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More privacy options for my public profile


sunnysky.ger

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In matters of stalking profile observers it would be really nice to have the possibility to choose some privacy settings.

 

Here one example to show what I mean:

 

Someone is watching my logged caches daily. So it is possible to watch each step I did on a day.

After checking my logged caches he is looking for other cachers who logged it at the same day. Arguing from that logs he is attacing any people with jealousy.

 

So it would be nice to have the option not to show logged caches in my profile, or to show it only to people at my friends list, or only to premium members.

 

Or it should be able to block a user to all my profile informations

 

This should not mean not to show my logs at a cache I've visited. Only my profile should get some more privacy wich means also disabling search options like found by a user.

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I remember someone asking for this once before...

 

I don't think someone seeing where you were yesterday is stalking.

- You're not there now, but someplace else.

 

If (an ex maybe?) is bothering others thinking they're caching with you, the "others" should send any harassing emails or log posts to Groundspeak as abuse of their system.

 

If you were somehow able to get Groundspeak to "block" others from your profile (you do enter logs and post pics), your "stalker" could simply put a watch on all caches within a certain radius to see where you've been, but not where you are now.

 

How would a CO be able to contact you if there was an issue with their hide if there was a block?

What would stop a T.B. thief from stealing T.B.s and coins, then putting a block on their profile so no one can contact them?

I sometimes look when I feel someone is BSing in the forums. :laughing:

 

Sorry, but I think it's a bad idea to go there.

If there truly is an issue, send your concerns directly to Groundspeak.

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Your post is off topic.

 

I'm not talking about blocking messages.

 

I just want to have the choice which part of my profile informations is public, for friends only, or for no one.

 

It's possible to login with Facebook, so it should also be legal to ask for private settings as in Facebook.

 

The difference between the caches list on my profile and the watchlist you are describing is the work and time you have to spend in doing that.

 

By the way..... If my boss would do Geocaching it would be interesting for him to see how I spend my weekends or my time if I would be ill ... Instead of resting myself doing some night caches and T5 caches ...... This would be another kind of abusing the data on my side

Edited by sunnysky_ger
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Sorry, but "If you were somehow able to get Groundspeak to "block" others from your profile " isn't about blocking messages now is it...

 

I don't like to edit, but I'm in a rush.

 

If someone can't get into your profile, they can't contact you.

So yeah, maybe it is about messages too.

Edited by cerberus1
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An interim solution is to post notes instead of Found it logs. No one can see where you're doing that. Bookmark those caches as you go, and

eventually, change those to finds.

 

The behaviour you're dealing with now rarely lasts long. People get tired of it and move on to other things.

 

Good idea thanks for it

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Wait a few days to post your logs. Post them out of order. Let Groundspeak know if somebody is harassing you in any way.

 

I think 'privacy' controls would seriously impede one of the aspects of this little activity that I enjoy the most - seeing what caches that people visit and enjoy with just a few clicks. It will often allow me to find caches that folks with similar caching tastes also enjoyed.

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Solution: Don't post an online log.

 

A fair number people do that and have been doing such probably since the beginning of geocaching as we know it.

 

The problem with the OP request is the "sharing" aspect of this recreation. One of the basic principles of online logging. If this basic principle is not upheld (for all), then the concept of community begins to degrade. Once that degradation starts, then our recreation begins a downhill slide -- and it is a slippery slope.

 

If what I read in the OP is occurring, then the OP does have a problem. However, geocaching has little to do with that problem. It would exist with or without geocaching. Obsessive/possessive behavior such as described (definitely) needs to be addressed, but not by geocaching.com, it needs to be handled personally or with professional assistance.

 

Simply blocking an individual is not going to rectify the situation. Not in the least.

 

I do not believe such an addition to the site would be of benefit, for the OP or anyone else for that matter.

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I think 'privacy' controls would seriously impede one of the aspects of this little activity that I enjoy the most - seeing what caches that people visit and enjoy with just a few clicks. It will often allow me to find caches that folks with similar caching tastes also enjoyed.

Back. Storm coming and that bread, eggs and milk thing...

 

I agree.

Few hit the caches I enjoy, so I look at the hides they've done and they look at mine. Works out well for both.

