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Can I count this?


fendermallot

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I found a GC today, but for some reason neither my wife or I had a pen on us. Do I have to sign the log for it to count?

 

I also found another one, but as my wife and I are a tad tubby, we couldn't climb the 10-12' up into the tree to retrieve it. I figure that one doesn't count...

 

What are the hard and fast rules, or where can I find them, on being able to count a cache as found.

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I found a GC today, but for some reason neither my wife or I had a pen on us. Do I have to sign the log for it to count?

If you can easily get back to this one, I suggest you go back to sign it. If it is not convenient, and you'd like to log it as found online, you may want to check with the cache owner first. Opinions differ.

 

After I had to walk an extra mile to buy a pen to log a cache once, I made sure I have plenty with me. And you can always try signing with a muddy stick or something :unsure: Today I found a cache where a finder scratched his name on the paper with his fingernail.

 

If I can see the cache but cannot retrieve it due to muggles or lack of tools, I generally log a note and try to go back another time.

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Thanks Chrysalides, I'll try and get back. It's less than 10 miles from my house in a big city park, easy to get to. I did hide it better when we put it back though. Not that it matters. Looks like the local fauna had been chewing at the container. I think it was a big yogurt or sour cream tub. No food in it though, that was my first concern.

 

I'll check w/ the CO.

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I found a GC today, but for some reason neither my wife or I had a pen on us. Do I have to sign the log for it to count?

 

I also found another one, but as my wife and I are a tad tubby, we couldn't climb the 10-12' up into the tree to retrieve it. I figure that one doesn't count...

 

What are the hard and fast rules, or where can I find them, on being able to count a cache as found.

 

I don't think either of them are finds, but the owners of those caches may be willing to allow them.

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in a couple of occasions i had no pen to sign the log, but my camera is always with me, so i took a photo of the logbook showing the last finders signature and posted it with my log

 

afaic that is as good as signing, not that i make a habit of it

 

I've allowed a find for a picture of the cache container and log up to that date.

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Certainly not the 2nd one. You were expected to climb the tree. That's why it was put there.

 

As for the first... questionable, but if I were the cache owner, and you were local cachers (eg: not from Germany :unsure: ) that honestly stated that you forgot to bring something to sign in with, I'd let it go. An email with a photo of the cache wouldn't hurt, though.

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In a recent discussion about this on another thread, there seemed to be some difference of opinion in the responses. Many people listed extenuating circumstances of different sorts for not signing the log in the cache, and I agree, but there was, however, general agreement that if you did not, the CO does have the right to delete your log. The decision lies in the hands of the Owner!!

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I stopped keeping score. Very liberating. I find a cache I know it. I give the owner my thanks via the write note log option and add the cache to my ignore list. No "Does this count?" or "Can the CO delete that kind of log?".
While I respect your opinion, and the others that have stopped logging online, I sure wish that you would stop talking about it here. That is not a trend that I, and many others, would not like to see go mainstream. If it weren't for the online finders logs, many of us would stop placing caches.
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I stopped keeping score. Very liberating. I find a cache I know it. I give the owner my thanks via the write note log option and add the cache to my ignore list. No "Does this count?" or "Can the CO delete that kind of log?".
While I respect your opinion, and the others that have stopped logging online, I sure wish that you would stop talking about it here. That is not a trend that I, and many others, would not like to see go mainstream. If it weren't for the online finders logs, many of us would stop placing caches.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It would be nce of you to stop asking people to abide by your wishes in the forums.

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I stopped keeping score. Very liberating. I find a cache I know it. I give the owner my thanks via the write note log option and add the cache to my ignore list. No "Does this count?" or "Can the CO delete that kind of log?".
While I respect your opinion, and the others that have stopped logging online, I sure wish that you would stop talking about it here. That is not a trend that I, and many others, would not like to see go mainstream. If it weren't for the online finders logs, many of us would stop placing caches.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It would be nce of you to stop asking people to abide by your wishes in the forums.
Ditto.

