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What Irks you most?


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I wouldn't be surprised if before the invent of the iPhone app one could make a decent living looting caches.
Nope. Geocache swag has quickly turned into a collection of junk since the very first cache. Actually, that one started out that way. Edited by sbell111
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I absolutely HATE when I'm 2 miles into the woods on hiking trails and there is precious caching space wasted on micros. You could successfully hide a car in some of the places I hike, yet I repeatedly find my self searching for incredibly long periods of time for a film container. Put some thought into your cache and make it truly worthwhile for those who are willing to make the journey to it.

+ 5 000 000

 

I liken it to putting a used bus ticket in a cache as swag.

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It's probably already been listed but just for fun ...

 

TB hotel hitlers.

 

The D of E mob handed descending enmass (60+ and it says so in the log) to a few caches. And yes I can give examples but ...

 

Know it all toe jam munchin pig f ... those people who then proceed to imagine (using said examples) that they know how it all went down even though they live on another continent.

 

A D of E person who has 5 finds and is well up for it - logging NA on anything that isn't nailed down because "it was overgrown so couldn't find it, this cache NA because I couldn't reach it/ find it/ phone died. And yes I do ...

 

Account holders who have not read the bit that says "if you are 13 years or under geocaching is NOT for you".

 

People with 10,000 plus finds - throwing down caches because they dnfd. And if the couldn't find it it's clearly missing.

 

TB hotel owners ... again

 

TB thieves. Literally that's what they are, thieves.

 

People (yes again have examples) who ... move a cache to where they think it should be if the coords are out by 20 feet.

 

"This needs a Co check as we think it's missing" ... only DNF for weeks ... And THEN the CO complies and disables the cache. What?

 

A sneaky cache is a well hidden one with good coordinates btw not one that is 170 feet off where it should be and the size of a ladybug. That's appalling CO manship.

 

Intercontinental cache crawlers looking for red spanners and logging a needs archived on a cache in a continent they have never been to. And THEN following up with "well is the CO going to check this one out or not". Life ... get one you sad sad people.

 

The same is true of those in the same area and yet a quick look at their caches ... Spannerville.

 

There is more but I need to go shout at something ...

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The new HTML email notifications. No more value, fine tuned mail filters do not work any more and the information is hidden in a lot of useless bell & whistles, just wasting bandwith.

 

Anywhere else I at least can choose between HTML and plain text notification, now Groundspeak took a large step back in beeing user friendly. :(

 

I want to have plain text mails back! At least optionally!

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If the reviewer is archiving one of your caches on the same day that you are hiding a new one, you're playing the game wrong.

 

I would like to see such people blocked from hiding new caches or at least given a stern warning from the reviewer next time they submit a cache. These people have an illness (compulsive cache hiding) and need professional help.

 

OCCHD - Obsessive, Compulsive, Cache Hiding Disorder. I honestly believe that there is such a thing.

 

Don't forget the OCCFD (Obsessive, Compulsive, Cache Finding Disorder). There are people who force themselves to do caches that they don't enjoy, just because they have an obsessive need to find every cache in their area.

 

Unfortunately for me, I think I have OCCFD B) Especially those in my home area. I HAVE to find them all!

 

That leads into one of my 'irks'...NOT being able to find a cache. I'll look sometimes for an hour or more before I give up. I HATE it when I'm looking in an area that I most likely will not be able to return to (i.e. vacation spot) and not be able to find it. In that situation I try to pick the ones that I will enjoy most so I guess it's the feeling that I've wasted valuable time. However I do have to admit that some of my favorite adventures have come from a DNF :P

 

On another note, my biggest 'irk' is the TFTC logs. But I realize that everyone plays the game in his or her own way, so the best thing to do is just overlook those. I wish Groundspeak would put a Like feature on logs. With the competitive spirit involved in this game I think that would go a long way in encouraging people to create more fun/detailed logs. Especially if there was a counter similar to the number of finds. At least it would give us some sort of feedback. Writing out a funny, detailed log and then feeling like no one ever reads (enjoys) it is a little disappointing.

