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Newbie questions about DNF, security guards...


Emika

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So, this situation: we went to the site and could see where the cache was, in some ivy trailing next to the gate of a castle. Unfortunately the normally unstaffed castle was hosting some sort of event that day and there were several burly security guards standing around. With no hope of distracting them, we left and will go back some other day.

 

So, obviously this isn't any major tragedy because we can go back pretty much any time, but I'm curious what other cachers would do. First, would you log it as a DNF? I mean technically it was, but I feel weird about logging DNFs that might be my fault and not the cache's fault (does that make sense?).

 

Also, what would you have done in this situation? My caching buddy said that we should have just told the security guards what we were doing. Opinions?

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Also, what would you have done in this situation? My caching buddy said that we should have just told the security guards what we were doing. Opinions?

Wow! Was there a coup? Or maybe a wedding or an open house?

 

If I go hunting a cache and Did Not Find it, I log a DNF. Weird, huh? :anicute: At least some kind of log is worth conveying the fact that the castle is guarded and the cache is in kind of a place where you have to push guards aside. Unless the cache page specifically says this is the case, it helps the next cachers who may encounter the same issue at this time. And it gives people a little info on how to time the next attempt.

 

The reason I don't just make a log note is: I'm hunting that cache. I wanted to find it, perhaps planned the trip especially for that, and went there. In this hypothetical case some outside influence prevented even beginning the search, but I wouldn't have gone there if previous logs had indicated a problem (and it may recur at intervals).

 

I use my DNF list to decide when I wish to return to various caches that I Did Not Find for various reasons. The list of Log Notes has no particular info on whether I even attempted any given cache. And if I won't go back there because the new King is always in the way now, my DNF stands. The DNF log is a handy tool for me.

Edited by kunarion
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I'd log a note. If you had actually attempted to look for the cache and DNF'd, then log your DNF. I've made several attempts at cemetery caches in the last week and ended up simply driving back out upon seeing a funeral in progress. I didn't attempt the find, so I logged a note. If I had gotten out anyway and wandered about looking for it without luck, I would have proudly logged my DNF.

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Undoubtedly, there is a key piece of information from the OP to share here, regardless if it's through a DNF or a note on the page.

 

If I go hunting a cache and Did Not Find it, I log a DNF. Weird, huh?

There are far too many subtleties (and hair splitting) of the definition of "go hunting for a cache" to form a consensus.

 

Reserving a "Did Not Find" for cases where ground zero was actually searched and the cache was not found is a reasonable start.

 

If ground zero was not searched (by choice or circumstance) and there is key information to share (especially with no suspicion of cache issues) then logging a note works as well.

 

Went looking for cache ABC. Scoured ground zero and no luck today. (DNF)

Went looking for cache DEF. The parking lot was full as there was a wedding being held in the park so we chose a different cache, and will come again another day. (Note)

Went looking for cache GHI. Ground zero was leveled and heavy equipment was sitting nearby. This one may be gone. (DNF)

Went looking for cache HKL. Security presence in the area due to an event, so we did not approach ground zero. Will be back when it is quieter. (Note)

 

YMMV

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If I go hunting a cache and Did Not Find it, I log a DNF. Weird, huh?

There are far too many subtleties (and hair splitting) of the definition of "go hunting for a cache" to form a consensus.

I was only stating what I do and why, not that there's a consensus. Sorry for the confusion.

Edited by kunarion
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I was only stating what I do and why, not that there's a consensus. Sorry for the confusion.

Understood, just presenting an alternative positon. Unfortunately, the "Weird, huh?" could be interpreted as a judgement upon and a "poke in the eye" at, those who do not share the position that you do, rather than a statement of fact.

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I was only stating what I do and why, not that there's a consensus. Sorry for the confusion.

Understood, just presenting an alternative positon. Unfortunately, the "Weird, huh?" could be interpreted as a judgement upon and a "poke in the eye" at, those who do not share the position that you do, rather than a statement of fact.

No eye poking. If I was out there to find it and didn't, I log DNF, for my own information. It may also help future cachers, although I fully understand that I may be the only one who Did Not Find. Everyone else "Tried several times before, and there were guards and weddings and castle coups", and somehow rationalized away making any log at all. Weird :ph34r:.

 

The castle schedule should be right there on the cache page. In the OP's case, I'd bet there are guards in place frequently for various occasions, and cachers didn't even make a log note. They had a "Did Not Log".

 

If I'm in an unfamiliar town and drive into a WalMart parking lot, and GyPSy is pointing ever lampward, where the lot is packed with people and I'm completely losing interest, I'll chalk it up to "I was just turning around" and leave, and do a DNL, because I'm certainly not even going to bother.

 

If I park in the Mickey Lot for the castle and walk through the drawbridge and there's a guard, that's a DNF instead. I'll be back, and I need it in my DNF list, not my Note Logs. If the OP drove right up to the guards and did a U-turn in front of them and sped off and shall never return, yeah, maybe make a Note at most.

