'Inappropriate' cache locations?

[Rabbitto]

[MtnLioness]

Ok, there are ALWAYS going to be Playground Cache arguements and I understand the problem with them for people like my Dad and other bachelors. That is why I Label mine specifically that they are indeed a playground cache. What I don't agree with however is the abuse I have recieved from 2 such cachers on 2 on my Nanos, both hidden within Playgrounds. This IS an optional sport people!!!!!
Where do people get off telling other people how to or NOT to hide a cache?
Just because You have found 1000's, doesn't give you the right to be a jerk!!

[rhinogeo]

Ok, there are ALWAYS going to be Playground Cache arguements and I understand the problem with them for people like my Dad and other bachelors. That is why I Label mine specifically that they are indeed a playground cache. What I don't agree with however is the abuse I have recieved from 2 such cachers on 2 on my Nanos, both hidden within Playgrounds. This IS an optional sport people!!!!!
Where do people get off telling other people how to or NOT to hide a cache?
Just because You have found 1000's, doesn't give you the right to be a jerk!!

I have passed on quite a few playground caches when there are muggle mothers with mugglettes around and returned at a time when due to the hour or the weather the playground was empty

I have found some very clever caches hidden in playgrounds that were well worth the wait

Unfortunately some of these very clever caches have been removed because the hider has acquiesced to the tirade of abuse levelled by those that regard themselves as geocaching moral crusaders

That some geocachers launch personal attacks is totally unacceptable and they should be named and shamed ... it often seems to be those OCD geocachers that have found every cache in their area that seem to regard all caches as placed for their convenience and how dare anyone hide a cache that they cannot find at a time convenient to them

Moving back to the topic of this thread I regard any cache hidden on a freeway that encourages or requires a finder to illegally and dangerously stop and park thereby creating a hazard for themselves and other road users as totally unacceptable

[Damo.]

the abuse I have recieved from 2 such cachers on 2 on my Nanos, both hidden within Playgrounds.

Nanos. My favourite!

Yes they are optional to search for. Just be aware that some cachers don't feel that way and may go to extremes to get a find, regardless of where you put it.

I understand the problem with them for people like my Dad and other bachelors. That is why I Label mine specifically that they are indeed a playground cache.

Do you expect then for people like your Dad or single cachers to just not do these caches? That's not entirely a realistic view as some people just dump a whole lot of Traditional waypoints onto a GPS and go. They may not know it's a playground cache until they get to GZ and some will seek it anyway.

[MtnLioness]

I don't intend that, no, but if you are indeed a keen caches, like my Dad, you will find a way/time to aquire that cache find!
Dawn/Dusk are good.
Hire a kiddie - surely you know someone that has a kid that needs a break and could do with someone relieving them of their child for a short time while you use that said child to find the 'problem' Playground nanos?
The point is not to get an attitude with these ones and then take it a step further and abuse the hider!
Most people check out the co-ord dumps before they head out anyhow, if they are in a large section of green on the map, it's a playground! Simple.

[Rabbitto]

<p>For those who have asked - the original photo title reads "A U.S. Army soldier spray paints the wall to identify a weapons find with "Bad Guy Cache 3-5-2" found by Iraqi soldiers and police near Yarimjah, Mosul, Iraq, April 17, 2008. The U.S. soldier is assiged to the 10th Mountain Division's 5th Battalion, 25th Field Artillary, 4th Brigade. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Sarah De Boise"

<p>One of the ultimate inappropriate cache locations and a lesson in relativity of world problems.

[caughtatwork]

The key term you use is most.

I don't have a mapping GPS. I use an etrex yellow, so all I get is follow the arrow. I do take a PDA with me, but typically I use it to see whether the next closest cache is a multi or traditional. If it's a traditional then off I go without reading the cache page.

If by following the arrow up this street, then down that street, then find a dead end, turn around, head down another street, etc, then I get to a playground that is infested with kids (or worse only one or two) surrounded by adults (male or female), then I may:

a. Get grumpy, move on.
b. Find the cache anyway, but grump in the log.
c. Find the cache and a have a fun time on the slide wheeeeeeeeee!

I won't always know that a cache isn't going to be fun until I've tried it. If that experience is the experience I had, then you're going to get it in my log.

It's not necessarily a personal attack, it's a description of MY experience at YOUR cache. If you get too many experiences on your caches that are unpleasant, then you may take a hint that your caches are not pleasant experiences.

On the other hand, a comment every now and then about the inappropriateness of the cache can easily be disregarded as not representative of the cache hide.

I have a cache in the Melbourne CDB with 331 finds so far. A few logs says "best cache ever", some say "why bother". I don't get upset. I balance the good with the bad and make a decision as to whether to:

a. Leave the cache as it is.
b. Improve the hide.
c. Archive it.

e.g.
[Gave up searching.] Too many pigs urinate there
Great cache, a real cracker.

Pretty much extremes, but I take the good with the bad as that's all part of the finders experience.

If you take too much to heart about what anonymous people on the interest say you'll end up going completely, barking mad

[MtnLioness]

Well said

Thanx for the advice Caughtatwork

[team waldron]

This is a log on one of my caches.