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If I do a LPC, what do you want me to say?

How about, "Your cache is a testament to mundania. Tha motto of Groundspeak is, 'The Language Of Location'. Can you share with the rest of the world why this boring lamp post, smack dab in the middle of a 500 acre, exhaust laden, sweltering, blacktop hell, was so special that it rated a geocache? Please, for the love of Gaia, if you insist on utterly boring people to tears, (which is certainly your right), could you stick to such hobbies as watching paint dry, or listening to grass grow, and leave the geocache placements to those who are not afraid to walk more than 5' from their air conditioned SUV? Thanks."

 

YES +1000

 

Reading a log like that would still be better than "TFTC". Plus it lets future finders know without a doubt that this is a boring LPC, but also encourages creative log writing.

 

I'm a weirdo who likes to find the occasional LPC. Especially after a longer search and/or string of DNFs it's nice to go to one you know will be easy.

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If I do a LPC, what do you want me to say?

How about, "Your cache is a testament to mundania. Tha motto of Groundspeak is, 'The Language Of Location'. Can you share with the rest of the world why this boring lamp post, smack dab in the middle of a 500 acre, exhaust laden, sweltering, blacktop hell, was so special that it rated a geocache? Please, for the love of Gaia, if you insist on utterly boring people to tears, (which is certainly your right), could you stick to such hobbies as watching paint dry, or listening to grass grow, and leave the geocache placements to those who are not afraid to walk more than 5' from their air conditioned SUV? Thanks."

 

YES +1000

 

Reading a log like that would still be better than "TFTC". Plus it lets future finders know without a doubt that this is a boring LPC, but also encourages creative log writing.

 

I'm a weirdo who likes to find the occasional LPC. Especially after a longer search and/or string of DNFs it's nice to go to one you know will be easy.

 

One of my all-time favourite geocaching memories was driving around one evening with a group of geocachers in three or four cars, racing from one LPC to the next.

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I am trying to plan a trip for visitors from Europe and hoped to include geocaches at particularly scenic locations. I tried a PQ that included this attribute and unfortunately many hides that include this attribute in my PQ are along mundane power trails (e.g. rails to trails) with no view.

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I am trying to plan a trip for visitors from Europe and hoped to include geocaches at particularly scenic locations. I tried a PQ that included this attribute and unfortunately many hides that include this attribute in my PQ are along mundane power trails (e.g. rails to trails) with no view.

Basic members can do pqs?

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I am not sure if I have already posted to this thread previously, but recently, what has been Irking me is cachers who adopt my travel bug as a personal tracking TB. I realize that sometimes it takes a little longer to get a TB back into a cache (I have done that a few times when I havn't been caching as much as I used to), but months of dipping into every one of the hundreds of caches you find; that irks me.

 

Ugh, this has happened to me too... after about 25 nuisance emails, I politely asked them to just leave it at the next cache.

Old topic, but the worst part is, you don't want to annoy the cacher that has your bug, or it may 'dissapear'. We are always handling the holder with kid gloves. Not that the bug is back out, there are 927 logs to delete. And the other cacher gets a email for each one.

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Multis that require to 'guess' something in some moment. For example, I was asked about the year a bridge was built. No information on coordinates, no information on the bridge I could find. Maybe I should do reasearch in internet, but then, I could do that at house and such caches are mysteries and not multi... And I didn't have the mobile internet (well, theoretically I had, but the German mobile networks have "legendary quality" - better than in middle ages, anyway).

 

Telling the name of the tree etc. not much better. If I'm not a native, quite little chances without online dictionary.

 

Please, don't set the type to 'multi' if it has a 'guessing' time. I know that mysteries are to be coach-potatoed, but I expect multis to be feasible 'in terrain'.

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...

 

Please, don't set the type to 'multi' if it has a 'guessing' time. I know that mysteries are to be coach-potatoed, but I expect multis to be feasible 'in terrain'.

