+Amazingracer Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 (edited) Alright I got vent for a minute. Never done this as I just sit back and watch the fireworks instead of shooting them off. Today a newbie suggestd a local cache be archived because their GPS said the cache was 400ft away from where it was suppsoed to be. That and they went to peoples hosues and such when they didnt ahve to leave the parking lot. Heck they parked right in front of the cache, walked right past it, (despite the caches name and hint) and into the woods which let to their chaos that ensued. So any ways I immediately post a note on the cache saying the cache is fine and the cords are correct and that they probably fat fingered. and the whip around and suggest the cache be archived again and tell me, "I got your fat fingers pal". And tell me that if Im so sure about where the cache is that I should go recheck. And sure enough I did cords are off by 25 ft with 25ft accuracy. Meaning the cords are dead on to 50ft off. Thankfully the cache's owner came to life and checked on the cache also. Everything is fine, except we may ahve a mad newbie. Its not that I dont like newbies,we were all one at some point, I jsut dont like them when they come in with two cache finds under their belt and been at the game for less than a week and suggest the rules be changed around them. jsut as simple as that. alright Im done venting...ah thats much better. Hopefully this topic wont deserve some popcorn but we will see what happens... Edited July 16, 2004 by Amazingracer Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 I had the opposite happen. Newbie cache placer places a cache called Cow Pie. It's a mile hike to the cache. I hike in, we look. No cache. We read the hint. Doesn't fit the coords. We check for a miskey on the coords. No need for dialing wand we put them in right. Time to spiral out and look for something resembling the clue. Ah... 250' away is the cache. We post a note about the hunt and , and that the coordinates may be off 'a little' and we could probably give them revised coordinates if they wanted. The cache owner changes their description to a rant about how dead on the coords are an that they are an engineer (or surveyor I can't recall anymore...) and know what coords are and by gosh they know what they are doing. Next log. "Your coords are off 250'. The next several make comments about the same thing. Several months and a few more finds and the owner corrects the rant and the coordinates. It made for some good conversation at a cache event. Quote Link to comment
+AtoZ Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Ignorance is not bliss. Okay Okay I maybe a newbie, only 31 finds in about as many days. But I am obseive conplusive and when I start something I dig in a learn it. Well learining of GPS technology you learn it is NOT ACCURATE nor PRECISE. Well to an extent it is but not down to the foot. The 10 foot accury is only tre a certian precentage of the time and the 30 foot accuracy is only a certian percentage of the time. Of course the make is going to claim 10 feet so you buy his GPS. Sorry I digress but people need to learn their equipment is the problem and to often now a day we beleive every thing we hear or are told by a manfacture, why else is there so many products on the TV claiming penal enlargment or eat all you want and lose wwight. Humm. Sorry if i offened anyone. but im still a nob. cheers Quote Link to comment
+Robespierre Posted July 16, 2004 Share Posted July 16, 2004 Yield not to temptation! Quote Link to comment
+Allen_L Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Well Amazingracer you made me look. Anyway it looks like the noob has calmed down and admits it could have been his mistake. Quote Link to comment
+TotemLake Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Well Amazingracer you made me look. Anyway it looks like the noob has calmed down and admits it could have been his mistake. Imagine my surprise. Quote Link to comment
+greyhounder Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 I know what the thing is about newbies -- they're new. They need to learn what to do ya know. Just be patient and help them... (of course, I'm in a good mood today....) Bec Quote Link to comment
+Amazingracer Posted July 17, 2004 Author Share Posted July 17, 2004 Yes everything is good now. ill shoot them an email later. My beef is done i guess. Quote Link to comment
+mtn-man Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Well Amazingracer you made me look. Anyway it looks like the noob has calmed down and admits it could have been his mistake. Made me look too. Glad things have settled down. We will send them on a snipe hunt after the first GGA meeting they attend! Quote Link to comment
+Mopar Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 OK, I had to go look, took me a while to figure out which one, cause I guess I assumed it was a new cache. Never assume! Hidden in 2002 with 36 finds on it, all using the horribly wrong 400ft off coords? HA! Quote Link to comment
+The Jester Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Why is it that people are so resistant to posting the co-ords they find with their logs (using the "Add a waypoint to the log" check box)? Unless it's a puzzle or multi just so it. It helps everyone - cachers & hiders. We had one around here that several of us took readings (off 190-250 feet), turns out the hider had fat fingered the co-ords on entry - and didn't think to check until several postings listed numbers close to what they thought it should be. Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 I had a noob send me an e-mail complaining because he had a hard time with a camouflaged micro I have hidden, he was claiming the put camouflage on a cache was not allowed the rules. I had one post a note for one saying the cache is missing (It would have been his second find) Quote Link to comment
jupilli Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Pls L&Gs, don't be too hard for us newbies, everybody make mistakes and for some it only seems to be too hard to admit that he is wrong which always causes more confusion. Recently we had an occation when a new cacher, when trying to log a find accidentaly reported a new cache using the same cache name with different coordinates w/o any box hidden. This cache was approved and when other local cachers checked and reported it as a fake it was quickly archived. The newbie has correctly apologized his error but I think this points out that not only newbies are making mistakes. My opinion is that when you make an error, admitting it clearly only can increase the respect for you !! There is no need for special explanations. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 I think the point is that they are novices and not really good at this yet. Quote Link to comment
+CompuCash Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 (edited) Hey - just to defend some of us noobs who are not idiots - my first cache - took just two people telling me my coords were off to go check - ya they were - weird because I did what the FAQ's and those here on the forum said - took several after many minutes in the same place. When I went back using the same posted coords I was a long way from where I took them. At first I thought the finders were off because there were 2 finds before the complaints. Hey at least I went to check - at least this noob had the sense (cents?) to go see what they were hollering about before I hollered back - I also posted a crypted note giving instructions on how to find it explaining the clues. Maybe I got too cute for my first cache - I'm learning. Edited July 17, 2004 by CompuCash Quote Link to comment
