Creating a challenge I haven't fulfilled

[+J Grouchy]

I'm considering creating a challenge for folks and was wondering if it's considered poor form to do so if I haven't even completed the requirements myself. I'm fairly new to geocaching and have enjoyed seeing the various challenges put forth (A-Z cache names, one-a-day for a year, etc.). I thought a new one up that I haven't seen before (it probably exists somewhere, but I haven't found it in my search yet) and thought I'd try to put it out there for others to go for.

 

Also...let's say I actually DID fulfill the requirements later. Normally I would not log my own cache, but it's sort of a challenge to myself...so is THAT poor form (logging my own challenge)?

[+CanadianRockies]

I'm considering creating a challenge for folks and was wondering if it's considered poor form to do so if I haven't even completed the requirements myself.

It's generally easier to get a challenge approved if you've met the requirements yourself, but it isn't essential. From the Groundspeak guidelines, which you definitely should read before submitting one for publication:

 

Reviewers may ask the cache owner to demonstrate that they have previously met the challenge and/or that a substantial number of other geocachers would be able to do so.

I'm not sure if it rises to the level of "poor form" to submit a challenge you haven't completed yet, but some geocachers do look down upon the practice.

 

Also...let's say I actually DID fulfill the requirements later. Normally I would not log my own cache, but it's sort of a challenge to myself...so is THAT poor form (logging my own challenge)?

More than a few geocachers will log their own challenges upon completion (some, even if they already have completed it before publication). Most won't (from what I've observed). If you want others to know that you've completed the challenge, then you can log an online note stating that you've done so. If you really want one more smiley, then you can log that online "Found it."

Edited February 20, 2013 by CanadianRockies

[+StarBrand]

New Challenge caches are under a much higher level of scrutiny these days - particularly with broad interpretation of the

"Reviewers may ask the cache owner to demonstrate that they have previously met the challenge and/or that a substantial number of other geocachers would be able to do so."

clause.

 

I would not log my own cache simply because I owned it. Just me maybe.

[+J Grouchy]

New Challenge caches are under a much higher level of scrutiny these days - particularly with broad interpretation of the

"Reviewers may ask the cache owner to demonstrate that they have previously met the challenge and/or that a substantial number of other geocachers would be able to do so."

clause.

 

I would not log my own cache simply because I owned it. Just me maybe.

 

I have no doubt people would be able to do it...though there is one aspect of it that may be questionable under this:

6.One should not have to 'give up' finding other caches to achieve a challenge cache's requirements. To state that "10% of your find count needs to be Attended Logs" would require the geocacher to stop finding other types of caches and could affect their overall enjoyment of the game.

 

Mine wouldn't require "giving up" on finding other caches, but may require delaying a find in order to fulfill the requirement. Is that the same thing to a reviewer? There's sort of a fine line since one could argue that some of the existing challenges would lead folks to put off finding certain caches in order to fulfill the challenge requirements.

 

EDIT: I've actually just found a very similar challenge cache listing located over in Denmark. It's much tougher than mine, so I'm pretty sure mine could get published as-is.

[+lookout.]

New Challenge caches are under a much higher level of scrutiny these days - particularly with broad interpretation of the

"Reviewers may ask the cache owner to demonstrate that they have previously met the challenge and/or that a substantial number of other geocachers would be able to do so."

clause.

 

I would not log my own cache simply because I owned it. Just me maybe.

 

I have no doubt people would be able to do it...though there is one aspect of it that may be questionable under this:

6.One should not have to 'give up' finding other caches to achieve a challenge cache's requirements. To state that "10% of your find count needs to be Attended Logs" would require the geocacher to stop finding other types of caches and could affect their overall enjoyment of the game.

 

Mine wouldn't require "giving up" on finding other caches, but may require delaying a find in order to fulfill the requirement. Is that the same thing to a reviewer? There's sort of a fine line since one could argue that some of the existing challenges would lead folks to put off finding certain caches in order to fulfill the challenge requirements.

 

EDIT: I've actually just found a very similar challenge cache listing located over in Denmark. It's much tougher than mine, so I'm pretty sure mine could get published as-is.

 

previously published caches that have the same theme does not mean you will get an automatic acceptance for yours

[+StarBrand]

...

previously published caches that have the same theme does not mean you will get an automatic acceptance for yours

Exactly - especially considering the guidelines have been tightened up several times and fairly recently.

[GOF and Bacall]

The best thing you could do at this point is contact your reviewer and ask questions. Let them know what you have in mind and work with them to fix any problems that they see. Without knowing details we can only guess at answers.

