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Logging Your Own Caches


Maxwell Q

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:P Do you log your own caches? Ok, I own GCR4MX. If you owned it, would you log it to bump your own numbers up? I say no, but I know of several people who have logged their own caches. I did a cache yesterday, and the owner logged it as soon as it was posted by the reviewer. Would you do that?
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I was asked by a local college student to adopt his caches as he was going to college and not able to maintain his caches. Since he owned almost all the caches in this one portion of our county I asked that I be allowed to FIND and LOG them first, before he turned them over to me. As I FOUND them, I replaced most of the containers, and in a few cemeterys move them to more suitable locations, so I have about 18 that I found prior to adopting - but that is a little different than what you are talking about.

 

Along these lines, another cacher held an EVENT Saturday at the local State Forest (TRAIL MIX is an event that combines a longer hike with caching) The trail chosen was a Trail Series I put out with 8 caches over a fairly rugged 3.5 mile hike...EVEN THOUGH it was an EVENT, I DID NOT log my own caches, I took a nice hike, had fun watching over 40 people find my caches, everyone else on the hike racked up 8 smilies and I just went home with a smile. I guess to each his own, in "Hiker Speak" we say "Hike your own hike".

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For the most part, I see it as a bad thing with two exceptions: events and CITOs. These are ok to log and you should!

 

(I think that webcams and earthcaches should be ok because they're so hard to set up and you essentially do what the person who finds it does. It's a moot point though as I won't log my own since it's frowned upon.)

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When I place a cache, I write the Name and waypoint of the cache on the logbook, the date it was placed, and who placed it (me). I do not log my cache on gc.com. Is this a log of my own cache? I do not think so, just identification of the cache. Is this the kind of log you are refering to?

What you are doing is OK. What is being discussed in this thread is if it's OK to go to your own cache in GC.com and click "Found It".

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I personally have never and would never log my own cache just doesn't seem fair/right. However my mother did log one of my caches as she was not there when it was hidden and found it herself later on. I too have a cache now that I had logged several months ago and have recently adopted it because the original hider has passed away. I actually fill honored that I got to adopt this one being that he was a great man and a fantastic cacher.

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I was chatting with another cacher (SixDogTeam), who founded the Indiana Spirit Quest. He keeps statistics on all of the finds made on the series. He has recently decided to have the statistics include finds AND hides. (There are many other hiders in that series.)

 

Anyway, he recently adopted a cache and converted it to an ISQ. I had found it before the series even began. Should that be counted as an ISQ find for me? A judgment call as it could be decided one way or the other.

 

Anyway, back on point, I began thinking that there should be a statistic that keeps track of finds plus hides, but doesn't double-count them with the "find-on-one's-own-cache" tactic. Since I have a few like that (a pre-adoption find and logging my own event caches), I feel that this would be a fairer comparison stat. Of course, I work under the paradigm of no multi-finds on a given cache, including event caches. I suppose that the stats are in the eye of the beholder.

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I do not log my own caches. That is like saying "Hey, I found my car!". After you had parked it in your yard to begin with. I did log one cache that I adopted 3 months later. It did not belong to me at the time. Although when I look at my caches it looks kind of funny seeing "Mine" arrow and the found it check mark. I may delete. I have not decided.

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The only time I'd consider logging my own find is if, on a mainenance trip, I find the cache to be missing, but happen to find it nearby. (i.e. someone moved it.) It'd have to be a pretty significant move though. (not just a different knothole in the same tree.)

If you placed the cache, it's not considered proper to claim that you "found it".

 

You can, however, play the game any way you like. <_<

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I do not log my own caches. That is like saying "Hey, I found my car!". After you had parked it in your yard to begin with. I did log one cache that I adopted 3 months later. It did not belong to me at the time. Although when I look at my caches it looks kind of funny seeing "Mine" arrow and the found it check mark. I may delete. I have not decided.

I agree, one should not log their own cache.