Sometimes I'll look at a newer or unknown hider's profile to see whether the half tank of gas might be wasted.

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If you don't want people going online to see what you are doing don't do anything online. Lets say they do block that user...Like Keystone said someone will use third party applications. Lets say they then ban that user, then they will create a new account. Lets say they then ban that IP address. Well there are ways to get around that. Lets say they figure out how to stop that-well then the person will use a different IP, or even someone else's internet with a different IP. If someone really wants to see what you're doing they will, and the only way to block it is to not go on the internet.

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The only thing I wanted to ask for if its possible to get some privat settings as for example in Facebook.

 

I used some examples explaining what I mean.

 

Some people who have IT knowledge make an overlay over their profile information and nothing more is shown.

I just saw it on some profiles. This is the reason why I'm asking for it.

 

I didn't want to start any fundamental discussions of privacy in Internet :huh:

And no one is discussing over privacy settings on other platforms.

 

I just suggested some features and not more :shocked:

 

It's your choice to use it or leave it if it would exist one day. :anibad:

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Some people who have IT knowledge make an overlay over their profile information and nothing more is shown.

I just saw it on some profiles. This is the reason why I'm asking for it.

 

There are still ways to look at all the caches they visited, just maybe it is harder to find out for someone

who ist just to clicking on some boxes.

 

It's your choice to use it or leave it if it would exist one day. :anibad:

 

I guess that what you missed is that many cachers (including myself) do enjoy the fact that they can look at all the recent logs of

other caches - I'm doing that regularly even for cachers I have never ever met in my life and will probably never meet in the future as they

live far abroad. Reading logs and viewing cache photos is something I even enjoy more at certain times than going out for caches myself (in particular

if all caches that are close by are boring for me and I look at the log of adventurous and wonderful caches).

 

So it is not a question whether I or someone else would use a privacy setting of the type you requested, but rather whether we want to be kept away from

something we enjoy. I do not have any interest into Facebook at all and private Facebook pages do not belong to any sort of activity while geocaching

logs are a key part of geocaching. I do not think that your comparison with Facebook is a good one. I would not have any reason at all to visit your Facebook page.

If I cached in your area, it might well be that I would regularly have a look at your logs without having any bad intent whatsoever.

 

Cezanne

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I never talked about logs at a cache side

 

I only talked about informations on my public profile.

 

Yes, those who replied to your messages all fully understood that. What we were talking about is that we

do enjoy to have a look at all caches someone has found recently and not just to read all logs of a particular cache.

There are more than a couple of local cachers whose finds I follow regularly and that is exactly what you want to keep

others from doing.

 

Cezanne

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OK, so you block me from your profile and you log notes. So I download pocket queries of every cache within 100 miles of your house several times each week, load them into GSAK, and do a search for all logs by your account name. That will return all the "note" logs.

 

Next move?

 

If a block of viewing a profile were implemented, it would probably also have to extend to viewing cache pages. If I set my profile to private, then viewing of cache pages would only show those logs belonging to cachers who have public profiles, or who are friends of mine.

 

Sort of like facebook. Wait, maybe that's not a good idea.

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Your post is off topic.

 

I'm not talking about blocking messages.

 

I just want to have the choice which part of my profile informations is public, for friends only, or for no one.

 

It's possible to login with Facebook, so it should also be legal to ask for private settings as in Facebook.

 

The difference between the caches list on my profile and the watchlist you are describing is the work and time you have to spend in doing that.

 

By the way..... If my boss would do Geocaching it would be interesting for him to see how I spend my weekends or my time if I would be ill ... Instead of resting myself doing some night caches and T5 caches ...... This would be another kind of abusing the data on my side

 

I agree with more profile privacy. I'd like the "All Geocache Finds" link to be optional.

 

6251883779_99d7d2c783.jpg

 

But that isn't likely to happen,. So you've got to figure out some work arounds. You could change your user name every now and then. Same account, different username every couple of months. You could not tell friends, family or colleagues what your user name is but that would be awkward when you go caching with them or talk about geocaching with them. You could have a fake account under another name where you add a few caches you've found and whenever anyone asks about your trailname, give them that one. If you take a mental health day, when you log your cache choose a different day (maybe add a personal note to the cache that includes the correct date for you own private information).

