Caches defaced intentionally

[+Bangkok Corkscrew]

If a geocacher intentionally damages the labels on a series of caches what can be done? My geocaches (little boxes) carry stickers that show a design on my hot air balloon. One geocacher constantly removes them. To whom should I complain (the geocache officer who Ok's the posting of my cache)? The sticker is of a semi-nude girl (nothing rude....except, apparently, to this prudish cache defacer).

[GOF and Bacall]

If a geocacher intentionally damages the labels on a series of caches what can be done? My geocaches (little boxes) carry stickers that show a design on my hot air balloon. One geocacher constantly removes them. To whom should I complain (the geocache officer who Ok's the posting of my cache)? The sticker is of a semi-nude girl (nothing rude....except, apparently, to this prudish cache defacer).

 

Contact@geocaching.com

[+Ockette]

Got a picture of the sticker?

[+briansnat]

I'd complain to the person who is doing it.

[AZcachemeister]

I'd complain to the person who is doing it.

 

But first I would consider that they might begin removing the entire cache if provoked. Obviously they have no concept that it's your property.

Personally I would just follow behind them and replace the stickers, if the stickers were so important to me.

[+gpsfun]

If a geocacher intentionally damages the labels on a series of caches what can be done? My geocaches (little boxes) carry stickers that show a design on my hot air balloon. One geocacher constantly removes them. To whom should I complain (the geocache officer who Ok's the posting of my cache)? The sticker is of a semi-nude girl (nothing rude....except, apparently, to this prudish cache defacer).

It may be helpful for you to determine if the other cacher has a problem with you personally or just with the particular stickers that are being removed. You might try creating an alternate sticker with less artwork to see if it is more durable.

[+Frank Broughton]

The sticker is of a semi-nude girl (nothing rude....except, apparently, to this prudish cache defacer).

 

Maybe the guy is the girl's father. You did that to my daughter and the last thing you would have to worry about is me removing a sticker from your cache.

[Turrry]

I haven't come across many caches, but the ones I have seen haven't had anything "personal" on the outside. Maybe you could make up a logsheet with the design on it if you wanted it to be seen by everyone who found it...

[+Renegade Knight]

I haven't come across many caches, but the ones I have seen haven't had anything "personal" on the outside. Maybe you could make up a logsheet with the design on it if you wanted it to be seen by everyone who found it...

 

Each cache is individually owned. The owner can decorate how they see fit subject only to the law as it relates. That most cachers don't just isn't a rule. It's just how it worked out.

[Turrry]

I haven't come across many caches, but the ones I have seen haven't had anything "personal" on the outside. Maybe you could make up a logsheet with the design on it if you wanted it to be seen by everyone who found it...

 

Each cache is individually owned. The owner can decorate how they see fit subject only to the law as it relates. That most cachers don't just isn't a rule. It's just how it worked out.

 

I understand whose property it is ....I was trying to make a suggestion as to how this problem could be solved...

[GOF and Bacall]

The sticker is of a semi-nude girl (nothing rude....except, apparently, to this prudish cache defacer).

 

Maybe the guy is the girl's father. You did that to my daughter and the last thing you would have to worry about is me removing a sticker from your cache.

 

Or perhaps she is an enterprising young woman marketing her, um, assets.

[+Frank Broughton]

The sticker is of a semi-nude girl (nothing rude....except, apparently, to this prudish cache defacer).

 

Maybe the guy is the girl's father. You did that to my daughter and the last thing you would have to worry about is me removing a sticker from your cache.

 

Or perhaps she is an enterprising young woman marketing her, um, assets.

 

I would say those assets are then "spoiled goods."

[+Harry Dolphin]

It would seem to me that putting pornography on the outside of a geocache is not a very good idea. Ths is supposed to be a family oriented hobby.

[+Bergie Bunch]

To Harry: ok, so who made the cacher defacing then sticker the morality police? How can you call it porn? Have you seen the sticker? Just because one person does not like something does not make it wrong.

 

Frank: What makes them spolied? I guess DiVinci's David is trash to you then? As long as the sticker is in good taste, what is the difference?

 

A bikini can show more than this sticker for all any of you know, yet it is spolied or porn?

 

post it Bangcock, lets see your art.

