Originally Posted by
benandtina
. . . but the rest of the time we try to log it unless time constraints forced us not to give ourselves a fair amount of time to find it.
Other than personal stats, is there any stigma with logging a DNF? I like to log them because it serves as a reminder for us to go back and try again... plus at least two DNFs that I have logged ended up being caches that were actually missing and the cache owners took action.
The only negative I can think of with logging a DNF is it may discourage people from searching for a cache. I know that if I am far from home and see a log where the 2 or 3 most recent posts are DNF I will not choose to search for that cache. Is there something else that I am missing?
I think you pretty much hit the nail on the head . . . I think a lot of newbies to geocaching do not realize you can log DNF or falsely think it is a black mark against them when in fact as you have mentioned it is actually a rather useful tool -- as a hider if I see a number of DNFs I will often go check the cache to make sure it is there and where and how I placed it . . . and as a searcher when I see a cache with lots of DNFs and the owner has not confirmed the cache is there I am more prone to pass on the cache unless I know it may be a particularly challenging cache to find (i.e. in Firefighterjake's Cache Dictionary you will find examples of Laughing Terry's caches listed as examples of "particuarly challenging cache" . . . along with BRdad's Old 470 cache.)
I know when I first started I didn't want to log DNFs out of some misplaced fear that other veteran cachers would think I was an idiot . . . now I realize after finding many caches and logging many DNFs as well that it doesn't matter how many DNFs I log . . . other cachers still think I am an idiot.
Like you, about the only time I search and do not log the DNF is if I feel the search was just a cursory search . . . I didn't put any real effort into looking for it or spent too little time (i.e. due to time constraints for example.)
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