 

Neither multis or mysteries should be couch potatoed. Mystery/Unknown may have some computer work to solve the puzzle, but you still need to go find the container and sign it in order to log the cache.

 

I don't know the bridge you examined, but many of them do have a plaque with the manufacturer and date. Maybe it was there and you missed it. It is fine for that to be part of a multi.

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I am trying to plan a trip for visitors from Europe and hoped to include geocaches at particularly scenic locations. I tried a PQ that included this attribute and unfortunately many hides that include this attribute in my PQ are along mundane power trails (e.g. rails to trails) with no view.

 

What areas will you be visiting? I'm sure some of us can direct you the right forum, or maybe help you though PM. If you are coming to Los Angeles, I can offer several options.

Edited by Don_J
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Again I say throw downs. One day last winter I was caching and found the cache but the only problem I had was it was covered in ice.

I marked it as a DNF only because I didn't put pen to paper. The next day a cacher Find it but the log read "Wasn't where it should have been so we replaced it. TFTC"

 

The cacher has over 14k finds.

The CO gave him the find but removed the throw down since it was about 50' off and the correct one just need the ice removed.

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Multis that require to 'guess' something in some moment. For example, I was asked about the year a bridge was built. No information on coordinates, no information on the bridge I could find. Maybe I should do reasearch in internet, but then, I could do that at house and such caches are mysteries and not multi... And I didn't have the mobile internet (well, theoretically I had, but the German mobile networks have "legendary quality" - better than in middle ages, anyway).

 

Telling the name of the tree etc. not much better. If I'm not a native, quite little chances without online dictionary.

 

Please, don't set the type to 'multi' if it has a 'guessing' time. I know that mysteries are to be coach-potatoed, but I expect multis to be feasible 'in terrain'.

 

Mysteries are not necessarily puzzles that are solved at home first. Many mystery type caches involve work in the field.

 

Likewise, it's not uncommon for multi caches to involve a bit of work, research, sleuthing. There is some owner discretion involved in the classification because it's not always cut and dry.

 

As they say, not all caches are for all people.

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people not maintaining there caches...i recently did a multi in a cemetery and we spend almost an hour looking for the final cache. then i looked at the post again online and nobody had logged it for over 2 years. as a CO, you shouldnt place caches if you can't keep up on them.

 

Well, if nobody posts their DNFs, then there is no way to determine it needs maintenance. With only your single DNF, there isn't way for anyone to determine that it is gone without any communication, as they don't melt over time.

Edited by 4wheelin_fool
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Telling the name of the tree etc. not much better. If I'm not a native, quite little chances without online dictionary.

 

Please, don't set the type to 'multi' if it has a 'guessing' time. I know that mysteries are to be coach-potatoed, but I expect multis to be feasible 'in terrain'.

 

Requiring some basic knowledge about trees, like being able to identify an oak or a beech does not turn a cache into a mystery for me.

For multi caches there always might arise the situation that the language plays a role. You can read the description of the cache in advance and

then you will realize that you need to identify a tree species and then you can either skip the cache or the bring along a dictionary or a list with tree names in the

required language. Moreover, the D-rating of a cache and the presence of the attribute "fields puzzle" provide further indicators.

The idea of a stage where one asks for the name of a tree is certainly not that cachers use mobile internet or find out the answer at home, but rather the contrary.

Sometimes the answers to questions which relate to signs can be googled at home, while often questions like which tree is to be found at location x cannot be

answered easily by skipping them.

 

There are even traditionals that I cannot solve with just one visit (for example if a tricky container needs to be opened), but that's not the fault of the cache owner. Not everyone has the same abilities, knowledge etc

 

 

Cezanne

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people not maintaining there caches...i recently did a multi in a cemetery and we spend almost an hour looking for the final cache. then i looked at the post again online and nobody had logged it for over 2 years. as a CO, you shouldn't place caches if you can't keep up on them.

