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Tactful way to say "move your cache out of the playground" ?


cgund

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It has little to do with maturity. It's about reality. There's no good reason to hide where kids are playing.

 

Maybe paranoia was a more correct word, however maturity does influence it. You stated that grown men (while omitting women) standing near a playground were "devious or like pervs", implying any reason I have for being there needs to be questioned and an assumption of guilt needs to be applied. Carry this to it's logical conclusion, women should not be involved in BSA nor men in GSA.

 

While I would probably not hide in a playground, mainly because they tend to disappear quickly, there appears to be enough of them out there that there are some who feel there is a very valid reason for hiding them there.

 

Like I said, if the playground is active, I usually pass it by. However should I choose to search nearby, I have no problem explaining myself to a oversensitive individual.

 

Don't like them, just keep walking.

 

You misquoted me. I didn't say they were devious and pervs. I said they looked liked it. Meaning, to the parents, a single male hanging around looking at the equipment and searching the area is likely appear up to no good. That perception will raise flags and the seekers will will likely be questioned by parents or even police. That isn't the really good for geocaching reputation.

 

Even the act of searching sometimes causes too much attention. No, it's not illegal, it just looks suspicious. I've had to explain to non cachers and the police (twice) what caching is.

 

Yes, I ommited women. Men are almost always the perpetrator of child molestation, rape and sex crimes. Not 100%, but probably 99%. Again, that's not sexist, it is the truth.

 

If one has kids, that's different. But we cant make cages for specific folks. There are other, safer, and more appropriate places to hide than a playground. I just think hiding in one is inconsiderate.

 

It's consideration for the parents and the kids. Give them their space.

Edited by SeekerOfTheWay
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<snip>... but part of what seems to lie behind this OP is our "fear", shall I say, of dealing with muggles. I think that the Alabama Rambler has the right of it... explain to someone what you're doing. I mean, come on. We know we're not doing anything wrong. What's wrong with letting others know that we're not doing anything wrong?

 

That said, if I'm uncomfortable pursuing a cache, I won't pursue it. Doesn't matter where it is.

 

...

 

It is this argument, that geocachers are not doing anything wrong when looking for a cache, whether it is in a bush, a tree, or under a guardrail, that has me convinced. Follow this through, what do we want for our kids as they become more independent? I want mine to know the difference between someone minding their own business and doing something that needn't concern them, and someone who is watching them, following them, or approaching them or a friend (and know what to do about it). I also want that for our wider community, and the only way for that to happen following bomb scares, and police cautions and so on (in the UK) from what I can see, is by education about geocaching and presenting a united front that it is not a suspicious thing to do.

 

Cache owners do need to be particularly careful about placing a cache by or on a playground, and a knowledge of the local community helps (but like I say, that changes with time). Playground caches are not just there for families with small children, they are there for any geocacher to find who wants to, so the argument that they are easier for families with small children doesn't work. Equally, children do go to other places besides playgrounds and we can't ban caches placed wherever else they might go! Children play in parks, fields and woodland too.

 

Perhaps it is something to do with the bushes rather than the children in the playground, that men have been mentioned as being more 'suspicious'. :unsure: On the extremely rare occasions that children are abducted, it could be a woman or a man doing the abducting. If you (we) fear men more than women then it could be that the fear is based on other wrong assumptions (e.g. that children take more notice of men and are more likely to do what they say! :lol: )

 

Edit: Also to add, the other thing that had me changing my mind on this was when someone on the forums here a while back responded that they worked with sex offenders and the various ones he knew (a lot) didn't want to hang around playgrounds or schools, they tended to kill time in game stores and toy departments (and that parents were/are far less vigilant than they should be in these places, and over cautious over how their children play in playgrounds, if I got the general gist.).

Edited by Fianccetto
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Another thought:

Generally we place caches with regard to them not being muggled - so not in immediate view and so on. I would wander how safe a 'near playground' cache will be... I know here lots of playgrounds can be bordered by bushes or small wooded areas, and they often just become an extension of the playground - an excellent place to play hide and seek and the likes. Considering this what is the chance of kids coming across the cache while playing innocently and uncovering or playing with it themselves?