Edited by L0ne R
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Some people who have IT knowledge make an overlay over their profile information and nothing more is shown.

I just saw it on some profiles. This is the reason why I'm asking for it.

 

 

I'd love to see this. Can you give me an example? You can Personal Message (PM) me if you don't want to post it here.

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OK, so you block me from your profile and you log notes. So I download pocket queries of every cache within 100 miles of your house several times each week, load them into GSAK, and do a search for all logs by your account name. That will return all the "note" logs.

 

Next move?

 

Actually, with the api, we can download all of a users logs. No need to run PQs and end up with extra caches.

 

If I wanted to fly under the RADAR for a bit, I'd mark my caches as found in GSAK, add them to the Publish Logs function, set the proper date and write my logs, but not actually publish them. When I felt it was time, I'd simply publish them all at once. Using this method, you could wait weeks, months, how ever long you like before actually publishing the logs. Assuming that a cache doesn't get locked, everything will get logged and be up to date.

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OK, so you block me from your profile and you log notes. So I download pocket queries of every cache within 100 miles of your house several times each week, load them into GSAK, and do a search for all logs by your account name. That will return all the "note" logs.

 

Next move?

 

If a block of viewing a profile were implemented, it would probably also have to extend to viewing cache pages. If I set my profile to private, then viewing of cache pages would only show those logs belonging to cachers who have public profiles, or who are friends of mine.

 

Sort of like facebook. Wait, maybe that's not a good idea.

 

No, not a good idea. It's my cache. If you don't want anyone to know that you found it, don't post a log saying so. It's really that simple.

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Your post is off topic.

 

I'm not talking about blocking messages.

 

I just want to have the choice which part of my profile informations is public, for friends only, or for no one.

 

It's possible to login with Facebook, so it should also be legal to ask for private settings as in Facebook.

 

The difference between the caches list on my profile and the watchlist you are describing is the work and time you have to spend in doing that.

 

By the way..... If my boss would do Geocaching it would be interesting for him to see how I spend my weekends or my time if I would be ill ... Instead of resting myself doing some night caches and T5 caches ...... This would be another kind of abusing the data on my side

 

I agree with more profile privacy. I'd like the "All Geocache Finds" link to be optional.

 

6251883779_99d7d2c783.jpg

 

But that isn't likely to happen,. So you've got to figure out some work arounds. You could change your user name every now and then. Same account, different username every couple of months. You could not tell friends, family or colleagues what your user name is but that would be awkward when you go caching with them or talk about geocaching with them. You could have a fake account under another name where you add a few caches you've found and whenever anyone asks about your trailname, give them that one. If you take a mental health day, when you log your cache choose a different day (maybe add a personal note to the cache that includes the correct date for you own private information).

 

Having read through the thread I think the best option is to either log finds online at a later date or not log them at all.

 

I'm very conscious that my found logs could indicate when I'm away from home. Anyone taking a look at my profile during most of the year will see I live in one part of England so when my found list starts showing places in the US it doesn't take a genius to figure I'm not home and probably won't be for a few days at least.

 

That said I'd hazard a guess that only a few people know exactly where I live as I tend to be very cautious with that information. On top of that nobody knows who else lives in the same house as me and nobody knows what arrangements I make when I am away - for all someone watching my Find logs knows the house could be empty, or my teenage sons might be there with a houseful of friends, or my bodybuilding friend with two big nasty dogs could be house sitting for me, or anything else.

 

It seems to me that a part of geocaching is sharing the experience with other cachers. If we simply put the cache logs out there and people don't log finds online it becomes ever-harder to tell which caches are likely to be more enjoyable than others, or even which caches are still even likely to be there.

 

A setting that stops people clicking my "all caches found" link doesn't even solve the problem of people knowing I'm away from home. If their local PQs stop showing any new finds from me yet my find count goes up (which they would see if they were stalking me) then they know I'm away from home. They don't get any information as to just where I am unless they really want to go digging (maybe using TB track logs) but it becomes clear I'm outside the locality.

 

As for people being caught going geocaching having called in to work sick, frankly if you're taking the boss's money while telling lies about why you're not doing the work you don't get a lot of sympathy from me. If you're going to do that then at least be smart enough to log your finds on a different day.

