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(New Guy) Expressing My Frustration At The Locals...


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Only been a week or so since I've been at this whole Geocaching thing. (big pause) After seeing the lack of effort to actually be creative, spend a few bucks at the store here, or to make a cache with a... "real purpose"... I am already feeling less then energetic. The plan was to make this a family activity... after what I've saw so far, I'm almost embarrassed to go out as a family.

 

How much negative reinforcement is allowed?

 

Thought there was some kinda code where if your only reason for placing a cache.... was JUST to place another cache, don't do it?

 

Thanks for any help.

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Only been a week or so since I've been at this whole Geocaching thing. (big pause) After seeing the lack of effort to actually be creative, spend a few bucks at the store here, or to make a cache with a... "real purpose"... I am already feeling less then energetic. The plan was to make this a family activity... after what I've saw so far, I'm almost embarrassed to go out as a family.

 

How much negative reinforcement is allowed?

 

Thought there was some kinda code where if your only reason for placing a cache.... was JUST to place another cache, don't do it?

 

Thanks for any help.

You're expecting too much from others.

 

People participate in geocaching for a variety of reasons, and unfortunately or not, this tends to people placing caches simply for there to be another one to find.

 

However there are easy ways to avoid most of what you don't like. You can look at the logs for the caches, the number of favorite points, the photo galleries, and most important look at the area in Google maps to see if this is a place you might want to visit. There is no requirement you find every cache. Be selective in the ones you choose to look for. Sometimes, of course, you will still be disappointed in what you find. But you can reduce the chance of that happening by doing some work up front. If you simply go and find whatever caches are closest, don't expect to be wow'ed by a whole lot of them.

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The real question is - what are you going to do about it?

 

If you don't like the quality of the caches you find, then find a great spot and hide your own. However, please make sure you're ready to do this. Go out and find a hundred or so before you decide to hide your own. There's nothing worse than a new cacher who wants to hide their own cache and the coords are off or many other issues (not that experienced cachers are immune to that).

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You're expecting too much from others.

 

 

I was expecting at least SOME effort, know what I'm sayin'?..... little bit of "Quality" maybe.

 

Back to my question, is it allowed to tell someone that there cache sucked?

 

Yes, but try to be VERY gentle!

 

Tends to be why a lot of caches only get "TFTC" logs.

Cacher trying not to upset the cache owner...

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Thought there was some kinda code where if your only reason for placing a cache.... was JUST to place another cache, don't do it?

 

I completely agree with this statement. In an ideal world this is how Geocaching would work. However, we don't live in an ideal world. Some people have pretty low standards, in Geocaching just like any other walk of life.

 

I've found, in my experience so far, that maybe 1 out of every 10 caches or so really make me go "Wow". Coincidentally this is the ratio of Favorite votes that I can give, so I guess this ratio is pretty much the average across the Geocaching spectrum. There will always be those uninspired hiders who put a cache there just because there wasn't a cache there.

 

Some cachers will hunt any cache, even the lame ones. I hunt them all, even the ones that aren't so great. Unfortunately you don't always know they're lame till you find them. But even with the lame caches out there, a day caching with my family is still a fun outing. My wife doesnt even cache, she just drives. We go on a cool road trip and see new places we've never seen before. That's what it's all about for me, a great cache is just icing on the cake.

 

However, if you want to fine tune your experience a bit, taking advantage of Premium membership features helps a lot. You can run a Pocket Query and filter out all the micros and just search for Smalls and above, which at least might contain some trade items to keep the kids interested. You can also sort by number of Favorite votes to get an idea which are the better, most liked caches in the area.

 

Try not to get too hung up on the container, focus on the journey!

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Thought there was some kinda code where if your only reason for placing a cache.... was JUST to place another cache, don't do it?

 

Thanks for any help.

 

You have only found two caches and it just so happens that both of those caches were placed for the same reason, to facilitate the movement of travel bugs. Such caches (often called travel bug hotels) are not placed for artistic creativity nor for particularly interesting locations. Rather they are usually durable containers large enough to hold the travel bugs and are usually placed in locations that are easy to access.