 

If you found another's cache, and subsequently adopted it, it's OK to keep your "found it" log - you legitimately found another's cache.

 

I think adoption of a cache is the only exception to logging your own. However, I would never log a cache AFTER I had already adopted it, only if I found it before.

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The only time I'd consider logging my own find is if, on a mainenance trip, I find the cache to be missing, but happen to find it nearby. (i.e. someone moved it.) It'd have to be a pretty significant move though. (not just a different knothole in the same tree.)

If you placed the cache, it's not considered proper to claim that you "found it".

 

I agree; doesn't sound right to me.

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The only time I'd consider logging my own find is if, on a mainenance trip, I find the cache to be missing, but happen to find it nearby. (i.e. someone moved it.) It'd have to be a pretty significant move though. (not just a different knothole in the same tree.)

Man I guess I should go back and log my cache then. :lol: I found my cache 180 feet from where it was supposed to be. I guess one of the previous finders didn't like where I'd placed it originally. :lol:

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Thanks for all the replies. I, myself think it is wrong to log my own, unless it is an Event or CITO, but since I have not orginized either, I can't claim any of my own. Well, take that back. I have 3 that I logged, but I did not own them at the time and I adopted them from cachers who are no longer around or just don't care to maintain their caches.

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Okay, being a weird and strange guy, I just have to ask...Has anybody ever not been able to find their own cache without help from their GPSr, possibly because they've hidden so many that they've lost track of what's where? (If you actually have to act like a geocache seeker to find your own cache, maybe that should be allowed as a loggable find.) (Okay, I'm going to bed now.)

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Logging your own caches is pretty lame, imo. Same for logging a cache twice. I'm thinking of changing my only "second found log" to a note.

 

What's wrong with a second to find log? I see that all the time. (Sorry if I misinterpreted something.)

Edited by ghs
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Logging your own caches is pretty lame, imo. Same for logging a cache twice. I'm thinking of changing my only "second found log" to a note.

 

What's wrong with a second to find log? I see that all the time. (Sorry if I misinterpreted something.)

 

If someone has ten caches found, and logs one of those a second time, it will show they have eleven caches found, but they really don't - they've only found ten caches.

 

What's challenging about finding a cache that you've already found before?

 

If we visit a cache a second time (say to drop a TB) then we might "Write a Note", but never log as "Found It" again.

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I own the Shutterbug Traveling Cache (GCB92C) which was grandfatered in when Groundspeak decided to no longer allow travelers. When I set this thing loose in 2002 its mission was to rack up the miles and someday make it back to San Diego, before it was once more set loose on the world. Over the last three years it has racked up thousands of miles in the lower 48 states. Last month it finally made it back to California, up in the LA area. For some reason, it sat in the same hide location for a month with no attempts. I got tired of waiting and drove 120 miles to the trailhead and hiked up to the cache myself.

 

240 miles later, I sat in front of my computer wondering what I should do. Before it crossed the country, I found it another time to check on the condition of the cache. Even though, since it is a traveler, I had to search for it, I posted a note. BUT.... After the ordeal I went through to bring the cache pack to its home town, after three years, I decided to log a find. I don't feel like this was wrong of me either. Do you???

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Sounds good to me. Also, a second 'Found It' log can be appropriate when a cache has been significantly moved/altered. A cache in my area once was a micro, was stolen, then replaced with a regular some miles away. I haven't found the replacement yet (DNF after 'Found It', darn!), but if I do, that's a new find for me!

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Is it cheating? . . . depends. I logged several of "my" caches in order to show where a travel bug moved. I am a pilot in the military and took a couple of travel bugs with me to both Afghanistan and Iraq. I created a couple of bogus caches and logged these caches w/ the TB to show their movement to and from these countries. Is this cheating? Check out the following threads:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.as...15-16dddbaeeb61

 

http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.as...7e-09728a57dbbe

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Is it cheating? . . . depends. I logged several of "my" caches in order to show where a travel bug moved. I am a pilot in the military and took a couple of travel bugs with me to both Afghanistan and Iraq. I created a couple of bogus caches and logged these caches w/ the TB to show their movement to and from these countries. Is this cheating? Check out the following threads:

 

http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.as...15-16dddbaeeb61

 

http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.as...7e-09728a57dbbe

 

You can log your TBs and accumulate the milage with a note as easily as a found it.

