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When Should you DNF a cache? I thought the answer would be anytime you look for a cache and don't find it. But I was out and about Lewiston this weekend 23 caches and 10 DNFs.:confused: As I read the logs on one cache the note says "I still don't want to make an official DNF until I am sure the cache is still here".
Huh!
An official DNF just means you didn't find it, right.
I am still a 'newbie' so someone else may have a different opinion. But I log a DNF if I looked for it and didn't find it. I figure if I didn't find it and enough people log a DNF then the owner will go check on it. Maybe it's not there and if no one logs a DNF then the owner will never know.
I haven't logged a DNF when I arrived and the GPS batteries died and I didn't get a chance to look really well. Or if I didn't get a good chance to look and was going to come back the next day. Then when I didn't find it, I logged the DNF or if I did find it, I usually mention that I looked the previous day and was unsuccessful but finally found it.
I think some cachers may think that a DNF is a bad thing so they don't want to log it. Maybe they feel it makes them look bad?? Not sure.
Personally I think you should log your DNF if you stopped looking and walked away. The best thing about a DNF is that it lets the cache owner know there may be a potential problem.
Now with that said, there are some very tough finds out there. You have to work a bit for them. DNF's are a very real part of the game. I don't know anybody who has found all of the ones they have looked for. Part of the challenge then becomes going back and resolving the DNF.
Also, on most DNF's on my caches I will write and ask if they want an extra hint. Most cache owners will gladly help out. Why? Because caches are meant to be found!
The bottom line is that the choice is yours.
I agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gob-ler
We always check past logs before we look for a cache. If the last log was a DNF, we ignore the entry and look anyway. If the last 3 logs were DNF's, we would probably skip that cache.
If you looked and didn't find the cache, log it as a DNF. But keep the cache on your watch list. If the next cacher finds it, you'll know it's still there.
:D:D
Always remember, if you don't think your visit quite qualifies as a DNF, you can always log a note. If you get near the site and your batteries die and don't bother looking, or if you get to the parking and you realize it's after hours or it's too far to walk late in the day, or for other reasons like that it's always good to leave a note at minimal for two reasons. Firstly it tells the cache owner people still have an interest in finding the cache, and secondly it gives you a record of when you were there and didn't look.
I personally won't log a DNF unless I've given two visits of at least 15-30 minutes of detailed searching. I just completed the Creepy Crawler multi cache and i looked for stage 2 three times before logging a DNF to make sure it wasn't there. It was missing and the DNF got the stage replaced by the end of that week.
I basically don't want the cache owner to have to check on their cache because I gave up too easily. Some of you who have been at this for quite some time have a lot of hides. If newbies like myself give up to easily, that takes time away from an owner who could be placing more hides or caching themselves. Cache container options are unlimited. Take the extra time if you need to so the owner doesn't have to make unneccessary trips.
I do log my DNF's when I get frustrated and walk off. I went to try Patty's Mt. Battie this summer and DNF'd As did the next 4 people and it was discovered that the cache was missing. It's valuable information. This week I found two DNF's from last year, DNF'd a multi in Fairfield and went back to find it a few days later with some encouragement from Haffy. I tend to keep my DNF's in the back of my head for further conquests later :DQuote:
Originally Posted by WhereRWe?
i will log a DNF after looking for awhile. if im lucky, i will call a phone a friend when available. having my pda with me with logs downloaded from gsak, it helps to know if it had DNFs in it. that way, if im not finding, i check the may check the pda for something i may have overlooked and the logged DNFs really help, espescially if its been 3 or 4 in a row. if the cache is somewhere i can go back to at some point in the future, i will email the placer for a hint when possible.
If I feel that I did a thorough search of the area that the cords say that it should be, and a few yards out from that, and do not find the cache, then I will log a DNF. Yes I have DNFed a cache that was in place and I just didn't find it for whatever reason. I figure that most cache owners want to know if there is a problem with their caches as soon as possible. I know that I do. It also helps to know if your cache is getting a mix of Finds and DNF. That means its well hidden, or your cords are off. The more information the better.