Location: South Australia, Australia
Team Unicycle couldn't find Backpackers Everywhere (Traditional Cache) at 7/4/2009

Log Date: 7/4/2009
Came past here on my way home this afternoon. A family was standing suspiciously near my GZ, so I asked them if they were geocachers. They were, so we looked for a bit together. Then a security guard approached us and asked if we were geocachers. He told us that they had been watching the other cachers vi their cameras, and called the police to investigate the suspicious activity, including yesterday's cacher seen retrieving and replacing something. Apparently 9 officers turned up in 3 cars, and took the cache. The cache was confirmed harmless by the intelligence branch, and the police said they would replace the cache. Grant the affable security guard demonsntrated that this had not been done yet (he showed me where it was hidden).
So, beware that security are watching you, and know what you're up to. Incidentally, even though the building says it is Fairfax, the guard said he was guarding ANZ property.


The cache is not on the building the security guards are in but across the road.

I have another cache that someone logged a dnf on the other day.

I spent more than an hour looking for this one with out success. Unfortunately this cache went missing about this time last year. It had a whole lot of DNFs in a row, and then it was found again. Therefore I just don't know if it has gone missing, or if every autumn the falling leave will cover it up so much that it is unfindable for several weeks. Either way, I did not find it and I won't be going back until someone else has found it or maintenance is done.

I didn't do anything and someone found it the next day. The searcher then went back and found it straight away.

If I took offence at negative comments and did maintenance everytime someone had a dnf on one of my caches I'd have no time to find any.

I'll have to check if the police still have my cache or if its been replaced.

[caughtatwork]

A lot of moral outrage occurs when people DNF the cache for any reason.

Too hard, too many muggles, too many cameras, too hard, too small, too blind

I know that the more I can't find a relatively easy cache the more likely I am to write a snarky note (OMG! I'm not perfect )

I also like hints. A cache that is a 1/1 should be found by walking up to it. If it takes me 10 minutes and I still can't find it and there is no hint I don't know if I am the suxxors or whether the cache is missing.

A hint never goes astray to the wounded cacher pride when they crack the hint and find out it WAS supposed to be under the steps, or in the stump, etc, but it is no longer there.

Caching should not be (generally) about making a cache a bitch to find (unless that's its purpose and in which case it should be identified as such by the level of difficulty).

[Richary]

I will usually post nice DNFs if I have had a good chance to look for it. If I have just got to the location and it was totally muggle infested then I will usually just leave a note (or not bother at all). That way the owner at least knows I was interested enough to look for the cache, didn't look for it for whatever reason, and also protected the cache integrity by not doing so when it was muggled out. I don't think that if you didn't look then a DNF is justified.

If I do have a DNF after a good look I will usually log it (and my searching experience), and post positive comments about the location if it deserves such. If the owner has placed a cache in a special spot then that is the reason he wanted me to go there. One more smiley or not in the scheme of things is of less value than being taken to a special place.

[covert]

A great thread with some great (and honest) posts. I too have been the victim to playground caches

I enjoy doing them, I like to see a note about it in the top of the cache page or in the title (one for the kids..)

I get to find great playgrounds to take my friends kids too. Just today I spent a day at a friends house, spent most the day playing with there 3 y/o older daughter, to the delight of the 2 parents who have just popped another one out (not a lot of sleep). Anyway she (the kid) wanted to go to the park today, Too wet and too cold. But uncle geocacher has some great parks planned to take here too with cool play grounds and a cache near by ! Never would of known about them otherwise.

I am happy to find the clues for a multi in a playground with kids. The other day while doing this exact thing a parent moved there kid from one side of the play ground across to the side I was one gathering the clues (yes closer to the strange me !). So I can't look that dangerous ! She even started to strike up a conversation about the great weather, unfortunately I had the needed clues to continue on, chat me up some other day

If the cache requires me to crawl around the ground looking for a micro I leave it for a time when no-one is around, early morning is my favorite.

Any day at any time I will happily drive past a cache to come back some other time without a word of worry. It's a game.

[Storm Chasers]

Usually the Child friendly attribute on a cache is enough to tell you the cache might be in a playground. Some people like to use this some don't.

I have a couple of caches located in Playgrounds, every time I have been there they have been deserted.

[penguin]

Ok, there are ALWAYS going to be Playground Cache arguements and I understand the problem with them for people like my Dad and other bachelors. That is why I Label mine specifically that they are indeed a playground cache. What I don't agree with however is the abuse I have recieved from 2 such cachers on 2 on my Nanos, both hidden within Playgrounds. This IS an optional sport people!!!!!
Where do people get off telling other people how to or NOT to hide a cache?
Just because You have found 1000's, doesn't give you the right to be a jerk!!

Agreed. It would appear that I also didn't get the same memo that TeamAstro got about playground caches being banned in Queensland

That being said, I personally don't like caches being hidden outside schools. There's one that I remember doing, and was a wee bit uncomfortable doing it - so I made the choice to return at 2300hrs. The bottom line is that as the seeker of the cache, it is entirely your choice whether to continue the hunt.

If you don't like it, don't look for it.

[PesceVerde]

To the OP: Shame on you for stepping on protected vegetation