First of all, I don't necessarily feel or practice what I am about to say, but sometimes the thoughts do cross my mind. And I have a hard time discrediting those thoughts. Plus, the forums have been slow so I thought this might start some discussion.

Facts (Or my interpretation of them):

1. Most cachers love to tell everyone they run into about all the fun involved in caching. Family members, people we meet on the trail, old friends, new friends, people who start meaningless discussions with us in our passings, we just want to get the word out and share our stories.

2. In the current stage of Geocaching, cachers should feel confident that the caches they are searching for are placed legally and with permission, especially those in high muggle areas.

3. If someone sees you sneaking around an area looking for a cache, you will arise much more suspicion than if you openly look for it, explaining what you are doing if confronted.

Following that philosophy, why do so many cache pages ask that we be stealthy? Should we really be concerned with that expensive film canister being found by onlooking muggles? Why do we bother to be stealthy while looking for a cache? Why not let any interested parties join in and learn the fun of caching? And in the event the cache was not placed legally or with permission, is it so bad we lose that cache? If we are caught sneaking while finding a cache, doesn't that just make the watchers assume Geocaching is an underground activity?