+StarshipTrooper Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 I think the point is that there is a difference between a *noobie* and a noobie who can't or won't read and follow instructions. It's the latter who are the problem. -ST Quote Link to comment
+Imajika Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 If any of you play EQ or EQOA here is our definition : Newb: Someone who is new to the game and is willing to learn about it and appreciates help from more experienced players. Noob: Someone who is new to the game and refuses help from more experienced players. They think they know everything there is to know about the game and get defensive when you try to offer advice. I think most people that are new to geocaching are 'newbs'. I know I was when I first started caching (and playing EQOA). Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 If any of you play EQ or EQOA here is our definition : Newb: Someone who is new to the game and is willing to learn about it and appreciates help from more experienced players. Noob: Someone who is new to the game and refuses help from more experienced players. They think they know everything there is to know about the game and get defensive when you try to offer advice. I think most people that are new to geocaching are 'newbs'. I know I was when I first started caching (and playing EQOA). You guys got words for experienced players who are willing to help newbs and those who delight in torturing them and makeing them miserable? Quote Link to comment
+Beta Test Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 A while ago, I accidentally archived a cache or two. What happened is when I selected cache type, I used the freewheel on the mouse to scroll down the page to where I could type, but this also scrolled the list down to the SBA option. I realised the mistake and quickly fixed it. Quote Link to comment
+Silny Jako Bek Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 (edited) I just had a newbie post an amazingly spoiler laden log for one of my caches. (The container is camoflauged by a large fake rock, and I placed another large fake rock as a decoy with a card inside that says to keep looking) As the person who posted a note after points out, the newbie might just as well have placed a red carpet directly to the cache. I emailed the newbie that I would encrypt the log, and suggested that he might want to edit it and not be quite so informative next time. I just noticed that he actually did edit it, so I guess the "education" helped! This One's Different, It's Eating My Popcorn Edited July 17, 2004 by Silny Jako Bek Quote Link to comment
+Allen_L Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 We will send them on a snipe hunt after the first GGA meeting they attend! Do you mean a snipe hunt or The Snipe Hunt? Quote Link to comment
+GPSKitty Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 We were all newbies at one time. But there are different types of newbies. When I'm a newbie at anything, I know enough to know that I DON'T know enough about whatever it is. I read FAQ's, read forums, and in the case of caching, I read a lot of logs for the caches I wanted to hunt for. You pick up terminology, rules and policies, accepted behavior, etc. The newbies I have a problem with are the ones who jump into the middle of the pool creating a big splash without checking first to see if splashing (or whatever) is allowed in this particular pool. Take some time to learn about this new sport/game you have decided to play BEFORE you take the ball and run with it. Quote Link to comment
+AuntieWeasel Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 Some people are newbies at being newbies. Hey, it's a skill! I got a very early start doing the online thing (mid-eighties, before the web, even), so I've been a newbie in dozens of places. The right way: read every FAQ you can get your hands on, be humble, watch your surroundings and bide your time. Good manners count. None of these things come naturally to me, but I grit my teeth and follow the plan because this is the quickest way I've found to get over being a newbie and morph into an old hand. At which point I can be the the offensive, obnoxious, loudmouth blowhard that nature intended. I give it another six weeks here Quote Link to comment
+Kit Fox Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 I just had a newbie post an amazingly spoiler laden log for one of my caches. (The container is camoflauged by a large fake rock, and I placed another large fake rock as a decoy with a card inside that says to keep looking) As the person who posted a note after points out, the newbie might just as well have placed a red carpet directly to the cache. I emailed the newbie that I would encrypt the log, and suggested that he might want to edit it and not be quite so informative next time. I just noticed that he actually did edit it, so I guess the "education" helped!This One's Different, It's Eating My Popcorn The photo in the cache album gives it away also. http://img.Groundspeak.com/cache/log/222ce...2ea0f44473a.jpg Quote Link to comment
Black Mage Posted July 17, 2004 Share Posted July 17, 2004 (edited) I've been thinking, at what point is a noobie/newbie no longer a newbie? Is it a function of the number of finds/hides? Or is it something else? Edited July 18, 2004 by Black Mage Quote Link to comment
+Planet Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 How about the not so newbie that hunts micros, swears in the log book and states how much they hate micros and yet, they keep on hunting the micros? And swearing and using the word hate! Or they know a hider has a particular style and they hate it and yet they keep on looking. Like a rubbernecker at a car wreck. Do they do it because it feels so good when they stop? Quote Link to comment
+Ambrosia Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 It is pretty frustrating to have a new person go to your cache and then make comments like, "I couldn't find it, must not be there, maybe the cache owner should go check it, etc." I've had this happen to my caches more than once. But at the same time, we need to be patient and gracious. We can help people with their mistakes without putting them down. Put-downs make people defensive, and then it can become a bad experience for everyone. A simple, "Hi, it's nice to meet some new cachers, and by the way, maybe you could check into this possibility, etc, if I can be any help to you, etc." Everyone will benefit, and no one will be upset. Quote Link to comment
+SixTen Posted July 19, 2004 Share Posted July 19, 2004 (edited) I've been thinking, at what point is a noobie/newbie no longer a newbie? Is it a function of the number of finds/hides? Or is it something else? Attitude & Behavior... Edited July 19, 2004 by SixTen Quote Link to comment
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