FTF troubles

[+niraD]

I guess the FTF crew think it is their right to gulp any cache and not respect the intent of the cache!

You can lead a horse to water, and all that. Other people will geocache for whatever reasons motivate them to geocache. Your reasons for placing geocaches won't affect that.

 

So do I still Congratulate them as the FTF without any form of sarcasm as it is tempting to try and do it!

Nothing says the CO has to acknowledge the FTF in any way.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

So what do I do about the FTF crew who continually want to spoil anyone else's chance at FTF or spoil a cache trail?

Nothing.

- The "FTF crew" is already willing to go out at night...

The FTF side-game doesn't have rules.

Anyone else wants to go for a FTF, they'll just have to figure some way to beat 'em.

 

Please explain how someone going for a FTF "spoils the trail".

Would someone taking their time and simply happen to get there first "spoil" it too?

 

I guess I just do not understand the mentality of being the FTF when the trail is designed around features to be seen by day. To see what I have seen in the design of the trail by day and then want to share it with others by saying things in the description that you are walking on a specific type of geological era or that you should watch out for a specific animal, or that the gully you are looking at is named after a well known local family and then have someone just go in after dark just to get the FTF is pointless. Why did I bother to lay out the cache trail?

As far as spoiling the trail, it spoiled it for me. I spent a lot of time researching the trail and laying it, there is no way it could have been appreciated at night. It is like a self licking ice cream, how in the hell can you appreciate it?

 

Just because someone is starving and gulps down their meal at a fancy restaurant doesn't mean the other diners cannot enjoy the offerings of a Michelin Star chef.

Cool answer and appreciated! I guess the FTF crew think it is their right to gulp any cache and not respect the intent of the cache! So do I still Congratulate them as the FTF without any form of sarcasm as it is tempting to try and do it! I know sarcasm is the poorest form of wit, but it is sometimes gratifying.+

 

If you want to stay out of the FTF game then you shouldn't even acknowledge (congratulate) the FTF in anyway.

 

I do understand where you're coming from though. As cache owners, we all place caches for a specific reason, and it can be discouraging when someone (or a group in this case) treats the efforts we put in to try and create something more interesting than a film pot in a bush as just another notch on their bedpost.

 

 

[+geodarts]

So do I still Congratulate them as the FTF without any form of sarcasm as it is tempting to try and do it!

 

In keeping with my belief that signing a blank log is just a matter of time, circumstance, and geography, I have never felt that any of these things need congratulations. I have left prizes for the fourth or fifth to find since they are coming to a cache for its own reward. And I suppose I could congratulate those kind of FTF's but it seems arbitrary.

[+AustinMN]

Cool answer and appreciated! I guess the FTF crew think it is their right to gulp any cache and not respect the intent of the cache! So do I still Congratulate them as the FTF without any form of sarcasm as it is tempting to try and do it! I know sarcasm is the poorest form of wit, but it is sometimes gratifying.+

 

I think the best thing for you (since you don't really appreciate how the FTF was played out in this case) is to just say nothing about it at all.

 

BTW, many parks in my area have a sunrise-to-sunset restriction. In those cases, I always say so in my (admittedly very few) cache descriptions. That would have me tempted to delete logs that admitted to finding at night.

[+niraD]

BTW, many parks in my area have a sunrise-to-sunset restriction. In those cases, I always say so in my (admittedly very few) cache descriptions. That would have me tempted to delete logs that admitted to finding at night.

The local reviewers have been willing to publish listings during times when the location has been open, if the cache owner asks. But if you don't ask, they publish the listing whenever it's convenient for them.

 

And I've never had to delete a log that referred to after-hours caching, but I have asked finders to edit such logs (and they've edited the references in an acceptable manner).

[+narcissa]

So what do I do about the FTF crew who continually want to spoil anyone else's chance at FTF or spoil a cache trail?

Nothing.

- The "FTF crew" is already willing to go out at night...

The FTF side-game doesn't have rules.

Anyone else wants to go for a FTF, they'll just have to figure some way to beat 'em.

 

Please explain how someone going for a FTF "spoils the trail".

Would someone taking their time and simply happen to get there first "spoil" it too?

 

I guess I just do not understand the mentality of being the FTF when the trail is designed around features to be seen by day. To see what I have seen in the design of the trail by day and then want to share it with others by saying things in the description that you are walking on a specific type of geological era or that you should watch out for a specific animal, or that the gully you are looking at is named after a well known local family and then have someone just go in after dark just to get the FTF is pointless. Why did I bother to lay out the cache trail?

As far as spoiling the trail, it spoiled it for me. I spent a lot of time researching the trail and laying it, there is no way it could have been appreciated at night. It is like a self licking ice cream, how in the hell can you appreciate it?

 

So no other cacher can appreciate it?

 

I did not say that no other cacher can appreciate it, all I was trying to get across was that if a description of the cache site indicates that it is best seen during the day, why bother raping it at night when the appreciation cannot be achieved? I thought the appreciation of geocaching was to do with the placement of the cache, if I meant it to be found at night, I would have said it was night cache. So far I guess I have hit a few raw nerves so I am going to lick mine, guess you should go and lick yours and forgive and forget.

 

Raping?