 

I would not be critical of either because they are placed for a special purpose and are probably serving that purpose. Continue your searching and hopefully you will find caches that you find more interesting.

 

Here is one not too far from one of your finds (it's at Little America) that is very easy (D1, T1) and has 25 favorite points. Tiny Country (click to visit cache page)

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The real question is - what are you going to do about it?

 

Id love to ask the owners - what's up? why? what are you thinking? that the best you can do?

 

 

I see so far you've found 2 caches. I suggest you find a couple of hundred and then see if geocaching is something you really want to do. The majority of caches hidden are micro's and the majority of them you might not deem creative.....even a clever hide becomes so-so after you've found a dozen of the same type. The fun of geocaching is in the hunt for most. Others like to find large numbers of caches per outing.

Once you really learn the game having a premium membership will allow you to adjust your hunts to suit your tastes.

Unless a cache you find does not meet guidelines I strongly recommend you refrain from making negative comments.....one day you may want to go to an event.

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You're expecting too much from others.

 

 

I was expecting at least SOME effort, know what I'm sayin'?..... little bit of "Quality" maybe.

 

Back to my question, is it allowed to tell someone that there cache sucked?

Reiterating.... you're expecting too much from others.

 

What you are wanting to do (in essence) is force your ideals down the throat of another.

Sure, (most) all of us want "better" caches... but I gotta tell you this... you are preaching to the choir (those in the forums). The majority of those placing those types of caches have probably never even been to the forums.

To tell you the absolute and most honest truth... most geocachers don't really care about what you call "quality" -- whatever that may be. If it gives them another smiley, what should they care? That's why many if not most geocache.

 

By far, the best thing to do is "Lead By Example". To take it to another level is simply beating your head against the wall -- and that gets to hurt after a while!

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The real question is - what are you going to do about it?

 

Id love to ask the owners - what's up? why? what are you thinking? that the best you can do?

 

Yes, I have a few ideas of my own. They are pretty good in fact... thanks for the help!

 

If you attend a pot luck dinner, and the brownies are kinda dry, do you go tell the person who brought the brownies "Man, your brownies suck! Is that the best you could do?" I'd wager not. You're not paying for the brownies, the person who made them isn't getting paid for making them, so you have no expectation of complete satisfaction. If the brownies aren't to your liking, then don't have the brownies, just politely thank the person for bringing them, and if they bring brownies again next time you can just pass on them if you like. There's plenty other stuff at the dinner to get your fill of. No need to be rude or ungrateful about it, just move on to the next one.

 

Like someone pointed out, you've only found two caches, and both of those were TB hotels, which are designed for a particular purpose, which is to move travel bugs. So they're usually placed near interstate exits and such where they're easily accessible but not necessarily picturesque. A little pre planning and studying the cache page can give you some clues about what the cache is like. Give yourself some time and go out and find a bunch of caches, I guarantee you'll find some you like. And once you have a feel for what you like to see in a cache, you'll be better prepared to go hide some great ones yourself.

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You have only found two caches....

 

Thanks! I hope it does get a little better.

 

Those two are the only two that I logged, because I wasn't embarrassed by the cache.... I didn't claim the many other crappy ones that I've found so far.... Those are the ones that have me bummed out right now.

 

BTW.... had I not picked up those TB's, I might have called it quits by now. I got a few good ideas on how make things better around here, see if I can get to that point. LOL

 

Thanks again for your help!

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We would also suggest attending a geocaching event as soon as you can.

In attending, we found some fun and creative people quite quickly.

Suddenly, we knew what caches we wanted to seek out.

 

On the flip side, when all one local cacher boasted about how many micros he placed in the last month, it helped to narrow our search criteria as well.

 

The favorite point suggestions is spot on as well.

 

For us, when we started out, we made a point to seek the larger caches and sought out parks / rural caches versus strictly urban...seemed to make a small difference.

 

For our family, this is a great hobby that allowed us to marvel at the creativity of some cachers...stick with it!