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I agree with sunnysky_egr. I am having issues with a recent ex and would like to have my activities be more my own business. Being able to block a specific user would be a great way to get some of my privacy back from this person.

 

Your timeframe for regaining your privacy will have scale issues if an attempt is made to compare it to the schedule of implementation of features here, unfortunately.

 

Meanwhile, even blocking one user would not prevent them from creating another account.

 

Better to get ahead of the situation now, and create your own second account. Certainly it wouldn't be considered sock-puppetry if you are having to work around privacy limitations.

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I agree with sunnysky_egr. I am having issues with a recent ex and would like to have my activities be more my own business. Being able to block a specific user would be a great way to get some of my privacy back from this person.

If you really want your business to be private, there's quite a bit more than your geocaching profile to consider.

I don't know anything about you and Geocaching explore Oregon, blog spots (and others) were found within a half minute on google.

Someone who does has many more options.

- Once you make your private business public, it (really) can't revert.

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I agree with sunnysky_egr. I am having issues with a recent ex and would like to have my activities be more my own business. Being able to block a specific user would be a great way to get some of my privacy back from this person.

 

Your timeframe for regaining your privacy will have scale issues if an attempt is made to compare it to the schedule of implementation of features here, unfortunately.

 

Meanwhile, even blocking one user would not prevent them from creating another account.

 

Better to get ahead of the situation now, and create your own second account. Certainly it wouldn't be considered sock-puppetry if you are having to work around privacy limitations.

 

FWIW, there is nothing wrong with creating another geocaching.com account for the purpose of geocaching. It is a forum guideline violation to do so for the purpose of disguising your identity in a discussion that you are already participating in, thus the term "sock puppet".

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OK, so you block me from your profile and you log notes. So I download pocket queries of every cache within 100 miles of your house several times each week, load them into GSAK, and do a search for all logs by your account name. That will return all the "note" logs.

 

Next move?

I buy a large dog, a large firearm, consult the FBI, see a plastic surgeon, and enter the Witness Protection Program.

 

Your next move???

 

:laughing:

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I agree with sunnysky_egr. I am having issues with a recent ex and would like to have my activities be more my own business. Being able to block a specific user would be a great way to get some of my privacy back from this person.

 

A "recent ex". That's a very key phrase there. Did silliemille know this guy would some day go on to become an "ex" and there would be issues with that person? No, of course not. When I was stalked online (and I'm not kidding, Mr. Yuck once had not one, but two completely whacked out online stalkers), these guys read everything I ever posted on the internet from the day Al Gore invented it. I suppose I'm just lecturing you "If you don't like it, stay off the internet" people. I was supposed to know when I was posting to a message board in 1997 that a couple kooks would become obsessed with me, and read it for clues to my identity and location in 2003, right? I should have just never used the internet? Enough of that nonsense, you have no idea how offensive "stay off the internet then" is to a stalking victim.

 

It appears there are never going to be any privacy settings around here, so you two will just have to roll with the suggestions that have been made.

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I agree with sunnysky_egr. I am having issues with a recent ex and would like to have my activities be more my own business. Being able to block a specific user would be a great way to get some of my privacy back from this person.

 

A "recent ex". That's a very key phrase there. Did silliemille know this guy would some day go on to become an "ex" and there would be issues with that person? No, of course not. When I was stalked online (and I'm not kidding, Mr. Yuck once had not one, but two completely whacked out online stalkers), these guys read everything I ever posted on the internet from the day Al Gore invented it. I suppose I'm just lecturing you "If you don't like it, stay off the internet" people. I was supposed to know when I was posting to a message board in 1997 that a couple kooks would become obsessed with me, and read it for clues to my identity and location in 2003, right? I should have just never used the internet? Enough of that nonsense, you have no idea how offensive "stay off the internet then" is to a stalking victim.

 

It appears there are never going to be any privacy settings around here, so you two will just have to roll with the suggestions that have been made.

 

I wouldn't say "stay off the internet", but I would tell anyone to be careful what they post on the internet simply because you never know how long it will last, who might read it, and how they might piece together enough information to find you in real life.

 

It never ceases to amaze me the way people post geotagged photos, constantly "check in" on twitface to tell the world where they are (and, by implication, that they're not home) and post enough information online to enable anyone to track them down.