 

The first thing you need to learn as a cache owner is that you can't control what others do.

 

The second thing you need to learn is that people don't read descriptions for traditional caches. If you really want people to spend time examining the site, create a multi or a letterbox that requires interaction.

Edited August 6, 2015 by narcissa

[+GeoBain]

So what do I do about the FTF crew who continually want to spoil anyone else's chance at FTF or spoil a cache trail?

Nothing.

- The "FTF crew" is already willing to go out at night...

The FTF side-game doesn't have rules.

Anyone else wants to go for a FTF, they'll just have to figure some way to beat 'em.

 

Please explain how someone going for a FTF "spoils the trail".

Would someone taking their time and simply happen to get there first "spoil" it too?

 

I guess I just do not understand the mentality of being the FTF when the trail is designed around features to be seen by day. To see what I have seen in the design of the trail by day and then want to share it with others by saying things in the description that you are walking on a specific type of geological era or that you should watch out for a specific animal, or that the gully you are looking at is named after a well known local family and then have someone just go in after dark just to get the FTF is pointless. Why did I bother to lay out the cache trail?

As far as spoiling the trail, it spoiled it for me. I spent a lot of time researching the trail and laying it, there is no way it could have been appreciated at night. It is like a self licking ice cream, how in the hell can you appreciate it?

 

Just because someone is starving and gulps down their meal at a fancy restaurant doesn't mean the other diners cannot enjoy the offerings of a Michelin Star chef.

Cool answer and appreciated! I guess the FTF crew think it is their right to gulp any cache and not respect the intent of the cache! So do I still Congratulate them as the FTF without any form of sarcasm as it is tempting to try and do it! I know sarcasm is the poorest form of wit, but it is sometimes gratifying.+

 

Just remember that like Team Lucky, you cannot control how others play the game or how they react to how you play the game. But there are people that do appreciate the hard work and effort that you put into the game.

 

Just keep doing what you do. It is appreciated and the one with the proper "pallet" will enjoy it the way you intended. The others are only cheating themselves out of the unique experience you offer them.

[+Crow-T-Robot]

So what do I do about the FTF crew who continually want to spoil anyone else's chance at FTF or spoil a cache trail?

Nothing.

- The "FTF crew" is already willing to go out at night...

The FTF side-game doesn't have rules.

Anyone else wants to go for a FTF, they'll just have to figure some way to beat 'em.

 

Please explain how someone going for a FTF "spoils the trail".

Would someone taking their time and simply happen to get there first "spoil" it too?

 

I guess I just do not understand the mentality of being the FTF when the trail is designed around features to be seen by day. To see what I have seen in the design of the trail by day and then want to share it with others by saying things in the description that you are walking on a specific type of geological era or that you should watch out for a specific animal, or that the gully you are looking at is named after a well known local family and then have someone just go in after dark just to get the FTF is pointless. Why did I bother to lay out the cache trail?

As far as spoiling the trail, it spoiled it for me. I spent a lot of time researching the trail and laying it, there is no way it could have been appreciated at night. It is like a self licking ice cream, how in the hell can you appreciate it?

 

1st bolded-Based off your comments, you are correct. You don't understand the mentality of the FTF cachers at all. They don't normally give a tin whistle about whatever the cache is centered around. They just want their names to be the first one on the log. That's it. You should be glad that they found it. You really should. If the FTF game is like it is here, once a cache has been found, all the other FTF hounds consider it dead to them.

 

2nd bolded-You hid the caches because you enjoyed the trail and the history and all the things you envision other caches seeing/finding when they are there. Just because the FTF knuckleheads showed up and cached their way, why do you believe that negates all your efforts? Not everyone is going to care about the history and effort you put into your caches. If that is your expectation, you're not going to enjoy being a cache owner very much.

[+dprovan]

If you want to stay out of the FTF game then you shouldn't even acknowledge (congratulate) the FTF in anyway.

I've never bought off on the notion that the CO has anything to do with judging who's FTF. Of the people involve, the CO typically knows the least about what happened when.

 

Anyway, I don't mind going for FTFs, but I don't acknowledge them in my cache descriptions. I think it's a waste of space.

 

BTW, many parks in my area have a sunrise-to-sunset restriction. In those cases, I always say so in my (admittedly very few) cache descriptions. That would have me tempted to delete logs that admitted to finding at night.

Would GS back such a deletion? I like that you post the restriction, but I don't see that it's your job to punish transgressors.

[+funkymunkyzone]

I don't know why people get so upset and feel the need to insult others, like calling them knuckleheads, just because they enjoy the game a bit differently.

 

The game is about finding hidden boxes and signing the logs inside them. You can attach all the value you like to other aspects of your cache - location, history, cache design, whatever - but you can't force people to enjoy what you do. 9 times out of 10 they probably will, but there's nothing at all wrong with that 10th person who values something else.

[+boothie103]

Thanks to all those positive replies and support, I really appreciate it. I am sorry if I sort of hijacked the thread, I didn't mean to, but I am heartened to say the trail has had three posts of which it appears two really appreciated the effort put into the trail to the point that a two day old trail had two travel bugs left and caches re-gifted. So I guess I have done something right. Thanks for the support.

[Keystone]

I am closing this thread at the OP's request.