What good is 'discovered'?

[Pontoffel Pock]

Someone told me to say I 'discovered' a coin or TB when I saw one, even if it was in someone elses hands. I can understand why one may want it to be checked on in a cache, but if someone else has it in thier posession? Why?

 

Thanx.

Edited April 14, 2009 by Pontoffel Pock

[+Semper Questio]

Some folks hunt hitchhiker numbers. Others hunt geocoin icons. Others have other reasons. Using the "Discover" log allows folks to log the TB, coin, or what have you without have to grab or pick up and then re-drop the item. It originally came out of the geocoin community wanting to share their coins in their collections in an easier way for both themselves and other "coiners".

[+StarBrand]

Someone told me to say I 'discovered' a coin or TB when I saw one, even if it was in someone elses hands. I can understand why one may want it to be checked on in a cache, but if someone else has it in thier posession? Why?

 

Thanx.

It mainly for stat hunters and icon collectors.

 

A way to get the icon ans the statistic without actually having to touch or move the trackable.

 

I have seen lists with hunderds of tracking numbers passed around. - So you don't even have to SEE the item.

 

It only makes sense to me when tracking people tags and vehicle tags as you cannot actually posses or move them.

 

[crawil]

It only makes sense to me when tracking people tags and vehicle tags as you cannot actually posses or move them.

 

If I find a cache with many TB's and coins in them, you can "discover" all of them which, even though you are not moving them on, let's the cache owner know that their TB/coin is still in the cache where it's supposed to be and not lost. As a TB owner, when I get one of those logs, I am glad for the update even though the bug isn't moving.

[+NanCycle]

As a TB owner, when I get one of those logs, I am glad for the update even though the bug isn't moving.

 

ditto

 

But I'd rather see it moving.

[+craftypants]

If I find a cache with many TB's and coins in them, you can "discover" all of them which, even though you are not moving them on, let's the cache owner know that their TB/coin is still in the cache where it's supposed to be and not lost. As a TB owner, when I get one of those logs, I am glad for the update even though the bug isn't moving.

 

especially when a traveller has a very esoteric quest and you cannot help it on it's way, whilst you can't help the bug at least you can let the owner know all is well.

[Pontoffel Pock]

Thanx for the responses. Is it a status thing to show off how many people have discovered your, um, coin?

[+briansnat]

Thanx for the responses. Is it a status thing to show off how many people have discovered your, um, coin?

 

I don't know that it's a status thing. Some people just like to collect the coin icons in their profile.

 

If you think discovering coins when you see one in someone's hand is strange, wait until youare handed a piece of paper with a list of tracking numbers of geocoins to "discover". The coins might actually be hundreds or thousands of miles away and you log a piece of paper, never actually seeing the coin.

 

Absurd you say? It's actually quite common.

[Neos2]

Discover is nice when my husband and I both find a cache and see the coin. One of us can find the coin and move it on, and the other can discover it. It's a couple fewer clicks and logs.

[+Isonzo Karst]

For several years there were only two trackable icons on the site. The Travel Bug tag and the Moun10Bike Personal Coin

Then came the USA Geocoin, then the first Jeep TB, and then a bunch more (Germany next?). There was a very brief period when a cacher could hope to have all the available trackable icons on their profile. Some people chased that hard. It would now be impossible.

[+mfamilee]

If we took the time to write down all the tracking numbers on coins & travel bugs we've come across... we'd probably have half the finds we do now.

 

My husband already complains I take too long at caches.

[+CACHE KRAWLER]

From my profile page:

 

Profile Information:

Been Geocaching since Feruary of 2004. My only other real hobbies are Jeeping, Offroading and Exploring. I really enjoy the adventure of getting out and seeing new places. Geocaching has helped me do that. I like finding Geocoins in Geocaches, so please stop losing them and/or stealing them. Nobody likes a thief. I don't discover Geocions, don't understand it either. I did it once when I first started at a Meet & Greet then realized there was no point. Every coin I have in my trackables is one that I actually found in a Geocache. So quit being lazy and get out there and earn that icon, that's what this hobby is all about. Don't understand the numbers game either. If I placed a lampost cache at every lampost at LAX how fun would that be hunting down. There's a quote from Chris LeDoux that sums it up really well. "I'd gladly take, ten seconds in the saddle, than a lifetime of watching from the stands." Get out there and find the caches that will leave you with a memory that will last a lifetime. And when you do find a really great one, let the owner know and thank them. NO MORE CRAPPY CACHES!

 

This is just my $0.02. But do also understand that other people enjoy different aspects of Geocaching. Me personally I enjoy the adventure over the numbers. I once saw a lady at a meet&greet that was copying TB numbers that covered the front and back of the page and asked her why she does it she said that she liked the icons. That and she was getting a case of beer for doing it. Hmmm. I just walked away.

[+GroveBird]

Some people use the "Discover" as a virtual collection of Trackables.

[+GroveBird]

Some people use the "Discover" as a virtual collection of Trackables.

[Pontoffel Pock]

I like finding Geocoins in Geocaches, so please stop losing them and/or stealing them. Nobody likes a thief. I don't discover Geocions, don't understand it either. I did it once when I first started at a Meet & Greet then realized there was no point. Every coin I have in my trackables is one that I actually found in a Geocache. So quit being lazy and get out there and earn that icon, that's what this hobby is all about.

