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so when do YOU post a "DNF"?


MuggleBum

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I have noticed that some people will come back and post their smiley and say - finally on my x trip here, I found it. So no original DNF.

 

I am working (okay, trying anyways!) a multi-cache now. I tried Stage 1 without success and posted a DNF. The cache is about 16 months old, and only 9 people have posted. I am thinking that many (many?) more have actually attempted this, but not gotten past the first stage.

 

It made me wonder how hesitant people are to post a DNF.

Is it (really) considered a sign of failure or defeat?

Is it a 'bad' thing?

I haven't given up, but I did not find :)

(yet!)

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It's not a bad thing. But it can be quite discouraging when you are just starting out. Used to be I'd DNF on over half my searches, now it's probably only 1 in 10 that I don't find.

 

Sometimes however I won't log a DNF if I've only briefly searched for a cache and plan to return soon. There's one local to me I'd looked for it half a dozen times but only for about a minute each time.

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I have never really hesitated to post a DNF if I actually took the time to actively look for a cache. What I mean is, if I walk up to GZ and there are muggles everywhere and I glance around but can't really search, I won't bother posting a DNF. However, if I get a chance to poke, prod and generally search the area and can't find it, I post the DNF. However, unless there have been a raft of people posting DNFs before me, I always assume that the cache is there and that I just wasn't able to find it.

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I have noticed that some people will come back and post their smiley and say - finally on my x trip here, I found it. So no original DNF.

If you visit one of my caches (for a cursory inspection, or whatever you call not finding it), at least leave a note. Or email me. Anything. I mean it. :D

 

Particularly on my caches, I need to know if you can't find it, and as soon as possible. A recent finder said they returned to discover it was a distance away from its coordinates. That's something I would have checked on, if there were previously a DNF.

 

I know it may seem unusual for a Cache Owner to maintain their caches, but I do. DNF is not just a part of the record of the cache, it's also important info for some Cache Owners.

Edited by kunarion
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Welcome to Geocaching MuggleBum!

 

DNFs are part of the adventure! Some of our best stories are our DNFs.

 

If I drive up and there are a bunch of muggles, I will post a note so that other cachers will know that Friday lunches are not a good time to look. If I do begin my search and can't find it, then I will post a DNF so that other cachers and the cache owner are aware that someone looked and couldn't find it. I usually blame in on our ineptitude ie "maybe if it had yellow blinking lights, I might notice it". Some caches have more than one of our DNFs, one had six! We may not be the best geocachers but we are persistent.

 

As a cache owner, I appreciate the notes and the DNFs, it lets me know if the cache may be missing or if I need to tweak the cache description. Some caches I may considering archiving because I think that no-one is interested in it, then I get "finally on my x trip here, I have found it". Then I would have archived it unnecessarily.

 

Enjoy your Geocaching adventures including your DNFs!

 

The mwellmans

PROUD loggers of 178 DNFS!

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There is nothing shameful about posting a DNF, I don't care who you are. It just mean you did not find something that was **GASP!*** hidden. No big deal. With all the hide techniques and non-hide related reasons for not finding something, everyone is bound to get skunked some time.

 

Now, just when and what to log is more of a personal choice. In my case....

 

If I go to the general area and I see there's no point in looking (muggles, unsuitable terrain for me, too trashy, etc.) then I'll write a note and describe my experience.

 

If I get to GZ, start looking, and find a reason to stop (ants, trash, inaccessible, etc.) I will post a DNF and mention I stopped short of actually looking for the container...what I call a DNA - Did Not Attempt.

 

If I start looking for the cache and walk away empty-handed, for whatever reason, I post the DNF.

 

But in any case, I try to make a log entry of some type for every cache I head out for.

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I only post a DNF when I believe I have truly looked everywhere and cannot find it. That doesn't mean I did look everywhere, but it means I truly believe I did! If I leave before I feel like I looked everywhere there was to search (because of time constraints, nagging kids, or for whatever reason) I do not log the DNF.

