new cachers

[vtwinspin]

why do new cachers feel the need to put a needs maintence log or just put out new cantainer so they can sign the log this really ticks me off I just did owner maintence on a bunch of caches that had been logged as they needed and about 90% of them was because the cacher could not find them just log a dnf and ask for another clue

[Timberline Echoes]

One guy just moved one of ours because it did not match the clue… well he had the old clue not the new one that was already 2 months old… Yep newbies need some schooling…
TE

[bugsmasher69]

It isn’t just the new people. I recently had a three year veteran log a needs maintainence on one of mine he couldn’t find. There is more dnf’s on it then finds and because of his needs maintainence log and a couple of dnf’s before his it quickly got disabled by a reviewer.

Made a special trip to check on it and the container was exactly where I placed it origenally.

[sandlanders]

More things to add to the literature and the Geocaching 101 list of things to educate newer cachers on. Don’t know how that would help the veterans who would rather post a “Need Maintenance” than a DNF, though.

We don’t usually mention in our DNFs that the cache might be be missing either. We just assume there might be something we have overlooked or it was a clever hide, not that because we couldn’t find the container, it must be missing. The cache owner gets notified through the DNF anyway, and can check or not as he/she sees fit.

[The Crippler]

There are cachers with more thn three years experience that put out new containers when they can not find the original.

Also, whats with the people who move your caches to spots where THEY think GZ is? I have a guardrail cache that keeps getting the “needs new log” posting. I have gone three times and I can not find it. I think about disabling it thinking it is missing only to have a cacher find it a few days later. I have another cache that I walk past every day. I noticed it moved three feet. I PM’d the last finder and asked why they moved it and they replied they moved it to the “real spot it is supposed to be in.”

[gotta run]

Newbie cachers can be excused to a certain extent, although they are still faced with the big “Are you SURE you want to do this?” screen before they submit the log. Even so, I’m not sure if they understand what a PITA it is when there is nothing wrong with the cache.

Regarding experienced cachers…well, you either have common courtesy or you don’t. Some people are just too proud to ever admit that they simply couldn’t find a cache, so resort to NM, SBA, or just generally snotty logs. Those people can kiss my big shiny hiney and really should stick to a hobby that is less personally stressful.

When you find a “replacement” cache that was put out without your permission, the solution is simple–delete the logs of those signed in there because they didn’t find your cache. They found A cache, but not yours.

On the Left Side of the Road...

[Mister Greenthumb]

There’s nothing like a needs maintenance to kill a cache. We found one of Brian Tapp’s last Sunday; an ammo box full of water that someone had left the cover open on. We dried it out the best we could and logged our find. No needs maintenance was posted. I sent Brian a message explaining the cache condition and left it up to him. I had a newer cacher put a needs maintenance on one hide because the baggie for the log book was torn, the container was an ammo box. I had another post a needs maintenance because she couldn’t get the cover off on a cache that had been found over 100 times. The next cachers to find it had no problem. This happens to be a touchy subject with me since I’m just as addicted to hiding (130 hides) as finding. I spend a lot of time doing routine maintenance and don’t really need all of this extra unecessary work. I do try to keep my temper and send a nice message to anyone who places an unecessary needs maintence explaining what the option is really for. Surprisingly the response back has been very positive.

[Team Black-Cat]

NM posts for a missing pen are quite unnecessary also.
Quite frankly, I don’t think pens or pencils are necessary in ANY cache. Sure, everyone has forgotten to bring along a pen once or twice. After that you start to remember to come prepared…
Sorry for getting off topic. Please continue.

[djwini]

i’ve posted a few needs maintenance notes, the last one was a cache that was full of water and stuck in the ground. couldn’t empty the water and couldn’t lift the cache.
take a deep breath you guys, sometimes containers are on the ground and you know that isn’t where they are supposed to be, so you put them back where the clue indicates they would have been hidden. if i do that, i write in my log that i did so, or i send an email to the owner telling them that.
as for thinking that all cache owners read the logs from all their caches, i don’t believe it. otherwise why are there so many caches with multiple dnfs that it seems no one is checking on.

[Northern Lightz]

Technically we are “newbies” we started over Memorial Day this year and we have 400 finds as of now. We completely understand the NM issue! We have gone out to caches that we notice the last log was supposed to be a DNF and we have found them. If we think we found the hiding spot and nothing is there we always log a DNF. But put a note saying we thought we found the spot but wasn’t there, the only time we put that it needs to be checked on is if there were several DNF before us.

The only NM that we have ever posted was when a rubbermaid container was shattered. The lid was no longer. That deserved it! A DNF does not need it.

