[Az-Geocaching] More on: Cache contents Rant

[shan az]

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Hi all- Steven is 100% right on the mark.  I used to manage a cache called "The Troll's Toll"- it was hidden under a bridge in a regional park in Silver Spring, Maryland.  The theme of this cache was foreign currency exchange (in keeping with the Billy Goats Gruff story and the troll under the bridge, etc, you get it...).  It was a cool idea, folks loved it, and it got a few hits, but then folks started leaving spare change and canadian coins.  (Eventually, someone just looted the whole thing.)  Maybe it was naive of me to think that a bunch of coins would remain unmolested in a public park; maybe it was also naive to think that folks wouldn't devalue the whole thing by parting with their spare pennies...  Part of the "downtrading" probably had to do with folks not being familiar with the theme of the cache.  I've made that mistake before, certainly.  Anyway, after this experience, I've decided to make my caches substantially more difficult if there's anything remarkable or of
 particular or peculiar worth in them.  In the case of themed caches, it seems as if the trade items ought to satisfy two criteria: relevance and comparability.  I.e., trade-items ought to be coherent with the theme of the cache and they ought not overwhelmingly displace good items for bad.  That's just my $.02shan

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Hi all- 
Steven is 100% right on the mark.  I used to manage a cache called "<a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=26325">The Troll's Toll</a>"- it was hidden under a bridge in a regional park in Silver Spring, Maryland.  The theme of this cache was foreign currency exchange (in keeping with the Billy Goats Gruff story and the troll under the bridge, etc, you get it...).  It was a cool idea, folks loved it, and it got a few hits, but then folks started leaving spare change and canadian coins.  (Eventually, someone just looted the whole thing.)  Maybe it was naive of me to think that a bunch of coins would remain unmolested in a public park; maybe it was also naive to think that folks wouldn't devalue the whole thing by parting with their spare pennies...  Part of the "downtrading" probably had to do with folks not being familiar with the theme of the cache.  I've made that mistake before, certainly.  Anyway, after this experience, I've decided to make my caches
 <i>substantially</i> more difficult if there's anything remarkable or of particular or peculiar worth in them.  

In the case of themed caches, it seems as if the trade items ought to satisfy two criteria: relevance and comparability.  I.e., trade-items ought to be coherent with the theme of the cache and they ought not overwhelmingly displace good items for bad.  

That's just my $.02

shan<p><hr SIZE=1>
Do you Yahoo!?<br>
<a href="http://pa.yahoo.com/*http://rd.yahoo.com/evt=1207/*http://promo.yahoo.com/sbc/">SBC Yahoo! DSL</a> - Now only $29.95 per month!
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