Caches requiring photos of the finders...

[geo blazer]

First of all, I'm not trying to be a smart alec or to cause trouble.

 

I personally do not participate in finding caches that require a photograph of your face in order to claim a find. I don't like the thought that I am required to hand over a photograph of myself to the cache owner to plaster all over the internet if they wish. Plus, I don't necessarily want the cache owner to know what I look like or who I am. Isn't stealth (secrecy) part of the game anyway?

 

Thoughts?

[+t4e]

it shouldn't be an ALR (additional logging requirement), which has been removed last year, it should be entirely up to you if you want to submit a photo of yourself or not

 

personally i don't care, we have posted pictures of ourselves but if you don't feel comfortable you shouldn't do the caches that require a photo

 

mind you though, most virtual and webcam caches will require you to post a picture of yourself at the location in order to log a find

 

and "stealthy" does not refer to that, but rather to the fact that you should exercise care in retrieving the cache in muggle rich areas

Edited March 1, 2010 by t4e

[+fizzymagic]

I don't like the thought that I am required to hand over a photograph of myself to the cache owner to plaster all over the internet if they wish. Plus, I don't necessarily want the cache owner to know what I look like or who I am. Isn't stealth (secrecy) part of the game anyway?

Blur out your face.

 

Or just don't do those.

[+gorillagal]

If you avoid Earthcaches and some of the remaining Virts you'll be fine then. I don't mind posting my pic in my log - I've met most of the local cachers anyway, so they know what I look like. Stealth in finding urban caches is often necessary, but secrecy in who we are isn't. To each his/her own, though, so just don't do the photo required caches and you'll be fine.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Since ALR (Additional Logging Requirements) were banned you need do nothing but sign the log to claim the find.

 

If a cache owner deletes your log for not completing an ALR email a complaint to Groundspeak at contacts@Groundspeak.com and they will straighten it out.

 

Or log an SBA (Should Be Archived) note and the Reviewer will take care of it.

[+ngrrfan]

To me it depends on the cache. I can see for an earth cache that a requirement of a photo of you at the cache site be required. For a regular cache.... Nope (webcam caches exempted).

 

Naturally there are exceptions, such as my partner posting a picture of her with the SWAG of a cache which she was rescuing which just happened to be her 1000th find. That is different because it was voluntary.

[+Gamaliel]

For anything that requires photo verification, I almost always use a picture of my hand holding the gps or my gps hanging on a sign instead of a picture of my face or other identifying bits. A mixture of necessity - mostly solo caching - and internet paranoia. Never had a problem or a dispute with a cache owner.

[+bittsen]

For anything that requires photo verification, I almost always use a picture of my hand holding the gps or my gps hanging on a sign instead of a picture of my face or other identifying bits. A mixture of necessity - mostly solo caching - and internet paranoia. Never had a problem or a dispute with a cache owner.

 

Putting ones face on the internet is one of the biggest mistakes people can make.

The less internet identity you have, the better off you will be.

 

Photo verification? That's just a scam by the government to trick you to submit willingly to the world facial recognition database.

 

~puts on tinfoil hat~

 

!-trigger paranoia music-!

[geo blazer]

Very interesting comments, thanks. I didn't know that photo requirements for regular caches was "outlawed".

 

There is at least one in our area that requires a facial photo in order to log a claim, saying the log would be removed if the photo was not included. I had just resolved to not participate in that one, and probably will hold to that; it's their cache.

 

I just don't like the thought of giving photos of myself to somebody online that I don't know. To each their own.

 

Again, I learned something else. I knew about using stealth because of muggles, but I also thought that it meant secrecy about your identity. I just thought it was part of the game.

 

Thanks for all the replies; you give me some things to mull over.