[GOF and Bacall]

I don't know if it is pornographic or not. Seen the Cowboys cheerleaders? They don't wear much and yet are marketed as a part of a family friendly entertainment. So far we just don't know.

 

OP, can you post the picture here? If you are reluctant that would be a good indicator of weather you think it appropriate.

[sdarken]

If you know who it is that is removing your stickers, send them a private email and ask them to stop visiting your caches if they dont like your sticker. If that doesn't work, include that request in the cache description.

 

If you dont know who it is and this really bothers you, the simple answer is to stop using that sticker. There are probably lots of people that might find a "semi-nude girl" inappropriate decoration on a cache. (Not me, but others).

[+Harry Dolphin]

To Harry: ok, so who made the cacher defacing then sticker the morality police? How can you call it porn? Have you seen the sticker? Just because one person does not like something does not make it wrong.

post it Bangcock, lets see your art.

 

I'm not defending the cache vandal. I'm questioning why anyone would put 'semi-nude' picture of a girl on a cache. This is supposed to be a family-friendly hobby. Personally, I would have reported the cache to TPTB. Semi-nude pictures of a girl? (I hope he meant a woman, and not a 'girl'.) Very bad taste. Soft-core porn at best.

[+gof1]

Valid unanswered questions HD. And why I suggested contacting GC. Seemed like a good thing to be sorted out "officially".

[+Bubbles&Bonkers]

Interesting that I came across this post. I live in the area that you place your caches in and I was offended and will not seek out anymore of your caches. NO it's not me removing stickers, but I was going to report you to Groundspeak. Thank goodness I didn't bring the kids as I did not want to explain the picture of TWO semi-nude women coming out of a corkSCREW and the pen*s sticker (that a friend told me about).

 

Plus the one cache I did run across of yours, looks like you purposely pulled the No Dogs Allowed sign out just so you could put your hide-a-key behind it. It is obviously bent and seems to have defaced city property in my opinion.

 

Bash me, call me a prude, but I was pretty p*ssed coming across it.

 

Edited: changed and to as

Edited May 27, 2009 by sweetpea3

[+Jackalgirl]

 

That's not semi-nude. That's nude. May not be full frontal nudity, but it's still nude.

[GOF and Bacall]

I'd call that inappropriate for a family activity.

[+WatchDog2020]

I't would be funny just to draw some cloths on with a sharpie and leave the sticker on it - BTW, what's the point of the sticker?

[+J-Way]

I agree with Jackalgirl. That's nude.

 

Maybe appropriate as a piece of art (there's a nude statue in a public place less than a mile from me right now), but maybe not as cache art. I'd hate to have to answer questions from my 4-year-old after he saw that sticker.

[+Walts Hunting]

While it wouldn't bother me I can see why many would find it offensive. While probably not outside any guidelines it is pretty tasteless. I wouldn't want to come across it with my grandson.

[+Jeep4two]

I have no problem with artful nude works. They do however have their appropriate venue. I'm not sure the outside of a cache container often frequented by parents and children is that venue.

 

The picture above would not be in an appropriate unless potential cachers were told about the artwork ahead of time and still chose to visit the cache.

 

I can understand why someone might not be happy coming upon this.

[+J-Way]

Just to clarify, I disagree with putting it on a cache but I wouldn't deface it. It's close to the line for me, but it doesn't appear to be vulgar. Other people might have a line in a different place and would consider that to be porn.

 

I would simply put all your caches on my ignore list so I wouldn't accidentally find one while with my son or showing new cachers around the area. I'd hate to have someone permanently turned off from caching if that were the first cache they ever found.

[knowschad]

While I'm not personally offended by the picture, if I had that picture open while at work, I wouldn't be able to close it fast enough!

 

I'm curious about one other thing... which are your real caches, and which are your vacation caches? Florida, or Thailand?

[+TeamFiestyMidgets]

Yeah I agree...I wouldn't like my children (who by the way are always 10 steps ahead of me when the cache is close) finding that in the woods...put it in the log book....if you feel the need to show your art. Parents look at that "usually" but then you are a little more safe.

 

But we are all missing a big point in my opinion...I know I am new but I hear a lot of states making it hard on geocachers...wanting to make rules against it, maybe ban in certain areas...blah blah blah..... This is not helping the fight in saying we are a harmless (more likely helpful with CITO) organization and sport. This i believe if found by the wrong person could be bad for the activity.