 

And yes, there is nothing fundamentally wrong in looking for a cache in a playpark (hell, there is nothing wrong with playing on the swings yourself...) but who you are and what you are doing is not always obvious to outsiders - to a parent of a child or other person nearby you can hardly blame them for being somewhat wary of a lone person searching round in the bushes next to a park full of kids, especially one looking somewhat shifty and trying to hide what they are doing/the location of a cache... Perhaps a note on the post to make it obvious the location of this cache and that it is really aimed more at families and children than lone males?

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Since I'm female I can look for playground hides with no issues. Grown men look devious or like pervs.

 

I would not hide near a playground. It's not fair to parents, children or cachers.

 

I'd just mention it in my log and let other finder's decide if they want to try it. I've found caches in creepy places, I've aborted searches because of feeling threatened, and noted both in my logs.

 

What a sexist remark!

As if there are NO female Perverts!

I hate to tell ya honey, but they're out there.

 

But back on topic...if the cache is a problem for you just ignore it as others have suggested.

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I didn't say there are no female sex offenders. I said the majority are male. It's a fact. How many female rapists do you hear about? How many nuns molesting children? See a ton of porn aimed at women? Not so much. Turn on any local news station and keep track for a week, a year. Be realistic, not PC.

 

And I'm not your "honey."

Edited by SeekerOfTheWay
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I'm pleased to see someone else concerned about some of the places caches get hidden that may comply with the "rules/guidelines/requirements" but are possibly not in the best interests of the activity. Earlier this year I became concerned with a cache that was placed in a seal/sealion haulout area. Here in New Zealand such marine mammals are protected by law. Some of the early logs openly stated that cachers had "scared off" the animals in order to access the cache. Now I don't know what they meant by "scared off" but it concerned me enough to raise concerns about this cache placement. I did so by raising the issue for discussion in our local caching forum and by posting a Should be Archived log. But basically nothing was done. The owner insisted on leaving it there and the reviewers were no help at all.

 

Frustrated and with ongoing concerns about the welfare of the animals I alerted the Department of Conservation (our local government department with responsibility for protecting marine mammals). They were grateful for me doing so and the cache is now gone. But I am now the pariah of the New Zealand caching community. I have received abusive emails, I have been abused at length in the local caching forum and have had abusive and defamatory things written about me in a cache log. The reviewers have done nothing about it. All of this is presumably because I had the audacity to report an inappropriate cache to the relevant authority after all attempts to sort it out within the community had failed.

 

So my advice is to allow your conscience to be your guide. If you genuinely believe a cache is in an inappropriate place then you should raise questions about it. However, be prepared for the abuse that will probably come your way and don't rely on gc.com's reviewers to help you.

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I didn't say there are no female sex offenders. I said the majority are male. It's a fact. How many female rapists do you hear about? How many nuns molesting children? See a ton of porn aimed at women? Not so much. Turn on any local news station and keep track for a week, a year. Be realistic, not PC.

 

And I'm not your "honey."

 

While I hesitate to stray too far off-topic, just because we don't hear about it on the evening news doesn't indicate the prevalence.

 

Plenty of entries on THIS SITE describing forcible sex.

 

The 'honey' remark is (in this context) usually used to describe someone who is 'sweet and innocent' (naive), and that was my intent.

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I am a 40+ year old male. I don't do playground caches except during early morning hours or on rainy days unless I have my 3 yr old granddaughter with me. When she is with me then I she loves to 'help' find them before playing on the equipment. So my opinion is like a lot of others in that I have no inherent problem with them and I do understand peoples discomfort single people with no kids hanging around so I avoid a situation that might make them uncomfortable.

 

On the topic of being confronted, I have been confronted a number of times. Once by police on a rainy morning at like 8AM with no one else around. I explained what I was doing and was still asked to leave. So I left and that was that. I returned and found it another time. I say if someone wants to call the cops on me then bring it on. Worst case is I am asked to leave and I do with no hard feelings. One thing I have learned in my years is that you cannot win an argument with a cop so why try. I have never been given a hard time by a cop if I am not doing anything wrong and explain myself and am courteous.

 

For parents who would stop going to a park because they saw a single man walking around then I think they will soon run out of places to go. If I were playing with my granddaughter and saw someone suspicious then I would just stick close to her (which I generally do anyway) so nothing could happen to her.

