Logging Your Vist

[+jhuoni]

I'm a long winded person, I can give you a thousand words when all you wanted was a Yes or No answer.

 

When I am logging my caches - Found, DNF, Note, Maint Needed, I have a habit of EDITORIALIZING, and even adding a few pictures if I remembered the good camera. I never take direct pictures of the location of the cache, sometimes I will even take pic's of where I thought I would find the cache, which is normally wrong. (see, long winded)

 

Should I just say Found it, and go on? Or does anyone care if I ramble on about the black and orange spider I almost put my hand on when I leaned down to get the cache? Or the fact that I ended up with more chigger bites on my legs than I can count, why didn't I remember to use the DEET?

 

Whats your opinion? Do you even read the comments on the logs?

 

Thanks for you thoughts on this...

John

[+gpicard]

You sound like a cache owner's dream to me!!

 

Keep it up!

[+t4e]

ooh please do write long logs

as a CO, and i think the majority will agree with me, its great to read long logs

its rewarding to see that someone enjoyed the cache

[+BlueDeuce]

If you are boring I can just stop reading the log.

 

Go for it.

[+YooperSnowman]

ooh please do write long logs

as a CO, and i think the majority will agree with me, its great to read long logs

its rewarding to see that someone enjoyed the cache

I agree 100%. Its seems too many logs just say TFTC and nothing more. Please continue to share your experiences. We learn from them, we enjoy them, and they motivate us. Keep up the good work.

[+Lovejoy and Tinker]

I'm like you, never use a couple of words when I can say the same thing in 100 or more and bore someone at the same time.

 

My longest log is 330 words, my average log is 40 words.

 

On my own caches, the longest log left by others is 125 words, the average is 22 words

 

(I haven't counted them, GSAK tells me)

 

I like writing and reading long logs, much prefer them to short ones.

[+Catalinagrey]

I really love it when I get long messages!

I only have one cache and I check on it every week - just to see what people say and check on the swag and add new swag. When I get a message it makes the weekly walk a lot more fun!

[+briansnat]

Keep up the good work. If a cache has something worth writing about, go ahead and write about it. Nearly all cache owners appreciate good logs and aren't thrilled with TFTC.

[hoosier guy]

I'm like you, never use a couple of words when I can say the same thing in 100 or more and bore someone at the same time.

 

My longest log is 330 words, my average log is 40 words.

 

On my own caches, the longest log left by others is 125 words, the average is 22 words

 

(I haven't counted them, GSAK tells me)

 

I like writing and reading long logs, much prefer them to short ones.

 

Wow a 77 word post! LOL Just teasing ya my friend, I like to read the longer posts myself. Some people who do leave longer logs are quite witty and the logs are fun to read.

[+goodwrench00]

You sound like a cache owner's dream to me!!

 

Keep it up!

I agree, a long log seems to show appreciation for the cache.

[+Lovejoy and Tinker]

Wow a 77 word post! LOL Just teasing ya my friend, I like to read the longer posts myself. Some people who do leave longer logs are quite witty and the logs are fun to read.

Yes, sorry about that, not up to my usual standards. I should have been able to stretch it out a bit more than that

 

My longest ever log was on a cache I did find, but the log was all about why I couldn't find it at first, it was such a very strange string of coincidences that I felt the need to write about it (here). Even though the CO is long gone and would never get to read my log.

 

And I do appreciate that such long logs take up real estate on the next cachers devices where they only have the last 5 logs and all they read about on mine is how not to find it.

Nevertheless it's a story I wanted to tell, so I told it.

[+geobrian-]

As a cacher rather than a hider, logs that are just 'TFTC' or 'logged from my mobile' give me no indication as to how the find experience was for that person. Descriptive or even verbose logs are always a pleasure to read, whether at home or out in the field.

 

Looking back on previous logs whilst searching for that elusive cache can make a difference between a find and a DNF. You may be able to get a better idea as to whether your own search is heading in the right direction. I try and write my own logs with that in mind.

[+NanCycle]

I'm a long winded person, I can give you a thousand words when all you wanted was a Yes or No answer.

 

Whats your opinion? Do you even read the comments on the logs?

