Difficulty Rating of caches w/o hint or spoiler

[+DanandMervi]

I did not see the answer in any guidelines. Should the difficulty rating of a cache be based on how hard it is to find when not using a spoiler or hint.

 

My thought is that the rating should be based on how difficult it is to find without using the hint or a spoiler. These are things to use when unable to locate.

 

I recently received a log posting for a cache that I rated at 3 stars. It is a nano, so GPS alone would make it hard to locate. The poster wrote that he did not believe it should be rated at 3 stars.

[+power69]

I did not see the answer in any guidelines. Should the difficulty rating of a cache be based on how hard it is to find when not using a spoiler or hint.

 

My thought is that the rating should be based on how difficult it is to find without using the hint or a spoiler. These are things to use when unable to locate.

 

I recently received a log posting for a cache that I rated at 3 stars. It is a nano, so GPS alone would make it hard to locate. The poster wrote that he did not believe it should be rated at 3 stars.

if its a plain nano stuck to something metal, 3 is overrated.

[AZcachemeister]

Finder feedback is a good thing. Of course, just one person's opinion may not be enough to make you want to change your rating quite yet.

 

I like it when the CO posts a REAL hint in the 'hint' area, not instructions to send them an eMail if I need help...I already know I could do that, but I need help NOW (when I'm at the cache) not two or three days from now.

 

I occasionally see caches where the CO says "Only use the spoiler if you are really desperate, it's a dead giveaway", and indeed the spoiler is just that.

 

Anyway, I would rate the cache as if there were no spoiler, and then add a hint to narrow down the places to look without actually saying where it is.

[+thebruce0]

Right, the hint should be a hint, not a giveaway. If I were to add a dead giveaway, I'd encode it in the hint and say that it's a full spoiler. I don't think it's as much an issue for 'simple' hides - the hint generally is a description of the cache location, and a give - like 'stump' variants for example. But if the difficulty is in the style of hide (or puzzle), then giving away that 'twist', as it were, sort of spoils the fun even as a 'hint', and may drop the rating a few points. I tend to provide a hint that's a sort of pun that may be a fun little puzzle in itself. Usually it's pretty clear, but at least a pun makes you continue to use your head, even if one last time and it's fun.

4 difficulty puzzle? Hint != solution. Hint = nudge towards a solution method perhaps? Maybe a 2nd or 3rd hint if necessary

4 difficulty hide? Hint != "In a hole covered by bark 6 feet up"... Hint = "hi, high hidey hole!" or something