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Unique cache page write-up


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I used to think that it was expected... but these days there are increasing numbers of copy-and-paste cache descriptions, or sometimes no description at all. :wub:

 

It doesn't bother me, though, because I use it as a quality control filter of sorts. If you haven't put at least some thought into your cache description I'll assume that you put just as little effort into the hide itself. If you've done something interesting or given me a "teaser" on the cache page, I just may be inclined to seek it out. For example now you have me wondering just what kind of hairstyle a cache container could have. :(

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I used to think that it was expected... but these days there are increasing numbers of copy-and-paste cache descriptions, or sometimes no description at all. :wub:

 

It doesn't bother me, though, because I use it as a quality control filter of sorts. If you haven't put at least some thought into your cache description I'll assume that you put just as little effort into the hide itself. If you've done something interesting or given me a "teaser" on the cache page, I just may be inclined to seek it out. For example now you have me wondering just what kind of hairstyle a cache container could have. :D

so somebody that exhibits compression skills by making the title the cache description, the hint and a playing with homophones that when spoken express a common phrase that exemplifies the feeling of retrieval from enough people to be pertinent, would get filtered out for putting little thought into it? :wub:

 

Weir Dammed micro 2.5/3

I have already given you everything you need to know.

 

Happy hunting,

Vater Araignee

 

P.S. Please put cache in it's correct position when replacing.

 

My other active cache still sticks to my lack of description MO, because I haven't found the right words to keep me from sounding like a total softy concerning the reason for the hide, but if you find it you start to understand its name and why it was placed.

 

Some times the best way to get people to understand is to give a quick flourish and shut up. Wish I would heed my own statement more often. :(

