner bothered to list the appropriate D/T rating, emplace the Danger icon, and to warn explicitly of the various hazards on the cache listing page. In fact, the same park where this cache is located useta host another cache, one listed without any warnings of what one might encounter, and the find/DNF log entries posted by seekers of that cache were downright sad and frightening, as over 90% of the seekers had no idea what they were walking into. In fact, three local cachers told me that the earlier cache in question turned into the worst caching experience of their lives, while each of those cachers eventually went back to the same park and had tons of fun seeking our extreme cache, even though it took them many hours and they needed to disinfect their skin and clothing and shoes after the experience. The difference? They had been forewarned of the risks by my disclosures on the cache listing page!

I've read your post a couple of times and I'm trying to figure out if I just got slammed. Anyhow, I really don't care if I did. Anyhow, I think you are smart enough to tell the difference bewteen group of cars all backed up into parking spaces in a corner of a park with other cars randomly parked that way through-out the park. I guess I should have clarified that point. Also I doubt that 35% of all the parks have these issues at least to a large extent. Around here there are certain parks have bad reputations. At any rate, I do agree that the cache page should be your guide. However, IMHO many people are not aware of these issues. So how can they post warnings if they don't know about them? So sharing some insights in these threads could be useful to some people. Finally, I agree that we all have the right to go to these places, I just choose to avoid the ones with the bad reps not because I'm afraid of anything but because they give me the creeps... :mad: Edited by TrailGators
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Reminds me of a scene with Ben Stiller in the movie There's Something About Mary. Anyhow it was what I thought. So if you ever drive into a park and see cars backed into parking spaces you need to immediately drive away. Do not look for those caches....

I have highlighted in bold above your words which I wish to address. While you are certainly entitled to choose to avoid pickle parks yourself, I find it fascinating that you felt the need to warn everyone else to avoid all parks where cars are backed into parking spaces. First, the simple fact of the matter is that even in parks known for sex cruising, people back into parking spaces for many and varied valid reasons, most of which have nothing to with seeking sex. Next, I find it amazing that you feel that you must warn the rest of us away from parks where there may be sex cruising activity. My own point of view is that we geocachers have EVERY bit as much right to be using those parks as the gay sex cruisers and the prostitutes, pimps and drug dealers, and I would NEVER let the presence of one or more of those activities scare me off from seeking a cache at a park or a highway rest area. In fact, the reality is that if all caches were banned tomorrow which are located in parks or highway rest areas where there is gay or straight sex cruising, this would eliminate about 35% of the caches in the USA!

 

Now, what DOES BUG ME, and what bugs me in a BIG WAY, is the arrogant cache owners who own caches located in areas frequented by gay sex cruisers, straight sex cruisers, drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes, but who, on the cache listing page for such caches, do any or all of the following:

  • refuse to raise the Difficulty and Terrain rating appropriately.
  • refuse to emplace a DANGER attribute icon.
  • refuse, in the Description text on the cache listing page, to disclose EXPLICITLY the fact that the park is used frequently by gay sex cruisers, straight sex cruisers, alcohol abusers, drug dealers, pimps and prostitutes, and that one may also encounter on environmental surfaces, broken bottles, used syringes, various types of bodily fluids including, but not limited to, blood, urine and fecal material, or used condoms.

To me, this kind of omission is unconscionable and rude. In fact, one of the more infamous and fun caches in our Psycho Urban Cache series is Psycho Urban Cache #10 - Derelict Grunge Acropolis, which is located in the dank, dark, litter-infested and smelly underground tunnels of an abandoned military fort which is now a poorly-kept Baltimore city park. The park is HEAVILY frequented by gay sex cruisers, straight sex cruisers, pimps, male hustlers, female prostitutes (i.e., hookers), johns (i.e., men looking for hookers), drug users, alcohol abusers, semi-psychotic street people, taggers (you know, graffiti artists armed with spray cans), stoned pale Goth teenagers dressed in black, paintballers, carnivorous cave crickets, feral cats, rats the size of mailboxes, deranged little old ladies who feed the feral cats, deranged little old men who cruise the deranged little old ladies and recreational boaters. The park and the tunnels are also heavily infested with garbage, used syringes, broken beer and liquor bottles, puddles of bodily fluids including, but not limited to, blood, urine and feces, toxicogenic molds growing on all the surfaces inside the underground tunnels, spiders, cave crickets, toxic waste and used condoms.