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Turn on any local news station and keep track for a week, a year. Be realistic, not PC.

 

I was being realistic, here in the news there are women (sometimes ones who were teachers, nursery nurses, nuns etc) who have been convicted of such crimes. There's a notorious couple who many people in this country still think of when the name of my town is mentioned, and it was the woman who did the abducting. If your news reporters skew things to make you think you should trust women just because they are women, it is they who are being overly PC, not us.

 

Back to the topic...I think it depends on the local area, for this issue and the way the local community respond to it. We can't all know what it is like to live in each other's worlds and what is good for one place might not be good for another.

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Did a search and it seems that various sites disagree on the male to female ratio of sex offenders; however, all agree that men are the majority. This site says 96% are male. http://www.child-abuse-effects.com/male-sex-offenders.html It may be an exaggeration, but it shows that our society has that perception, and there is where the problem lies.

 

It may be an imagined fear (and I suspect that it mostly is), but the fear itself is real. Some parks actually ban lone adults in the playground. Why should we ignore the feelings of others using the playground just for our game? How do you think it will come across if we appear that "we don't care" about the feelings of those who are using the playground for it's primary purpose?

 

There is a difference between a "playground" hide, and a "Strip-club" hide. I might feel uncomfortable with the strip club, because of morals, or have children with me, or other personal reasons, but whether I find that cache or not affects no one else. Whereas, a middle aged male in a playground makes other people uncomfortable, my actions affect someone other than me.

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Isn't there a playground attribute? If not, maybe there should be one.

 

Not enough playground caches to have a need. How about, "Uncomfortable Area" attribute? This would include crime-ridden area's of cities, playgrounds, near strip-clubs. Ect?

How about thinking twice before placing a cache in a "crime-ridden area" or near a strip club in the first place? Just because you can doesn't mean you should. What redeeming qualities (for a cacher) would a cache outside Paradise Found have?

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IE who am I to complain if nobody else is?

 

Bingo.

 

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with a playground hide. The location needs to be taken into account when considering what kind of cache it should be, how one should hide it, how one should look for it, and even if one should look for it, but that's also true of every other cache.

 

If you don't like playground caches don't hide them and don't look for them. But if it's not violating a guideline, leave it at that.

 

Did you read my post? Try dropping one in Syracuse yourself. :anibad:

 

I can recall quite a few being published in the greater Rochester area, some as recent as this spring/early summer.

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IE who am I to complain if nobody else is?

 

Bingo.

 

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with a playground hide. The location needs to be taken into account when considering what kind of cache it should be, how one should hide it, how one should look for it, and even if one should look for it, but that's also true of every other cache.

 

If you don't like playground caches don't hide them and don't look for them. But if it's not violating a guideline, leave it at that.

 

Did you read my post? Try dropping one in Syracuse yourself. :anibad:

 

I can recall quite a few being published in the greater Rochester area, some as recent as this spring/early summer.

 

Almost didn't see this! I didn't just make it up though, it was no more than 3 months ago a guy from New York City had his playground cache rejected, and even posted the correspondence here from the NYC area reviewer (which isn't hard to figure out if you're from NY). Believe me, there was no way in heck that guy was getting that playground cache published. :ph34r:

 

That and the fact I haven't seen a playground cache published in the Buffalo area, or nearby rural Counties in ages. But I could have missed some, and I certainly believe you if you say there has been a bunch in Rochester in the recent past.

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Whew, this sure stirred up a hornet's nest!!

 

My husband and I once got a cache around the corner from our house in a small neighborhood park that we pass everyday. It has a playground and at the bottom of a hill a small (maybe 1 acre) pond with a walking trail around it and a gazebo. There are very few trees so you can see the entire park environment, but the cache was hidden inside a circle of pine trees. When you "went in" the circle of trees you disappeared from sight and I remember feeling very self conscious about this. Of course we were innocently getting the cache, but there was such a huge site line from the rest of the area, that I felt like we looked like some sort of degenerate oddballs! Like...what are those old people doing in there!! Of course, I know I am suspicious!

 

I like the posted quote that says "When you go to hide a geocache, think of the reason you are bringing people to that spot. If the only reason is for the geocache, then find a better spot." Then again, another one I like...If you don't like where it is, don't get it.