 

I agree. Especially if the cache has been getting regular visits, then suddenly nothing for months. It's worth checking even if there are no DNFs. It's one thing if the cache is on top of a mountain where it requires a half day hike to get to and only gets one or two finds a year. But a cemetery? They are usually easily accessible. It shouldn't be too hard for the CO to go visit the cache once a year just to be sure it's still in good shape.

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Wondering where my TB, or one I'm watching, is. Logs such as, "This cache is packed full of trackables, so I decided to take a couple and leave one behind." are maddening. My TB still appears in the inventory, but current logs indicate that there are no TBs in the cache. The simple fix is to mention every TB you put into or take out of a cache. It leaves a nice audit trail!

That's one of my main issues, too. I have a TB now that's been listed in a cache for over a year. The cache has been found about 3 times since the TB was placed there, and none of the logs mention it.

If I find a cache with more TBs than I want to take, I write down the tracking numbers of all the ones I leave there, so I can leave a "discover" log. I figure that should assure the owner that the bug is where it's listed. If I find a TB there that's not listed there, I'll grab it and place it there (especially if it's obviously been there a while). If there's a TB listed there that I don't see, I post a note on the TB's page.

 

I created a TB in memory of my parents and father-in-law. My wife and I took it to Ireland last summer and hid it in a location without a lot of traffic to keep it from being muggled with the container. Needless to say, someone found the container shortly after we left the TB there, but apparently took the TB without logging it. I emailed the two owners who logged the find after we put the TB in there and both said that there were no TB in the container. Very frustrating!

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Cache owners who are obviously placing caches which only a handful their closest friends can find. For example, I went to do a SQ cache without reading the clues beforehand. One of the clues took you to a section, and the clue was "at this location, look for the headstone who's first name is the CO's favorite uncle's first name." Really? If you do not know the CO, what their actual name is, let alone the CO's favorite uncle's name, you cannot possibly find the cache. Of course, the small handful of 'find it' logs were all gushing how great the puzzle was and how great the CO is, and how they enjoyed the private birthday party weeks ago.

 

While I am on puzzles, I once did a letterbox that was (again) in a cemetery. At one location, the direction was 'to look for a cross to the north.' Honestly? In the Greek Orthodox section I was in, EVERY headstone has a cross! It was like a clue that said to stand on the edge of a forest and look for a pine tree!

 

I also do not like, nor do I look for, caches that are placed in dangerous places (like a guardrail on a busy highway or hidden deep within a Hawthorne tree).

 

Not a sin, but a MAJOR peeve, any cache that says extreme stealth is required due to abundance of muggles. Extreme stealth is just another way of say "I hid a cache in a place I shouldn't have and the jokes on you if you choose to find it."

Edited by MI_CO
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Cache owners who are obviously placing caches which only a handful their closest friends can find. For example, I went to do a SQ cache without reading the clues beforehand. ...

What is a SQ cache?

 

Spirit Quest. Primarily used in the Mid-western U.S., although I see that guy who posted that is from Colorado. I've seen a few in SW Ontario. My guess is it originated with the Indiana Spirit Quest series, but I doubt anyone has any records or anything. The world may never know, just like what was the first LPC. :)

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Not a sin, but a MAJOR peeve, any cache that says extreme stealth is required due to abundance of muggles. Extreme stealth is just another way of say "I hid a cache in a place I shouldn't have and the jokes on you if you choose to find it."

Good irks. Some of the things you mention are sometimes more reasonable than they appear, but when there isn't a hidden logic, they are definitely very annoying.

 

When a cache says "extreme stealth", I always read it as "I expect this to get muggled, but please do the best you can." If the joke's on me, it's not much of a joke, since I'll never see the cache again whether I give up its location or not.

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I am a little more careful about the caches I go after now than I was at first. But I figure that if someone hides a cache at a location that is crowded with people day and night, it really isn't my fault if it gets muggled. I try to be stealthy, and I won't wave it around yelling "Eureka!", but I have seen a lot of caches that could have been hidden much better just a few feet away.