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We have a couple people in the area that have a lot of events. One day was going threw to see what everybody log. Well they were logging there own events. Looks like they add over 300 to there count! Don’t care how they play the game but when they start to brag they are in the top ranking in the state kind of makes you shake your head in disbelief. Oh well if that’s how they want to play the game so be it! Oh and I think it is cheating but that’s just my opion!

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It's safe to say that logging a find on your own cache is bad form. Personal experiences:

 

- A cache of mine was "dislocated" (moved) by a muggle. The person who FTF'd it DNF'd it on his second visit, so I went to check and I had to "find it" as it was hid more difficult than before. Result? Posted a note on what happened. Even if it got moved, I already knew what the container looked like.

 

- I DNF'd an old cache and put a replacement container, since it was obviously missing. Cachers have suggested I could have posted a find before I adopted it, but I elected not to, since my mind was already set on adopting it.

 

- There are two caches I adopted where I've already logged a find. The reason is obvious here - I found them long before I was asked to adopt them.

 

I've seen a few cases of owners logging finds to their own caches in the area, but so far, they were not result of "trying to pad the numbers."

 

There have been co-hiders who have posted finds, but they technically do not own the listing. This case deserves its own thread.

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We have a couple people in the area that have a lot of events. One day was going threw to see what everybody log. Well they were logging there own events. Looks like they add over 300 to there count! Don’t care how they play the game but when they start to brag they are in the top ranking in the state kind of makes you shake your head in disbelief. Oh well if that’s how they want to play the game so be it! Oh and I think it is cheating but that’s just my opion!

 

It seems to me that logging your own events and logging your own caches are two completely different things. The event log is 'attended' - and the owner certainly did attend their own event. No shame here - they aren't 'cheating' where they weren't required to use a GPS, solve a puzzle, or do a 10 stage multi, as when one logs a 'find' on their own caches.

 

I have never logged one of my own caches as 'found', but just hosted my first event, and logged it as 'attended'. Perhaps people are uncomfortable with this simply because gc.com counting events as 'finds', when IMO they should not be included in the total cache find count.

 

Why I logged it as 'attended' is, well, because I attended it, and I wanted that event to be listed under my profile as one I was present for...

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We have a couple people in the area that have a lot of events. One day was going threw to see what everybody log. Well they were logging there own events. Looks like they add over 300 to there count! Don’t care how they play the game but when they start to brag they are in the top ranking in the state kind of makes you shake your head in disbelief. Oh well if that’s how they want to play the game so be it! Oh and I think it is cheating but that’s just my opion!

 

It seems to me that logging your own events and logging your own caches are two completely different things. The event log is 'attended' - and the owner certainly did attend their own event. No shame here - they aren't 'cheating' where they weren't required to use a GPS, solve a puzzle, or do a 10 stage multi, as when one logs a 'find' on their own caches.

 

I have never logged one of my own caches as 'found', but just hosted my first event, and logged it as 'attended'. Perhaps people are uncomfortable with this simply because gc.com counting events as 'finds', when IMO they should not be included in the total cache find count.

 

Why I logged it as 'attended' is, well, because I attended it, and I wanted that event to be listed under my profile as one I was present for...

How can it be different? You put on event or you place a cache. You are logging something you did. Right? It will show up in your status that you atteneded it without logging it. I think it is cheating. Play how you like but thats how I feel about it.

Edited by russell_53040
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Granted, I don't own that many caches, but the onyl one I have logged a find on is one I found then later adopted.

 

As for multiple finds, that all depends on how the cache is set up by the hider and how the finder plays the game.

