Logging Dnks

[+Z_Statman]

I searched for a !@#$ section about this but nothing came up.

 

I log DNFs, and if there is something believed to be unusual, e.g., the GPSr takes me to a place that doesn't seem logical according to the description or the cache is floating in a pond, etc, I also send a note to the owner. The point - If one assumes the responsibility for a cache then why don't they follow-up?

 

Further, some caches, in the descriptive, say that if one can't fine then DNF and I [the owner] will get back to you with a hint. Well, again, no response on several occasions.

 

What is the proper procedure, ......?

[+Robespierre]

You may have an owner who has walked away from geocaching. He may be on vacation. What I normally do after a dnf is to wait until someone else has found it. When a cache gets 3 dnf's, it might be time to SBA it, if a few weeks have passed. You leave an Archive note on the cache page, and a reviewer note for the approver, and email the approver. But, if you're the only one who can't find it, and the owner's on vacation, it can seem like a long process.

[+Kit Fox]

I placed a new cache and 3 people logged DNFs the first day. The next morning I went to the location and verified that it was still there. I made the hint easier and increased the difficulty level also.

[+Team Perks]

I typically give hints if the finder posts a DNF *AND* emails me asking for a hint. Generally, I prefer the challenge of going after caches without having too much extra help...so I'd much rather have to email the owner for extra help when I'm ready for it than have them automatically send me a spoiler.

[+1stimestar]

My only dnf also has one other person that came after that did not find it either. I emailed the owner a couple of weeks ago and have not heard back from them yet. Of course these people also have one in WA (I'm in Alaska) so who knows where they live or if they plan to maintain this one or not.

[+briansnat]

I generally won't respond to a DNF unless the person specifically asks for a response. If you want a response, e-mail him. If you don't hear back, icheck the last date the owner logged onto the website. If its been a long time, its probably an abandoned cache.

Edited October 5, 2004 by briansnat

[+El Diablo]

What Brian said. I don't respond to DNFs unless I'm asked a hint or there is an obivous problem.

 

El Diablo

[+1stimestar]

On mine I did ask a specific question. I think I asked if he was planning on checking it out before the snow got too deep since there have been two of us now that couldn't find it. I just went back and saw that he is only 13 so he probably can't get back to it without it being a priority for a driver in his family. I just emailed him again and asked if he wanted me to adopt it as it is in a great spot and really near my house. Even if he doesn't want me to I hope he replaces it, as like I said, it is in a nice spot for an easier find.

[+Wheelygood]

You don't say how long it has been but I would wait a couple weeks and watch it.

 

I generally do not provide many hints on my cache listings but I do email every DNF and give them the option of scrolling WAY down for cryptic hints or just hitting delete. Some cachers will acknowledge they received a little help in their logs.

[+El Diablo]

On mine I did ask a specific question. I think I asked if he was planning on checking it out before the snow got too deep since there have been two of us now that couldn't find it. I just went back and saw that he is only 13 so he probably can't get back to it without it being a priority for a driver in his family. I just emailed him again and asked if he wanted me to adopt it as it is in a great spot and really near my house. Even if he doesn't want me to I hope he replaces it, as like I said, it is in a nice spot for an easier find.

No offense intended, but you only have 7 finds. Just because you couln't find it dosen't mean it isn't there, nor dose it mean that you need to adopt it or replace it. Wait and watch and see how other more experienced cachers do.

 

Just because the hider is 13 dosen't mean there is a problem.

 

El Diablo

[+1stimestar]

On mine I did ask a specific question.  I think I asked if he was planning on checking it out before the snow got too deep since there have been two of us now that couldn't find it.  I just went back and saw that he is only 13 so he probably can't get back to it without it being a priority for a driver in his family.  I just emailed him again and asked if he wanted me to adopt it as it is in a great spot and really near my house.  Even if he doesn't want me to I hope he replaces it, as like I said, it is in a nice spot for an easier find.

No offense intended, but you only have 7 finds. Just because you couln't find it dosen't mean it isn't there, nor dose it mean that you need to adopt it or replace it. Wait and watch and see how other more experienced cachers do.

 

Just because the hider is 13 dosen't mean there is a problem.

 

El Diablo

Not offended. I offered to adopt it because his only other hide is in WA (we are in Alaska) so I don't know if he lives up here or down there or both. And there was someone else who came after me that could not find it also. I didn't imply that his age was a problem, only that he couldn't just jump into his car and come out here to check it out but would have to wait for a ride.

[thorin]

IMHO

 

1) Try to find the cache 2 or 3 times.

2) Email the cache owner.

3) Hopefully the owner gives a hint and you find it or they check if it's missing and replace it.

4) If they don't reply then get a fellow gc'er to try or if there are already a number of DNFs log a SBA. (And/or start cache adoption process)

 

Thorin

[justinthornton]

I never log dnf, to lazy.

[+Doc-Dean]

I never log dnf, to lazy.

Apparently too lazy to even string together your words correctly...

[+Renegade Knight]

I never log dnf, to lazy.

And that's why you will seek many a cache in futility.

 

When I get a DNF on an easy cache I know to check on it. Then I'll email the DNF person if it's gone (that where your hunting in futulity comes in, you will never know it's gone). If it's a hard cache I probably won't email unless I know then well enough to know they should have found it. If they email I'll email back with or without a hint depending on circumstances.

