Which point in time to log?

[Taxo]

Let's say there had been one or more days between finding and logging the cache (e.g. because you forgot your pencil).

 

Which point in time do you log then:

- The date you found the cache

- The date you logged the cache (e.g. after coming back)

 

Thx!

Taxo

[+DiamondDaveG]

-edit to delete my opinion-

Edited April 6, 2009 by DiamondDaveG

[+BlueDeuce]

Typically the day you signed the log.

 

Unless there is some special situation that makes the previous date important.

[+StarBrand]

The date of the actual signing of the log in most cases. For the few owners that audit physical logs - that will make more sense.

[AZcachemeister]

I don't think it matters one bzzzttt either way as long as you state what happened and are consistent if it happens again later.

[Neos2]

I log my find for the day I was actually there. Unless I forget to change the date, that is!

[+Happy Bubbles]

I think it's best give your log the date on which you actually found the cache. Say a cache gets logged every day or so, so if someone doesn't log right away the logs get out of order. Now say a geocoin or something goes missing from the cache - having the dates in the wrong order can make it harder to figure out who might have seen it last and who might have a clue about what has become of it. If a cache goes missing, a mis-dated "found it" log in a chain of DNFs can make it hard to guess whether the cache is really there or not. Likewise, a belated "found it" can make a cache seem find-able when it has actually been taken out of commission by a fire or flood or heavy snowfall or whatever.

 

Logging the date of the actual find keeps the cache page true to the actual history of the cache.

[+JacobBarlow]

Let's say there had been one or more days between finding and logging the cache (e.g. because you forgot your pencil).

 

Which point in time do you log then:

- The date you found the cache

- The date you logged the cache (e.g. after coming back)

 

Thx!

Taxo

 

It all comes down to laziness for me, if I'm using field notes, which I almost always do now it sets the date automatically to the date I sent the text message, which is when I found the cache...

If I'm not using field notes, usually because I was out of cell phone range in the mountains or desert when I made the find then I just log it, I don't often take the time to think back and set the date right.

[+DanOCan]

I log the date when I actually found the cache.

 

As a cache owner, if I see someone log one of my caches using the current date and I see their log state something like "Found this one a couple days ago." I'll often email them and suggest they change it.

 

My big reason is this: A couple of times there have been caches I DNF'ed and I put them on my watch list. I see a series of other cachers come along and DNF it as well. I start to suspect the cache might be missing and then suddenly I see an email saying someone found it. But, when you read their log, they state they found it "several months ago" and either forgot to log it or they are now logging under a new account name -- fair enough, but for those people (like me!) who filter out caches in GSAK if they have a series of DNFs, it creates a false expectation that a cache is in place when it hasn't been found for weeks/months.

 

The bigger the gap between the actual find and the online log the bigger the issue. As also mentioned, it becomes harder to track down trackables that have gone MIA if you don't know when people actually visited the cache.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

Let's say there had been one or more days between finding and logging the cache (e.g. because you forgot your pencil).

 

Which point in time do you log then:

- The date you found the cache

- The date you logged the cache (e.g. after coming back)

 

Thx!

Taxo

I'll go with the date you signed the physical logbook and there's a good reason for doing it this way. Some creative containers are a challenge to either retrieve or open. You may have found the location but until you figure out how to sign the logbook it doesn't count as a find.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Let's say there had been one or more days between finding and logging the cache (e.g. because you forgot your pencil).

 

Which point in time do you log then:

- The date you found the cache

- The date you logged the cache (e.g. after coming back)

 

Thx!

Taxo

I'll go with the date you signed the physical logbook and there's a good reason for doing it this way. Some creative containers are a challenge to either retrieve or open. You may have found the location but until you figure out how to sign the logbook it doesn't count as a find.

 

Technically, you haven't "found" the cache until you've signed the log. You could post a "note" when you first located the container then post a "found it" log after you've found and signed the log.