 

So to address your point, I've never been stalked and still consider possible abuse of the information before I post anything online.

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I agree with sunnysky_egr. I am having issues with a recent ex and would like to have my activities be more my own business. Being able to block a specific user would be a great way to get some of my privacy back from this person.

 

A "recent ex". That's a very key phrase there. Did silliemille know this guy would some day go on to become an "ex" and there would be issues with that person? No, of course not. When I was stalked online (and I'm not kidding, Mr. Yuck once had not one, but two completely whacked out online stalkers), these guys read everything I ever posted on the internet from the day Al Gore invented it. I suppose I'm just lecturing you "If you don't like it, stay off the internet" people. I was supposed to know when I was posting to a message board in 1997 that a couple kooks would become obsessed with me, and read it for clues to my identity and location in 2003, right? I should have just never used the internet? Enough of that nonsense, you have no idea how offensive "stay off the internet then" is to a stalking victim.

 

It appears there are never going to be any privacy settings around here, so you two will just have to roll with the suggestions that have been made.

 

I wouldn't say "stay off the internet", but I would tell anyone to be careful what they post on the internet simply because you never know how long it will last, who might read it, and how they might piece together enough information to find you in real life.

 

It never ceases to amaze me the way people post geotagged photos, constantly "check in" on twitface to tell the world where they are (and, by implication, that they're not home) and post enough information online to enable anyone to track them down.

 

So to address your point, I've never been stalked and still consider possible abuse of the information before I post anything online.

 

Yeah, good points, but I have to think almost no one ever thinks about this, and doesn't think anything like that can ever happen to them. Certainly if you're dating someone, it's probably going to come up that you're a Geocacher, and use Geocaching.com to find caches. How do you know a year later you'll have a bad break-up, and the guy is all like tracking your movements on Geocaching.com? :P This is far from the first time this has come up around here, but not enough that I think there are ever going to be any kind of privacy settings enacted.

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If you don't want the world to see something, don't put that something on the internet.

 

Simple.

Yep... Dont post ANYTHING on any cache page. Period.

 

There are a lot of things on the net that I did not put there. Like my residential history for the past 20 years. In an ideal world I don't think I would want that information out there. It sort of defeats the purpose of the state giving me a confidential driver's license or license plates.

 

As far as this game goes, I wish there were some additional profile options, like that given to hide stats. I would hide my souvenirs because they gather data and package it in a certain way that I think I should control. I did not put them on the Internet, they were put there for me.

 

But I have chosen to write online logs and post photos. From the start it was apparent that this was part of the caching community. I chose to join that. And I can see a purpose to it - from having caches act as a kind of public commons to tracking down armchair loggers. Of course it is also useful should I wish to stalk Mr. Yuck.

 

I just hope that what I choose to post doesn't seem completely embarrassing 10 years from now.

Edited by geodarts
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I agree with sunnysky_egr. I am having issues with a recent ex and would like to have my activities be more my own business. Being able to block a specific user would be a great way to get some of my privacy back from this person.

 

A "recent ex". That's a very key phrase there. Did silliemille know this guy would some day go on to become an "ex" and there would be issues with that person? No, of course not. When I was stalked online (and I'm not kidding, Mr. Yuck once had not one, but two completely whacked out online stalkers), these guys read everything I ever posted on the internet from the day Al Gore invented it. I suppose I'm just lecturing you "If you don't like it, stay off the internet" people. I was supposed to know when I was posting to a message board in 1997 that a couple kooks would become obsessed with me, and read it for clues to my identity and location in 2003, right? I should have just never used the internet? Enough of that nonsense, you have no idea how offensive "stay off the internet then" is to a stalking victim.

 

It appears there are never going to be any privacy settings around here, so you two will just have to roll with the suggestions that have been made.

 

I wouldn't say "stay off the internet", but I would tell anyone to be careful what they post on the internet simply because you never know how long it will last, who might read it, and how they might piece together enough information to find you in real life.

 

It never ceases to amaze me the way people post geotagged photos, constantly "check in" on twitface to tell the world where they are (and, by implication, that they're not home) and post enough information online to enable anyone to track them down.

 

So to address your point, I've never been stalked and still consider possible abuse of the information before I post anything online.

