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So is logging your caches unethical?


TheRo0sTer

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A few of us have discussed this on more than one occassion. I tried using the search button, but got errors each time. I think the arguement would work both ways:

 

1. You can't find your own cache cause you know where you planted it.

2. You had to find the location to plant the cache and in a cache populated city is a lot of work.

3. Sometimes you have to return to your cache for Maintenance and they have been moved from the original location.

 

Any owners of multiple caches will probably agree it's hard work.

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what prevents the average user from doing this

Common sense? :)

 

I dunno. I've seen a couple of noobs with under 10 finds post notes to their cache pages or drop TBs using a found it log, but I don't think I've ever seen someone intentionally log that they found their own cache. Nothing on the website stops an owner from doing this, so you could if you wanted to, but I think I'm just a little too OCD for that. When I look at my stats I want to know that I actually found x caches, not that I logged some event 16 times and logged my own caches twice, etc. I dunno, I thought it was common sense, but maybe it's just me. (Honestly, though, I don't really concern myself with what others do. Saves some stress :ph34r: )

 

edit: typo

Edited by secretagentbill
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You might as well log all of your caches as FTF's.

 

You CAN do it. But its pretty lame.

 

While you're at it, why not log multiple finds on your cache? You don't even have to visit the cache each time. Log it every hour, even. You CAN do that, too, so why wouldn't you? :)

 

I concur. The only purpose in logging ones own hides would be to boost your numbers. Cheating is cheating so why stop at just logging them once?

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So I should have also asked what prevents the average user from doing this. Even if we think it's silly or lame? FTF LMAO

 

Nothing. There is nothing in the Geocaching.com website that would prevent a cacher from posting a "Found it" log on their own caches.

 

Everything. You can't "find" something if you know where it is. It's silly as you and others have said.

 

Common sense. Which may or may not be "common" in the "average" person.

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Is it sillier to do it, or silly to worry about whether or not some do it? It is, after all...a game/sport/hobby. It's not like the person doing it is making more money that someone who's playing by the (sometimes vague and sometimes heavy-handed)"rules." Right?

 

Sure, it's silly to worry about it. But it IS fun to discuss it, and poke a bit of fun at those who do it. :)

 

I like Hoosier Guy's answer. Now that's funny.

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Is it sillier to do it, or silly to worry about whether or not some do it? It is, after all...a game/sport/hobby. It's not like the person doing it is making more money that someone who's playing by the (sometimes vague and sometimes heavy-handed)"rules." Right?

 

Who's worrying about it?

The guy asked for an opinion and the opinion of the Geocaching community, not just the forums, is overwhelming. You don't log your own caches as found.

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Is it sillier to do it, or silly to worry about whether or not some do it? It is, after all...a game/sport/hobby. It's not like the person doing it is making more money that someone who's playing by the (sometimes vague and sometimes heavy-handed)"rules." Right?

But wait. I thought for each 1000 finds my interest rate went down a percentage point!!!! :)

 

I joke, but really the system doesn't have any measures to prevent you from logging a cache as many times as you'd like. The CO and the general Geocaching community might discourage you from that, the CO by deleting a bogus log and the rest of us by pointing and laughing at you at the next event.

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If you ask people why they do it you will find a lot of reasons. Some are better than others. Given the reasons I've heard over the years, the best I would say would get a "I guess I can understand why you would want to do that" and the worse would rate "That's a pretty silly reason for logging a find". Since the find count isn't a score and you don't win anything by inflating your find count this way, I would find it hard to say it is unethical. I suppose if someone's cache has been reported as DNF and they logged a find on it to make it appear the cache was still there without checking that is was, it would be unethical. But I think the cases that are being asked about actually involve finding the cache.

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You can't "find" something if you know where it is.

I've always found this to be a "bad" argument - if the cache page tells you exactly where the cache is (and I've seen some that do) then by this argument, you can't "find" the cache because you know where it is. And in a broader sense, we can't "find" any cache, because we know where it is since the co-ords tells where it is...

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You can't "find" something if you know where it is.

I've always found this to be a "bad" argument - if the cache page tells you exactly where the cache is (and I've seen some that do) then by this argument, you can't "find" the cache because you know where it is. And in a broader sense, we can't "find" any cache, because we know where it is since the co-ords tells where it is...

Not really.

 

The cache page may "tell you exactly where the cache is" but that does not mean that you KNOW where it is.

 

Also, just because you have the coordinates, does not at all mean that you KNOW where it is. The coordinates cover a MUCH larger area that the cache occupies.

 

As an example. Someone may tell you that a certain pair of shoes is in a certain room in a certain house. That's a pretty specific and narrowed down location.

 

But until you go look for (and find) the shoes in that house and in that room, you don't KNOW where the shoes are exactly. You still have to do some searching. You still have to FIND the shoes. They may be under the bed, in a drawer, in a box, in a closet, on a shelf, in the wall, etc.

 

However, if you yourself put that pair of shoes in that room in that house, then you KNOW where the shoes are.

 

Big difference.

 

To me anyway.