 

Happy Caching! - hawkeyetob

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You have only found two caches....

 

Thanks! I hope it does get a little better.

 

Those two are the only two that I logged, because I wasn't embarrassed by the cache.... I didn't claim the many other crappy ones that I've found so far.... Those are the ones that have me bummed out right now.

 

BTW.... had I not picked up those TB's, I might have called it quits by now. I got a few good ideas on how make things better around here, see if I can get to that point. LOL

 

Thanks again for your help!

 

That's the spirit! One thing you'll discover is that crappy caches breed crappy caches. Especially among noob cachers. If you've just started caching and all you've found so far are film canisters under lamppost skirts, you think that a film canister under a lamppost skirt is the standard to be met. It's whatever has become the norm for your area. For example, I know on average that the caches around New Orleans and Baton Rouge are better than the ones south of me. It's just a different standard being played to. Maybe you'll be the one to raise the bar in your area, give the locals an idea of what a good cache should be.

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Reiterating.... you're expecting too much from others.

 

What you are wanting to do (in essence) is force your ideals down the throat of another.

 

 

Thanks for thoughts on the matter! Hope things get better for sure.

 

The still sticky pill bottle... with the rolled up printer paper inside that's cached in weedy fence next to the outdoor toilets in the park.... that's what has me wondering if this Geocaching really is for me and my family.

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Thanks for thoughts on the matter! Hope things get better for sure.

 

The still sticky pill bottle... with the rolled up printer paper inside that's cached in weedy fence next to the outdoor toilets in the park.... that's what has me wondering if this Geocaching really is for me and my family.

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

This. Learn to avoid this. Premium membership has it's advantages, and the only numbers we worry about are our own (which isn't something to worry about really)

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The still sticky pill bottle... with the rolled up printer paper inside that's cached in weedy fence next to the outdoor toilets in the park.... that's what has me wondering if this Geocaching really is for me and my family.
Yeah, it happens. I've found worse. And there's even a forum thread for photos of bad containers.

 

But there are filtering tools that improve the odds a bit.

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Reiterating.... you're expecting too much from others.

 

What you are wanting to do (in essence) is force your ideals down the throat of another.

 

 

 

Thanks for thoughts on the matter! Hope things get better for sure.

 

The still sticky pill bottle... with the rolled up printer paper inside that's cached in weedy fence next to the outdoor toilets in the park.... that's what has me wondering if this Geocaching really is for me and my family.

 

Sure, you'll find some of those. But then you'll also be like, "Hey, I never knew this park/historic monument/interesting old building/you name it was here!" More often than you think 😎

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This. Learn to avoid this. Premium membership has it's advantages, and the only numbers we worry about are our own (which isn't something to worry about really)

 

LOL I had higher hopes, for some reason I thought I was finally gonna see one of those "Micro Tubes" "Micro Bolts" they sell here, or see a "Micro Log"..... I wanna buy those things for my own caches.... I wasn't impressed with the level of the game around here at that point! LOL

 

Ya, I am probably going to sign up for that here soon. Filter that stuff out, because we are always travelling somewhere.

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Reiterating.... you're expecting too much from others.

 

What you are wanting to do (in essence) is force your ideals down the throat of another.

 

 

 

Thanks for thoughts on the matter! Hope things get better for sure.

 

The still sticky pill bottle... with the rolled up printer paper inside that's cached in weedy fence next to the outdoor toilets in the park.... that's what has me wondering if this Geocaching really is for me and my family.

 

Sure, you'll find some of those. But then you'll also be like, "Hey, I never knew this park/historic monument/interesting old building/you name it was here!" More often than you think 😎

 

What's even worse about the cache I was telling you about, dude doesn't even know how or why the park got it's name(...moan...) LOL

 

Since you brought it up, anything wrong with straightening up peoples history description in the cache comments?

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You will probably find some COs that fairly consistently hide in a manner and location you will enjoy.

 

Look for caches with at least 5 Favorites.

