Just an idea...

[+VentureForth]

I know that everyone has their own style, but I would like to see what people think about this idea.

 

For the encrypted hint, I think that it should be a dead giveaway with details which don't require a GPS, ie: See that big, double-trunk tree felled over the creek? Take 15 steps upstream from the base of that tree.

 

I don't know... I've just become very frustrated when spending an hour and a half, 60 miles from home to get a no-find because the hint was pretty lame.

 

I mean, after all, the hint - being encryped - should allow a lot of fun for someone who doesn't want any help, but also provide fun for people who don't want to give up, but need a little boost.

 

Maybe I'm whining a little bit...perhaps 'cause I have a few no-finds under my belt, or perhaps 'cause my wife hasn't let me go caching for a few weeks, and I'm just ancy sitting here at work dreaming of firing up my GPS.

 

---------------

Go! And don't be afraid to get a little wet!

[+rickrob]

I think the hint so get you close but not right on , Part of Geocaching is the hunt. If you still can not find it then email the guy and ask for a better hint.

[Zuckerruebensirup]

I've seen a couple of threads discussing this. Try here, here, or here.

 

Personally, I think the clue should make it fairly obvious, but at the same time, be somewhat fun or creative (but not frustratingly confusing). I've also thought it would be cool if there were two levels of hints: "Hint" (for those who just want a nudge) and "I give up!" (for those who are tired of looking, and just want to log the find and be done with it).

 

The 'Hints' I've encountered that really tick me off are ones that say, "Bring a frisbee, there's a disc golf course here." or tell you where to park or something. I've even seen ones that give a website address...as if we all have a wireless internet connection with us in the woods. (Do people not understand that the intent of these is not to look at them until you're at ground zero, and are truly stumped?) Argh!

 

On a lesser level, unnecessarily LONG clues are another pet peeve of mine.

 

-------

"I may be slow, but at least I'm sweet!"

 

[This message was edited by Zuckerruebensirup on May 06, 2002 at 08:53 AM.]

[+parkrrrr]

Two of my favorite hints ever don't give the location with any specificity, but are still great hints all-in-all. One doesn't even look like a real hint until you're actually at the site. We didn't realize what that hint was hinting at until after we found the cache, but only because we found the cache with "The Force" and didn't really need the hint. Someone who needed it would probably have the necessary flash of insight after a few minutes of scouting the area.

 

Without giving away the caches that have those hints, I'll just say that both incorporate words with double meanings, one more cunningly than the other. The "easy" hint says something about "bark"ing up - or under - the wrong tree. I won't say what the other one says or why it's appropriate, because it's such a fun hunt.

 

[+Markwell]

Depends on the difficulty rating. On my caches that are "regular" caches (not the Photographer's Caches)...

 

Six of my caches: no hints

One of my caches: parking and trailhead coordinates

The other hint I used is just me being a jerk

 

Markwell

My Geocaching Page

[+Moore9KSUcats]

I usually leave three hints. The first might just be a catch phrase to get the cacher to look at the problem a little differently, the second one is meant to get them very close but not right on, and the third is a spoiler. I keep them to just a few words, and label each one [in brackets] so they can decrypt one at a time as needed.

[Zuckerruebensirup]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Markwell:

 

One of my caches: parking and trailhead coordinates

---

The parking and trailhead coordinates you put as the encrypted clue?! Why????

 

(And LOL at the hint for Easy as PI. I think that's appropriate, given the cache.)

[Zuckerruebensirup]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moore9KSUcats:

I usually leave three hints. The first might just be a catch phrase to get the cacher to look at the problem a little differently, the second one is meant to get them very close but not right on, and the third is a spoiler. I keep them to just a few words, and label each one [in brackets] so they can decrypt one at a time as needed.

---

 

That's a great idea!

[+Markwell]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Zuckerruebensirup:

The parking and trailhead coordinates you put as the __encrypted__ clue?! Why????

---

Using MapBlast or MapQuest will actually take you right to the parking and trailhead coordinates. But I did have some people that said, "I couldn't find where to start and had to do a TON of bushwacking."

