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Finding your own caches...


redtj

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I know I will take some heat for this but here goes... I have noticed that as a cache owner, GC.com knows when we are looking at our own caches or our own TBs and coins. We have a different list of controls on them; edit, waypoints, etc. I have also noticed that when "log your visit" is selected, "found it" is an option. WHY??? Yes I have found some of my own caches, and now I will go forth and sin no more. (so don't yell at me) But If it is a bad thing then why does GC.com allow it? That is my question.

IMHO...one of three choices...

1-it is ok to log your own caches.

2-It is a honor thing and they give you just enough rope to hang your self with.

3-it is like telling a secret to a person who tells it to a person who tells..so on so on. as each person finds it it changes just a little every time and when we come back to check it, it might be something different all together. therefore a new find!

Apologies for the Biblical and capital punishment references

Edited by redtj
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It is not ok to log your own caches. Typically, this is a newbie mistake, which thankfully can be easily fixed by editing the log.

 

The option is there probably because there are a handful of rare instances where you might actually log your own cache.

 

Most common is logging a cache which you've adopted. While most people will log a find and then later adopt it, there are those who have adopted caches which they haven't yet found. When they do find the cache, they correctly log it as a find, even though they are the owners.

 

In the olden days, there was a phenomenon called "Moving Caches." That is, cache where each finder would re-hide the cache someplace new. In that case, the owner of the cache was in no better position to find the cache than anyone else, and if the owner found the cache in a new location, he could correctly log it as a find.

 

There might be another situation or two where this occurs.

 

Jamie

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It is not ok to log your own caches. Typically, this is a newbie mistake, which thankfully can be easily fixed by editing the log.

 

Sure it's ok. It's stupid, but ok. I only care about my own stats being legit. If others want to log their own caches, or log events multiple times, log finds on their caches just after archiving them, or attend 1 minute events, go for it. I stopped caring how other people log their finds (it doesn't mean I stopped making fun of them behind their backs though.)

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It is not ok to log your own caches. Typically, this is a newbie mistake, which thankfully can be easily fixed by editing the log.

 

Sure it's ok. It's stupid, but ok. I only care about my own stats being legit. If others want to log their own caches, or log events multiple times, log finds on their caches just after archiving them, or attend 1 minute events, go for it. I stopped caring how other people log their finds (it doesn't mean I stopped making fun of them behind their backs though.)

Dude, I agree with everything in your post (except for the burning part)! We should start some kind of Creed or something that states how we feel.

 

We could call it the Cache The Way That Is Fun To YOU Creed or something like that.

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I know I will take some heat for this but here goes... I have noticed that as a cache owner, GC.com knows when we are looking at our own caches or our own TBs and coins. We have a different list of controls on them; edit, waypoints, etc. I have also noticed that when "log your visit" is selected, "found it" is an option. WHY??? Yes I have found some of my own caches, and now I will go forth and sin no more. (so don't yell at me) But If it is a bad thing then why does GC.com allow it? That is my question.

IMHO...one of three choices...

1-it is ok to log your own caches.

2-It is a honor thing and they give you just enough rope to hang your self with.

3-it is like telling a secret to a person who tells it to a person who tells..so on so on. as each person finds it it changes just a little every time and when we come back to check it, it might be something different all together. therefore a new find!

Apologies for the Biblical and capital punishment references

GC runs on the honor system. They aren't going to waste time programming out every ridiculous thing that people do. Logging your own cache is one of those things....
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Well... my husband and I cache under the same name. We have NOT logged any of our own hides, but technically? Hes planted about 5 that I have NEVER BEEN to, but just know are out there. I wouldnt have the slightest idea HOW to find them if I was alone, because... I didnt plant them.

 

But... we still havent logged them - but then, I also havent tried to find them! LOL

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I've logged two caches as finds which I later adopted.

I've logged a few moving caches, and believe that the owner ought to be able to log them if found in the wild.

I chose not to log an event that I hosted, since I already got credit in the "hidden" column, but I respect others who do.