[+Endorfun]

A photo to verify your locating a cache. I have always looked at this idea, thing, way as a very lazy approach for the cache owner to never need to maybe go and check the caches log for its contnent. It should be enough for the log to be signed to get your credit for finding the cache. If cache owners simply verify the caches log entries to the web page entries than any discrepencies should be removed at that time. Years ago when a cache was hidden, and back in those days a cache was really hidden well and good. It was necessaary to plan your visit to a cache along with your vacation time as it was often in a place that was only accessable by foot or horse, and was ussually something like a couple to four days in and out. And when you found the cache, it was very easy to prove that you did find it because you would most likely have been onlyh one out of 6 other folks to have seen it and would often have a specific note, phrase, or some icon specific to that cache (or Stash as we called them) that you would take from that cache with you to keep as your evidence of your find. Now, with it possible to locate several caches in an afternoon, proving that you found the cache is very different but not any more difficult. IN any case it would seem that the cache owner should at set intervals check the cache and log book and make any adjustments as needed. AS for the photo being a requirement for logging your find, I view that as a big problem for several reasons. I refuse to ever put my image on display with my name or not unless I am in a group photo in close proximity to myself, (reason for this is vast and has to do with my line of work in a few ways), and a photo in this day and age proves nothing when you have layer, colour pallettes, airbrush tools, and the ability to completely fabricate photo data tags and attach them to any photograph as if the image was the untouched original straight from the CCD to the memory card.

The real fun of geocaching needs to be protected more than anything else, if the fun were to disappear than all that would be left is navigation and technology, and accuracy and outside of learning these things there will be no drive to keep it alive. Ever wonder why drive in movie theaters have almost completely disappeared outside of the occasional one here and there?

Edited March 1, 2010 by Endorfun

[+Bubbles&Bonkers]

Yeah, they're not supposed to require anything else on regular caches anymore. Me? I don't give a rat's tuckus. Hubby and I have GOBS of photos in our galleries. Come and see! We don't care! To each his/her own, though.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Very interesting comments, thanks. I didn't know that photo requirements for regular caches was "outlawed".

 

There is at least one in our area that requires a facial photo in order to log a claim, saying the log would be removed if the photo was not included. I had just resolved to not participate in that one, and probably will hold to that; it's their cache.

It was likely listed before the ban on ALRs. Go find it sign the log, leave no picture and if the owner deletes your log THEN it's an issue, but not until then.

 

I just don't like the thought of giving photos of myself to somebody online that I don't know. To each their own.

 

Again, I learned something else. I knew about using stealth because of muggles, but I also thought that it meant secrecy about your identity. I just thought it was part of the game.

 

Thanks for all the replies; you give me some things to mull over.

Some folks assiduously protect their personal identity and are, as much as is possible on the internet, anonymous.

 

Others aren't that concerned about it.

 

In geocaching, maintaining anonymity means that you won't meet many other geocachers, and that would be a shame, because the people who play this game are far more valuable than the game itself.

 

I don't post anything that could be used to crack or steal my identity such as credit card numbers, my SSN and so on. Sites which ask for stuff like birth date and mother's maiden name get a fake one. No one on the internet knows my real age or other info like that... if they tried to hack my accounts using the fake info found on the web they'd be rebuffed or soon spotted. The passwords I use for banking and such are totally different than what I use for sites like this one, and I don't buy online from any site that does not have verifiable SSL encryption. Those are common-sense identity protections that everyone should take.

 

As far as anonymity in geocaching, however, I have no wish to be anonymous. Literally thousands of cachers know who I am, I regularly attend and host geocaching events, my picture and address and telephone number have been posted all over the internet since before there was a world wide web!

 

I even have a cache on my front porch and geocachers are encouraged to knock on the door while visiting the cache, so everyone not only knows me they know where I live!

 

My car has a Travel Bug decal on the window, so everyone knows my car, and my car tag (W4AGA) is my amateur radio call sign, which by law must show my personal info, so anyone can go to sites like qrz.com, enter my tag number and get my address and contact info.

