Logging a "Not Found"

[+Trendy Treasurers]

Was out today and tried to find a cache with my four year old and realized a ways into poison ivy invested ground coverage that one would have to be saved for another day and with one of my teenagers instead :0) Anyway, I kind of wanted to share the experience and was going to log it as not found, but had a thought that maybe logging something as "Not Found" is more for the purpose of notifying the cache owner that it may have gone missing. So... just wondering... "To share or to inform"?

 

Thanks

Edited August 30, 2011 by Trendy Treasurers

[+BuckeyeClan]

Yes, go ahead and log your "did not find" (DNF). It means just what it says--you did not find it. Including the full story is good, because it gives future searchers a warning about the conditions, and lets the CO know that it probably isn't a cache problem, just that it wasn't a good idea for you to continue due to the poison ivy. Alternatively, you can log the experience using the "write note" option. Some people prefer to do that if they never really reached "ground zero" (GZ) to search. Either way, it gives you a written record of what you did that day, and also gives pertinent info to the CO and other cachers.

[+Max and 99]

In my opinion, the "Did not find" log is NOT more for letting the cache owner know that the cache might be missing! It's used to indicate that you looked for the cache, tried to find it, but didn't.

Edited August 30, 2011 by Max and 99

[+mpilchfamily]

Don't be afraid to log a DNF. You went, you tried and you Did Not Find. For some reason some COs think of a DNF as a mark on them and some caches thing a DNF is a hit to there finding skills. This is not the case. DNFs are very informative. If you didn't get to the cache due to Poison Ivy and it wasn't mentioned in the description then maybe other caches would like to be aware of it before heading out.

 

As a CO myself i like seeing the DNFs. It lets me know if there are problems or if a new comer to the game may need a bit of an extra hint to find it. I know in the early days of my caching i had many DNFs and Cos coming to my aid with hits. Plus a good string of DNFs may be an indication the cache has gown missing. So others know to avoid that cache. For me i like going after the long strings like that in hopes of finding it. But if there is no find and the string of DNFs have been there a few months i'll log the NM or a NA if an NM has gown unanswered for a few months.

[+EdrickV]

Exactly when people will log a DNF or not varies from person to person. If I have gotten to/near Ground Zero, actively looked for the cache, and did not find it then I will log a DNF. If I didn't get to GZ for some reason, and thus didn't actually search, I'll probably log a note. In either case I will log exactly what happened. Multiple DNFs in a row by people who did search would be an indication for the owner that maybe the cache could use a visit to make sure it's still there. (Though there are some caches that are designed to be so difficult they may get more DNFs then finds.)

 

Some people will log a DNF even if, for some reason, they didn't get near GZ.

[+niraD]

The log is "Did Not Find", not "May Be Missing". If I reach ground zero and search for the cache, then I log either a Find or a DNF.

[+Panther&Pine]

I log a DNF when we get to GZ and can't find the darn thing. That may mean we got Muggled out, or it might mean that I punched in the coords wrong. But it means we got there and we looked.

Not that it is a missing.

[+macatac1961]

It also serves as your own personal record. I log them because I have a bad memory. This way I can look back and see what caches (and who hid them) gave me trouble.

[+GrateBear]

If I DNA (did not attempt), I don't post anything. For example, one of the caches I was going to look for today was at the end of a grassy area where all the sprinklers were going. I was not about to look for it, even though that was my original intent. Thus, no reason for a DNF that might cause the CO to think there is a problem with it.

Edited August 31, 2011 by GrateBear

[+briansnat]

If I don't find it, I log a DNF regardless of the reason.

[+BlueDeuce]

Sometimes a DNF is the best caching story you've have to share. A DNF is not a badge of shame.

[+geocat_]

Agree with the previous post. I have had some pretty funny stories about my ineptness or the conditions I encountered during a DNF. Log it!

[+dfx]

To me, DNF means: was there, looked for it, and didn't find it. If I simply couldn't get to the spot or couldn't search properly, I'll log a note. Reason is that some cachers use the DNFs to determine if a cache might have problems, and so are likely not to go for a cache if it has any DNFs on it. I've actually had a CO thank me for posting a note instead of a DNF for this very reason.

[+Trendy Treasurers]

To me, DNF means: was there, looked for it, and didn't find it. If I simply couldn't get to the spot or couldn't search properly, I'll log a note. Reason is that some cachers use the DNFs to determine if a cache might have problems, and so are likely not to go for a cache if it has any DNFs on it. I've actually had a CO thank me for posting a note instead of a DNF for this very reason.

 

That's a good idea... posting a note instead of DNF. Thanks!

[+Max and 99]

I just got two email notifications from the same cacher: both DNFs, from caches they tried to find 3 months ago and the other over a month ago. What's the point of posting a DNF months afterwards?

 

I realize that DNF is a record that you tried to find a cache and couldn't, but seriously..... 3 months later?

Edited September 6, 2011 by Max and 99

[+BlueDeuce]

I just got two email notifications from the same cacher: both DNFs, from caches they tried to find 3 months ago and the other over a month ago. What's the point of posting a DNF months afterwards?

 

I realize that DNF is a record that you tried to find a cache and couldn't, but seriously..... 3 months later?

 

Maybe they finally realized they should have posted their attempts. I would just appreciate the historical background information.

[+Max and 99]

I will say that I appreciate that they took the time to log the CORRECT date on their log.

[+BlueDeuce]

I will say that I appreciate that they took the time to log the CORRECT date on their log.

 

I hear ya.

[+teamblklab]

Agree that DNFs are informative and sometimes funny for others reading the logs. One DNF we posted led the CO to email us with a tiny hint which led to another visit and a find. In an area we're not familiar with, that has sufficient caching opportunities, a log with several DNFs will cause us to skip that particular cache. So it is helpful to other cachers to post DNF.

[+luvvinbird]

Don't feel bad about logging a DNF. It's just part of the game and it alerts the CO to keep an eye on things to see if more DNF's pop up. A responsible CO would much rather see a DNF than have someone not find it (maybe it really is missing) and say nothing. That being said, isn't it annoying when the next person to find it says something like, "Quick find. TFTC". DOH!!!

Edited September 6, 2011 by luvvinbird

[+A & J Tooling]

I always log a dnf and if it is because of flooding or PI or other reasons, I state that in my log. I try to let the owner know the reason why. Sometimes it's just because I'm blinder then a bat. I tell 'em that too.