 

As examples, we have a travelling cache here I have found 4 times. That's the way that cache works. There is another nearby that actually involves finding 2 items and the hider states so in the cache description, allowing a "found it" log for each.

 

On the other hand, there are many caches that allow additional smilies for pictures and such and I choose not to claim those simply because they don't involve finding an additional cache or object. For that same reason I don't log events as "attended". I personally don't equate attending an event to finding a cache.

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How can it be different? You put on event or you place a cache. You are logging something you did. Right? It will show up in your status that you atteneded it without logging it. I think it is cheating. Play how you like but thats how I feel about it.

 

Well, the big difference is that for an event, you and everyone else knows where it is so you're not logging a found, you're logging an attended.

 

Unless someone steals and rehides your cache (or it's travelling), you know where it is so you can't find it (as in it's not hidden in your mind) so you can't log a find.

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How can it be different? You put on event or you place a cache. You are logging something you did. Right? It will show up in your status that you atteneded it without logging it. I think it is cheating. Play how you like but thats how I feel about it.

 

Well, the big difference is that for an event, you and everyone else knows where it is so you're not logging a found, you're logging an attended.

 

Unless someone steals and rehides your cache (or it's travelling), you know where it is so you can't find it (as in it's not hidden in your mind) so you can't log a find.

The fact is it still ups your count. You are using the attend as a found it. If they had the feature were you could log temp caches as a found people would be using that instead. If it makes people feel better to log it so be it but I look at it as cheating. But heck thats just my opion.

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I've logged a find on one of my caches. After I placed it, the first person to find it was approached by the landowner who was not informed of it's placement. (I spoke with his wife and she had not talked to him yet). Anyway, he was asked by the landowner to remove the cache since he didn't know what it was. The cacher pulled the cache and hid it at another location and posted the coords in his find log.

 

My wife and I then went out the next day and "found" the cache. It actually took us a bit of looking to find it. So, once I double checked with the landowners and returned the cache to its original location, I logged it as a find with the explanation of why I logged it as a find.

 

I have not logged any of my other caches as finds, however.

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:laughing: Do you log your own caches? Ok, I own GCR4MX. If you owned it, would you log it to bump your own numbers up? I say no, but I know of several people who have logged their own caches. I did a cache yesterday, and the owner logged it as soon as it was posted by the reviewer. Would you do that?

 

No, I would not log a cache that I own. There are 2 exceptions to this rule guideline...an event that I host, I would (and have) logged these as "attended"; a cache that I found before adopting (this has happened once).

 

Jamie

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The fact is it still ups your count. You are using the attend as a found it. If they had the feature were you could log temp caches as a found people would be using that instead. If it makes people feel better to log it so be it but I look at it as cheating. But heck thats just my opion.

Nah...I use the attended to log that I attended the event - not that I found the event or found a cache at the event. Someone at gc.com decided that events should could in their cache count, not me. Frankly, I don't think events should count as 'finds'.

 

I takes all of .34 seconds to subtract the event caches logged from one's find count, if you so desire.

 

I don't log my own caches, and I don't go around touting that I have 138 caches found to date and I'm better than someone else. I also haven't ever entered a contest in which I received something for having the most finds on my account. So, who in the heck am I cheating?!?

 

Cheating: the act of of deception, trickery or fraud. Logging my own event as 'attended' - I don't really think that falls under that definition.

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This is a really easy one to answer and I agree with all the ones who said it is wrong to LOG your own cache. Just think about it.......wonder if you DNF your own cache?!! Kinda hard too isn't it?

 

Not impossible, though...we've DNFed one of ours. Even though it was right where we'd put it. BOTH of us misremembered where we'd put it, we'd hid it so well we couldn't find it, and the tree cover was such that the GPSr numbers were pointing us over here...no wait, over there...back this way....20 feet THAT way...

 

(We did finally FIND the dang thing - but did NOT, in fact, log a "found it!" on it.)

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