 

I think I would agree.

 

It's kind of strange, I also am into wheeling and exploring. Our goal used to be finding places where people have not been. But we are now hunting for places we know someone has been and when.

The things I enjoy about this so far is the hunt part, its like a treasure hunt. But more than that, its having others sharing their outdoor 'secret' place that I may have not known was even there.

 

I started this thread because a guy at my wifes work has like 3000+ finds. He brought a bunch of coins with him and had her write the numbers down and say that we 'discovered' them. It felt like we were doing something wrong. But at least she saw them. And like you guys said, its more about what you want the coins to be and do for you.

[+The Blorenges]

...I started this thread because a guy at my wifes work has like 3000+ finds. He brought a bunch of coins with him and had her write the numbers down and say that we 'discovered' them. It felt like we were doing something wrong. But at least she saw them. And like you guys said, its more about what you want the coins to be and do for you.

 

When we started geocaching it was quite unusual to find a geocoin in a cache and we visited certain caches because I thought it would be nice to see the coin that was there (and get the icon). At that time I was of the opinion that I would only log coins that we actually found "out in the wild".

 

Over the years my feelings have changed: I still think that the best place to find a geocoin is in the wild but nowadays I will also discover a coin at an Event, if it's of particular interest to me. There are now some very beautiful/expensive/rare geocoins around that are probably never going to be released for general travel and one is only ever likely to see them in the owner's album.

 

However, I'll never ever go down the road of logging sheets of geocoin tracking numbers, just for the icons, or to get high statistics. It just doesn't feel right to me.

 

MrsB

[+welch]

I don't know that it's a status thing. Some people just like to collect the coin icons in their profile.

 

If you think discovering coins when you see one in someone's hand is strange, wait until youare handed a piece of paper with a list of tracking numbers of geocoins to "discover". The coins might actually be hundreds or thousands of miles away and you log a piece of paper, never actually seeing the coin.

 

Absurd you say? It's actually quite common.

 

I think the newest variation is for the coin owner to have a sign up sheet so people can put down their email address and and be sent a list of the codes later. Easier to copy and paste that way?

[+ras_oscar]

1. If i don't touch the bug I don't log it. That's the way I roll

2. I try to travel as light as possible, since I'm on and off planes quite a bit. So my swag bag is only about 2"x2". If I find a bug that won't fit in the bag I log it as a discovered to let the owner know it's still there.

[+Suburban Hillbillies]

I have seen those lists of tracking numbers... I really don't get it either.

 

I used to "discover" every coin and bug I could at one time...

 

One day I was looking through my logged coins, and thinking, yeah, i remember getting this one with the kids, getting that one in the rain, etc...

 

When I'd come across the ones I discovered, I had no memory attached to it.

 

I ended up removing all my "discover" logs.

 

Unless some REALLY sticks out to me, I don't do the discover thing.

[+WebChimp]

If you think discovering coins when you see one in someone's hand is strange, wait until youare handed a piece of paper with a list of tracking numbers of geocoins to "discover".

 

I was handed one of those lists at an event a couple of years ago. The list had about a hundred tracking numbers on it. Monday after the event, I thought about the time it would take to enter all those numbers, and tossed the list.

 

I don't think I've discovered a trackable since then. For me, there's no value in it, but others do seem to enjoy it.

[+ThirstyMick]

My boyfriend is way better than me at getting back to the computer and logging. He logs his finds months before me, and usually "retrieves" the travelers we pick up when we cache together, and then emails me the tracking numbers. It's a lot easier for me to log the bugs if I'm just discovering them and copying & pasting the numbers from his email.

 

Why do I care to discover them?

 

Well, by the time I get around to taking the pictures off of my camera, I'd like to be able to track the buggers down. Having a handy list in my profile makes that a whole lot easier. He's better at bookkeeping and logging, but I always photograph bugs and coins that pass through my hands. I'm sure there are others who do this.

 

It's not always about stats & icons

[+JoesBar]

I know I'm repeating this, but way back when, there weren't many trackables around. You'd find a TB occasionally and a geocoin rarely.

 

So you might be at an event, or a group finds a TB in a cache, and each person wants to log it. The proceedure required each person to log a 'retreived from...' log and then a 'placed in...' log. The cache page would be filled with notes from each person retreiving then dropping the TB or coin. This was quite cumbersome.

 

Then the folks at GC came up with the 'discover' log. This makes it much easier for people to add trackables to their "finds."

 

There are many cachers that enjoy that aspect of the game.

Edited April 17, 2009 by JoesBar

[+tozainamboku]

The discover log apparently was developed because of the practice of people bring their collection of geocoins to events to let others admire them. Common practice at the time was to drop you coins into the event, then people who wanted could retrieve the coin from the event and drop it back immediately. This gave them a record of having "found" the coin at the event and gaining the icon for the coin on their lists of trackables "found". I never myself saw much purpose for doing this. The purpose of trackable items was to leave them in a cache and ask other geocachers to help move them according to your goal. I rarely will discover a coin even it is in a cache, though I will sometimes do this to let the coin owner know the coin is still in the cache. I've only discovered one or two coins that were being held by a player, but these were friends of mine who invited me to discover a coin they were using for a special purpose such as tracking their FTFs and they were FTF on one of my caches.