 

So I made it so the encrypted clue shows "Trailhead Coordinates given in hint" when it's encrypted with the rest of the text in ROT13.

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Moore9KSUcats:

I usually leave three hints. I keep them to just a few words, and label each one [in brackets] so they can decrypt one at a time as needed.

 

We've discussed it before in other threads, but some unscrupulous people might just hit that ever-present "decrypt" button and view all three of the hints simultaneously. Makes it kinda hard to decrypt them one at a time when someone's doing it at their computer.

 

“bonus cache”>

 

What I did for one cache is to put a single-word encryption in the body of the text of the cache. That way, if they want the hint, they'll be forced to manually figure it out. But so as not to be cruel, it's only one word and it does help.

 

Markwell

My Geocaching Page

[+ClayJar]

I tend to do the multi-stage hint thing. For example, I'll have a [parking] hint, then perhaps a [trail] hint, maybe a [look here] hint, and if, in my opinion, it might be hard to locate, I may even include a [dead giveaway] hint.

 

Thanks to the [bracketed non-encrypted words] feature, it's easy to let people decide what they want, and at the same time, people who want to hunt with almost no information can just leave the hints alone. Splitting the hints up also means that when someone gets all the way to the cache zone without hints and then gets stuck they can just decrypt the part that helps. I find it annoying to be in the middle of twenty-seven bazillion mosquitos and decrpyting seven paragraphs about the drive and parking to get to a three-word hint.

[BassoonPilot]

I used to leave fairly substantial hints in the encrypted area. I don't do that any more, because most caches, including my own, are already too easy without the clues. I think I'll go back and edit the old ones now.

 

I like to read the "latest logs" a couple of times a day, and one thing that bothers me is people complaining about coordinates not being precise (meaning, within 5 feet) ... it seems to me a lot of the newer generation of cachers don't want to put any effort into the search at all.

 

For me, that's reason enough for limiting the information in cache descriptions and encrypted clues.

[+Web-ling]

I tend to give more detailed hints on caches I've designed to be easy. On caches I want to be more difficult, I either don't give a hint, or else it's a bit more cryptic. On the more difficult ones, I also tend to ramble to make the cacher work a little harder decrypting it .

 

[magellan315]

I found that more so than the encrypted cheat once I started using a compass as I got close to a cache I found caches quicker and easier.

[+Wander Lost]

Speaking of where to park...

 

We've been stumped on a couple caches because we parked in the wrong area. x()

 

Maybe that could be an option on the hide a cache page. Not required but as an option for the cache owner if the final cache is a substantial distance away from the parking area.

 

Why be normal!!!!

[+Rusty & Libby]

Pet peeve: hints that say look near a tree, when the cache is hidden in a $#%$$ forest!! This particular cache was also buried.. another pet peeve of mine! It was also winter time, if you bury a cache in an area that gets snow you should give enough info to find the thing. Can you tell that this one pi$$ed me off?

 

I don't care if there is a hint or not, and I think the rating should reflect this fact, but if you do leave a hint it should actually mean something. The double meaning hints are fun and can add to the hunt. I also like Markwell's idea to manually encrypt a hint in the description part of cache page, I think I'll try that one.

 

Rusty...

 

 

Rusty & Libby's Geocache Page

[Zuckerruebensirup]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Rusty:

 

Can you tell that this one pi$$ed me off?

---

 

C'mon, tell us how you really feel!

[+Alan2]

Why encrypt trail heads or parking locations? Putting these in the plaintext portion gives people who wish to use them the oportunity without having to de-crypt "real" spoilers. Those who wish to not use the trailhead and parking hints, can skip over these.

 

Unless they're some sort of an idiot savant and can calculate actual position just be reading the coordinates, how will listing coordinates in plain text help them if they don't store them in the GPS?

 

Am I missing something here?

 

Alan

[CapnGadget]

I agree that the hints should come in increasingly revealing levels with the last being a spoiler....