 

Please mind your own business. I was not talking to you. I was not demanding anybody to abide by my wishes... I was stating MY opinion. If GOF has a problem with what I asked, he is very capable of letting me know it. I don't believe he needs you to protect him from me. I can, and I will, say "I sure wish" as often as I wish to on these forums until a moderator asks me to stop. You are not a moderator last time I checked.

 

GOF... any problems here with what I said?

Edited by knowschad
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I stopped keeping score. Very liberating. I find a cache I know it. I give the owner my thanks via the write note log option and add the cache to my ignore list. No "Does this count?" or "Can the CO delete that kind of log?".
While I respect your opinion, and the others that have stopped logging online, I sure wish that you would stop talking about it here. That is not a trend that I, and many others, would not like to see go mainstream. If it weren't for the online finders logs, many of us would stop placing caches.

Sorry you only place caches to get logs. Perhaps GOF & Bacall can meet you halfway an log notes.

 

Just so there is no confusion, the online portion is not required to geocache. I used to cross out the names in the physical logbook if someone didn't log online, but that did have much effect. And I suspected there were some people finding caches that not only didn't log online but didn't even sign the log. I really find it odd that people are so obsessed with rules for online logging. The online log serves a number of purposes and unfortunately some people stress the one that is least important:

  1. It's a place to share your experience finding the cache and to thank the cache owner
  2. It marks the cache as found by you so you can exclude it from searching for caches to find
  3. It becomes an especially poor metric of your geocaching, which some people still choose to use to compare geocachers.

Most cache owners will not care if you didn't sign the log because your forgot a pencil. Some cache owners may not care if you didn't climb the tree to retrieve the cache, or at least they won't care if not everyone in the group climbed the tree. A few cache owners, on the other hand, will insist on deleting any log where the cacher didnt' sign the log book. They believe they are required to do so because the guidelines tell them to delete bogus logs. Most everyone, besides these puritans, realize that this is a supposed to be fun - not some serious competition where the rules need to be enforced. The maintenance of online logs is to discourage someone from sitting at home posting Found It logs for caches they never visited. It is not a command to delete logs of people who went to look for your cache and have some honest reason fro saying they've found it even though they couldn't sign the log.

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I stopped keeping score. Very liberating. I find a cache I know it. I give the owner my thanks via the write note log option and add the cache to my ignore list. No "Does this count?" or "Can the CO delete that kind of log?".
While I respect your opinion, and the others that have stopped logging online, I sure wish that you would stop talking about it here. That is not a trend that I, and many others, would not like to see go mainstream. If it weren't for the online finders logs, many of us would stop placing caches.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It would be nce of you to stop asking people to abide by your wishes in the forums.
Ditto.

 

Please mind your own business. I was not talking to you. I was not demanding anybody to abide by my wishes... I was stating MY opinion. If GOF has a problem with what I asked, he is very capable of letting me know it. I don't believe he needs you to protect him from me. I can, and I will, say "I sure wish" as often as I wish to on these forums until a moderator asks me to stop. You are not a moderator last time I checked.

 

GOF... any problems here with what I said?

 

Sure I do. But I have no problem with discussing it. I still log on line. I just don't use the found it log option. I use the write note option. I can understand what you are saying but as I see it the CO is still getting the same log, just under a different label.

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I stopped keeping score. Very liberating. I find a cache I know it. I give the owner my thanks via the write note log option and add the cache to my ignore list. No "Does this count?" or "Can the CO delete that kind of log?".
While I respect your opinion, and the others that have stopped logging online, I sure wish that you would stop talking about it here. That is not a trend that I, and many others, would not like to see go mainstream. If it weren't for the online finders logs, many of us would stop placing caches.

Sorry you only place caches to get logs. Perhaps GOF & Bacall can meet you halfway an log notes.

 

Just so there is no confusion, the online portion is not required to geocache. I used to cross out the names in the physical logbook if someone didn't log online, but that did have much effect. And I suspected there were some people finding caches that not only didn't log online but didn't even sign the log. I really find it odd that people are so obsessed with rules for online logging. The online log serves a number of purposes and unfortunately some people stress the one that is least important:

  1. It's a place to share your experience finding the cache and to thank the cache owner
  2. It marks the cache as found by you so you can exclude it from searching for caches to find
  3. It becomes an especially poor metric of your geocaching, which some people still choose to use to compare geocachers.