 

I had first learned of this park via the Urban Exploring community, and thus I knew in advance of its various denizens and hazards. When we chose to place the Psycho cache there, I chose to do the following on the cache listing page:

  • ensure that the Difficulty and Terrain rating were appropriately high (in the case of this cache, this was a given, anyway, due to the fact that finding the cache takes many hours and is quite dangerous due to the risks of climbing slimy wet vertical walls deep underground.)
  • assigned the appropriate "DANGER" attribute icon to the cache listing page
  • explicitly disclosed each and every one of the known dangers in the Description on the cache listing page

The reaction to that cache and the cache listing page have been nothing short of overwhelming! Not only has it become an EXTREMELY popular cache among seekers of extreme caches from across at least five states, but I have received numerous compliments from cache seekers and also from cachers from all over the world about the fact that this cache is one of the few caches located in such a setting where the owner bothered to list the appropriate D/T rating, emplace the Danger icon, and to warn explicitly of the various hazards on the cache listing page. In fact, the same park where this cache is located useta host another cache, one listed without any warnings of what one might encounter, and the find/DNF log entries posted by seekers of that cache were downright sad and frightening, as over 90% of the seekers had no idea what they were walking into. In fact, three local cachers told me that the earlier cache in question turned into the worst caching experience of their lives, while each of those cachers eventually went back to the same park and had tons of fun seeking our extreme cache, even though it took them many hours and they needed to disinfect their skin and clothing and shoes after the experience. The difference? They had been forewarned of the risks by my disclosures on the cache listing page!

I've read your post a couple of times and I'm trying to figure out if I just got slammed. Anyhow, I really don't care if I did. Anyhow, I think you are smart enough to tell the difference bewteen group of cars all backed up into parking spaces in a corner of a park with other cars randomly parked that way through-out the park. I guess I should have clarified that point. Also I doubt that 35% of all the parks have these issues at least to a large extent. Around here there are certain parks have bad reputations. At any rate, I do agree that the cache page should be your guide. However, IMHO many people are not aware of these issues. So how can they post warnings if they don't know about them? So sharing some insights in these threads could be useful to some people. Finally, I agree that we all have the right to go to these places, I just choose to avoid the ones with the bad reps unless the sun is still up. :(

Thanks for your note, and just to clarify, no, my earlier post did not attempt to slam you, and rather, simply disagreed with your advice to avoid all parks where folks park their cars backed in, and with your implied advice that all geocachers should avoid seeking caches in all parks used for such activities. :mad:

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Thanks for your note, and just to clarify, no, my earlier post did not attempt to slam you, and rather, simply disagreed with your advice to avoid all parks where folks park their cars backed in, and with your implied advice that all geocachers should avoid seeking caches in all parks used for such activities. :mad:

Thanks. Then it was a misunderstanding. Just to clarify what I was meant: If you see a group of cars all backed up into parking spaces in a corner of a park then you may not want to take the kids into that part of the park. I certainly didn't mean for everyone to avoid all parks. That is very extreme and my actual position is far more moderate. :(
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Shouldnt we just remember that we all have different opinions as to what we find interesting or fun? The cache owner found something appealing in the area they set the cache. Maybe they set it there because they couldnt go someplace "FUN or EXCITING". Maybe thier handicaped. I think it is rude to make a big deal about letting them know your unsatisfaction. Move on if you dont like it. I personally enjoy the thrill of the hunt and if I get a beautiful view or see something unique it is a bonuss not a requirement. And I get to add another FOUND to my total. This has been a great sport fo my family and I we are new to it but have had fun on EVERY hunt because we are together and out and about. This may all sound corny but I have to feel bad for the people who find it necisarry to degrade others, is your life that bad that you cant let people enjoy thiers?

