Disturbing Comments on Maines Oldest Cache

[dubord207]

My message was that his logs were not funny and to suggest that he'd taken caches away was not the way the game was played. I also suggested that if he was caching with his dad as he indicated, that he should ask his father about such things.

I didn't receive a response but hope he's just a newbie or a very young man that doesn't get it. I can't hazard a guess if this will help or not or if he even knows how to open the message, but it can't hurt.

I also agree with the suggestion that the log be deleted. I would like to think his father would intervene and stop this from happening again, but who knows.

[JustPJ66]

I would like to think his father would intervene and stop this from happening again, but who knows.

We live in hope.

[firefighterjake]

Maybe I just like in a Pollyanna world where everything is sunshine, rainbows and ponies frolicking in fields of candy canes with gum drop fences . . . but in reading the logs my first thought was not that someone was messing with the caches, but rather that an inexperienced (and young) cacher might not have read all the "rules" of the game and thought you were supposed to bring home the cache as if it was actual treasure . . . moreover I would not put a lot of stock in the fact that he didn't sign the log since a person who wouldn't know the rules of the game might not realize he/she is supposed to sign the physical log.

If someone wanted to really mess with a cache there is a lot more they could do than simply go on-line and write some logs about taking the cache home . . . leaving bodily fluids/deposits behind in the cache, destroying the cache, moving the cache, leaving profanity-laden logs . . . all these are far more likely to occur with someone bent on messing with a cache.

And if someone was intent only on "messing" with a cache with their on-line log I think they could come up with something a lot more provocative than what they wrote . . .

Again, maybe I'm just a Pollyanna, but I'm wondering if this was a newbie who brought the cache home and then was told or learned that the cache was supposed to stay in place and it was returned. . . .

[firefighterjake]

As for the media stories creating more problems . . .

Guess I'm not that paranoid or worried . . . sure there is a possibility that someone who is so bored with their life will rush out and buy a $100+ GPSr and go tromping in the woods just for the sole purpose of messing with caches after they see a story on TV . . . but I'm thinking that the type of folks who would do so are not typically the type of folks to watch the local news or read a newspaper (yeah, I'm biased here -- call it experience based bias).

Nah . . . publicity is good in my opinion . . . far more good is done with publicity since it may get more people into the sport . . . and if nothing else it lets folks know why that strange guy is poking around that guardrail down the road from their home.

Again, maybe I'm just not paranoid enough . . . then again I also don't worry too much about being murdered or having my home broke into . . . I play the odds . . . odds are I will not be shot . . . odds are my home will not be broken into . . . and odds are that even with more publicity the chances of the added publicity resulting in more vandalized caches is pretty slim.

[Team V3]

I agree with the fact that as more people learn about caching, there will be a select few who find ways to disrespect the game. However, I also believe that it is a small percentage. Most people will either like the game, or not care either way.

[Ekidokai]

Assuming if you are calling him a punk your message was less than friendly, where is the good that can come from this? If the person does have ill-content, he is most likely is looking for attention, so you're giving him what he wants. If the person is just making some newbie mistakes or is just not mature enough to understand what he is saying, 100 emails bashing him for his actions is not the best welcome!

If your message was friendly, then it might be a good thing, provided he is just making newbie mistakes.

It seems to me the best approach in these situations is to first be sure who we are dealing with. If it is a vandal, by all means find a quiet way to identify him and confront him or his parents. If it turns out he is making honest mistakes the let's welcome him and educate him.

We had someone a few years back vandalizing caches. Within a few days he was exposed, we had his address, phone number, web site, pictures. He was soon banned and didn't have a problem since.

As much as I hate to say it I agree with Brdad. To a point.

An absolute ignoring of this person is the only action that will work. Newbie or not. I know starting out on many of my adventures I had no idea what I was doing. I just stumbled along. Making mistakes as I went. If someone had jumped on me for some minor infraction of some unwritten rule or something of that nature there would be trouble of epic proportions. Think Stud Mill in reverse. Think taking people out on a regular basis to show them geocaching in reverse. It wouldn't have been the first time. Luckily I use my powers for good now not evil.

On the other hand if it is a newbie, Maybe a friendly come on out with me and I can help you with some caching secrets. I do that because I would have loved that when I started out. We just need to wait and see what is going on with him.

[Ekidokai]

As for the media stories creating more problems . . .

Guess I'm not that paranoid or worried . . . sure there is a possibility that someone who is so bored with their life will rush out and buy a $100+ GPSr and go tromping in the woods just for the sole purpose of messing with caches after they see a story on TV . . . but I'm thinking that the type of folks who would do so are not typically the type of folks to watch the local news or read a newspaper (yeah, I'm biased here -- call it experience based bias).

Nah . . . publicity is good in my opinion . . . far more good is done with publicity since it may get more people into the sport . . . and if nothing else it lets folks know why that strange guy is poking around that guardrail down the road from their home.

Again, maybe I'm just not paranoid enough . . . then again I also don't worry too much about being murdered or having my home broke into . . . I play the odds . . . odds are I will not be shot . . . odds are my home will not be broken into . . . and odds are that even with more publicity the chances of the added publicity resulting in more vandalized caches is pretty slim.

Kids noadays have more money than brains and are just looking for trouble to make.

[firefighterjake]

Kids noadays have more money than brains and are just looking for trouble to make.

I dunno about this . . . in my line of work I see a number of kids and I would say the majority of them have far more important things to do than make trouble . . . like wondering if Sue wants to go out with them . . . or picking up the newest Warcraft game . . . or hooking up with their good friend Joe to hang out at the State Fair.

[firefighterjake]

As much as I hate to say it I agree with Brdad. To a point.

An absolute ignoring of this person is the only action that will work. Newbie or not. I know starting out on many of my adventures I had no idea what I was doing. I just stumbled along. Making mistakes as I went. If someone had jumped on me for some minor infraction of some unwritten rule or something of that nature there would be trouble of epic proportions. Think Stud Mill in reverse. Think taking people out on a regular basis to show them geocaching in reverse. It wouldn't have been the first time. Luckily I use my powers for good now not evil.

On the other hand if it is a newbie, Maybe a friendly come on out with me and I can help you with some caching secrets. I do that because I would have loved that when I started out. We just need to wait and see what is going on with him.

Going to disagree on this . . . sometimes a friendly, gentle nudge worded the right way works wonders . . . now a note written in harsh, condemning tones I would agree with you . . . a person could get quite irate and may either leave the game for good or be a bit malicious.

I would respectfully suggest however that taking a cache home would not be a "minor" issue and in fact the rules as to how to geocache (i.e. not taking the cache home with you) are written and pretty clear.

I also agree that having someone step up to offer to take this guy out (uh, not take him out that way) . . . and go caching . . . could be beneficial.

[JustKev]

We live in hope.

And all this time I thought we lived in Belgrade.

Go figure.