 

Probably why I do not mind all the "rules" in the game!

 

...We are not allowed to put business or religious items in the cache or on it....why should this be ok?

[+Jeep4two]

Yeah I agree...I wouldn't like my children (who by the way are always 10 steps ahead of me when the cache is close) finding that in the woods...put it in the log book....if you feel the need to show your art. Parents look at that "usually" but then you are a little more safe.

 

But we are all missing a big point in my opinion...I know I am new but I hear a lot of states making it hard on geocachers...wanting to make rules against it, maybe ban in certain areas...blah blah blah..... This is not helping the fight in saying we are a harmless (more likely helpful with CITO) organization and sport. This i believe if found by the wrong person could be bad for the activity.

 

Probably why I do not mind all the "rules" in the game!

 

...We are not allowed to put business or religious items in the cache or on it....why should this be ok?

 

I think another thing that is probably being missed is cultural norms. I see the OP either lives or vacations frequently enough to maintain caches in another country. Culturally this type of artwork may be widely accepted there. Here however it would be considered offensive to most especially considering the setting.

 

I'd have to agree with TFM that in the light of some land management groups, municipalities and other entities believing that there is potential for damage to the lands where caches are hidden this type of artwork could be just one more reason to disallow caching on their land.

[+on4bam]

Going through this thread and seeing the posted picture I have a question: What's the fuss about? Why would anybody in his/her right mind deface this sticker? I don't think that if a cache with a similar sticker would be around here in Europe anyone would even think twice about it.

Those of you who are offended, do you ever watch tv (with/without children present)? I won't even mention music videos.

Do you go to a beach? A lot more can be seen there. It's just a drawing....

[+Mredria]

I think that's a beautiful sticker.

 

I'm not quite sure why it's offensive? I mean. They're just naked. What would I tell a child? They're naked. People are beautiful, some people draw them.

 

I mean they're not doing it or mouthing at each other. I think the objectification on trucker mudflaps is probably worse, and you see those everywhere.

 

It's better than the "eductional cache" I found once that was full of condoms and lube.

Edited May 27, 2009 by Mredria

[+herrozerro]

I think that's a beautiful sticker.

 

I'm not quite sure why it's offensive? I mean. They're just naked. What would I tell a child? They're naked. People are beautiful, some people draw them.

 

I mean they're not doing it or mouthing at each other. I think the objectification on trucker mudflaps is probably worse, and you see those everywhere.

 

It's better than the "eductional cache" I found once that was full of condoms and lube.

 

"Beauty is in the Eye of the beholder."

 

I will not disagree with you on the rating of "beauty" you might hold for such items, but just like you are not sure why it is offensive im sure there are others whom are wondering in the exact same perplexment as to why you dont find it offensive.

 

The fact is that is is not offensive persay but rather it is contriversial. and in my opinion it should be removed for its questionable nature and the possible negitive infliction upon the entire sport.

[+Geba_le]

Okay, I believe that removing this sticker without your permission is wrong, it is your property.

 

Now, after seeing the sticker, I find it hard to believe that you would think that was appropriate. That's not semi-nude, that's bordering on porn, in my opinion.

 

Nude art has it's place, but geocaching is not one of them. This is a sport that I take my little sister and my younger sister in law on, plus many of my friends come with me at times.

 

If I had found one of your caches with that sticker, I would not have removed the sticker, but I would immediately have sent an image of it to Geocaching.com and reported you. I may even have gathered a list of other geocachers who thought it was not family appropriate.

 

Remember, when you're putting out a geocache for ppl to find, it's not about you. It's about the sport. And if the people who find it insist it is not appropriate, your best bet is that it is not. Being stubborn for the sake of being 'right' does not have it's place in this sport.

 

To sum up: what the person is doing to your caches is not the right way to go about it.

However, I agree with them about the fact that that art has no place on a geocache. It's art, but not family art. Therefor, not geoart. I'm sure you can find somewhere else to display it so people can appreciate it, but don't give our sport a bad name.

 

*wince* Imagine if a muggle mother had found it! And later hears her daughter wants to go on a geocaching trip with her friend! What do you think she'd think about that? Think ahead, would you? If enough people get their gander up about geocaching, they could very well make it a legal issue and get the sport banned, I'm sure!

