Needs Maintenance vs Needs Archived?

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I was going to title this post “Newbie Tip #1 – Needs Maintenance vs Needs Archived? but perhaps this isn’t just new cacher tip as you will soon see…

Early this morning, I was laying in bed when my phone started going crazy. Knowing it meant one of three things, I eagerly checked it. Turns out this activity was someone logging a bunch of my caches. My joy at someone finding them, quickly turn to surprise when I noticed a “Needs Archived” log for a cache. Now, I know this cache had a single DNF from 2 days previously and it might have needed checking, but a Needs Archive already? Really? From someone with 20,000+ finds?

So it got me thinking, when is it appropriate to log a “Needs Archived” log instead of just a “Needs Maintenance” log. Here are the two criteria I use when logging a Needs Archived, both of which must apply (which is why I very rarely log a NA).

  • There have been multiples DNF’s AND Needs Maintenance logs over a long period of time.
  • The Cache Owner hasn’t logged in, nor found a cache in a long time.

In other words, the cache is missing/damaged; the CO knows about the problem and has done absolutely nothing about it in a reasonable amount of time.

In my mind, it’s only fair to give the Cache Owner a decent chance to check on the cache and perform maintenance, before doing a Needs Archived.  We’ve all logged DNFs that were there. We’ve probably all seen a DNF log on a cache, and then cut our own search short because of it.

99% of the time, IMHO, it is much more appropriate to log a Needs Maintenance log. Cache’s can be replaced, moved, etc if there is a problem; Cache Owners might not be able to replace a container the second a DNF log comes in or you might have just missed it.  There is really very little need to ever submit a Needs Archived log unless there is a documented (via logs) long-term neglect of the cache by an absent Cache Owner.

Obviously, there are exceptions for serious cache issues, but for the majority of the time, logging a Needs Maintenance log is much better if you think there is an issue 🙂

Anyways, I’d love to read your feedback below, regardless if you agree or not. Happy caching!

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One thought on “Needs Maintenance vs Needs Archived?

  1. Mike Hicks says:

    Pretty rediclous in my opinion. Someone with that many finds should know the game enough to differentiate between active and inactive cache owners. The entire game is run by VOLUNTEERS. Don’t expect cache owners to jump when 1 cacher DNFs your cache. Without cacher hiders like you we wouldn’t have anything to find. Nice blog post.

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