+zookeepertx Posted July 5, 2015 Posted July 5, 2015 (edited) I had a cacher message me asking for a hint on one of my hides. I normally oblige on a request like that, but this one kind of worries me; maybe I'm just paranoid, though. Their profile lists their "join date" as 6/28, they messaged me on the same day, they had no finds recorded at all (still none, even now) and their "Last Visit" says never. Also, it says "the "send message" feature is disabled because this email address has not been validated by the user". I've waited to reply to them, just to see if they're "really" cachers, but there hasn't been any activity on their profile. It all just makes me wonder if there's something odd going on. Would you guys give a hint? Edited July 5, 2015 by zookeepertx Quote
+cerberus1 Posted July 5, 2015 Posted July 5, 2015 Could be a person having no idea what a dnf is and your hide's their first attempted - and need a hint. App user never logging onto the site to boot. I'd kick back and wait, same as you, unless you really care to attempt that message center thing asking why a hint's needed. Quote
+on4bam Posted July 5, 2015 Posted July 5, 2015 their "Last Visit" says never. Typical app behavior. If you only us an app it won't show your activity. Quote
+niraD Posted July 5, 2015 Posted July 5, 2015 Before I give hints, I like to know what they've tried already. That way, I can give a hint that nudges them toward the next step, rather than a spoiler, and rather than something they've already figured out. So with nothing but a request for a hint, I'd start by asking what they've tried already. Quote
+NanCycle Posted July 5, 2015 Posted July 5, 2015 I had a cacher message me asking for a hint on one of my hides. I normally oblige on a request like that, but this one kind of worries me; maybe I'm just paranoid, though. Their profile lists their "join date" as 6/28, they messaged me on the same day, they had no finds recorded at all (still none, even now) and their "Last Visit" says never. Also, it says "the "send message" feature is disabled because this email address has not been validated by the user". I've waited to reply to them, just to see if they're "really" cachers, but there hasn't been any activity on their profile. It all just makes me wonder if there's something odd going on. Would you guys give a hint? Send back a message welcoming them to geocaching and ask them where they have looked for it so far. Depending on their response to that, your next step may be to oblige them with a hint or to ignore them. Quote
+Tassie_Boy Posted July 5, 2015 Posted July 5, 2015 What are you afraid of happening if you do give them a hint? Quote
+Harry Dolphin Posted July 5, 2015 Posted July 5, 2015 Also, it says "the "send message" feature is disabled because this email address has not been validated by the user". Would you guys give a hint? I don't respond to anyone who has not validated his/her e-mail address. Quote
+zookeepertx Posted July 5, 2015 Author Posted July 5, 2015 They did post a DNF on my hide, so know how to use that part. Message center thing about why a hint's needed? I've never noticed that. Ahhh, I am COMPLETELY uneducated on apps and anything related to them. Basically, outside of GPS use, I'm pretty much a caveperson, LOL! In their DNF they commented that they'd "looked everywhere" and "thought it would be in the machinery". If I was to give somebody a hint, it would probably be that it's "in the machinery", LOL! So, I'm not sure what I'd even tell them without giving the EXACT location. (The cache has been found twice since that date, so it's there.) I wouldn't say I'm "afraid" of what might happen, but you never know - people are weird! I just found it odd that someone would join the game and apparently only look for ONE cache and, a week later, still not show a single find! (And - here's the paranoid part - I've got a recently-became-ex brother in law who is a real piece of work. He's been stirring things up with whatever family he can think of. Who knows WHAT petty things might occur to him on any given day?) You know what we need? A function to search for cachers by DNFs! It occurs to me that the person might have a bunch of DNFs and just not found anything at all yet! Hmmmmmm! Quote
+zookeepertx Posted July 5, 2015 Author Posted July 5, 2015 Also, it says "the "send message" feature is disabled because this email address has not been validated by the user". Would you guys give a hint? I don't respond to anyone who has not validated his/her e-mail address. Yeah, that was one of the main things that made me pause. Quote
+TriciaG Posted July 5, 2015 Posted July 5, 2015 I assume it's this cache: http://coord.info/GC3NJH5 I'd send a nice message saying something like, "You said you thought it was in the machinery - well, it IS in the machinery. It isn't an obvious find, so it may take some time and a couple trips to figure it out. Take a look at the log right after yours for a little more of a hint." Quote
+cerberus1 Posted July 5, 2015 Posted July 5, 2015 They did post a DNF on my hide, so know how to use that part. Message center thing about why a hint's needed? I've never noticed that. Right above the email address (that they don't have) is a link to the new message center. IIRC, it was put there as a way of finally contacting these app folks who "never" enter the site. Quote
+zookeepertx Posted July 5, 2015 Author Posted July 5, 2015 I assume it's this cache: http://coord.info/GC3NJH5 I'd send a nice message saying something like, "You said you thought it was in the machinery - well, it IS in the machinery. It isn't an obvious find, so it may take some time and a couple trips to figure it out. Take a look at the log right after yours for a little more of a hint." Ooooh, that's GOOD! Can I quote your text in a reply? I always use WAY more words than needed and just confuse people, LOL! Quote
