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Placing Caches for Newbies


JessicaLynne83

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I have been interested in geocaching for a couple of years and finally got going over the past couple of days and logged my first finds. While I don't plan on doing so immediately, I was simply curious if there was a certain etiquette involved with newer participants placing their own caches or if it were simply open to anyone that was interested in doing so.

 

Thanks in advance for the info!

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I have been interested in geocaching for a couple of years and finally got going over the past couple of days and logged my first finds. While I don't plan on doing so immediately, I was simply curious if there was a certain etiquette involved with newer participants placing their own caches or if it were simply open to anyone that was interested in doing so.

 

Thanks in advance for the info!

 

Welcome! :D

 

Worth reading the Guidelines. http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx

3 or 4 times! :laughing:

 

Find a few, guidelines suggest 20 or so, and see if you are really committed to this.

Owning your own cache is a long term commitment, and maintaining it does/should take priority over finding caches.

 

But, nothing to stop you placing one now, so long as it fits the guidelines. :)

 

What gets annoying is the new cacher, signed up and found their first cache yesterday, hides the first cache today, and tomorrow is off on their next new 'adventure/game' leaving a cache which becomes geolitter.

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I have been interested in geocaching for a couple of years and finally got going over the past couple of days and logged my first finds. While I don't plan on doing so immediately, I was simply curious if there was a certain etiquette involved with newer participants placing their own caches or if it were simply open to anyone that was interested in doing so.

 

Thanks in advance for the info!

 

Welcome! :D

 

Worth reading the Guidelines. http://www.geocaching.com/about/guidelines.aspx

3 or 4 times! :laughing:

 

Find a few, guidelines suggest 20 or so, and see if you are really committed to this.

Owning your own cache is a long term commitment, and maintaining it does/should take priority over finding caches.

 

But, nothing to stop you placing one now, so long as it fits the guidelines. :)

 

What gets annoying is the new cacher, signed up and found their first cache yesterday, hides the first cache today, and tomorrow is off on their next new 'adventure/game' leaving a cache which becomes geolitter.

 

Absolutely. I've been out and about solo and there's a lot of average litter as it is (which I've been cleaning up along the way), the last thing there needs to be is more :)

 

I went through the guidelines and didn't note anything regarding timelines, but every activity can have its own unwritten rules and I like to respect that.

 

I do like to be on both sides of the puzzle, but I absolutely do plan on waiting a bit before placing any, I just wanted to see what the thoughts were, I certainly did not want to step on any toes.

 

It seems absurd to me that people just abandon their old caches without just going to collect them first.

 

Thank you so much for the info!

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So true. It's easy to forget that courtesy and awareness isn't as common as one might hope it would be.

I agree, and what I see much too often is active members abandon a geocache placement. It does not bother me to log a Needs Archived on an unmaintained listing, and many times a reviewer will disable the listing and the cache owner just waits it out until the reviewer comes back in about 30 days to archive it.

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I went through the guidelines and didn't note anything regarding timelines, but every activity can have its own unwritten rules and I like to respect that.
Well, as has been mentioned, the guidelines suggest finding "at least twenty geocaches" before trying to hide one. I suppose that's as good a number as any, but I think the number of finds is the wrong measure. Finding a hundred identical caches along a rural highway teaches you very little about what makes a good or bad cache. Finding half a dozen different caches in various locations teaches you a lot more.

 

As far as time goes, there is no official recommendation. Some have suggested requiring a waiting period of a month or three, but those are just suggestions at this point, not a consensus, and definitely not an official policy or recommendation. But what people are trying to avoid are the flash-in-the-pan newbies who find a few caches on Saturday, hide a few poor-quality caches on Sunday, and then abandon their caches and never return to the site. It happens far too often.

 

Personally, I think the important thing is for potential cache owners to find enough geocaches so they know what works well, what doesn't work well, what kinds of caches they enjoy, and what kinds of caches they want to own and maintain for the long term. For some, that may be hundreds of finds. For others, that may be just a handful.

 

I do like to be on both sides of the puzzle, but I absolutely do plan on waiting a bit before placing any, I just wanted to see what the thoughts were, I certainly did not want to step on any toes.
I understand the feeling. But keep in mind that there are other ways to contribute to geocaching other than by hiding caches.
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Newbies place caches all the time. Sometimes they don't even have any finds! The main problem we see is people finding a few, hiding some, then disappearing, leaving a big mess for the community. Their caches often have problems, such as bad coordinates or leaky containers. When the cache goes missing or gets all moldy, the volunteer reviewers have to archive the caches and hopefully a local cacher such as myself will go pick up the pieces.

 

The recommendation is to find at least 20 geocaches first. Some people say 100. I think 100 is silly. If you're going to do a good job hiding, then you're going to do a good job hiding. Experience finding caches does help, however, the quality of the hide depends more on the person than on how many exactly you've found. Be sure to read the guidelines *very* carefully a few times so you make sure you are doing things correctly.

 

If you think you need help with your 1st hide, by all means, contact some local cacher owners to give you advice. If you're nervous about your coordinates, they might be able to come check them with you before the cache is published.

Edited by The_Incredibles_
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If you want to hide a cache, go for it. Don't let those who say you need X hides first stop you. Of course it's better to find a few to see what you like and don't like. However you'd be better off finding 5 caches of varied types and sizes, than finding 100 identical power trail micros or parking lamp post hides before you decide what you prefer.

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We hid 3 in less then 1 week of caching. Not sure how many finds we had but not to many. That was over 3 years ago and all are active and fine and one was even found today. After finding a few we had ideas of containers and places we wanted to hide some. So I guess what would be most important is if you have a good idea. Do you have a place you think is cool and a container you think is cool and would work and other cachers would like to find? I think picking out the spot and container is more important then any find count or time playing. The container can always be changed out as well if you realize it is not working as planned but the spot would have to be close to the same.

 

Anyways what I am trying to get at is it is more about having a good idea for a hide then the time spent finding caches. So once you feel you have a good plan for a hide go and do it!

 

Oh and also be ready for the possibility of there being a puzzle or something else that might make it not be published. Don't let that discourage you if it does happen and go find a place that works.

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