Jump to content

Signing the log!


Cherokee Bill

Recommended Posts

:D Was out caching with "Hikerjoebloe" the other weekend and I noticed when he signed the log he used a "custom" stick-on return-address label. It had his "Username" and T4TC - SL and a nice background design.

 

Well I ordered me some, for only about $8. Novel idea. :)

Hi Bill

This is not nearly as novel as you think. And are you now going to keep your pen at home and use your new geostickers to cover over a dozen spaces on micro logs? Sorry that I think stickers are a bad idea, even though I know some good people who use them. I'll continue to keep doing it the old fashioned way. If I had enough energy to hike to GZ, I think I can go the extra mile and actually sign the log. Just my opinion.

 

edit because the spell checker didn't alert me that "pan" should have been "pen".

Edited by Cardinal Red
Link to comment

As long as the sticker is not just stuck to the outside of the cache, or to a nearby surface, instead of in the logbook, I don't see a problem with it. You'd still need to carry a pen, in case there's not enough space in the logbook or if it is a really tiny logbook. I've thought about it, and don't think it's going to save me any time. It does add a personal touch though.

 

I tried using a custom stamp. I think I used it in 3 geocaches before giving up. Too much trouble - and I still need to use a pen to write the date.

Link to comment

I prefer the permanence of signing my name in ink. I used stickers for about 300 finds and decided to go back to signing the logs by hand. The stamp is an idea that crossed my mind many times. I used the smallest Avery labels but I never liked how much space they took up. I've also seen "power cachers" "logjack" a log sheet by placing stickers over the signatures of "hard signers." I've seen many of the stickers on the bottom of the cache when the adhesive fell off. I save my original logs for my online logs.

Link to comment

Don't be a LOG HOG one of my pet peeves is opening a log sheet to find people that have used Stickers or worse yet stamps (for letterboxes I think) to sign the log with and they take up 4 -6 lines on the log sheet. I suppose it's OK for large log books but not for the small ones. In fact on small logs I usually sign the log "SS" to conserve space for the next cachers, that come along.

 

ScubaSonic

Link to comment

Don't be a LOG HOG!!

One of my pet peeves is opening a log sheet to find people that have used Stickers or worse yet stamps (for letterboxes I think) to sign the log with and they take up 4 -6 lines on the log sheet. I suppose it's OK for large log books but not for the small ones. In fact on small logs I usually sign the log "SS" to conserve space for the next cachers, that come along.

 

ScubaSonic

 

I'll chime in here, with a similar sentiment.

 

I have often found these stickers lying loose in the bottom of the container. No sign, no find!

 

I sometimes even wonder who put the sticker on the log...the person whose name is on the sticker, or maybe their close friend?

Link to comment

Yeah, me swatting mosquitoes on the side of a hill trying to scratch my name on to a piece of paper that wants to roll up on me while I'm using the front of my gps as a flat surface using a pen that barely works, and on top of all that my handwriting stinks. (hmmm should it be raining?)

 

Labels are fine. You probably don't want to use one on a micro log as it makes them hard to roll.

 

I've seen some that are pretty artistic, almost a sig item. So if you prefer to be creative online and only put your name in the logbook, have at it.

Link to comment

argh! HATE those stickers!

 

OMG...flask does have a Shift (or Caps Lock) key afterall!!! :)

 

Back to the topic of stickers. I don't mind them on full-size logbooks...but please don't use them on micros. Nothing worse than somebody using 4 or 5 spaces on the log putting their sticker on a log that doesn't have a lot of room to begin with.

Link to comment

I'm curious about the underlying message here.

Interesting concept the sticker... but as most have pointed out here it does take up a lot of room, and lacks the personal touch.

What I'm most curious about is what is written in the logbook!

I'm still relatively new to the sport of Geocaching so forgive me if this question has surfaced often in the past.

As an owner of a cache do you want someone writing their story about the experience of finding the cache on that small log sheet?

OR

Is the standard signature and string of abbreviations acceptable, with the experience documented on-line when logging the find or did not find?

 

Again, a newbie with only four hides.

Was the hide to difficult, or to easy. Was the find as much fun as enjoying the area it was placed in?

This is what I'm interested in knowing from a fellow cacher :)

Link to comment

I'm curious about the underlying message here.

Interesting concept the sticker... but as most have pointed out here it does take up a lot of room, and lacks the personal touch.

What I'm most curious about is what is written in the logbook!

I'm still relatively new to the sport of Geocaching so forgive me if this question has surfaced often in the past.

As an owner of a cache do you want someone writing their story about the experience of finding the cache on that small log sheet?

OR

Is the standard signature and string of abbreviations acceptable, with the experience documented on-line when logging the find or did not find?

 

Again, a newbie with only four hides.

Was the hide to difficult, or to easy. Was the find as much fun as enjoying the area it was placed in?

