How do you like it? You're cache logs

[+whobdah]

I'm pretty new to the geocache scene. When I report my logs I like to write more than "thanks". I talked to a friend of mine. He has a few hides. He likes getting reports, but sometimes gets sick of them. Same thing and over and over. Ho Hum.

 

Just wondering what everyone else thinks....

[+The Blorenges]

It's boring if you just get something like, "Easy find. TFTC." most of the time but perhaps that just says something about the cache itself - maybe it was simply an average 'OK' cache?

 

We really enjoy reading the logs for our caches, especially if the cacher has put something interesting/amusing. Even when in a hurry some people manage to write an interesting sentence... or four.

 

Saturday, 10 July 2010

 

South Wales, United Kingdom

 

staton23 found [Traditional Cache] Welcome to Wales! Motorway Mayhem M4 J23a

 

Although, I would have loved to explore Wales, we didn't have time on this trip. So THIS CACHE was the only reason we ventured over the border. Great spot. I wanted to stop off for some Stella when I was finished.

 

MrsB

[BCProspectors]

If you get sick of the logs on your cache... stop reading them. Logs on the same cache may seem similar because all the cachers found the same cache. Perhaps if your friend hid a few more caches, the logs may have a bit more variety.

Edited July 10, 2010 by BCProspectors

[+briansnat]

I enjoy getting longer logs specific to my cache. People don't have to write a book, but a few sentences telling me that they enjoyed the experience (or didn't if that was the case) are nice.

 

If your friend is getting ho hum logs, perhaps he is placing ho hum caches.

[+Team Cotati]

Doesn't matter to me one way or the other. I do though like getting timely reports of any issues with my caches. Most cachers are pretty good at that.

[+BlueDeuce]

If you get sick of the logs on your cache... stop reading them. Logs on the same cache may seem similar because all the cachers found the same cache. Perhaps if your friend hid a few more caches, the logs may have a but more variety.

 

I had a cache that tended to have nothing more than 'Found it', TFTC, etc.

 

I got rid of the cache.

[+kunarion]

He likes getting reports, but sometimes gets sick of them. Same thing and over and over. Ho Hum.

Some Cache Owners are all business, and anything more than a status report is too much info. So there's a balance.

 

If the cache page is wordy, or light-hearted silliness, I'm more encouraged to play along. Even if all the previous logs were "Easy Find, TFTC". When a cache is pretty ordinary, I often still have a story about the trip there & back, or about the area, or I'll think of something to say that's only slightly related. But some of the COs reading my log may wish I were more Ho Hum.

 

I'd also suspect that some finders are terse due to not wanting to reveal their finding technique -- a special search method called "PAF".

[+Team Cotati]

He likes getting reports, but sometimes gets sick of them. Same thing and over and over. Ho Hum.

Some Cache Owners are all business, and anything more than a status report is too much info. So there's a balance.

 

If the cache page is wordy, or light-hearted silliness, I'm more encouraged to play along. Even if all the previous logs were "Easy Find, TFTC". When a cache is pretty ordinary, I often still have a story about the trip there & back, or about the area, or I'll think of something to say that's only slightly related. But some of the COs reading my log may wish I were more Ho Hum.

 

I'd also suspect that some finders are terse due to not wanting to reveal their finding technique -- a special search method called "PAF".

 

Actually that has been the direct opposite of my observations.

For reasons that I'll never understand, those who use PAF's seem to be especially proud of the fact.

 

Kinda like those who cache in small groups where one group member finds the thing and signs for everyone else. You'd think that they were going to have a seizure if they didn't blab about it at the first opportunity.

Edited July 10, 2010 by Team Cotati

[+Chokecherry]

I tend to write more when I have something to say about the experience. I always write more than TFTC (even when it's underwhelming).

 

I try to write about the experience getting there or something cool in the area. Or how it was relevant/meaningful for me to be where that cache was. I will occasionally go back and look at logs on caches I've found and didn't find find just to see what others have to say. And I'll look at logs on caches I'm about to find. I appreciate longer logs just for entertainment and information value.

