Are FTF:s shared in your country?

[+Löjan]

I normally cache i two countries; Denmark and Sweden. In Denmark, the "rule" is that it is only the first cacher who holds the cache in his hands that is allowed to claim the FTF. In Sweden, all that helps out in the search share the FTF if they all agree to do so. What is the situation in other countries? Please feel free to copy the list of countries below and add your own country.

 

Denmark: FTFs are never shared.

Sweden: FTFs can be shared if the cachers agree to share.

[+Castle Mischief]

I've seen it go both ways. There really are no hard and fast rules as the whole thing is in the eye of the beholder.

[+Ecylram]

The general consensus in the Denver, CO area is that FTF's are shared among those present. I can't speak for the rest of the country as I bet it varies from area to area.

[+geodarts]

The nice thing about this game is that you can claim anything you want! If two or more people want to "share" a first, then why not? Personally, I find it is a lot simpler not to use the three initials at all.

 

A few days ago, I went to find a cache that had not yet been found. A caching friend was already there. He took one side. I took another. I happened to come up with it and we signed our names in the first place on the log sheet; he mentioned a co-FTF in his log; I did not use the initials; we both wrote about how nice it was to run into each other. Things need not be complicated.

[+narcissa]

Around Ottawa, most people will "share" a FTF.

 

It's something that is best decided on a case-by-case basis by the people who find the cache together - trying to establish norms for FTF is pointless.

[+bflentje]

In the Twin Cities, it depends on who you're with. There are some you wouldn't even dare ask and some have no problem whatsoever.

 

As a self described FTF-Hound, I don't care either way. Though I prefer that if I am the true finder, I get to log it online first. But then I don't get bent out of shape if that doesn't happen either.

[+Scubasonic]

I normally cache i two countries; Denmark and Sweden. In Denmark, the "rule" is that it is only the first cacher who holds the cache in his hands that is allowed to claim the FTF. In Sweden, all that helps out in the search share the FTF if they all agree to do so. What is the situation in other countries? Please feel free to copy the list of countries below and add your own country.

 

Denmark: FTFs are never shared.

Sweden: FTFs can be shared if the cachers agree to share.

 

WOW just got back from Sweden and Denmark just 2 days ago FTF here it is up to the person that is the FTFer if he wants to share it with the other people that were looking for it at the same time it is completely up to him.

 

Did not know that there was a RULE of sorts in any country on FTFs since they are not recognized by Groundspeak anyway. Unless the CO puts rules on it.

 

Scubasonic

[+TerraViators]

Most of the cachers in DFW will share.

[+Walts Hunting]

Here it gets tougher. I think that if two or more arrive at the same time they fight to the death so only one can claim it.

[+ngrrfan]

I think that if two or more arrive at the same time they fight to the death so only one can claim it.

This is the way I think it should be also.

 

Besides.... it marks the cache location with lots of blood and bodies making it easier for the next finder to locate it.

[+briansnat]

I'm not into the FTF thing but I would think that if a group of cachers share a find regardless of who actually dicovered it, then they would also share a FTF.

 

Anyway, if I happened to travel to Denmark and got a FTF along with another cacher, who is going to take it away from me? Is there a board that sits in judgment and edits any logs to remove mention of a FTF? Do they audit profile statistics and delete FTFs that they deem illegitimate?

Edited December 17, 2010 by briansnat

[+Team Dennis]

In the Twin Cities, it depends on who you're with. There are some you wouldn't even dare ask and some have no problem whatsoever.

 

As a self described FTF-Hound, I don't care either way. Though I prefer that if I am the true finder, I get to log it online first. But then I don't get bent out of shape if that doesn't happen either.

 

+1

 

I got beat to GZ and to the cache by THE local FTF hound by a solid 20 minutes and he still offered to share the FTF with me. I politely declined the offer as I didn't feel right about it. However, I've been out FTF hounding with another local cacher and we agreed to share the glory, fortune and fame amongst ourselves.

[+DanOCan]

I've seen no general rule around here, as it is up to each individual.

 

If I am with a group and I am not the first one to spot the cache I do not count it as a FTF. What the others do is up to them and it doesn't affect me in any way.

 

If I am with a group and I spot it first I will claim it as a FTF. If the others also want to claim the FTF it doesn't affect me in any way.

[+SwineFlew]

We share here as far I know. I always share my FTF with other people if they were there searching.

[+popokiiti]

In our part of Canada, FTFs are shared. We team up to find the beastie, so it seems only fair. If we were with someone who insisted that because their hands touhed it first the FTF was theirs - that's fine too.

[+Chokecherry]

FTF (or any subsequent TF) is not that big of a deal here. We have a small caching community. Generally one of us has a little more time and kind of a different sleep schedule so that person typically gets a FTF. I go out with friend sometimes and we did a co-second to find.

