Give Me the Good Old Days...

I received several log e-mails from my adopted cache Overton Park Mystery Cache by Spencersb (GCPKGJ) on Saturday. It appears that cgeek decided to give out the final coordinates of this cache (rated 4.5/2) to a group of people hunting caches in Overton Park during WWFM - Memphis, TN (World Wide Flash Mob Event) by minismiths (GC19JW1).

Even though I did not create the puzzle involved with this cache, I admit I was positively LIVID when I saw that cgeek had just given away the coordinates!

If giving out the coordinates to your own puzzle caches makes you feel special, then by all means go for it - it certainly is your right. Giving out final coordinates to a cache that is NOT yours, is NOT cool.

"Spoiling" caches is not a recent phenomenon, but at least in the West Tennessee appears to be a growing trend. Anyone who reads the GOWT forums, or reads cache logs posted by GOWT members can see plenty of examples of where one person solves a hard puzzle and subsequently "helps" others solve the puzzle or find the cache. Again, if you choose to help others find YOUR cache, that is your business. "Spoiling" other people's caches under the guise of "helping" your fellow cachers is just ethically bad.

I toyed with the idea of bringing up this topic on the GOWT "discussion" forums, but experience tells me I would be wasting my breath. It disappoints me that new cachers are being led to believe this is normal and acceptable behavior.

Update: 5/13/2008

Cgeek after reading my blog attempted to defend herself in an e-mail message intended for Spencersb. Here is a brief quote from that message:

I have no intentions of replying to Ed in his blog or the forums but I did want to address you directly regarding his recent post. I know you didn't bring up the subject with me but, just in case you feel anywhere close to the same as Ed, I wanted to explain what happened on Saturday in the woods at "Colors".

Before I continue, let me say that I would prefer that the specifics of this email remain between you and me (well, you can, of course, share it with your wife). If you DO mention it to anyone that I contacted you, I would rather you not say it was in response to Ed's blog. I really don't want to give him the satisfaction that he stirred up a reply from me. Anyway...

Thank you cgeek for inadvertently giving me the satisfaction! Your entire "explanation" was certainly enlightening. You might want to consider resigning from the GOWT advisory committee as the members of said committee need to be as in YOUR own words, "beyond reproach".