+zookeepertx Posted July 5, 2015 Author Posted July 5, 2015 They did post a DNF on my hide, so know how to use that part. Message center thing about why a hint's needed? I've never noticed that. Right above the email address (that they don't have) is a link to the new message center. IIRC, it was put there as a way of finally contacting these app folks who "never" enter the site. Huh - I did not notice that! Good to know! Thx Quote
+TriciaG Posted July 5, 2015 Posted July 5, 2015 I assume it's this cache: http://coord.info/GC3NJH5 I'd send a nice message saying something like, "You said you thought it was in the machinery - well, it IS in the machinery. It isn't an obvious find, so it may take some time and a couple trips to figure it out. Take a look at the log right after yours for a little more of a hint." Ooooh, that's GOOD! Can I quote your text in a reply? I always use WAY more words than needed and just confuse people, LOL! You bet! You don't even have to give credit. Quote
+K13 Posted July 6, 2015 Posted July 6, 2015 (edited) Also tell them they are looking for something about the size of a shoebox - it is listed as a regular. Edited July 6, 2015 by K13 Quote
+Understandblue Posted July 6, 2015 Posted July 6, 2015 I remember how many times I visited the site of my first find - it's very bewildering for a newbie. Message them and give them a few hints and welcome them to the hunt Quote
+zookeepertx Posted July 6, 2015 Author Posted July 6, 2015 Okay, I just messaged them. Hope to hear back from them! Thanks for the input! Quote
+wmpastor Posted July 6, 2015 Posted July 6, 2015 Also, it says "the "send message" feature is disabled because this email address has not been validated by the user". Would you guys give a hint? I don't respond to anyone who has not validated his/her e-mail address. Did you not realize old email has been replaced with the new Message Center?? I agree with those that say ask what he's tried already. Saves time. Quote
+-CJ- Posted July 6, 2015 Posted July 6, 2015 Before I give hints, I like to know what they've tried already I completely agree with NiraD. I used to ask people: "What ideas do you have?" - "It could be somewhere on the fence but the fence is so long!" - "No, it's not on the fence. And this was the hint you asked for". Quote
+bflentje Posted July 7, 2015 Posted July 7, 2015 Before I give hints, I like to know what they've tried already I completely agree with NiraD. I used to ask people: "What ideas do you have?" - "It could be somewhere on the fence but the fence is so long!" - "No, it's not on the fence. And this was the hint you asked for". All verified email address issues and DNFs aside, it's noobs that need advice. Why would anyone hold back? I agree that full spoilers shouldn't be provided but holding back on any hint at all would be mean. --- and replying to -CJ- does not imply I am directing anything specifically to -CJ-. Talking about the collective here. Quote
+Malemotives Posted July 8, 2015 Posted July 8, 2015 Good grief... give him a hint already. What are you afraid might happen? He finds it? Quote
+Dread_Pirate_Bruce Posted July 8, 2015 Posted July 8, 2015 The first cache that I tried to find was one that was close to my house. I visited the location 3 times without finding anything. A big part of the problem was that I really had no clue as to what I was looking for. I kept thinking I was looking for some sort of a box. I looked everywhere I could imagine a box being hidden. The hint said "remember the Sesame Street song about one of these." I managed to figure out that the song was "one of these isn't like the others." It did not help me a bit, though I looked at everything of ehich there were mote than two. I finally gave up. Fortunately, I decided to look for another cache and did find it. I eventually found the elusive one. It was a fake lawn sprinkler. It was dead center of the area where I had looked. In fact, I had stepped on it many times. I sure could have used a more useful hint, something directing me to the sprinkler as I almost gave up on the game without a single find. Perhaps the person who asked for help needed someone to really hand-hold them. Quote
+zookeepertx Posted July 8, 2015 Author Posted July 8, 2015 Good grief... give him a hint already. What are you afraid might happen? He finds it? See my post from Sunday, the 5th: I already sent them a nice message with a hint! Quote
+zookeepertx Posted July 8, 2015 Author Posted July 8, 2015 (edited) The first cache that I tried to find was one that was close to my house. I visited the location 3 times without finding anything. A big part of the problem was that I really had no clue as to what I was looking for. I kept thinking I was looking for some sort of a box. I looked everywhere I could imagine a box being hidden. The hint said "remember the Sesame Street song about one of these." I managed to figure out that the song was "one of these isn't like the others." It did not help me a bit, though I looked at everything of ehich there were mote than two. I finally gave up. Fortunately, I decided to look for another cache and did find it. I eventually found the elusive one. It was a fake lawn sprinkler. It was dead center of the area where I had looked. In fact, I had stepped on it many times. I sure could have used a more useful hint, something directing me to the sprinkler as I almost gave up on the game without a single find. Perhaps the person who asked for help needed someone to really hand-hold them. I'm afraid I'll never find a sprinkler head cache; I'm too chicken to go tugging on stuff that might be REAL fixtures. (I'm a wuss, LOL!) Edited July 8, 2015 by zookeepertx Quote
+niraD Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 I'm afraid I'll never find a sprinkler head cache; I'm too chicken to go tugging on stuff that might be REAL fixtures. (I'm a wuss, LOL!)My rule for caches like this is that I don't open one until I've confirmed that it is indeed the geocache. Usually, that means that I have the camouflaged container in my hand. You won't hurt a real sprinkler (or electrical box, or whatever) by tugging gently on it. Quote
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