Edited by kunarion
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I dunno...the F in DNF implies a search. Taking the logic of "not searching=DNF" to the extreme, one might need to post a DNF log on over two million cache pages because, while they might like to go looking for them, they haven't found them.

 

Some folks just have some weird overly strict compulsion to post a DNF if they even notice a cache on a map and opt not to look for it. Hey...whatever floats yer boat! Just seems above and beyond the expectation of anyone else to do so. I'm certainly not going to delete such a log on my cache pages, but I honestly don't see how it helps or even presents an accurate reflection of the difficulty level of the cache.

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I dunno...the F in DNF implies a search. Taking the logic of "not searching=DNF" to the extreme, one might need to post a DNF log on over two million cache pages because, while they might like to go looking for them, they haven't found them.

 

Some folks just have some weird overly strict compulsion to post a DNF if they even notice a cache on a map and opt not to look for it.

Doesn't that seem more like the opposite of the OP? The Topic was not about an overabundance of logs, whether DNF or Note. Are we truly in danger of that ever happening?

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If I go hunting a cache and Did Not Find it, I log a DNF. Weird, huh?

There are far too many subtleties (and hair splitting) of the definition of "go hunting for a cache" to form a consensus.

I was only stating what I do and why, not that there's a consensus. Sorry for the confusion.

 

I would log a DNF too.

Now don't you start :anibad:.

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I dunno...the F in DNF implies a search. Taking the logic of "not searching=DNF" to the extreme, one might need to post a DNF log on over two million cache pages because, while they might like to go looking for them, they haven't found them.

 

Some folks just have some weird overly strict compulsion to post a DNF if they even notice a cache on a map and opt not to look for it. Hey...whatever floats yer boat! Just seems above and beyond the expectation of anyone else to do so. I'm certainly not going to delete such a log on my cache pages, but I honestly don't see how it helps or even presents an accurate reflection of the difficulty level of the cache.

 

Ok I have a question please? I log DNF if I searched and didn't find it, If I couldn't get to the area for one reason or another I do not log anything. Am I doing this right?

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If I go hunting a cache and Did Not Find it, I log a DNF. Weird, huh?

There are far too many subtleties (and hair splitting) of the definition of "go hunting for a cache" to form a consensus.

I was only stating what I do and why, not that there's a consensus. Sorry for the confusion.

 

I would log a DNF too.

Now don't you start :anibad:.

 

Moi? I am not proud of my DNFs. They are failures! But if I search and Do Not Find, I will log my DNF.

To answer gypsy74: If the bridge is out, or if I cannot find the parking, or the Parkway gets backed up for an hour and a half, and I do not have time to search, then: NO! I did not search. That's not a DNF. I did not search for it. That's not even a note. I'm up to 563 DNFs. Running a bit over 10% my finds total. Not proud of my failures, but them's the facts of life.

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If I couldn't get to the area for one reason or another I do not log anything. Am I doing this right?

If it's not pertinent to the cache itself (traffic jam, rain, whatever), it's not necessarily a cache log. If it's instead a problem that unexpectedly may prevent others from accessing that cache (fine point, yeah), some log (whatever well-considered log type it is) make that kind of log. Let the next cachers know what to expect.

Edited by kunarion
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Moi? I am not proud of my DNFs. They are failures! But if I search and Do Not Find, I will log my DNF.

I just maintain my (ever-growing :surprise:) list of DNFs, and review it once in a while, to see which ones to tackle again. Once the coup is over and the guards are gone, I'll go back to the hypothetical castle. Maybe it's kind of a failure, but it was mostly just a delay. :anicute:

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Gypsy, DNF's can serve several purposes. They can give YOU a sense of what you need to do the next time you search for that cache, or help YOU keep track of what caches you want/need to revisit. They can also give the CO a heads up that there may be a need to check on the cache or its approach and surroundings. A string of DNF logs will most likely result in a Needs Maintenance log or, :o , Needs Archived if there are SERIOUS problems with the cache and the owner has gone MIA. In short, DNF logs can be a useful tool for the searcher AND the owner. So yeah, sounds like you're doing it about right.

 

In my earlier post I mentioned a cemetery cache that I visited last week. I drove in, noticed an interment in progress, and drove straight back out out of respect. I didn't get out and look for the cache. Didn't even get near GZ. I posted a Note.

 

Another cemetery cache I visited last week had me searching everywhere but in the ground where my new friend Charles rests in peace. I gladly posted my DNF.

Edited by jwmoe1973
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If I go hunting a cache and Did Not Find it, I log a DNF. Weird, huh?

There are far too many subtleties (and hair splitting) of the definition of "go hunting for a cache" to form a consensus.

I was only stating what I do and why, not that there's a consensus. Sorry for the confusion.

 

I would log a DNF too.

Now don't you start :anibad:.

 

Moi? I am not proud of my DNFs. They are failures! But if I search and Do Not Find, I will log my DNF.