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Playground caches are fun for people like us with kids. I have a puzzle cache that starts at a playground. I tell people right on the cache page that early morning or evneing might make them more comfortable as it's at a playground. If they still are not comfortable, there's lots of other caches to find, right?

 

Again, it's not a question of me being comfortable finding a cache at a playground. My issue with these placements is that I believe, as a parent who takes her child to playgrounds, that playgrounds should remain a comfortable place for the parents and children who visit them.

 

So since I am a 35 year old male, from this comment, I should not be allowed to go to a park (that's generally where playgrounds are) by myself, a park that my tax dollars paid for. If you are so worried that every male over 30 is some kind of child molester, then perhaps you shouldn't allow your children to go to the playground with out adult supervision, and if the children are adult supervised, what kind of crazy man is going to take your child away with you right there with them? Come on. Maybe I want to go to the playground, because its my lunch break from work, and its quiet and shaded and a good place to relax and read a book.

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Playground caches are fun for people like us with kids. I have a puzzle cache that starts at a playground. I tell people right on the cache page that early morning or evneing might make them more comfortable as it's at a playground. If they still are not comfortable, there's lots of other caches to find, right?

 

Again, it's not a question of me being comfortable finding a cache at a playground. My issue with these placements is that I believe, as a parent who takes her child to playgrounds, that playgrounds should remain a comfortable place for the parents and children who visit them.

 

So since I am a 35 year old male, from this comment, I should not be allowed to go to a park (that's generally where playgrounds are) by myself, a park that my tax dollars paid for. If you are so worried that every male over 30 is some kind of child molester, then perhaps you shouldn't allow your children to go to the playground with out adult supervision, and if the children are adult supervised, what kind of crazy man is going to take your child away with you right there with them? Come on. Maybe I want to go to the playground, because its my lunch break from work, and its quiet and shaded and a good place to relax and read a book.

+1

All people have a right to be there.

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As has been mentioned in other threads like this, the majority of all child abductions is by friends and family. Our paranoia in the U.S. is a bit silly. If we're worried about it, we need to stay near our kids, not stress, and just do our best. That's what parenting is about. We can take all the precautions in the world, and then our kid is taken by the next door neighbour. :rolleyes:

Edited by Ambrosia
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Almost didn't see this! I didn't just make it up though, it was no more than 3 months ago a guy from New York City had his playground cache rejected, and even posted the correspondence here from the NYC area reviewer (which isn't hard to figure out if you're from NY). Believe me, there was no way in heck that guy was getting that playground cache published. :ph34r:

 

That and the fact I haven't seen a playground cache published in the Buffalo area, or nearby rural Counties in ages. But I could have missed some, and I certainly believe you if you say there has been a bunch in Rochester in the recent past.

 

Many/most NYC playgrounds have posted rules: No adult unless accompanied by a child. See recent post about a woman ticketed for being in a playground in Bed-Stuy, without a child.

NYC, however, does have a severe inconsistancy problem with converting parks to playgrounds, then posting the rules. I've been known to be in the Upper East Side, where a park near the subway stop was converted to a playground. Hey! That's where the restroom is! In this playground no one says anything about adults in the playground. Saturday, I saw a bunch of 20-30 guys playing basketball. No one said anything to them.

Which is why I was surpried to being accosted by a father in a playground in a different section of the city. (I was looking for a benchmark.) The obscene language he used in front of his young chldren made me think that he is not a fit father image. And he had to come a fair distance (several hundred feet) to accost me. But, hey, I already had the photo of the benchmark!

The law is one the books: No adults without a child in a playground. So, the NYC reviewer is justified in denying publication of that cache.

Most other places, however, do not have that law. So, placing a cache in a playground in New Jersey is not against the law. Vry bad idea, and discriminates against many geocachers., but it is legal.

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I didn't say there are no female sex offenders. I said the majority are male. It's a fact.

