+lrosell Posted June 3, 2008 Posted June 3, 2008 OK here’s my idea. Or question. Or suggestion. Or all of the above. I write pretty nifty logs, at least sometimes. OK, so I’m guilty to one or two TFTSLTNLN sometimes. But there’s always a reason for that. Usually. What I would like to see or be able to do is to collect all my brilliant logs into one page, for easy and enjoyable readings on cold snowy winter nights. If logs could be collected or queried per username it would also be possible to read one users all logs without having to go through reading them one by one, along with cache descriptions and other users logs. I know, for my own logs I can accomplish this in GSAK but there are, believe it or not, other Geocachers out there other than me that writes interesting and funny logs. Wouldn’t it be great to have some kind of conduit where we could easily find such logs and share with the community for all our reading pleasure? It could be in the shape of some functionality added to Pocket Queries or maybe a completely new feature set. Best of course would be a cool link to click on in the users profile page, something like ‘View all logs by this user’ or similar. Or is this already possible in some way that have completely eluded me?
+TheAprilFools Posted June 3, 2008 Posted June 3, 2008 A cachers logs could then act like a blog, I like it.
+lrosell Posted June 3, 2008 Author Posted June 3, 2008 A cachers logs could then act like a blog, I like it. Or if it would be in redirectable HTML form even be directly linkable from a blog!
+Corey Posted June 3, 2008 Posted June 3, 2008 This has come up recently: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=194299
+lrosell Posted June 4, 2008 Author Posted June 4, 2008 This has come up recently: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=194299 I'll be darned, so it has. So Groundspeak, when can we have this feature implemented?
+Mule Ears Posted June 4, 2008 Posted June 4, 2008 I started the other thread, because I thought it would be nifty to read those other logs and get a more complete idea of cachers' activities. If people knew that their online reputation was the sum of all their logs, rather than just "found it" and "attended," they'd put their best foot forward. For example, I have a string of backcountry caches in beautiful places, and I make a point of maintaining them regularly. But I give short shrift to the maintenance logs, because I know that hardly anyone will ever read them. Were these notes more visible, I'd put more into them. My original thread died on the vine when TotemLake pointed out that there are privacy issues--some cachers resort to logging 'finds' as 'notes' in order to avoid having their pattern of finds be readily searchable. Apparently there have been cases of cachers' finds being monitored by creepy folks who email comments about their recent whereabouts. Logging finds as notes makes the search inconvenient, which deters the stalkers. If our proposal were implemented, searching notes would be as easy as searching finds, hence the concern. I accept the idea that some are using this workaround, but it strikes me as really marginal. I doubt that it's all that effective. I don't have any expectation of privacy for any material that I publish online. If I had a concern, I'd go offline, or log on a time-delayed basis. My heart goes out to those who are being somehow stalked or harassed based on their logs, but I'm not convinced that logging 'finds' as 'notes' is the answer. And being able to see a user's notes is as valid as seeing recent forum posts. More so, really.
+TheAprilFools Posted June 4, 2008 Posted June 4, 2008 I think its a good idea. Maybe if TPTB implement this they could also add a setting the user could set where they can set there 'blog' to show all logs, only find logs or none.
+lrosell Posted June 4, 2008 Author Posted June 4, 2008 I started the other thread, because I thought it would be nifty to read those other logs and get a more complete idea of cachers' activities. If people knew that their online reputation was the sum of all their logs, rather than just "found it" and "attended," they'd put their best foot forward. For example, I have a string of backcountry caches in beautiful places, and I make a point of maintaining them regularly. But I give short shrift to the maintenance logs, because I know that hardly anyone will ever read them. Were these notes more visible, I'd put more into them. My original thread died on the vine when TotemLake pointed out that there are privacy issues--some cachers resort to logging 'finds' as 'notes' in order to avoid having their pattern of finds be readily searchable. Apparently there have been cases of cachers' finds being monitored by creepy folks who email comments about their recent whereabouts. Logging finds as notes makes the search inconvenient, which deters the stalkers. If our proposal were implemented, searching notes would be as easy as searching finds, hence the concern. I accept the idea that some are using this workaround, but it strikes me as really marginal. I doubt that it's all that effective. I don't have any expectation of privacy for any material that I publish online. If I had a concern, I'd go offline, or log on a time-delayed basis. My heart goes out to those who are being somehow stalked or harassed based on their logs, but I'm not convinced that logging 'finds' as 'notes' is the answer. And being able to see a user's notes is as valid as seeing recent forum posts. More so, really. I found your previous thread and I agree that there could be some privacy issues. Maybe. But, if the feature was being enabled the same way for example "Show my email address" and "Allow friend requests" that issue would go out the window. That way a user would have full control over how his/her logs are being viewed or logged.