 

With all of that online and available since I first started using ARPANET in the '70s I've never had reason to worry about people knowing who I am... in fact I believe that internet users should NOT be anonymous and therefore accountable for their online behavior!

 

If you don't want your picture on the web that's your choice and the CO can't require it, but I cannot imagine how it could hurt you. Unless your picture is also on Wanted posters!

[GOF and Bacall]

I figure that it is unlikely that y'all are gonna be surfing the cache galleries while standing in line at the post office so I am probably safe.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I figure that it is unlikely that y'all are gonna be surfing the cache galleries while standing in line at the post office so I am probably safe.

Busted!

 

[daveindeal]

im not a photo freindly person, so to log a cache with a picture at GZ i have a signarure chip and have that in the photo,

 

its unique to me and its proff that i have complete all that is required:

 

 

or

 

[+briansnat]

Isn't stealth (secrecy) part of the game anyway?

 

As others mentioned cache owners can no longer REQUIRE photos. As far as stealth and secrecy being part of the sport, it is for many and it is not for many.

 

It's all a matter of personal preference. I've seen geocaher profiles with photo galleries with dozens and sometimes hundreds of photos, but not one of that geocacher. Others have galleries like mine with numerous photos of ourselves, friends and loved ones.

 

Nobody can force you to take photos of yourself, so if you are uncomfortable with that, fine. If it doesn't bother you then snap away.

Edited March 1, 2010 by briansnat

[+simpjkee]

I don't have any issue posting pics of myself on the net and especially not on geocaching.com. My geo-bag has a permanent spot reserved for my camera and I post a bunch of pics. I'll go out of my way to find a photo oppurtunity while hunting caches. I pride myself on being one of the more visible cachers in my area. Check out my gallery and you'll see a bunch of pics of me. Urban caches, hiking caches..... no cache is safe from my camera....EXCEPT......event caches. At my first few events, I took pics, but I didn't feel right about it I guess. I don't take pics with other cachers in them anymore unless I ask them if it's okay first. I can respect the idea that others don't want their photo all over the web. On the flipside, if someone takes a picture of me, they better post it because I want a copy!

[+briansnat]

At my first few events, I took pics, but I didn't feel right about it I guess. I don't take pics with other cachers in them anymore unless I ask them if it's okay first. I can respect the idea that others don't want their photo all over the web.

 

I've always photographed events and group hunts and never had someone object. Not that someday someone won't, but it hasn't happened yet. I never really got the reluctance to have photos posted. Even if your photo winds up on the Internet it is tied to a pseudonym (unless you use your real name as your cacher name).

 

The good thing about this sport is that people can be anonymous as they wish, or as out in the open as they are comfortable with. There are long time cachers around here that I only know by their signature in many logobooks. Their profile says little or nothing about them, they don't attend events or group hunts, they don't have photos of themselves in their galleries.

 

Some are more like me. My wife and I have been approached by people we never met who greet us by our caching names. They saw our photos online or in one of my videos. It doesn't bother me, in fact I like it because it is often an ice breaker at events or when we meet someone on the trail.

[+simpjkee]

At my first few events, I took pics, but I didn't feel right about it I guess. I don't take pics with other cachers in them anymore unless I ask them if it's okay first. I can respect the idea that others don't want their photo all over the web.

 

I've always photographed events and group hunts and never had someone object. Not that someday someone won't, but it hasn't happened yet.

 

I've never had anyone object, but I have had people say "no" when I asked if they were okay with me taking and posting a pic. If I had just taken and posted the pic without asking, I wonder how they would have felt. Would they e-mail me and ask it be removed? Would they be irritated but not enough to say something? Would they think it was cool after all? I don't know.

[GOF and Bacall]

I figure that it is unlikely that y'all are gonna be surfing the cache galleries while standing in line at the post office so I am probably safe.

Busted!

 

 

I like it. But there is only one F in GOF. And really, $1.49? I am worth at least $1.51.

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

I like it. But there is only one F in GOF. And really, $1.49? I am worth at least $1.51.