No, what's a fact is how many of the reported/convicted/registered offenders are male. What you're conveniently omitting are the female sex offenders who go unreported, unconvicted, or given lighter punishments because of their gender. How often do you hear "Oh, he's a boy, he wanted it" or "hey, he hooked up with his teacher. Niiiiice." It's a double standard and I'm not surprised to see a woman perpetuating it.
How many female rapists do you hear about?
More every week. The notion that men can't be raped by women, or men can't be engaged in non-consensual acts because they're intoxicated, is ridiculous.
How many nuns molesting children?
We may find out about lots in 20 years. It took decades for preists to be exposed for exposing themselves. See above about ridiculous notions & double standards that women "can't" do these things.
See a ton of porn aimed at women? Not so much.
There are companies that specialize in it, but porn isn't germane to the subject at hand.
Turn on any local news station and keep track for a week, a year. Be realistic, not PC.
The news media reports what it wants to report, and you see what you want to see. I've seen a lot more cases of female teachers engaging in various acts with male students in the past year than I have the other way around.
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The law is one the books: No adults without a child in a playground. So, the NYC reviewer is justified in denying publication of that cache.

Why not consider a child as a type of specialized equipment similar to scuba caches or kayak caches? If I can borrow a buddy and his boat to go get me to a cache I could probably borrow him and his child the same way.

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Almost didn't see this! I didn't just make it up though, it was no more than 3 months ago a guy from New York City had his playground cache rejected, and even posted the correspondence here from the NYC area reviewer (which isn't hard to figure out if you're from NY). Believe me, there was no way in heck that guy was getting that playground cache published. :ph34r:

NYC has some pretty strict rules about playgrounds which I have not seen duplicated upstate.

 

That and the fact I haven't seen a playground cache published in the Buffalo area, or nearby rural Counties in ages. But I could have missed some, and I certainly believe you if you say there has been a bunch in Rochester in the recent past.

GC2Z4CZ is pretty close to a playground (depending on where you park, you walk right through it)

GC2TN51 - WP1 is attached to a piece of playground equipment

GC1RKK6 - Very, very close to the equipment

GC2MR18 - Playground, park pavilion, soccer fields used by kids' leagues

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Playground caches are fun for people like us with kids. I have a puzzle cache that starts at a playground. I tell people right on the cache page that early morning or evneing might make them more comfortable as it's at a playground. If they still are not comfortable, there's lots of other caches to find, right?

 

Again, it's not a question of me being comfortable finding a cache at a playground. My issue with these placements is that I believe, as a parent who takes her child to playgrounds, that playgrounds should remain a comfortable place for the parents and children who visit them.

 

So since I am a 35 year old male, from this comment, I should not be allowed to go to a park (that's generally where playgrounds are) by myself, a park that my tax dollars paid for. If you are so worried that every male over 30 is some kind of child molester, then perhaps you shouldn't allow your children to go to the playground with out adult supervision, and if the children are adult supervised, what kind of crazy man is going to take your child away with you right there with them? Come on. Maybe I want to go to the playground, because its my lunch break from work, and its quiet and shaded and a good place to relax and read a book.

 

+1 Maybe this is why I don't have such a problem with playground caches as others. Frequently, when we take our kids to a playground, there are guys playing frisbee nearby, an older man sitting on the bench eating his lunch, people walking by with their dogs, all sorts of people. I've never felt uncomfortable, they have a right to be there too.

Edited by The_Incredibles_
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Almost didn't see this! I didn't just make it up though, it was no more than 3 months ago a guy from New York City had his playground cache rejected, and even posted the correspondence here from the NYC area reviewer (which isn't hard to figure out if you're from NY). Believe me, there was no way in heck that guy was getting that playground cache published. :ph34r:

NYC has some pretty strict rules about playgrounds which I have not seen duplicated upstate.

 

That and the fact I haven't seen a playground cache published in the Buffalo area, or nearby rural Counties in ages. But I could have missed some, and I certainly believe you if you say there has been a bunch in Rochester in the recent past.

GC2Z4CZ is pretty close to a playground (depending on where you park, you walk right through it)

GC2TN51 - WP1 is attached to a piece of playground equipment

GC1RKK6 - Very, very close to the equipment

GC2MR18 - Playground, park pavilion, soccer fields used by kids' leagues

 

OK, I will certainly stand corrected if I gave anyone the impression that the 2 NY reviewers were rejecting all playground caches. However, the NYC dude who had his cache rejected, I'm pretty sure there was nothing in his posted correspondance with NYAdmin about any "no adults without a child" law in NYC. I suppose I'd better go find that thread if anyone wants to discuss that further. :P

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Since I'm female I can look for playground hides with no issues. Grown men look devious or like pervs.