What's the consensus when you don't find what's listed as an active cache, the owner checks it the next day, says it's missing and tells you to log a find because you looked in the correct place for a cache gone missing?:confused:
funny you should mention that, as Maniac and I had a similar experience, we logged a DNF, then that same day someone posted it as a find because the cache owner told them they were "in the right spot" and the cache was missing...Quote:
Originally Posted by dubord207
Right you are young Jedi Cache MasterQuote:
Originally Posted by Hiram357
Pretty much with no exception for me is. If I didn't sign or at least see the log I will not mark it as found. And not seeing the cache at all is definitely a no find situation.Quote:
Originally Posted by dubord207
I agree. RULOST2? and I certainly would like to have logged a find for the only cache we were able to look for in Morocco, but...Quote:
Originally Posted by Mainiac1957
Only 2 people looked for it, no finds, and the cache was eventually archived.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mainiac1957
I wonder if it's starting to become a more common practice? To each his own on how they play the game, but I think that kinda creates a gray area...
Gray area ,shmay area!!! the way I look at it is, if you don't find the cache it's a DNF. I don't care what the owner says, I didn't sign the log so no find for me. That's the way I play the game.
I agree...This summer I actually had my hand on a cache and about to pull it out of its hiding spot when I was attacked by a swam of very angry bees. I waited a long time for them to calm down, but everytime I tried to get near the site I would get "buzzed". I thought that since I was stung and had my hand on the cache I should get to post a find, but I decided that since I did not sign the log the right thing to do was to post a DNF and tell my story.Quote:
Originally Posted by Haffy
I think that should count as a find. If you have placed your hand on a cache and were driven away by bees ( I hate stinging insects:mad:) that is not your fault. You've found the cache. I would not consider that to be different than hiking into a cache and discovering that you lost your pen. I found a cache in late March of this year that I could not sign. That would be because the cache was buried under 6 inches of the clearest ice I have seen. :eek: I did not have the ice auger required to get it, but I was able to see it and place my hand within 6 inches of it. (That was frustrating, but made a cool photo) I found the cache, I claimed the cache, and I went in about a month later and signed it when I was in the area.Quote:
Originally Posted by al'Thor
We log DNFs for caches that we feel we spend a bit of time searching for and come up empty handed on. We don't log dnfs if we do a half hearted search and can't spend the time we would like to do a thorough search. We actually have a public bookmark list of them. We only take caches off the list when we find them or they get archived.
As far as logging a cache we "only touch or see" we log it only of we sign it. But to each their own.
On another note how about logging a cache before it is published? :D
We were recently in NH and met some new cachers who had actually just hid a cache right in the area where we were. They gave us the coords for it in case we wanted to look for it. Since we were going right by it to look for another cache we decided to look for it. Come to find out it was too close to an existing cache and also contained food items. We did not log it knowing it would need to be moved and hid elsewhere. We emailed the owner and let them know that it was probably not going to get approved because of the closeness to an exisiting cache We also mentioned that the food items should be removed. We probably would have signed the log had it looked like it would have been approved but would not have claimed the FTF on it.
Each cache logging situation is different for everyone and everyone plays the game the way they want to play. The way we cache is our game and others play the game the way they want to play. Someone may not want waste gas going back to an area they had already been to and had seen and touched the cache and couldn't sign it for whatever reason.
What if you are caching in a group with a bunch of different cachers? One person found it and everyone signs it.. should that count?
Another caching question to put out there:D
We sign as a team so if one of us finds it gets signed. If it is an especially well done hide, if one of us finds it, they will walk away and sit while the other one continues to search.
I love the whole "I'm Sitting!" deal!:cool: It's a great way to let others is a caching group to find the cache too. Hiram and I love caching in groups, and it's true that when you do it's easier to find the cache.;) Many times, especially with micros, we do not do the whole I'm Sitting thing, and so only one person in the group "finds" the cache, but we all do log it.:eek::o:p We're out to have a good time with friends and find new cool places (and pat the doggies on the way!):DQuote:
Originally Posted by team moxiepup
Many references on gc.com state that sighing the logbook is part of finding the cache. It's the way the first cache was place, and how it was intended to be. Otherwise, anyone could cheat and log online and say they touched the box and bees scared them away. The cache log is proof you were there, or as good a proof as can be provided in most cases.
There's times when i think if I am 5 feet from the guardrail in my car, that should be enough to warrant a find. If the area is not worth getting out to take a picture, why get out to sign the log? :p:p:p
Of course, I always sign it, ot have Lee sign it. :D
we try to claim our dnf's wisely. we will log a dnf if we truely can not find it. we also use the write note option if we just did a quick search because of tired kids to many people around, bees, rain whatever the excuse. but we will not log it as a find if we don't sign the log. there was one cache we logged as a find with owner permission after sending him photos of where the cache should be. he was happy to know someone found it because it was a higher difficulty hide and also glad to see proof that it was gone.