Most cache owners will not care if you didn't sign the log because your forgot a pencil. Some cache owners may not care if you didn't climb the tree to retrieve the cache, or at least they won't care if not everyone in the group climbed the tree. A few cache owners, on the other hand, will insist on deleting any log where the cacher didnt' sign the log book. They believe they are required to do so because the guidelines tell them to delete bogus logs. Most everyone, besides these puritans, realize that this is a supposed to be fun - not some serious competition where the rules need to be enforced. The maintenance of online logs is to discourage someone from sitting at home posting Found It logs for caches they never visited. It is not a command to delete logs of people who went to look for your cache and have some honest reason fro saying they've found it even though they couldn't sign the log.

 

"Sorry you only place caches to get logs"... I didn't say that is the only reason I place caches, and I also said "many of us". But nevertheless, I won't back down from those implications.

 

You are correct, of course, that online logging is not required. My point, though, is that if you take it to its conclusion, no caches will be logged online.

Now, I can't speak for anybody but myself, but yes... I hide caches in large part for self-gratification. I love seeing the logs come rolling in. For that matter, I place better than average caches because I love seeing logs that say things like "Wow! THIS is what I geocache for!" or "Great camouflage! Never seen anything quite like it!". Ego gratification is not something to be ashamed of. We all eat it up, and I won't trust anyone that denys that they love it. Logging online is how you give that feedback to the cache owner. Without it, he/she is hiding caches in a vacuum, not knowing if they are pleasing others, or not.

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I stopped keeping score. Very liberating. I find a cache I know it. I give the owner my thanks via the write note log option and add the cache to my ignore list. No "Does this count?" or "Can the CO delete that kind of log?".
While I respect your opinion, and the others that have stopped logging online, I sure wish that you would stop talking about it here. That is not a trend that I, and many others, would not like to see go mainstream. If it weren't for the online finders logs, many of us would stop placing caches.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It would be nce of you to stop asking people to abide by your wishes in the forums.
Ditto.

 

Please mind your own business. I was not talking to you. I was not demanding anybody to abide by my wishes... I was stating MY opinion. If GOF has a problem with what I asked, he is very capable of letting me know it. I don't believe he needs you to protect him from me. I can, and I will, say "I sure wish" as often as I wish to on these forums until a moderator asks me to stop. You are not a moderator last time I checked.

 

GOF... any problems here with what I said?

 

Sure I do. But I have no problem with discussing it. I still log on line. I just don't use the found it log option. I use the write note option. I can understand what you are saying but as I see it the CO is still getting the same log, just under a different label.

You are still "logging online" then, as far as I'm concerned (as I think my last post to this thread will indicate). The feedback is what I'm talking about, not the numbers. Edited by knowschad
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If the log has been transformed into a solid block of ice, should I thaw it out, dry it and then sign it in order to log it?

 

This happened a month ago. I broke the rules and attempted to sign but even my marker couldn't penetrate the ice. I logged it for the smiley and posted a maintenance note. I hope I don't get in trouble for this.

 

As for the one in the tree, put it on your ignore list or hire some kid to climb the tree for you.

 

As for blood, I won't even comment. I certainly hope I don't come across a log with blood on it. More diseases in blood than in spit.

Edited by 42at42
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I stopped keeping score. Very liberating. I find a cache I know it. I give the owner my thanks via the write note log option and add the cache to my ignore list. No "Does this count?" or "Can the CO delete that kind of log?".
While I respect your opinion, and the others that have stopped logging online, I sure wish that you would stop talking about it here. That is not a trend that I, and many others, would not like to see go mainstream. If it weren't for the online finders logs, many of us would stop placing caches.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. It would be nce of you to stop asking people to abide by your wishes in the forums.
Ditto.

 

Please mind your own business. I was not talking to you. I was not demanding anybody to abide by my wishes... I was stating MY opinion. If GOF has a problem with what I asked, he is very capable of letting me know it. I don't believe he needs you to protect him from me. I can, and I will, say "I sure wish" as often as I wish to on these forums until a moderator asks me to stop. You are not a moderator last time I checked.