To answer gypsy74: If the bridge is out, or if I cannot find the parking, or the Parkway gets backed up for an hour and a half, and I do not have time to search, then: NO! I did not search. That's not a DNF. I did not search for it. That's not even a note. I'm up to 563 DNFs. Running a bit over 10% my finds total. Not proud of my failures, but them's the facts of life.

 

Thank you everyone for answering. I will continue to log DNF if I search but do not find. I usually go back and find it so if you ever see gypsy74 did not find, kep looking because with in a day or two I do go back and find it:)

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Gypsy, DNF's can serve several purposes. They can give YOU a sense of what you need to do the next time you search for that cache, or help YOU keep track of what caches you want/need to revisit. They can also give the CO a heads up that there may be a need to check on the cache or its approach and surroundings. A string of DNF logs will most likely result in a Needs Maintenance log or, :o , Needs Archived if there are SERIOUS problems with the cache and the owner has gone MIA. In short, DNF logs can be a useful tool for the searcher AND the owner. So yeah, sounds like you're doing it about right.

 

In my earlier post I mentioned a cemetery cache that I visited last week. I drove in, noticed an interment in progress, and drove straight back out out of respect. I didn't get out and look for the cache. Didn't even get near GZ. I posted a Note.

 

Another cemetery cache I visited last week had me searching everywhere but in the ground where my new friend Charles rests in peace. I gladly posted my DNF.

 

thank you very much for the reply. As I stated im new so I just want to make sure Im not breaking rules, or messing up:)

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I dunno...the F in DNF implies a search. Taking the logic of "not searching=DNF" to the extreme, one might need to post a DNF log on over two million cache pages because, while they might like to go looking for them, they haven't found them.

 

Some folks just have some weird overly strict compulsion to post a DNF if they even notice a cache on a map and opt not to look for it. Hey...whatever floats yer boat! Just seems above and beyond the expectation of anyone else to do so. I'm certainly not going to delete such a log on my cache pages, but I honestly don't see how it helps or even presents an accurate reflection of the difficulty level of the cache.

 

Ok I have a question please? I log DNF if I searched and didn't find it, If I couldn't get to the area for one reason or another I do not log anything. Am I doing this right?

 

Totally up to you whether you log anything.

 

You could go extreme and say "DNF"...which is silly to me and the point of my previous comment. You didn't even get to LOOK for it, so what's the value of posting a DNF? It doesn't help others in search of it, it doesn't speak to the difficulty level of finding the cache.

 

You could post a Note and explain that something prevented you from looking - a downed tree in the road on the way to the cache, a security perimeter for some event at GZ, a freak hailstorm...whatever. The sort of thing that doesn't happen enough to make it a common thing for cachers to experience when going to this cache, but maybe something others may enjoy reading or something they may want to watch out for (in the case of the downed tree or occasional event that might interfere with their search yet are not an aspect of the hide that the CO ever could have planned for).

 

You could do nothing and remark on it once you actually DO get to search for it and subsequently post a Found It or DNF log...something like "Found it. Came by last week but a freak hailstorm kept me from getting out of my car to search, so I came back by today and enjoyed the hike to the cache." etcetera etcetera...

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Moi? I am not proud of my DNFs. They are failures! But if I search and Do Not Find, I will log my DNF.

I just maintain my (ever-growing :surprise:) list of DNFs, and review it once in a while, to see which ones to tackle again. Once the coup is over and the guards are gone, I'll go back to the hypothetical castle. Maybe it's kind of a failure, but it was mostly just a delay. :anicute:

 

What would you do in the case of a cache in a place that you'd likely never have the opportunity to visit again?

 

 

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Moi? I am not proud of my DNFs. They are failures! But if I search and Do Not Find, I will log my DNF.

I just maintain my (ever-growing :surprise:) list of DNFs, and review it once in a while, to see which ones to tackle again. Once the coup is over and the guards are gone, I'll go back to the hypothetical castle. Maybe it's kind of a failure, but it was mostly just a delay. :anicute:

 

What would you do in the case of a cache in a place that you'd likely never have the opportunity to visit again?

In that case, it's unlikely I'd go back. But I don't go find previously DNF'd caches as others do. "I can't find this at all, so today I might as well go find it". Nope, that isn't happening. Unless I have an epiphany, or someone clued me in, or there's something new on the cache page (like "container was missing so I placed a new one"), the distance doesn't matter.

 

And if you're asking if I log a DNF because I'm certain I will find or at least hunt it again, no. Not at all. :anicute:

Edited by kunarion
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I most likely would have made a note rather than a DNF. That is because I would note "too many muggles" or "security present for special event". I save those particular caches to. "Try another day". If I search a woods at night and fail to find a cache, I leave a note "searched while dark; will try again by day". Where as if I no kidding searched and just failed to find the hiding place by day, I log a DNF. The one thing I have noticed is that COs will delete other cacher's DNFs. To me, that is just wrong because cachers may use their DNF logs to go back and attempt to find that cache again. If you are the cache owner and someone logged a DNF and you are afraid others will not try to find the cache due to a DNF being posted, log a note "It is still there. Better luck next time."

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