 

Yeah, good points, but I have to think almost no one ever thinks about this, and doesn't think anything like that can ever happen to them. Certainly if you're dating someone, it's probably going to come up that you're a Geocacher, and use Geocaching.com to find caches. How do you know a year later you'll have a bad break-up, and the guy is all like tracking your movements on Geocaching.com? :P This is far from the first time this has come up around here, but not enough that I think there are ever going to be any kind of privacy settings enacted.

 

The whole point is that people should think about these things, or quit whining when the things they never considered turn around and bite them. It's absurd to post all sorts of stuff online and then complain when someone joins the dots, especially when you've posted enough information to make it easy to find you. My basic tests before posting is to figure whether posting offers me any benefits and whether it represents a liability. Telling the world via twitface that I just checked into a bar in Manhatten is much the same as posting a statement that I'm away from home and will be until at least tomorrow morning. Most people are quick to post all sorts of information because it's "all a bit of fun" and never stop to think how it might be used against them. Every once in a while the odd story surfaces about someone who called into work sick only for their boss to ask how they enjoyed their day at the beach because someone had posted on twitface, which is little more than an extreme end of what could happen to so many people who post before they think.

 

If my wife and I ever break up what she might find out about me from my geocaching activity really is the least of my worries. It's unlikely to be a secret whereabouts I'm living and if I'm concerned about that then I'll dump my geocaching account and start a new one with a new name that she wouldn't know. If she had become enough of a psycho to worry about her finding me then starting from zero finds again would be the least of my concerns.

 

All someone can do with geocaching is track where you've been, some unknown time after you were there. If you're the kind of smartphone cacher who can't wait more than a few microseconds before logging every cache it's a bit lame to post your precise location and then complain that someone can see your precise location. Log field notes instead and upload them when you get home, or upload them a few days later, or mix-n-match them with other caches and maybe swap the dates around a bit. Or just don't log at all. I really don't get the mentality that basically says "I've got someone stalking me, I want to post all sorts of information about where I've been on the internet, but I want it protected so they can't see it". Isn't it an easier solution to just not post it on the internet in the first place, or to post under a different name that they won't know?

 

If people are posting enough information on their cache logs to enable someone else to locate them they've got bigger problems than the privacy settings on the web site.

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I really don't get the mentality that basically says "I've got someone stalking me, I want to post all sorts of information about where I've been on the internet, but I want it protected so they can't see it".

 

I don't see it that way. My take is "I want to keep convenient records of all the caches I've been to, on gc.com, for my personal record and enjoyment. If I want to share that with people it should be my choice." And as a cache owner, I would rather people log their find and feel comfortable about it then not log their find. Logs are what motivate me to hide caches.

 

Why do I need to know that on 06/02/2012 you, TT, visited GC3EZDR Urban - Easy or Trickery, on a highway bridge southwest of London, England near Raynes Park, along with 2 other Urban caches that day. Or that on 09/15/2012 you attended a breakfast Event in Pennsylvania, US. Groundspeak hands that information to me on a platter via the All Geocache Finds link.....really easy to get a chronological list of where you've been since you started caching.

 

I think it would satisfy a lot of people who request a little more privacy if the (All Geocache Finds) link were made visible only to the profile owner with an option to make the link publicly available.

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I really don't get the mentality that basically says "I've got someone stalking me, I want to post all sorts of information about where I've been on the internet, but I want it protected so they can't see it".

 

I don't see it that way. My take is "I want to keep convenient records of all the caches I've been to, on gc.com, for my personal record and enjoyment. If I want to share that with people it should be my choice." And as a cache owner, I would rather people log their find and feel comfortable about it then not log their find. Logs are what motivate me to hide caches.

 

If you want to share it is your choice, nobody is forcing you to write a log, or to write any details in the log, or to keep the same username, or to log the find at any given time, and so on. If you want to log full detail you could write "Today I left my home on 123 High Street, turned left into Main Street and found the cache under the bridge"; if you prefer to be a little more secretive you could write "TFTC".

 

Why do I need to know that on 06/02/2012 you, TT, visited GC3EZDR Urban - Easy or Trickery, on a highway bridge southwest of London, England near Raynes Park, along with 2 other Urban caches that day. Or that on 09/15/2012 you attended a breakfast Event in Pennsylvania, US. Groundspeak hands that information to me on a platter via the All Geocache Finds link.....really easy to get a chronological list of where you've been since you started caching.