 

Thanks for you thoughts on this...

John

 

I'm just the opposite; I tend to be brief and directly to the point. But I do try to write more in the log than just "TFTC" or "Found it"; maybe a sentence or two about the experience.

 

But I do LOVE to read the stories that others write, whether on my hides or on caches that I'm going to seek.

 

By all means, do keep on writing!

 

Edited to add: Thought I'd read some of these long stories while I had lunch--well. . . . They're not so long at all.

Edited August 31, 2010 by DoubleBent

[+Ecylram]

Read through your logs and I didn't see anything wrong with the length or content. As long as your descriptions don't provide spoilers they will be a welcome addition to most logs.

[+musthavemuzk]

i like to read the logs. wish i was better with the typed word so i could type some longer interesting logs.

 

Monty

[+ngrrfan]

As a seeker....... I'll write a long winded log if there is some kind of story or tale behind the find or DNF. I'll tell you how I braved a snow storm, climbed a rocky path, stood in the clouds only to have them part and I find out that one false step and I fall 200 feet.

 

As a hider... I like reading how you had to brave alligators, cross the burning desert, swim 20 miles up stream through shark infested waters just to find my cache. A good tale is always worth writing and reading.

[+MindyRN6]

See above for my opinion.

[+Harry Dolphin]

While I try to avoid SLTN, those very long winded logs actually get annoying! I stopped trying to post long logs after GC logged me out after 20 minutes.

Two lines of log would be nice! More than that I usually stop reading, so don't waste your time.

[+TerraViators]

I'm a long winded person, I can give you a thousand words when all you wanted was a Yes or No answer.

 

When I am logging my caches - Found, DNF, Note, Maint Needed, I have a habit of EDITORIALIZING, and even adding a few pictures if I remembered the good camera. I never take direct pictures of the location of the cache, sometimes I will even take pic's of where I thought I would find the cache, which is normally wrong. (see, long winded)

 

Should I just say Found it, and go on? Or does anyone care if I ramble on about the black and orange spider I almost put my hand on when I leaned down to get the cache? Or the fact that I ended up with more chigger bites on my legs than I can count, why didn't I remember to use the DEET?

 

Whats your opinion? Do you even read the comments on the logs?

 

Thanks for you thoughts on this...

John

What you're doing is the whole point of writing a log. Keep it up.

[+cycler48]

I love it when someone writes a short story about their adventure. I don't find them annoying in any way and I will read the entire story. Photos are a big bonus as long as they aren't too revealing regarding the location of the cache. Keep up the good work.

[+KoosKoos]

Yes.

 

 

 

 

See, short responses aren't all that great. As a cache owner, I love hearing about whatever adventure you had getting to my cache. As others have said, don't list any spoilers, but other than that, say whatever you'd like.

 

Then again, I tend to take pride in being a bit wordy in my logs too. (104 words average with a longest of 774 words! )

[OwlJones]

Well, thank goodness for the general concensus on long-winded logs! I'm like the OP, in that I can't help but use ten times the amount of verbage required! ( And not just in logs, but message board posts as well - as you shall surely soon see. )

 

Tonight I logged one where we were being eyeballed by a mugglin' couple and before I let them call the police( the cache was behind some stores in a shopping center) I explained to them what we were doing and what we were looking for - even showing them the GPS and where it was supposed to be. I thought this would be better than explaining it to law enforcement! They were really interested and had apparently been living in a cave for some time - and had never heard of geocaching.

In the end we didnt' find the cache. Earlier logs showed that it was maybe not there, but I don't normally read them before hunting because sometimes people give it away too easily - not meaning to of course.

 

Anyway, as I was writing my long log about the experience I had the same thoughts as the OP. Is this too long? Am I being too wordy? Does anyone care that across the street some birds were mounting an all out invasion on a cell-tower?

 

Good to see it's at least not something that ticks people off. LOL

 

( So, what was that - like 30 words, right? heh. )

[+sanseapdx]

I definitely enjoy reading some of the longer entries. I'm guilty of quite a few SL, Found, TNLNs in my logs. But those responses are generally more indicative of the quality of the hide.