CurmudgeonlyGal Posted June 4, 2008 Posted June 4, 2008 (edited) Mule Ears - I would posit that it may be less of an 'expectation of privacy' in choosing to log a find as a note and, perhaps, more of thumbed-nose at the folks who delight in following a person's movements when it is as easy as daisy-chaining through their found logs on a somewhat frequent basis and then confronting them in some way about what has been written there. [edited some cr*p out] Requests for some level of privacy (ala prevention of daisy-chaining if someone wishes to actually write 'found it' logs) have been made in the past. michelle Edited June 5, 2008 by CurmudgeonlyGal
+wandering4cache Posted June 4, 2008 Posted June 4, 2008 I miss being able to see other cachers "other" logs. The logs other than their finds. I always enjoyed reading their DNF & seeing where else they cached besides their "finds".
+TheAprilFools Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 I don't know about anybody else, but I have no expectation of privacy when posting any log type on a cache, since I know the text I enter will be visible on a public website.
+flask Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 yes, it's a nifty idea. anytime you choose to log a cache online, you are making a public record. if i was worried about a stalker (and i have been stalked, so i know it isn't pretty), i wouldn't bother with a note any more than a found log. ALL of your logs are public, even if they're a little harder to track down. if you wish for your geocaching adventures to remain private, don't log them online. alternately, wait several months and THEN log them. it worked for me. likewise, if you really wish to remain anonymous, don't keep a blog. don't post photo albums. don't post to mailing lists. a resourceful person can track you down if you have any online record. and i would really love to read the collected logs of some of the more interesting cachers without havign to do the detective work.
PastorJon Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 How about RSS feeds on cachers, caches, and travellers? That would be very cool. The owner (or cacher) could decide if they wanted to generate an RSS feed, and then it would be easily subscribable...
+Corey Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 How about RSS feeds on cachers, caches, and travellers? That would be very cool. The owner (or cacher) could decide if they wanted to generate an RSS feed, and then it would be easily subscribable... Oooh...
+Mule Ears Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 Mule Ears - I would posit that it may be less of an 'expectation of privacy' in choosing to log a find as a note and, perhaps, more of thumbed-nose at the folks who delight in following a person's movements when it is as easy as daisy-chaining through their found logs on a somewhat frequent basis and then confronting them in some way about what has been written there. [edited some cr*p out] Requests for some level of privacy (ala prevention of daisy-chaining if someone wishes to actually write 'found it' logs) have been made in the past. michelle Would including the various notes in the online postings that others could conveniently view really make this worse? Logging finds as notes is clearly just a workaround for another kind of situation entirely--one in which cacher A decides to pick on cacher B using B's find logs as ammunition. The real problem is that A dislikes B and is willing to use GC as a means to pick on B. In that case, A's access to B's mailbox should be blocked.
+lrosell Posted June 5, 2008 Author Posted June 5, 2008 I think really all I'm saying is that it's a shame that there is not an easier way read a users logs other than per cache basis. I user should (Ithink) be able to choose wether he or she want to give permissons to other to have acces to a complete log summary for said user. In my mind it is impossible for privace infringement to be an issue since we all have agreed to share logs we post in the first place. And as I said, if a user do not want his/hers logs collectively posted, well then... don't check the box.