 

Indeed, and if the link were taken away from you then you could still build up a picture of where I'd been with a few carefully crafted pocket queries. If you're interested in where I was on 9/15/2012 I not only attended the breakfast event but climbed up the 1000 steps (the event was at the base of the steps) and found a bunch more caches, and a few weeks later I returned to get an international FTF on a cache called Pachydermophobia.

 

You don't need to know that, and I don't feel in any way compromised by you or anyone else knowing it. If I was concerned about who might see it, I wouldn't post it.

 

I think it would satisfy a lot of people who request a little more privacy if the (All Geocache Finds) link were made visible only to the profile owner with an option to make the link publicly available.

 

It would give a false sense of security. The person with a casual interest wouldn't be able to see my finds but the person intending to stalk me could easily run a few pocket queries and then search for my name to see where I had been. As I said earlier in the thread they might not think to run a PQ to spot the caches I found in North Carolina in October 2012 but they could see my find count rising while I wasn't caching in my normal area.

 

I'm looking at this based on two simple questions. Firstly, how could the information in my cache logs be abused. Secondly, would restricting who can click my "All finds" link do anything useful to address that abuse?

 

The information in my cache logs is entirely under my control. It's up to me what, if anything, I write in a log. I could just as easily write a Found log that says "." and a personal note that details my adventure. Or I could write a Word document to detail my adventures, a kind of offline geocaching diary if you like. I could mix-n-match the dates I claim finds, either logging several days after I actually found the cache or posting different days for my finds. So on that basis the problem is largely one I can address myself.

 

Restricting access wouldn't address any remaining problem. The casual observer is unlikely to care what caches I've found and if I do attract myself a stalker then the kind of person who is going to go to the nth degree to trace me and harass me is unlikely to be phased at the thought of buying a few premium memberships if they want to run dozens of pocket queries up and down the country to see where I've been caching. Anyone could buy a bunch of premium memberships for a single month, run PQs until they saw my name cropping up repeatedly, figure they had latched onto my likely home location, and then drop all the surplus PQs and start watching more closely. Since we've been talking about ex-partners it would be even easier still, as a former partner would have an idea of what sort of caches we were most likely to find. So the person who likes 5/5 rated puzzle caches would make it really easy for a stalker - because there aren't many such caches around it becomes easier to run a PQ that covers a huge area, then those caches can be studied in more detail to see when they were logged, they can be watched until the target logs it, and that provides a base to start playing PQ battleships.

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I hafta agree with team tisri, it's your choice how much you want known.

Can't very well be a chatty internetcathy and then expect someone to cover your tracks.

 

I'm sure most do realize that the majority of people who come here and ask for a block, lock-out options, or whatever for privacy, are the same people who are on many of the social sites, join blog sites (or have their own)and so on, and so on...

- And Geocaching's an issue?

Please...

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Geocaching only gives a stalker information if you choose to reveal it.

 

Right now, our profile lets you know some of the places we went on our Key west vacation last month. But it doesn't tell you where we stayed or where we ate or any of the other things we did or places we visited that didn't have caches.

 

It didn't even reveal real time information about when we were in Key West, because I didn't log the caches from that trip until we got home.

 

It's not going to tell you which liquor store I'm going to hit on the way home, nor is it going to tell you where the wife is taking me out for dinner tonight.

 

It gives out exactly as much information as I choose to reveal. I hold the key to that. I am responsible for it.

 

If a person can't take personal responsibility for the information he or she chooses to post on the Internet for everyone to see, why should Groundspeak be left holding the bag?

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Well, you should only give out as much information as you want other people to find. If you don't want people stalking you here, do not give them the opportunity to do so. There are ways to work around this. Bookmark your finds, and use the bookmark to remove those caches from you pocket queries? (Didn't check to see if OP is a premium member.)