I have helped out our cousin “Jerry’s Dad” check on some caches by us when people couldn’t find it. Being the only person to have a DNF in months doesn’t mean you need to tell the owner to “check on it, it’s not there” So far every cache we’ve check on ARE there.

People just need to use common sense! Newbies or oldies. Sometimes people with the higher numbers can’t believe they can’t find it and are quick to tell the owner to check on it. Sometimes it’s just not your day. Just log a DNF and check another day!

We have 2 caches hidden and we read EVERY log and look at ANY TB’s that were dropped. To us reading what people write is what makes hiding caches fun to us. Reading logs, seeing where they are from and if they have caches hidden are so we can enjoy the caches they have placed.

[Astro_D]

Perhaps the NM log should have a drop down check menu consisting of a list of legit maintenance issues that the person must checkmark what maintenance issue there is before they can submit the log. If they do not check a box, the NM log will not be submitted. I know, this system would be abused. But maybe it would educate cachers as to what is and is not an appropiate for a NM log.

[gotta run]

@djwini wrote:

as for thinking that all cache owners read the logs from all their caches, i don’t believe it. otherwise why are there so many caches with multiple dnfs that it seems no one is checking on.

This is true (about owners not reading logs) and NM is legit in that case. Actually if the owner is unresponsive and there is a problem it should be a SBA in order to elevate the case to a reviewer more quickly.

But this thread is about needless needs maintenance logs, particularly when cachers simply can’t find the cache, or is supposely “missing” a pencil. Heck, I’ve seen a NM log posted because the pencil needed to be sharpened.

That kind of stuff renders the whole system pointless and slows down action on legitimate problems that you reference.

On the Left Side of the Road...

[Trekkin and Birdin]

Well, I know the whole issue of whether or not to post DNFs has been endlessly debated here, but along with “needs maintenance” instead of admitting a miss, we find it interesting that there are some folks who NEVER post DNFs, claim to have found tough caches, and then when we check ours or revisit some others……these folks have not signed the log.

Hmmm.

Beating that same old dead horse, but there should be no shame in posting a DNF. It does not mean you’re a bad cacher, only that you couldn’t find it. We have tons of those little blue faces…236 as of this writing… and very often….it turns out the reason we couldn’t find it was….it was gone. The owners would not know if no one ever posts them. Pretending to find caches you really didn’t just makes it tough for the owners to know there’s a problem. Granted, there are owners who never read the cache logs, but we do. It’s really one of the main reasons we put them out, to enjoy reading others’ stories.

Which is a whole *different* topic and pet peeve of ours!
😉

[LostBoys5]

I love to read the logs to our caches. Please leave long exagg 😯 erated logs for me!!
There are many caches up here that we have found that are owned by a group that hid a couple hundred caches and have not logged in to GC.com for the last 2 years. The NM logs go untouched. I suppose instead of NM log, I should be logging a SBA when there is no response. I hadn’t thought of that. Thanks!

[PCFrog]

Only speaking for myself…

I log DNF when I give an effort to find a cache. We all know why it is good thing to do this.

I will also log a NM if the cache does. As mentioned earlier, specific tags in identifying what NM are not part of the dropdown. Because of this, I will make a remark in the post as to why I marked it as NM. However, there is 1 exception to this. If I notice that a cache in my general cache area (20-30 mile radius) has received multiple DNFs over a period of time and the owner has failed to make a personal effort to check the cache and leave a post stating they have checked it, I then will leave a NM to better grab the attention of the owner and also let reviewer know there is an issue. When I say over period of time we are talking usually 3 months or more of DNF logs. Beat me up if you want, it is the owners responsibility to upkeep their own caches (I read this somewhere). Part of upkeep is paying attention to logs and checking out the cache at times. I have 1 hard cache and I make sure that I check it after a few DNFs and post a note that I did check it.

I’m not the cache police but I’m part of the cache community and it is the responsibility of the community to ensure that their cache area is not saturated with caches that have a majority of DNF and NM logs. It makes geocaching look bad and for prospective city officials to probably shun it. A few weeks ago I was gave a presentation to the Sparta Chamber of Commerce and imagine how it might look if the caches in the surrounding area were littered with DNF and NM logs. Poorly maintained caches can affect more than just the cacher looking for it

I don’t know why your caches are getting NM but if there were multiple DNF and YOU failed to check the cache yourself and leave a posted note then some cachers might feel that you have neglected your duties. Before you bash all new people, decided if you’re doing your part. If you are, then complain away.

YOU – refers to anyone who this might applies to and those who wish it to apply to them but most certainly not those who do not think it applies to.

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