 

I'm less than 150 finds into my geocaching hobby, but I've already been getting REALLY tired of the light post caches. My response is usually a nice resounding FOUND. My log is about as creative as the hide, the way I see it.

I don't have and hides, so I don't mean to throw stones, but when I finally do hide a cache, it definitely won't be an LPC!

 

I log most of my finds with the iphone geocaching app, so I probably have shorter logs as a practicality.

[+Mark+Karen]

I'm a long winded person, I can give you a thousand words when all you wanted was a Yes or No answer.

 

When I am logging my caches - Found, DNF, Note, Maint Needed, I have a habit of EDITORIALIZING, and even adding a few pictures if I remembered the good camera. I never take direct pictures of the location of the cache, sometimes I will even take pic's of where I thought I would find the cache, which is normally wrong. (see, long winded)

 

Should I just say Found it, and go on? Or does anyone care if I ramble on about the black and orange spider I almost put my hand on when I leaned down to get the cache? Or the fact that I ended up with more chigger bites on my legs than I can count, why didn't I remember to use the DEET?

 

Whats your opinion? Do you even read the comments on the logs?

 

Thanks for you thoughts on this...

John

 

From a cache owners point of view, the longer the better! Write a book if you like!

It's great when you get a nice long story to read. Rather than just "TFTC"

[+Borst68]

You are welcome to find all of my caches. I would much rather have a zillion word essay than a simple "TFTC". Keep writing. I have never heard of anyone complaining that a log entry was too long.

[+Anno Lynke]

it is kind of hard to write a long post for a lpc, but otherwise i try to say something about the experience

which reminds me, I need to look at one of my last finds to see ifa question I asked was answered

[+lachupa]

I write long rambling logs becuase its more entertaining for me and that's really what this is about isn't it.

 

My only concern lately is that I posted a couple of pictures that included the cache. I don't want to give too much away but I let it go because there were already a lot of other pictures of that same cache out there.

[MuggleBum]

i love reading the details

and am guilty of reading ALL of the entries sometimes

just trying to find the extra hints...

[MisterEFQ]

TMI in logs isnt bad.

 

TMS is. (Too many smilies).

 

There a local cacher and I cant stand read thier logs. Every line is a different color and contains a smily after ever half-thought.

[+Panther&Pine]

TMI in logs isnt bad.

 

TMS is. (Too many smilies).

 

There a local cacher and I cant stand read thier logs. Every line is a different color and contains a smily after ever half-thought.

Or the ALL IN CAPS JUST BECAUSE CACHER? We've got one of those around here.

[+popokiiti]

I am glad I am not the only long winded person on the planet! I enjoy reading longer logs, but can understand why some are short, especially if the hunters have been on a caching blitz on that particular day.

Basically, just do whatever turns your crank as far as logging online goes.

[+RobDJr]

Most of my logs are long, with an average word count upwards of 150 and my longer logs needed splitting into multiple posts to get around the limit. I've had CO's thank me for my logs, but I've never had anyone complain that anything I wrote was too long. So write on, says I!

 

As for TMI, the only time I see that coming into play is when a log is leaking information about the cache that perhaps shouldn't be given out. Things that may spoil surprises or lessen enjoyment or give away locations of puzzle caches (or method of solution). That would be TMI, and often the length of the log is irrelevant in this case as even a carelessly worded short log can do that.

 

It sounds to me like you're doing a great job and having fun while you're at it. Keep it up!

[+Chokecherry]

If I have a story I put more than just a TFTC in my logs. There are some caches where that is all I can possibly say about it.

 

I did one yesterday in an absolutely beautiful park area not far from a parking area but you felt like you were in an entirely different world. That wasn't my story. My story became about my struggle to open up the cache container (essentially rolling around on the ground wrestling with this giant container... and I won). And mentioning like someone else I found it about 40 feet away form where it indicated it should be. Turns out after my log the cache owner went out there and verified someone had moved the cache and has now moved it back and is trying to figure out a way to make it easier to open (I emailed the owner with a suggestion upon seeing that). I wasn't rude about it and I did have quite a bit of fun with the absolute frustration I felt trying to open that beast.

 

Now if I wrote "pretty area TFTC" the owner would never have gone out there to troubleshoot.