I'm not good at facial recognition/user name. I guess many people are. Or maybe I'm some sort of local celebrity? Forty miles from home in a park I've only been to twice. "Hi, Harry!" (Only geocachers, and AT hikers know me by 'Harry'.) Cacher I met once at an event ten miles away, two years previously. "Hey, Harry. Saw you walking up Fifth Avenue in New York City on Saturday. I was looking for XYZ cache. We met a few years ago on a trail thirty miles away." Wow! If you'd yelled "Hey Harry" we might have been able to help you find the cache. (I'm good at remembering where caches are hidden, or if we drive past a benchmark that we have found. But I'm terrible at facial recognition!)

But what threw me for a loop, was when we parked at a turn-off (about 15 miles away) and did a series on a rail trail. Returned to the dolphinmobile. Someone came across the street (CO of some of the caches we found). Are you Harry Dolphin? I recognize you from your profile page. (My profile page now shows Flipper. You wanna see what I look like, you'll have to check my gallery!) I have no idea of what local reputation I may have. But that one threw me for a loop! Never met the guy before (though I was aware that he hid some caches nearby.) I found that disconcerting.

So... Only give out as much information as you want other people to have access to. Don't blame the media that you put the information on. Blame yourself for putting the information on the medium.

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I think it would satisfy a lot of people who request a little more privacy if the (All Geocache Finds) link were made visible only to the profile owner with an option to make the link publicly available.

 

I'm surprised L0ne R, a very prominent Letterboxer, hasn't mentioned that this option is available on the Letterboxing site Atlasquest.com. That's OK though, I just did for you. :laughing:

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Do you have a real life stalker or a Geocacher who's you think is keeping an abnormally close eye on you?

Trying to figure out the problem to help form a solution.

 

This is my first question. Seriously, do you have someone following you online or elsewhere that gives you a reason to be concerned? I think you do.

 

Send an email to contact@geocaching.com tell them what you know. Do not leave it to forum debate.

 

People care,

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I think it would satisfy a lot of people who request a little more privacy if the (All Geocache Finds) link were made visible only to the profile owner with an option to make the link publicly available.

 

I'm surprised L0ne R, a very prominent Letterboxer, hasn't mentioned that this option is available on the Letterboxing site Atlasquest.com. That's OK though, I just did for you. :laughing:

 

The webmaster/owner of the AQ site has his list of finds turned off and has set profiles to default to private because.....

 

"But you know, after this whole experience, I find myself rather disturbed at how upset some people got not being able to see find dates or to sort finds by date on other people's logbooks. There's absolutely no reason in the world any of that is important, but it bothers me that it's SOOO important to some people to have the ability to 'spy' on other people's activities. I never really cared before one way or another about who could see my finds or finds on my boxes, but after this whole incident, I find it kind of creepy that people want to see this information so badly. Why? To what purpose?

 

So I've decided not to show the finds or attempts in my own logbook anymore. It just feels like too many people are stalking others through logbook entries, and honestly, I find that kind of creepy. Even if it is an innocent stalking, I'll take a pass for now on." (2009)

 

and

 

"The main reason I made it private by default, though, is because people actually started being quite demanding that they should be able to see everyone else's online logbooks. There was a certain amount of bullying going on on these boards trying to push people into making their logbooks public even when they preferred to keep it private. Until then, logbooks were public by default.

 

But that sense of entitlement I thought was rude, obnoxious, and so incredibly wrong, I decided that making it private was not just a fun way to spite those people, but perhaps would set a new standard that this information is private and those who choose to make it public will be the new minority.

 

And I don't regret the change for a second. =)" (2011)

Edited by L0ne R
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I think it would satisfy a lot of people who request a little more privacy if the (All Geocache Finds) link were made visible only to the profile owner with an option to make the link publicly available.

Okay, where would it end?

We already have the statistics blocking option.

- Came real handy for those with "distinct" cache issues...

 

Just the last few days we've seen instances where it took some digging to find we're not getting "the full story" here and if "finds" were ever blocked, we never would.

Block too much access and what good would the forums be?

- Trolls, socks and flat-out liars Others would finally have the protection they've been hoping for too...No way to check.

Edited by cerberus1
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OK, so you block me from your profile and you log notes. So I download pocket queries of every cache within 100 miles of your house several times each week, load them into GSAK, and do a search for all logs by your account name. That will return all the "note" logs.

 

Next move?

I'm finding it a little creepy you knew this off the top of your head. :unsure:
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