Hints and Giveaways

[+10-80 DesertRats]

The 10-80 DesertRats are planning on placing Multicaches in some of the remote beautiful camping sites that are in the western desert of Utah - The Idea is that the first cache will be at a great basecamp and the rest will be spread out requiring some good hiking. Each Cache will contain the coordinates to the next cache and we plan on putting good treasures in the caches. With all that effort it would be a real bummer to find out that some folks would spoil it by revealing spoilers. My thought is that the cache owner should be the only one to leave a clue. Last night my wife and I were out hunting and did not find 2 caches, when I returned to the house and read the log entries I discovered the exact location of the cache - The owner had taken the time to camo his cache like a sprinkler head so now all i have to do is drive over there without my GPS and pull up on the only sprinller head in the area. What a bummer - I probably will not go back to that area to look for it. Now I also know not to read the logs becuase they do contain to many clues.

[+sunburykids]

I generally agree with briansnat, 9key, StarBrand, and others on this issue. (Though maybe not with my own counterpart.)

In short:

• Leave the doling of hints to the cache owner unless you're certain they don't mind.
  
• Don't assume a cache owner will like others giving hints because they don't have a disclaimer on the cache page.
  
• When in a group, watch the spoilers unless all in the group has completed the cache.
  
• We don't mind being contacted on our caches, but do mind when it comes to others'.
  

Nicely stated!

[+ArcherDragoon]

I have seen in a few areas a real tendancy to have a very complete phone-a-friend network or they blow through my area and send me an email like "Camping here for the night couldn't find caches gcxxxx and gc xxxx and gc xxxxx - give me more clues while I am here".

 

Seems like they just can't stand it if they cannot find each and every cache within 15 mintes of being on scene.

 

I don't participate until I see a few DNFs and a heartfelt plea - and then only if it is my cache.

Usually takes me a 1/2 hour to hour of searching before I walk away...and usually only to come back and try searching another day!!!

 

Doesn't bother me to log a DNF...I accepted long ago that I cannot "Find Them All"...and right along with that...of the ones I can find...I can't find them all on the first visit!!!

[Quizes]

I like to read people's logs on caches and see cryptic hints that might assist me. It adds to the clues in the description.

 

For example, a log that said: The stroll down the hill was tougher than seeing the cache.....would lead me to believe that the cache was at the bottom of a mild knoll and in plain sight.

 

But, I'll be more careful in my personal logs in the future, and will probably drop it down to just SL, TFTC.

[+jmd65]

.

 

On the other hand, I don't think clues/hints/phone a friends should be given out to the point where a level 4 or 5 difficulty cache becomes essentially reduced to a "1".

 

 

I feel the same way. I'm annoyed at a local cacher who posts photos here showing him or his kids pointing directly to the cache location. True, the cache pages say spoilers may be there, but generally the photos are not direct give-aways. At least, the ones I've seen.

[+qlenfg]

If I see a newbie cacher with few finds and more DNFs than smileys, and who logged a DNF on a cache I know to be a bit tough, I will offer some insight via private mail. I do this because I got really lucky on the first few caches in my area -- had I got some tough ones right up front, I might have dropped the hobby.

 

Usually my hints start out with 'where did you look, what did you see, did you notice, was there something that didn't look right?' Usually they will answer their own question once I get their brain jump-started. When I have been stumped, some of the more seasoned cachers have offered the same sort of hints when asked.

 

Hints in the logs -- maybe. Usually silly or very cryptic. Unless the CO says absolutely no.

[+cantuland]

Check this out for a hint/spoiler to my most challenging puzzle.

[+cantuland]

Edited March 11, 2009 by cantuland