 

GOF... any problems here with what I said?

 

Sure I do. But I have no problem with discussing it. I still log on line. I just don't use the found it log option. I use the write note option. I can understand what you are saying but as I see it the CO is still getting the same log, just under a different label.

You are still "logging online" then, as far as I'm concerned (as I think my last post to this thread will indicate). The feedback is what I'm talking about, not the numbers.

 

I never said I wasn't logging online. I said I stopped keeping score. I also said in my first post that I use the write note option.

 

I think such a practice is one option for the OPs situation. No need to worry about what the CO is going to do to your log. You still know you found it. Without the score keeping the only thing that the CO is doing if he deletes a log is depriving those who read the page of that log.

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I stopped keeping score. Very liberating. I find a cache I know it. I give the owner my thanks via the write note log option and add the cache to my ignore list. No "Does this count?" or "Can the CO delete that kind of log?".
While I respect your opinion, and the others that have stopped logging online, I sure wish that you would stop talking about it here. That is not a trend that I, and many others, would not like to see go mainstream. If it weren't for the online finders logs, many of us would stop placing caches.

 

He did say he gives the owner his thanks via the note log, which is what I do as well. It would be nice if TPTB offered an option to hide your find count, but until then, writing notes is the only way to log and not show the find count.

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earlier this winter someone logged one of my caches online. The cache container is an ammo box. they stated that it was encased in ice and they could not get it open. obviously they did not get to the log book inside but I am certain that they found the cache so the online log stays. I am just happy they used common since and did not take a hammer to the cache to get it open to sign the log.

just my opinion, if a cache is too small to contain a writing instrument and I don't happen to have one I will simply log it online. if the owner doesn't like it and deletes the log too bad, I still found it.

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I stopped keeping score. Very liberating. I find a cache I know it. I give the owner my thanks via the write note log option and add the cache to my ignore list. No "Does this count?" or "Can the CO delete that kind of log?".
While I respect your opinion, and the others that have stopped logging online, I sure wish that you would stop talking about it here. That is not a trend that I, and many others, would not like to see go mainstream. If it weren't for the online finders logs, many of us would stop placing caches.

 

He did say he gives the owner his thanks via the note log, which is what I do as well. It would be nice if TPTB offered an option to hide your find count, but until then, writing notes is the only way to log and not show the find count.

 

Why do you and GOF want to hide your find count?

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earlier this winter someone logged one of my caches online. The cache container is an ammo box. they stated that it was encased in ice and they could not get it open. obviously they did not get to the log book inside but I am certain that they found the cache so the online log stays. I am just happy they used common since and did not take a hammer to the cache to get it open to sign the log.

 

 

If I came across that situation, I would log a dnf or note and say that I saw the cache but was unable to access it and sign the log.

Edited by simpjkee
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What are the hard and fast rules, or where can I find them, on being able to count a cache as found.

There are none. You log as you see fit, based upon what you believe is the right thing to do.

At that point it becomes the cache owner's responsibility to let it stand or delete it.

Had they been my caches, I would've been OK with a "Found It" on both of them.

Had I been you, faced with those caches, I would've signed the first log with something, (mud, blood or beer) and claimed the find.

If I was unable to get to the second, I would've logged my experience with a note.

As you can see, I maintain a higher standard for my own actions than I do for the actions of others. :rolleyes:

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earlier this winter someone logged one of my caches online. The cache container is an ammo box. they stated that it was encased in ice and they could not get it open. obviously they did not get to the log book inside but I am certain that they found the cache so the online log stays. I am just happy they used common since and did not take a hammer to the cache to get it open to sign the log.

 

 

That's my attitude. Unless getting at the log is part of the challenge specific to that cache, if someone finds my cache they are free to log a found it. I've seen too many containers damaged or destroyed when people attempt to free them from ice. I'd rather they just log the find, and if they feel guilty they can go back after things thaw out and sign the log. I think most owners, at least in my area, have a similar attitude.

 

 

What are the hard and fast rules, or where can I find them, on being able to count a cache as found.