If and when I complete the DeLorme Challenge cache that I own (overlooking, for this thread, the fact that it's co-owned with a group account), I will log a find on it even though I know where the container is hidden. I will certainly make the six-hour hike to put my name in the logbook!

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I've logged two caches as finds which I later adopted.

I've logged a few moving caches, and believe that the owner ought to be able to log them if found in the wild.

I chose not to log an event that I hosted, since I already got credit in the "hidden" column, but I respect others who do.

If and when I complete the DeLorme Challenge cache that I own (overlooking, for this thread, the fact that it's co-owned with a group account), I will log a find on it even though I know where the container is hidden. I will certainly make the six-hour hike to put my name in the logbook!

Out of the 2000+ caches you've found you can only think of reasons to log 3 of the ones you own. That is less than 0.15% or about one tenth of one percent. Out of that list only one was actually placed in your presence.

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I saw an cache owner log a find on his own cache when it was assumed to missing by other cachers. He said he went to check on it, searched for it for about fifteen minutes, found it hidden farther away than he had placed it, and logged it as a find.

 

Well if he had to search for it, and he found it, then he can log it, right?

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Another thing that I have seen in some cases is threads like this that start up, and posts go along the lines of talking about examples of others logging their own caches......and you gotta think that it sure is sketchy when someone who has logged thousands of caches "finding" their own hides. However, in alot of cases the cache owners logging their own caches are newbies who really don't know any better and it takes some of us who are a little more skilled to walk the newbies through and kindly tell them that logging your own caches is not the only way to drop travel bugs.

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We have some who do this as well, normally it is a mistake but the bottom line is..

 

How does it affect you? Maybe they have more finds then you do when it is all over? They beat you to a FTF on a cache they own?

 

Seriously, I try to email them and explain what the difference between a Write Note and a Found Log is, but in the end, if they have no intention of changing it, does it hurt anything?

 

I think it is more honost then hiding caches under your wifes account and finding them on yours.

 

It is more honost then having finds from the same day over 200 miles apart because your friend or 'other half' puts your name in every cache they find while you put a name in every cache you find.

 

Be nice, be friendly. If you want, drop them a polite email and explain why it has you so upset, but there is no reason to write nasty comments on caches they own or send them hate mail. Why call them names?

 

If someone plays the game and logs finds to keep track of places visited like a journal then it is as they want it to be. Logs are policed by the cache owner, not by everyone who thinks the numbers should be rounded in a different fashion.

 

This being said, I have not logged a find on caches I own. I do have a find on a cache I adopted almost 3 years after I found it, as well as one other I adopted when the owner moved to the east coast.

 

I have been with cachers as we placed multiple caches, even one in Mexico... I have no finds on those because I opted not to at the time. If I hike back to them, I might just put my name in the logbook AGAIN and then log a find, but that is between me and the cache owner not someone in the forums who dislikes it as it makes me have a number more then them.

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To log or not to log...that is the question. There are many good reasons why you could log your own cache and there are many good reasons why you shouldn't log your own cache. The real answer is: it depends. Only you know your own unique situation and you only have yourself to answer to. The real question is: do I feel like I am cheating or not? Again, only you can answer that question for you. Let your conscious be the guide.

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I'm sitting about 30 feet from a cache right now. I tend to the cache, but I'm not its owner. It belongs to a friend of mine. He suggested I log the find, but I didn't think that was fair game since I helped him hide it in the first place.

 

I don't suppose it would matter much to anybody if I did log it, but for my own sake, I won't - because it's not a legitimate find, IMO.

 

I have posted a note to it to drop a travel bug in it, but I haven't collected a smilie for it. I dropped the bug in there when I'd had it for a few weeks, and didn't see doing any caching anytime soon - when I snagged the bug I'd intended to move it along sooner - but stuff happens. Before it looked like I was hogging the bug, I put him in a cache convenient to me ;) Guess that's an advantage!

 

I have no intention of logging that as a "find" because really, it's not.

 

And yeah, we're all on hour honour - if we log bogus finds, the only people we're really cheating is ourselves.