 

Ill get off my soap box nox!

 

Just have fun everyone, we dont get paid to do this!

 

This is sooooo true! An example:

 

**What a junky place for a cache! The dogs on the other side of the cemetery were barking their fool

heads off! That crazy lunatic of a single-wide dweller looked like he was into "AX MURDER 101". Lame cache.....LAME, I say!

 

**What an interesting cache! We had fun making friends with the dogs! The owner said the big Lab is due pups in a month and we can have one if we like! Great! After telling him what we were doing in the cemetery and getting better acquainted, found out he is from our home state, North Carolina! Small world! TFTC! Took carabinder....left military compass.

 

It is truely all in how we perceive. :mad:

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I am visiting family in the Phoenix are and have been caching around the Chandler area. I always enjoy reading peoples logs, I find it amusing. I did notice particularly condescending notes by one person who completed a row of caches and seems to be targeting one particular cache owner. The were several of these logs and it actually prompted me to look who the heck this guy was and I noticed he actually has the cache owner targeted on his profile page. Most are similar to this partial note.

 

YAK!

 

*yet another keybox*

 

Or was that the sound I made whilst spewing doing all this micro spew? I forget

 

It's not so much what he is saying but how he is saying it, as if he is the authority of all caches and unless is meets their aproval or proper amusement then it's crap. He has made it clear that he does not like caches in a row "Power trail" I believe is the term he used, so if he does not like them then why bother doing them. It's very obvious on the map that it's a row of caches. If it's just going to make your blood pressure rise and make you a grumpy butt then what's the point. If I noticed a similarity that I didn't really like, then I would just enjoy the walk and stop looking. If you are going to be a high #'s person then you have to take the good with the bad and realize there is something hiding out there for everyone. I know if I pull up and it doesn't look like a cache that would be my kind of fun I make a decision do I do it or go to the next. For example, I do not like puzzle caches, I don't rip on the owner for placing it, I just choose not to do it, now a 2 mile hike I thrive on those. I actually really liked this particular row of caches because it gave me a great excuse to go for a walk. There are many people who like many different types of caches that's what makes it fun.

 

thank goodness we have not run into any of these grumpy butts in Denver.

 

This post was lost when the thread went all "Pickle Park" on us (by the way, I live .5 miles from a Pickle Park, which has about 7 caches), but here we have an example of one of the offending logs. Despite being like-minded to the finder, this is just wrong!! If you don't like them, don't find them, and all that stuff. :lol:

I can see the frustration of the finder however, another Micro Spew keyholder, which gets an endless parade of gleeful find logs, with the owner having no clue there are people out there ignoring the cache, and thinking it's geo-pollution.

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IMO..

 

If they find your cache (whether it be a light pole micro or an ammo can in the woods) and then log their nasty remark, I will first email the cacher to ask of his/ her experiences.

 

If he/ she doesn't have a good reason to bash my cache, I'm going to ask them to edit their log.

 

I could live with 1 or 2 caches with logs showing dissappointment or something of that sort, but when it becomes an everyday thing, thats when I will get angry.

 

It's plain and simple, if you don't like my hides, (Once again, whether it be a light pole cache or an ammo can hidden in the woods.) don't search for them! If I took my personal time to go out and hide those caches, the last thing I want to hear is someone telling me how bad they hate micros or something of that sort.

 

The cache page tells the size of the container, and heck most cachers even tell the location, whether it be in the description or in the hint. If the cache page describes a 1/1 35mm in the middle of a parking lot, commom sense is going to tell you it's more than likely going to be in a light pole.

 

Don't hunt it if you don't like them! Or shall I say, go ahead and hunt it, because I'm not going to stop you from doing that; I simply ask that you don't tell how bad you hate micros or that you don't degrade my cache.

 

If you have a problem with one of my hides, email me.

 

Just my $0.02

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