 

There are no hard and fast rules. I think most geocachers agree that actually finding the container is a minimal requirement. There is a significant block who believe that you must sign the log in order to log a find. On the other end of the spectrum there are geocachers who believe that simply visiting the area of the cache is sufficient. In the end what constitutes a find is between you, your conscience and the cache owner.

Edited by briansnat
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To my way of thinking, if I actually get the cache in my hand - unless part of the cache's challenge is the opening of it - then I have found it.

 

I confess there has been one of my finds where I didn't sign the log - I was so excited at my find (it was one of my early finds and had taken me two trips to locate) that I simply forgot.

 

But I just don't get cachers who venture forth with no writing implement in their pocket/bag. Often the pencil in the cache has broken and someone has "traded" the sharpener, or the pen doesn't write, or it's a micro with no pencil in it. I always sign with my own pen.

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But I just don't get cachers who venture forth with no writing implement in their pocket/bag. Often the pencil in the cache has broken and someone has "traded" the sharpener, or the pen doesn't write, or it's a micro with no pencil in it. I always sign with my own pen.

 

Seriously, I never go caching without at least 3 pens. A couple days ago I went on a hike and had to laugh when as I'm getting geared up to go I realized I had 8 pens on me. 3 in my pocket and 5 in my Camelbak that I always have with me when I hike.

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I never said I wasn't logging online. I said I stopped keeping score. I also said in my first post that I use the write note option.

 

I think such a practice is one option for the OPs situation. No need to worry about what the CO is going to do to your log. You still know you found it. Without the score keeping the only thing that the CO is doing if he deletes a log is depriving those who read the page of that log.

He did say he gives the owner his thanks via the note log, which is what I do as well. It would be nice if TPTB offered an option to hide your find count, but until then, writing notes is the only way to log and not show the find count.

 

Those both honestly sounds like a cop-out. You're doing everything but logging it as a "Found" and instead as a "Note"?

 

Sounds like someone who got tired of the self-imposed competition, not tired of keeping score. If you're just doing it for yourself, there's absolutely no reason to log it as a note versus a found.

 

Can you give a little more insight? Were you part of a GC group that went wrong? Did you get jealous of the 2000+ people? Come on, share!

Edited by AbMagFab
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earlier this winter someone logged one of my caches online. The cache container is an ammo box. they stated that it was encased in ice and they could not get it open. obviously they did not get to the log book inside but I am certain that they found the cache so the online log stays. I am just happy they used common since and did not take a hammer to the cache to get it open to sign the log.

 

 

If I came across that situation, I would log a dnf or note and say that I saw the cache but was unable to access it and sign the log.

 

BTW, I should note that I really have no experience with this sort of situation. Being in the phoenix, AZ area, I never see snow even. I saw it 2 or 3 times when I was a kid, but that was it. One time, it was January and a guy in Wisconsin had my TB for 2 or 3 months. I sent him an e-mail asking him to move it and he wrote me back saying, "I would love nothing more than to go out and move it, but I'm afraid every geocache in the state is under 5 feet of snow." Wow, I felt like an idiot since the thought of there being snow in Wisconsin in January had never really occurred to me.

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BTW, I should note that I really have no experience with this sort of situation. Being in the phoenix, AZ area, I never see snow even. I saw it 2 or 3 times when I was a kid, but that was it. One time, it was January and a guy in Wisconsin had my TB for 2 or 3 months. I sent him an e-mail asking him to move it and he wrote me back saying, "I would love nothing more than to go out and move it, but I'm afraid every geocache in the state is under 5 feet of snow." Wow, I felt like an idiot since the thought of there being snow in Wisconsin in January had never really occurred to me.

 

Wow, you gotta get out more! :rolleyes:

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I have two that I had problems signing, the first cache was frozen in a log and removing it would have probably broken the container, not signed, noted it on line. The second i didn't have a pen so I let my dog's muddy print mark the log and noted it on the web log.

 

I sleep at night with these two decisions just fine. :rolleyes:

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You are still "logging online" then, as far as I'm concerned (as I think my last post to this thread will indicate). The feedback is what I'm talking about, not the numbers.