CurmudgeonlyGal Posted June 5, 2008 Posted June 5, 2008 (edited) I think really all I'm saying is that it's a shame that there is not an easier way read a users logs other than per cache basis. I user should (Ithink) be able to choose wether he or she want to give permissons to other to have acces to a complete log summary for said user. In my mind it is impossible for privace infringement to be an issue since we all have agreed to share logs we post in the first place. And as I said, if a user do not want his/hers logs collectively posted, well then... don't check the box. I guess I just don't understand the obsession people have with other cachers logs. I realize I'm 'not the norm', but I can't even remember the last time I went to someone's profile with the express purpose of doing anything OTHER THAN sending email. And even then, I prefer to use the 'PM' feature through the forums if I can. I have so many better things to do with my time than read caching logs... even those written by people I find entertaining. Again, it's not so much that it's a 'privacy infringement' issue, it's that a person posts a public log and other cachers feel free to use that information maliciously. I would like to be able to post a log and opt out of the maliciousness, please. michelle Edited June 5, 2008 by CurmudgeonlyGal
+webscouter. Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 michelle, You and I have had this discussion in the past. I will reiterate for those who might not have read my reasons for liking to read others post and see their pictures. I frequent these forums enough that I have a pretty good idea of what type of caches the regulars like to search for. Since I travel a lot I like to read the exploits of those cachers whom I feel mirror my cache likes and dislikes. Then if I see a cache that said cacher particularly enjoyed I can add the cache to my bookmark list and find it if I am ever in the area. I go so far as to find many archived cache locations just to see the area. I currently have 981 caches on my book mark list to find. I have even tried to meet up with said cachers when I am in their neck of the woods. I have had some successes and some failures. In all cases this makes my travels more bearable.
+lrosell Posted June 6, 2008 Author Posted June 6, 2008 I think really all I'm saying is that it's a shame that there is not an easier way read a users logs other than per cache basis. I user should (Ithink) be able to choose wether he or she want to give permissons to other to have acces to a complete log summary for said user. In my mind it is impossible for privace infringement to be an issue since we all have agreed to share logs we post in the first place. And as I said, if a user do not want his/hers logs collectively posted, well then... don't check the box. I guess I just don't understand the obsession people have with other cachers logs. I realize I'm 'not the norm', but I can't even remember the last time I went to someone's profile with the express purpose of doing anything OTHER THAN sending email. And even then, I prefer to use the 'PM' feature through the forums if I can. I have so many better things to do with my time than read caching logs... even those written by people I find entertaining. Again, it's not so much that it's a 'privacy infringement' issue, it's that a person posts a public log and other cachers feel free to use that information maliciously. I would like to be able to post a log and opt out of the maliciousness, please. michelle Well you could certainly opt out of the maliciousness by choosing to collate your logs for others to see. The general idea however would be to provide a means for close friends, cachers or no cachers, to keep up to date with a users logs. It would obviously have to be the cachers choice whether to share the logs this way or not. In short, if you want to share the logs this way, check the box. If you do not, don’t check it and everything is fine and dandy. Although, should the temptation be too strong, you could also look up a user with collated logs and suck ‘em all in… Free choice, gotta love it….
+sbell111 Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 I don't know about anybody else, but I have no expectation of privacy when posting any log type on a cache, since I know the text I enter will be visible on a public website. I agree, but I still find the OP's suggestion to be a bit creapy.
Mushtang Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 There is a nearly non-functional Friends list that we have. Perhaps one of the functions would be the ability to look at a friends logs since they've already opted into your list. The whole idea of logging a note to stay hidden is hard to understand for me. I realize it's harder to find Notes than Finds, but you're still putting information on a public page and hoping nobody wants to look at it. That's sort of like posting a reply in the forums but wanting have your post hidden so nobody can see it. Face it, you're all playing wrong and you should strive each day to be more like me.
+Renegade Knight Posted June 6, 2008 Posted June 6, 2008 Mule Ears - I would posit that it may be less of an 'expectation of privacy' in choosing to log a find as a note and, perhaps, more of thumbed-nose at the folks who delight in following a person's movements when it is as easy as daisy-chaining through their found logs on a somewhat frequent basis and then confronting them in some way about what has been written there. [edited some cr*p out] Requests for some level of privacy (ala prevention of daisy-chaining if someone wishes to actually write 'found it' logs) have been made in the past. michelle When I go caching one or the other of my caching group will log first. The other then uses the logs page to as a handy list of shortcuts on caches we need to log. Alas it doesnt' show the DNF's etc. So it would be nice to see them. That of course gets in the way of nose thumbing. Excpet in the logs where he who logs last gets the last word in.
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