 

Leave constructive criticism on caches you find, but don't get personal or mean. "I liked this cache because the view was great and it was full of swag" or "I didn't like this cache because there was trash everywhere, the smell of the nearby portolets was really bad, and the contents were all wet."

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I see by looking at your finds you live "out West", and there are many roadside micro power trails in the area. I assume you're not a fan of that either? There's tens of thousands of such caches "out west". I'll probably hear some dissension in the ranks, but their popularity is greatly exaggerated, and only a small percentage of Geocachers place them and run these trails to find them, what we'll call "the numbers crowd". Believe it or not, you were not allowed to place micros every 600 along the side of a road just because you can until about 2009. But The Powers that be relented, and there's no turning back now. :D

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The real question is - what are you going to do about it?

 

Id love to ask the owners - what's up? why? what are you thinking? that the best you can do?

 

Yes, I have a few ideas of my own. They are pretty good in fact... thanks for the help!

 

Dale Carnegie: How to Win Friends and Influence People: "Nope don't do it."

I've made some fairly innocuous comments that got some rather nasty replies from COs.

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I see by looking at your finds you live "out West", and there are many roadside micro power trails in the area. I assume you're not a fan of that either?

 

You are correct! LOL I have no interest in those, and there are many out here. "Bands Of Guitar Hero" sticky pill bottles along the two track for 50 miles doesn't sound like family fun to me! LOL

 

When I first heard about Geocaching, I just assumed people took more pride in the actual quality of the game.

 

I gotta say - I have a little more hope in having fun then I did earlier.....

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Just don't become the self-appointed Cache Judge. "This cache sucks." "The description of the history of this place is all wrong."

 

That's not exactly the way to win friends and influence people. ;)

 

EDIT: Gah! I didn't see posts 31-33. Well, repetition is the sincerest form of flattery, or something like that...

Edited by TriciaG
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Just don't become the self-appointed Cache Judge. "This cache sucks." "The description of the history of this place is all wrong."

 

That's not exactly the way to win friends and influence people. ;)

 

EDIT: Gah! I didn't see posts 31-33. Well, repetition is the sincerest form of flattery, or something like that...

 

Nah, I aint gonna be mean or anything.

 

There are a few places that aren't half bad places to bring someone to a cache, they are just assuming they know the history of the place when they don't. No big deal really. The story just needs tweaked a bit to make it right. What I did was leave a note on his cache? Guess that is ok?

 

No problem, the more the better. That's why I asked for some help.

Edited by Escape & Evasion
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I see by looking at your finds you live "out West", and there are many roadside micro power trails in the area. I assume you're not a fan of that either?

 

You are correct! LOL I have no interest in those, and there are many out here. "Bands Of Guitar Hero" sticky pill bottles along the two track for 50 miles doesn't sound like family fun to me! LOL

 

When I first heard about Geocaching, I just assumed people took more pride in the actual quality of the game.

 

I gotta say - I have a little more hope in having fun then I did earlier.....

 

Don't get your hopes up too high, this is the forums. From the guy with 26,000 finds running the roadside micro power trail in your area, to the guy who joined in 2006 who finds 75 caches a year, to the guy with 100 finds who logs every cache with Tftc on his smartphone, expressing the opinion that there are boatloads of crappy caches out there isn't mainstream. We're right, of course, we're just not mainstream. :P

 

I actually have corrected people on history a few times, or gave it where they were clueless about it. I wouldn't recommend doing it with a total stranger, or especially when very new.

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You're expecting too much from others.

 

 

I was expecting at least SOME effort, know what I'm sayin'?..... little bit of "Quality" maybe.

 

Back to my question, is it allowed to tell someone that there cache sucked?

Sure. But you may get the same reaction as if you said "Your favorite ice cream flavor sucks" :mmraspberry:

 

As I said people cache for different reasons and for some it is about the number of finds. If there is a place to stick another cache for others to find they will do so. For many newbies, this has the effect of there being an inordinate number of caches whose "flavor" they don't like.

 

What you need to do is be more selective about the caches you seek. There are a number of tools avaiable - even for basic members - that can help you pick caches you and your family will likely enjoy more.

