can't create a cache

[samstitre]

Hello !

This is my first time here ! I discoverd geocaching recently and I love it. Ater finding several caches, I would like to create a cache with friends. We have followed the different steps before going on the website. And here we go ! But... nothing happen when I wrote coordinates... there is a bug with the website ?

Thanks.

Samstitre

[+Max and 99]

1 hour ago, samstitre said:

Hello !

This is my first time here ! I discoverd geocaching recently and I love it. Ater finding several caches, I would like to create a cache with friends. We have followed the different steps before going on the website. And here we go ! But... nothing happen when I wrote coordinates... there is a bug with the website ?

Thanks.

Samstitre

Can you show us a screenshot with the cliffs blacked out? There is no prompt? Are you using the right format? 

[+frostengel]

2 hours ago, samstitre said:

I discoverd geocaching recently and I love it. Ater finding several caches, I would like to create a cache with friends.

 

Hello back!

 

"Several caches" = 5. Please find more before hiding your own one!

I had found about 1000 caches before hiding my own and made many mistakes in the beginning. And today I would make many things different. That comes from experience.

So I propose finding more! In the beginning it is all about finding caches and have fun. You can place your own ones later.

 

Just a proposal, it is up to you. But always keep in mind that you only have "one first hide" and this is a special one and it is very exciting so it should be a "good cache" (subjective ;-)).

 

Jochen

[+Isonzo Karst]

Where are you trying to create a new cache page?

There are a series of screens:

https://www.geocaching.com/play/hide

https://www.geocaching.com/hide/planning.aspx

https://www.geocaching.com/hide/typelocation.aspx

 

The type location screen is the  place to enter the posted coords for your cache.  You MUST select a cache type or there will NOT be a place to enter coords.

Shown are Trad and Multi, also there's a link for "show more geocache types".

 

People who own existing caches, including unpublished, will see another screen , the cache maintenance screen https://www.geocaching.com/hide/cachemaintenance.aspx

Edited September 11, 2019 by Isonzo Karst

[+niraD]

7 hours ago, frostengel said:

I had found about 1000 caches before hiding my own and made many mistakes in the beginning. And today I would make many things different. That comes from experience.

So I propose finding more! In the beginning it is all about finding caches and have fun. You can place your own ones later.

 

Just a proposal, it is up to you. But always keep in mind that you only have "one first hide" and this is a special one and it is very exciting so it should be a "good cache" (subjective ;-)).

 

IMHO, it is futile to focus on making your first hide perfect and special and all that. You will make mistakes with your first cache. You will learn a lot about what it takes to create and maintain a cache from that experience. And finding more caches won't bypass that process.

 

It's good to find a variety of caches before you hide your first one (and the emphasis is on the variety of those caches, not on their number). But ultimately, if you have an idea for a cache that you want to create and maintain for the long term, then go ahead. Make your mistakes, learn from them, and your future caches will be better for it.

[+frostengel]

5 hours ago, niraD said:

IMHO, it is futile to focus on making your first hide perfect and special and all that. You will make mistakes with your first cache.

 

My first cache was "special" - that was the problem which took my half a year until it was published. ;-)

 

I fully agree with you here:

 

5 hours ago, niraD said:

It's good to find a variety of caches before you hide your first one (and the emphasis is on the variety of those caches, not on their number).

 

And I think our opinion does not differ too much.

 

In my opinion the best thing is to hide caches as you want to find them yourself:

You like traditionals with a nice hike to ground zero - hide something like that.

You like multi caches with puzzle stages - hide something like that.

[...]

When you see what is possible you can start getting creative yourself. It does not have to become the perfect hide - but more than "my first geochache".

 

In the beginning everything is cool, film canister under the bench? Cool hide.... And later you see that this is not your favourite part of geocaching. But that is the time when you already have placed 7 micro caches in town and now you start to notice that the incoming (and massive) logs aren't too enthusiastic also ("quick find, TFTC").

 

Or you don't know to much about coordinates - problems incoming...

 

Even worse: you hide any number of caches and after some more days you get to know that the hobby isn't as fun as you thought it to be - and stop caching and all your caches stay unmaintained until they are archived by a reviewer. I see caches like this too often. :-(

 

Some cachers prefer a rule that you must have found XXX caches before publishing your own. I am not a fan of this but I would still suggest to take some time finding caches first:

- Is it really a hobby that you will do for a longer period?

- Do you know the basics?

- Have you seen different caching types and containers?

- Have you spoken to other cachers who can give you advice if you need to?

- .....

 

Why the hurry? Finding caches is much easier than hiding good caches and in the beginning everything is complicated so why not start with the easy things?

 

5 hours ago, niraD said:

if you have an idea for a cache that you want to create and maintain for the long term

 

That is an important point. Unfortunately my experience tells me that with these early caches the idea is not the reason why the cache is hidden.

 

I could give you examples but I think we all know these kind of caches....