I never said I wasn't logging online. I said I stopped keeping score. I also said in my first post that I use the write note option.
Yup... that is what I said. We agree. Edited by knowschad
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I never said I wasn't logging online. I said I stopped keeping score. I also said in my first post that I use the write note option.

 

I think such a practice is one option for the OPs situation. No need to worry about what the CO is going to do to your log. You still know you found it. Without the score keeping the only thing that the CO is doing if he deletes a log is depriving those who read the page of that log.

He did say he gives the owner his thanks via the note log, which is what I do as well. It would be nice if TPTB offered an option to hide your find count, but until then, writing notes is the only way to log and not show the find count.

 

Those both honestly sounds like a cop-out. You're doing everything but logging it as a "Found" and instead as a "Note"?

 

Sounds like someone who got tired of the self-imposed competition, not tired of keeping score. If you're just doing it for yourself, there's absolutely no reason to log it as a note versus a found.

 

Can you give a little more insight? Were you part of a GC group that went wrong? Did you get jealous of the 2000+ people? Come on, share!

The reason for logging their experience in a note rather than as a Found It log is because they find the competitive aspect of caching that is caused by the Found It count to be a distraction (or distasteful) and yet they still want to provide the feedback to the cache owner that is normally provided by the Found It note. Remember that geocaching did not always have a competitive atmosphere to it.
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I found a GC today, but for some reason neither my wife or I had a pen on us. Do I have to sign the log for it to count?

 

I also found another one, but as my wife and I are a tad tubby, we couldn't climb the 10-12' up into the tree to retrieve it. I figure that one doesn't count...

 

What are the hard and fast rules, or where can I find them, on being able to count a cache as found.

In cases where the logbook is not signed, the determination as to whether the cache can be logged as a find online is made by the cache owner. Email the cache owners explaining your situation. If they support your logging the caches online, feel free to do so.

Edited by sbell111
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BTW, I should note that I really have no experience with this sort of situation. Being in the phoenix, AZ area, I never see snow even. I saw it 2 or 3 times when I was a kid, but that was it. One time, it was January and a guy in Wisconsin had my TB for 2 or 3 months. I sent him an e-mail asking him to move it and he wrote me back saying, "I would love nothing more than to go out and move it, but I'm afraid every geocache in the state is under 5 feet of snow." Wow, I felt like an idiot since the thought of there being snow in Wisconsin in January had never really occurred to me.

 

Wow, you gotta get out more! :rolleyes:

 

At least out of AZ in the winter :huh:

 

but why would I want to leave AZ in the winter? The weather is perfect here :P

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I never said I wasn't logging online. I said I stopped keeping score. I also said in my first post that I use the write note option.

 

I think such a practice is one option for the OPs situation. No need to worry about what the CO is going to do to your log. You still know you found it. Without the score keeping the only thing that the CO is doing if he deletes a log is depriving those who read the page of that log.

He did say he gives the owner his thanks via the note log, which is what I do as well. It would be nice if TPTB offered an option to hide your find count, but until then, writing notes is the only way to log and not show the find count.

 

Those both honestly sounds like a cop-out. You're doing everything but logging it as a "Found" and instead as a "Note"?

 

Sounds like someone who got tired of the self-imposed competition, not tired of keeping score. If you're just doing it for yourself, there's absolutely no reason to log it as a note versus a found.

 

Can you give a little more insight? Were you part of a GC group that went wrong? Did you get jealous of the 2000+ people? Come on, share!

The reason for logging their experience in a note rather than as a Found It log is because they find the competitive aspect of caching that is caused by the Found It count to be a distraction (or distasteful) and yet they still want to provide the feedback to the cache owner that is normally provided by the Found It note. Remember that geocaching did not always have a competitive atmosphere to it.

 

Who is making it competitive? As far as I know, that's an individual decision, isn't it? Just having a count of what you've done, for your own purposes, isn't competitive.

 

Is someone sending them e-mails every day saying they have more finds? Is someone knocking on their door when their find count isn't high enough? To people laugh at them in the street based on their find count?

 

At best, this is a self-imposed, inability to control their own competitiveness, which is just silly. At worst there's a great story behind why they find the need to "hide" their found/DNF count.