 

There's no race. No real desire for the title. People just like find a fresh cache because it's a clean cache here and that's always nice. So among the small community here a co ftf wouldn't be a big deal since it's not a sub-game that people typically play.

[+Mr. Wilson & a Mt. Goat]

In our part of Canada, FTFs are shared. We team up to find the beastie, so it seems only fair. If we were with someone who insisted that because their hands touhed it first the FTF was theirs - that's fine too.

 

Same for just up the island. Sometimes it gets a bit weird if you're with another cacher and you don't discuss if you want to share it or not. It gets to be a "who will be the first to write an online log" (WWBTFTWAOL?) to see what the other thinks.

[+lavender_rabbit]

In Bakersfield, CA we have a small contingent of cachers that are regularly going for FTF's. Everyone knows each other and it is common for us to meet up at new GZ's. Our unwritten agreement is to Co-FTF with whomever is on-site at the time the find is made. Arriving after the find, but while cachers are still there (we tend to stick around chatting about caching) doesn't count.

 

The real challenge is to make it to GZ in time to help find it. Not unusual for caches to be found within 15 minutes of publication.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

FTF (or any subsequent TF) is not that big of a deal here. We have a small caching community. Generally one of us has a little more time and kind of a different sleep schedule so that person typically gets a FTF. I go out with friend sometimes and we did a co-second to find.

 

There's no race. No real desire for the title. People just like find a fresh cache because it's a clean cache here and that's always nice. So among the small community here a co ftf wouldn't be a big deal since it's not a sub-game that people typically play.

 

Pretty much the same situation here. The last cache that was published within 10 miles of town was in an easily accessible location (along one of the main roads through town). It was published on Nov. 11 and FTF didn't happen until the 17th. If a caching community will let a new caches sit for 6 days before someone decides to go find it, they probably don't care if someone shares FTF. Given the rate at which caches are found (and placed) locally, meeting someone else at the cache is pretty low. There are a group of women that often cache together and they get quite a few of the FTFs and there used to be a couple of guys that worked 3rd shift that would cache together in the morning and get quite a few but I imagine that both groups have worked out a policy and nobody else really cares.

[+Chokecherry]

If our cacher wakes up early doesn't get the new hide first it will just sit there for awhile. We all do them around our other schedules here. Hers is just most condusive for being out there first. There isn't a race though. A new easier cache here has been out since thanksgiving and none of us got it because it's just not convienent.

[+the4dirtydogs]

We share the FTF's around our parts as well. Sometimes we have as many as 6 cachers show up for the search, thats when the search becomes fun. Then we all sit around and BS for a little, kinda like a flash mob. Love those FTF's.

[+addisonbr]

I'm a bit asymmetric.

 

If I meet up with a cacher ahead of time and go to GZ together (or agree to meet there), I'll consider any FTF to be shared.

 

If I meet up with other cachers at GZ by happenstance, I have a number of other little guidelines I follow for myself, the totality of which I'm sure would bore everyone here to death. In general, I have some strict standards about when I'll claim a FTF, but I don't care or get worked up about what other people claim.

[Dj Storm]

Around here (Romania) FTFs are shared usually.

My personal rule, if I'm caching with a group, I don't consider those finds as FTFs even if I'm the one who found the cache first.

[+hzoi]

From my experience, they are shared in Germany. Or at least they were around the Rhein-Main and Rhein-Nahe areas. They're also shared here in the Montgomery area.

 

We don't claim group FTFs when we weren't actually the first finders -- in some cases, especially not-yet-published caches hidden for events, it turns into "Follow the Leader." The only time we claim group FTFs as a personal FTF is when we actually were the first ones to find it. But we know other folks don't play the same as we do, so in all...three?....of those cases, we let the other folks share the FTF.

[+n0k1a]

Interesting question...I never thought about it in these terms.

 

I've only made one find where this actually applies. Two of us were working on a puzzle series together, when I got the notification of a new cache published in the area. We headed right to it, and found the obvious GZ. I believe I was the one who reached into the recessed hiding spot, and we were both quite pleased to call it a joint FTF. Interestingly, we had met while trying for FTF on another one, which we never managed to find that night.

 

All of my other attempts either ended in a DNF, or someone had already beat me to it by a significant margin, or the other finders only showed up well after I had made the find.

 

I know that other people in this area have shared FTFs if they went out together to find it. Not sure how it's handled if several people show up independently at the same time...I think it's an individual thing. It's sort of like whether the first person in a group to make a find yells out to everyone else immediately (which I generally do not care for), or backs away in a nonchalant manner and lets everyone else make the find too (my preference).