Patience, please!

[+AspergerSadie]

I felt like I needed to post this one. While I have been a member since 2006, I stopped after a year or two (for personal reasons) and have just recently started back up again.

 

It seems like things have either changed a lot since then, or I never really understood the game in the first place. The point is, I'm still learning. I make mistakes. Even after reading every rule, trying to follow every instruction, and watching every how-to video, I STILL make mistakes. And I think a lot of others are in the same boat, trying to learn from mistakes. For example, I might have already seen the link you posted in answer to my question, but I'm here because I didn't quite understand it.

 

Please, just be patient while we learn.

[+niraD]

For example, I might have already seen the link you posted in answer to my question, but I'm here because I didn't quite understand it.

On the flip side, if someone posts a link, then they're generally doing so because they think it will be helpful. They aren't doing so out of impatience, or out of anger, or out of a sense of gloating superiority.

 

If you've read something and are still trying to understand it, then it is useful to mention that in your original post. For example, if you ask for general help with Pocket Queries, then you'll probably get links to a few commonly referenced beginners' resources. But if you mention that you've read Markwell's PQ FAQ, and that you're having difficulty understanding how his date filtering technique works, then you'll get more specific answers.

[+dprovan]

I promise to be patient. Now I ask that you please be patient if someone doesn't accurately understand your question. I'd also like you to keep in mind that people respond because they're trying to help, so if you think someone responding to you is not being patient, it's most likely because you're misreading it. If they were impatient, they wouldn't have stopped to help.

[+popokiiti]

I felt like I needed to post this one. While I have been a member since 2006, I stopped after a year or two (for personal reasons) and have just recently started back up again.

 

It seems like things have either changed a lot since then, or I never really understood the game in the first place. The point is, I'm still learning. I make mistakes. Even after reading every rule, trying to follow every instruction, and watching every how-to video, I STILL make mistakes. And I think a lot of others are in the same boat, trying to learn from mistakes. For example, I might have already seen the link you posted in answer to my question, but I'm here because I didn't quite understand it.

 

Please, just be patient while we learn.

 

We all make mistakes, newbies and oldies! I believe that the day we stop learning is the day we shuffle off this earth. If there is a link you don't understand, please let us know and we'll pitch in to help you out. If you were to ask me a question that I can't answer, I would ask others to help. That way, we both learn!

 

Welcome back!

[+T.D.M.22]

There's a difference in asking for clarification on a something and asking the same question more than once because you either didn't like the answer, or didn't even look at the answers given.

[+AspergerSadie]

Welcome back!

 

Popokiiti, thank you for the welcome. It truly means so much to me.

 

And yes, I'm now realizing I need to be a bit patient as well.

 

This is a bit off topic here, but you may have noticed the "Asperger" part in my name. Yes, I have Aseprger's Syndrome - a form of autism. Basically, this means I think a bit differently. Sometimes this is helpful when I'm out looking for a cache, because I think of places a cache would be hidden that others don't think to look! But sometimes, I get confused and misunderstand people or don't know how to express myself correctly.

 

For example (to get back on topic): I'm currently trying to figure out how to hide a new geocache in my area. It's very confusing as to what I need to do FIRST. Contact my local reviewer? Contact the person who is in charge of the land (a park)? And every time I read more information about what I need to do, I feel like it gets more confusing! I'm trying to do it the proper way, but I feel very stuck.

 

Thank you to everyone for replying to this!

[+Bear and Ragged]

For example (to get back on topic): I'm currently trying to figure out how to hide a new geocache in my area. It's very confusing as to what I need to do FIRST. Contact my local reviewer? Contact the person who is in charge of the land (a park)? And every time I read more information about what I need to do, I feel like it gets more confusing! I'm trying to do it the proper way, but I feel very stuck.

 

Thank you to everyone for replying to this!

 

If you think you've found a good place to hide a cache, or it's a nice park and there should be a good place to place a cache there, talk to the park staff.

 

If they say "No" it's saves you a lot of work! (No point hiding a cache, and the park decide they don't want caching taking place there)

 

If they say "Yes" go for it!

[+niraD]

For example (to get back on topic): I'm currently trying to figure out how to hide a new geocache in my area. It's very confusing as to what I need to do FIRST. Contact my local reviewer? Contact the person who is in charge of the land (a park)?

My first step would be to check that the location meets the saturation guidelines, that there isn't another cache within 528ft/161m of the location I want. For this check, I'd look at the traditional caches on the map, plus any puzzle caches or multi-caches in the area that I have coordinates for.

 

Next, I'd work on securing permission. A lot of parks and open spaces around here have geocaching policies. As long as the cache meets the requirements of their geocaching policies, you have permission, and don't need to talk to a ranger or submit a form or anything. In those parks, I'd verify that my idea meets their geocaching policy.

 

Otherwise, I'd talk to the land manager to get permission.

 

Then, if my idea involved location-specific camouflage that couldn't be relocated easily, I'd double-check with a local reviewer that the location really is available, that there isn't some puzzle cache that I haven't solved that's blocking the location.

 

Then I'd build the cache, place the cache, and submit the listing.

[Andronicus]

For example (to get back on topic): I'm currently trying to figure out how to hide a new geocache in my area. It's very confusing as to what I need to do FIRST. Contact my local reviewer? Contact the person who is in charge of the land (a park)?

My first step would be to check that the location meets the saturation guidelines, that there isn't another cache within 528ft/161m of the location I want. For this check, I'd look at the traditional caches on the map, plus any puzzle caches or multi-caches in the area that I have coordinates for.

 

Next, I'd work on securing permission. A lot of parks and open spaces around here have geocaching policies. As long as the cache meets the requirements of their geocaching policies, you have permission, and don't need to talk to a ranger or submit a form or anything. In those parks, I'd verify that my idea meets their geocaching policy.

 

Otherwise, I'd talk to the land manager to get permission.

 

Then, if my idea involved location-specific camouflage that couldn't be relocated easily, I'd double-check with a local reviewer that the location really is available, that there isn't some puzzle cache that I haven't solved that's blocking the location.

 

Then I'd build the cache, place the cache, and submit the listing.

Sadie, the funny thing is that everyone does stuff differently. Everyone will have a different answer.

 

Just to add to niraD, I like to develop my listing on geocaching.com early on in the process, and leave a reviewer note saying that you are working on a cache for this spot. That way, if someone else attempts to put a cache there before your's is published, the reviewer will likely give precidents to your cache. You will likely get a email asking if you are indeed placing a cache there soon, giving you "first dibs" as it were.

[+niraD]

Sadie, the funny thing is that everyone does stuff differently. Everyone will have a different answer.

Yeah, it's kinda like going grocery shopping. Eventually, everything on your list needs to end up in your cart. But different people will navigate the supermarket differently.