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Thread: What makes a "good cache"?

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    Bangor Area
    Posts
    47

    Default GeoNovice GeOpinion

    There is not a lot I can say about hiding caches. So far I have picked out a couple spots that ended up muggled before I even got permission to place the cache. . . but stay tuned (im still looking).

    I can say what I have found that took the fun out of finding a cache. Not all of which relate directly to the placement of the cache.

    10) Muddy Roads & long hikes to bla locations.
    9) Religious pamphlets (Im the one who throws them away!)
    8) Too many bugs (aka Geocacher blood donation location)
    7) Nebulous puzzle answers (hmm. . . is that mauve or eggplant?)
    6) Missing Travel bugs (some have been missing a very long time!)
    5) No clear sky (last 10 logs say, "DNF! hard to get a signal here!")
    4) No Tresspassing Signs!!!
    3) Muggled Caches (too close to the beaten path?)
    2) Coordinates off by more than 30'
    1) Wet Logbooks (human error, containment failure and aqueous toys)

    With that said, I wonder if there should be more "types" of caches or a kind of Finder Rating Score (FRS) to help people decide what to seek.

    When close to home, I wouldn't mind searching for a cache that is nothing more than a place to drop a travel bug or log a find.

    When traveling on vacation, I would like to be able to tell which caches are "worthy" of my time (estimated value $200 a day). One of the things I love most about Geocaching is finding hidden places that I probably never would have found otherwise.
    The Adventure
    Continues . . . .

    - Zoltarus

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    1,972

    Exclamation Important!!

    There is only one thing that is important to the Team. Good Bad or indifferent . There has to be a story, to go along with the cache. If I can't remember doing the cache, then it probally wasn't a good one. By the way. I remember most of our caches. Wait til you hear the stories from our Quebec City trip with KK.
    Why not live life like it is your last day....instead of pretending to be a member of the Peter Pan Club and believing you will be around forever.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Portland, Maine
    Posts
    1,652

    Default

    Another favorite to add to my list........yes, the quick and easy cache under a pile of sticks or behind a rock (perfect for teaching a child).

    I took my 9 year old niece out today to learn about caching. She is visiting from NY and has been so excited that she would finally get to go. Treasure hunting through the eyes of a 9 year presents it's own fun and excitement. As simple as this particular cache is for adults, it was perfect for her. She was excited and proud to have found it, and thrilled to go on despite cold temperatures. Though we travelled a bit from Portland to Stockton Springs today, the ride in the car was no longer so boring as she anticipated the next hunt. Each time she got more excited - was so fun to see her. For our final cache, she jumped out of the car with the GPS in her had and navigated the entire trek herself. Someday she will do a micro, a puzzle, a multi or other more complicated caches than we did today, but had we started there, I am sure she would have quit right away.

    Just another reminder that the caching experience and the cache itself are anything that we want them to be - there is a positive experience there no matter what if one wants there to be.
    ~ Beach Comber ~

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Bangor, ME
    Posts
    3,968

    Default

    everyone gets different jollies from different things, it all depends on the person seeking the cache. I like trekking out into the woods in any condition to look for a cache I might not find. Others like the micros in the middle of city, and having to play 007 to keep the cache from being muggled. My best advice for making a cache is, that there is no bad cache because there is someone out there who will enjoy it, so it's your job as the cache owner to give the best possible description of your cache so that someone will know if that's a cache they want to do. The star ratings don't do caches justice, I've done a lot of big star caches only to find a great dissapointment in both the terrain and skill required to do the cache. The more work you put into your cache to keep it nice and free of junk, and to make it as user friendly as possible, the better it will be. You gotta think of it as "you're selling your cache to other cachers" you want them to be as informed as possible and happy with the end product.
    Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Auburn
    Posts
    2,134

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Hiram357
    The more work you put into your cache to keep it nice and free of junk, and to make it as user friendly as possible, the better it will be. You gotta think of it as "you're selling your cache to other cachers" you want them to be as informed as possible and happy with the end product.
    That's what a good cache is!

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Solon, Maine
    Posts
    5,965

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Zoltarus
    I wonder if there should be more "types" of caches or a kind of Finder Rating Score (FRS) to help people decide what to seek.
    I think a "finder rating" on geocaching.com would be a great idea. Anyone know if this has actually been discussed?

  7. #17
    Join Date
    May 2005
    Location
    temp
    Posts
    666

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by WhereRWe?
    I think a "finder rating" on geocaching.com would be a great idea. Anyone know if this has actually been discussed?
    User/finders ratings sound similar to Terracaching.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    Bangor, ME
    Posts
    3,968

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Trezurs*-R-*Fun
    User/finders ratings sound similar to Terracaching.
    well, i signed up for it, and i dont see anything but forums... where's the caches??
    Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Gainesville, Georgia
    Posts
    3,893

    Default

    Well there are only 2 caches in the whole state,1 in Pittsfield at Manson Park and the other one is in SW Maine someplace. The website is very hard to get around and not very user friendly if you ask me. At the top of the home page click on To Do List and then click on traditional and that will give you the locations of the 2 caches that are here in Maine.
    Just smile it won't crack your face

    The statistics on sanity are that one out of every four persons is
    suffering from some sort of mental illness. Think of your three best
    friends -- if they're okay, then it's you.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Bangor, ME
    Posts
    6,343

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by WhereRWe?
    I think a "finder rating" on geocaching.com would be a great idea. Anyone know if this has actually been discussed?
    Finder ratings have been discussed in the gc.com forums many times. I know there was concern about misuse - people giving bad ratings because the finder was not given enough hints or because the hider gave a bad rating on one of the finder's caches. IIRC, there was also a discussion where only good ratings could be left (something like good, very good, great).

    I'm middle of the road on finder ratings. It would probably help if I were away from home and was not biased by any relationship with the hider or previous finders. But at home, I think the logs give a good indication. When you see a cache with a lot of "TNLNSL" logs you get an idea there was not much worth talking about. Of course, you'll always get those loggers who never write much - that's the beauty of knowing the type of logs people write.

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