I went looking for this answer because recently, one of my online logs was deleted. It bugged me quite a bit. There's a cache that I drive by all the time, but it's actually not very easy to get to via car. One day, on a very rare occasion, I happened to be walking by. Found the cache and didn't have a pen because I wasn't out for geocaching. Since I do online logs on my phone, I logged it, stating that I didn't have a pen.
A few weeks later, I get a notice that my log was deleted. I contact the owner asking why, and the answer is that it is imperative to sign the log. The owner went on to say that two cachers prior, and two cachers post, had logged the cache DNF - and one of them had found more than 1000 caches. The owner also stated that the log was not deleted until the cache was verified as missing.
So here's the fun part ... I SWEAR the cache was there! And I can see how it was really, really hard to find, maybe even for the owner if it had been shifted some over time. I'm not saying I am a spectacular finder, because actually, I kinda suck at it. But I did find this one and now I have been tagged as a bogus find.
Here are my learnings from reading this thread and my residual questions:
- If no pen, take a photo. That might do the trick.
- If no pen, try marking it a different way (I had tried but there was literally NOTHING around that would mark the paper)
** Why is it imperative to sign the log when you can log it online?
** Why would anyone ever claim to find a cache they didn't find (I know it happens, but why)? What is there to gain?
** If someone does claim to find a cache they didn't find, why does the owner care? The only drawback I can see is if the condition or whereabouts of the cache are in question, a bogus find could confuse things.
Thanks for your feedback. I am truly trying to understand - so if I seem in any way obstinant, that is not my intent.