[+Bundyrumandcoke]

Under our Geocaching Australia profiles, we can get our Verbosity rating, indicating our log lengths, longest, shortest, and average. This includes both GC.com and Geocaching Australia caches. My longest log is 505 words, my shortest is 5, with an average log length of 69 words.

 

If we are on a caching trip, doing 20, or 30 + caches a day, I will start with a cut and paste stat on the cache- date, time, number for day of trip, number of trip total. I will then customise the log with my thoughts and experiences of the find. It has to be a really really crappy cache to only get a couple of words out of me.

 

I enjoy reading informative logs on my caches. I reciprocate that to owners of caches I find. It takes time, yes, but it adds to MY enjoyment of caching. Its not uncommon for me to be up till 1 or 2 in the morning, logging caches from the previous day.

Edited July 11, 2010 by Bundyrumandcoke

[+TomToad]

I was reading through the logs of an event I recently attended. Most logs were about how great of a time everyone had, food was great, etc...

Had to laugh at one that simply said "TFTE."

[+Quossum]

I tend to write more when I have something to say about the experience. I always write more than TFTC (even when it's underwhelming).

 

I try to write about the experience getting there or something cool in the area. Or how it was relevant/meaningful for me to be where that cache was. I will occasionally go back and look at logs on caches I've found and didn't find find just to see what others have to say. And I'll look at logs on caches I'm about to find. I appreciate longer logs just for entertainment and information value.

 

+1

 

My average number of log words is over 100. I enjoy writing logs, but I admit, sometimes I have to really stretch to say much about a skirt-lifter. I like including pictures, too.

 

--Q

[+Ike 13]

Always write more than one sentence (unless that's all the cache deserves). There's a lot of new cachers in my area and all they write online for every log is TFTC Found It. Cache owners like hearing about your experience. It can be difficult sometimes to talk about finding a cache without giving away clues, but you can at least talk about the weather and the area and such. My average log is 42, I'm not a very verbose person, but I try to relate my experience. Trust me CO's will notice and I've had a few thank me for my logs (and I do the same for great ones I get on mine).

[Pup Patrol]

We only own 2 caches, but appreciate greatly the logs that tell us about the experience, the weather, etc.

 

Logs that aren't big on words are fine. Some folks like to write, some don't.

 

I would prefer it if a "TFTC, SL" type of log was augmented with photos. That would more than make up for a lack of words.

 

And we definitely appreciate logs that tell us that the container was "out in the open", or was cracked, or that there is some sort of problem.

[+AuntieWeasel]

I'm a chatty logger -- though the length of my logs will be vaguely in proportion to the degree I enjoyed the cache. I'm not going to write a novel for a lampskirt hide-a-key.

 

Unless something interesting happened while I was finding it.

 

Also, pictures. Pictures are excellent in logs.

[+Mark+Karen]

The more the better! I didn't put a cache out there to know that 10 people have found it to date. I want to know how they found it and what happened etc. Although it can be difficult for people to say too much without giving the game away entirely.

[+kleetus]

I like at least a sentence. Not cut and pasted either. It's pretty boring to have someone find six or seven of my caches in the same cache run. Then I get: This one was fun. This one was fun. This one was fun.

 

I write something different on every cache find. Pictures are good too. To me that is part of the fun of caching.

[+humboldt flier]

Some of the greatest logs have been from folks who are out touring the area and share elements of their journey, the kids, the weather, the hike. Sooooooo, I guess I like the " folksy letters from the trail approach ". Had a coast - guardsman bushwhack to one of my caches once upon a time and his account made for some great reading ... even better reading were the comments when he discovered the trail to the cache.

 

I love a story.

[+roziecakes]

I enjoy reading longer logs myself, but if someone doesn't write a long log, it doesn't bother me. I know not everyone is a typist. If someone just wants to put 'TFTC' that's their business in my book. Some cache owners REALLY don't like it, and as I've mentioned on the forums a few times, there are some cache owners in the area where I live who will threaten to delete logs that just say 'TFTC' or are cut and paste.

 

Really, I don't think they can get away with such a thing, as a person can always petition Groundspeak to reinstate their log.