Edited October 7, 2004 by Renegade Knight

[+SherwoodForest]

i had a finder log a dnf on a rest stop cache of mine the other day... he sent me a picture where he thought it was, i said that looked like the right spot and that i'd try and get out there, but he got out there first and was able to find it -- just missed it the first time...so...

 

try it again,

 

if you still can't find it, ask the owner

 

or, ask other local cachers who have found it..

 

but most importantly, be patient... the answers will come...

 

[+Z_Statman]

A new extension to this helpful thread.

 

Since I tend to log DNFs, what if I do go back and find it, should I remove the DNF when I log the find or edit the DNF to show a find?

 

Tks,

[+ShadowAce]

Some people delete DNF's and just log the found.

 

Some people leave the DNF and post a found.

 

Some people delete the DNF and put that information into the new found.

 

Depends on the cache which one I will do. I more often then not will copy my old DNF information and paste it into the bottom of my new find if I get a find on it. This is entirely your choice. I will let you know why we do it though, in case your interested, or you can move on tot he next now.

 

We try to make complete logs, many times there is not much to be said about the mcdonalds parking lot cache so we have simple logs, but more often we will write a story / log that really tells what we did at the cache and getting to / from the cache.

 

My cache log entries are normally shorter then my online logs. I know a few people who read my logs start to finish and have even emailed me after.. This is fun. So if I go to a mountain top and dont find the cache then go back, we feel that it is still an extension of the log. We are proud to talk about the animals we see and the people we may have met. My children, 4 and 8 now, feel like the log entries should be a form of diary of the trip and we sit down and figure out what to write.. If I solved a puzzle that took four months to figure out, I am happy to talk about the new scars on my head from banging the wall.

 

Use your judgement and post them as you see fit. I dont always put a DNF log until I have been back to the area a couple of times.. Why? Cause sometimes it is just us being slow whitted that day and I know that when a DnF is posted on my caches I will go check on them. Why make the cache owner fret because I had a 'slowboy' day.. After 2 or three attempts, I am happy to log a 'You beat me, I need help' log.

 

So.. um, ok, rambling stops here!

[+The Leprechauns]

Please leave your DNF log. It is part of the history of the cache, and of your personal geocaching history. It is much more interesting to read the two DNF logs, followed by "FINALLY! I found it! I cannot believe I missed it, I could've swore I had checked there last time." That log is not as good if the preceding DNF's are wiped off the page.

 

Leaving the DNF's on the page also lets others know that the cache is not an easy find. This will cause some people to skip it altogether, and others to make a point of setting aside an afternoon to tackle it.

 

DNF's are nothing to be ashamed of. Why rewrite history to cover them up?

[+the hermit crabs]

Since I tend to log DNFs, what if I do go back and find it, should I remove the DNF when I log the find or edit the DNF to show a find?

You might want to leave your DNF in place, if you don't want your logs being listed in this thread...

[mortonfox]

There was one cache for which I posted a DNF because I went to ground zero and saw that all the trees in that area had been cleared away and presumably the cache had been taken away too. Since I posted that DNF a few months ago, no one else has attempted the cache and the cache owner hasn't emailed me or gone to check on the cache. So how long should I wait before upgrading the DNF to an SBA?

Edited November 1, 2004 by stayfloopy

[+briansnat]

Since I tend to log DNFs, what if I do go back and find it, should I remove the DNF when I log the find or edit the DNF to show a find?

 

If you delete them, you're tampering with the history of the cache. You're also denying other geocachers info that may help them decided if they want to attempt the cache and how much time to devote to the search. I know if I see some DNF's sprinkled among the logs, I'll know its not an easy find and I'll search harder. If its solid smiley faces and I don't find the cache in a few minutes I'll assume its gone.

 

If you edit your DNF, the owner won't get a notification of the find. Owners only get notification of new logs, not updated ones.

[+fly46]

Even worse was the multi I tried a couple weeks ago.

The first set of cords takes you outside a tunnel. Then you offset down the tunnel, he said 100 paces, but as short as I am it was only about 60, and find a micro with the next set of cords.

 

Well, we found the micro after a long search in the wrong place (refer to the pace count issue) and then discovered that the cords in the tunnel were the same as the ones listed on the cache page.

 

Back out we went, thinking... That was really sneaky sending us in the tunnel to come back out to it, searched for 45+ minutes, used a phone a friend only to be told... "The cache is about .4 out in the woods from there"

 

I emailed the cache owner, as did the other group of people I was with.... neither of us have heard anything.

[+flask]

I generally won't respond to a DNF unless the person specifically asks for a response. If you want a response, e-mail him. If you don't hear back, icheck the last date the owner logged onto the website. If its been a long time, its probably an abandoned cache.

yep. if you log a DNF on one of mine and suggest it's gone, i may check it. you will not hear from me unless you email me. almost invariably when i go check on the thing it's still there.

 

i have one particularly famously assumed missing one for which people don't really look for it because it's about two feet from where everybody thinks it is. to compound things, it actually has moved about a foot and a half from its original location and previous finders tell current hunters to check the place where it's not.

 

serves 'em right, if you ask me.

[+Z_Statman]

Lep, I think your point is very important - A cache's history helps all.

 

How can one undelete [archieve] a deleted log?

[+Monkeybrad]

 

I emailed the cache owner, as did the other group of people I was with.... neither of us have heard anything.

The cache owner in question has had a recent death in the family and is no doubt, dealing with more important issues than geocaching right now.