This is what I'm interested in knowing from a fellow cacher :)

 

I usually don't put anything on the log at the cache site accept my signature or initials, I would save that for the online logging as that is what the CO will see. There are very few cache owners I would think that go out and read the physical logs in the logbook at their caches, they may if it is at their home but most don't.

 

ScubaSonic

Link to comment

As an owner of a cache do you want someone writing their story about the experience of finding the cache on that small log sheet?

OR

Is the standard signature and string of abbreviations acceptable, with the experience documented on-line when logging the find or did not find?

 

Again, a newbie with only four hides.

Was the hide to difficult, or to easy. Was the find as much fun as enjoying the area it was placed in?

This is what I'm interested in knowing from a fellow cacher :)

As a cache owner, I'm perfectly happy (happier, actually) when this kind of information is provided in the electronic log of the find at gc.com, and just a signature appears on the physical log page. Especially for those who have a lot of hides, running around re-reading log pages isn't a good investment of time (or gasoline). I read them when it's time for maintenance, but I'd rather have any fun, maintenance issues or other useful information on a more timely basis - right on gc.com and in my email inbox.
Link to comment

Not that I have a whole bunch of hides or anything, but I get the biggest thrill out of harvesting full logbooks, and I keep every one. I have several VERY used notepads that I keep in my swag collection. In fact, I have one that I replaced the other day sitting between a couple of bricks in an attempt to flatten the pages back out. There are some great field logs in it. :)

 

If there's room and you have time, by all means use up some ink! I love it!

Link to comment

 

I usually don't put anything on the log at the cache site accept my signature or initials, I would save that for the online logging as that is what the CO will see.

 

Me too, mostly. Occasionally I'll write something.

 

There are very few cache owners I would think that go out and read the physical logs in the logbook at their caches, they may if it is at their home but most don't.

 

Having placed 100 container caches the only time I would read the logs in the field is to check on missing travel bugs or for the very, very, few occasions when I suspected a bogus Found It.

 

As you suggest, however, every time I retrieved a logbook I took it home and read it cover to cover. I find there is always some interesting reading. Lots of non-online logs too.

 

There are also a lot of folks like us that just put down date and name. A sticker accomplishes this too and it is interesting to see the graphics folks come up with. I don't mind them at all. I like the stamps too.

Link to comment

:D Look, we all know a "return address label" will only work on a standard size log book. We ALL know they WILL NOT work on micro's, and they only take up 2.5 lines on a std-log book. Save the poetic-flare for the log on Geocaching.com :)

 

I enjoy reading stories in the paper log. It's kind of neat when you're sitting there in shorts, bathed in sweat and swatting away mosquitoes while reading a log by someone who found who found the cache under 2 feet of snow on a 3 degree day.

 

It's even cooler when you find a cache that is 6 or 7 years old with the original logbook and you can read the stories of previous finders while sitting at the cache site. Sure you can go back and read the online logs, but not everyone who signs the paper log, logs online and sometimes the narrative in the paper log is different, and occasionally more detailed than the online log.

 

I know a lot of micro owners dislike the labels because they take up too many lines. I'm not crazy about them because I find that people who use them are less likely to write much, if anything, in the paper log.

Link to comment
argh! HATE those stickers!

Why? Certainly not because they take up more room, because I recall you saying that in those micro log strips, you like to sign your full name "Erlenmeyer Flask" :)

 

in nanos i like to sign "ehrlenmeyer flask, great and mighty finder of caches" on big bolck letters.

 

 

i liken the stickers to "TFTC" logs and cut 'n' pastes; to my mind they lack care and are impersonal.

Link to comment

I sometimes even wonder who put the sticker on the log...the person whose name is on the sticker, or maybe their close friend?

 

Exactly! If you have the signature it is a fairly low-tech operation to do the handwriting analysis and compare it to previous samples as part of the forensic log analysis and online log reconciliation. With a sticker you must do a much less reliable and much costlier DNA analysis to determine whether the cacher who claims to be there was actually there. :)

 

Carolyn

Link to comment

I sometimes even wonder who put the sticker on the log...the person whose name is on the sticker, or maybe their close friend?

 

Exactly! If you have the signature it is a fairly low-tech operation to do the handwriting analysis and compare it to previous samples as part of the forensic log analysis and online log reconciliation. With a sticker you must do a much less reliable and much costlier DNA analysis to determine whether the cacher who claims to be there was actually there. :)

 

Carolyn

 

You can get a forensic chemistry fingerprinting kit for $39.95 at the online science mall.

Link to comment

I sometimes even wonder who put the sticker on the log...the person whose name is on the sticker, or maybe their close friend?

 

Exactly! If you have the signature it is a fairly low-tech operation to do the handwriting analysis and compare it to previous samples as part of the forensic log analysis and online log reconciliation. With a sticker you must do a much less reliable and much costlier DNA analysis to determine whether the cacher who claims to be there was actually there. :D

 

Carolyn

With the new cache instrumentation using facial recognition technologies and chemical spectrum sniffers now being employed to verify the identities of cache finders fingerprinting is rather old-school. :)

Link to comment
argh! HATE those stickers!