 

Jenn

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Hey thanks to everyone who has replied to my question! I did log some of my own caches at first, now I do not log my newly hidden ones! I also only logged the ones I did upon going back to do maintenance or just to check on them! I will not delete the finds I have made because of this fact.

 

Something else I do is delete "write note" logs after doing a bug drop. I think it is just polite to the cache owner!

 

Alas my biggest pet peeve is that some of the top geocachers log some caches as a find every time they go back to it on a different day! yes they did find it again but it I think it is a lot less honest than logging your own cache!

 

Oh you can tell the world of text messaging has taken over the world by the amount of misspellings and wrong word usage in the forums. My first grade teacher, Ms. Bostic, would throw a coniption!

 

Thanks to everyone for replying in a civilized manner and not really yelling at each other (or me) or making a big fuss! The forums are mostly not fun because of those who do such things!

Edited by redtj
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I owned a cache and I moved over 3 hours away from the cache location because of a job, the cache is still active and now adopted out to someone else. Does this mean (IN THEORY) I can now go back and sign the log and log the cache?

 

When you adopt a cache from the owner, the owner loses all the editing functions and also the automatic notification emails when someone finds that cache.

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It is not ok to log your own caches. Typically, this is a newbie mistake, which thankfully can be easily fixed by editing the log.

 

The option is there probably because there are a handful of rare instances where you might actually log your own cache.

 

Most common is logging a cache which you've adopted. While most people will log a find and then later adopt it, there are those who have adopted caches which they haven't yet found. When they do find the cache, they correctly log it as a find, even though they are the owners.

 

In the olden days, there was a phenomenon called "Moving Caches." That is, cache where each finder would re-hide the cache someplace new. In that case, the owner of the cache was in no better position to find the cache than anyone else, and if the owner found the cache in a new location, he could correctly log it as a find.

 

There might be another situation or two where this occurs.

 

Jamie

 

Just wondering...are "Moving Caches" acceptable today?

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I owned a cache and I moved over 3 hours away from the cache location because of a job, the cache is still active and now adopted out to someone else. Does this mean (IN THEORY) I can now go back and sign the log and log the cache?

 

When you adopt a cache from the owner, the owner loses all the editing functions and also the automatic notification emails when someone finds that cache.

 

And you also lose a stat in your hide column.

 

Go log it.

 

I adopted a cache that I had not found before, went and did maintenance and then sometime later I adopted it out. I plan on returning someday and signing the logbook and logging a find.

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Oh you can tell the world of text messaging has taken over the world by the amount of misspellings and wrong word usage in the forums. My first grade teacher, Ms. Bostic, would throw a coniption!

Did you mean conniption? :blink:

 

We had a situation where a local cacher was deleting people's "Found It" logs on his cache. Rather than start an endless cycle of logging and deleting, some cacher just logged a find on one of their caches that said something to the effect of "Since the owner of GCXXXX will not let me log it, I am logging my own cache to keep my stats updated."

 

I have no problem with that.

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We had a situation where a local cacher was deleting people's "Found It" logs on his cache. Rather than start an endless cycle of logging and deleting, some cacher just logged a find on one of their caches that said something to the effect of "Since the owner of GCXXXX will not let me log it, I am logging my own cache to keep my stats updated."

 

I have no problem with that.

 

An owner deleted log entries and you think it is okay for people to boost their numbers by making a fake log entry. They are intentionally misusing a feature on Geocaching.com to spite another geocacher. By their actions they are saying that they think that the owner shouldn't have any control over his own cache and that in fact the owner is wrong about his own cache.

 

Where do we draw the line? What if I wake to tomorrow and decide that I don't like the fact that some cache owners require me to physically find their caches. Your statement opens the door for fake log entires like "Since the owner of GCN3KA will not let me log it, because of some none sense about me not actually ever having been to Kathmandu, I am logging this cache and the 355167 other currently active caches on my own cache page to keep my stats updated." My example isn't any different than your example.

Edited by Glenn
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I know I will take some heat for this but here goes... I have noticed that as a cache owner, GC.com knows when we are looking at our own caches or our own TBs and coins. We have a different list of controls on them; edit, waypoints, etc. I have also noticed that when "log your visit" is selected, "found it" is an option. WHY??? Yes I have found some of my own caches, and now I will go forth and sin no more. (so don't yell at me) But If it is a bad thing then why does GC.com allow it? That is my question.

