arisoft

Here in Finland, everybody knows that it is cheating, and almost everyone does it without hesitation. This way to adjust find dates freely is spreading also to other cache types. I am planning to write a note to some traditional cache telling that I may have visited the cache today but I will log it found later when I am sure that I visited the cache. This date adjustusting is just a joke here. This happened after some new challenges that required more cheating than usually. Many years ago Jeremy Irish visited MEGA Finland 2012 and I was there listening when he was on stage. One question the audience asked him was what date a challenge cache should be logged found. Jeremy was surprised by the question and seemed to find the question somewhat strange. In his opinion, it was quite simple. The date when cache has been visited is recorded in the logbook, and it can be logged online when the challenge is fullfilled. He did not bring up the idea that the cache could be logged as found on a day other than the day it was found. The guidelines do not mention dates at all. There is no need to write a date in the logbook when you sign the cache, and there is no date that you should use when logging the find online. Only events are forced to the first date of the event.

We do this kind of cheating a lot in Finland. This kind of cheating is common with virtuals and earth caches too. It lets the finder to use practically any date to log the find. I have sometimes notified in my note to a challenge cache visit that I will check if the challenge is fulfilled later, just to delay the find to adjust it according to my own needs.

I have done this so your statement must be false. A player sent me coordinates where he put my cache due to some reasons at the GZ. I went looking for it and found it. Then I logged "Found", because I legimately found it. This happened a long time ago when it was possible. Afterwards I removed this "Found" to avoid upsetting people with my single "stats abuse".

Here is one local player here who signs some caches and skips some but logs them all on-line. Cache owners are now aware of this habit and delete logs. However, the real effect of being caught is that he is considered a cheater and that stigma cannot be removed.

As referred earlier, some players were used to log "Found" when they found the cache on their cache maintenance tour. I am sure that they comply with this "act of discovery and success" stipulation. Almost every day I am looking for things I have put somewhere and I may find them with act of discovery and success. I am not buying this explanation. I prefer the "stats abuse" explanation. Don't you think that the primary reason to discourage finds to own caches is "stats abuse"? (Regardless of what "stats abuse" means.)

Indeed. In Finland we have a local guideline for them. (Google translation follows)

No, it is not depending at all. The guideline is clear: "You can log caches online as "Found" after you visited the coordinates and signed the logbook." There is nothing about finding at all. It is not obligatory part of the experience by the book. There are some unspoken reasons why "Found" logs are considered disgraceful and prevented to log by the cache owner. I would like to hear these reasons one by one and then figure whether they apply to event caches.

You are absolutely right, but it still happens occasionally by the CO and frequently by other players that are visiting the cache. Experienced players may add extra log sheet to the cache if the logbook is full or damaged to ensure that the visit is recorded correctly, at least temporarily. I have found one cache that works as you suggested. The cache originally had a logbook but the cache was muggled so many times that the CO replaced the cache with a TB. The TB was used as a virtual logbook to sign the logbook before the found was finally logged in the cache page.

I may be twisting words if I say that the host is hosting the event and attendees are attending the event. In most cases, the host is indeed present at the event, actively managing and overseeing the proceedings. They may not be able to fully participate as a guest, as their primary role is to ensure the smooth running of the event and attend to the needs of the guests.

Do you have any reference for this requirement? It is new to me. Many players sign caches they definitely haven't found but they meet the requirements to log a find. In many cases, this happens when a group on geocachers are searching a cache at the same time and only one of them actually finds the cache.

It is as cheating/ethical as attending your own event to earn a find. It has been said that the organizer of the event also participates in the event. But it is even more certain that the owner of the cache has visited the cache coordinates. There is no difference between these cache types whether the player visited coordinates or not. Currently system allows this "unethical cheating" only with events. You can not log a find if you are the cache owner. The result in Finland is that there are more events than caches published this year.

Is there any reason why you can not use these scalable SVG images? There are higher resolution png images. For example https://www.geocaching.com/images/attributes/dogs-yes.png

I remember a case where stickers were used on a cache and the reviewer insisted that it is not allowed and disabled the cache. The reason was that only stamp was mentioned in the guidelines.

I don't understand what this is about. Here is an example: https://coord.info/GC644N5 According to current reviewer guidance, does this kind of cache "question a link" to a site? It was published without permission from HQ. I know this for sure, because the reviewer asked a permission from the HQ later, long time after the cache was published.

I am also confused. The Help Center is totally limited to Apps that needs to be downloaded. I have one cache which is using location services functionality, but it is not an App and does not require downloading. It is just a web page you open from the link.

Do you have access to the guidance?

As the author of many third-party functional caches, I'm quite surprised that I hadn't received this information. It would be quite frustrating to see a lot of effort put into making something like this and then be surprised afterwards that the project requires some kind of unspecified review. If this guidance is not a trade secret, I would be more than welcome to see details of the guidance and when it is supposed to follow. Perhaps it only applies to functions performed by others than the owner of the tool himself?

My phone (Samsung Xcover 5) battery last whole day and it has option to change the battery on field. Sometimes I may use a power bank on longer trips, instead of changing the battery, because I do not have a spare battery (yet). I have chosen my phone these features in my mind. Many phones are not as practical, I know. Dedicated GPS receiver with simple AA batteries are very easy to keep running if you have one.

My phone has none of these killer anti-features. It is immediately on the spot when I take it out from my pocket, because I have chosen this way to operate it. I think that you have chosen to have these anti features or you are using the default setup. Anyway, I am sure that the dedicated GPS receiver is the best for you (because you have one). I only criticize the difficult way you have chosen to operate the phone

Why not to adjust it longer or get totally rid of it? The App I am using, allows keeping the screen on while I am using navigation.

I think you should reconsider what you just wrote. There seems to be some misunderstanding about the technology and how to use it. For example, field logging has nothing to do with the token. Also, a reader do not match how it works neither a phone. Good logs are the essential part of the technology. You record a find with a token by using a camera or a notepad with a pen.

I know one way how this could be arranged properly. Disconnected tokens. You put the token device in the cache and the finder must record the code to be able to log it on-line. Every player needs different code - so it is not possible to share this code at all. Tokens are sold by Groudspeak so they can get huge pile of money by selling them to lazy cache owners.

Any maintenance you have agreed with the CO is acceptable. Sometimes you have to do some maintenance without consulting the owner just to be able to sign the logbook or replace the cache in the original position. For example, add a logsheet to the full logbook or repair a broken part to hide it properly.

This is against guidelines. "When hiding a cache, record accurate coordinates"

I didn't know this because all apps I have used can show the direction based on GPS movement. For example, Locus.