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Did I mention this one before.

There seems to be a new trend around here to lable nanos as other.gif or notChosenSize.gif. Apperantly, some people do not know that nano is a subset of micro....

 

 

Don't worry -- it will be fixed when they complete this submitted feature request:

 

SUBMITTED (25005) - [FEATURE] Nano canister size

 

But they're afraid they'll break all the 3rd party apps! Good thing they didn't do that with their email...dry.gif

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Did I mention this one before.

There seems to be a new trend around here to lable nanos as other.gif or notChosenSize.gif. Apperantly, some people do not know that nano is a subset of micro....

 

Dude. I know someone with 8,000 finds and 150 hides who's been caching since 2002 who thought they should list their first nano as "not chosen". Apparently most people do not know that nano is a subset of micro.

 

That's another one of those things that's pretty much only known in these forums. Like the fact that basic members can log premium member only caches. :)

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What irks me most is how people absolutely FILL hiking trails with caches as close as possible to make a trail of pointless caches.

So are pointless caches OK except when they're on hiking trails?

 

Or are caches always pointless when they fill a hiking trail no matter how good they are otherwise?

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What irks me most is how people absolutely FILL hiking trails with caches as close as possible to make a trail of pointless caches.

So are pointless caches OK except when they're on hiking trails?

 

Or are caches always pointless when they fill a hiking trail no matter how good they are otherwise?

The only thing you forgot to say was "GOTCHA!" :laughing:

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Events where the DATE or other important details are not in TEXT in the description, near the TOP.

 

Honestly, don't bother with a picture as only people with smartphones will be able to see it.

 

Date: XX/XX/XXXX

Time: XX:XX - XX:XX

 

What's so hard about this?

+1.

 

Even on the computer, it takes me a few minutes to locate the time and date. Seems like those are the most important part of an event cache.

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I would like to be able to ignore entire users (temporarily) and filter out all their caches with pocket queries. There is one on this list that I would like to be able to block all their micros from showing on a pocket query with this site. I don't have internet on my computer at home to use the third party windows app only my phone. Thousands of micros with no end in sight in my opinion does not help this hobby and they are in the process.of doing another massive power trail...

 

http://www.zinnware....DESC&Limit=3500

 

I don't want to block all micros just this user's micros or all this user's caches if I can't block just their micros. Blocking them one by one is not possible I have to filter out all micros instead right now.

Edited by sholomar
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I am a little more careful about the caches I go after now than I was at first. But I figure that if someone hides a cache at a location that is crowded with people day and night, it really isn't my fault if it gets muggled. I try to be stealthy, and I won't wave it around yelling "Eureka!", but I have seen a lot of caches that could have been hidden much better just a few feet away.

 

There may or may not be a geocaching side game that involves trying to make a lamppost skirt make as much noise as possible on the way back down... :ph34r:

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[*]People posting "Needs Maintenance" because the log book is either a)full or b)wet or destroyed. To my mind, the effort required to carry a few spare logs and replacing where necessary is minimal and yet everyone benefits, logging can continue and no more "Needs Maintenance" logs :rolleyes: It takes more time to place a "Needs Maintenance" note than to replace the log. The rosy glow that you helped the cachers behind you is also nice too.

 

 

What really irks me is lazy cache owners who expect everyone else to maintain their cache.

 

expand on your statement

 

What really irks me is lazy cache owners who expect everyone else to maintain their cache with a note on the cache page from day 1 to throw down a replacement as the finder sees fit if it is missing.

 

Occasional maintenance is no problem. Throwing a cache out your window because you felt like that lamp post needed something is just killing my time having to put it on the ignore list.

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When someone is FTF, but then they take an age to post their log online. Then I dash out, get to GZ, feel all excited that I'm going to be FTF; only to find the log is already signed.