 

The still sticky pill bottle... with the rolled up printer paper inside that's cached in weedy fence next to the outdoor toilets in the park.... that's what has me wondering if this Geocaching really is for me and my family.

Unfortunately or not, there are a lot of cache like this out there. If you stay at this (and don't become a numbers fanatic) you will learn to avoid these or at least to accept them.

 

I see many people who want to be caching in Lake Woebegon - where all the caches are above average. Of course you may just be saying that average is less than you expected to find. And no doubt that for many people this is the case.

 

LOL I had higher hopes, for some reason I thought I was finally gonna see one of those "Micro Tubes" "Micro Bolts" they sell here, or see a "Micro Log"..... I wanna buy those things for my own caches.... I wasn't impressed with the level of the game around here at that point! LOL

If you keep at it, you will no doubt see caches like this. And if you are lucky you may find some hiders in your area that have the skill to create their own camouflage and hide very unique caches. But remember that not everyone has the same level of creativity or cares to spend a lot of money on hiding a cache. Instead of expecting every container to be like the one in the cool containers thread, expect most to be some re-purposed container (pill bottle are popular because while not watertight, they do keep out more water than other kinds of re-purposed containers). Then when you find something different you can appreciate it that much more.

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I see by looking at your finds you live "out West", and there are many roadside micro power trails in the area. I assume you're not a fan of that either?

 

You are correct! LOL I have no interest in those, and there are many out here. "Bands Of Guitar Hero" sticky pill bottles along the two track for 50 miles doesn't sound like family fun to me! LOL

 

When I first heard about Geocaching, I just assumed people took more pride in the actual quality of the game.

 

I gotta say - I have a little more hope in having fun then I did earlier.....

 

It's my impression that a lot of people that have joined the game in the last few years don't know any part of the game except the numbers run, cache streak, fulfill a challenge cache part of it. They only place caches that help their geocaching friends meet these types of goals. In other words, caches are placed to be found and for no other reason.

 

Most of my containers are rather generic. I have some good ideas but no where near the talent or tools to carry them out. Instead, I try to place caches in places that people would enjoy visiting and may not even know about otherwise, usually far up a mountain trail where you would have to hike or mountain bike to.

 

Don't lose hope. The game that geocaching.com advertises still exist, it's just a little harder to find. Investigate the caches in the National Forests around you, look for trail side caches and not park n' grabs. Pay attention to the cache owner's names and you will soon see who places the types of caches that your family would enjoy, and who doesn't.

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I've made some fairly innocuous comments that got some rather nasty replies from COs.

 

Well, I still might ask, why? Not a lot of harm in that is there?

 

You will find as you go along that one aspect of the game is the social community that grows around it. If you come out swinging and isolate yourself from that community, you'll find it harder to effect the change that you would like. A little bit of subtlety can go a long way. Go to some geo Event caches and get to know the people in the area that are placing the caches. Chances are you will find that they are nice people that you'll want to be friendly with, even if they put out lame caches. Start placing better caches and you up the ante. They may just try to meet the challenge.

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The real question is - what are you going to do about it?

 

Id love to ask the owners - what's up? why? what are you thinking? that the best you can do?

 

Yes, I have a few ideas of my own. They are pretty good in fact... thanks for the help!

 

If you attend a pot luck dinner, and the brownies are kinda dry, do you go tell the person who brought the brownies "Man, your brownies suck! Is that the best you could do?" I'd wager not. You're not paying for the brownies, the person who made them isn't getting paid for making them, so you have no expectation of complete satisfaction. If the brownies aren't to your liking, then don't have the brownies, just politely thank the person for bringing them, and if they bring brownies again next time you can just pass on them if you like. There's plenty other stuff at the dinner to get your fill of. No need to be rude or ungrateful about it, just move on to the next one.