 

When I log my caches, I always try to say something nice, interesting, and unique about each cache, even the caches that I didn't particularly like; I can always find something nice to say about the area the cache has brought me to, even micros in parking lots... I'm the type of cacher who likes all kinds of hides though, as long as they follow the guidelines.

[+humboldt flier]

As NS stated there is usually something nice to be stated.

 

Worked a particularly long trail a while back, atop a power transmission tower was a magnificent Golden Eagle from time to time the bird would leave his perch to survey the area for prey and sometimes it would approach us during our hunt. That became the sidebar to the log entry, earlier in the day there were wild burros, lizards, blue lichen covered rocks ... look outside the box a little bit.

 

Hey, what do I know, I am a senile old goat.

[+redtech]

I put TFTC on a few of mine in the beginning because I didn't know any better. I saw other people write it. I now spell out the words instead of the acronym. I always write more than just that though. At least a few sentences.

[+lachupa]

I recently wrote one that included the fact that some chick was hitting on my husband while I was in the woods hunting for the cache. The hard part there was realizing that he was completely oblivious to the fact that he was being hit on and not bursting out laughing. (he thought they were just talking about the dogs)

 

The poor chick seemed confused when she happened by later and we were sitting on a bench filling out the log.

 

Oh look there's that nice woman who was talking to me earlier. Her dog is the same age as ours...

 

poor woman

[+WVangler]

What I can't stand is when I spend months constructing a creative container or place a cache at a really great site and folks can't put together even a sentence to tell me they really enjoyed the cache outside of "TFTC". What is the point in putting effort into great caches if folks don't report their adventure? For example, I placed one cache that is about a 10 gallon sized ammo can (that I paid a lot of money for) at the end of a 12 mile remote hike. Some recent finders couldn't even put together two sentences in their log to tell me about their adventure. I mean, it takes about 5 hours to make the hike, but they couldn't put more than 30 seconds into telling me about it?! Why would I keep putting out more similar quality caches if I don't get any good feedback?

 

The other thing some short logs do on some creative hides is to belittle cachers who can't find it. For example, on some hides that may be incredibly difficult for most people and may be a 4 star difficulty, there are occasions when someone finds them quickly and they log "quick grab, TFTC". Perhaps they do it unknowingly, but what they've just done is taken away the magic of the hide for most people. Wouldn't it be better to say "I can see that this is a difficult hide, but I got lucky today". At least it gives others the satisfaction of knowing they aren't imbeciles or those considering making a trip to find the cache continue on with their mission.

[+paul-3]

Yeah, I love when you get 10 emails about cache finds in your area and EVERYONE is 'TFTC'...doesn't matter how difficult, etc. just a cut/paste. I just think a cache finder should put a personal note. JMO

Edited July 19, 2010 by paul-3

[+popokiiti]

I can get quite wordy, especially if asked to by the CO. Today it was spider stories at one cache and favourite things at another, so I obliged. I try to write the type of log that I like to read - I especially like seeing photos posted in the logs. Have to admit that at the end of a long caching day for us, my logs are shorter.

[+Anno Lynke]

for lamp post caches you arent going to get alot out of me

yesterday i went for a hike in a nice park looked for 5 caches

wrote a 3 line comment about why i was in the area

which i cut and paste into all the logs then added a line or 2 about each hide

[+simplyred]

I usually have the longest log and the most pics, I don't really do it for the cache owner, but for my own records of caches found. Makes it easier to remember which is which when I look back and read something specific about that find.

I have 1600 pics in my gallery and logs that have taken additional 6 to 8 notes.

[+Printess Caroline]

I think similarly to simplyred, though I have not yet had so much to say that I needed to add a note to write it all. I have fun writing my logs and primarily write to please myself. I also enjoy reading interesting logs written by other cachers,... especially if they relate to my cache. I confess that I am disapointed to read "TFTC" or a cut and paste log on my caches, but what is there to do but sigh and move on? There are all kinds of people out there. I'm delighted when one that thinks like me logs one of my caches. A unique and thoughtful log really makes my day!