[+dprovan]

If you think you have a good idea for a challenge cache and want to complete the requirements yourself, then I suggest you complete the requirements first and then congratulate yourself by publishing the challenge cache. The idea of setting up a challenge cache for yourself and then "finding" it is tacky beyond belief, almost as silly as publishing a cache so you can FTF it.

[+J Grouchy]

The idea of setting up a challenge cache for yourself and then "finding" it is tacky beyond belief

 

"tacky beyond belief"?

I'm finding the amount of hyperbole in these forums to be almost more than I can stand. I ask simple, honest questions and get responses that border on angry and mean-spirited.

 

Honestly, I don't see it as tacky. What's wrong with setting a challenge for oneself? I don't "find" my own traditional caches...but the challenge is something else.

[+Semper Questio]

In my area, claiming one's own challenges as a find is fairly common practice, the school of thought being that the finding and logging of the final is about having completed the challenge moreso than finding the final cache. Obviously, not everyone would agree with that point of view. As usual with this game, it comes down to an individual choice and what your concscience says is the right thing to do.

Edited February 20, 2013 by Semper Questio

[+murrayegger]

For publishing a cache see who is able to complete it, if older cachers aren't able to then it likely wont fly.

 

Personally If I were publishing a cache the challenge I would have would be a race to see how many could complete the challenge before I did. I wouldn't log it as found but I would add to the cache description.

[+tozainamboku]

The idea of setting up a challenge cache for yourself and then "finding" it is tacky beyond belief

 

"tacky beyond belief"?

I'm finding the amount of hyperbole in these forums to be almost more than I can stand. I ask simple, honest questions and get responses that border on angry and mean-spirited.

 

Honestly, I don't see it as tacky. What's wrong with setting a challenge for oneself? I don't "find" my own traditional caches...but the challenge is something else.

The problem is due to the unnatural feature of Challenges caches. Not only do you need to accomplish the challenge but you also find a geocache. These are two separate things; they should be kept separate. Of course you can complete challenge that you set. However, certain purist might say that you can't find a geocache that you have hidden. Even if you allow that it is possible to find and log a cache that you have hidden, many people would call this tacky.

 

I think all of these problems would be solved if Challenge Caches were grandfathered and a different mechanism were put in place for geocaching challenges that didn't use the act of finding a cache and logging it online as the method of record.

[GOF and Bacall]

The idea of setting up a challenge cache for yourself and then "finding" it is tacky beyond belief

 

"tacky beyond belief"?

I'm finding the amount of hyperbole in these forums to be almost more than I can stand. I ask simple, honest questions and get responses that border on angry and mean-spirited.

 

Honestly, I don't see it as tacky. What's wrong with setting a challenge for oneself? I don't "find" my own traditional caches...but the challenge is something else.

 

Don't take it so personal. You asked for opinions and people are giving them. I would agree. Someone logging a find on their own hide would be tacky. I'm not being nasty but I am giving you my opinion.

[+Lil Devil]

I agree. In my opinion, logging a find on one's own cache is tacky, even if said cache is a Challenge Cache. Events, however, are OK.

[AZcachemeister]

I've got a few challenge caches out there.

Most of them I qualified for before publication, but two of them are beyond my qualifications, AS OF YET.

 

I fully intend to qualify for those, but I would absolutely never consider posting a 'Found It' on any of them.

 

You (the OP) can certainly log any of your caches as many times as you like.

[+Don_J]

"Reviewers may ask the cache owner to demonstrate that they have previously met the challenge and/or that a substantial number of other geocachers would be able to do so."

 

Send a private email to your local reviewer and run the idea past them. The guideline quoted above seems to have vastly different meanings to different reviewers across the country.

[+dprovan]

The idea of setting up a challenge cache for yourself and then "finding" it is tacky beyond belief

 

"tacky beyond belief"?

I'm finding the amount of hyperbole in these forums to be almost more than I can stand. I ask simple, honest questions and get responses that border on angry and mean-spirited.

I'm sorry you took it that way, but I can't even imagine how calling something "tacky" could be considered mean spirited, nor why you don't consider it an answer. It's definitely not hyperbole: I really can't believe that anyone would even consider such a thing.

 

Honestly, I don't see it as tacky. What's wrong with setting a challenge for oneself? I don't "find" my own traditional caches...but the challenge is something else.

There's nothing wrong with setting a challenge for yourself. What's tacky is claiming a find on your own cache. I thought I gave a very reasonable suggestion. Remember? I encouraged you to set a challenge for yourself, but suggested you complete the challenge before publishing the cache and without claiming a find. That strikes me as exactly what you want to do...unless you're only really interested in one more find in your statistics.