No problem, we'll just make up another crime and up the reward.

 

[+rob3k]

For anything that requires photo verification, I almost always use a picture of my hand holding the gps or my gps hanging on a sign instead of a picture of my face or other identifying bits. A mixture of necessity - mostly solo caching - and internet paranoia. Never had a problem or a dispute with a cache owner.

 

Recently did an earth cache where the CO made a big point to note that photos must include your face and even included an example picture of somebody who took a pic of just a hand holding a GPSr as an example of an unacceptable picture.

 

Personally, I do think COs should respect that some people would rather not put a picture of their face online and allow alternatives. In practice, you can just wear sunglasses and maybe stand a bit away from the camera so you are small in the frame.

[+Snoogans]

Thoughts?

 

Witness protection program huh?

 

This was my solution. Even though I'm not shy, I didn't have anyone to take my pic and I'm too scary lookin' at arm's length.

 

[+Renegade Knight]

...Thoughts?

 

Welcome to the club.

[+Shop99er]

Thoughts?

 

Witness protection program huh?

 

This was my solution. Even though I'm not shy, I didn't have anyone to take my pic and I'm too scary lookin' at arm's length.

 

 

Where did you get those?!?!

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

Thoughts?

 

Witness protection program huh?

 

This was my solution. Even though I'm not shy, I didn't have anyone to take my pic and I'm too scary lookin' at arm's length.

 

 

Where did you get those?!?!

You set up a tractor beam in your house so earthlings can't see it. It sucks these guys in when they attempt to pass through earth orbit, then you just go up on the roof and grab 'em.

 

See the ladder in the background? That's a dead give-away that there's a tractor beam in that building.

 

Getting them isn't the hard part, it's keeping control once you have them that's the trick.

 

Querions with the power to destroy our planet don't make good house pets.

[+Moose Mob]

<snip>

Isn't stealth (secrecy) part of the game anyway?

 

Thoughts?

 

I believe this game to be primarily about location. Stealth is a by product of urban caching. There is no secrecy. If someone asks you what you are doing, be open and honest. Be proud of yourself and you hobby.

 

As far as the picture, use the work arounds that folks mentioned above.

[+Lil Devil]

Querions with the power to destroy our planet don't make good house pets.

Boy did *I* ever learn that the hard way...

[GermanSailor]

Thoughts?

Same here! You can always photoshop a smiley or the Groundspeak frog on your face. But ALRs are not admissible anyways. So, if a picture of you is requiered, post a picture of your GPS, your stamp, or whatever. If the owner deletes the log, inform a reviewer.

 

GermanSailor

[+Snoogans]

Thoughts?

 

Witness protection program huh?

 

This was my solution. Even though I'm not shy, I didn't have anyone to take my pic and I'm too scary lookin' at arm's length.

 

 

Where did you get those?!?!

You set up a tractor beam in your house so earthlings can't see it. It sucks these guys in when they attempt to pass through earth orbit, then you just go up on the roof and grab 'em.

 

See the ladder in the background? That's a dead give-away that there's a tractor beam in that building.

 

Getting them isn't the hard part, it's keeping control once you have them that's the trick.

 

Querions with the power to destroy our planet don't make good house pets.

 

Thanks for that laugh Ed. I think I soiled my linnen a little.

 

ShopDude, go to ebay and do a search for Metaluna Mutant. You might be able to get one for about $10.

 

Or get the parts to build your own interocitor and hitch a ride to Metaluna.

 

[+Lil Devil]

If the owner deletes the log, inform a reviewer Groundspeak.

Fixed.

 

The reviewers are not authorized to unarchive logs. You need to take it to the top.

[geo blazer]

Witness protection program? *Gasp!* You've found us out!

 

Now we'll have to set up a whole new geocaching ID & everything!

 

LOL

 

Thoughts?

 

I had to ask for some of your thoughts because I have so few of my own....

 

LOL