 

 

you got to be kidding...that is the most ridiculous (i am being generous with my wording) thing i ever heard, not to mention sexist (and i am a woman)

 

tell that the two single male parents, that posted in this forums, one had a visit from the cops because someone thought it was weird for a male to be with two kids walking the trails and the other had a couple of passer by women telling the kids that if he (the father) touched them in any way they should report him :rolleyes:

 

how sad that people have no common sense this days

Edited by t4e
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There is a difference between a "playground" hide, and a "Strip-club" hide. I might feel uncomfortable with the strip club, because of morals, or have children with me, or other personal reasons, but whether I find that cache or not affects no one else. Whereas, a middle aged male in a playground makes other people uncomfortable, my actions affect someone other than me.

If we banned caches because they make other people uncomfortable, we'd end up banning a lot more than playgrounds. Cachers in residential neighborhoods make the residents uncomfortable (even if a cache is placed on the cache owners property, the neighbors get upset because of strangers looking for it). Some environmental types are uncomfortable because they see the caches as some sort of litter or that cachers might disturb the environment when searching for a cache. Homeless people are uncomfortable when a cache is placed too near their encampment.

 

Now, certainly some would say that none of these are good places for caches, but you can see that different people will draw the line in different places as to where a cache makes someone uncomfortable.

 

The guidelines say

Select an appropriate location and container. Think about how your container and the actions of geocachers seeking it will be perceived by the public. Although your geocache will be hidden with landowner permission, concerned passersby who are unaware of geocaching may view people searching the property as suspicious. For example, a geocacher will likely be wrongly suspected of being malicious if a cache is hidden in full view of an office or apartment windows.

 

So the reviewers are well within their rights to suggest that playgrounds are not such a good place for a cache. But usually, the reviewer will simply quote the above guideline and ask the hider to think about what problems the cache might cause. Depending on the neighborhood, the likelihood of single men being in the park, how crowded the playground gets, etc.; the hider may feel that a cache can be placed without causing any problems.

 

I have found several playground cache and generally don't have a problem. Sometimes it means coming back when the park is empty to search. A few times I've even felt comfortable to get the cache even while some parents are eying me suspiciously. A geocacher looking for a cache, is likely avoiding the children and heading straight for the cache. It's behavior that only the most paranoid parent could confuse with a child molester. Like TAR, you can always stop to tell the parents what you are doing. There are certainly

some playground placements that shouldn't be. A cache in the bushes near a playground would bother me more than one out in the open. After all a grown man crawling in the bushes near a playground is likely to raise a red flag.

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Playground caches are fun for people like us with kids. I have a puzzle cache that starts at a playground. I tell people right on the cache page that early morning or evneing might make them more comfortable as it's at a playground. If they still are not comfortable, there's lots of other caches to find, right?

 

Again, it's not a question of me being comfortable finding a cache at a playground. My issue with these placements is that I believe, as a parent who takes her child to playgrounds, that playgrounds should remain a comfortable place for the parents and children who visit them.

 

So since I am a 35 year old male, from this comment, I should not be allowed to go to a park (that's generally where playgrounds are) by myself, a park that my tax dollars paid for. If you are so worried that every male over 30 is some kind of child molester, then perhaps you shouldn't allow your children to go to the playground with out adult supervision, and if the children are adult supervised, what kind of crazy man is going to take your child away with you right there with them? Come on. Maybe I want to go to the playground, because its my lunch break from work, and its quiet and shaded and a good place to relax and read a book.

+1

All people have a right to be there.

 

Right or wrong, there are places where laws have been passed to keep adults without children away from parks.

 

noadults.jpg

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As has been mentioned in other threads like this, the majority of all child abductions is by friends and family. Our paranoia in the U.S. is a bit silly. If we're worried about it, we need to stay near our kids, not stress, and just do our best. That's what parenting is about. We can take all the precautions in the world, and then our kid is taken by the next door neighbour. :rolleyes:

Interesting that you should mention that. This pie chart was on the same page as that sign that I just posted the picture of in my preceeding post.