 

Personally If I were publishing a cache the challenge I would have would be a race to see how many could complete the challenge before I did. I wouldn't log it as found but I would add to the cache description.

Yeah, that's another approach that works. I could see that for a challenge that was particularly time consuming to complete, like a one-cache-a-year challenge.

[+lamoracke]

It depends on the challenge. For example, we have a number of Thomas Guide challenges in Washington State. They have clear guidelines, boundaries. Because these are known to be pretty standard, if someone created a new one in a county that did not have a challenge created, I think it would be fine if the CO did not qualify yet as it has been proven those kind of challenges are liked and can be done...just a different county is all.

 

If you are thinking about creating some really odd thing that you have never heard of before, it might be best to show it can be done first.

 

As far as logging your own challenge goes. Its rarely done and I would consider it tacky, but no one is going to stop you and delete your find. If they want to be known as the type of cacher who would log their own cache, well, they have to live with that.

[+Don_J]

It depends on the challenge. For example, we have a number of Thomas Guide challenges in Washington State. They have clear guidelines, boundaries. Because these are known to be pretty standard, if someone created a new one in a county that did not have a challenge created, I think it would be fine if the CO did not qualify yet as it has been proven those kind of challenges are liked and can be done...just a different county is all.

 

If you are thinking about creating some really odd thing that you have never heard of before, it might be best to show it can be done first.

 

As far as logging your own challenge goes. Its rarely done and I would consider it tacky, but no one is going to stop you and delete your find. If they want to be known as the type of cacher who would log their own cache, well, they have to live with that.

 

Classic! Tell him that it doesn't matter. Then tell him that others will consider him tacky. Either it matters or it doesn't.

 

We have two rather difficult challenge caches here that the owner did not complete until a few years after he created them. He logged finds on them because he was proud of his accomplishment. Surprisingly, (by forum standards), no one talked or snickered behind his back. He doesn't attend events but if he did, I highly doubt that people would point at him and laugh at him behind his back. We all realize his contribution to local caching, and to trail maintenance, even though his primary residence is 3000 miles away. We all know that he does not cache for the numbers and an extra uptick on his find count was probably the last thing on his mind. Smilies just look happier than notes.

[+lamoracke]

It depends on the challenge. For example, we have a number of Thomas Guide challenges in Washington State. They have clear guidelines, boundaries. Because these are known to be pretty standard, if someone created a new one in a county that did not have a challenge created, I think it would be fine if the CO did not qualify yet as it has been proven those kind of challenges are liked and can be done...just a different county is all.

 

If you are thinking about creating some really odd thing that you have never heard of before, it might be best to show it can be done first.

 

As far as logging your own challenge goes. Its rarely done and I would consider it tacky, but no one is going to stop you and delete your find. If they want to be known as the type of cacher who would log their own cache, well, they have to live with that.

 

Classic! Tell him that it doesn't matter. Then tell him that others will consider him tacky. Either it matters or it doesn't.

 

We have two rather difficult challenge caches here that the owner did not complete until a few years after he created them. He logged finds on them because he was proud of his accomplishment. Surprisingly, (by forum standards), no one talked or snickered behind his back. He doesn't attend events but if he did, I highly doubt that people would point at him and laugh at him behind his back. We all realize his contribution to local caching, and to trail maintenance, even though his primary residence is 3000 miles away. We all know that he does not cache for the numbers and an extra uptick on his find count was probably the last thing on his mind. Smilies just look happier than notes.

 

Don't know, I think I was pretty clear. Personally I think its wrong and many folks would think its wrong. I know of one recent challenge that was logged by a CO and we certainly talked about that and were surprised by it. But ultimately, that CO and am sure others who do it have to decide for themselves if they want to do it or not. They are the CO so no one but GS could delete their find and they won't so its up to your own conscience. From personal experience, many folks would consider it wrong and tacky, but nothing is going to stop them.

[+J the Goat]

My opinion? Tacky. I like the idea of setting a goal for yourself and then publishing the cache after it's completed as a "reward" to yourself. I maintain that it's in poor form to post a find on a cache that you hid, or helped to hide. You can still do it if it suits you however, so the choice is yours.

[+the4dirtydogs]

I really don't care if players log their own caches, heck I don't care what players log as finds. Nobody wins in this game.

 

As for the Challenge cache, I would expect the CO to have completed the challenge that they are creating. Kinda like I can do this, can other players do the same. Why not complete your challenge before you make the Challenge cache?

[+Don_J]

I really don't care if players log their own caches, heck I don't care what players log as finds. Nobody wins in this game.

 

 

This!

While it's not something that I would do, I wouldn't think of you any differently if you did. It's the idea that people would gossip about it while caching together or at an event that amazes me.