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As CO, unhappy with auto-logs


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Increasingly, COs see online logs saying: I found this geocache using the Geocaching Intro App. This says nothing about the experience of cachers in the find, nor does it inform future finders about anything relevant to their search.

 

Furthermore, it is a blatant advertisement for a particular app. Should those using c:geo and other fine apps now tag their online logs similarly? NO!

 

The Intro App allows noobs to play without ever visiting the GC.com website. Therefore a complete profile is not created, so when COs want to contact noob cachers using the Intro App (for example, with a helpful and polite hint about logging etiquette and only claiming when the log is signed), they cannot.

 

I have no problem in having an Intro App, this is a good way for noobs to get started, especially young ones. But the app must promote good logging practice right from the start. The default log works against this.

 

At the very least, the default log should say "Find #<find-count> and log signed by <cacher-name> on <date> at <time>."

 

Perhaps a templated set of sentence prompts could also be provided, including

  • "Briefly describe your caching adventure today."
  • "Who were you with? (use their cacher-names)"
  • "What was the best thing about the cache?"
  • "Don't forget to thank the cache owner!"

 

I hope the Intro App can be improved along these lines.

 

Regards,

Ron Lubensky aka clickcraftsman

Melbourne, Australia

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Increasingly, COs see online logs saying: I found this geocache using the Geocaching Intro App. This says nothing about the experience of cachers in the find, nor does it inform future finders about anything relevant to their search.

 

Furthermore, it is a blatant advertisement for a particular app. Should those using c:geo and other fine apps now tag their online logs similarly? NO!

 

The Intro App allows noobs to play without ever visiting the GC.com website. Therefore a complete profile is not created, so when COs want to contact noob cachers using the Intro App (for example, with a helpful and polite hint about logging etiquette and only claiming when the log is signed), they cannot.

 

I have no problem in having an Intro App, this is a good way for noobs to get started, especially young ones. But the app must promote good logging practice right from the start. The default log works against this.

 

At the very least, the default log should say "Find #<find-count> and log signed by <cacher-name> on <date> at <time>."

 

Perhaps a templated set of sentence prompts could also be provided, including

  • "Briefly describe your caching adventure today."
  • "Who were you with? (use their cacher-names)"
  • "What was the best thing about the cache?"
  • "Don't forget to thank the cache owner!"

 

I hope the Intro App can be improved along these lines.

 

Regards,

Ron Lubensky aka clickcraftsman

Melbourne, Australia

Yes, thousands agree & many have already raised their voices.

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Is this about the Intro-app or is it about auto-logs? These are really two different issues.

 

Auto-logs have been around a long time... far longer than the Intro-app.

Trimble is notorious for it -- "Logged from my phone using the Geocache Navigator by Trimble.".

Most dedicated GPSr units can be set up for auto-logging (luckily, most don't know that...).

 

Then too, there is the trackable auto-"Visited" logs, just because the trackable is in their inventory -- regardless if the cacher actually has it in-hand or not. Some apps will do that, others won't.

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You would hope that Groundspeak would like to reward their bread-n-butter cache owners by encouraging new cachers to write something meaningful about their experience. Auto-generated replies enforces the ever increasing reality that geocaching is mostly about the smiley count.

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Start fighting auto-logs and form logs by improving the log entries you write (only after I was proofreading this did I check to see the type of logs the OP writes). Make your log entries entertaining and interesting, well worth the read. As an established cacher or leader in the area, you have an effect on other cachers. If most of your logs look like they're copy and paste, others will assume online logs do not have any value and will log the same way. Encourage quality logging by writing what you believe are quality logs. I fight form logging by trying to make most of my logs unique and about the cache. I also frequently write longer logs, with my epic logs being the exaggerated form of this. But make no mistake: writing quality log entries is a huge draw on your time.

 

The intro app can use its canned text because it is made by the same company that owns the listing service. This is how they get around their guideline. I couldn't think of anything else insightful to say about this, so forgive me for saying something that does not bear repeating.

 

I liked the idea of prompting the user with a question to answer for the log entry, such as the OP's "Briefly describe your caching adventure today" and "What was the best thing about the cache" examples. This at least gives a hint as to what a log is supposed to be about or convey. I do not, however, agree about using a template as this also seems to promote form logging.

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Thanks for the feedback. :)

 

There is an active conversation happening at Geocaching HQ about this topic and other topics related to the iPhone Intro App. Constructive discussions and shared ideas in these forums are incredibly helpful in making sure that the community voice is heard at meetings in HQ. Thanks for being a part of the conversation.

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The Intro App allows noobs to play without ever visiting the GC.com website. Therefore a complete profile is not created, so when COs want to contact noob cachers using the Intro App (for example, with a helpful and polite hint about logging etiquette and only claiming when the log is signed), they cannot.

 

 

IMO the worst part about the intro app is as stated in the quote above. There is no way to contact the noob user to educate them that spoilers should not be posted, and to explain how to log trackables. Surely the app could be programmed to not accept log posts unless/until the email is verified.

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So many good points made in this topic! I have just spent a good amount of time deleting duplicate logs by the same (new) cacher, all with the default text. I cannot contact this person, because they are unverified. These logs are coming in on different days, even! Does the app not filter out caches they've already found?

 

I just reduced this person's find count by maybe half. It might be more if I check on the caches and don't find their name on the physical log, because I will not accept that either. They will probably get frustrated at this lack of numbers, since that is all that is encouraged by the Intro App, it seems. So, a peeved CO and a disappointed new cacher... is this really what Groundspeak wants from its promotional app?

 

I'm sure improvements will come. It just feels like molasses when the hobby is changing at lightspeed.

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What if we all (all COs) started deleting all logs from Not Validated Members who have never visited the site? Would they even know that their logs had been deleted? There was a NVM who had 5 finds, 4 of them were on my caches; I deleted 2 of the posts because of spoilers, but of course they never got the email notice of deletion. And if they never visited the site, do they even know that their numbers decreased?

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Log etiquette takes time to learn, IMO but I do agree the intro app should try to teach new users to write fuller, longer logs.

Deleting a persons log because they haven't quite figured out how everything works takes time. My first geocache was found using the intro app. I didn't log my find from that however, but rushed back home to share my delight on my laptop instead.

I don't think condemning the new cachers because they haven't quite got the hang of writing logs yet isn't fair. It wasn't until I put down my own hides that I realised what a difference log etiquette makes.

 

Or consider this. Maybe your hide wasn't good enough to write a decent log about.

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:unsure: I see a lot of Negative feelings in this Forum about this subject. How about something Positive which could improve the said App.

 

This is only a Game and everyone plays differently.

 

Sure some log differently than you or I, get over it.

 

If you really need some recognition for your cache, take a copy of your hand and tack it to the wall back into it a few times. You will feel much better or just laugh it off, since it is only a Game. :anibad:

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