 

What irks me? People who think they are entitled to be notified if they are not going to be FTF on a cache. Part of the FTF side game is not knowing if you are first and feeling the rush hit you when you find out you are. I cannot understand how such self-entitlement can motivate a person to think that they must be placated by an immediate FTF log, lest they actually be disappointed if they come in second.

What are you on about, "placated by an immediate FTF log"? If you had read my post correctly, you would see that it said, "they take an age to post their log online".

 

I understand that some people don't have smartphones and so can't post a log until they get home. I don't think it's unreasonable to hope that people will log their FTF within a reasonable amount of time.

 

I enjoy the thrill of seeing if I'm FTF, or if I have just missed out; but not to get there in the evening and find FTF was at 6:30am (as happened to me once).

 

To think of that as "taking an age" really is a first world problem. You know, someone finds a cache on their way to work, logs it when they get home (and most of us have lives over and above jumping on gc.com the very nanosecond we get home from work). Maybe they were out that evening and logged it the following day. Maybe they were caching while on holiday and have limited internet access, or found the cache on the way to the airport or something. Maybe they just felt like leaving a carrot dangling for other FTF hounds. There are all sorts of reasons why someone might not log their find as quickly as you might like.

 

It comes back to, if you play the FTF game you have to deal with the fact that a cache with no logs isn't necessarily an unfound cache.

 

sandbagging a log is silly. FTF hounds do NOT have "lives over and above jumping on gc.com". it is the nature of the hound. they get texts sent directly to their phone telling them of the newest cache that just published 10 miles away.

 

i don't enjoy that part of the side game. first world problems, i know. heck, geocaching in general is a first world issue completely.

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While I am on puzzles, I once did a letterbox that was (again) in a cemetery. At one location, the direction was 'to look for a cross to the north.' Honestly? In the Greek Orthodox section I was in, EVERY headstone has a cross! It was like a clue that said to stand on the edge of a forest and look for a pine tree!

 

I DNFed a mystery cache yesterday where the hint was "pinecones lay at the final".

Yeah...maybe 5000 pinecones lay in the vicinity of GZ in a roughly 10000 square foot area with almost a dozen pine trees. Thanks.

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Oh, lest I forget (the "should not be done" category):

 

Inappropriate swag. I personally do not care about it at all and it seems generally less common over here to trade it, but some caches do have som stuff inside. Unfortunately sometimes it's food, alcohol, fire crackers...

 

one time, i saw a cache that was dedicated to a bachelorette party weekend. it was hidden on a road trip between two major metro areas. needless to say, no photo of the swag could be posted on gc.com for ToS violations. it was quite the treat, if you are into that stuff. the cache lasted for about 3 finders, i think.

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Oh, lest I forget (the "should not be done" category):

 

Inappropriate swag. I personally do not care about it at all and it seems generally less common over here to trade it, but some caches do have som stuff inside. Unfortunately sometimes it's food, alcohol, fire crackers...

 

one time, i saw a cache that was dedicated to a bachelorette party weekend. it was hidden on a road trip between two major metro areas. needless to say, no photo of the swag could be posted on gc.com for ToS violations. it was quite the treat, if you are into that stuff. the cache lasted for about 3 finders, i think.

So were you "into that stuff"? And what "stuff" was that?

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Those who brag about their 482 day caching streak, but have many days filled in with challenge caches they actually found 6 months ago in another country. How can you continue to have a cache finding streak if you didn't even leave the house?!?

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Those who brag about their 482 day caching streak, but have many days filled in with challenge caches they actually found 6 months ago in another country. How can you continue to have a cache finding streak if you didn't even leave the house?!?

 

The games that are played for Challenge Caches are amusing. "Find ten caches that have the word "copper" in their name". The next day, cacher "A" places three urban micros with the the word "copper" in their name, cacher "B", who is their best friend FTFs all of them as well as the challenge.

 

Unfortunately, I don't see the word "integrity" anywhere in the guidelines.

Edited by Don_J
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