DNF's andhow do you see them in the overall picture?

swampgecko · Post by **swampgecko** » 11 December 03 6:32 am

I found this thread in the secondary forums. I had my say, but I was wondering how the rest of you, Aussie Geocachers see your Do Not Finds and what do you do with them, Do you leave them or do you just delete them? Or Like me you convert the log to a Smiley once you have found the offending cache?<P>I use DNF's as a to-do list. I have one on my log list that dates back to the first month I was geocaching nearly 2 yrs ago. and having it sit there is now spurring me on to have another go at the cache. This would have happened sooner but work is the curse of the Geocaching Class... now what do I do with my DNF's? well I convert them to a find, but I leave all the previous details and dates in there so that the people can still access it all. But I also leave DNF's there on a as required basis. It really depends on how I see the DNF fitting into the overall picture for the cache

riblit · Post by **riblit** » 11 December 03 9:41 am

I leave them where they are and make another log entry if and when I go back and find the cache. It keeps the time sequence better than changing the log and redating it..

Ebenezer · Post by **Ebenezer** » 11 December 03 10:28 am

Yes - I leave them there, and log another entry if I eventually find the cache.

The Spindoctors · Post by **The Spindoctors** » 11 December 03 12:55 pm

I leave them there as well. I usually avoid any caches with DNF as the two last entries. I feel it's up to the owner to verify it still exists.

SNIFTER · Post by **SNIFTER** » 11 December 03 5:06 pm

We leave our DNF's and put in another log. If we feel we will go back to the cache we' post a note' first as we feel that it is' work in progress'
As with Spin Doc if there are 2 or more no finds we won't touch it unless we have other information. We have spent many hours and miles trying to find "off co ords caches" and usually we will not return to them. Is that what we might call"Cache Rage".

EcoTeam · Post by **EcoTeam** » 11 December 03 7:27 pm

I guess we get "Cache Rage" too!
There are certain caches which we refuse to go back to because of some bad experience there, or it's just not a nice place etc.
Other DNFs we will try again eventually, and some of them do indeed become obsessions, you just *have* to complete!
I typically leave all the DNF logs as I think it's what the log system is all about, it tells a story... If I eventually find the cache I will log a new find.

EcoDave

Bronze · Post by **Bronze** » 11 December 03 8:23 pm

Yes I have been guilty of off coords as Steel Rat and A-6 can testify to. Want a good read have a look at "Noonans Discovery". I checked and rechecked it three times and they had had three goes at trying to find it. Each time I returned my GPS (Magellan 310) zeroed in exactly give or take the usual. Anyhow on my final check before I was going to remove it all together I was returning to my car and recognised the mobile phone this guy has as a GPS and so we met up.

Turns out they were 130 meters off and all as a result of the Magellan being out somehow. Nothing to explain it! Has been ever since and probably always will be I guess. This has happened to me twice with two Magallan 310's. Anyhow - with there GPSr's a new coord was averagen and Noonan's Discovery survives.

My point being is that the series of logs tells a story of how the cache was founded and the interesting turn of events around its placement. The 'Not Founds" also it testament of there dedication to seeking out a new cache. It was just a bonus that it's in a beautiful spot!

Bronze

The Spindoctors · Post by **The Spindoctors** » 11 December 03 8:35 pm

One thing I forgot to write - I usually don't log a DNF on the first failure to find, unless it's a long way from home. I attempt caches close by at least twice before logging a DNF. I am frustrated by one at the moment (Striptease - no pun) and it's more frustrating that other have found it.

ToolkiT · Post by **ToolkiT** » 15 December 03 12:48 pm

riblit wrote:I leave them where they are and make another log entry if and when I go back and find the cache. It keeps the time sequence better than changing the log and redating it..

Same here, everytime I try I log it.. that way it can turn into a story, will he find it or not..

Team Stargazer · Post by **Team Stargazer** » 15 December 03 6:01 pm

We're the same also but like some other's we usually only log a DNF if we don't plan on coming back again for another try for at least a couple of weeks. If we plan on trying again in a few days & we're successful in finding the cache then we usually add the DNF information in our Found log.

Then there's the other side of the coin. If you own a cache or two it's just as interesting on reading DNF logs as it is Found logs. I know I get a bit of a smug grin

when someone logs a DNF (especially if you know that person/team) & later on, maybe even the same day, someone else logs a Find on the same cache.

SNIFTER · Post by **SNIFTER** » 15 December 03 11:54 pm

Check out all the DNF on Ansetts Lament. We were going down there every time there were 3 DNF now we will wait for more unless of course we are passing by the area. It even gave us a DNF so we replaced it and lo and behold it (the original) turns up. Must have been trying to tell us something as the log book was full. The best DNF was at Drop Dead Gorgeous. We had a good laugh at that one.
The DNF's make for good reading.

EcoTeam · Post by **EcoTeam** » 16 December 03 12:14 am

I too find it interesting to read the DNF and notes, I wish more people would log their progress. It's always great to read that someone else had the same problem at the same spot you did, or seeing other havign problems were you found it easy or vice versa.

On a somewhat related topic, I find it impossible to keep up to date these days on all the new players, new caches, whos finding what, who had trouble at what cache etc. There are just too many players and too many caches these days! That's not a bad thing of course, but I can remember when there were less than a dozen teams in Sydney, you had every cache on your watch list, and everyone was up on all the latest gossip on all the cachers and players.
Does anyone try and keep up completely up to date these days, like having every cache in their watch list? If so, how many emails do you get a day?!

EcoDave

swampgecko · Post by **swampgecko** » 16 December 03 6:27 am

I don't have every NSW or Aussie cache on my watch list. thou that is now possible to thanks to the membership subscription. But I have a nasty habit of cycling throu the NSW cache list to see what has happened during the day, and that task is getting longer and longer, luckily that has sped up now since I got broadband but I think I will have put all the caches on my watch list soon.... as for emails about caches I get on a good day a 1/2 dozen or so from my current watch list. on a slow day zero....

The Ginger Loon · Post by **The Ginger Loon** » 16 December 03 9:08 am

EcoTeam wrote:Does anyone try and keep up completely up to date these days, like having every cache in their watch list? If so, how many emails do you get a day?!

Yeah I do this and always have. It was easy for me to set this up as I came into the game when there were only 23 NSW caches and it has just been a matter of maintaning my watch lists since then.

I get about somewhere between 5-15 cache reports a weekday and anywhere up to 50 on the weekends depending on how busy people have been. With the way the system is set up at the secondary site I find it very easy to keep track of whos doing what and who the new players are. The Watch Notifications give you Player, Log Type and Cache Name in the subject header, so I know what's going on even before I open the email, then the body gives me the guff on what happened. I find this a lot easier than scrolling through the secondary site for new logs...

Slider & Smurf · Post by **Slider & Smurf** » 16 December 03 2:41 pm

Watchlists are one way - another way is to use gpx queries and import them into Clyde's GSAK.
<p>
We've got gpx queries set up for SA, VIC, NSW and ACT, and the new interface allows you to sort by last log or last find. Makes it very easy to see which caches have been logged or found recently, and then you can access the logs to see who did what.
<p>
You don't get the individual emails from a watchlist, but it works for us!!