 

~~~edit~~~

dropped Ts

Edited by Vater_Araignee
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I think all of my caches have unique pages. They are all different with only two that are identical hides.

 

I just wish people who hide micro spew would be honest about it. I'd love to see pages that say "Another lame film can in an equally lame hiding spot". Or, "there wasn't a cache here and now there is".

 

That would take care of quite a few.

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I write unique cache pages, but all following a same general format regarding font size and description length.

See these three of my caches to see how I do it:

 

Cache #1

Cache #2

Cache #3

 

I AM a web programmer, so my cache pages are pretty advanced, but you can get the point.

 

You don't need to vary font size/type/colour so often to make it look interesting.

 

Have a look at my cache here. All I used was a blockquote, a few horizontal rules, and spaced-out paragraphs. This results in a clean, easy-to-read page. I'm not saying that mine is the best example of a well-formatted page, but it does the job.

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Each of my caches have totally unique descriptions with two sets of exceptions:

 

1) Series of "urban" nanos in Newport, RI. Each has the same start and ending paragraphs (the generic stuff like parking). In between is a description of the area, history, etc.

2) A series of "park & grabs" in a state park. They are all unique hides (no guardrails), and to keep things interesting I use the same description for each (so I don;t give anything away). I also specify a size of "?" to not give anything away (they range from micro to small). Each hide is different, with unique hides or containers making them anything but "routine" pg's.

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Every hide is unique, every page is unique. When I started hiding caches I wanted somthing more than a description of the container, swag, location, etc that was so common. I wanted to be different. I teach math and all (but one) of my cahces generally describes some mathematical topic/concept. Pretty much every one has something to do with the hide style or location.

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so somebody that exhibits compression skills by making the title the cache description, the hint and a playing with homophones that when spoken express a common phrase that exemplifies the feeling of retrieval from enough people to be pertinent, would get filtered out for putting little thought into it? B)

 

Weir Dammed micro 2.5/3

 

 

In that particular case, this is the first thing I noticed on the cache page, and it piqued my interest: stars2_5.gifstars3.gif

 

...that, and the high number of DNFs make me think there's more to this cache than meets the eye. :D

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I always TRY to write something, either informative or witty if I can come up with something. But something I wish everyone would do, is in the short description on the cache page, put all of the pertinent information about the cache, size, type, etc... and THEN in the long description put your neat stories. I like the stories, but sometimes it's a pain to wade through 5 paragraphs looking for the type of container hidden. Usually when a cache is published I'll read the stories immediately, and I appreciate a good yarn, and then when I'm out hunting the thing and I'm having a little trouble finding it, I might remember that the hider put some detailed information about the cache in there somewhere, if only I could find it. I could see Groundspeak and the gizmo manufacturers using that short description field for GPX export someday.

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In creating a cache, my page is always full of unique things. Not always so deep, but always something for the cacher that expects more (because I expect more myself).

 

My logs are also unique, as much as I can make them. There are always unique factors, whether it be where I parked, the time of day, the weather, pros and cons of each hunt, and more....always something to add.

 

When I started it was expect to be creative. There was no such thing as TNLN and TYFTC, etc. That was almost an insult to not give more details. But that's what caching was like back in 2002 & 2003.

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I'm all in favor of unique cache description pages; that's what makes me want to look for a cache! I especially enjoy funny names for caches, especially when you find the cache and then say "oh, so that's what the name means!"

 

Just a plea, though, for conciseness. An explanation or a bit of background are fine in your cache description, but edit for brevity! Too many cache pages run on and on, until most cachers will probably stop reading. (Even though you may feel that your short story is extremely clever, I will probably not enjoy reading it as much as you do.) If the description is some multi-paragraph history text you cut and pasted out of Widipedia, delete the unnecessary parts.

 

Think of your cache description as an advertisement: You have a "product", your cache, to "sell" to a "consumer", the geocacher, who has limited time and many other caches to choose from. What can you put on your description page that makes me want to rush right out and look for YOUR cache?

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Just a plea, though, for conciseness. An explanation or a bit of background are fine in your cache description, but edit for brevity! Too many cache pages run on and on, until most cachers will probably stop reading. (Even though you may feel that your short story is extremely clever, I will probably not enjoy reading it as much as you do.) If the description is some multi-paragraph history text you cut and pasted out of Widipedia, delete the unnecessary parts.

 

For the record, I wrote my 5000 word cache page. The similarity to the Wikipedia entries is because I copy and pasted into Wikipedia, as my pieces were often better than the Wikipedia article was!

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I'm all in favor of unique cache description pages; that's what makes me want to look for a cache! I especially enjoy funny names for caches, especially when you find the cache and then say "oh, so that's what the name means!"

 

Just a plea, though, for conciseness. An explanation or a bit of background are fine in your cache description, but edit for brevity! Too many cache pages run on and on, until most cachers will probably stop reading. (Even though you may feel that your short story is extremely clever, I will probably not enjoy reading it as much as you do.) If the description is some multi-paragraph history text you cut and pasted out of Widipedia, delete the unnecessary parts.

 

Think of your cache description as an advertisement: You have a "product", your cache, to "sell" to a "consumer", the geocacher, who has limited time and many other caches to choose from. What can you put on your description page that makes me want to rush right out and look for YOUR cache?

 

When I write out an extended description its not meant for the numbers folks. There will always be people out there that are interested in what me and others write as far as extended, historical text. If you're just a numbers freek then get the coords, check the clue, maybe read a log or two and go. If you avoid my cache because the discription is too long then that's your choice and gives me an extra day before I need to add a new log. Just my opinion of course. Swiz

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I'm all in favor of unique cache description pages; that's what makes me want to look for a cache! I especially enjoy funny names for caches, especially when you find the cache and then say "oh, so that's what the name means!"

 

Just a plea, though, for conciseness. An explanation or a bit of background are fine in your cache description, but edit for brevity! Too many cache pages run on and on, until most cachers will probably stop reading. (Even though you may feel that your short story is extremely clever, I will probably not enjoy reading it as much as you do.) If the description is some multi-paragraph history text you cut and pasted out of Widipedia, delete the unnecessary parts.

 

Think of your cache description as an advertisement: You have a "product", your cache, to "sell" to a "consumer", the geocacher, who has limited time and many other caches to choose from. What can you put on your description page that makes me want to rush right out and look for YOUR cache?

 

When I write out an extended description its not meant for the numbers folks. There will always be people out there that are interested in what me and others write as far as extended, historical text. If you're just a numbers freek then get the coords, check the clue, maybe read a log or two and go. If you avoid my cache because the discription is too long then that's your choice and gives me an extra day before I need to add a new log. Just my opinion of course. Swiz

 

I don't hide my caches for mass appeal and I don't write the cache pages that way either. I use as many or as few words as it takes. Sometimes they are longer than other times. Odd colors (colours for those of you who prefer it that way) and fonts are not what makes a page interesting to me. I want to know what you have to say and don't really care what color you say it in.

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