[+Col. Flagg]

I do no this that these stickers are appropriate at all, this is suppose to be a kid friendly game. There is art and there is smut. This is smut to me, two women coming out of a cork"screw". This could come across with a gay connotation, which it has been proven twice, would offend anyone from California. (I personally have no problems with gays and have had many as good friends, I don't want to get into that as a topic I just wanted to make sure that I didn't some off as a basher).

 

Anyway as a parent, I would be ignoring your caches. You might put a warning on your caches that there might be offensive content on the container if you don't want to take them off.

 

However I think that the person is going about fixing the problem in the wrong way. I think that they should have contacted you, tell you that they and others might think that they are offensive...or have they and they were ignored. Well then they should have reported it to Groundspeak. I don't agree with the defacing...not completely anyway.

 

By the way, take a look a little closer at the OP name. Haha, very funny OP, not.

Edited May 27, 2009 by franklin_cacher

[+Frank Broughton]

(snip)

Frank: What makes them spolied? I guess DiVinci's David is trash to you then? As long as the sticker is in good taste, what is the difference?

 

A bikini can show more than this sticker for all any of you know, yet it is spolied or porn?

 

post it Bangcock, lets see your art.

 

Zoom, zip, right over the head - if you have to even ask the question I can be of no help to you. Live on....

[AZcachemeister]

If I interpret the original post, this sticker represents the image on the owner's hot-air balloon.

If indeed this balloon is allowed to fly in the area (where that image could be viewed by thousands of people of all ages), why should there be such a problem if a few geocachers see it as well?

 

I don't think the image is particularly nasty, but I'm not sure I understand the true meaning either.

[+herrozerro]

If I interpret the original post, this sticker represents the image on the owner's hot-air balloon.

If indeed this balloon is allowed to fly in the area (where that image could be viewed by thousands of people of all ages), why should there be such a problem if a few geocachers see it as well?

 

I don't think the image is particularly nasty, but I'm not sure I understand the true meaning either.

 

As I said before, the picture is not offensive (at least to me and probably most others) the issue here is the controversy of weather it should be on a cache or not. Im not going to argue that having this particular sticker on anything public probably wouldnt bother me, a tattoo on a car window or even on a billboard.

 

But it still does not take away from the fact that Geocaching itself is advertised as a family friendly sport. Im sure no one here would like the above picture cycled through on geocaching homepage at the top.

 

in the end, what we have is a piece of art that while beautiful in its own right at least to me should not be on a cache. If you wouldnt want it posted on the front page I dont think it should be there.

[+love2sing41]

Please, PLEASE, don't even try to put DaVinci and that sticker on the same level. And I doubt that the nude art nearby is in the same class as the sticker either. I would be irritated to find it, just as I'm irritated to have to look at t-shirts of the same category as the sticker when I walk downtown or through the mall. Fair warning seems appropriate, at the least. I feel sorry for people who look up with excitement to see the hot air balloon, and have to see a giant picture like that. Whether or not it would be classed as "porn" I won't argue, but it's obviously meant to "titillate" (how do you like that word?).

 

P.S., I hope I never find a cache containing condoms and lube. I have found caches with such as litter nearby, which always causes me to say "ew". I don't care for close encounters of the body fluids kind. I recently read a log for a cache in a public park that said the litter nearby included a hypodermic needle. I appreciated the warning, especially since I would have worn flipflops had I looked for it.

[+Mredria]

P.S., I hope I never find a cache containing condoms and lube. I have found caches with such as litter nearby, which always causes me to say "ew". I don't care for close encounters of the body fluids kind. I recently read a log for a cache in a public park that said the litter nearby included a hypodermic needle. I appreciated the warning, especially since I would have worn flipflops had I looked for it.

 

They were packaged and sealed, thanks be to god.

I just hope everyone knows that they are not useable when exposed to the heat/cold/moisture of the outdoors ;;

[+Bubbles&Bonkers]

I feel like all the comments in this thread have proven what the big problem with the stickers is: they are too controversial.

 

It's a family sport. I've been wondering if the people who are so adament that the stickers are no biggie go caching with young kids like I do.

 

I find the stickers distasteful and inappropriate myself, but I thought we were supposed to keep religious (controversial), political (controversial), and such like that out of the game? It's supposed to be a fun and light-hearted sport.

 

No biggie for me, I will just not go looking for this person's caches anymore. That was my first and last.