Taking over an archived cache...

[+Wilky & Quebbly]

There is(was) a cache in my area that has been archived because the cache itself is missing and the original owner can't be reached through this website's email (presumably the managers have tried to reach the owner through other means). It's a great place for a cache, and just to make things weird, I'm the last one that found it.

 

The question is this:

 

Is it in bad taste to take over the cache site, its name, coordinates, instructions, etc., and hide my own cache?

 

Is it better to change the name of the cache?

 

Should I leave it completely alone?

[+jollybgood]

I would change the name and reword the description. At least pay tribute to the original cache/owner.

 

Otherwise, if the original owner has archived the cache he has abandoned his claim on the spot (at the leat that's the way I see it). I would go for it if you think the location is cache worthy.

 

Jolly R. Blackburn

http://kenzerco.com

"Never declare war on a man who buys his ink by the gallon."

[+Tsegi Mike and Desert Viking]

I've adopted 2 caches and in process of adopting a third. I've kept the name so as not to confuse previous finders. I've also credited the original owner in the first line of the cache description. The rest of the cache page I do what I like. So far, no one has minded.

 

************

 

Till a voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changes

On one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated -- so:

"Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges --

"Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!"

 

Rudyard Kipling , The Explorer 1898

[+zoltig]

How long has it been archived? If the original owner is/does not respond to inqueries, then the cache was probably not maintained. If there has been reasonable time from when it was archived, you (IMHO) should be free to go through the processes to make a cache of yours there. You can name it what you wish. Can you link the cache page here?. Let the viewing public see it.

 

My hockey Mom beat up your soccer Mom.

http://coloradogeocaching.com/

[+briansnat]

My vote was to go ahead and hide it, but change the name. Like Jolly B said, it would also be nice to pay tribute to the original cache and owner. Say something like "This was the site of XXXX's late, great YYYYYY cache".

 

I just did something similar. A cache was stolen and the owner archived it. It was in a really interesting area, so I decided to place a cache there. I hid the new cache in a slightly different spot though (about 50 yards away), so as to make for a different searching experience for those who found the original. I also used another name.

 

"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"

[+IV_Warrior]

quote:

---

Originally posted by BrianSnat:

My vote was to go ahead and hide it, but change the name. Like Jolly B said, it would also be nice to pay tribute to the original cache and owner. Say something like "This was the site of XXXX's late, great YYYYYY cache".

 

I just did something similar. A cache was stolen and the owner archived it. It was in a really interesting area, so I decided to place a cache there. I hid the new cache in a slightly different spot though (about 50 yards away), so as to make for a different searching experience for those who found the original. I also used another name.

 

_"Au pays des aveugles, les borgnes sont rois"_

---

 

My feelings on this are simple. If you're going to use the exact same hiding spot, try to adopt the original cache, and mention that you did so in the description, and leave the rest alone.

 

I'd prefer to find a different spot close by, and just submit a new cache. This way, cachers who return get a new cache hunt to go with their new smilie. I know I'd be disappointed to see a "new" cache or cache name show up on my list, with a new description, only to go out and find it was hidden in the exact same spot as a cache I'd already found.

 

Nothing to see here, move along.

[+Wilky & Quebbly]

For those interested, the link to the cache is:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=6544

 

It hasn't been archived long at all, but there have been other signs that it wasn't maintained. Read the posts.

 

"One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say."

Will Durant

[+briansnat]

Hey, what was Bldebabe doing way up there?

 

I'd say go ahead. The owner hid it a long time ago then obviously lost interest. He has no finds and only this one hide.

[+Wilky & Quebbly]

bldebabe was apparently visiting relatives in this area.

 

"One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say."

Will Durant

[+Renegade Knight]

So there is no cache and you want to place one? Whats the issue? Place your own cache, describe it any way you want name it anything you want and if you want link to the archived cache as a tribute or write a paragraph about it. Or maybe just ignore it entirely.

 

The ground is not sacred because a cache was once there.

 

=====================

Wherever you go there you are.

[+Bull Moose]

Since I had a cache nearby, I recently posted a note offering to take over a cache from an owner who has 3 finds, hadn't logged in for 6 months, and geocaching did not have his e-mail address.

 

He logged on mighty quick and deleted my note.

 

Makes me think it is a sock puppet account.

 

Insert pretentious quote or saying here.

[+Gaddiel]

Ours is a little different situation, but is probably still applicable to this discussion:

 

A cache near us went missing over a month ago, but has not been archived yet. We and at least one other local cacher have emailed the owner (who has 1 hide and 1 find over the last year). The owner emailed us back and seemed to take offense at our offers to help. Admittedly (sp?), there could be extenuating circumstances of which we are unaware, but the way we look at it, this is a nice spot for a cache being wasted on someone who *seems* to have little interest in maintaining his/her caches. It's frustrating, but we realize that there are many other areas to hide caches, so we're not losing sleep. We will simply move on to another spot.

[+Marky]

There was one cache near us that had been archived because the hider had zero finds and one hide and was no longer responding to e-mail and it appeared that the cache had gone missing. The cache re-surfaced a bit later and we got it unarchived, but since the original hider won't respond allowing us to adopt it, it is still under their control. We just have the cache on watch and do mantainance on it since we have a bunch of other caches in the same general area. Not the best solution, but it works out okay.

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

[+Florafloraflora]

So, what's the procedure for adopting an archived cache? Can TPTB make the decision at any time to give the cache to someone else, or does the inactive cacher have a number of days to respond to email, or what?

[+Huntnlady]

You should just treat it as your own all-new cache, unless the format was really notable or the name particularly interesting, in which case you can credit the former hider.

I would be leery of using the exact same location, though, because once a spot is looted there is always the potential for the looters to return and you know they are going to look there again if they come back.

 

Deer laugh when they hear my name!

http://www.geocities.com/cacheinon

[+Marky]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sugar Kane:

So, what's the procedure for adopting an archived cache? Can TPTB make the decision at any time to give the cache to someone else, or does the inactive cacher have a number of days to respond to email, or what?

---

TPTB have been reluctant to let anyone adopt a cache without the original owner's express permission. The problem arrises when the cache owner stops responding to e-mail (for what ever reason). If you can get the original hider to tell TPTB that you can adopt their cache, then they are usually glad to transfer ownership.

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

[+Wilky & Quebbly]

I'm not sure the cache was molested. There are signs that the original owner or someone else has puposefully removed. It almost seems the owner died or left the area, but I can't be sure.

 

"One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say."

Will Durant

[+Wilky & Quebbly]

Thanks to everyone that gave input. I've re-hidden the cache and renamed it, giving credit to the previous owner.

 

The new cache is:

http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=76581

 

That should kill this thread.

 

"One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say."

Will Durant

[+Shawn&Holly]

I have adopted 3 caches, the owner moved and archived them, but stated the caches were still out there if anyone wanted them. Rather then leave geotrash out there I adopted them, left the original names and hider but stated if someone wanted to reuse the location for a new cache, I would retreive and archive these. The caches are in an area with few caches in Cornwall, Ontario. I have also retreived a cache that have been archived but left behind, just don't know what to do with the contents, still have then in a box somewhere. Been thinking of hiding a new cache with reference to the old cache.

 

Car37 & Shnde