 

 

Love this analogy! :D

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Amazed you already think all the local caches are humdrum and lame after finding 2 caches. You probably have a lot more to find before you can truly or not truly think that I would think. As others said, find caches with high favorite points. I often find the older caches (ie 2002 and older) are often in great spots. Search by date. Do different type of caches. Many virtuals or earth caches are in great spots. Do caches in a nice park, that way even if the caches are relatively blah, you have explored a cool place.

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If you attend a pot luck dinner, and the brownies are kinda dry, do you go tell the person who brought the brownies "Man, your brownies suck! Is that the best you could do?" I'd wager not. You're not paying for the brownies, the person who made them isn't getting paid for making them, so you have no expectation of complete satisfaction. If the brownies aren't to your liking, then don't have the brownies, just politely thank the person for bringing them, and if they bring brownies again next time you can just pass on them if you like. There's plenty other stuff at the dinner to get your fill of. No need to be rude or ungrateful about it, just move on to the next one.

Love this analogy! :D

Me too.

 

And to add my 2c worth, I say lead by example. If you have some ideas for great caches, then do them and see what kind of response you get. The best thing that can happen is that you'll end up with some kind of arms race on who can hide the coolest cache in the best spot, and the worst thing that can happen is you get some good logs and personal satisfaction that your caches are amongst, if not clearly, the best in your area.

 

I would like to say this though - not every cache is a masterpiece and nor does every cache need to be one. Sometimes people do just want to find a cache for the sake of finding a cache, not for the purpose of visiting some amazing spot they never knew about before or necessarily being amazed by some awesomely creative container. Maybe sometimes it's just an excuse to get out of the house or go for a walk, even if it's to find a magnetic micro on a fence.

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The real question is - what are you going to do about it?

 

Id love to ask the owners - what's up? why? what are you thinking? that the best you can do?

 

Yes, I have a few ideas of my own. They are pretty good in fact... thanks for the help!

 

If you attend a pot luck dinner, and the brownies are kinda dry, do you go tell the person who brought the brownies "Man, your brownies suck! Is that the best you could do?" I'd wager not. You're not paying for the brownies, the person who made them isn't getting paid for making them, so you have no expectation of complete satisfaction. If the brownies aren't to your liking, then don't have the brownies, just politely thank the person for bringing them, and if they bring brownies again next time you can just pass on them if you like. There's plenty other stuff at the dinner to get your fill of. No need to be rude or ungrateful about it, just move on to the next one.

 

 

Love this analogy! :D

 

I was in the middle of writing an analogy about selecting books at the library when I saw this. This one is better...

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The real question is - what are you going to do about it?

 

Id love to ask the owners - what's up? why? what are you thinking? that the best you can do?

 

Yes, I have a few ideas of my own. They are pretty good in fact... thanks for the help!

 

If you attend a pot luck dinner, and the brownies are kinda dry, do you go tell the person who brought the brownies "Man, your brownies suck! Is that the best you could do?" I'd wager not. You're not paying for the brownies, the person who made them isn't getting paid for making them, so you have no expectation of complete satisfaction. If the brownies aren't to your liking, then don't have the brownies, just politely thank the person for bringing them, and if they bring brownies again next time you can just pass on them if you like. There's plenty other stuff at the dinner to get your fill of. No need to be rude or ungrateful about it, just move on to the next one.

 

 

Love this analogy! :D

Yes, but if you go to a pot luck dinner and every dish is mediocre, you probably wouldn't go back for pot luck with this group anymore.

 

If you want to use this analogy, you would probably tell the OP not to even bother to tell the group he has some good ideas of his own to improve the pot luck and just cut his losses and find a different activity.

 

I think

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If you attend a pot luck dinner, and the brownies are kinda dry, do you go tell the person who brought the brownies "Man, your brownies suck! Is that the best you could do?" I'd wager not. You're not paying for the brownies, the person who made them isn't getting paid for making them, so you have no expectation of complete satisfaction. If the brownies aren't to your liking, then don't have the brownies, just politely thank the person for bringing them, and if they bring brownies again next time you can just pass on them if you like. There's plenty other stuff at the dinner to get your fill of. No need to be rude or ungrateful about it, just move on to the next one.