 

f5-2.jpg

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Since I'm female I can look for playground hides with no issues. Grown men look devious or like pervs.

 

 

you got to be kidding...that is the most ridiculous (i am being generous with my wording) thing i ever heard, not to mention sexist (and i am a woman)

 

tell that the two single male parents, that posted in this forums, one had a visit from the cops because someone thought it was weird for a male to be with two kids walking the trails and the other had a couple of passer by women telling the kids that if he (the father) touched them in any way they should report him :rolleyes:

 

how sad that people have no common sense this days

 

The way that I took that is that Seaker was simply stating the common perception. I doubt that she was expressing her own feelings about grown men.

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Since I'm female I can look for playground hides with no issues. Grown men look devious or like pervs.

 

 

you got to be kidding...that is the most ridiculous (i am being generous with my wording) thing i ever heard, not to mention sexist (and i am a woman)

 

tell that the two single male parents, that posted in this forums, one had a visit from the cops because someone thought it was weird for a male to be with two kids walking the trails and the other had a couple of passer by women telling the kids that if he (the father) touched them in any way they should report him :rolleyes:

 

how sad that people have no common sense this days

 

The way that I took that is that Seaker was simply stating the common perception. I doubt that she was expressing her own feelings about grown men.

 

there is nothing in her post suggesting that the view was intended as the "common perception"

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Like I stated over and over...I'm talking about parents perceptions. I'm talking about our reputation as Geocachers.

 

I'm not one to say anyone looks suspicious to me. I look suspicious often because I like to walk and look at things, sometimes closely. Or look at the clouds. I seem suspicious and probably crazy.

 

I'm deleting my posts in this thread because it's not worth the trouble of trying to defend my point of view, and being flamed, especially by t4e.

 

Hide on playground equipment and enjoy. I don't enjoy being questioned by parents, police and searching in playgrounds is an invitation for that.

Edited by SeekerOfTheWay
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Since I'm female I can look for playground hides with no issues. Grown men look devious or like pervs.

 

 

you got to be kidding...that is the most ridiculous (i am being generous with my wording) thing i ever heard, not to mention sexist (and i am a woman)

 

tell that the two single male parents, that posted in this forums, one had a visit from the cops because someone thought it was weird for a male to be with two kids walking the trails and the other had a couple of passer by women telling the kids that if he (the father) touched them in any way they should report him :rolleyes:

 

how sad that people have no common sense this days

 

The way that I took that is that Seaker was simply stating the common perception. I doubt that she was expressing her own feelings about grown men.

 

there is nothing in her post suggesting that the view was intended as the "common perception"

 

Huh. Gee, I must have read it wrong then. :blink:

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Knowschad, you understood me fine. I'm trying to get a mod to delete my posts.

Yeah, I know. I was being facetious with my last post.

 

I don't believe they will delete your posts, however. The forum guidelines state:

11. Any messages you post in these discussion forums will remain available to the public for as long as this discussion board is online. Once you have posted your message, it will stay online. Please post carefully and with due consideration to the content of your post. We will not edit the content you wrote unless it does not conform to the forum guidelines. In the unlikely event that we do edit your post and you do not like the changes, we can delete the message at your request.
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I just mention my feelings in my log.

 

"Found this one quickly, which is fortunate because a lone male in this location is likely to draw attention from overly paranoid parents."

 

"Not sure what the parents thought about me poking around the bushes but I made the find before anyone called the cops."

 

"Too many kids and parents around for a comfortable search so I didn't get a chance to look for this one."

 

"Finally a rainy day so I could come back and hunt this one with no kids and parents around."

 

Fundamentally there is nothing wrong with the cache itself, it's our society that's screwed up. I'm glad a grew up in an era where our parents sent us to the playground to play by ourselves!

 

I agree 100% with all of this. Here's the log I just posted on a find this past Sunday:

"I'm glad it was too hot for little kids today so I could find the cache at the playground without making parents think I was a pervert."

 

If there were families there I would have just kept on driving as the hint was 'slippery slope'. Yup, you guessed it-hidden on the slide.

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"I'm glad it was too hot for little kids today so I could find the cache at the playground without making parents think I was a pervert."

Statements like this don't help dispel the perception that all lone adult males near playgrounds are looking for kids to pick up.

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