IMHO...one of three choices...

1-it is ok to log your own caches.

2-It is a honor thing and they give you just enough rope to hang your self with.

3-it is like telling a secret to a person who tells it to a person who tells..so on so on. as each person finds it it changes just a little every time and when we come back to check it, it might be something different all together. therefore a new find!

Apologies for the Biblical and capital punishment references

I have read through this a bit, but became board and decided not to finish reading it. I have highlighted the question and am going to answer it. If someone has already please forgive me.

The question I understand that you asked is why is the found it an option on your own cache. IMO it's there, because it would take more time and maybe even something extra added to the site to take the option off of an owners account. It's there, because it's easier to have it available on all caches then just ones you don't own.

Also IMHO you shouldn't log your own cache if you're the one that hid it. If you are a husband and wife (or just two people using the same account) and You were not there when it was hid you should be able to count it as a find. If you're worried about someone seeing that you logged it and it's the same name as the cache owner name simply add in your log that the other member of the team hid it and you wasn't there at the time, but have now found it.

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But If it is a bad thing then why does GC.com allow it? That is my question.

 

I don't think it is a "bad" thing. Who cares how many finds you have? Probably nobody. Some Cachers seem to be very competitive about their numbers and get really agitated about topics like this.

 

I personally don't log my own caches, but I couldn't care less if you do so.

 

Sometimes people with really high numbers post their statistics and you see that over 90% of their finds are 1/1 caches. To me that’s no achievement at all, but if it's important to them, that's okay. To me that’s like the people who brag about how many countries they have been to and when you ask you find out that the "visited" 5 countries in one day and went to "Eurodisney" and ate at McD! Hurrah!

 

I don't have a problem at all with people making up their own rules, but it really annoys me, if they want me to follow their rules. Geocaching has a set of "guidelines" which are definitely necessary to make GC possible. I don't see any necessity for additional rules.

 

So to put it in a nutshell. If GC.com allows to log you own cache, it seems to be legal.

 

Or in other words:

"Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law." Immanuel Kant

 

Would it be a problem if EVERYBODY logged own caches? No.

 

GermanSailor

Edited by GermanSailor
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We had a situation where a local cacher was deleting people's "Found It" logs on his cache. Rather than start an endless cycle of logging and deleting, some cacher just logged a find on one of their caches that said something to the effect of "Since the owner of GCXXXX will not let me log it, I am logging my own cache to keep my stats updated."

 

I have no problem with that.

An owner deleted log entries and you think it is okay for people to boost their numbers by making a fake log entry. They are intentionally misusing a feature on Geocaching.com to spite another geocacher. By their actions they are saying that they think that the owner shouldn't have any control over his own cache and that in fact the owner is wrong about his own cache.

 

Where do we draw the line? ...

We draw the line wherever the mistake was made, if we are reasonable people. Cache owners can be petty and spiteful, too, you know. Thankfully most are not. Was anyone here talking about not being able to add "fake log entries"? I think it's fine for a cacher to do something to keep their legitimate log entries.

 

It hasn't happend to us yet, but I have heard of one instance that might apply: My husband and I usually cache together and when we do, only one of us usually signs the log "Team Neos" but we log the cache separately. I've heard of cache owners who refused to allow two logs for one signature, even if that signature is for a "team" --The cache owner in question was really trying to justify not allowing a larger group to claim the find with one signature--Who wants to get caught up in that kind of debate? In either case, if a cache owner deleted my find because of the team signature, I would be unhappy.

 

By the way--To avoid the one log one name problem, if we are traveling we usually add "Neos 1 and Neos2" since we don't know the local cache owners desires, and probably wont't be back there any time soon to sign again, and don't usually go out of our way to be stubborn. If we know the owner really desires separate signatures, we make sure we each sign the log. But if someone pushed me, well, I'm just sassy enough to want to sign "Team" and let my husband sign "Neos" and see how that would play out!

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