Cache Maintenance Etiquette

[+justintim1999]

justintim1999, it's nice that we're thinking in the same direction. I actually did what you described in your variant plus before replacing the cache I checked the other caches in the area by this owner to be sure that this person was an active player and the cache wasn't abandoned. And I put the container in a different location because it seemed to me that if someone had found it in the old place this vandal could easily check this very place once again.

 

The result was that the container and some swag were saved, no litter around, the CO replied very quickly and visited the site next day to put everything in order.

 

So, my point is that even more serious maintenance (than replacing wet logs) can be done without prior approval in some circumstances (in this case it was an obvious and direct threat to the cache). Indeed, such actions require accuracy and responsibility both from the visitor and the CO.

 

I think the fact that the original container was still in tact is the key here. If it wasn't I don't think I would have replaced it with one of my own. that's a job for the cache owner.

 

The goal is to promote active, responsible cache maintenance by the cache owners themselves.

[+-CJ-]

Thank you for the comment.

Edited April 18, 2016 by -CJ-

[+justintim1999]

Thank you for the comment.

 

Thanks for the question.

[+darklighter]

I've seen way too many hide-a-keys with crammed baggies and soggy logs. Film canisters with a soggy log in a baggie. Ziploc throwaway containers with wet logs in a baggie. Dollar store containers with a moldy wet log in a baggie. Yogurt containers, a solid frozen block of ice with a log in a baggie stuck in the middle of the ice.

If I hadn't found a cache in an old yogurt container before, I'm not sure I'd believe you.

[+ConsHaltonCache]

CJ - your example is a very different situation

 

Yes, my example had the only purpose to highlight that situations can be different. The topicstarter provided two examples but the question itself was a general one ("What sort of maintenance is Good"). So, the general answer should be "depending on circumstances". Sometimes even a small maintenance isn't worth doing (like with an abandoned cache which was mentioned above). Sometimes is may be OK to do full maintenance (like the situation I described).

 

We are in agreement here.

 

 

 

I think that the only circumstance a cache should be replaced is with the approval of the cache owner.

 

This is a big picture problem.

 

In your example you knew the cache owner and they agreed to allow you to replace the container. Nothing wrong with that.

 

If a cache owner can keep a particular cache and do so without having to assume the responsibility of maintenance, because everyone else is maintaining the cache for him/her, than eventually that cache is going to suffer. First time cache hiders need to understand the level of commitment required to own a cache. It's not like a rotisserie chicken where you "set it and forget it". preforming cache maintenance on another's cache is allowing the cache owner to forget about the commitment they made when they pushed that submit button.

 

Agreed. That's the point I was trying to make and the only reason I do respond the way I do. There is a level of responsibility to owning a cache. Newbies need to know that from the start.

 

OK, let me pretend that I'm your student

 

Helsinki, Finland. I visited a cache on an embankment and was much upset when I approached the GZ. I found the cache box, its lid and some swag on the ground, all items separately from each other. I failed to find a logbook though. The place seemed to be rather popular but I was there in the morning so very few people were around. It appeared that some vandal visited the site right before I got there. I didn't know the CO and had no way to ask for any permissions/opinions. I didn't know the exact hiding place either: there were many variants where the container could be hidden and hints didn't help.

 

What would you do if you were in my shoes?

 

I would do similar to justintim1999 in that situation. Clearly the cache should not be out in the open, I would gather it up and put it out of site but it is still necessary to log a "Needs Maintenance" to alert the owner of the issue and allow them to deal with it. That's often the key point most people do not do. It's not my responsibility as a visitor to make sure that cache is totally up to snuff, the "Needs Maintenance" is necessary and the owner needs to ensure its properly placed and supplied.

 

I think we are all generally in agreement.

I just express the hard line (especially to newbies) because I have seen far to many caches being "maintained" by non-owners (with varying degrees of quality and varying degree of actions) and sometimes this just leads to worse situations (multiple containers, all of them filled with mold).

[curlingfan11]

That's good manners.