 

And they are effecting the find counts of the caches, which does have an impact on the perception of the cache (if people don't troll through to see 'oh, that note was a find'). For two people, that's minimal impact, but if it spreads, it's a problem.

 

If there's a valid reason, I'm certainly supportive of it. But they'd be better off staying away from the on-line logging all together, than logging notes versus finds.

 

I still almost laugh out loud thinking about what must be going through their heads!

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The reason for logging their experience in a note rather than as a Found It log is because they find the competitive aspect of caching that is caused by the Found It count to be a distraction (or distasteful) and yet they still want to provide the feedback to the cache owner that is normally provided by the Found It note. Remember that geocaching did not always have a competitive atmosphere to it.

 

Geocaching is only competitive if the participant makes it so. Using this website's tools to log finds is not in and of itself engaging in any sort of competition. If there is some geocacher out there who has made it a goal to surpass my find or hide count, more power to him. It is of no consequence to me. He's competing, I'm not.

 

As far as competition being a new phenomenon, it isn't. There have always been people who turned this into a competition. Go back to 2000 and you can find posts here where the "top" geocachers were ranked by find count. Whether or not some or all of the individuals on the list were competing, the existence of such a ranking suggests that someone thought there was a competition.

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On two occasions I haven't been able to put my name in the physical log- or even touch the log.

 

On this cache, I couldn't get the log out of the plastic tube that it was in. This wasn't the container itself, but a secondary precautionary log protection device. I snapped a picture of the log that I couldn't sign.

 

On this cache, I just couldn't get the container open at all. Rather than try and force it and possibly break the container I snapped some pictures and then "marked" the outside of the container.

 

The cache owners haven't indicated that this wasn't acceptable.

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The reason for logging their experience in a note rather than as a Found It log is because they find the competitive aspect of caching that is caused by the Found It count to be a distraction (or distasteful) and yet they still want to provide the feedback to the cache owner that is normally provided by the Found It note. Remember that geocaching did not always have a competitive atmosphere to it.

 

Geocaching is only competitive if the participant makes it so. Using this website's tools to log finds is not in and of itself engaging in any sort of competition. If there is some geocacher out there who has made it a goal to surpass my find or hide count, more power to him. It is of no consequence to me. He's competing, I'm not.

 

As far as competition being a new phenomenon, it isn't. There have always been people who turned this into a competition. Go back to 2000 and you can find posts here where the "top" geocachers were ranked by find count. Whether or not some or all of the individuals on the list were competing, the existence of such a ranking suggests that someone thought there was a competition.

Please don't shoot the messenger. I log my finds, and I do actually have some mild competitiveness in caching, although I don't lose any sleep over it. I am only attempting to answer the question as I have heard it answered by others in the past.
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good lord, my simple question has turned into a train wreck.

Suggestion for future threads:

 

1. FTF, especially "cheaters"

2. Armchair loggers

3. People stealing / destroying geocaches deliberately (a.k.a. cache maggots)

 

I'm sure there's a few more but I haven't had my morning coffee.

 

It's like lighting a match in a dry forest :rolleyes:

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good lord, my simple question has turned into a train wreck.

Suggestion for future threads:

 

1. FTF, especially "cheaters"

2. Armchair loggers

3. People stealing / destroying geocaches deliberately (a.k.a. cache maggots)

 

I'm sure there's a few more but I haven't had my morning coffee.

 

It's like lighting a match in a dry forest :rolleyes:

 

how about yelling at the muggle kids that there is a free box of toys over here. but don't touch it, it's hidden treasure for other people!

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good lord, my simple question has turned into a train wreck.

Welcome to the forums.

no doubt, I said I wasn't counting the tree, people yelled that I can't count it.

I said I wasn't sure about the other and that I'd contact the CO. People yelled...

come on people, read before you get all worked up.

Well, actually, about the tree cache, you said, "I figure that one doesn't count...", not that you weren't counting it. It did sound to me, at least, as though you still were unsure about that one at the time. However, I didn't hear anybody yelling at you. I thought (and I just read through the responses again) that your questions were politely answered by all.

I do hear a little yelling, but that occurred only after your questions were answered, and had more to do with logging online or not.

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