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A few of us have discussed this on more than one occassion. I tried using the search button, but got errors each time. I think the arguement would work both ways:

 

1. You can't find your own cache cause you know where you planted it.

2. You had to find the location to plant the cache and in a cache populated city is a lot of work.

3. Sometimes you have to return to your cache for Maintenance and they have been moved from the original location.

 

Any owners of multiple caches will probably agree it's hard work.

Since you asked the question, what are your thoughts on this?
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I think the most common situation I have seen is when there is a team and member 1 hides and publishes a cache, then member 2 finds said cache with no information beyond what is on the cache page.

 

I went to one of my hides to check on it. I let my kids find it. I logged that one as a find. I don't see anything wrong with that. Just as if they didn't find it, I would have logged a DNF.

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I mean I'm kind of on the fence on this. I see why it's no cool or it's silly to log your own cache. Like I mention to some people searching for a cache I planted. I went out because it had so many DNFs. I had to make 2 trips just to find my own cache. Now that could be considered a find. Doesn't matter I don't need the finds. I was just curious what the jury thought. :)

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I mean I'm kind of on the fence on this. I see why it's no cool or it's silly to log your own cache. Like I mention to some people searching for a cache I planted. I went out because it had so many DNFs. I had to make 2 trips just to find my own cache. Now that could be considered a find. Doesn't matter I don't need the finds. I was just curious what the jury thought. :)

 

Hey RoOsTer... Just between you and me, I couldn't find my own cache a few weeks ago after a DNF by an experienced cacher. (The PLFC) Mom Furrball and I spent 20 minutes looking for it. My own hide! Then the light bulb moment kicked in, and there it was. I posted a note, not a find.

 

See ya around!

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So I should have also asked what prevents the average user from doing this. Even if we think it's silly or lame? FTF LMAO
Nothing. There is nothing in the Geocaching.com website that would prevent a cacher from posting a "Found it" log on their own caches.

 

Everything. You can't "find" something if you know where it is. It's silly as you and others have said.

 

Common sense. Which may or may not be "common" in the "average" person.

The attitude of your post ignores the several examples that have been given in previous threads as to why people believe it is appropriate to log their own caches, on occasion.

 

Also, your (and others) use of some variant of 'common sense isn't so common' is nothing but a thinly veiled insult to anyone who disgarees with your position. I expect more from you since you post in an official capacity in this forum.

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I logged two caches that I subsequently adopted. My logs will stand in those instances.

I feel that's an acceptable exception.

Sure it is. The question was about logging your own caches. They weren't his caches when he logged them.

Begs the question, if you adopt a cache that you have never found, then you find it, should you count it as a valid find now that you own it? Personally I would as I didn't 'know' where it was.

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Begs the question, if you adopt a cache that you have never found, then you find it, should you count it as a valid find now that you own it? Personally I would as I didn't 'know' where it was.
I don't think I would adopt a cache that I hadn't previously found, but if I did, then I'd go ahead and log a Find for the first trip to the cache site where I found the cache the first time.

 

Many see nothing wrong with logging multiple finds for the grandfathered traveling caches, as long as the cache has been rehidden by someone else in between your finds. I don't see much difference between that and a cache owner needing to find his own cache, after it has migrated or been rehidden better than he originally hid it.

 

More than once, I've had to tell cache owners where I found their cache, because they were unable to find it and apparently the location I found it was not where they had hidden it. If an owner can DNF their own cache in this manner, then surely they can Find it too. That isn't how I would choose to record my experiences, but if someone else wants to record their experiences that way, I'm not going to stop them.

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Can you do it? Sure.

 

Should you? No.

 

That's where ethics come in. Just a lame way to up your finds.

 

I'm with you on this.

 

It's just like logging a find when you didn't find it, or worse when you can't find it and do a 'throwdown' and claim a find.

 

Or how about logging multiple finds on the same hide? That's lame too.

 

We came across a cache owner once who was logging multiple finds on his own caches. Really lame.

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Can you do it? Sure.

 

Should you? No.

 

That's where ethics come in. Just a lame way to up your finds.

 

I'm with you on this.

 

It's just like logging a find when you didn't find it, or worse when you can't find it and do a 'throwdown' and claim a find.

 

Or how about logging multiple finds on the same hide? That's lame too.

 

We came across a cache owner once who was logging multiple finds on his own caches. Really lame.

 

BTW Gordon Lightfoot is cool

Edited by hoosier guy
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That is like kissing your sister.

 

Hey! That's what Luke Skywalker did.

 

Well, he didn't know at the time. I think. :D I'd always heard this term in regards to NHL hockey, back in the days before they had overtime and shootouts, and teams would have 10 or 20 ties per season. I guess it's sports related, at least if you can believe this fantasy football geeks website

 

I looked at some of the OP's hides. A series of 20 Park-n-grabs, and a series of 20 bike trail caches. Don't do it man. Are there other people in your area doing this? Even if they are, I'd vote cheesy to the max.

 

As outlined in other posts in this thread, if you later adopt a cache (or even adopt before finding it yourself for the first time, which does happen) go for it.

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Also, your (and others) use of some variant of 'common sense isn't so common' is nothing but a thinly veiled insult to anyone who disgarees with your position.

I disagree. There have been many cases both related and not related to geocaching which have convinced me many folks do not posses the common sense that they ought to. This site contains some great ways to lose your faith in humanity.

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