Finders Putting Hints In Their Logs

[+Natureboy44]

Hey all, am I being unreasonable to expect that after I take the time and effort to make and hide a challenging cache, that those who find it won't add hints, pictures, or not so subtle text in their logs which lower the challange of the find for future cachers? As a standard, I've now asked that finders avoid this in their logs. I like to read logs of previous finds to see what kind of challenge I'm in for, and I'm amazed how often hides are given away in previous finders logs.

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

Yeah that happens to me. Now I have one series of caches that is sort of a joke. When people find the cache the title makes sense to them and they usually make a referrence to it in their logs. But if they give away to much I'll ask them to edit their log. If they don't I decrypt their log.

 

You'd think people would know better but they're having fun and obviously want to share. Sometimes too much

[+Renegade Knight]

I've had good luck emailing them and asking them to pull spoilers. If it's no worse than my hint I'll just encrypt the log.

[+captnemo]

Not unreasonable at all. You can of course, encrypt the ofending logs and/or email the cachers and ask them to edit their log.

 

You can post a note dated just after their log warning that the next log contains spoilers. And of course you can delete their logs not sure I would do this.

 

As a last resort you can take the time and energy spent doing the above and go find a cache.

[+JohnnyVegas]

I had a newbie mention in a log that he thought the magnet was not strong enough, as the only place a magnet would work other than the cache site was 300 feet away I asked him to redo his log, I waited about 24 hours and deleated his entry. He reposted a corected one the next day.

[+Jamie Z]

I try not to read previous logs before attempting a find because I've learned that there are often subtle hints and spoilers in the logs. Sometimes not so subtle, as when the encrypted clue says "Look under the pine tree," and someones log says "We didn't see the pine tree at first, but after..." or somesuch.

 

In addition, my logs are often quite wordy, and in the past, a couple of times, I've been asked to remove some information. I'm only happy to fix my log in those cases. Since those times, I am very conscious of what I write in my logs, and I won't mention anything that's not already on the cache page.

 

I don't think it's unreasonable that you ask cachers to edit out spoilers. In fact, I'd prefer if more owners did this, because several times I've accidently run across spoilers when reading logs, and there isn't any reason for that information to be there.

 

Jamie

[+Lone Duck]

Each cache page contains a warning above the logs stating that the logs might contain spoilers. So, proceed on down the page at your own risk. Some things about a hide can't be discussed without sometimes letting a clue slip out.

[+Bloencustoms]

I can sympathize with you. It happens quite often. Still, it might be unreasonable to expect that something will remain the way you want it to when you relinquish almost all control over it. The trouble is even if you can get the cacher to modify their log, it's still possible that some potential finder has already viewed the spoiler. The way I look at it, there's already a warning on every page that the logs can contain spoilers, so anyone who wishes to find the cache as it was intended by the hider has the option to ignore the logs until after they have found it. It's upsetting to see all your efforts undermined, but cachers who use spoilers are really only depriving themselves of the feeling of accomplishment you get from finding a really tough one. Speaking from personal experience, I can say that I'd rather not encounter spoilers in the logs. A few hard won clues deduced from the vague, cleverly crafted logs of other cachers are useful, and more tasteful than outright spoilers. They don't detract from the experience for me.

[+briansnat]

It doesn't bother me with 1 & 2 star difficulty hides because I want them to be easy. If I had a 3+ star difficulty cache however it would tick me off and I'd ask them to change it.

[+stu_and_sarah]

Some things about a hide can't be discussed without sometimes letting a clue slip out.

We have a cache where half of the experience could be lost by spoilers. We have set up a separate password-protected site for 'real' logs. Only people who've already found the cache can access it, and they can tell the whole story there.

 

Those who haven't found it know they're in for something interesting, but not quite sure what...

 

Cheers,

 

Stu

[+av8tors32]

This may be a good idea for something to ask to be added to this site.

 

What if there was a "log" area for only those who logged a find for this cache. Many of us would love to share our misadventures (something the hider would probably enjoy) but many good stories give too much away about the cache.

 

Has this been discussed before?

[+geckoee]

What if there was a "log" area for only those who logged a find for this cache

 

I thought that was what the physical log was for. Only the people at the cache site see that, so that's where your whole adventure goes.

Edited March 23, 2004 by geckoee

[+HartClimbs]

I'm with you - I've asked some cachers (even very experienced ones) to modify a log if I thought it might affect the experience for future seekers. And honestly, I've only gotten positive responses. Some of the unique hides are very dependent on having very little info provided - and most folks (myself included) may not realize they're giving away details in their written accounts.

 

Sort of like those caches that are obvious from 100 yards away AFTER YOU'VE FOUND THEM (but you just didn't notice while you searched for an hour right at the location!). Things are always more obvious in hindsight.

 

To go along with this - pet peeve is when you go through the effort of creating a clever hide (something really unique or challenging) and the finders don't REHIDE THE CACHE EXACTLY AS THEY FOUND IT. Some of these things *really* are dependent on how the cache is places - exactly. Topic's been covered before - but every time I do maint on my own caches - it amazes me how the hides change over times. For clever or urban hides - often times a minor change in the hide is the end of the cache (an ammo can deep in the woods is probably a little more forgiving in the hide technique).