Why? Certainly not because they take up more room, because I recall you saying that in those micro log strips, you like to sign your full name "Erlenmeyer Flask" :)

 

in nanos i like to sign "ehrlenmeyer flask, great and mighty finder of caches" on big bolck letters.

 

 

i liken the stickers to "TFTC" logs and cut 'n' pastes; to my mind they lack care and are impersonal.

Do you use one of those big, chisel point markers?

Link to comment

:D OK, it support of the general opinion of the Caching Community, I will NOT use the stickers on Cache Logs. Back to the old-faithful "pen".

 

:)Subject CLosed.

 

Nothing wrong with writing a few words in a regular sized logbook, then affixing your sticker below them, but it's best not to use the sticker in micros logs.

Link to comment

 

 

in nanos i like to sign "ehrlenmeyer flask, great and mighty finder of caches" on big block letters.

 

 

Do you use one of those big, chisel point markers?

 

yes. you know the chisel-tip that comes in jumbo size?

 

that's the one.

I was going to suggest a giant crayon, but the marker is much better.

 

I was actually about to post a thread, after reading another thread where the folks nabbed a buch of caches and used stickers to sign. I got beat to the punch

Link to comment

A cool way to both sign and use a sticker would be to sign a piece of paper, scan it, and put it on a sticker.

After a long walk my handwriting is not always what it should be, or if the cache is small, or if i cant find a hard surface, or if the paper's wet, or if the pen is out of ink. Stickers. Convenient.

Link to comment

In my area there is a cacher who uses stickers because of his disability. For him, I have no problem with the sticker. I'm not sure how he opens child proof pill bottles. . .

 

Wow, thanks. I didn't think I would ever see a sticker as a good idea for any reason. But for your cacher with a disability, I would be glad to find their sticker in my cache.

 

Otherwise there isn't anything cool about a sticker. I don't care what you put on it.

Link to comment

:blink: Stickers are great to have as a standby if you should strike a damp logbook that's just impossible to write in/ no pen/pencil/ even to just leave if the logbook is full or blotting paper. :D:)

 

Perhaps I just plan better than some cachers. I will have a writing instrument (and a Gel pen will write on a damp log). I will have a dry piece of paper. If by some chance I should happen to forget a writing instrument or dry piece of paper I will find a way to sign. My standby will NOT be a sticker.

 

Finding your First Geocache

Sign the logbook with your name, the date, and a few words about your experience.

 

I don't see the word sticker there.

Link to comment

Minus the micro issue, who really cares. I go find geocaches because I want to explore the world around me. If I stamp the log or sign it or sticker it or scratch my name in with blood because I lost my pen on the two day hike to get to the cache, well, whatever. If some of you are gonna argue the validity of my find because I didn't "sign" the log, well, I think some of ya'll have bigger issues to tend to. If someone wants to fill a page in a logbook of one of my caches with a 4x5 sticker, by all means. Just glad you made it out and found a new place you may have never seen or glad you got another smiley! :blink: My handwriting is so horrible most of the time a stamp is the greatest tool in my bag minus the GPSr getting me there...

Link to comment

In my area there is a cacher who uses stickers because of his disability. For him, I have no problem with the sticker. I'm not sure how he opens child proof pill bottles. . .

 

How about ammo cans and lock-n-locks?

 

I don't think ammo cans and lock and locks require the same muscle movements as child proof bottles or using a pen.

Link to comment
Because no matter what way you do it, someone is going to be unhappy :D

There are a few that have expressed discontent with finding stickers used as signatures.

I don't think anyone has expressed disdain for folks using pens... :D

 

Point taken, however if the OP does what makes them happy (using stickers), it will make someone else unhappy. Therefor one could assume if the OP doesn't use stickers (because they were after all, pretty excited about it) they would be unhappy. SO someone is going to be unhappy.

 

That was my thinking anyway. I think. LOL

Link to comment

Some folks like to leave a "personal touch" that is quickly visible. I'm one of those wackos. So, I thought of labels and thought - ew, I really didn't like seeing them in the log books of caches that I own.

 

Hence, I use ink stamps. A pawprint. A bigger pawprint for regular sized caches, a little one for micros. I also usually always sign in green fine point sharpie to include the date and sign my name.

 

If all that is not personal enough, for regular sized logbooks, I usually make some comments, and like riffster, waxe poetic.

 

Yes, yes - nanos, no pawprint. Still use the green pen to sign, though. :D

Edited by Jeep_Dog
Link to comment

I don't mind seeing stickers in my log books but I have one micro cache where there's only room for the log sheet and it's a very tight fit. Guess what I found on my first maintenance visit due to the log being full?

 

Someone put a sticker on the log sheet. Not only did this take up several lines but they had to rip off a piece of the bottom of the sheet to get it to fit in the container again! Grrrrr! :D

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...