 

 

Not picking on the Chief in particular here, but how is the brownie maker supposed to know there may be an issue with their brownies unless someone speaks up? :unsure:

 

Expecting too much from others? Gimme a break.

If the cache is sub-par, say so.

Turning the other cheek and looking the other way is exactly the attitude that has allowed the quality of caches to degrade to nothing more than a plastic container from the recycle bin (with a torn-off piece of note paper for a log) jammed into the nearest guardrail.

 

This whole thread is a prime example of why the 'favorites' system should have been a full-on rating system where the true quality (or lack thereof) of every cache could be shown.

 

I'm not afraid to say a cache was a disappointment and say why I thought so.

 

If everyone could get off the namby-pamby milque-toast 'every cache is a gift' attitude and tell it like it is, we would all have some better caches to find...or at least fewer craptastic caches to wade through to get to the good ones.

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If you attend a pot luck dinner, and the brownies are kinda dry, do you go tell the person who brought the brownies "Man, your brownies suck! Is that the best you could do?" I'd wager not. You're not paying for the brownies, the person who made them isn't getting paid for making them, so you have no expectation of complete satisfaction. If the brownies aren't to your liking, then don't have the brownies, just politely thank the person for bringing them, and if they bring brownies again next time you can just pass on them if you like. There's plenty other stuff at the dinner to get your fill of. No need to be rude or ungrateful about it, just move on to the next one.

 

 

Not picking on the Chief in particular here, but how is the brownie maker supposed to know there may be an issue with their brownies unless someone speaks up? :unsure:

 

Um, when everyone else stops eating them?

 

And/or when someone else brings along some really nice ones, and everyone says how nice they were!

Edited by funkymunkyzone
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After seeing the lack of effort

Thanks for any help.

Well, the lack of effort runs both ways. I looked at the map in the area where your two finds are and quickly found a bunch that I would love to find, among a WHOLE LOT OF DUDS. So the question is, why are you looking for crappy caches?

Two guesses:

You're too cheap to spend 30 bucks so you can do it right. (Bookmark lists, PQ's, etc.)

You're too lazy to read cache pages and logs and pick out the good ones anyway.

 

I grant you there's been an explosion of geotrash placed over the last few years (someone called it "reverse CITO", I love that!)

But there are still great caches out there. If you can't find them, that's your fault.

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What's even worse about the cache I was telling you about, dude doesn't even know how or why the park got it's name(...moan...) LOL

 

Since you brought it up, anything wrong with straightening up peoples history description in the cache comments?

Just keep in mind that the cache owner may not care how or why the park got it's name. The cache may have been placed because that's where her husband proposed to her, or where his kids won their first soccer game, or for some other reason other than the history of the park itself.

 

When I first heard about Geocaching, I just assumed people took more pride in the actual quality of the game.
Some do. Some don't. Some mean something entirely different than you do when they use the term "quality".

 

Geocaching is a big tent. Since you seem to have a good idea of what kinds of caches you enjoy, go find more like that.

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Let me throw my pair of pennies in the mix. I've found that hides in town are far more likely to be put there without any though or plan to maintain. My preference is to hunt caches on hiking trails, or even better, well off of hiking trails :anibad: They may not always be creative, but more often than not if someone puts a cache in a really nice location (nice view, nice hike, nice swimming hole), it's a better container and I enjoy finding it. Usually the spot is better than the cache itself, but who's gonna complain about a really nice spot?

 

Just taking a quick look at the map around the area where you've found caches already, try this one or this one for something a little different.

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The real question is - what are you going to do about it?

Id love to ask the owners - what's up? why? what are you thinking? that the best you can do?

 

Yes, I have a few ideas of my own. They are pretty good in fact... thanks for the help!

Just remember that at some point in time someone is going to tell you "Your cache sucks. It is really lame. What were you thinking?"

 

As for "Favorite Points" weeding out lame caches.... that may or may not help. Just because a cache has few FPs doesn't mean it is lame. It may mean it hasn't been found very often because it is difficult puzzle or long hike.

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