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Yes. A DNF is an admission of failure! That's obvious since most people do not post them. I will usually post my DNF, except when I feel I'd be inflating the CO's ego. (You know those 'coords delibeartely off to inflate my ego' caches. Or one of those nasty caches where you have to slide the broken glass. You know the ones...) I seldom post more than one DNF per cache. I'm up to 310 DNFs. That's 11%. So I do post most of them. Even when I'm the only DNF on a 1/1 hide with 323 finds!

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I am on a roll with dnfs. In the last two days I have gone out during lunch, posted one find and five dnfs. Some people may complain that I am simply trying to secure my position as the worst cacher in the area, but I swear that none of these dnfs were simply to rack up my numbers.

 

Now I suppose I could have avoided logging a dnf by reasoning that there were other places to search if I had wanted to take more time, that the conditions were not right for a search, that I had not gotten down on my hands and knees to actually look underneath one of the objects in question (although the people eating lunch a few feet away might have wondered about that), that it was too hot to really look for a cache, that it was obvious that the caching mojo had disappeared and therefore I was not responsible for my string of abject failures -- or I could have just reasoned that I will come back at some other time, probably after the cache is confirmed to be there by another finder, so there is nothing to worry about in the meantime.

 

But one was confirmed by the owner to be missing after my log. One has at least two or three other dnfs in a row and is said to be an easy hide, so perhaps the owner will check it out. The other three were in rather specific places, including one that was said to be in a location where I had found a cache previously, so you never know. I do not put any cache past my ability to miss it, but perhaps the log will be of some use apart from qualifying for a dnf challenge, which I already have the numbers to meet.

Edited by mulvaney
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I post a DNF when I search for more than ~5 minutes and still can't find it, or when I can't actually get to the cache. For example, when searching for GCCFCF, I got to the parking coordinates, walked to the start of the path and it was closed for some reason. I didn't want people to waste their time getting to the parking if they couldn't go find the cache.

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I log all of my DNFs. I consider it to be a DNF if I start the hunt and come up empty. My definition of starting the hunt is that it starts the moment I pull up the coordinates on my GPS and hit Go To.

 

+1

+1

 

I also add the DNF to my bookmark list, so that if someone later on finds it, I will get an email notification of the log and then I'll go back and give it another try.

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I log most of my DNF's. here are a couple of exceptions:

1) it's been a long day and I didn't note my dnf's anywhere and I just can't remember.

2) the cache was so lame that I didn't even look when i got there. (I know, some folks think I should say what I think about the cache, but I'm practicing "If you can't say anything nice...")

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If I make a reasonable search and don't come up with it, I will post a DNF log.

 

If I cannot make a search due to high muggle activity I wont DNF but I might leave a note with the day of the week & the time to alert others it may be a bad time to search. I will also make a note if there are other issues preventing me from searching for the cache such as its in a park but the park is closed temporarily. Or a recent cache that was on the opposite side of some Locks but the foot bridge across the locks from the parking was closed for a year due to construction.

 

If I do not to make anything more than a quick search for obvious hides - due to time, heat, rain, or because don't feel like dealing with the difficulty/terrain of the cache today - I don't make any kind of log.

 

I know a local cacher who usually makes 2-3 searches for a cache. Only then will they post a DNF.

 

I once DNF'd a puzzle cache. I was the only DNF after I think 13 Finds. I had correctly solved the puzzle and was looking in the right area...I just hadn't gotten the "Skirt Lifter" achievement yet. A few weeks later I was enlightened and came back to make the find.

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I log all my DNF's but state if I think I was being a numpty or if I really think it is no longer there. The key is typing in what you think.

 

DNF's is very important for the owner to have an indication of maintenace or lost cache, also to potential visitors who may want to come afar and not risk a DNF.

 

Saying that, the journey and search to the cache is most of the fun for me, finding it is the 'cream' :)

Edited by cotochris
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I'll post a DNF if I looked, and wasn't successful. I always ask tose looking for my caches to post one so I can at lest check on it. At the very least, I can help newbies find one using a PAF, and possibly get the favor returned later on!

I think DNFs are part of geocaching, so I'll post one if I can't find the cache I'm looking for. It's good for laughs at the next event at any rate (trust me, I've been laughed at a few times. Well, chuckled at anyway).

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