While some feel that getting stumped is just "part of the game" others like myself feel that (especially with a couple of kids in tow) there should be "closure" to the hunt; particularly if the cache is a couple hours drive away...this is not something you can just pick up and go do at the drop of a hat if you happen to have missed it on the first try (wife, family, job and life in general have an annoying habit of getting in the way of geocaching lol )

A side benefit of a succesful hunt of course is to turn on any accompanying Newbies to the sport.

 

The purists have only to ignore the hints and everyone will be satisfied.

 

"Everywhere you go, there ya be..."

[k2dave]

in my humble O

 

the hint should be:

1 very short to make it easy to decode in the field

2 pretty much zero in on the cache.

 

The hint is there to:

1 make it easier for geocachers who don't want so much of a chalenge

2 help out geocashers who need it

3 verify that a cache is no longer there

 

-------> Did you ever do any trail maintainence? - if so you will know that all but the most worn trails need continuous maintenance to prevent mother nature from reclaiming it. herd paths are quickly reclaimed - k2dave to a troll

[k2dave]

Just want to add that I have run into caches with hints that are paragraphs - who wants to decode them while defending against insect attacks, running from a bear and trying not to be seen - you get the idea. The hint does not have to be a sentance - pine tree, big rock or 10 ft north of trail junction work just fine.

 

I have one that is simply 2 colors ----- & ---- .. That's it - no one have complaned that the hint is too vague on the contary I have gotten the feedback that the hints are perfect.

 

this is one of the reasons that people hidding geocaches should have a few finds under their belts first.

 

-------> Did you ever do any trail maintainence? - if so you will know that all but the most worn trails need continuous maintenance to prevent mother nature from reclaiming it. herd paths are quickly reclaimed - k2dave to a troll

[+sbell111]

In my opinion, the amount of help given in a hint should be based on the difficulty of the cache. If it is an easy cache, the hint should be a gimme. If it is a difficult cache, more obfuscation should be involved. Finding a very difficult cache is the reward. If you go after a very difficult cache, you know going in that you might not find it.

[k2dave]

Just want to further add that if the cache is hard to find on purpose - in other words a seaker has a good chance of not finding it and it is done that way on purpose the hint should not give the location away but should let the seaker know it's gone (if it's plundered) - so they can stop looking. I know it's not always easy to do that.

 

-------> Did you ever do any trail maintainence? - if so you will know that all but the most worn trails need continuous maintenance to prevent mother nature from reclaiming it. herd paths are quickly reclaimed - k2dave to a troll

[+T-storm]

I've said it before in other threads, but I'll say it again. Nothing says a hider even has to enter a hint. Difficulty ratings exist for a reason. A find is NOT guaranteed for every cache, nor should it be. It is a HINT not a SOLUTION. There are caches I can't find because I'm not physically able, why shouldn't there be caches I can't find because I couldn't puzzle out the hiding spot?

 

T-storm

 

http://www.cordianet.com/geocaching

[+RAD Dad]

My hints require a little thought and observation in the area. Hints like "not all trees grow straight up" and "a group of five trees" if you are in the right area and you read these hints, it should be good enough...if it isn't you don't deserve to find the cache

 

ummmm....not sure what to say here....so ummm, well errrr, uhhhh, well I guess that's it.

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

I agree that the hint should put you right on top of it. If my gps says ZERO and after 15 minutes I haven't found it. I'm done. I won't go back again. There are way too many caches out there to screw around looking for something buried.

 

If I wanted a HUGE challenge I would have stayed married to number one.

 

Never Squat With Yer Spurs On

[+orange]

I agree hint should scale with difficulty. For a 1 or 2 the hint should help you zero right onto it. Anything above it can just be additional helpful info.

 

quote:

---

Originally posted by BassoonPilot:

 

I like to read the "latest logs" a couple of times a day, and one thing that bothers me is people complaining about coordinates not being precise (meaning, within 5 feet) ... it seems to me a lot of the newer generation of cachers don't want to put any effort into the search at all.

 

For me, that's reason enough for limiting the information in cache descriptions and encrypted clues.

---

 

I will admit to being a bit of a complainer about the coordinates. I think they should be as accurate as possible. So if I see over 50 foot difference from where I found cache I usually will put my coordinates if the accuracy is indicating less than 25 feet.